One of the most outstanding and contemplating icons of Hinduism is the worship of murtis (idols). The Divine Spirit is perceived in an image. In this perceptive role murtis are an integral part of Hindu institutions and traditions. In its colorful and expressive craftsmanship, a murti is an adorable symbol of identity in Hindu…

  DIWALI MUBARAK is my choice of greetings on the happy occasion of Diwali, the universal festival of lights. In the picture Canada’s  prime minister Justin Trudeau lighting the traditional Diwali lamp along with India’s High Commissioner Vikas Swarup and members of the Indo-Canadian community in Ottawa October 16, 2017.  The prime minister in his…

For the first time in the history, the Travancore Devaswom (temple) recruitment board has recommended to appoint 36 non-Brahmins, including six Dalits, as priests. The Travancore Devaswom Board came into existence in 1949 and the demand for reservation for Dalits in appointment of priests has been persisting for several decades. Travancore Devaswom Board is an autonomous…

ZERO BREAKTHROUGH: “When researchers at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries recently took one of their ancient documents for carbon dating, they made a breakthrough discovery. The Indian “Bakhshali manuscript” containing the first known recorded use of the “0” symbol actually dates back to the 3rd or 4th century, making it — and the modern…

The Hindu god Ganesha. Anant Nath Sharma, CC BY-NC-ND Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College A recent ad from the meat industry in Australia, seeking to promote lamb as a food that people from a wide range of religious backgrounds can consume, has given offense to many Hindus in Australia and internationally. In Australia, the ad…

Originally posted on The Wolfe Review:
Radhakrishnan starts off by confronting the classic question of what Hinduism actually is. This, he does not answer directly, for a very good reason: Hinduism isn’t an internally recognized word, but a name given to the sub-continent of India by outsiders. Later, it was recognized by Hindus as being…

(Excerpts form Hinduism Beyond Rituals,Customs And Traditions) Hinduism is an academy of sciences. It finds its dwelling in the realm of metaphysics besides accepting the environment of physical realities where most sciences reside. That is what distinguishes the ancient Indian sciences that these go beyond the empirical confines to explore and analyze the spiritual realities…