Remembering Swami Vivekananda – 150 years on

Many years ago a young penniless man with barely a possession in the world sailed out to the West, armed only with the intense desire that the spiritual wisdom of his motherland should be known and respected throughout the world. He was the first Hindu in the modern age to travel to the West and […]

Why a Hindu temple is NOT like a Soho phone booth

(originally written September 2006) (17/03/2013 – image removed, as this page was being blocked from some search engines browsers for being “adult content”) Recently, an article in The Times (a supposedly quality newspaper), carried a story provocatively titled ‘Why is a Hindu temple like a Soho phone box? Must I draw you a picture?’ The article was […]

Not so Intelligent: Intelligent Life Magazine

(Originally published in Hindu Voice UK – July 2009) “Intelligent Life” (?!) Recently I received a copy of “Intelligent Life” (Spring 2009 Edition), a quarterly lifestyle magazine from The Economist Group. As its name suggests, the makers of the magazine fancy it to be a particularly intelligent magazine! The Economist Group of publications is a […]

Are Hindu widows meant to burn themselves in husbands’ funeral pyre?

“Why is it that Hindu women have to burn themselves when their husbands die?” This question was relayed to the Hindu speaker at an event in Brighton University. The speaker smiled and asked the largely Hindu audience if they had actually heard of any woman amongst their family or friends who had burnt herself when […]