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
Dharma
As a young girl, I was consumed by a burning need to find myself, to seek answers to questions I could not even fully articulate, and to understand my place in this world. That hunger drove me into intense sadhana. I became almost militant in my approach, juggling college, meditation,
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.
Dharma
You've been trained your entire life to look for the single right answer. One God. One book. One prophet. One path to salvation. The structure is clear, the hierarchy is fixed, the questions are settled. Abraham's children—Jews, Christians, Muslims—all share this fundamental assumption: there&
Dharma
To establish the self in awareness, wisdom, and to be equanimous. This was my biggest takeaway from Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita. As a small child, a particular painting in my home always caught my attention. It was a painting of a watchful face, half obscured but strangely penetrating.
Who gets to tell the story of Hindu society ? Anyone but Hindus. Hindus have two big problems. The first problem: They're portrayed incorrectly. The second problem: When they try to correct it, no one listens. It's not an accident. It's how colonial powers maintain
Editorial
Dear Western mind, let me guess what happened when you first tried to understand India. You pulled out your map of the world. Clean borders, color-coded countries, everything in its proper place. Developed nations in blue, developing ones in yellow. Religious societies over here, secular ones over there. Traditional cultures
Orientalism didn't just appear out of thin air. It was born in the halls of European academia, a child of colonial ambition and intellectual curiosity. European scholars, driven by a mix of genuine interest and imperial motives, turned their gaze eastward. They studied languages, pored over ancient texts