buddhism

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia but grew up in Nairobi. The Somali community in which she lived was infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood who transformed Ali and her teenage friends from believers into Islamic activists. Yet in 1992 she claimed asylum in the Netherlands as she escaped a forced marriage Following the 11 September [...]

In the AQA approved Religious Studies text for GCSE (written by Lesley Parry, Jan Hayes, Sheila Butler, published by Hodder Education), we find this rather disturbing view of Hinduism: [...]

It is not a ‘Kashmir dispute’. It is the world’ oldest surviving civilisation and culture under threat from ideological imperialism and its western allies. It is not ‘self-determination’ of Kashmir, but a religious holy war against Hindus and India. One only need look at the stated aims of Jaish-e-Mohammed. The terrorist outfit sprung from the [...]

Based on a number of requests to explain the basics of Eastern philosophies in English for those daunted by the sheer volume of foreign terms, I have attempted to present a simplified summary of basic concepts in one document. I’m only a student myself, so I assume all responsibility for any inaccuracies in the following [...]

At 7:10am BBC Radio 4 broadcasts the religious affairs programme ‘Sunday’, appropriately named because that is the day on which it is aired. Now in this programme we have this delightful installment: “The National Council of Churches in India will hold a day of protest next week against the country’s discriminatory caste system. It follows [...]

Of all Indian scriptures, the Bhagavat Gita has likely been the one most commented on. India’s sages, yogis, philosophers, thinkers have, as a rule, regarded it a sacred duty to add theirs to the long list of commentaries on these eighteen brief chapters from the Mahabharata—a mere 700 slokas which have left the deepest of [...]

Global Esoteric Traditions Esoteric, mystical, and occult traditions have been widely connected worldwide as far back as we can trace their history. These often secret teachings cross over realms of healing, astrology, alchemy, Yoga, mantra, and meditation, emphasizing internal practices to raise our awareness to higher states of consciousness. They have been also important in [...]

While atheism and Christianity may seem at polar opposites in mainstream discourse, the reality is that they are actually singing from the same hymn sheet when it comes to Hindus. The denigration of Hindu civilisation and culture to which the western world owes so much is enacted with the standard neocolonialist and racist mindset which [...]

For many people, the main concern in a yoga class is whether they are breathing correctly or their legs are aligned. But for others, there are lingering doubts about whether they should be there at all, or whether they are betraying their religion.Farida Hamza, a Muslim woman living in the US (pictured above), had been [...]

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 [...]