This poem by Pornima Rajkarne traces the relationship shared by the author with Bhakti, one of the important paths of Adhyatma. She weaves together her personal experiences, fieldwork insights, and the academic discourse of Bhakti in this piece.
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Why Are We This Way? A Guide to Rediscovering Hindu Shastras
Why do Hindus think differently about knowledge, duty, worship, time and existence? Why Are We This Way: A Guide to Hindu Shastras approaches these questions through the vast knowledge traditions of Sanatana Dharma. Rather than treating Hinduism as a collection of rituals or beliefs, the book introduces readers to the interconnected Shastric ecosystem underlying them. Its accessible treatment of complex traditions makes it particularly relevant to a generation increasingly disconnected from its scriptural inheritance. This review examines the book as a roadmap towards recovering that intellectual and civilizational memory.

Decolonizing IKS (“Indian Knowledge Systems”)
Delivered by Prof. Prakash Shah on behalf of Prof. Vamsee Juluri at the panel "Decolonisation, Public Discourse and IKS" during the IKSHA Conference at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, this thought-provoking talk argues that decolonisation cannot be reduced to merely replacing Western knowledge with Indian knowledge. It challenges the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) movement to examine its own assumptions and recover the spiritual foundations of Bharatiya knowledge. The talk ultimately asks whether true decolonisation is possible if Bhagawan is removed from the centre of the civilizational worldview.

Scholarship and Sacred Truth
Can a civilization survive if all its sacred truths are judged solely by external academic standards? This essay argues that while historical inquiry has its place, Hindu Dharma must remain rooted in its own sacred framework of shraddha, sampradaya, and parampara. A living tradition cannot endure if its foundational beliefs are endlessly relativized. History may study a civilization from the outside, but only its sacred truths sustain it from within.

Rāmo Vigrahavān Dharmaḥ: The Sixteen Lakṣaṇas as a Complete Condition-Set of Dharma
What does it truly mean to call Rāma "Vigrahavān Dharmaḥ" - the embodiment of Dharma? Drawing on the opening verses of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, this essay argues that the sixteen lakṣaṇas are not merely admirable virtues but a complete and indispensable condition-set for the embodiment of Dharma. Through a rigorous śāstric analysis of pramāṇa, lakṣaṇa, and embodiment, it presents a compelling philosophical framework that reveals why Rāma is not simply a follower of Dharma, but its fullest living manifestation.
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Yoga and Human Evolution
"In each Kaliyuga mankind gains something in essential spirituality. Whether we take the modern scientific or the ancient Hindu standpoint the progress of humanity is a fact. The wheel of Brahma rotates forever but it does not turn in the same place; its rotations carry it forward".
Christian Missionaries on Caste
Caste in Hindu society is synonymous and inextricably intertwined with Hindu religious customs, traditions, and Dharma and hence forms a natural bulwark against Christian missions.
Effects of Colonization on Indian Thought – Part 2
This Indian genius has now begun to percolate back to the West, where it inspires new approaches, deeper thoughts, though not yet the transforming Shakti. Perhaps the tide of colonialism will be reversed, after all.
Layers of Reality
How Sri Aurobindo's interpretation of Vedanta encourages the life-enriching element of spirituality for both the ascetic and materialist in order to raise universal consciousness.
Vishnu Sharma’s Panchatantra
The fables of the Panchatantra have had an immense influence over world culture, with over 200 translations showcasing India's unique outlook towards life.
Updated facts about the Ram Temple at Ayodhya
A review of the facts pertaining to the Ram Janmabhumi case makes it clear that the construction of the temple is the only viable solution to the dispute.
What is culture?
In Indian culture, spirituality permeates life; spirituality is the pivot around which all other activities revolve.
On Secularism And Its Adoption By The Indian State
Indian courts today are actively employing a method, created by the Christians and for the Christians, in matters related to Hinduism.
Communal Echoes in ‘Secular’ Discourse : Tropes and Themes in Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘Secular’ Rants
In the next essay of the series of articles on minority-progressive celebrities, Sriram Chellapilla dissects Naseeruddin Shah’s polemics to expose a familiar pattern in India’s “secular” discourse: the distortion of arguments, selective outrage, and the reflexive defense of Mughal icons like Aurangzeb. Through close textual analysis and historical context, the essay shows how misrepresentation, straw-manning, and moral asymmetry function as tools of what the author terms the Minority-Progressive Celebrity (MPC) narrative. At its core, the piece interrogates how Hinduphobia is normalized under the guise of liberalism while minority fundamentalism is minimized or denied.
Role of women in conserving social and cultural heritage
India's cultural heritage has repeatably discussed the significance of women in protecting its society, a fact lost to most.
Re-examining Sabarimala
As the Supreme Court refers the Sabarimala case to a larger bench, thereby giving a foot in the door to the devotees, it is time to grasp the essential ideas that make the case for the tradition so compelling and unignorable.
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Ask the Past
Ancient India's knowledge traditions were continuous & cumulative and it's a pity that young Indians know little of this vast intellectual heritage.
Gita Govinda of Jayadeva and the Bhakti Movement
The effect of Gita Govinda has been central to the development of Vaishnavism.
River of a 1000 Lingas – Angkor (Part 3)
Ancient Angkor Hindu temples located at the foot of Kulen mountains helped sanctify river water as it passed over the carvings of a thousand lingas.
Indic Ideas in the Graeco-Roman World
The infusion of various Indic ideas and practices played a pivotal role in the development of the Graeco-Roman civilization.
Philosophy of Healing in Ayurveda
Health, as per Ayurveda, has both physical and moral components and is deeply embedded in the worldview derived from the six principal darsanas of Hindu philosophy.
Bhima Karna Yuddha – Part 4
Seeing five of the Kaurava brothers dead on the ground, Karna experienced a mix of sorrow and anger. Gathering his senses back, he rushed at Bhima and discharged five and then seventy sharp arrows at him.
Arya-Tibetan case for the OIT
New evidence has come to light in linguistics that undermines the AIT whose proponents mostly rely on genetic evidence.
When Scientism Overshadows Science: An Orthodox Critique of the Sophistry of Evolutionism
"It is a modern tendency within religious factions to seek a synthesis and synchronization between the domains of Religion and Science. This inclination manifests in the attempts of forceful amalgamation of both domains, with the rejection of traditional interpretations of Religion and deliberate efforts to reformulate it to seamlessly align with the framework of Science."
Rock-cut temple and Jain-reliefs at Kazhugumalai, Tamil Nadu
The majestic Pandya rock-cut Shiva temple looks like a scale model of the Kailash temple at Ellora with rows of magnificent Jain bas-reliefs also present.
The concept of Širk: what it meant before Islam
Various religions had a concept of associating a creature or a heavenly body with their god, which later became the most fundamental sin as Semitic faiths took over.
In search of Bhagavati Tara (Part 2): Temples, Legends and Sadhakas
The secrecy of the tantrik rituals involved in the worship of Tara have prevented her from taking a prominent place in mainstream Hindu imagination. But even a non-tantrik approach to her worship brings phenomenal benefits to the sadhaka.
How science meets spirituality to co-create the New Age
The possibilities are endless as modern science and spirituality come together to usher in a New Age.
