Tag Archives: mahabharata

Authentic or Apocryphal? Does it even matter?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

In one of the discussions with Swami Tyagananda during the fall semester, we discussed whether the Ramayana & Mahabharata were historically accurate. Did Rama really kill a ten-headed demon Ravana? Did Draupadi really have an infinite sari? Or was it merely a figment of Vyasa’s imagination?
More importantly, are the answers to these [...]

Filed in Scriptures | Also tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Moral Interpretation in Hinduism

Monday, November 2, 2009

Recently, Santosh generated an interesting email thread by asking “What is ‘Hinduism’s official stance’ on premarital sex?” I saw this as an opportunity to explore how Hinduism approaches moral issues, what the consequences of Hinduism’s approach are, and why discussion of moral issues in Hinduism tends to be so clouded.
First, two points:
1) I think asking [...]

Filed in Morality, Scriptures | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Question of the Week: Hinduism and Relationships

Thursday, September 10, 2009

We may all need food, water, and shelter to survive, but these would be worthless if we didn’t have relationships — familial, friendly, and romantic — with other people.
Hinduism has many proscriptions for familial relations — the rakhi festival is one example, and filial piety in general is another. It is said in Hindu mythology [...]

Filed in Morality, Question of the Week, Stories | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)