Current affairs, spirituality, heritage & lifestyle.
If we observe ourselves we can see that all day long there is background chatter in the mind. It may be the repetition of some song we have heard on the radio, it may be a rehashing of some experience we have just had, an insult or argument for example, or a consideration of what […]
It was earlier this month that Penguin India made the decision to stop publishing and recall copies of a book titled The Hindus: An Alternative History, by controversial American writer Wendy Doniger, in response to a petition lodged by a complainant in an Indian court. This is not a “banning” of the book in India […]
Note: this article was written in the context of Hindus living in the UK, although it has wide relevance to Hindus in all communities. As time goes by, we are seeing more mandirs being built in Britain. These tend to be larger, fancier and costlier than the earlier ones – reflecting increased affluence and resolve on the […]
Most Hindus living in a predominantly English speaking environment have an urge at one point in their lives to learn about Hinduism. Sometimes the curiosity arises from a genuine desire for guidance in life. In other cases the urge to look into Hinduism comes from a particular incident – for example being asked questions that […]
This article was originally published in the online journal ‘Sword of Truth’. Further information on the subject can be found in the author’s book, of the same title. Dr. N. S. Rajaram is an author and mathematician, based in the USA, where he formerly worked for the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), in the fields […]
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 Dhritirashtra to Yudhisthir prior to the outbreak of the Great War. The message was along the lines of: “Dear Yudhisthir. You are righteous, but my sons are foolish and stubborn. You […]
My first recollections of Diwali in distant childhood are of immense joy: fireworks, diwas, nice food, presents, time-off school, spending time with friends and relatives, and a general feeling of happiness. How can anyone not grow up loving such a festival? This greatest of festivals is a time when we take a step back from […]
It is that time of the year where Hindus start preparations for celebrating Navaratri, the joyous festival of nine nights, which is dedicated to the Divine Mother Durga. Virtually every Hindu community in the world celebrates Navratri. The major story associated with Navratri is the battle between the great Goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura, […]
It is very heartening to find Dalits becoming religiously self-sufficient within the Hindu fold, and developing learned priests within their own community.. But let us not be complacent. Let us destroy any vestige of birth based Varna, so that it is nothing more than a bad memory within 20 years. There is nowhere in the […]
In the last of this three-part series, Rajesh Vaghela recounts the challenge of trying to re-orient his life in a positive direction after a previous life of intoxication, violence and petty crime. To access part-one and part-two, click on the highlighted text. Having messed up big time on my A-levels, I wasn’t sure what to do next. My […]
I remember a talk by Shri Pandurang Shastri Athavale, in which he was simultaneously joking and lamenting the weak and selfish way that many people who should know better conduct their lives. One comment that really struck me is as follows: People sometimes ask me “When will Kali Yuga end?” I tell them “How can […]
In the second part of this series, Rajesh Vaghela recounts his experiences as a wayward young Hindu trying to grow up out of what he describes as ‘a life of vice’. Click here to access part-one. Most of the time, being drunk promotes stupid behaviour. But there are exceptions. Sometimes you end up having the deepest and […]
In the first of this three-part series, Rajesh Vaghela recounts his experiences as a wayward young Hindu growing up in the UK. His account describes a social and intellectual phenomenon in the life of young Hindus, which is shared by many. As such, his is an important story to tell. Word had got around that […]
The post-World War II era saw the dramatic end of colonialism across the world. The first and most devastating blow to colonialism was the freedom of India. Overnight, the second most populous nation in the world, accounting for over 1/6th of the world’s population, achieved freedom. Despite the sad events that accompanied India’s Independence, the […]
Most of my early knowledge about Hinduism came through a movement called Swadhyaya. Although in the past few years I have ceased to be an active part of the movement, I am extremely grateful for having received an amazing and practical appreciation of my cultural and spiritual heritage. What I learnt at Swadhyaya was mostly […]
In childhood years, many Hindu children nowadays are introduced to Hindu sacred stories through the medium of comic books, such as Amar Chitra Katha. These provide a colourful, entertaining and valuable rendering of ancient stories from texts called the Puranas, and most kids read them with great enthusiasm, forming many people’s introduction to the world […]
On 22 June, 602 Christians reconverted to Hinduism in the Indian state of Odisha. The event was organised by the ‘Hindu Jagran Samukhya,’ and took place in the presence of the Shankaracharya of Puri, who blessed the reconverted persons and delivered a speech on basic principles of the Hindu religion. The reconverted persons included 207 […]
For a long time, ‘tolerance’ was spoken of as a characteristic feature of Hinduism. Even people who otherwise strongly disagreed with Hinduism still managed to praise the fact that Hinduism had a benign, harmless tolerance. But in recent years the image of Hinduism and of Hindu society has changed quite drastically. Media coverage of the […]
Dr Koenraad Elst is a noted Belgian scholar and writer, specialising in coverage of Hindu contemporary issues, Indian history and comparative philosophy. He has authored at least 20 books, including the monumental ‘Decolonising the Hindu Mind’ and ‘Saffron Swastika: the Notion of Hindu Fascism’. What first made you interested in India? Its funny, Muslims never ask people who […]
“I consider everyone a Hindu until they say they are not” Swami Dayananda Saraswati (not to be confused with the 19th century founder of the Arya Samaj) is a well-known Swami of the Advaita-Vedanta tradition. Being highly articulate in several languages, including English, he has been able to reach out to hundreds of thousands of […]
Hindu Perspective 