Rituals, customs, and traditions provide a bulk of false identity to a religion. If these are detached from all the religions, then we can see fundamentals of moral and righteous teachings are the same in each of them. Pathways to divinity are infused with words of morality and ethics, principles, and noble deeds. While overly…
Author: Promod Puri
MY VISION OF A HAPPY NEW YEAR
The moment clock’s second hits midnight and the year 2022 departs, we step into welcoming 2023. Two images flash; one switches off, and the other switches on. That reflects two storylines: an imprint of the old one, while the history begins with the new one. Do we spot any change around our lives between circa…
BHAGAT KABIR OPTED FOR HELL
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…
DALIT IS NOT A DEROGATORY WORD BUT OFFERS IDENTITY
DALIT IS NOT A DEROGATORY WORD BUT OFFERS IDENTITY Is Dalit a derogatory word to describe a class of people who do not belong to the four Brahminic castes? Officially, these people belong to the term Scheduled Castes. But at its roots is a distinct identity of the millions of lower-caste Indians oppressed through the…
SEEKING WORLD PEACE THRU DEMOLITION OF BORDERS AND DEATH OF COUNTRIES
I begin this essay with words of wisdom and sanity taken from ancient Hindu scriptures and a Tamil poem written 2500 years ago. 1. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: meaning the world is one family (Maha Upanishad.) 2. Yathum Oore Yavarum Kelir: meaning every place is my home town; everyone is my kith and kin (poet Kanian Poongundranar.)…
SWAMI AGNIVESH: A PROGRESSIVE HINDU CRUSADER
By Promod Puri Not all Hindus belong to the BJP, nor does BJP represent Hinduism in its spiritual sense. It is with these thoughts I remember saffron-clad Swami Agnivesh, who fought for social justice on his Hindu turf instead under the Hindutva ideology of the BJP. Swami Agnivesh, 81, who died September 11, 2020, in…