Why fasting is beneficial
By Ravi Trehan At the superficial level, vrat means observing fast. But its deeper meaning is ‘a firm resolve’. In order to achieve anything, it is important to resolve firmly and have a burning...
View ArticleCome back, the only way out is in
By Thich Nhat Hanh As teachers, our mission is not just to transmit knowledge, but to help create a worthy, beautiful human race, in order to take care of our precious planet. We know that...
View ArticleThe spirit of inquiry
By Yoga Vasishta Sage Vasishta: O Rama, remain unattached, endowed with the spirit of renunciation and with the realisation that whatever you do or experience is an offering to the omnipresent being,...
View ArticleThe Albert Camus way: Triumph in tragedy
By P Ram Mohan The recent epidemic of reported suicides, is cause for concern. How to prevent it? First, there needs to be greater awareness of the issue. Albert Camus’s philosophical essay, ‘The Myth...
View ArticleMother Goddess
By Asha Goswami The concept of mother goddess signifying female divinity as primeval energy in the universe is much popular all over India. The belief suggests that besides male deities representing...
View ArticleDurga Puja and evolution of human spirituality
By M N Kundu The human mind being finite, cannot conceive the abstract idea of infinite Brahmn, the non-dual one without a second. Ancient sages therefore contemplated suitable symbols for progressive...
View ArticlePlant trees, or plants
By Thich Nhat Hanh I entrust myself to Earth; Earth entrusts herself to me. I entrust myself to Buddha; Buddha entrusts herself to me. To plant a seed or a seedling is to entrust it...
View ArticleSelf-inspection is key to inner transformation
By Jayant B Dave Self-analysis is indispensable for attaining success in one’s professional and spiritual lives, as it touches upon virtually all spiritual practices. Swami Sivananda laid great...
View ArticleWhy creation is real
By Yoga Vasistha Prince Rama: O sage, even as the cities that we see during our dream are unreal, the world is the dream of Brahma, the creator; is it not, in fact, unreal and...
View ArticleA short, glorious life or a long, mediocre one?
By Devdutt Pattanaik In the Greek epic, Iliad, which is based on the Trojan War, the hero, Achilles, seeks a short but glorious life, which accounts for his wild and stubborn spirit. My way, or...
View ArticleGoddess of wealth
By Suresh Padmanabhan Mahalakshmi or Sridevi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Ancients who depicted energy in appealing forms, created images of gods and goddesses to portray its various...
View ArticleAum as the primordial, effulgent, Divine Mother
By Sharda Batra The awareness of a human being passes through various modes of consciousness. The Mandukya Upanishad is a short exposition on layers of consciousness and their relationship to the...
View ArticleEnrich your inner life
By Ezekiel Isaac Malekar In Hebrew, the word for life is ‘Chayim’, because each of us live two separate lives. We lead an outer and an inner life. It is not enough to have an...
View ArticleAn anguished voice from the Valley
By Raj K Dhar It is a poignant irony that the Kashmir Valley, long known as the Rishivaer or Garden of Rishis, has been in the throes of terrorist violence for so long, now. Though...
View ArticleThe sound of one hand
By AMA SAMY The master of Kennin temple was Mokurai, Silent Thunder. He had a little protege named Toyo who was only 12 years old. Toyo saw the older disciples visit the master’s room each...
View ArticleThe Symbolism in Lakshmana Rekha
By Madan Mohan Mathur A crucial episode in the Ramayana is Ravana’s abduction of Sita when she crosses the Lakshmana Rekha, the line drawn by Lakshmana with his arrow, around their cottage in the...
View ArticleDevi as the Asura slayer
Mahishasura was wily and cunning. After an extremely difficult penance, he had received many boons. One of them was that no god or human could ever destroy him.
View ArticleMy name is Durga, I live on that hill
By Kiran Dhar A bangle-seller, old and grey To a village small, did find his way. He was thin, his face was lined. The basket on his head was piled With glass bangles of all...
View ArticleOf Lakshmi & Saraswati
By Devdutt Pattanaik We have grown up being told Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, and Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, avoid staying in the same place. This is based on the observation that rich businessmen...
View ArticleShakta, Shaivite & Vaishnavite come together
By Anna N Subramanian The worship of Devi in Sri Chakra is set forth by Adi Shankara in his ‘Prapanchasara’ and ‘Saundaryalahari’, and this form of worship occupies a high place in the traditions of...
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