hinduism

An octogenarian engineer-turned-sadhu has staked his life once again to stop the damming of the holy river Environmental engineer and former IIT-Kanpur professor-turned-sadhu, Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (formerly GD Agrawal), 81, has not eaten anything for three-and- a-half months. By the time this article will be published, it will be 107 days since he started [...]

For several years now I have identified myself as a believer in Sanatan Dharma. Sometimes I feel comfortable referring to myself as a Hindu, and yet other times I feel quite uncomfortable. I’ll explain why shortly. Embracing the Hindu philosophy has been quite simple for me really. The moment I began reading The Upanishads something [...]

London: Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri has issued his first specific guidelines for jihad, urging restraint in attacking other Muslim sects and non-Muslims and in starting conflicts in countries where jihadis might find a safe base to promote their ideas. The document, published by the SITE monitoring service, provides a rare look at al-Qaida’s strategy 12 [...]

Today casteism is rampant. It is a new phenomenon. Old India had castes but not casteism. In its present form, casteism is a construct of colonial period, a product of imperial policies and colonial scholarship. It was strengthened by the breast-beating of our own “reformers”. Today, it has acquired its own momentum and vested interests. [...]

If you suddenly found yourself in Germany in the early 1930s, knew what was going to happen in a few short years, and had a chance to prevent it, would you? Even if you were not certain that you could stop it, would you at least try? Adolf Hitler and his Nazis are gone, but [...]

‘I have great reverence for India’s heritage and culture and I am deeply rooted in it’s rich tradition. Once while working for The Times of India, I had the opportunity to witness a quiz contest on Doordarshan (Indian State Run TV). There I saw that the participants could answer questions on Greek mythology but could [...]

 Over a century ago, the great sage Sri Aurobindo wrote an article called “The UnHindu Spirit of Caste Rigidity” (available here). His ideas for striking at the very root of the caste problem are valid even today, and need to be taken up with more urgency that in the past. To secure its future, Hindu [...]

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on idol worship, music, art and ethics in Bollywood and politics. [...]

A devotee of Hanuman was once driving a cartload of grain to the market. On the way, one wheel got stuck and the cart could not be drawn forward. The cart slanted too, and a few bags fell on the ground. The devotee sat on the cart and started praying to Hanuman. He completed chanting [...]

Four Hindu temples in the Batticaloa District were ransacked and damaged by unidentified persons back in June The well-crafted sculptures and other idols at the temples were vandalized and jewellery and money were looted, sources said. The vandalized temples are Sri Sellakathirgamar Temple, Maangadu Pillaiyar Temple, Kirankulam Iyanaar Temple and Pandiruppu Draupathai Amman Temple. According [...]