Owaisi calling Muslims Dying of Corona-virus As ‘Martyrs’ is Dangerous
India just cannot afford to take its eyes off potential weaponization of Corona-virus by the adherents of a troublesome ideology.Continue Reading
Defining The Indian Outlook Towards Homosexuality – I
The advocacy of unrestrained freedoms has had a disruptive effect on the social fabric in the West and it does not serve us to uncritically apply these in our milieu without testing them against the ethical values and normative elements of our society.Continue Reading
The History of Ayōdhyā and the Rāma Janmabhūmī Dispute – X
Millions of unnamed Hindus repaired to Ayōdhyā, day after day, over months and years and centuries, with their steadfast observances, as per the sacred legend recounted in the Purāñas, at the Janmabhūmī site enshrined in their hearts as the birthplace of Śrī Rāma, earmarking it in perpetuity.Continue Reading
The Anti-CAA Protests and Students’ Political Dissent in India
By Smita Mukerji Introduction Ever since the PM Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was voted to power in the general elections in India in 2014, the discourse across the political spectrum has become increasingly polarised. A war of narrative is raging at present in India—as arguably in manyContinue Reading
Christmas Celebrations in Ramakrishna Mission Math(s)
The practice of celebrating Christmas at the Ramakrishna Missions has been repeatedly questioned by many people for its conscpicuous incongruity. The curious spectacle enacted each year by the monks of the order follows from a fanciful decision by the second head abbot of the order, Swami Brahmananda, which however lacks the sanction of the Master, the Holy Mother and Swami Vivekananda. Apart from being supererogatory to the mission’s aims, it is a perversion of Hindu philosophy of worship, both in worldly and monastic realms, and injurious to the interests of Hindu dharma as a whole. The author in a series of letters with Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi endeavoured to impress on the monk from the order these concerns, which regrettably remain unappreciated…Continue Reading
Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah – II
There are verses in our Vēdas and Upaniśads that offer prayers to the Paṇća Mahabhūtas of appu/jala, tēyu/agnī, vāyu, pṛthvī and ākāśa. By living closely with the elements, our ancestors knew their moods and behaviour…Continue Reading
Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah – I
Our ancestors possessed immense knowledge about factors affecting our lives and well-being. Using their common sense and by keenly observing every minute detail in their surroundings and natural forces, they learnt, assimilated and used the knowledge thus gained, to give us an invaluable legacy of health imbued with spirituality.Continue Reading
The Qur’ān, the Mu’mins, the Ahl-ul-Qitāb and The Kāfirs–II
“Law has its limitations, particularly in a country where its main corpus continues to be what alien regimes, Islamic and British, had devised for their own imperialist purposes.”Continue Reading
The ‘Morning Song of India’
In his composition ‘Jana Gana Mana’ Tagore employs the vision of Śri Kṛṣña in the Mahabharata to conceptualise this ‘Ruler of the Destiny of Bhārata’, as the eternal charioteer sounding the conch shell to guide the course of this nation.Continue Reading
PM Narendra Modi’s Speech and the Apologetic Hindu
The mention at the very outset at the scrapping of the hitherto effective special provisions is like telling an errant school kid that his expulsion from school is reversible and hence not to be taken seriously!Continue Reading