All posts by HHR

In this life, I was born American, of mixed European and Native American ancestry, culturally Christian by default – or at least as Christian as could be expected with my father scarcely believing in God and my mother being turned off from religion by having if forced on her in her youth by my well-meaning, [...]

“All men dream,” said T. E. Lawrence, “but not equally.” Artistic, introspective and questioning, even as a child it was clear to those around me that I was, in Lawrence’s terminology, a “dreamer of the day.” I disliked what I regarded as the shallow materialism and trivial ways people interacted in the West. But above [...]

Jove's Oak ( Donar's Oak and therefore sometimes referred to as Thor's Oak) was a sacred tree of the Germanic pagans located in the region of Hesse, Germany. The Oak tree that once stood at the town of Geismar in central Germany was sacred to the pagan god Thor. We know this because the somewhat fanciful [...]

RANCHI: Members of the Sarna faith have decided to forcefully remove the statue depicting a ‘tribal’ Virgin Mary which was unveiled in May this year at Singpur village in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district unless it’s attire is changed. Talks between church representatives and the Sarna faith have broken down and the Sarna elders have set August [...]

The usual Christian rhetoric about satanic and demonic forces trying to take control paranoia but at least Christian Fundamentalists even know its Hindu. [...]

The difference of outlook between polytheism and monotheism boils down to being open and being closed. Because religions have a hold on people’s imaginations and their sense of right and wrong, religious outlooks define societies. Modern Hindus, instead of being apologetic about the polytheism inherent in their tradition, should seek to embrace it Since religiosity [...]

On 18 March 2012, the BBC broadcast its morning debate show the Big Questions: In the above video ( start 4.28 ) the late Dilip Lakhani of the Vivekananda Centre was lambasted by Canon Chris Sugden for the caste system caused by Hindu beliefs. Sugden further argued that Hinduism only went into its renaissance due to [...]

I am an American like many other Americans, born into a family of mixed European and Native American ancestry. My interest in my own origins started early. I knew that my European ancestors were pagans who were converted to Abrahamic faiths, and that my Native ancestors were pagans mostly obliterated by those Europeans. I knew [...]

Here are 1200 sitarists led by a bansuri (flute) player rendering Raag Bageshri, an Indian classical raga for late night, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. [...]

This stotra is in Sanskrit and it is creation of Vibhishana- Ravana’s brother. Initially this stotra starts with praise of shri Hanuman admiring his virtues and describing his tremendous power. Then very wisely, God Hanuman is requested by the devotee to remove all the diseases, bad health and all sorts of troubles from the life. Further God [...]