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Showing posts from May 1, 2020


Interview with S. Aruna – the author of book – Sons of Gods – The Mahabharata Retold

Sons of Gods – The Mahabharata Retold by S. Aruna is a condensation of the epic Mahabharata. Below is an interview with S. Aruna – to understand what new she offers to the reader through the book, the language, the women characters etc. To those who have already read the Mahabharata or know the story, what new aspects does your book offer?  Every writer who attempts a condensation of the Mahabharata will have a certain vision of which elements of the vast epic are essential, which less essential. Thus each condensation is unique in itself, since each one moulds together a different set of story elements. In my case, I was motivated to achieve three goals: first: it should essentially be a whole, rounded story similar in structure and style to a modern novel: that is, to bring the central story to life through the characters and dialogue while omitting almost all of the hundreds of “side-plots”, and avoiding the sermonising which, to my mind, detracts from the story in

Story Of Birth Of Mother Of Radha

Kalavati, the mother of Radha, was born from the fire altar (from Yajna) at Kanyakubja (modern Kannauj). This is mentioned in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana Sri Krishna Khanda (17.119 – 122). King Bhanandana performed a yajna to appease the elements of nature to get peace and prosperity in this land. At the end of the yajna, a baby came out of the vedic altar smiling. The child was in the milk-sucking stage of life. Wife of King Bhanandana, Malavati, took the girl in her bosom and adopted her. Thus Radha who was later to become the consort of Sri Krishna was born ayonija (not from the female organ). Therefore it is pretty sure that Radha was a manifestation of Goddess Lakshmi.

Satkhyati – A Theory Of Error In Hindu Philosophy

Satkhyati is one among the seven theories of error in Hindu philosophy. This theory is advocated by the adherents of the Visishtadvaita philosophy of Ramanuja. It holds that all cognitions are intrinsically valid and, as such, all judgments must be regarded as true (yathartham sarva vijnanam). The so-called erroneous judgment is only inadequate in so far as it apprehends one aspect of the object and neglects the other. Reality is the subject of all judgments so that no judgment is non-objective. This view rests on the metaphysical stipulation that everything is contained in everything (sarvam sarvatmakam) so that erroneous judgment becomes logically impossible. According to the doctrine of panchikarana, objects of the visible world, which are all compounds, contain all the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and ether) in varying proportions. In a mirage, earth is the preponderant part and water is also there, however slight. Therefore, in an illusion of this nature, water i

Secret To Worry Free Life Is In a Clean Life

The secret to worry free life is in a clean life. This is very important to remember. All our worries are caused by certain uncleanliness that is inside us. It may be that the pretext of the worry is outside, but the real cause is always inside. And this is precisely why, no matter what happens to the ever-changing world outside us, we can overcome our worries. If the real causes of worries were outside, then it would not be possible to subdue all our worries, for what is outside us we can never fully control. While the secret of worry free life is in a clean life, the secret of a clean life is in living certain simple teachings of the scriptures and the spiritual masters. In other words, life lived in the light of Truth alone can be clean. And what is Truth and its implications for life should be learnt from the scriptures and the spiritual masters of the world. Undoubtedly our lives are tainted by uncleanliness of various sorts and it would appear as though it is part o