No, I’m not going to be giving lessons on how to have a productive interfaith dialog! I want to hear from you. What tips and ideas do you have for how to make an interfaith dialog respectful and productive? I’m here on Patheos where interfaith dialog is in the mission statement. I want to be able to have these discussions. Yet it is difficult to overcome defensiveness and unfortunately I have been subjected to enough slimy and underhanded attempts to discredit my... Read more
The concept of karma is something that people seem to have a lot of misunderstanding about. The comments on my post about verse five of the Isha Upanishads inspired me to talk a little bit about it. These are big, big concepts. There aren’t quick and simple answers here because in order to understand someone else’s religion and beliefs, you do have to be able to set aside your own and see through that person’s eyes. The Hindu way of... Read more
You know what? It can be surprisingly difficult to solidify a date for your wedding. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, you are trying to coordinate something that several hundred people will be able to get to. Can’t do that without creating some scheduling conflicts! In the end, we picked the date that made the most sense for our life and schedule even though I felt a little weird about how close it is to my best friend’s anniversary.... Read more
I wasn’t sure where to start in introducing some of the gurus, teachers, and schools of Hinduism. But then I thought I would start with Easwaran, since we’ve been reading his translation of the Upanishads. Background Easwaran was born in Kerala and later moved to America. He learned Hinduism from his beloved grandmother and then was also influenced by Catholicism in school. He became a spiritual leader later in life after a career as an English professor. He married a non-Indian, American... Read more
I thought it would be nice to read along through some scriptures and discuss the passages. I have a translation of the Upanishads done by Eknath Easwaran, a teacher whom I deeply trust and love. In this book there is an introduction before each translation with some insight from Easwaran. Here is a link to the Amazon page for the book I have: The fifth verse of the Easwaran translation of the Isha Upanishad is… The Self seems to move,... Read more
Saw this on Pinterest: What is it? It’s an adorable foam/felt children’s “mass kit.” In other words, it’s a play set for Catholic children to act out the Catholic worship service. How cute is that? Now, I’ve seen small kid sized thali and puja sets, but have you ever seen a foam or felt one for the real little kids? I totally want one! I may have to make one out of crochet. Can you picture it? Crocheted and... Read more
This is a subject that came up on my Facebook page recently. Do we need to have a teacher to guide our spiritual progress in Hinduism? I can definitely see how a guru or teacher would be very valuable for many people, at least for part of the journey, but I also think there are other ways to go about it. One of the things I like about Hinduism is that you do not need an intermediary between yourself and... Read more
Time to get started on wedding planning for my interfaith/intercultural Hindu and Scottish wedding! It’s going to be… interesting. The first step, I think, is to get inspiration and ideas. To see how my thoughts can integrate into a cohesive whole. Here are a few great finds from the comments on my wedding announcement post of non-Indian Hindu weddings! I said I hadn’t ever seen a Hindu wedding where neither the bride nor the groom was non-Indian and our friends... Read more
Ganesha, I think it is safe to say, is the most beloved of all Hindu Gods and Goddesses. He is loved by everyone who comes into contact with him, whether Hindu or not. Ganesha is known as the remover of obstacles and so he is usually the very first God you will pray to no matter the circumstance. It’s easy to find a lot of information about Ganesha, from stories to images. Here are some sites with a lot of stories about... Read more
I thought it would be nice to read along through some scriptures and discuss the passages. I have a translation of the Upanishads done by Eknath Easwaran, a teacher whom I deeply trust and love. In this book there is an introduction before each translation with some insight from Easwaran. Here is a link to the Amazon page for the book I have: The fourth verse of the Easwaran translation is… The Self is one. Ever still, the Self is... Read more
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