Krishnadeva Raya was generous to his people and patronized arts and letters. He was very much concerned about the welfare of the people and undertook regular tours of the empire to get first hand information. Read the rest of this entry »
The portrait was unveiled by the then Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament), Dr. Bal Ram Jakhar, in 1989.
When any second generation Indian youth thinks of the Indian Independence movement, the first name that usually enters his or her mind is Mahatma Gandhi. Even though we know that the efforts of many others like Nehru, Tilak, and Aurobindo did not go without acknowledgement, there is still a very skewed perception of the freedom fighters during this time. In the endeavor to overthrow the British Raj, many common people transformed into leaders to undertake the challenge of regaining India’s independence. One such person was Birsa Munda, a humble tribal leader who played a massive role in the movement. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is a narration of how one of the foremost warriors of the world fell into a state of worry and doubt, but was guided by his guru to follow his Dharma.
The air was charged with devotion. Tuka says, “Let my tongue ever sing your glory.” So saying, Santha Tukarama sang the glory of Vitthala. The audience was spell bound. Lust was frightened and fled from the place. Her sister Greed felt scorched and followed her soon. Their brother-in-law, Worry, and his wife, Fear, were themselves enveloped with fear of their sustenance, and they also followed suit. Such was the discourse of Tukaram Maharaj.
A personification of shakti (strength) and bhakti (devotion), Draupadi was one of the bravest and strongest characters in the Mahabharat. Despite being both born and wed into powerful royal families, Draupadi went through countless hardships. She nevertheless emerged victorious and will always be remembered as a valiant woman who stood for the protection of Dharma. Read the rest of this entry »
Jnaneshwari is the commentary on Bhagavad Gita written by the Marathi saint and mystical poet Jnanadeva. The commentary on Bhagavad Gita has been praised not only for its scholarly excellence, but also for its aesthetic value. He has explained the Gita not by recourse to rational arguments but by the profuse use of similes, metaphors and illustrations. In Jnaneshwari, he calls the Gita the literary image of Lord Krishna.
Kautilya, also known as Chanakya or Vishnugupta was born in 300 B.C. He was a philosopher and statesman who wrote a classic treatise on polity known as Arthashastra. It is compilation of almost everything that had been written in India up to his time on the science of Artha, or material prosperity, which is one of the four goals of human life. The means of subsistence according to Kautilya is primarily wealth and secondarily earth. Read the rest of this entry »
Sai Baba has dominated the world scene for half-a-century as a great Saint. Sathya Sai Baba asserts that he is an avatar of God in whom all names and forms ascribed by man to God are manifest. He also says that everybody else is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others have yet to realize it. He stresses humans should always be free from desires and states that desires bring mental pain (depression, anger, jealousy etc).
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of the most respected spiritual and political leaders of our century. He was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. After studying law in London, he returned to India in 1891 to practice. In 1893 he accepted a one year contract to do legal work in South Africa. At the time South Africa was controlled by the British. When he attempted to claim his rights as a British subject he was abused, and soon saw that all Indians suffered similar treatment. Gandhi stayed in South Africa for 21 years working to secure rights for Indian people. He developed a method of direct social action based upon the principles courage, nonviolence and truth called Satyagraha. Read the rest of this entry »
Power of Thoughts
We are what we think we are. The habitual inclination of our thoughts determines our talents and abilities, and our personality. Thus, some think they are writers or artists, industrious or lazy, and so on. What if you want to be something other than what you presently think you are? You may argue that others have been born with the special talent you lack but desire to have. This is true. But they had to cultivate the habit of that ability some time — if not in this life, then in a previous one. So whatever you want to be, start to develop that pattern now. You can instill any trend in your consciousness right now, provided you inject a strong thought in your mind; then your actions and whole being will obey that thought. So wrote Paramhansa Yogananda. Read the rest of this entry »
Alexander, Ashoka and Akbar are the three celebrities enjoying the title of ‘the great’ for right, wrong or no reasons. While the first one was a cruel invader and the second one a clear native, the third one was a hybrid. (He tried to be more of a native but belonged to lineage of invaders.) All three have made contributions to history that have impacted the lives of ordinary Indians and continue to produce social aftershocks even today. But it is definitely warranted to search for more “greats,” and even the greatest, from our history. I find no better candidate than Bhakta Prahlad to be appointed as the greatest. Read the rest of this entry »
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