By Sunil Kumar न हि ज्ञानेन सदृशं पवित्रमिह विद्यते । तत्स्वयं योगसंसिद्धः कालेनात्मनि विन्दति ॥ ४-३८॥ (Bhagavad Gita) There certainly is no purifier in the world like knowledge. Who is himself/herself perfected in Yoga(divinity) finds it due course of time. The Upanishads and Indian philosophy often refer to the lower Apara Vidya(the finite world of
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar “Revenge is not always better, but neither is forgiveness, learn to know them both son, so there is no problem”” – Draupadi in the Mahabharata, quoting Prahlada The epics are the creative fount of the Indian mindscape, a fact that is so obvious that repeating it sounds cliched. Scholars throughout the world
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar My review: A slim, curated volume of maxims gleaned from different parvas of the Mahabharata, the book is another glimpse into the vast canvas of what is arguably ancient India’s greatest epic. Indeed it would not be hyperbole to repeat what is mentioned within the epic itself- loosely translated as ‘What is
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar My review of the book ‘Veer Savarkar- The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’ by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit. अथ चेतत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि | तत: स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि || 33|| – Bhagavad Gita-2.33 If, however, you refuse to fight this righteous war, abandoning your social duty and
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar ‘Do your duty and shape your destiny. That is the secret of life. You hold the reins of destiny in your own hands’– Lord Krishna to the Pandavas. There is nothing that exemplifies the genius of ancient India more than the epics. They are the bedrock of Sanatana Culture and the Indosphere. The
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar I would once again like to express my gratitude to the Indic Book Club and the Indic Book Academy for another fabulous book. Finally finished reading ‘Venkatesa Suprabhatam’ by Shri Venkatesh Parthasarathy. At first glance, one would be tempted to dismiss the idea of a book based solely on a devotional prayer.
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar Vrikodara means a person who has a voracious or ravenous appetite. It is also used to indicate wolf-bellied, imagine a person with a hungry wolf in his stomach. It is a compound Sanskrit word, consisting of the terms vrka and udara, literally a person who has a generous gluttonous fire in his
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar Love, compassion and the renunciate’s way. The marketing gimmickry of Valentine’s Day ended yesterday; and for once I got a flower and a chocolate. But picking on one of my favorite subjects these days; my valentine for this week; Gautama Buddha. SeatedBuddhaGandhara2ndCentury (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Mountains; streams and stillness. Universal compassion is
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar Need to key this in Latin/English script; Jeevan Ki Madhushala By Sunil Kumar Duniya ke daldal mein panv rakha mainein! Majhi mil gaya; karvan banta gaya! Sarsarati garmi; thand ka aseem kahar, aur jvalamukhi jaisi tapti hui aag! Gubbare jaise phulta aur pichakta hua aham ghatnakram sitaron ki akaash ganga jaisa vishal
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