What work could I undertake during these years, that would fulfill my life, that would enable me to pay back the debt owed to my motherland, and to serve my fellow men ever so little...
Dharma
Ancient India figured out separation of church and state three thousand years before America did. Most people think the varna system was just about "caste" hierarchy. Wrong angle entirely. Varna doesn't mean caste. The varna system was in truth, the world's first institutional framework
Decolonize
India gained independence in 1947, but Hindu temples didn't. You know how sometimes people inherit the bad habits of those who they consider their superiors without realizing it? India did that with British colonial policy, except the bad habit was seizing control of Hindu temples and the inheritance
Thought
Here's what I've been thinking about lately: we're witnessing the quiet extinction of self-determination, and most people don't even realize they're participants in their own effacement. It starts innocuously enough. You're scrolling through your feed when an algorithm
Editorial
Last week, I watched my friend Ragini—lovely person, theater professional, animal lover—post seventeen stories about a crisis she'd literally never mentioned before. Not once. In years of casual conversations, this particular injustice had never crossed her lips. But seventeen Instagram stories in four hours? She was
Itihas
Civilizations don't heal by accident. Take Germany after 1945. They didn't stumble into becoming a beacon of modern democratic values. They didn't accidentally develop one of the world's strongest advocates of human rights. They certainly didn't get there by building
Dharma
Someone asked me why their meditation teacher keeps saying "we are all one" when we're obviously different people with different problems and different bank accounts. Well, both statements are true. And understanding why might be the most practical spiritual insight you'll ever come across.
Theology
The most vocal defenders of Indian secularism aren't secular at all. Walk into any debate about religious freedom in India and watch what happens. The Christian missionary, fresh from converting tribal communities, pounds the table about secular values. The Muslim mullah, who just finished explaining why apostasy deserves
Thought
Congress isn't a political party. It's a mindset. A way of thinking about power that jumps from body to body, decade to decade, century to century. The pret atma—the wandering spirit—of Indian politics. In 1947 the leaders had a choice. Stand on principle or
Editorial
Dear America, We need to talk. You think you're the good guys, don't you? You believe your government spreads democracy, fights terrorism, and makes the world safer. You've been told that your relationship with unsavory characters is regrettable but necessary—the price of operating
Dharma
You buy a $500 Breville (a fancy coffee machine) because you think it'll make your mornings better. For the first week, it does. Perfect espresso, exactly the right temperature, that satisfying hiss of steam. You wake up looking forward to that first cup. The machine sits on your
Thought
The pattern reveals itself everywhere once you start looking. Group A declares Group B their enemy. Group B, instead of rejecting this entirely, accepts the frame and spends decades trying to prove they're the good version of what Group A claims to hate. Group A moves the goalposts
Theology
The photos showed up in my WhatsApp last week. A friend visiting a meditation 'ashram' in the backwaters, except the guru wasn't Hindu—he was a Father Smith, saffron robes and all, teaching "Christian meditation" to a room full of cross-legged Indians seeking enlightenment.