Text-centred writing on Sanskrit literature and classical shastra.
Vidyadhar Naipaul—the Nobel laureate and sharp Hindu thinker—says that when a house catches fire, one has to step outside to extinguish it. To see just how intense the fire in the house is, one must step outside, because by remaining inside, you cannot see the intensity of the fire...
18 October 2026 · 4 min read
Just a few days ago, I read Howard Fast’s book *The Naked God: The Writer and The Communist Party*. Fast had started writing at the age of 17 and continued writing until the end of his life. In all, he wrote 80 books. He remained an active member of the Communist Party of America from 1943 to 1956, but
18 October 2026 · 6 min read
Most opponents of Eastern cultures have held the belief that the *somarasa* (sacred juice of the Soma plant) drunk by the Vedic *rishis* (sages) was alcohol. Bachchan's father, the elder Bachchan Sahib, has even penned an entire poem around this vile line of thinking: "Our ancestors drank Soma and *sura* (spirituous liquor), we call it *hala* (wine), What they called *dronakalash* (wooden Soma-vessel), today is that very same exquisite *madhughat* (wine-jar), the altar..."
18 October 2026 · 7 min read
Shraddha (rites for the ancestors) is a symbol of true devotion towards one's forebears. That rite which is performed methodically with devotion for the sake of the pitrus is precisely what is called 'shraddha'. According to Hindu dharma, it is our duty to offer salutations to our parents and ancestors at the beginning of every auspicious act. Our ancestors
18 October 2026 · 4 min read
"लयनात इति लिंगमुच्यते" (That into which all dissolves is called the *linga*)—that in which the entire creation dissolves is the *linga* (aniconic emblem of Shiva); that is, that which remains after the entire universe dissolves, namely the *brahmapadartha* (ultimate substance of Brahman). In the entire Shaiva (pertaining to Shiva) world, Paramatman (Supreme Soul) Shankara is worshipped in the form of the *linga*. First, let us understand in broad terms what Shaivas are—roughly speaking, Shaiva means regarding Shiva alone as the complete Paramatman...
18 October 2026 · 5 min read
Where does the jiva (individual soul) go after death? A detailed description of this is found in the Chandogya Upanishad of the Tandya Mahabrahmana of the Samaveda. Three gatis (post-mortem paths) of the jiva are described there, among which we shall discuss the movement towards Chandraloka (realm of the Moon), in which...
17 October 2026 · 8 min read
Some scholars hold the view that there are 12 sites for Kumbh (sacred pilgrimage gathering), not 4, and these scholars are striving to initiate Kumbh-melas at these remaining 8 sites. In this movement, Swami Chidatman Ji Maharaj, founder of the Akhil Bharatiya Sarvamangala Adhyatma Yoga Vidyapeeth, Simariaghat (Begusarai, Bihar), is the most prominent...
17 October 2026 · 9 min read
In Hindu Dharma, based on Vedanta thought, there are five major Vedic sampradayas (traditions). 1) The "Shankara-sampradaya", based on the "Advaita" (non-dualism) doctrine of Shrimad Adi Shankaracharya. 2) The "Shri Sampradaya", based on the "Vishishtadvaita" (qualified non-dualism) doctrine of Shrimad Ramanujacharya. It was within the Shri Sampradaya itself that Shrimad Ramanandacharya emerged, and Shri Sam...
17 October 2026 · 7 min read
British-American historian and poet Robert Conquest (15 July 1917 – 3 August 2015) wrote an important book, *The Great Terror: A Reassessment*, on the nearly 15 to 20 million murders committed by Stalin in the Soviet Union. This book was published in 1968, whose re-
15 October 2026 · 12 min read
There are many Hindus who wish to know and understand Sanatan Dharma, or what we call Hindu Dharma, in its true and authentic form, but in the absence of guidance, they are unable to reach the right destination. It is both the unique characteristic and the difficulty of Hindu Dharma that, just as in other faiths, such as the Quran in Islam, and in Christianity
1 September 2026 · 5 min read
Valmiki had enough described about every question we probably can have and dealt them with great detail. People who talk without even looking into what has actually happened, criticize Rama and get away from Sita's mercy. Let’s not be a part of that mob and try to spread wisdom t
17 April 2020 · 9 min read
Swarajya recently published an article written by its senior editor on the issue of students of BHU protesting against the appointment of a Muslim faculty Firoz Khan. The protesting students were calling bigots who are threat to Dharma which rests on pluralism and assimilation. I
24 November 2019 · 3 min read
During the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar in 2010, a young Frenchman exclaimed, “Oh, it must have been so different than” when he came to know that I was in 1986 at the Kumbh Mela already. “No, it was not”, I realized. It was very much the same. It may have been the same for centuries. H
22 October 2019 · 3 min read
It is no secret why the British replaced the indigenous education system and Sanskrit gurukuls with English education. They wanted to create a class of Indians who think like the British and in this way weaken India. Sanskrit culture und Vedic knowledge was the backbone of Indian
22 October 2019 · 10 min read
When I was in high school in Germany, I had a recurring phantasy. I imagined that some fine day the anchor in the news broadcast announces that science has found proof that God exists. This was at a time when doubts started creeping in whether it was true what I had believed so s
22 October 2019 · 26 min read
Yes, and it is even natural. One only needs to deeply reflect on what is meant by the Almighty. If somebody grew up as a Christian or Muslim, he needs, however, to get rid of some notions about the Almighty which can never be proven and are in all likelihood not true – for exampl
22 October 2019 · 5 min read
During the release of my book “Thank you India” at the Dehradun Litfest last November, I met Hemant Kumar and his wife Monica. Meanwhile, he read the book and sent me his review. It is very well written. I post it here: A German, stops over in India on her journey to Australia ge
22 October 2019 · 7 min read
Disclaimer : Take this article in a sarcastic note. The hard science which often posits itself superior to the much more humane social science can never come up with the fact that science being an activity of the broader boundary of the society is essentially in the domain of soc
16 September 2019 · 3 min read
When I tell someone I am a doctor most people automatically assume I would have nothing to do with religion. I have had that thrown at me so many times that its not even funny anymore! The perception that people into science are not into religion and vice versa is quite widesprea
23 February 2019 · 4 min read
Don't freak out, yet! RSS or VHP didn't publish it nor did the BJP. This is an article published on the website of the Department of Surgery, Columbia University. Yes, you read that department right, not some School of Indic studies or Department of Islamic studies. Article title
9 January 2019 · 3 min read
This article is an extract from Two Cheers, for Democracy (1936). by E.M. Forster . E. M. Forster (born 1879) was a novelist and critic whose literary output has been limited in amount but is of very high quality. Of his novels, the best known are Howard’s End (1910) and A Passag
9 January 2019 · 14 min read
Please don't dig the Sanatan Dharma/ Hinduism deep, actually, no one is interested to understand Ayyappa swami, the Sabarimalai and the issue in breaking the trust and the relationship we are living with our Devatas. No one is interested and would certainly ra
5 January 2019 · 4 min read
Background Rajiv Malhotra recently conducted an interview with present Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the last part of which was released earlier this week. When enquired about government stance of freeing Hindu temples from state control, Piyush Goyal imperiously put the blame o
27 November 2018 · 4 min read
CEO of Twitter was recently found posing with a placard saying 'Smash Brahminical Patriarchy', which later generated the criticism from Hindus, and an apology will be the logical culmination of the entire episode, but how the CEO of Twitter posed with such a placard is the produc
23 November 2018 · 3 min read