Spirituality VOICES

Present Perfect

December 27, 2014, 5:02 AM IST

Mukul Sharma In The Wisdom of Insecurity, East-West philosopher and spiritual polymath Alan Watts wrote, “If happiness always depends on something expected in the future, we are chasing awill-o’-the-wisp that ever eludes our grasp, until…

December 27, 2014, 5:02 AM IST

Vedanta , Spirituality, Times View , ET

Ghar ki Wapsi

December 26, 2014, 5:07 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni Christmas Eve finds your columnist in Goin. Now this is not short for “going”; it refers to the coastal paradise called Goa. “Goa” may be politically incorrect for some. They prefer…

December 26, 2014, 5:07 AM IST

Vedanta , Spirituality , ET

Does good marketing boost the brand value of some religious places?

December 25, 2014, 12:03 PM IST

By Prakash Shesh I have often wondered why a specific temple of a particular deity is accorded more importance than another temple (of the same deity) located elsewhere. The Ganesh temple in my neighbourhood is…

December 25, 2014, 12:03 PM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Nirvana via stomach

December 23, 2014, 6:17 AM IST

By Anil K Rajvanshi Gautama Buddha, it is rumoured, gained enlightenment when a village girl Sujata offered him kheer (rice pudding). After eating it, he realised the noble middle path. Kheer gave energy to his…

December 23, 2014, 6:17 AM IST

Vedanta , Edit Page, Spirituality , ET

The selfie mantra

December 20, 2014, 4:29 AM IST

By Ranjeni A Singh Many saw it coming. The trending obsession with clicking selfie photos is making people line up for cosmetic makeovers: to get a nose job done, iron out those wrinkles, puff out…

December 20, 2014, 4:29 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

A Thought on Thoughts

December 19, 2014, 6:18 AM IST

By U G Krishnamurti The instrument we are using to understand the reality of our existence and the reality of the world around us is not part of this (body) mechanism that is there. That’s…

December 19, 2014, 6:18 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

United Terror

December 18, 2014, 5:42 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni The news of the slaughter of innocents at an Army public school in Peshawar has spread apall over our dinner. The guests include a psychiatric social worker who counselled terror attack…

December 18, 2014, 5:42 AM IST

Vedanta , Spirituality , ET

Outgrowing the past

December 17, 2014, 5:02 AM IST

Osho Change is beautiful, it keeps you moving. But old religions are against change, they preach permanent things. And there is nothing that is permanent except change, because anything permanent becomes dead. If you are…

December 17, 2014, 5:02 AM IST

Vedanta , Edit Page, India, Spirituality , ET

Face Value

December 16, 2014, 6:16 AM IST

By Mukul Sharma One of the strangest conditions afflicting humans goes by the unwieldy name of prosopagnosia, which is a disorder of perception where a person’s ability to recognise faces is severely impaired — including…

December 16, 2014, 6:16 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

The arrival of booted warbler: How is it important for Mumbai?

December 8, 2014, 1:20 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni The booted warbler has arrived in Mumbai. No red carpet or VIP cordons to greet the mousy little bird. It flew in, as it always does every year at this time,…

December 8, 2014, 1:20 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Bring back the teacher

November 29, 2014, 6:01 AM IST

A news report recently talked of a teacher, Bhagirath Singh Mahicha in Sikar, Rajasthan who went the extra mile to teach students of a government school with little material benefit to himself. The result? The…

November 29, 2014, 6:01 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Song of The Self

November 28, 2014, 4:12 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni Scarcely seven years before his demise, Swami Vivekananada delivered a soul-stirring discourse on non-dualistic philosophy of Advaita in America. “All is Atman,” the charismatic monk proclaimed. “There is neither existence nor…

November 28, 2014, 4:12 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Remains to be Seen

November 27, 2014, 6:58 AM IST

By Mukul Sharma Almost five million pilgrims and devotees from all over the world are expected to visit the once-in-a-decade exposition of the body of St Francis Xavier in Goa which is on display till…

November 27, 2014, 6:58 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

November 26, 2014, 5:15 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni Gita Jayanti, which falls on December 2, marks the birth of India’s most famous religious text, the dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna known as Bhagavad Gita or the “Lord’s Song”. On…

November 26, 2014, 5:15 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

No Separate Reality

November 25, 2014, 5:26 AM IST

By Mukul Sharma The lay world has generally not heard of physicist Alain Aspect even though he conducted an experiment in 1982 that could be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century….

November 25, 2014, 5:26 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Power Point

November 24, 2014, 4:34 AM IST

By Vithal C Nadkarni Borders are fraught with danger and opportunity. Ask the traders at the Indo-Pak border: they almost lost their shirts following the recent suicide bombing at the check-post! Likewise in mythology. Had…

November 24, 2014, 4:34 AM IST

Vedanta , India, Spirituality , ET

Let children choose

November 14, 2014, 6:03 AM IST

By Osho Every child should be allowed to grow without any religious teaching. Love your children, but never impose your ideologies on them. Let them feel, but don’t force them. Let them grow in freedom….

November 14, 2014, 6:03 AM IST

Vedanta , Edit Page, Spirituality , ET

Living with compassion

November 13, 2014, 6:19 AM IST

By Khushwant Singh The one principle that should be at the core of any religious belief is ahimsa, or non-violence: not to hurt any life, human or otherwise. Killing is not right. Killing animals to eat…

November 13, 2014, 6:19 AM IST

Vedanta , Edit Page, Spirituality , ET

Bird on the wing

November 12, 2014, 5:58 AM IST

By Mukul Sharma An American correspondent writes something very interesting. It’s about a man who used to go jogging regularly in apark in New York and was a keen observer of people. He especially liked…

November 12, 2014, 5:58 AM IST

Vedanta , Edit Page, India, Spirituality , ET

Moral, then and now

November 11, 2014, 5:03 AM IST

By Narayani Ganesh Listening to Gopalkrishna Gandhi at Kalakshetra Foundation, Chennai, deliver the KSankara Menon Memorial Lecture on the topic, “What is moral?” I found myself thinking: don’t we often confuse morals with ethics? Morals,…

November 11, 2014, 5:03 AM IST

Vedanta , Spirituality, Times View , ET