In the middle of some idle web-surfing a few days ago, I hit upon the source of “Satyameva Jayate”
From Nila-Kantha-Chandra’s blog:
“…as I was rapidly scanning the Sanskrit verses of the Mundaka, I came upon “satyameva jayate” (3.1.6). Extraordinary! This was a great chance discovery!
…as I now discovered…the national credo was from the Mundaka Upanishad. A concluding verse of this Upanishad declares that its aim is to make man attain Self-Knowledge. “Munda” means head; hence the name indicates that this Upanishad is the Head of all Upanishads…”
सत्यमेव जयते नानृतं
सत्येन पन्था …

…once again suggesting that there is more than a grain of truth in ancient dharmic traditions.
A recent report in Daily Mail reveals that skipping meals once a month could help stave off a heart attack.
In a study conducted by Dr Benjamin Horne, professor of biomedical informatics at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, researchers found that:
“fasting for at least 24 hours cuts the risk of coronary artery disease by up to 40 per cent, compared with those who eat every day…Experts believe the break from food could help …

A few weeks ago, TIME Magazine had published an article titled “When Yoga Hurts” which had some alarming statistics about how yoga-related injuries were on the rise in the US.
It�mentioned how people were getting hurt by either pushing themselves too hard or by taking lessons from Yoga instructors who didnt know enough about it.�
Yesterday, I was alerted to two letters in�the latest issue of the magazine that referred to the original article. They make some good points which deserve wider publicity.�I am reproducing them in full below (emphasis mine).
The first …

To all those who believe we now know everything there is to know AND that Science has an answer to everything, here is a truly humbling news report:
Excerpts from a recent NewsWeek story, In ‘Dark Energy’, Cosmic Humility (emphasis mine):

Came across an ad for this device in a recent edition of Newsweek.

Excerpts from the ad (emphasis mine):
“…Now you can enjoy the pleasures of stress-free living and feel younger in just 15 minutes a day. It’s suprisingly easy with the remarkable new medical device called the StressEraser.
This medical breakthrough actually reverses ergotropic tuning. The harmful process that causes your nerves to respond faster and more strongly to stress….
Medical researchers now know that the harmful effects of ergotropic training are intricately connected to the biological mechanisms of breathing.
More importantly, they …

Came across this story from Simon de Bruxelles in The Times (of London) today (Aug31 ’07):
Vicars ban “un-Christian” yoga for toddlers. It appears to “confirm” Yoga’s roots in Hinduism!
Excerpts (emphasis mine):
“A children’s exercise class has been banned from two church halls because it is teaching yoga. The group has been turned away by vicars who described yoga as a sham and un-Christian.
…
Rev Simon Farrar…( said) “We are a Christian organisation and when we let rooms to people we want them to understand that they must be fully in line with …

This is a lazy post.
Lazy post = one that is entirely made of someone else’s comments or thoughts. Lazy post does not mean plagiarism – since full credit is given up front.
What you are going to read is a fascinating chain of debate/comments that was triggered by Indian’s remark in his comment (# 20) to a separate post��Why are Christian Missions targetting India?� -�II).
Indian wrote: “I believe in Jesus as much as I beleive in Lord Ganesha.” and that started the discussion.�
Krishna, Nandan and others: I hope you do not …

Just came across this news headline quoting Baba Ramdev: ‘Yoga has nothing to do with religion. It is not Hinduism‘
In the rediff.com interview, Baba Ramdev is quoted as saying,
“Yoga has nothing to do with religion. It is not Hinduism. It is for all people, whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Christian. One can say ‘Om’ when he is doing yoga. Another can pronounce ‘Allah-u-Akbar’ or the name of Jesus.”
Much as I admire Baba Ramdev, this is something I find hard to agree with.
Yoga is certainly for all people…and anyone can …

Pandit Dev Maharaj recently sent me a very well written (and easy to understand) introduction to the Hindu way of worship and an explanation of the different symbolisms.
In the article, he makes the point that, “Practitioners of Sanatan Dharma have frequently and erroneously been accused of idol worship…(which is not true)…Hindus believe that the spirit of God is both formless and without attributes called the Nirguna Brahman and with form and attributes called the Saguna Brahman, present in all things animate and inanimate. All is the creation of God and …

Sandeep�has written an eloquent essay�on DesiCritics which makes for interesting reading� “Hindutva Explained”
Excerpts:
“…One of the fundamental aphorisms that embodies the whole of Sanatana Dharma in it is Tat Tvam Asi (You are That). The Tvam or Tva concerns us here.
Tva in its fullest sense can also mean “the state of becoming the object itself.” Like sugar that merges its identity with water upon dissolution. That is how I define Hindutva: Hindu + Tva(m).
As a political movement, Hindutva was a product of its time in the pre-Independence days. An essential product …