Why do we celebrate New Year eve? Or our anniversaries? Why do we “celebrate” festivals? More particularly, what does celebration mean and is there a certain way an ideal “celebration” needs to be undertaken? There is a certain “routine” one may ascribe to an anniversary celebration also as undertaken by normal people (receive wishes from … Continue reading Why/ how should we celebrate a New Year or an Anniversary or a birthday?

Abraham Maslow, in his hierarchy of needs, puts self-respect as the fourth highest need and self-realization as the highest need. Or to use the language of शक्ति traditions, to move up from lower चक्र like मूलाधार, अनाहत, etc to the highest viz सहस्रार चक्र is the goal of the tradition. What exactly is our true … Continue reading From self-respect to self-realization (using Dharma lens)

Apologies in advance but this blog will get a little personal (which I usually avoid but given that I am sharing “my” idea of fitness, I am including some personal elements) I am personally not sure if I have the पात्रता or qualification to talk on the topic of mental fitness . I am not … Continue reading Understanding fitness – my personal perspective using धर्म lens

In the past few decades, the word “career” has assumed a lot of importance. On the other hand focus of our शास्त्र is on स्वधर्म . This blog takes up these two words and explores the right course of action that we may adopt for our own life. What does “career” mean? The Cambridge English dictionary … Continue reading Swadharma (स्वधर्म) and career

अध्यात्म texts prescribe norms of conduct necessary to attain the primary goal of अध्यात्म viz मोक्ष or freedom or pursuit of Highest Reality. Texts like the श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता  पतंजलि योगसूत्र, etc do contain the list of such behavioural qualities that one needs to adopt. The beauty is that such qualities are useful not just in pursuit … Continue reading Attributes for attaining सिद्धि or success as per a few Hindu texts

Under inspiration from a specific set of मंत्र within the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, a question and answer style has been used to understand the meaning of love. The dialogue has been kept simple for conveying the idea of love from a day to day perspective. The relevant extract from the Upanishad is shared below at the … Continue reading Why do we love another? What is the basis for love?

To attain सिद्धि is the primary drive for all. No matter what we do or when we do anything, we are always keen to gain सिद्धि. Without the drive for सिद्धि, there is no value in pursuing anything at all. So what are the ingredients to attain सिद्धि? Can one who has intelligence attain सिद्धि … Continue reading Success (सिद्धि), Intelligence & Objectivity (वैराग्य & विवेक) and Outcome (कर्मफल)

What is morality? A dictionary definition defines morality as principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Morality is a particular system of values and principles of conduct. So the question that comes up is - Do norms of morality have a purpose? Why should we be moral? Is being … Continue reading Morality and Purpose

Are all religions same? Do all religions lead us to the same goal? These lines are given as a Vedic world-view and people quote the famous verse from the Rigveda एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति which suggests that "there is One Truth while the Wise refer to this by various names". But while we can appreciate … Continue reading Are all Religions same or taking us to the same goal?

  Given below are links to a talk by Nitin Sridhar giving a Dharmic view on female menstruation - I found the video useful and hence sharing. https://youtu.be/YFpVu3e-N9A   https://youtu.be/dCbOWPw98ZM          

We are often told – “Change is a way of life” or “Persons who is risk averse is taking the highest risk” or “Seek new horizons and do not box yourself into a limited personality or “Visit new places and people regularly”, and so on. All the newspapers, articles, Whatsapp forwards, etc goad us to … Continue reading What to change and what not to change

One of the questions that one comes across often from kids is – If God exists, how come there is so much bad in this world? One can understand kids asking this question since kids are usually told by parents that if they behave well, God will reward them and if they behave badly, God is … Continue reading IS GOD GOOD?

I do not believe in God. Good for you Do you believe in God? What do you mean by God? God is someone who creates the world, is it not? If this is the definition of God, then I also am not inclined towards such a God But you call yourself a religious person? Yes … Continue reading Dialogue between an Adhyatmic and a Sceptic

Since independence, our country may have done well on various aspects but somehow these achievements do not elate us. To give an extreme view, there is no “our” left in the country – our education, our society, our ideals, our goals, our consumer products, our lifestyle, etc has become the “other” especially in a rapid … Continue reading New Ideas on Governance

Recently, a close friend came to me expressing surprise that one of this acquaintances who has been categorized as “bad and unfriendly” went out of his way to help my friend in a certain difficult situation. This event put doubts in the mind of my friend – whether this acquaintance was really a good guy … Continue reading Dharma – the Golden Mean

All of you would be aware of the raging debate in India in Dec 2013 about the recent Supreme Court judgement in relation to Section 377. This forum had also debated on the topic of homosexuality but I do not recollect this reaching to any firm conclusion. There are numerous articles being written almost daily … Continue reading Social Segregation – A possible solution to some of the current debates?