By Malathy Krishnan We call someone our ‘Guru’ when they impart knowledge to us. The word ‘Guru’ also means ‘one who dispels darkness or removes ignorance’. We cannot see in darkness. Ignorance being lack of knowledge is compared to darkness and the one who dispels darkness is called a ‘Guru’. However to me, the meaning of […]
Inquiry Into Vedanta: prArabdhA and Free Will
By Malathy Krishnan A few questions remain unanswered for many of us. Can we get answers for every question we have? We do get answers to some at some point in our life though some remain unanswered till the last breath we take. ‘Destiny is one such aspect on which questions kept occurring to me […]
From Sadhakra to Siddha
I would like to briefly discuss the path of a mumukSu leading his way up to mokSa with the firm assimilation of Self knowledge (aham sat chit ananda svarupa? sarva antaryAmi chit AkAsha rUpa? asmi iti draDha niSchaya ). This is a summary for quick recollection for those who have already studied an introductory text- […]
Science, Vedanta and Free-will
(CHAKRA Blogs) I am sharing some of my thoughts on Science, vedAnta and free-will. I will be looking at these ideas through the Vedic lens, incorporating them into our present scientific understanding. Science does not ‘define’ fundamentals, it ‘describes’ phenomenons and interactions. Science helps us see connections and make material sense of this jagat by coming […]
My Acharya, Pujya Swami Dayanand Saraswati
hariH Om. 66 years ago, Bharat (is said to have) gained Independence from the invaders, though i am yet to understand what exactly we gained freedom from. Yes, the colonizers are physically distant, but they left behind a colonial mindset that plagues us even today, and with greater ferocity with each passing year. I will […]
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 […]
Why Hinduism? Why Bhagavad Gita?
By Vishnu Prakash Nangath (CHAKRA) Simple. Because Hinduism is not a religion; Bhagavad Gita is not a religious scripture. When we say “religion” here, we mean what it means today, and what the world knows by that term – a set of rules and guidelines that must be followed to enter heaven; a piece of […]
Waking vs Dreaming – Dissertation on the Illusoriness of the World
By Vishnu Prakash (CHAKRA) This is extracted from second chapter [Vaitathya prakaraNa] of Shri GauDapAda’s kArikA converted into a question answer format. Point of discussion: Analysis of Waking and Dreaming states. Q: How do you say that waking state is similar to dream state? A: You can’t accept the similarity because you have never compared them. As […]
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 […]
Musings on AtmA
By Smita Agrawala (CHAKRA) There are two things in the world, the Atma or the Self which is real, and the body which is unreal (though as we will eventually see, the AtmA alone is the substratum upon which the entire world is based, and there is no duality on the absolute level). Both of these […]