Today I have a guest post for you all by Mukul Shri Goel. Enjoy! When Ms. Ambaa Choate suggested that I write about the changes I have experienced in my spiritual life, I was a little surprised at the suggested topic because I am not a famous personality and have no creditable contributions in spirituality. Yet I liked the topic, for it gave me a chance to think about how my spiritual life has evolved over the years. Born in... Read more
A friend shared this image of a deleted tweet in a group I’m in on Facebook. It’s so staggeringly ignorant that I’m at a loss for words (which doesn’t often happen to me). It’s easy for me to forget that many, many people, even people who are connected to India or live in India, see Hinduism as this backwards gross belief system. Which is bizarre. This is the religion that inspired Emerson and Thoreau, the religion that inspired Martin... Read more
I've seen the weaponization of words against supporters of political integration of Kashmir into India, and against people afraid of potential Indian government abuses. What I haven't yet seen is a careful analysis of the way a deeply colonizing/colonized international academia/media (including Indian academia/media) is partially responsible for fomenting fear, anger, and hatred between Hindus and Muslims in South Asia. Read more
It can be a very fuzzy line between what is a religion and what is a cult. There are plenty of similarities. A lot of times what I hear people say distinguishes them is time. In other words that religions start out as cults but with enough time they gain credibility and respectability. Give a cult long enough and it becomes a religion. I can see that but to me the difference between a religion and a cult is slightly... Read more
If you’ve been around here for any length of time you probably know that I have a fraught relationship with meditation. It is often given as the balm to all ailments and troubles by Hindus and non-Hindus alike. Perhaps that is true, but it makes me squirm when I hear people recommend it. Formal meditation is hard. Really hard. It requires a discipline and fortitude. Your mind is very likely going to fight it with everything it can. The “monkey... Read more
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and is probably the most common path for people in this yuga to work towards moksha. I’ve been wondering for a the last few years what path I am actually on. I mean, we all have aspects of the four paths: devotion, service, self-control and study. But one is usually in the forefront. I was talking about it with my friend Dr. Thatte, who wrote the excellent little book The Seven Stars Of... Read more
I was so inspired by some of the conversations we’re having in my new Facebook group: Hindus in Pursuit of Truth that I stayed up all night designing these (if I do say so myself) awesome shirts. My new online shop Hindu Swag is launched and you can get a code for 15% off for the first two weeks (from January 1st, 2019). Check out my favorite designs! Check out these and all the others at: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/hindu-swag/ New to this... Read more
I love this new imitative that the Hindu American Foundation has put together! They are encouraging all Hindu Americans to submit a headshot and a statement of how Hinduism inspires them. I’ve got mine in there! The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is hoping to educate the general American population about Hinduism. There are so many misconceptions and misunderstandings. So few people know anything about Hinduism. Many Americans don’t even realize that they know someone who is Hindu. It is often... Read more
When I did a YouTube Live QA recently (check out the youtube channel for a replay of that) one of the major topics that came up was meditation and how beneficial it is. Meditation is something that I’ve struggled with. I know that it has enormous benefits, from improving health to giving our reaction times enough space to be more considered in our speech and action. I also know that it’s damn hard. Meditation is simple, but far from easy.... Read more
The Sri Shiva Vishnu Temple has been putting on some wonderful programs (Like our panel about being a non-Indian Hindu, which I’m still trying to figure out if there is a video of). This week they had a panel about mental health and Hinduism. As a Hindu with clinical depression, I knew I had to be there. I was a little late and missed the introductions but the panelists seemed to all be mental health professionals and dedicated Hindus. It... Read more
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