Reaching There

 As I thought about writing this post, I wondered what might be the objective of this blog post. I wanted to write about history. So should it be about the reverence of cows in Hindu culture? Or, is the fact that partisan idealogue historians like Audrey Truschke are biased and intentionally omit (and sometimes convolute) the facts in their works? Or, how are Indian readers far too subjugated by the translations of Indian scriptures by colonial translators? Or, in our own way, we are too ignorant of our own history?  All of the above is controversial, to say the least. But it is time we relook at our heritage with a Dharmic viewpoint, especially as the world is shedding the colonial lens. Many such above points are  important and require a deep understanding of a scholar and an expert for a more substantial discussion. However, as I'm neither, I can only raise pertinent questions that will provide superficial answers that are sufficient to investigate further.  Audre...

Introduction A few days ago I wrote on how a contemporary Dharmic mind is enslaved with various narratives meant to degrade the tradition of Dharmic spiritualism (or Hinduism) and relegate the spiritual path as non-sensical, patriarchal, and regressive (i.e. against modernity). I've three examples below that show the eagerness in contemporary conversations to push this narrative. Since free speech and vaad (Sanskrit: वाद, discussion) are two-way streets so it's well within my right to share my opinion based on sound reasoning and well-established examples. And my opinion doesn't rely on the play of words (Sanskrit: सामान्य छल, quibble)) or a mere attack on the opposition (Sanskrit: वितंडा, cavil/sophistry). Just a side note, these categorizations are based on the ancient  Nyaya philosophy composed by Akṣapāda Gautama between the 6th century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Example 1 -  वितंडा / Sophistry Buddhism and Sanatana Dharma have a long history of coexistence and assim...

Introduction A disclaimer first, I used to be a fan of John Oliver and his show Last Week Tonight. This was when he was bashing Fox News Channel, Republicans, and other conservative opinions as part of his blanket bashing of 'right wing. I was frankly unaware of conservative opinions in the United States. As an immigrant, I had picked up the American political context from whatever limited exposure I had; which was primarily driven by left-liberal ideologues. And it was fun to watch continuously streamed videos of Jon Stewart where he will poke fun at Fox News with cleverly presented arguments. So my opinions were incomplete and unknowingly prejudiced. However, a world cannot function on such broad and incomplete opinions. Was I left liberal who had a reckoning? I don't think I can say that, as I don't even know if I was or still am a left-liberal or right-wing. As personalities cannot be broad-brushed by placing them in a convenient basked of left, center, or right.  For e...

Mind alone is the cause of both bondage and liberation. - Amritabindu Upanishad, Verse 2 Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) in his "journey to the west" between 629 CE and 645 CE referred to India as ' Yin-tu ' which  means moon (in Sanskrit). Dharampal in his book 'A Beautiful Tree' describes various British territories like Bengal, Bihar, Madras, Punjab, and others that "there is hardly a village, great or small, throughout our territories, in which there is not at least one school, and in larger villages more." And the 1830s, the British began the survey of India to implement policies that "established some affinity of outlook and belief between the rules and the rule" whether it was introducing a new "Christian" education policy or opening up India to evangelical missionaries for extending Christian 'light' and 'knowledge' (Page 16, The Beautiful Tree, Dharampal)   Since ancient times travelers, monks, seers, and seekers ...

I'm what you may call a 'recently awakened Hindu' (or as someone may use a derogative stereotype 'Bhakt'). A bit of sarcasm at the beginning always helps! Yet, it's not the Modi or the BJP I'm re-discovering but the cultural and spiritual heritage that has been ingrained in the ethos of 'Bhartiya Sanskriti' that I'm re-discovering. On a side note, if you want to re-discover Narendra Modi, I highly recommend the book Modi, Muslims and Media  by Madhu Kishwar. And if you really want to understand the data science driving the rise of the BJP I'll recommend The New BJP by Nalin Mehta. Today I'm talking about the aspect of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) that venerates and celebrates different aspects of one's life. This help to keep the civilizational memory alive in its own unique way.  Worship of Nature Indians (Hindus) love to venerate the surroundings. Some may argue that if such was the case then India's public hygiene and civic sens...

A painting depicting Tarkavidya (the science of reasoning and logic) in action. Picture:  The famous debate between Adi Shankaracharya and Mandana Mishra, in which Shankaracharya emerged victorious. https://twitter.com/mimansaka/status/1411535285444247556?lang=b g) Can Science & Religion be reconciled? I've often wondered if there is a reconciliation of science and religion. In past, I've written about misinterpreting faith , the  importance of spiritual philosophies , and spiritualism in the Hindu (or Indian) context . I've also read the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, who are the pioneers of the atheistic movement opposing the Abrahamic philosophy, to not limit my view to just my Indic background. In the western world,  more people are identifying as atheists, agnostics, or otherwise nonreligious . Pew Research shows the same trend in the western world when it comes to religion. The same Pew Research also shows the importance of religion in...

What is purva-paksha?  Vaisheshik Darshan throughout the text is not afraid to question the observation and heavily relies on ' purva-paksha ' i.e. debating a former argument to solidify the proposition.  Vaisheshik Darshan  doesn't just state aphorisms, but it takes the reader (you) inside the mind of the author, as he grapples with observations & inferences. And this grappling often leads to counter-argument, which in the case of this  Darshan  is included in the text itself! You won't see any other philosophical treatise, other than Indic texts, where the counter-argument is part of the journey a reader has to take to deep dive into the topic for a clear understanding.  As we go through the proof of one of the nine  Dravyas  (substances) i.e. Atman ( misinterpreted as the soul in Western translation but actually means the reality of realization of our existence i.e. the true "I" ), the author uses counter-arguments to facilitate the proof. ...