Last evening around 10 pm I felt a tad diminished as a humanist on learning from TV about the passing away of Sri Siddeshwara Swamiji of Jnanayogashram, Vijayapura (formerly Bijapur). Though Swamiji had passed away at 6.05 pm it was officially announced only at around 10 pm. And for good reasons. The funeral arrangements were…
Mumbo-Jumbo of Man’s Birth, Life and Death
January 2, 2023And it is a paradox he will not even know how he will kick the bucket — illness, accident, suicide or murder. That is the mystery of life and death! Therefore, the question is, of what avail these powers? Yes, while alive these powers do help, as we could see them enjoying a comfortable, luxurious…
Godman Chandraswami & Margaret Thatcher
December 22, 2022When iron melts, you get molten. When Iron Lady dies, you get either ash if cremated or dust, if buried — “dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.” Now that the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the Iron Lady of Great Britain, has died, we know that being a Christian…
Thoughts on Patriotism Nationalism and Jingoism
December 18, 2022This is the concluding part of the Abracadabra written on 9th November 2017. In view of two important talks on the similar subject by two well-known political thinkers of our times namely Supreme Court Advocate J. Sai Deepak and BJP leader Ram Madhav in city on 17th December 2022 and 18th December 2022 respectively, we…
Is religion darkness?
December 14, 2022It was early morning of 3rd December, 2022 when I reached home from Bengaluru Airport on my return from Kashmir. Having slept in the Flybus, sleep has bid me goodbye and a hot cup of coffee fortified my body enough to remain awake for some more time. I switched on the TV and what do…
A tourist’s view of Kashmir: Heaven on earth…! —2
December 9, 2022[Continued from Dec. 6] The ancient history of Kashmir, as narrated by me earlier in this column, is in sharp contrast to the present history of Kashmir. Except probably for the geography of the Kashmir Valley, every aspect related to human life and activity seemed totally changed from what we have read from the books…
A tourist’s view of Kashmir: Heaven on earth…! —1
December 6, 2022Om Namah Shivaya’ be the invocation because according to a book by N.K. Singh titled ‘Saivism in Kashmir’ the first religion of Kashmir was Saivism — worship of Shiva. I purchased the book at the Srinagar (capital of Kashmir) Airport on my return journey from Kashmir after a week’s sojourn, on 3rd December, last Saturday….
Whatever happened to bravehearts of Kashmir? Ask Vikram Sampath!
November 24, 2022Last month an interesting book about forgotten India — Hindustan, Bharat — was released in Bengaluru titled “Bravehearts of Bharat – Vignettes from Indian History” by the young historian Vikram Sampath. A prolific writer on subjects history, he has written a biography on Veer Savarkar in two tomes. He has also written a very good…
R.N. Kulkarni’s evening walk to eternity…
November 12, 2022Life seems a riddle wrapped in mystery inside an enigma! Death, be not proud… Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men… — From the poem ‘Death be not proud’ by John Donne The First Court of Justice for a common citizen is the first Government Officer to whom the citizen submits his…
Intelligence Bureau: Kulkarni’s complaint
November 10, 2022Not surprisingly, in the last and the 12th chapter of the book, rather appropriately titled A cry in the wilderness, Mr. Kulkarni bemoans his plight with the ‘holy cow IB’ for 35 years and reproduces some letters he has written to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in this regard. And also another letter…
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