Continued from Part 7 Hazara Rama temple (Photos by Suhas Mehra, text and quotes selection by Beloo Mehra) यावत्स्थास्यन्ति गिरयः सरितश्च महीतले | तावद्रामायणकथा लोकेषु प्रचरिष्यति || "As long as the mountains and even rivers flourish on the surface of the earth, so long the legend of Ramayana will flourish in this world... [Valmiki... Continue Reading →
On Intellectual and Thinkers and Other Musings on India in the Light of Sri Aurobindo
NEW E-book by Matriwords: Available HERE. FROM THE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER Chaturvedi Badrinath once wrote: “reformers have so far tried to change India; the point, however, is first to understand India.” (1993, p. 29) This book is the outcome of some of my attempts to understand India. This attempt is led by my interest... Continue Reading →
A Series Inspired by India’s Rebirth – 6
Author: Beloo Mehra (2019). Published under the title ‘When Young India Awakes’ in Sri Aurobindo’s Action, Vol. 50 (6), pp. 8-11 CONTINUED FROM Part 5 When Young India Awakes CHAPTER V The train was on time, 1:55am. And luckily, Aman was able to convince a fellow passenger to switch seats so that Yuvaan could stay... Continue Reading →
India’s Daughters: Some Insights from the Past
“The greatness of the ideals of the past is a promise of greater ideals for the future.” (Sri Aurobindo, CWSA, Vol. 20, p. 85) Indian cultural vision of human life and existence is the deepest, highest and greatest ever conceived by the human mind. Its attempt to mould the collective life of the community... Continue Reading →
Hampi Continues to Live – Part 7
Continued from Part 6 Chakratirtha, Tungabhadra River and Kodandarama temple (Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo Mehra) Not far from Vittala temple, a short walk along some semi-paved/stepped rocks and you will soon find yourselves entering into a cave-like rock formation. A few minutes later as you come out out of this cool... Continue Reading →
Equality and Freedom: Reading What a Yogi Writes ‘About Woman’
A civilisation as ancient as Indian has well-developed perspectives on key questions of human existence, human development, aims of human life, culture, identity, womanhood, relation between individual and society, etc. which not only shape and contextualise women’s awareness of themselves and their experiences, but also facilitate a keener and deeper perception of the world around.... Continue Reading →
A Series Inspired by India’s Rebirth – 5
Author: Beloo Mehra (2019). Published under the title ‘When Young India Awakes’ in Sri Aurobindo’s Action, Vol. 50 (5), pp. 8-11 CONTINUED FROM Part 4 CHAPTER IV Yuvaan looked around the large but sparsely furnished, railway waiting room – some not-so-comfortable-looking wooden benches pushed against the two walls of the room, a few plastic... Continue Reading →
Hampi Continues to Live – Part 6
Continued from Part 5 Raghunatha Temple and Malyavanta Hill One of the lesser-known but most beautiful places to visit in Hampi is the Raghunatha temple on top of the Malyavanta Hill. During our trip to Hampi in 2018, we spent some time on top of this hill. The 360-degree view from there is... Continue Reading →
Notes on Reading ‘Abhaya’ in the Light of Sri Aurobindo
“I revere Krishna today as one of the first architects of a unified India. Yes, I believe he did exist in the obscure history of India…. Abhaya has been my window to explore and experience Krishna Vaasudeva.” This is how Saiswaroopa Iyer introduces the second lead of her debut novel, Abhaya, in... Continue Reading →
The Narasimha Avatar: Optimisation Gone Astray
"The Avatar is necessary when a special work is to be done and in crises of the evolution." ~ Sri Aurobindo, CWSA, Vol. 28, p. 485. The story goes like this: The demon-king Hiraṇyakaśipu wanted revenge on Lord Viṣṇu and his followers. He undertook many years of austere penance to fulfill his desire. Lord Brahma... Continue Reading →
Hampi Continues to Live – Part 5
Continued from Part 4 Sri Krishna Temple After a tour of the remarkable Vittala temple in previous part, we now move on to another masterpiece, the Krishna temple of Hampi. The Krishna temple at Hampi -- which is now in ruins, though some renovations were underway when we visited -- was built by King Krishnadevaraya... Continue Reading →
Hampi Continues to Live – Part 4
Continued from Part 3 Vijay Vittala Temple "Spirituality is indeed the master-key of the Indian mind; the sense of the infinite is native to it." (Sri Aurobindo, CWSA, 20: 6) In our last part we wrote about Virupaksha Temple, situated on the banks of Tungabhadra River. Vijaya Vittala temple is north east of... Continue Reading →
Hampi Continues to Live – Part 3
Continued from Part 2 Virupaksha Temple On the banks of Tungabhadra River is the Virupaksha temple, dedicated to God Shiva, known in this area as Virupaksha, the consort of the local goddess Pampadevi. This is the oldest and the principal temple in Hampi. It is believed to be functioning uninterruptedly ever since the 7th... Continue Reading →
A Series Inspired by India’s Rebirth – 4
Author: Beloo Mehra (2019). Published under the title ‘When Young India Awakes’ in Sri Aurobindo’s Action, Vol. 50 (4), pp. 8-10 CONTINUED FROM Part 3 CHAPTER III Yuvaan had been in Kashi for only two days. And he was already on his way elsewhere — to Rishikesh. His mother had gone for... Continue Reading →
