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 “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 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 ‘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 My review: मया ततमिदं सर्वं जगदव्यक्तमूर्तिना | मत्स्थानि सर्वभूतानि न चाहं तेष्ववस्थित: – Bhagavad Gita (9.4) This entire cosmic manifestation is pervaded by Me in My unmanifest form. All living beings dwell in Me, but I do not dwell in them. One of the many nuggets of wisdom of the divine
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar “Are ye Serfs or are ye Freemen, Ye that grovel in the shade? In your own hands rest the issues! By themselves are nations made!’- Old Man’s Hope= A.O Hume- Founder of the Indian National Congress(1885) addressing the enslaved nation. In the 21st year of the 21st century, the ‘freemen’ stand at
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar My review, ‘Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes,
Read MoreBy Sunil Kumar Dharma: Decoding The Epics For A Meaningful Life by Amish Tripathi and Bhavna Roy is the third book I’m reviewing. Coming as a set of two with the delectable ‘Venkatesa Suprabhatam’ sent to me, I was intrigued and slightly excited by the title. Having met Amish once in Mumbai, his enthusiasm and
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
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