New Book: What does it mean to be ‘Indian’?
Here is a new book by S. N. Balagangadhara and Sarika Rao: What does it mean to be ‘Indian’? US version can be had for $12.00; Indian version for Rs.…
Read moreWho needs a world view?
1. In this talk, I would like to focus on the two attitudes that I have towards your project. It is not that I have ambiguous feelings; no, I have…
Read moreLong Live Edward Said?
[Original Dutch article published on Sep 30, 2003; English version is due to google translate and some minor changes] Edward Said is dead. Last Wednesday he lost his battle with…
Read moreBrahman: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.iv.10
Two caveats. One: the commentary is very, very short. To write down all the things I want to say about this citation requires a long paper and not a brief…
Read moreNarrowing the search space, Ill-formed questions
Assume that you get a Ph.D student who wants to do medical research. He comes to you and tells you that he wants to find out an answer to the…
Read moreShakti vs. Natural Sciences
You say that you experienced Shakti as an emanation of a force that is overpowering and palpable; you also say that you felt the ‘presence’ of Shakti strongly. These two sentences make one think…
Read moreExamples of Real vs. Existence
Two points should be kept in mind before using these examples: (a) the examples illustrate that the distinctions are not unknown to an English language-user (b) the distinction does not…
Read moreSwacch Bharat, Public Interest and Corruption
[Transcribed from Balu’s talk at World Hindu Congress Dec 2014 ] Chairman Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning. Actually I’m the odd man out. We have success stories. We have…
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