Shivratri is one of the most popular festivals in the Hindu world, celebrated with devotion and fervour by millions of Hindus each year. This year it falls on March 6th (today!).

In the Hindu view, the Divine Being transcends all human conceptualisation, yet can be approached in many ways. The deities of Hinduism reflect realizations of God on various levels, as experienced by ancient Rishis in deep meditation. Shiva is one of the most important deities, and His worship forms part of the daily lives of many Hindus. He is the Lord of Yogis, the Lord of Time and the Destroyer. The destructive aspect of Shiva is not something to be feared; it is destruction for the purpose of regeneration. He destroys that which is old and impure in order to make room for a new creation, which is pure and divine. On an inward level, He oversees the annihilation of old habits, attachments and ego - all essential for us to progress on the spiritual path.

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Such lists are subjective, and mine is no exception. I had to leave out many obviously impressive ideas, such as airplanes, space travel, weapons that can destroy the world, embryo transplantation, multiple babies from the same embryo, space travel, and so on — from just the Mahabharata and the Puranas. (Lest I be misunderstood, we are not speaking of real planes, bombs, and biotechnology, but rather of the conception of their possibility.)

The ideas that I chose are perhaps more fundamental than those above that I left out. Ultimately, I used the criterion of not just originality, but continuing relevance and sheer improbability of the thought of it in the ancient world.

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After the much publicised case of Shambo the bull, another bovine controversy has erupted between sections of the Hindu community versus the establishment.

A large number of Hindus protested outside Parliament earlier this month, to express anger and dismay at the killing of a cow by the RSPCA at the well known Bhaktivedanta Manor temple premises in Watford, belonging to the Hare Krishna movement.

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The recent sentencing of a 26-year old man from Hindu background for murder, in an incident arising out of a seemingly trivial incident at a nightclub was greeted by surprise by many Hindus.

“Violence? Hindus? No way!” Or so some people would like to believe. “All Hindu youngsters go to university and get good white collar jobs, and act as pillars of the community” Frankly, this is a self-delusional fantasy of many Hindu community leaders, which fails to grasp the complex and diverse experiences and problems of young Hindus growing up here.

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Decades after his death, the descendents of Mahatma Gandhi are still struggling to fulfill his last rites. It was 60 years last month since he passed away. the Mahatma’s ashes were separated and came into the hands of many different individuals and organisations.

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An analogy with a Cold War era Soviet diplomat’s confusion when arriving in an American city for the first time provides perhaps the best way to appreciate Hinduism’s apparent “pick and choose” approach to spirituality.

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The Indian economy is booming – soon to become one of the world’s biggest economic powerhouses to stand with the U.S.A. and China. The future is one of hope, beckoning investors into the country all hoping to cash in on the growth.

Amongst them are the erstwhile children of India. The “NRI’s” or non resident Indians, or as they are now sometimes called the “PIOs” (Persons of Indian origin) Over twenty million of them are sitting (some for many generations) all the way from the United Kingdom, to Canada to the islands of Fiji and beyond. Originating from all parts of the Indian subcontinent some are now eying the ancestral homeland for both material and spiritual gain.

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Vallabhai Patel, was one of the towering figures of pre-Independence Indian politics. Given the appellation “Sardar” (leader), he also became known as the “Iron Man of Indian politics”.

He is correctly remembered as perhaps the only figure in the Indian National Congress, India’s main political party of the era, who didn’t flinch in the face of the aggression displayed by the colonial administration as well as Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League. He is one of the architects of the India that we see today, being largely responsible for successfully negotiating the incorporation into Independent India of the hundreds of ‘princely states’ of British India.

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Earlier this month we witnessed terrible ethnic violence in Mumbai city, where a Marathi supremacist group attacked poor North Indian migrants to the city. Those responsible for the attacks were cadre of the “Marathi Navnirman Sena”, a breakaway group from the infamous “Shiv Sena”.

The Shiv Sena is a political party that all Indian citizens will of course will be familiar with. Hindus in other countries such as here in Britain will have certainly heard of it, but probably have a mistaken view of the organisation.

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Recently the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, ignited controversy for statements he made in favour of introducing elements of Islamic law into Britain, for Muslims here to self-govern certain aspects of their collective lives. A parallel legal system of this kind already exists in some countries, notably India.

What are your opinions of having separate laws for Muslims and perhaps other faith communities to govern their “internal affairs”? Which of the following options best sums up your views on the subject?

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