India gained independence in 1947, but Hindu temples didn't. You know how sometimes people inherit the bad habits of those who they consider their superiors without realizing it? India did that with British colonial policy, except the bad habit was seizing control of Hindu temples and the inheritance
Here's what I've been thinking about lately: we're witnessing the quiet extinction of self-determination, and most people don't even realize they're participants in their own effacement. It starts innocuously enough. You're scrolling through your feed when an algorithm
As the world moves forward, a visible spectrum of political echo chambers is now being observed, undergoing oxymoronic fusion. While most religious circles navigate themselves through the recurring dynamics in social paradigms, less thought surfaces when it comes to the Hindus. Be it the Islamists, Christians, Jews or Sikhs, what
Last week, I watched my friend Ragini—lovely person, theater professional, animal lover—post seventeen stories about a crisis she'd literally never mentioned before. Not once. In years of casual conversations, this particular injustice had never crossed her lips. But seventeen Instagram stories in four hours? She was
Civilizations don't heal by accident. Take Germany after 1945. They didn't stumble into becoming a beacon of modern democratic values. They didn't accidentally develop one of the world's strongest advocates of human rights. They certainly didn't get there by building
Someone asked me why their meditation teacher keeps saying "we are all one" when we're obviously different people with different problems and different bank accounts. Well, both statements are true. And understanding why might be the most practical spiritual insight you'll ever come across.
The most vocal defenders of Indian secularism aren't secular at all. Walk into any debate about religious freedom in India and watch what happens. The Christian missionary, fresh from converting tribal communities, pounds the table about secular values. The Muslim mullah, who just finished explaining why apostasy deserves
As a young girl, I was consumed by a burning need to find myself, to seek answers to questions I could not even fully articulate, and to understand my place in this world. That hunger drove me into intense sadhana. I became almost militant in my approach, juggling college, meditation,
Congress isn't a political party. It's a mindset. A way of thinking about power that jumps from body to body, decade to decade, century to century. The pret atma—the wandering spirit—of Indian politics. In 1947 the leaders had a choice. Stand on principle or
Dear America, We need to talk. You think you're the good guys, don't you? You believe your government spreads democracy, fights terrorism, and makes the world safer. You've been told that your relationship with unsavory characters is regrettable but necessary—the price of operating
You buy a $500 Breville (a fancy coffee machine) because you think it'll make your mornings better. For the first week, it does. Perfect espresso, exactly the right temperature, that satisfying hiss of steam. You wake up looking forward to that first cup. The machine sits on your
The pattern reveals itself everywhere once you start looking. Group A declares Group B their enemy. Group B, instead of rejecting this entirely, accepts the frame and spends decades trying to prove they're the good version of what Group A claims to hate. Group A moves the goalposts