Tattva

Orissa in the Crossfire-Kandhamal Burning provides many vital details related to the Hindu-Christian violence that has swept Orissa’s Kandhamal district. The book also highlights the history of Orissa and its tribes. While many have familiarized themselves with the propaganda that has fictionalized the events surrounding the Kandhamal crisis, few have had access to the facts. The true history of Kandhamal and the struggles of its people deserve a fair hearing in the court of public opinion. Is the Kandha religion sinister or sacred? Are they bloodthirsty savages or a people of a noble and ancient heritage? Can the tribes people of Kandhamal rise up out of their undeserved shame and be seen for who they really are? Long labeled as ‘a cruel human sacrificing tribe of ruthless savages’ it is time the truth be revealed. It is time for the world to learn about the Kandha ‘God of Light’ and their Culture of Life.

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“Rajneesh” Chandra Mohan Jain, aka Osho, was one of the most influential spiritual personalities of the 20th century. Some consider him to be enlightened and some a charlatan, but one thing is for sure, Osho was unique. He was undeniably a great orator and, with a background in teaching philosophy, a great scholar. His unconventional nuggets of wisdom may appeal or repel listeners but they sure do shake you up. I have been listening to his discourses on the Bhagavad Gita for a while and I want to share some of my thoughts with you. Read the rest of this entry »

Book: Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence, by Stephen Knapp 

This book is a must read. It reveals how distorted our concept of reality is. Growing up in the United States and being of Indian and Hindu heritage, I often wondered what we had done as a people and what many of the stories like the Bhagavad-Gita really meant. Were many of the Hindu scriptures and stories real or just myth? Well to answer that question if you looked to published history you would have found nothing very helpful because European/Christian history does not go back more than 2500 years. In fact, much of the history dating back further than this period was purposefully deleted by other more newly founded religions to serve their own purposes. So, the only way to find the truth is to find what evidence is left of the true history which once existed.  Read the rest of this entry »

Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously, by Osho 

Osho is one of the best known and most provocative spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. More than a decade after his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand. We will take a look at his second best selling book, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously, the best selling being The Book of Secrets. Osho’s style is undoubtedly unique. He can be direct, shocking, rational, beautiful and mesmerizing at the same time. His style is in stark contrast to Yogananda’s sublime, beautiful speech in Autobiography of a Yogi. Here is an extract from the foreword: “I would like to make you more insecure, more uncertain– because that’s how life is, that’s how God is. When there is more insecurity and more danger, the only way to respond to it is by awareness. There are two possibilities. Either you close your eyes and become dogmatic, become a Christian, or a Hindu or a Mohammedan. Then you become like an ostrich. It doesn’t change life; it simply closes your eyes. It simply makes you stupid, it simply makes you unintelligent. In your unintelligence you feel secure - all idiots feel secure. In fact, only idiots feel secure. A real man will always feel insecure.”  Read the rest of this entry »

 Arthashastra, written by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), is an ancient treatise dealing with the governance of a country. Chanakya was a very learned scholar at the Takshashila University (an ancient Hindu university, located in present-day Pakistan) and the acharya of Chandragupta Maurya. He had mastery over political science, economics, accounting, and governance, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Maurya dynasty. Apart from Arthashastra, Kautilya wrote several other books such as Chanakya-Sutras (Rules of Science) and Chanakya-Rajanitisastra (Science of Government Policies).

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 The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable about Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny, by Robin Sharma 

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Swami Vivekananda was one of Bharat’s most influential spiritual leaders and thankfully for us a prolific writer. In his book Raja Yoga he gives a very rational and inspiring explanation of what is also known as Ashtanga Yoga. Below is an excerpt from his book where he explains the concept of Prana, which is central to what separates Yoga from contortionism.  Read the rest of this entry »

For long it has been believed that non-vegetarian food is a necessity for athletes to enhance their performance to the highest possible limit. However, I recently came across a book which presents strong arguments to the contrary. The book in question is ‘Capoeira Conditioning’ by Gerard Taylor.  Read the rest of this entry »

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This article is a review of the book ‘Relevance of Kautilya for Today: Dr K.S. Narayanacharya’ By M.V. Kamath.

One of the saddest aspects of our educational system today is the near total neglect of our ancient history and the deliberate disconnect with our thinkers and philosophers. It is as if our “secular” scholars are ashamed of their own past. Vedic mathematics is laughed at. If authentic claims are made that such concepts as gravitation and the value of pi were common knowledge centuries ago eyebrows are raised. Kalidas, Panini, Bhasa, Bana, Varahamihira and Bhartrahari remain faint memories.

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