Recently, an article in The Times (a supposedly quality newspaper), carried a story provocatively titled ‘Why is a Hindu temple like a Soho phone box? Must I draw you a picture?’ The article was written by one Terence Kealy, and was perhaps the single most vulgar Hindu-bashing article that has been carried by a mainstream British newspaper since colonial times. What is worse is that the piece had been written as part of the newspaper’s ‘Science Notebook’ column, and was therefore paraded as a rational and objective analysis, despite the fact that the article was written in a rather disorientated manner, and drew far-fetched conclusions based on thoroughly unscientific methodology.

Kealey began his article by drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that there are some Hindu temples that have erotic sculptures. “How can a religion be so pornographic?” Kealey asks in the closing sentence of the paragraph.

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With the mounting campaign against the extensive use of Hindu imagery in ‘Blagclub‘, the question has once again arisen about the rights and wrongs of artistic licence to use sacred imagery outside of traditional settings.

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It is generally understood that Muslims and Sikhs dominate Slough. However, unknown to many, there is also a large Hindu community in Slough. The only difference is that Muslims and Sikhs are vocal, whilst Hindus lurk beneath the wood works. At least that is my experience as a Hindu growing up in Slough.Sent to school with no grounding in my cultural heritage meant that I had no identity, and it was the same for the -other Hindus around me. The Muslims were recognised for their veil, the Sikhs for their turbans or bangles and the Christians as white skinned. But, the Hindus had nothing to show. So along with other Hindu children, I flowed in any direction the current took me.

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The Buddha states in the Dhammapada 26.409, “Him I call a Brahmana who lays aside the rod, who neither kills nor causes the death of creatures, moving or non-moving (animals or plants).”

The same type of statements are very common in Hindu literature and in Yoga texts. Non-Violence and a vegetarian diet have long been part of India’s spiritual traditions Hindu, Buddhist and Jain, so much so that they are often the main things that people think about as characterizing these teachings.

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Word had got around that the new sports shop in the High Street had really poor security. It had a whole heap of nice garments laid out on tables at the front of the shop. Together with two friends, we decided to pay the shop a visit. They spoke to the staff, while I took the goods.Walking away from the sports shop with a bunch of clothes that hadn’t been paid for, I was grappling with my conscience. I looked up into sky on the clear autumn evening, and wondered what type of Karma I was indulging in, or whether such a thing even existed.

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It is that time of the year where Hindus start preparations for celebrating Navaratri, the joyous festival of nine nights, which is dedicated to the Divine Mother Durga. Virtually every Hindu community in the world celebrates Navratri. The major story associated with Navratri is the battle between the great Goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura, who represents Egotism. To understand this story one must understand the Hindu view of life and society. Hinduism views the world drama as a battle between the forces of light and darkness. But the battle is not defined as a battle between different sections of human society on the basis of belief or disbelief in a particular dogma.

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Whilst the topic of “Women Priests and Spiritual Leaders” remains controversial in many religions, Hinduism from ancient times has boasted a number of remarkable female spiritual leaders. The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu sacred text, cites more than 30 women sages.

However, in medieval times, a period of intense conflict and social upheaval, Hindu society became more restrictive, and women Purohits all but disappeared from the spiritual horizon. Of course, there remained some Hindu women saints, but they often had to face intense difficulties, exampled by the legendary Rajput princess turned saint, Meera bai.

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At least 2,800 years ago, circa 800BCE, there existed a giant University at Takshashila (often called Taxila), a town located in the north-western region of India (in today’s Pakistan). According to references in the Ramayana, King Bharata founded the town in the name of his son, Taksha.

The site initially began to develop as a loosely connected group of buildings where learned persons resided, worked and taught. Over the years, additional buildings were added; rulers made donations and more scholars migrated there. Gradually a large campus developed, which became a celebrated seat of learning in the ancient world.

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A Gandhian-gangster-comedy. This may sound like a strange genre for a film, but that it precisely what Lage Raho Munna Bhai endeavours to be.Munna bhai, a Mumbai based goon who had barely heard of the Gandhi, unwittingly ends up as an expert on the Mahatma after entering a Gandhi Radio Quiz to impress his love interest. All of a sudden Mahatma Gandhi himself appears, multitasking as a relationships councillor and conflict resolution expert, with remarkable success!

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Last month, the security agencies thwarted the latest in a series of attempts by terrorists to attack and maim the structure of this country. It seems that every time we hold our breath, we hear of yet another audacious plan to inflict casualties on the civilian population in the United Kingdom, being prevented by the authorities in the nick of time. We live in the awareness that further attacks are inevitable, because the chances of intercepting each and every terrorist plot is virtually impossible.

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