Spirituality

Rituals in Religion There are rituals in every kind of society. Christians have baptism while the Jews have their circumcision and Bar Mitzvah at adulthood. The Muslims also have circumcision besides the ritual of fasting during Ramadan. Rituals are celebrated throughout one’s life and continue even after one’s death when there are burial services or cremation services depending upon one’s religion. For the Hindus, the Vedas, the oldest spiritual scriptures in the world have shaped our rituals that are performed even today. The origin of Rituals To find out the origin of rituals we have to turn to our old ...

I was inside a mall today, when suddenly a fragrance from one of the stores struck me. No, it is not a famous brand of perfume! It was the smell of new clothes, which momentarily transported me back in time, to a store in my hometown in Bengal, where I grew up. The same smell, the same feeling – sitting on a chair next to my father – it seems like yesterday! It was only few days away from the pujo. While purchasing cloth, some worrisome thoughts came to mind – will the tailors take the order for our pants ...

The Nobel Committee has announced today that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. This was despite the fact that the referendum last week to ratify the peace treaty was lost by a very thin margin – 50.22% No and 49.78% Yes, though various surveys predicted easy passage. Since 1964 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia—Ejército del Pueblo, FARC–EP and FARC) rebels waged a guerrilla war against the civilian governments. This year, on June 23, with an intent to end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts, Colombia’s government and the FARC signed a ...

Each society, nation and culture has their own way to express thankfulness as well as to remember their ancestors. The unique idea of rna (alternatively rina) has been part of Indian tradition. Many translate it as ‘debt’ but the true essence of it is duties and obligations for ‘honoring’ others’ gifts in our lives. There are three  type of rnas which ensure continuation of the traditions of the saints by certain mandatory practices. These are rishi-rna, or obligations to the seers and teachers, deva-rna, obligations to the manifestations of divine power, and pitri-rna or obligations to the ancestors. There are specific ...

“They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive” By Kanchan Banerjee Yoga, Freedom & Universalism Despite the popular image and understating of yoga as some sort of exercise and stress-relief mechanism, Yoga is the original Indian idea of self realization through numerous paths and means. Swami Vivekananda was the one who formally introduced yoga to the Americans and the Western societies which has become household practice today. As he had great success in America in introducing Indian wisdom, it impacted Indians also to re-discover their heritage, the knowledge of the Vedas and the Upanishads. ...

“They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.” By Kanchan Banerjee Vivekananda and Science The progress of material science especially in the field of communication, energy and health are at a pace now that never happened before. While it is human nature to explore and discover nature’s secrets, nature has no say on how the knowledge is used. We are capable of developing technology most of which are for the good of mankind, but not all. Some especially in the field of weaponry, genetics and usage of various forms of energy and chemicals potentially ...

“They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.” By Kanchan Banerjee Religion and spirituality redefined Many of his religious and spiritual admirers call him a true prophet. However he himself broke many dogmas in the name of religion within the scope of Indian heritage. He created a clear distinction between belief and faith. Belief in super-natural without reasoning and understanding to him was mere animistic or fear based dogma. He emphasized on seeking, experience and faith. He called spirituality a science, just like material science this would be the ‘inner science’ which is essentially ...

The festivals of Bodh Gaya, Rajgir are the special attractions to mingle with the enormous confluence of humanity, experiences Vineet Kumar ‘Non-Violence’, the most enchanting thought in the history of mankind first emanated from this land of Bihar. The Buddha and Mahavira, the pioneering propagators of this idea, pronounced this solemn solution of human suffering about 2600 years ago and resonate even today to brace humanity. Bodh Gaya and Pawapuri have become symbolic places to engage to this uplifting mood. The numerous stupas and pillars that were built mostly by the Great Emperor Ashoka as a tribute to the Buddha ...

Avadh Kishore shares a fun chat with an Indian shoe shiner You could never miss him. If you walked down from the Chowringhee end of Park Street and crossed Flury’s he would be there, well settled in the corner. Throughout the day he would call all pedestrians with his cry “Lagao India Polish!” descending from highest to lowest notes his chords would allow. He would call twice at a well calibrated frequency in the middle of the shoe shine and that was his trade secret to maintain the flow of customers. He had a unique location to operate from. He ...

“They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.” By Kanchan Banerjee Bridging the East and the West British colonial oppressive rule had two distinct effects on Indian minds. Many, due to getting advantageous opportunities and positions were very friendly to the ruling class and adopted western lifestyle. However the vast majority resented the presence of western people in India and virtually had hatred towards the West because of the horrific treatment meted out towards them. ...