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Showing posts from March, 2015

Kunal Singh: On Shiva and Yoga

Regarding Shiva and Rudra, the Rudras within the Bhradranyak are treated as organs of the human body and Daksha when he defies Shiva during his yagna says in the Puranic lore that his own philosophic system has Rudras.  So the concept of Rudra may have been represented in several schools of thought differently.  At one time it may have been mapped to one deity and at another time to another deity, the concept can continue to exist.  The Vedas don't mention many deities by name but that doesn't mean that they didn't exist.  For example Viswamitra has verses attributed to him in the Vedas, and by his time the asura Bali had been defeated, but we find no mention of it in the Vedas.  Viswamitra himself was said to have slaughtered many deities and was given his first role as a priest by the Shaivite deity of Kartikeya.  So at least by Viswamitra's time it can be ascertained that the Shaivite deities did exist.  Interestingly this was the time period of kings like Viswamitra

Kunal Singh: On Vedic vs Western cosmology

The difference between Hinduism and western science is primarily in the western science's inability to separate itself from the human perspective.  They all talk about the universe's creation in "sensory" terms, in terms of its changing dimensions.  In Hinduism, the universe starts from the "hiranyagarbha" (infinitesimally small womb or egg). There are no senses at this point, therefore there is no concept of dimension or form or even time and that is the essence of the term "hiranyagarbha", not that it is "physically small".  That then splits in two, representing the concept of polarity.  Brahma was said to have problems with creation, regarding how to proceed and cause things to "move" and Vishnu, the expert with cycles and the wielder of chakras, helped him by splitting the egg in two and permeating it with animation. Basically the concept of polarity enables a cycle with two phases, just as in an electric circuit.  Once you

Kunal Singh: On Vedic vs Puranic dieties

ALRIGHT!  IT'S TIME FOR LENGTHY PURANIC HISTORY! (The contents can be confirmed from many Puranas including the Skanda) Actually, the logic regarding the statement that Rama, Krishna, or Kali are Dravidian deities IS flawed! Hinduism of Bharat is a synthesis of ideas, including that of Indra and yogic ascetics and various tribes including those of the north-east.  That Persia has only the counterpart of Indra, means very little, as that would only signify the lack of evolution of the deity. The notion of Indra has essentially evolved due to its interaction with yogis whose numbers are considerable still in the Himalayan regions.  Whether you consider yoga to be Dravidian or North Eastern or Tribal is irrelevant.  The fact remains that the deities thus produced cannot be deemed solely Dravidian nor Persian.  The earliest mentions of Indra as the supreme God by the Vedas apparently predate Indra being challenged by the various Asuras of the north-east. Indra's life in the Gangeti

John Adams, Savarkar,Vivekananda and Chetan Bhagat

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    The original title of this post was John Adams, Savarkar, Vivekananda and 3 Idiots(the film based on Chetan Bhagat's book) but I was concerned that some irate readers may misinterpret that I was referring to the aforementioned esteemed individuals as the 3 idiots in question. Unlike a certain blogger I try to avoid click bait incendiary titles. As what these gentleman have in common, well please read on. I saw 3 Idiots with my parents when it had released in 2009 . Watching it with your parents was interesting experience as I was subject to the same pressure of most other Indian middle class kids ie major in engineering, get an MBA and find a good job abroad. In my case I was bit a goof off in college especially as an undergrad in America(so many distractions..)so I while I was smart enough for engineering I wasn't quite disciplined. And if you are not disciplined you aren't going nowhere in engineering no matter how smart you are. Ultimately I

Kunal Singh: What is Hinduism?

Hinduism is not concerned with relative opinions of 'goodness' which varies from person to person, but the absolute truth described by the structure and relationships of its various deities.  Any cursory reading of the Upanisads will make it clear that the greatest emphasis in Hinduism is on performing penance to acquire the Brahman.  Most people so far have had trouble on the definition of 'penance' and the meaning of the acquisition of Brahman or even a minor deity in Hinduism.  However, if you search the Vedas and the associated Upanisads, you will find that Hinduism describes the universe as comprising of the three-fold realm: the heaven, the middle, and the earthly.  So for the manifest world for every deity there is a heavenly realm, thus the planets and their association with Hindu deities.  Then there is the intermediate realm, thus the seasons, the external elements and their association with the deities etc.  Then there is the inner real

Axis propaganda leaflets targeted towards Indians

I found this very interesting site which contains a rich collection of mostly Japanese propaganda as well as some indigenous efforts working in cahoots with Axis towards the goal of removing British rule from India , mostly in Hindi,Urdu,Punjabi,English and Bengali.As well as interesting commentary on the same by and Indian and Western authors. A fascinating glimpse into India during wartime.

Chanakya and Krishna as management consultants

I found this humorous write up more than 10 years ago online. The website which carried it indiawww.com is now defunct but let us honor their memory by enjoying one of their greatest hits. CHANAKYA is India's third most famous management consultant. The most worshipped is Krishna because he was also a philosopher. He guided Pandava Trust Ltd., which was a garage enterprise of five brothers, for 14 years and had no venture capital support. Krishna produced a superb report and saw that it was implemented. He led Pandava Trust to global success. Krishna was also history's only online management consultant; he was always in touch with reality wherever it happened. . The second famous consultant was Krishna's rival in the Mahabharata war for market supremacy, Shakuni. He guided Kaurava Pvt Ltd, a family enterprise that had grown into a large corporate and feudal empire. Kauravas not only refused to subcontract to the Pandava start-up, but also had the enterprise evicted. Sha