When he fell terminally ill, Kabir decided to shift from Benares to Maghiyar, against the wishes of his followers. It was believed in those days (and even now) that if one dies in Benares, one goes straight to heaven, whereas death in Maghiyar leads straight to hell! Kabir’s disdain for religious hypocrisy and religious beliefs…
THE AUTHENTICITY OF SELF REVEALS WHO WE REALLY ARE
This is one of those pieces of mine that reads quietly but stays loudly in the mind. 18th-century Sufi poet and philosopher Baba Bulleh Shah placed self-knowledge far above scholarly accumulation. He warned that one could drown in books, and still remain a stranger to oneself: Parh parh alam te faazil hoyaTe kaday apnay aap…
REASON AND RELIGION
My reading today involves Maimonides, a 12th-century Jewish theologian, philosopher, rabbi, and physician. Maimonides’ full name was Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon These are some excerpts and my understanding of Maimonides’ philosophy: 1. Faith must be based on reason, and reason should have some base in faith.] 2. Reason is the only way to make sense…
2025: Another Year of Cementing Words (With a Smile)
As 2025 slips quietly into history, it leaves behind another satisfying year of relentless typing, enthusiastic pondering, and happily overworked fingers. It’s been a super year of writing, sprinting across territories as varied as politics, social issues, religion, environment, entertainment, sports, health, humour—and the occasional philosophical detour where answers are optional but questions are mandatory….
MORAL SHORTCUT LEADS TO SILENT EROSION OF ETHICS
I recall that, years ago, when I undertook a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine in India, I obtained a special permit to have my ‘darshan’ of the deity. The privilege obtained through personal ‘connection’ enabled me to bypass the miles-long queue of devotees behind me, who had been waiting for hours. Contrary to my pious…
SIGNIFICANCE OF THOUGHT
“Thoughts become words, words become behaviour, behaviour becomes habits, habits become values, and values lead to destiny.”— Mahatma Gandhi In the creation of words, behaviour, habits, values, and ultimately destiny, everything begins with a thought. If destiny is the consequence of thought, then thought itself is shaped by our feelings, attitudes, knowledge, and experiences. These…
MORAL SHORTCUTS: THE SILENT EROSION OF ETHICS
Most of us like to believe, most of the time, that we are reasonably ethical in our dealings with society and honest enough in our dealings with ourselves. We carry an inner certificate of good conduct, rarely examined, and often renewed automatically. Yet there are moments, under pressure, convenience, fear, ambition, or sheer fatigue, when…
Does Everything Have Consciousness—Or Only Us? Promod PuriDecember 2, 2025HinduismEdit”Does Everything Have Consciousness—Or Only Us?” Post navigation Previous What is the difference between you and me, and a spoon, a table, a stone, or any object or thing? All are physical matters. But we have consciousness; others don’t. Or maybe they have it, which we don’t assume….
WHAT CAUSES OUR BEHAVIOUR AND DIFFERENCES OF OPINION?
Our mood, nature, style, and behaviour shape how we understand and interact with our family, friends, situations, and the society around us. A significant part of this comes from our physiology—the biology that underlies how the body works. This includes the physical and chemical processes, hormone activity, and brain functions that influence our level of…
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