Archive for September, 2005 |
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Published in First City, Delhi, August 2005
Most Indians believe that one should not read the Mahabharata inside one’s house. But one can read the Ramayana. Reading the former invites strife, the latter brings harmony. This belief is a kind of `imitative magic’: the ability of stories, symbols and rituals to influence the surroundings. Like creates [...]
Compared to the images, stories of Ardhanareshwara are relatively rare. Below are a few retellings:
· In the beginning, a lotus bloomed. In it sat Brahma. On becoming conscious, he realized he was alone. Lonely, frightened, he wondered how he could create another being to give him company. Suddenly a vision flashed before his eyes. He [...]
Speaking Tree, Time of India, 15th February, 1999
Why is Shiva-ratri one of the few Hindu festivals to be celebrated in the not-so-auspicious dark half of the lunar cycle? Why is it celebrated just as winter draws to a close? These are questions to which “real” answers may never be known. However, one can always [...]
Speaking Tree, Times of India, 24th October 1998 "How do you worship the lord?" asked the master. "By renouncing the world and fixing my mind on Him," replied the first student. "By appreciating worldly beauty and bounty," replied the second. The master smiled and embraced the second student for he had understood the [...]
[Speaking Tree, 23 Nov 1998]
Some leaders of our country believe that schools should begin their day with prayers to Saraswati, goddess of knowledge. Why not with a hymn to Lakshmi? After all, isn't wealth and power the motivation for parents to send their children to school? In universities, medical schools, engineering colleges, management institutes, [...]
Adam and Eve ate the Fruit of Knowledge and learnt how to differentiate good from bad. They began ‘judging’ God’s creation. They became conscious of their nakedness and covered themselves. They became mortals, destined to toil until the day they died. This story of the Original Sin has profoundly influenced Judeo-Christian traditions. Taken metaphorically, the [...]
