October 2016
We have long had a fascination for the final answer, the Holy Grail, the Grand Unified Theory, the ultimate solution, and the quintessential element. Douglas Adams mocks this tendency in his masterpiece Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) by assigning a random number – 42 – to represent the answer to the meaning of life and everything else.
But the truth is: time is limited while human aspirations are not. We cannot master everything so we...
The Karnataka Sahitya Parishat was originally founded by four people: 1. H V Nanjundaiah, 2. Karpura Srinivasa Rao, 3. Dr. Achyuta Rao, and 4. R. Raghunath Rao
Dr. P S Achyuta Rao was then (1915) the senior surgeon of the Mysore Kingdom. Diwan Vishveshwaraiah directed the student body of the [Mysore] Economic Conference to cogitate upon the various activities that had to be undertaken for the development of Kannada. The result was the decision...
A rare footage of Ramana Maharshi, a jeevan-mukta. Ramana was an exemplary sage who realized the ultimate truth through self-enquiry.
Yakshagana is a term, which although collectively applies to regional performing arts of Karnataka and Andhra, in the recent years, it has been used synonymously with ‘Paduvalapaaya’ which is practiced in the Karavali and Malenadu regions of coastal Karnataka. The current article uses the word ‘Yakshagana’ in this popular sense, but we must keep the generic significance of the term in our mind. The current article is an attempt at doing a...
Krishna starts off the Gita by asking Arjuna not to grieve – “Don’t cry for either the living or the dead” (BG 2.11). And he ends his message by asking Arjuna not to grieve – “Just have faith in me. I will grant you the ultimate state. Don’t cry” (BG 18.66). In between these two persuasions of “Don’t cry,” he teaches the Gita. But what of Krishna’s life? Has he ever cried? While all the great warriors of the Mahabharata have shed tears at some...
भट्टिर्नष्टो भारविश्चापि नष्टोभिक्षुर्नष्टो भीमसेनोऽपि नष्टः ।भुक्कुण्डोऽहं भूपतिस्त्वं हि राजन्भम्भावल्यामन्तकस्संनिविष्टः ॥
In the last story we saw how Bilhana, the great poet who lived in the 11th century, fell in love with a princess. This story gives us an account of how, lost in love, he was about to lose his life.
The king was furious that his daughter liked a penniless poet. He wanted to get rid of him immediately, and passed an order...
One of the greatest losses of the so-called Dravidian discourse in Tamil Nadu is the loss of a number of Hindu devatas or deities in the civilizational consciousness of the Tamils. More pointedly, the cultural-heritage-loss that accompanied this devata loss has in many cases become irreversible. To restate the obvious, most ancient and medieval era temples in Tamil Nadu today have become dens of corruption, squalor, and pettiness at all levels....
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Dharma (Global Ethic or Righteousness) is the conduct of earning all that is good. Good means "सत्". The supreme among all the good things attained by human perception is the Atman. God is the Supreme "सत्" meaning “eternal.” God is auspicious or good. Therefore the conduct keeping in mind God is the righteousness or "Dharma".
Just as the word ऋत (Rta), the term धर्म (Dharma) also has three or four connotations associated to its meaning:...
R Raghunath Rao had a picturesque personality. His physique, his clothing and style, the eloquence in his speech, and the resourcefulness in his work were such that they could impress anyone who came in contact with him. He was a tall man; one could call his skin color a dull black. A round face, a bit on the thinner side; a long, thick nose that stood out; and a moustache like a festoon of crops. His eyes, always looking here and there, were so...
Vijayadashami – the victory on the tenth day – is when Rama killed Ravana. While the victory of Rama over Ravana was a great one, greater still are the several personal battles he fought and emerged victorious. Being the elder son, he was the natural choice for being the king, but he was sent into exile. He took it in his stride. After Sita was kidnapped, he pined for her and did not rest until he fought and killed Ravana. Then circumstances...