Category: Weblog
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A Portrait of the Hindus
Recently, while browsing the shelves of Strand Book Store, one title caught my attention: A Portrait of the Hindus: Balthazar Solvyns & the European Image of India 1760-1824 by Robert L Hardgrave. Published by the Oxford University Press, the 568 page book measures 9×12, with 287 halftone and 78 color illustrations. In the following days…
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The Ornaments of a Sadhu
titikshavah karunikah suhridah sarva-dehinam ajata-satravah santah sadhavah sadhu-bhushanah The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime. (The Vishnu avatar Kapiladeva to his mother Devahuti, Srimad-bhagavatam 3.25.21) There is…
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Paryaya Observed in Udupi
Last Friday, (January, 18), marked the observance of Paryaya in the temple town of Udupi in south India. Over 700 years ago Shri Madhvacharya, the chief proponent of the Tattvavada or Dwaita school of Vedanta and one of the important philosophers of the bhakti movement, established the Ashta-Mathas (eight monasteries) of Udupi. The heads of…
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More Thoughts on Ritual
I want to continue the conversation about ritual with Michael and Kaustubha (link 1, link 2). The basic idea which is being discussed seems to be that in bhakti, the purpose of religious ritual is fully realized. Without the spirit of devotion and, as Michael stressed, the proper mindfulness about the purpose of ritual, it…
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From Kulashekhara’s Mukunda-Mala-Stotra
Michael Bühler-Rose’s recent post, explaining ritual as a means to heighten spiritual mindfulness, reminded me of the following verse. In his Mukunda-Mala-Stotra (A Garland of Verses in Praise of Vishnu/Krishna) Kulashekhara Alvar derides observances and practices of sadhana performed in forgetfulness of Lord Narayan. Kulashekhara was the tenth of twelve Alvars, South India’s mystic poets…
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Meditation as Sacrifice
Translations from the Svetasvatara Upanisad and the Bhagavad-gita
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NAMARUPA #7
A short announcement: NAMARUPA magazine issue number 7 was recently released. For those unfamiliar, NAMARUPA, Categories of Indian Thought is a bi-yearly, beautifully produced magazine covering Indian philosophy and culture. In each issue, co-producers Robert Moses and Eddie Stern bring together a collection of deeply engaging articles along with exceptional art and photography.
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Morning Rituals: Waking
A Brief Description of a Ritual of Waking Within the Bhakti Tradition In order to understand ritual, one must understand context. Within the Vedantic tradition of presentation there are three underlying principles: sambandha, the subject’s relationship to the object, abhidheya, the activity, and prayojana, or goal. A achieves C through B.
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“A Person is Made of Desire”
A Translation of Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.5-6 (Madhyandina Recension)
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Unhappily Ever After
Now in Bookstores: The Post-Apocalypse World Recent bestsellers on life after Armageddon point to a growing paranoia: humanity may not be capable of managing its own survival. In her book Oryx and Crake, Booker Prize-winner Margaret Atwood tells a cautionary tale about a near-future time when the world has become a wasteland due to genetic…