Mother came before all

The moonless night of all souls (sarva-pitra amavasya ) has just receded in favour of the nine-day festival of the goddess (Navaratri).In India,this coincides with the end of the rainy season,marked w.. Read full story

Calling Mara for high tea

Does ignorance disappear with enlightenment like darkness before dawn? Does the presence of Bodhi automatically preclude that of Mara? Buddhism offers both a literal and psychological interpretation. .. Read full story

Befriending your fears

THE seventy-something speaker was a clinical psychologist-turned Buddhist meditator.He was going to address a group of 100 meditation students.But suddenly he blanked out.

He forgot what he w.. Read full story

Red tooth and claw

Kurt Vonnegut was a prisoner of war in an underground slaughterhouse during World War II. Later, he wrote a fable to make sense of his own memories of the strategically unnecessary Allied air raid on .. Read full story

All change not good

SELF-HELP gurus tell the story of Max the tailor,who won a lottery after following a routine that hadnt changed for 45 years.Every morning hed put on his threadbare clothes and set off for his shop wi.. Read full story

Fear not the light

The memorial plaque on the monument at Thermopylae bears a simple epitaph: “Come and get them!” That was the Spartan response when Persians asked them to put down their weapons. As the gre.. Read full story

The father of fears

In haunting retrospect, when the time came for his only parent’s demise, the scribe found himself functioning like an automaton. There was the heartbreaking business of speaking calmly and clear.. Read full story

Trunk-calling the Lord

Gouri has arrived.So Ganesh isnt far behind.In the days following,Mumbai becomes hostess to the Lord of the Hosts.But if the city seems more like a hostage,thank the ganas,or the aam junta and their R.. Read full story

Trunk-calling the Lord

Gouri has arrived.So Ganesh isnt far behind.In the days following,Mumbai becomes hostess to the Lord of the Hosts.But if the city seems more like a hostage,thank the ganas,or the aam junta and their R.. Read full story

Me, mine and mind

“ Imagine a raindrop,” wrote Yoko Ono in Grapefruit. “Imagine the clouds dripping.” Her refrain sparked John Lennon’s immortal song where he asked us to imagine a world w.. Read full story