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A common tenet of Hinduism is “Sarva Dharma Sambhava, which literally means that all Dharmas (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other. In recent times this statement has been taken as meaning “all religions are the same” – that all religions are merely different paths to God or the same spiritual goal. Based [...]

Secret Knowledge: Traditional Levels of Vedic Interpretation   How do we approach cryptic mantras from ancient cultures, which are said to require special initiations in order to understand them? Can we assume that their evident meaning according to our present mindset of several thousand years later should be accurate? So far, that has been the [...]

The Spread of the Monoculture Western civilization, in spite of claims to support diversity, is promoting a worldwide monoculture—the same basic values, institutions and points of view for everyone—which it calls ‘globalization’. Western commercial culture with its pursuit of markets and commodities eliminates all true culture, which is based on quality, not quantity. It creates [...]

In the western world, pagan has long been a term of disrepute, suggested someone who is uncultured, primitive, superstitious, or barbaric, extending at times to the worst forms of idolatry and perversion. Originally the term pagan referred to the uneducated farmers and country people in the Roman Empire, among whom the older pre-Christian religions survived [...]

Once human beings communed freely with the forces of nature. They felt a spirit in every hill or vale. They saw a Divine face in the Sun and the Moon. They felt a consciousness in the mountains, trees and clouds. They recited poetry, performed rituals, and had  profound meditations on the sacred world order, which [...]

Hindu images have been used for every sort of commercialism, from being put on shoes in France to even toilet seats in the US. Hindu sacred chants have been used as the background for erotic scenes in modern movies. Yet it was only after making significant protests that Hindu concerns have even registered in the [...]

Who knows now and who can declare the paths that lead to the God; only their lower habitations are visible, who dwell in regions of supreme mystery. Rig Veda III.54.5 According to the Vedic seers, life on Earth is under the rule of vast cosmic forces that originate from the stars. All that happens locally [...]

The sexual symbolism of Tantra, like the subject of sexuality in general, has always engaged the human mind. The modern mind seems to be obsessed with it as well. Many people into Tantra, as well as most of the scholars who write on it, seem unable to move beyond the physical suggestions of these symbols [...]

Start of the Hindu Renaissance The nineteenth century witnessed a remarkable and largely unexpected renaissance in Hindu thought, Yoga, Veda and Vedanta that brought back to life and placed in the modern context, the world’s oldest spiritual heritage. An ancient religion that seemed on the verge of extinction was suddenly awake and able to express [...]

The Meaning of Dharma Dharma is perhaps the key term for the great spiritual traditions of India and East Asia, Hindu and Buddhist, whether relative to their understanding of the outer world of nature or the inner realm of consciousness. It is the basis of India’s vast and diverse culture and its deep commitment to [...]