KOLKATA: Nandini Bhowmik dons several hats – a mother, a professor and a drama artist. But the most important hat which she wears in the patriarchal societal order is that of a priest. She is the first woman Hindu priest in West Bengal. A Sanskrit professor at the Jadavpur University, Bhowmik has undertaken a unique…

  Vasudha Narayanan, University of Florida This week marks the death anniversary of Mahesh Yogi, the Indian guru who brought transcendental meditation to the West in the sixties and became a spiritual teacher to The Beatles, comedian Jerry Seinfeld and countless other celebrities. Today, the legacy of the Maharashi, as he was popularly known, is…

Injured people are evacuated from the scene of a militant attack on a mosque in northern Sinai, Egypt on Nov. 24, 2017. Associated Press Peter Gottschalk, Wesleyan University The origins of the word “Sufi” come from an Arabic term for wool (suf). It references the unrefined wool clothes long worn by ancient west Asian ascetics…

The personified God is worshipped as the centralized controlling authority influencing every moment of our lives. Moreover, the symbolic undertaking of God creates the fear factor that He is a punishing Being if not believed in His existence. This fear is one reason for His adoration and ceremonial development. One can experience His eternal spirit…

  Rituals, customs, and traditions provide bulk and mostly 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. Many…

By Purva Grover Khaleej Times, Dubai As a child, I didn’t know that my maternal grandpa was a scholar. He was a doctor — I knew that — from the black nameplate that hung outside the door — Dr Krishan Dhavan. But what kind of doctor, I was unsure of. Doctors wear stethoscopes, right? He…

Pexels, CC BY Emily Thomas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy,  Durham University Mountains. Whales. The distant stars. All these things exist in space, and so do we. Our bodies take up a certain amount of space. When we walk to work, we are moving through space. But what is space? Is it even an actual, physical entity? In…

    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…