Analysis/Insights

Perhaps surprisingly in a country where so many people view cows as sacred, India could soon become the world’s biggest beef exporter, according to the USDA. DELHI/MUMBAI: Symbols of India’s emergence as an economic powerhouse line the four-lane highway to Jaipur out of New Delhi: a factory owned by the world’s biggest motorbike maker, glass [...]

Hindu texts have discussed variations in gender and sexuality for over two millennia. Like the erotic sculptures on ancient Hindu temples at Khajuraho and Konarak, sacred texts in Sanskrit constitute irrefutable evidence that the whole range of sexual behavior was known to ancient Hindus. When Europeans arrived in India, they were shocked by Hinduism, which [...]

Indians have brains. This news has spread by now. I read about an Indian girl in a school in U.S. who complained that her American peers expected her to excel simply because she was Indian. There are statistics which show that NRIs in U.S. are doing exceptionally well, that their percentage in organizations like NASA [...]

“On Hinduism is a treat. For those who already know and admire Wendy Doniger’s work, this is a handy (if hefty) compendium of many of her essays…. For those who are reading her for the first time, the book is a marvellous introduction to the multiple ways that Hinduism can be approached and understood through [...]

The common language of Hinduism must depart from the dominance of Shankaran Advaita Amidst the globalization of diverse philosophies, Hindus are trying to establish a unique place for themselves. This requires a unique terminology that explains Hinduism, not in a Western framework but on its own terms. Some of our leaders are attempting such a [...]

The great Pandurang Shastri once said that that the most adharmic thing that anyone did in the entire Mahabharata was a message sent by King Dhritarashtra to Yudhisthir prior to the outbreak of the Great War. The message was along the lines of: [...]

Ahimsa is an important teaching within the Indian tradition. It has also been a term eagerly embraced by many new-age and metaphysical systems throughout the world.  Resulting in almost a placatory mentality toward certain types of action, which is also fueled by misinterpretations of Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance to the British occupation of India.  While ahimsa [...]

One of the biggest ill-effects of the post-colonial ‘Idea of India’ is the confusion it created in the Indian mind about the country, its culture, its nation and state. While clarity exists in the minds of learned men who studied Indian/Hindu culture, many simply lack it. The idea of this write-up is not to analyze [...]

iN HIS 1905 book, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Max Weber credited the Protestant ethic with giving rise to capitalism. Now it sometimes seems as if it is the Buddhist ethic that is keeping capitalism going. The Protestants stressed rational calculation and self-restraint. The Buddhists stress the importance of “mindfulness”—taking time out [...]

Most scientists would probably say that the concept of an afterlife is either nonsense, or at the very least unprovable.Yet one expert claims he has evidence to confirm an existence beyond the grave – and it lies in quantum physics.Professor Robert Lanza claims the theory of biocentrism teaches that death as we know it is [...]