Events of recent years have left many people in the West equating “business-as-usual” with bad karma. The Wall Street crash of ‘08, the bursting of the housing bubble, and the deaths of over 100 employees in a fire Bangladeshi factory (used by Walmart among others) in 2013, are just a few events that have made […]
Where Do Vedas Originate From?
This article was in reply to a question asked by a seeker, regarding the origins of the Vedas. (CHAKRA) Person XYZ asked: “Are Vedas God’s creation?” Now let us analyze this in detail by looking at each word. ‘VEDAS’… What does one mean by Veda? The word ‘Ved comes from the root ‘vid’, which means […]
How Culture of Ancient India Differs from the Rest
(CHAKRA) Like any other country, the culture of India too is derived from her ancient history, more appropriately called the history of ‘bhAratha’. This culture or tradition is the result of a quest for “cause” unlike the quest for “effect” in most other cultures. This is evident if we take any field of interest, from […]
Religious Harmony Conference in Canada Represents Dharmic Religions
(Toronto, Ontario) As the world debates the religious protests across the Middle East, Canada is hosting a historic conference on religious harmony under the auspices of the Honorable Paul Hellyer, Deputy PM to Canada’s most iconic leader Pierre Trudeau and featuring Hanne Strong, Organizer of the UN’s Millennium World Peace Summit and wife of Under […]
Why ‘Secularism’ is a Forced Ideal for India
(CHAKRA) The Western faiths have always catered to a difference in Science, Government and Religion; especially the latter two, wherein each tries to supercede the other. This struggle of power led to the rise of a concept called ‘Secularism’. Classically speaking, secularism, in plain words, was a separation of Church and State, where both entities aimed to […]
Dharma and Religion – A Rejoinder
By Karthik Vaidhinathan (CHAKRA) Thank you all for your appreciation and valuable comments regarding my previous write-up What is our “Religion” ? What is “Dharma” ? There were a few objections raised and a few questions posed, and I will attempt to answer them from my perspective through the current write-up. Objection 1 – I am defining […]
What is our “Religion” ? What is “Dharma” ?
By Karthik Vaidhinathan (CHAKRA) I would like to discuss briefly my ideas on the English terms like religion, faith and culture and Indic terms like dharma, sanatana dharma, vaidika dharma etc. and also touch upon what we should call ourselves. Different cultures have had different experiences which have conditioned them in different ways, and thus the categories […]
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan on Hinduism and Caste
By OP Sudrania Caste or Class Systems versus India in Global Perspective – CHAPTER SEVEN Chapter Seven – Section A (CHAKRA) Dr. S. Radhakrishnan who does not need any introduction; late President of India and an unparalleled daunting philosopher, teacher and academician has suggested the value of religion in the society in his lectures compiled in the […]
Global Epic on Karma to Benefit World’s First Museum of Buddhism and Yoga
By Dorje Lama (CHAKRA) Albert Einstein famously dubbed Buddhism ‘the religion of the future’ and several studies show Buddhism to be the fastest growing religion among Westerners all over the world. In addition, the PEW Forum has found that a 65% majority of Americans subscribe to Dharmic practices like yoga, meditation, karma and the number continues […]
Picture of the Week: Wheel of Dharma
Wheel of Dharma or Life, also known as Dharma Chakra is a symbol that has represented dharma, the Buddha’s teaching of the path to enlightenment, since the early period of Indian Buddhism. A similar symbol is also in used in Jainism and the Dharmic faiths. It is one of the Ashtamangala symbols.The Dharma Chakra symbol […]