October 5, 2024

In the agora of ancient Athens, Socrates walked among the crowds, his face creased in thought. He sometimes paused during debates as if listening to an unseen companion. This was his Daimonion—a guiding voice that accompanied him throughout his life. Socrates’ daemon (noun: an inner or attendant spirit or inspiring force), Daimonion, never dictated his actions but warned him when he was about to err. This inner voice steered him away from politics and towards philosophy and teaching. This influence became part of... Read more

September 15, 2024

Truth is singular. The wise have always known this. They call it by many names, but they recognize its unity. This is not mere philosophy—it’s the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal Truth that transcends time and culture. “Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti.” The Truth is one; the wise know it by many names. This ancient Sanskrit verse isn’t a suggestion. It’s a statement of fact, as relevant in 2024 as it was millennia ago. In Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism), this... Read more

September 4, 2024

It’s 2024, and as voters, we face the complex landscape of our identities and beliefs. We must balance the influence of party loyalty and the weight of our policy preferences, all while straddling multiple truths. Something must give. We belong to many truths and don’t always know how to choose among them. Our knee-jerk response is to look for a simplifying truth, a choice that supersedes every other choice and eliminates all paradoxes. But this reduces our identity to a... Read more

December 1, 2023

The philosophy of Effective Altruism has been in the news lately, thanks to the developments in Crypto (SBF) and OpenAI. I decided to look a little deeper into the philosophy and compare it with traditional Hindu thinking. The allure of Effective Altruism (EA) is undeniable. It presents itself as the savior of the modern world, promising to solve complex problems through data-driven solutions and rational decision-making. But beneath the veneer of objectivity lies a dangerous flaw: a reliance on cold... Read more

December 1, 2023

Religions that rely on scripture alone will face a reckoning in this new age. A new technology will beget a new God. The world stands on the precipice of a new technological revolution that promises to reshape our understanding of language, knowledge, and even divinity. This essay argues that this revolution poses an existential threat to the dominance of “one-book” religions, whose entire belief system hinges on the authority of written scripture. As artificial intelligence (AI) surpasses human language comprehension... Read more

July 7, 2023

We Care For The Self Alone Maitreyi stopped her husband, the fabled Sage Yajnavalkya, as he headed out to the fourth stage of life, having willed his considerable wealth to his two wives equally. She didn’t seek after money– what use is money if everyone dies eventually? She wanted to know what he had learned about immortality. His heart gladdened at the question, and he answered her question carefully. He said, “The husband is dear not for the sake of... Read more

June 29, 2023

Religion is everywhere in India. Growing up, I didn’t think much about the question in the title, “What is ‘spiritual but not religious?'” Myriad Gods with their own stories, sundry festivals with their rituals. Temples, mosques, and churches all around, some old and forgotten and some newly marked on the side of the road, just as an orange blob on a stone with flowers. Religious leaders, the Gurus, the Shankaracharyas, the Fathers, and the Moulavis… were all representatives of some... Read more

April 10, 2023

A few weeks ago, I was returning from Trader Joe’s and noticed a young man at a traffic stop. He was holding a sign, “Karma for a Dollar.” He was asking for money as a payment into the Bank of Karma. In goes US money– Out comes absolution or good fortune. Something seemed odd– the G word was missing.  Nature is healing.   It used to be common to see people use the name of their religious overlord to ask... Read more

March 8, 2023

It’s International Women’s Day in March, and for many years, the women of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan take out a march for women. In 2023, the organizers published media guidelines with a striking image– a woman with many hands. One holding a book, another cooking utensils, a baby, one in chains and another with a hammer. This was a familiar image. An old memory is returning.     These are the Media guidelines for tomorrow#AuratMarch2023 #AuratMarchISB #HalSirfFeminism pic.twitter.com/ivfnlhQRSE —... Read more

November 14, 2016

In 2016, November 14 is Gurpurab, the full-moon night celebrating the enlightenment of Guru Nanak Dev ji, the first Sikh Guru. It is also a Supermoon, the largest the moon will appear in a generation because it’s closest to the Earth today. My private diaries are filled with doodles on the self, wholeness, and infinity, and today seems the appropriate to get some out; a whole-some part. The Full Moon and Yoga. Of the heavenly bodies that light up our skies,... Read more


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