Reason Why I Write This Article Growing up in a village with a population of less than a thousand in the 1950s/1960s, I have memories of always being treated for most of the ailments by my mother using home remedies. It is said that the kitchen of a Bharatiya is a medicine cabinet. In fact, the only doctor we had was a compounder practicing as a ‘real doctor’, who would be handy in case of some infections or some serious... Read more

Sanskrit: The Heartbeat of India The word संस्कृत (Sanskrit) means polished or refined. The words like संस्कृति (sanskriti), meaning culture or civilization, and संस्कार (sanskara), meaning purification ceremony all have their roots in this word Sanskrit. Most Indian languages, to a greater or lesser degree, have their roots in Sanskrit. In that sense, more than a mother tongue, Sanskrit is a grandmother tongue. That influence extends beyond the boundaries of today’s India, to elsewhere in Asia. Nepal’s national motto is... Read more

Why? Rising from his bed in the morning, a typical practicing Hindu begins his day by first praying to Pruthvi Mata (Mother Earth) before placing his foot on the earth reciting this shloka: समुद्र वसने देवी पर्वत स्तनमण्डले ! विष्णुपत्नी नमस्तुभ्यं पाद स्पर्शं क्षमस्व मे !! samudra vasane devi parvata stanamanDale ! viShNnupatni namastubhyam pAda sparSham kshamasva me !! It means ‘Hey (Devi), the one residing in the ocean, whose breasts are the mountains; the consort of Bhagwan Vishnu, kindly... Read more

Itihas, Prachhanna and Punarutthaan (Loosely translated as: History, Hidden and revival) What is Bharata Natyam? By Ishwar (Ishwar ≠ God) Krupa (Krupa ≠ grace), we were privileged to hold Arangetrum for Bharata Natyam for our elder daughter in September 2013. That was the time when we decided to gift our daughter the book ‘Bharata Natyam’ compiled by Sunil Kothari which is an excellent introduction to this dance form. This excellent book holds your hand and takes you into the inner... Read more

Introduction Maha Kumbh was insane for those who have not lived in Bharat and in whom Bharat does not live. It had very high decibels but it was completely peaceful. There was absolute chaos with completely stunning divine order in it. It was unfathomable to those who have no idea what Sanatana Dharma is. Experience Whoever was walking, riding 2-wheelers or driving 4-wheelers on whatever space one could find, there was complete discipline in that. No one was giving space... Read more

Clarification Before I begin, I want to clarify that I have no intention to disrespect any other religion because this topic does demand some kind of comparison between Hinduism and other religions. The only idea of bringing other religions is for differences that do exist but that does not mean one is superior to the other. Thank you. Introduction Rajiv Malhotra states in his book ‘Sanskrit Non-Translatables’: The richness of the meaning of a word is often deeply embedded in... Read more

(In this article, I will be using several Samskrit non-translatable words. However, for the benefit of the reader, I will also show a somewhat similar word in English in the parenthesis, which obviously would not be the exact meaning). Introduction For a long time, there have been repeated attacks on Indian civilization from all ten directions: that it does not treat women fairly, that it exploits them, suppresses them, discriminates against them and that they have no rights etc. These... Read more

Teach Yoga to Children and Solve Half of World’s Problems Nouf Marwaai (Saudi Arabia) Sara Lazar (USA) Wim Hof (Netherlands) What is common between the above three people from three different continents, with completely different backgrounds? Let us dive a little deeper. Nouf Marwaai Nouf had been a sickly child and was diagnosed with systemic lupus at the age of 17. The doctors informed her parents that there was not much hope of her being cured. She read a Yoga... Read more