dharma

(Speech given at the Dharma Civilization Foundation’s Strategic Retreat, SVYASA, Jigani/Bengaluru, 5-7 February 2015) A knife is sharpened by shaving away all the superfluous material that makes it dull. A sharp knife is a live case of “less is more”: less material means more sharpness. At an action-oriented “strategic retreat”, our knife should be sharpened [...]

Constitution Constitution is meant to define a state that protects the nation. It should understand the characteristic features of the nation and define the state in a way the interests of nation are best served. On the contrary our constitution tries to define how the nation should be. Instead of defining a state that protects [...]

An excellent interaction between an American 'white' Hindu responding to accusations of Hindu fundamentalism in a very interesting debate. [...]

Vrindavan: President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said as India makes a “transformative change” from being a developing to a developed nation, it must reconnect to its spiritual past. Speaking at the Chandrodaya temple being established by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) here, Mukherjee said India was one of the oldest and culturally rich [...]

The Great Vibration of Eternity, the Evolutionary Force that spins through all creation, the Primordial Power that ripples through all of existence, in every given moment of time, while working secretly in the soul of every aspiring man, is none other than the Great Mother- the Adi Shakti - who fashions the worlds and the [...]

I would like to discuss briefly my ideas on the English terms like religion, faith and culture and Indic terms like dharma, sanatana dharma, vaidika dharma etc. and also touch upon what we should call ourselves. Different cultures have had different experiences which have conditioned them in different ways, and thus the categories they create [...]

The Hindu tradition emphasises Dharma and Rta; to live in harmony with cosmic order by being aware of one’s karma. It is ideas like this which the western mind cannot grasp, denouncing it as nebulous and illusory. One of the common criticisms is that Indian spiritual traditions denounce this world as Maya or illusion. But [...]

Like the unique Vedanta philosophy, the ancient yet vibrant Sanskrit language, the all-encompassing system of Yoga, Indian music is yet another exercise of the Indian mind in its path of exploration into the mysteries of Nature and of Ultimate Truth. The word Bharata (India) – which is condensed out of the musical expression Bhava, Raga [...]

In evolving standards of conduct and shaping values, we have to take into consideration the variety and complexity of human life and nature. The Dharma, at once religious law of action and deepest law of our nature, is not, as in the Western idea, a creed, cult or ideal inspiring an ethical and social rule; [...]

कालो वा कारणं राज्ञोराजा वा कालकारणं |इति ते संशयो माभूद राजा कालस्य कारणं || म० भा० श० प० This shlok is sutra to understand a basic question i.e. do historical condition create the character of state, or does the character of the state create historical conditions? Time, is not the force that governs human affairs, [...]