March 20, 2015

There are a lot of things people could criticize any religion for. They range from silly to quite serious. One thing I can’t understand as a criticism of Hinduism: that it encompasses a variety of practices. Too much diversity? How is this a problem? Diversity is usually a sign of health. Diverse genes are healthier than inbreeding (look at the health issues purebred dogs develop, for example). Three sisters planting nurtures the soil, while mono-cropping strips it. Eating a variety... Read more

March 19, 2015

I had a roommate in college who approached prayer like it was a business meeting. Each morning, she’d show up with her coffee and her planner. She’d sit down with God and lay out what she needed Him to do that day. This is not the Hindu way of prayer. Hindu prayer, called puja, is more like what I do when my mom and dad are coming over: clean up the house, make sure there’s a place for them to... Read more

March 18, 2015

Some religions use symbols to represent the Divine. Other religions forbid such symbolism. Hinduism allows imagery; the images are called murti and they are a focal point during puja. Even religions that forbid images need a focal point of some sort. That’s why Muslims face Mecca when they pray. Some Christians use icons or statues, but the ones who strictly forbid it will often hang a cross. Even with no iconography at all, Christians tend to look like they’re praying... Read more

March 17, 2015

There is an old joke about two patients in a mental hospital who keep arguing day after day because each thinks he is the Messiah. In Abrahamic monotheism, of course, there is a God and you are not He. In Christianity, He has one human incarnation. If one person is the Messiah, no one else can also be the Messiah. Islam misunderstands incarnation altogether, asking how God can simultaneously be in heaven as well as in a person on earth... Read more

March 16, 2015

Sometimes it seems like world leaders can’t manage to get anything done. This is because, unless they’re dictators, they have to work with other leaders. But to the extent that, say, the President, is able to get things done, it’s due to a whole bunch of people doing things so that he doesn’t have to. The President may have an organic garden, but he doesn’t have to grow his own food. He also doesn’t have to wash his car, do... Read more

February 27, 2015

No matter how you go about it, eating is never a harmless act. Something has to die in order for you to live. Life can be sustained only by feeding on life. As long as we have bodies, this will be our reality. Despite this, many of us strive to do less harm. Occasionally you’ll meet someone who doesn’t care what harm they do. Their rationale is spoken in cliches of willful ignorance (like the people who joke that they... Read more

February 4, 2015

Not just Hinduism, but other dharmic religions such as Jainism and Buddhism, advise against eating onions and garlic. Why? Read more

January 7, 2015

We won't make much progress toward our goals if we're weighed down with hundreds of pounds of random things we might want to do someday. If I packed all my unread books into a giant backpack, I wouldn't even be able to walk. Read more

January 5, 2015

A lot of Americans apparently think of God as a white man. This was something I didn’t know growing up. I thought that the one thing uniting Abrahamic religions was their insistence on God’s formlessness. In my early 20’s I learned that a surprising number of Americans have co-opted a Michelangelo depiction as the official portrait of the Judeo-Christian God. I’m not entirely sure how or why this came about, and I don’t know if Christians in other countries share... Read more

January 1, 2015

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to finally get on top of your clutter once and for all? Chances are, if you’re a woman, it might be. Studies have found that clutter in the home causes a spike in women’s cortisol levels (but not men’s). To men, it just looks like stuff. To women, it looks like a never-ending to-do list of things that will never be done. I’ve been reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Japanese... Read more


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