By Sunil Kumar(Originally answered on Quora) Giving an answer to your question would be reaching far back into hoary antiquity, when the concept of modern nation-states was not there, and the world was in a fluid civilizational construct. For example, the history of what is now China would be limited to a very small
Read MoreBy 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 “Silence is worse, all truths that are kept silent become poisonous” – Friedrich Nietzche , Thus Spake Zarathustra O Bhagavan, Oh Khodai! Reading ‘The Magicians of Mazda’ by Ashwin Sanghi is a rip-roaring deep dive into history and many truths that have been long buried by the sands of time. The ‘Bawa'(Parsi)
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter” – Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe Johar, Namaskar- We have heard these words on the national forum from our first tribal president, who now resides in Rashtrapati Bhavan which merely a century ago was the Viceroy’s
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar My book review- ‘Pahadi’ Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing – Barry Finlay By far the thinnest book I have received thus far from Indica Books, ‘Pahadi’ was nevertheless an entertaining read. Written by a 16-year old Arjun Ganesh, the book offers a short and succinct glimpse
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 My review of ‘Rivers of Rgveda-A Geographic Exploration’ by Jijith Nadamuri Ravi. The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.’- Albert Einstein Rivers of Rgveda: A Geographic Exploration is a fascinating insight into the hoary mysteries of India’s glorious past that is shrouded by time
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar From Sambhashana Sandesha- Feb 2022. Editorial on the nationalist historian Dharmapal प्रतिभावतां ख्याति: लोके सर्वत्र प्रसरति इति तु सहज: विषय: । क्वचित् प्रतिभाहीना: अपि विभिन्नै: कारणै: ख्यातिं प्राप्नुवन्ति । पुन: क्वचित् प्रतिभायां सत्यामपि केचन ख्यातित: वञ्चिता: भवन्ति । येषां विशेषख्याति: न जाता तादृशेषु अन्यतम: अस्ति मान्य: धर्मपालवर्य: । (१९.०२.१९२२ – २४.१०.२००६) अद्यत्वे
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