INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC: A SLOW AND PATIENT PERFECTION
This past summer I had the pleasure and privilege of attending some amazing concerts by some of the leading lights of Indian classical music and dance. These events were part of the 2nd International Convention organized by SPIC-MACAY and held at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras(IIT-M)
While the whole experience of immersing into the vast and deep ocean of Indian classical performing arts was magical and each of the performances brought home for the audience a unique aspect of Indian classical and folk traditions, here I highlight one specific aspect that I personally found insightful and deeply satisfying.
To read more....click here.
MUSINGS ON SURRENDER
Just for a moment ponder upon the sense of ease and calmness one can develop if one can just “let go”. Let go of what? Let go of concerns, worries, and anxieties about the uncertainties of the future. But given that we are such mental and vital beings and we carry a (false) sense of “responsibility” about our lives and our futures, we wrongly assume that we have the capability within us to solve our problems and we keep on trying and trying and trying until we realize that we really aren’t the “solvers” or “agents”. And only then we say- “O my God, I surrender! I give up, I let go”. And at that moment we turn to something beyond us, someone higher than us, to someone in whom we can put all our trust and faith and say – “Now it is all in your hands, O Lord! Help me, help me.” Is this surrender? It sounds like it. But is it really? Or is it like asking the Lord to help us fulfill our desires, asking for assistance in letting our will be done? And of course behind this there is an egoistic attitude that we have tried all, we can’t do it, so now we turn to You. This is not surrender.
To read more...click here.
SPIRITUALITY, MASTER-KEY OF THE INDIAN MIND: A REFLECTION
HINDUISM AND THE FUTURE OF INTER-RELIGIOUS HARMONY IN INDIA
In one of his essays on Indian culture, Sri Aurobindo writes emphatically, “[Hinduism] is in the first place a non-dogmatic inclusive religion and would have taken even Islam and Christianity into itself, if they had tolerated the process” (The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture, CWSA, vol. 20, p. 147). This statement, when taken literally by the so-called liberal, leftist intelligentsia of today might be interpreted through their lens of what they define as Hindu chauvinism. On the other hand, those on the other side of the political spectrum who would like India to become a so-called ‘Hindu nation’ may view it as an endorsement of their narrow Hindu-religio-political ideology. This essay tries to take the reader beyond any of these two surface-level readings of this statement and instead attempts to explore the relevance and significance of this deeply layered statement for present-day religiously diverse India while keeping in full consideration its implications for the future of inter-religious harmony in the country.
To read more...click here.
This past summer I had the pleasure and privilege of attending some amazing concerts by some of the leading lights of Indian classical music and dance. These events were part of the 2nd International Convention organized by SPIC-MACAY and held at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras(IIT-M)
While the whole experience of immersing into the vast and deep ocean of Indian classical performing arts was magical and each of the performances brought home for the audience a unique aspect of Indian classical and folk traditions, here I highlight one specific aspect that I personally found insightful and deeply satisfying.
To read more....click here.
MUSINGS ON SURRENDER
Just for a moment ponder upon the sense of ease and calmness one can develop if one can just “let go”. Let go of what? Let go of concerns, worries, and anxieties about the uncertainties of the future. But given that we are such mental and vital beings and we carry a (false) sense of “responsibility” about our lives and our futures, we wrongly assume that we have the capability within us to solve our problems and we keep on trying and trying and trying until we realize that we really aren’t the “solvers” or “agents”. And only then we say- “O my God, I surrender! I give up, I let go”. And at that moment we turn to something beyond us, someone higher than us, to someone in whom we can put all our trust and faith and say – “Now it is all in your hands, O Lord! Help me, help me.” Is this surrender? It sounds like it. But is it really? Or is it like asking the Lord to help us fulfill our desires, asking for assistance in letting our will be done? And of course behind this there is an egoistic attitude that we have tried all, we can’t do it, so now we turn to You. This is not surrender.
To read more...click here.
SPIRITUALITY, MASTER-KEY OF THE INDIAN MIND: A REFLECTION
"Spirituality is indeed the master-key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinite is native to it.”
The above sentence, from Sri Aurobindo’s essay The Renaissance in India, is perhaps one of the most-quoted lines when it comes to describing the foundations of Indian culture. In this short write-up I take the opportunity to reflect a bit on this profound truth and share with the readers something of what I am beginning to grasp.
To read more...click here.
In one of his essays on Indian culture, Sri Aurobindo writes emphatically, “[Hinduism] is in the first place a non-dogmatic inclusive religion and would have taken even Islam and Christianity into itself, if they had tolerated the process” (The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian Culture, CWSA, vol. 20, p. 147). This statement, when taken literally by the so-called liberal, leftist intelligentsia of today might be interpreted through their lens of what they define as Hindu chauvinism. On the other hand, those on the other side of the political spectrum who would like India to become a so-called ‘Hindu nation’ may view it as an endorsement of their narrow Hindu-religio-political ideology. This essay tries to take the reader beyond any of these two surface-level readings of this statement and instead attempts to explore the relevance and significance of this deeply layered statement for present-day religiously diverse India while keeping in full consideration its implications for the future of inter-religious harmony in the country.
To read more...click here.
In this paper, key similarities and differences between Sri Aurobindo’s and Mahatma Gandhi’s approaches to Education are theoretically examined to address a few fundamental questions: a) what is human and what is human destiny; b) what is the aim of life and aim of true Education; c) what is the “social” relevance of Gandhian and Aurobindonian thoughts on education?; and d) can Gandhian educational philosophy be considered Integral?
This essay is an attempt to understand Gandhi’s vision for education in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s and the Mother’s approach to Integral Education. Given that the four guiding questions are closely inter-connected I offer this write-up as an initial attempt at weaving together some responses, with full awareness that many gaps are bound to remain. I am already familiar with some critical gaps, particularly regarding the ideal of human unity as envisioned by these two thinkers, the pedagogical and curricular differences and similarities, and larger differences between the visions and works of these two thinkers—their educational thought being an integral piece of that vision and work. My focus in the present work is on their views of the aim of man
and education.
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“Classical literature is a lasting transcription of the supraphysical and spiritual, and has the power to awaken an individual or a nation by its uplifting and inspiring impulse; nay, it can even sustain an age through the changing vicissitudes of life by its psychic and spiritual character.” (V. Madhusudan Reddy, Towards a Global Future: Agenda of the Third Millennium”, p. 22).” Written from a true Aurobindonian perspective, this book presents a forward-looking and futuristic outlook of the individual and collective aspirations of humanity. Inspired by the author’s discussion on the role of Literature in evolution of consciousness, in this paper I will present an interpretive reading of the two-volume contemporary Hindi novel titled “Abhyuday” written by the esteemed author Dr. Narendra Kohli. The title page of these voluminous works, Abhyuday I and II clearly mention -- “Ram-katha par aadharait upanyas” (a novel based on the tales of Rama). Upon reading the novel one certainly gets the sense that this is a very contemporary humanistic telling of Ram-katha, fit for our modern times. Abhyuday’s basic storyline comes from the cultural tradition of India and therefore it portrays the higher values of life, shows the potential greatness of human kind and the boundlessness of life, while at the same time as a novel, it is contemporary, progressive, modern, logical, and relies on the reader’s sense of reason for its validity.
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I lived in the US for about fourteen and a half years. Around December 15, 2006 in an email I sent to Dr. Ananda Reddy I wrote that I was about to complete my 14 years of “vanavasa.” I used this term vanavasa or “living in a jungle” not without reason because I felt that the idea of jungle was very much a part of the American experience. The so-called “American Dream” is a dream of middle-class comfort provided by a 2000-square-feet house in the suburbia, two cars (if one of them is a gas-guzzling SUV, even better), new living room furniture every few years, premium membership at some 24/7 wholesale shopping club, packaged vacation every year and an every-night-entertainment-loaded luxury cruise every few years, and several other “items” like these ready for purchase. When every American runs and runs around chasing this American Dream, the view is not much different from animals running in a jungle in search of food.
For several decades now efforts are in full swing in the global marketplace to sell versions of this kind of dream to pretty much all of the world. So The Modern Indian Dream may be just a tad different from The American Dream, as suggested by slightly smaller sizes of the shopping malls or supermarkets that are frequently cropping up all over the urban landscape in India, but the essential stuff of which these dreams sold in these malls are made of is not much different.
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