Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College Although it originated as a Christian holiday in honor of St. Valentine, Valentine’s Day has become a global celebration of romantic love, observed by people of many religions and of no religion. Other religions have long had their own myths centered on love. I have observed, in my work as…
Study of Self Makes quite a sense
Sufi poet and philosopher Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) says: “Parh parh alim fazil hoya, kadey apnay aap nun parhya he nai.” Translation and meaning: A person becomes knowledgeable or a scholar by endless reading and studying vast volumes of books, but he might not have ever read his inner self. Bulleh Shah’s marked observation sounds like…
Seeking Evolution In Religions:
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…
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…
