Tattva

During this time of the year, Hindus worldwide observe the festival of Rakhi, or Raksha Bandhan, literally meaning “bond of protection” between brothers and sisters.  To mark this occasion, in Hindu families the sister blesses her brother by tying a holy thread on his wrist.  In return, the brother gives a gift to his sister and vows to protect her. Raksha Bandhan is celebrated on the Shravan Purnima day; this year, it was on August 28, 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

 A young college student is feverishly roaming around at Mumbai railway station. Reason? Simple enough—he has missed the train to his hometown in the state of Haryana. If he does not catch the next train which is in about half an hour, he will have to miss the marriage of one of his closest friends. What is the problem then? Why doesn’t he catch the next train? Before going any further, let us give him a name – Sidhartha. Read the rest of this entry »

 Shaanthi, meaning “peace”, is a natural state of being. Disturbances  are created either by others or us. For example, peace already exists in a place until someone makes noise. Therefore, peace underlies all our agitations. When agitations end, peace is naturally experienced  since it was already there. Where there is peace, there is happiness. Therefore, everyone without exception desires peace in their lives. However, peace within or without seems very hard to attain because it is covered by our own agitations. A rare few manage to remain peaceful within even in the midst of external agitation and troubles. To invoke peace, we chant prayers. By chanting prayers, troubles end and peace  is experienced internally, irrespective of the external disturbances.  All such prayers end by chanting Shaanti thrice. Read the rest of this entry »

 “India was trampled over, fought over. Now are people beginning to understand that there has been a great vandalizing of India. The movement is now from below. It has to be dealt with. It is not enough to abuse these youths or use that fashionable word from Europe, ‘fascism’. There is a big, historical development going on in India. What is happening in India is a new historical awakening. Indian intellectuals, who want to be secure in their liberal beliefs, may not understand what is going on. But every other Indian knows precisely what is happening: deep down he knows that a larger response is emerging even if at times this response appears in his eyes to be threatening.”

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (1932 - ), better known as V. S. Naipaul, is a writer of Indo-Trinidadian descent. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001 and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.  

 Our cultural motherland celebrated its 60th, ‘diamond’ year of independence this month. The past 60 years have quite possibly been the most tumultuous in our many-millennia-old history, with India rising from the status of the biggest jewel in the Colonial crown to being acknowledged on the world stage as a superpower in her own right. The rest of the world has much to thank India for: her material, intellectual and spiritual riches, all of which have benefited the world, not just her people alone. Read the rest of this entry »

When asked to think of scientifically advanced civilizations, most people think of Greece, Rome, and Europe. However, amazing scientific discoveries were also made in India thousands of years ago. In this article, we will explore some of the contributions that ancient India made in various fields of science. Read the rest of this entry »