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Why Science & Religion May Not be Adversaries
Are science and religion necessarily competitors or can they be complimentary? Author of 3 popular books on Indian mythology and a doctor by profession, Dr Vineet Aggarwal shares his thoughts on the topic. Indeed when one studies the ancient scriptures deeply, one is often astounded by the scientific knowledge one finds.
Conscious Conflict (and what Barbarika saw at Kurukshetra)
If we really want to learn from the Gita, then we need to understand that it has chosen to put before us that basest of human actions, violence, so that we really get the point about acting in yoga. If we really want to extract from the Gita, a wisdom we don’t ordinarily find in the world, we should ask – how can a war be fought without hatred?
Krishna & Holi, Light & Colours
There is something within us that whispers, ‘choose me’. It is the voice of Light that has the potential to burst into a rainbow of colours. As we come upon Holi, the festival of colours, we also usher in the first month of the Hindu new year, Chaitra. The eve of Holi, Holika Dahan, is marked by a large bonfire where we surrender the past within us to the Light, to make way for the new. This is always a conscious choice, just as weeds grow wantonly but a flower needs deliberate planting.
The Alchemy of Suffering and Freedom
In this artful piece, Shruti Bakshi and Subhash Kak contemplate the alchemy programmed into the game of life where suffering must be turned into freedom. The story of the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan) is used as a metaphor to understand the existential meaning of the suffering inherent life.
A Quest Called Life
Guest contributor Ashay Gupta shares his existential musings about the meaning of life and the search for one’s true self. All seekers can resonate with the questions about ‘what really is true’ and ‘who am I’?
Be original, truly
Reflecting on what got me into exploring spirituality, one important aspect was not being able to take as a given, most ‘conventional wisdom’ doing the rounds. You know the witty poster quotations and the inspirational one-liners or often two-word-ers like ‘love yourself’, ‘be original’, yada, yada. Instead of readily accepting these exhortations, I wanted to know why? And moreover, I was a little annoyed at having to take advice from other people in the sense of, why don’t I know these things myself? This kind of questioning led me into a deeper understanding of human life and purpose.
In this post, I want to discuss one of the flighty aphorisms that many of us have grown up with and which, perhaps as in my case, makes you think of a sports-wear advertisement : ‘be original’. But instead of taking its casual, up-front meaning, I want to explore a more spiritual dimension.