A Glimpse of the Daily Routine and Life of a Brahmin Patriarch
A slice of the daily routine of a typical Brahmin who lived in India just a century ago
The Sacred Bonds that Bind Bharatavarsha
In an earlier essay, I had remarked that the only way to “understand” Santana Dharma is to live it. What had once been akin to breathing to Hindus has now become a thing to “understand.” Let it also be said that you cannot “learn” Hinduism by reading any number of
The Ayodhya Dipotsava Diaries: An Introduction
Preface Nothing prepares you for Ayodhya. Nothing. Not even when you go there bearing in mind such lofty slokas as अयोध्या मथुरा माया काशी कान्ची अवन्तिकापुरी द्वारावती चैव सप्तैता मोक्षदायि
Spiritual Freedom and the Sacred Geography of Bharata
The concept of Purusharthas is one of the most singular and unique contributions to world culture, civilisation and human living. This is perhaps one of the best models for both a personal code of conduct for leading one’s life and an exploration of the much-touted western notion of
The Cultural Weakening of India and the Hindu Civilisational Continuum
What is common to the two avoidable events that occurred recently, viz, the so-called #MeToo dog-and-pony show, and second, the pushback against and persecution of the lakhs of Sabarimala protestors? In a line, the common factor in both is the near-total erosion of the identity of
How the Bhakti Movement Gave Hindus a Breather and the New Indian Renaissance
Beginning with the so-called Arab invasion of Sindh and even today (albeit in a different form), the single biggest failure of Hindus has been one or more or all of the following: inability, unwillingness, passivity, inertia, or the innate compassion that lies at the heart of Sanatana Dharma in
The Incurables who are Chopping Hindu Traditions and Temples
Prologue I distinctly recall an anecdote a veteran scholar once told me. The incident in the anecdote occurred sometime in the 1960s, the nascent stages of the era of spurious spiritualists and that class of rank materialists and megalomaniacs who eventually came to be known as Godmen, New-age Gurus,
Podcast: Congratulations to Yogi Adityanath for restoring the Sanctity of Prayagraj
Amid the ongoing, spirited protest by the Hindu community against the SC Verdict on Sabarimala, is some good news of sorts. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced the much-awaited and much-needed restoration of the original name of Allahabad: Prayagraj. To be sure, it is not merely
The Destruction and Christianization of Carnatic Music Might Occur Sooner than Anticipated
As expected, it has happened. There’s a proverb in Kannada which roughly means, “light up your beedi from the fire that is burning down your neighbour’s house.” The thoroughly agenda-driven #Metoo charade has hit the Carnatic music circles as well ably guided, the charge led by the
Profound Prefaces: Mahabrahmana
It will be an interesting topic in a study of literary history to trace the first book—fiction or non-fiction—for which a preface was written. It is a good practice that has thankfully sustained the roughs of time and taste without falling off the crag. In the hands