Category: ARTICLES

We are summoned to recollect the story of an allegedly abortive coup d’é·tat during the Lenten season of lengthening days in the former Christendom of the northwest. The older name in the Greek Orthodox tradition is the season of ‘bright sadness’ or the Sarakosti (forty) fasting before the Sunday of resurrection. The eastern traditions observe the Valiya Nombu, a period of fasting and cleansing. Believe it or not, the liturgical calendar is reigning in our religious imaginations. Anabrupt insurrection of petrified Palestinian pariahs in an abandoned Roman outpost shouting out ‘hosanna’…

There are some basic facts that should not be forgotten when the Ram Temple is erected in Ayodhya instead of the Babri Masjid. The temple, which is being built on the site of the mosque, has a different historical foundation. It was not even a part of Hindu consciousness until 1949. The rivalry between Bairagi Brahmins and Muslims who lived in Hanuman Garhi dates back to 1855. But at no point in the feud did the Bairagi Vaishnava Brahmins come up with stories of a connection between the Babri Masjid and Ramjanmasthan. Although the Bairagis…

Like it or lump it, at the back of a jarringly game-changing year another New Year is unrolling before us that brings in the year-end as well as baseline algorithm of reflections and resolutions. If you haven’t resolved on them yet, no worries; the Dragon New Year will ring in six weeks. Always remember: an indecision is better than a poor decision. From the appalling anguish of bomb-ravaged Palestine and Ukraine, this New Year is a momentous breather to start afresh for the great unwashed to become enthused and move…

My very first Christmas away from home was in 1969, when I heard Andy Williams’ song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” in Edinburgh. Albeit, I was kind of lost and nostalgic along with a few overseas students from Taiwan, Israel, Kenya and Jamaica while the local students went home for Christmas. My classmates from Northern Ireland couldn’t go home because of the conflict between the Irish Republican Army and the British Army – at least their parents came over to entertain them during the holidays. Evening worship…

[Meltdown of Hired Herders vs. Caring for the Sheep of the Good Shepherd] (The Rev. Dr. John T. Mathew, The United Church of Canada) The gospel of John records a parable of the Good Shepherd; it is all about “us” – the faithful flock fenced in a comfortably secure paddock in a hostile neighbourhood with thieves and elusive predators stalking us, day and night. The Good Shepherd has a few hired herders on duty so that the sheep may live in harmony. Many disillusioned adherents are on a hair-trigger temper…

Once again, we are in that time of the year, as Andy Williams sang: ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you be of good cheer It’s the most wonderful time of the year’. Ideally, we would be singing “O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth” However, we do not live in an ideal world of Mister Rogers’ neighborhood any more. And we stopped singing ‘It’s a beautiful day in the…

INTRODUCTION: From the readings and sapthahams and Navahams I attended in Mumbai, I could gather some knowledge which I would like to share with my readers who have always evinced and expressed great interest and inquisitiveness to acquire the knowledge potential. I too strongly believe that the knowledge we gather from books and discourses and even discussions with knowledgeable souls should be shared with others from time to time. Otherwise, it remains futile like the wealth with a miser which is of no use. I am sure these stories and…

Have you heard about “Chrislam”?. It is not a new concept or ideology. Years back while reading Arthur C. Clarke’s fantasy novel, “The Hammer of God”, which describes the crisis caused by the imminent collision of an asteroid with planet Earth, this word “Chrislam” appeared somewhere in it. Of course, now I understand that Chrislam is the movement that earned momentum, which is evident while reading an old article from EMIRATES NEWS: The world religious leaders today adopted the Human Fraternity Document signed by His Eminence the Grand Imam of…