Culture

Many of us have a very idealistic idea of monasteries, thinking of some high things. In fact, everything is much simpler. The monastery is principally a school. But what they study and who teaches in this school is already a question of the quality of education and the matter of every educational institution. What do the monks learn in the…

Navratri–or the nine sacred days–mark the most auspicious days of the lunar calendar according to Hinduism. Celebrated with fervour and festivity all over India, and every Hindu community the world over, these nine days are dedicated solely to Maa Durga (goddess Durga) and her nine avatars. The prominent story associated with Navratri is the battle that took place between goddess…

The Mahabharat is one of the two major epics in Sanskrit of ancient India. It contains over one lakh couplets and is thrice as long as the Bible. However, only a fraction of the narration deals with the main story with the rest containing additional myths and teachings. It clearly states: “What is found here may be found elsewhere but…

Perhaps you are in shock seeing,  for the first time, a small child with intensely painted eyes. However, it has been very common in Hindu culture for a long time. Also today, many mothers, in India, Nepal, and the Middle East, paint their children’s eyes with kayal – an Indian equivalent of eye-liner – obtained from oil, herbs, and soot….

Quick Introduction Emperor Aurangzeb was considered as the last great Mughal Emperor who extended the Empire over nearly all the Indian subcontinent. He was born in 1618 and ruled for 49 years. He brought to his rule a strict Islamic law called Fatawa-e-Alamgiri. It was said that he imposed a ban on music but it seems that not completely. The story Long ago…

Hijra is one of the castes in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, which includes representatives of the “third sex”: a community of transgender people, bisexuals, homosexuals, and eunuchs. They dress and behave like women, call themselves a female name. The number of Hijra varies according to different estimates from 50 thousand to 5 million. But traveling in India and meeting men…

The Mahabharat is one of the two major epics in Sanskrit of ancient India. It contains over one lakh couplets and is thrice as long as the Bible. However, only a fraction of the narration deals with the main story with the rest containing additional myths and teachings. It clearly states: “what is found here may be found elsewhere but what…

The Mahabharat is one of the two major epics in Sanskrit of ancient India. It contains over one lakh couplets and is thrice as long as the Bible. However, only a fraction of the narration actually deals with the main story with the rest containing additional myths and teachings. It clearly states: “what is found here may be found elsewhere…

Blue is the color of all-inclusiveness. You will see in the existence, anything that is vast and beyond your perception generally tends to be blue, whether it is the ocean or the sky. Anything which is larger than your perception tends to be blue because blue is the basis of all-inclusiveness. It is based on this that so many gods…

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. Here is one of the stories telling about the true view of the human body. ‘There was once an extremely beautiful young woman, everybody fell in love with her, as soon they saw her. One king, in particular, wanted her very badly and he was hypnotized by…