GAYATRI PAGDI Just as fire is a symbol of strength and power, water is the symbol of purity and life. Also, among the five great elements, or Panchamahabhutas, that Hinduism extols, the closest to man is water. For the Aryans, the earthly river was an extension of the divine waters that flowed from Heaven to […]
GAYATRI PAGDI They aren’t gods. But, they’re closer to Him than us, earthly beings. They are the divine spirits, or god’s associates. They populate the worlds of all tribal societies in the form of spiritual beings, minor divinities, or various godlings. The concept of tribal spiritual worlds co-existed with the concept of god. At times, […]
VENKATESH GOVINDARAJAN Life is like a river, flowing forward towards its coveted destination — a sea of tranquillity, an ocean of painstakingly-achieved success, a lake of love. It flows on, past obstacles, caressing the rocks and stones en route, and thanks them for lessons taught the hard way. As I flow on, rain-bearing clouds keep […]
GAYATRI PAGDI The four-year-old’s question had me thinking for a moment. “Do you pray to girl-god or boy-god?” “Err, both,” I said. “And, you?” “I pray to girl-god when I want something. She sits in a flower, smiling. I’m sure she won’t get angry, if I ask her for things. But boy-god has gadgets. He […]
GAYATRI PAGDI A few years ago, an Indian family friend, who had shifted to a remote part of Africa on business, for a couple of years, returned. He had come away earlier than scheduled — for a reason. Well, he was a ‘victim’ of envy of some of the locals who had tried everything before […]
GAYATRI PAGDI If there has been anything in common between Eskimo Shamans and early Aryans, or the Quechuas, and the African Bushmen, the Berbers and the Native American ancients, or the Mongolian spiritualists and Maoris, it is the belief in the sacred and the profane. Every culture in the world has defined what is sacred […]
GAYATRI PAGDI The Katha Upanishad tells the story of Vajasrava, a Brahmin, performing the Viswajit ritual. He is supposed to give away all his valued possessions during the ritual. His young son, Nachiketa, observes that his father has violated the rules of the ritual by giving away only cows that are incapable of reproduction, or are too […]
GAYATRI PAGDI In the elaborately-carved, beautiful shrine my grandmother had for her idols was a shiny, smooth stone, resting in a case of gold. It was golden-yellow, with a definite red hue. I wondered what it was even as I saw it being anointed with sandalwood and vermillion every day. Flowers were offered to it […]
NELRESSA MONIQUE-STALLINGS You’d never have been so deeply moved by a book as you will with A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. The book is more like a guide, or friend, to finding one’s purpose while on Earth — and, to become awakened. In so articulating your quintessential spiritual voyage, Tolle explores quotes from Jesus and Buddha […]
GAYATRI PAGDI Purity is part of all faiths. It is considered the basis of the sacred and the godly. Hence, the perception when one approaches the divine, or something holy, one needs to be sanctified is ‘universal’ in indigenous cultures. This ‘enhancement’ could be of a person/patron, or a priest, place, object, devotees, animals, ceremonial […]