Sūrya Namaskāra: Ancient Practice or Modern Invention? Controversy, Textual Evidence
Editor’s Note: The author is currently working on a two-part book series, entitled “The Ancient Roots of Sūrya Namaskāra and Vinyāsa-based Yoga”, where he would expand the themes covered in the current More...
Who is a Guru?
The Sanskrit word Guru is often mistranslated as a ‘teacher’. Teacher in Sanskrit is called as Shikshak. A teacher is someone who informs and educates us. A teacher is supposed to ensure that we learn to read, More...
A brief study of possession in Hinduism-II: The Spiritual Context
[contextly_sidebar id=”JJfzmWQUKhdNCtXJr0s5A2odKlfpfRP4″] Japanese scholar of Sanskrit and Buddhist literature, Minoru Hara, in his study of the Mahabharata lists nearly sixty semantic contexts in which More...
Book Review: Harivamsha, translated by Dr. Bibek Debroy
The Harivamsha is the final, final part of the Mahabharata. Not quite a part of itihaasa – which the Mahabharata and Ramayana are – nor quite a Purana, the Harivamsha nonetheless gets by being called More...
Understanding Karma through probability
I have long been fascinated by the idea of karma. The notion itself is just built on simple empiricism (that of causality), but once you accept a single metaphysical prior – that of rebirth and the quest for More...
Understanding Manu Smriti-II: Nature of Women
[contextly_sidebar id=”bFY94ELPCPD9ygDP0qiPvYFvallTWcHC”] In the previous article, we saw how one of the most touted verse from Manu Smriti, which is used to as ultimate evidence for Manu Smriti being More...
Meaning of India in Words of Raja Rao: Brief Life Sketch of a Novelist as Sadhaka
On the occasion of 108th anniversary of Raja Rao, one of India’s most illustrious English language writer, IndiaFacts presents “Meaning of India” in his words, written by his wife Susan Raja Rao. Raja More...
For the Love of Nature
This excerpt has been taken from Indian Culture and India’s Future, DK Printworld, New Delhi, 2011 A strongly marked aspect of that culture, and one that offers a rich field of investigation, is India’s ancient More...
Purvapaksa & Uttarapaksa: An illustration from Ādi Śaṅkara’s Gita Bhashyam
Prologue Bharatiyas appear to have regained their familiarity with the terms pūrvapakṣa and uttarapakṣa but I don’t think many of them would be aware of what was actually involved in this process. More...
A brief study of possession in Hinduism-I: Introduction
The English word possession and spirits when taken together have come to indicate a certain unfriendly, disturbing, yet exotic area of life whose detailed knowledge, though scanty or rare, is nevertheless peppered More...