Across India’s temple towns, rising tourist footfall, evolving governance structures, and new revenue models are reshaping how sacred sites are administered and preserved. Temples, once self-sustaining civilizational institutions, are increasingly treated as revenue-generating assets, with properties sold, offerings monetized, and darshan commodified. Rema Raghavan writes that this commercialization displaces local communities, erodes ritual continuity, and weakens the organic moral oversight once provided by resident devotees. As temples transform from living centers of worship into tourist spectacles, the intimate bond between deity, devotee, and community frays. Restoring temples as civilizational epicenters, she argues, requires accountable governance, empowered local participation, and an uncompromising commitment to ritual and heritage preservation.
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An Air of Social Doom: Political Propaganda Passed off as Moral Messaging
This article by Sriram Chellapilla, the fifth in a series of essays on the subject, argues that celebrity anguish over press freedom, NGOs, and society functions less as moral concern and more as selective political signaling. Using Naseeruddin Shah’s statements as a framing device, the author exposes how unelected NGOs, opaque media ownership, and celebrity activism often mask ideological agendas behind the language of freedom. Chellapilla contends that scrutiny of NGOs and media is neither new nor authoritarian, having been pursued by successive governments. What is troubling, he argues, is the hypocrisy of invoking free speech only when aligned with preferred politics, while remaining silent on censorship and intimidation by “secular” regimes.

Communal Echoes in ‘Secular’ Discourse : Tropes and Themes in Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘Secular’ Rants
In the next essay of the series of articles on minority-progressive celebrities, Sriram Chellapilla dissects Naseeruddin Shah’s polemics to expose a familiar pattern in India’s “secular” discourse: the distortion of arguments, selective outrage, and the reflexive defense of Mughal icons like Aurangzeb. Through close textual analysis and historical context, the essay shows how misrepresentation, straw-manning, and moral asymmetry function as tools of what the author terms the Minority-Progressive Celebrity (MPC) narrative. At its core, the piece interrogates how Hinduphobia is normalized under the guise of liberalism while minority fundamentalism is minimized or denied.

Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ: The Discipline of Stillness in Pātañjala Yoga
The author explains that Yoga is not a technique of suppression but a disciplined process of stilling the mind’s fluctuations - Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodhaḥ. Drawing on Vyāsa’s Bhāṣya, nirodhaḥ is presented as a progressive settling of mental modifications back into their unmanifest source. As the vṛttis dissolve, puruṣa is no longer obscured by reflection in citta and abides in its own svarūpa. Yoga thus culminates not in transformation, but in the revelation of the seer’s ever-present clarity.

Explorations of Quantum Physics and Its Weave into Advaita Vedanta Tenets
In this article, the author Priyavrat Gadhvi argues that what we perceive as solid matter is not fundamental reality, but an effect generated by deeper, unseen quantum fields. At the most basic level, humans, objects, and even space itself are excitations within an all-pervasive field rather than independent substances. This understanding blurs the boundaries between physics, metaphysics, and philosophy, revealing reality as relational and emergent. Gadhvi contends that modern quantum field theory echoes Advaita Vedanta’s insight - that multiplicity is apparent, while the underlying essence of existence is singular and indivisible.
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Do you know your India?
Indians are generally either unaware or misinformed about their civilization and how it shaped the world historically.
The Concept of No-Mind
Mushin No Shin is a Zen expression meaning the mind without mind and is also referred to as the state of "no-mindness".
Caste in Medieval India: The Beginnings of a Reexamination
Caste in Hindus as a social stratification method has long been criticised without understanding how it operates within other religions.
Hampi – Poetry in stone
The ruins of Hampi are a testament to the grandeur of the glorious Vijayanagara Empire and its unsurpassed architectural brilliance.
Vegetarianism, Animal Cruelty, and Slippery Discourses
In this article, Dr. Pingali Gopal explores the unequal and complicated relationship between humans and animals, delving into the complexities of meat consumption, animal abuse and the varied definitions and perceptions surrounding them. The author contrasts the extensive use and exploitation of animals in the modern world with perspectives from Dharmic traditions. He presents the views of Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharishi on the subject to illustrate the nuanced stance of Dharma on the subject.
Yantras – What is their purpose
Used in sadhana practices for worshipping deities, yantras are symbols of divine power which need to be installed with the use of specific mantras.
Garuda – A Unique Amalgamation of Power, Royalty, Divinity & Faith
This article, discusses Garuda, the vehicle of the mighty Vishnu; his presence and influence in iconography and symbology in Bharat and beyond.
Re-examining Sabarimala
As the Supreme Court refers the Sabarimala case to a larger bench, thereby giving a foot in the door to the devotees, it is time to grasp the essential ideas that make the case for the tradition so compelling and unignorable.
Sarva Dharma Samabhava
The slogan of all religions being equal is a gross misrepresentation as their inherent aspirations differ greatly.
‘Flight of the Deity’ from Modhera – Part 2
The followers of Surya Devta still rever him even after centuries of turmoil.
Arasavalli Suryanarayana Temple – Part 2
Surya Devta requires us to not shirk our responsibility but fight against those who try to dismantle this great civilization at every step.
The Gita in Today’s World
It can find relevance in the modern age where ego and mass greed has replaced the dharmic way of life whilst also preventing the escapist mentality from permeating through.
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विश्वास की एक बूँद
जीवन में भक्ति और विश्वास का स्थान स्थिर है जिसे आधुनिक जीवन के उथले सिद्धांत नहीं ले सकते ।
Śaṅkara Charitam – a re-telling – Chapter-10 – Śaṃbhu-Śaṅkara
In the 10th Chapter of Śaṅkara Charitam, Śaṅkara starts his life as a saṃnyāsi and takes his first steps toward his Guru, his destiny. Shri Ramesh Venkatraman also delves into evidence regarding Śaṅkara being an avatāra-puruṣa, the active and vocal aspect of Śiva.
The Limits of Equality: A Dharmic Appraisal of Modern Political Theology
Modernity universalizes Enlightenment ideals of equality, recasting Dharmic order as moral failure. But in Dharma, justice lies not in sameness, but in harmony—each being acting in accordance with its Svabhāva and Svadharma. The caste system, far from being a hierarchy of worth, was a framework of reciprocal duty, now misunderstood and maligned through colonial and liberal lenses. True reform lies not in dismantling tradition, but in reclaiming its wisdom with renewed understanding.
On Sabarimala
The recent verdict on the entry of women in the Sabarimala shrine serves as a grim reminder of the wide gap between the colonial moorings of the modern Indian State and the spiritual aspirations of the Indian people.
Significance of Hindu Society
Despite suffering from repeated invasions and a degenerative climate in their society, Hindus have still managed to sustain their culture, though the future is dependent upon their will to conserve it.
In Search of the Source of the Bhāgīrathī
Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose's journey to discover the locks of Mahādeva.
An Open Letter to the Indian Government – Appeal to Protect Hindus in Bangladesh
A group of eminent writers pen an open letter to the Indian government appealing for action to protect Bangladeshi Hindus.
How not to wish Hindus during their festivals
The negative hysteria that surrounds Hindu festivals has certainly amplified in recent times.
Caste and the discourse of Casteism
Shudras in pre-colonial India were totally different from how they are seen in the popular imagination of modern India leading to a perverted discourse that looks for solutions to the problems of the marginalised sections of society in the vague past instead of the concrete present.
Visions of a Demographic Doomsday
The day is not far when India's unceasing demographic changes might transform its society forever.
The tricky issue of religious conversion and proselytization in India(Part II)
The Balagangadhara school maintains that the problem of religion in India arises when we insist on converting our traditions more into religions.
Vegetarianism, Animal Cruelty, and Slippery Discourses
In this article, Dr. Pingali Gopal explores the unequal and complicated relationship between humans and animals, delving into the complexities of meat consumption, animal abuse and the varied definitions and perceptions surrounding them. The author contrasts the extensive use and exploitation of animals in the modern world with perspectives from Dharmic traditions. He presents the views of Swami Vivekananda and Ramana Maharishi on the subject to illustrate the nuanced stance of Dharma on the subject.
