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The Belief in Rebirth and the Gospel of Gautama Buddha
Normal 0 T.A.P Aryaratne When we speak of Buddhism we mean the doctrine set forth in a certain collection of compositions, chiefly discourses, orally transmitted over a period of some five centuries before the Christian era began, and committed to writing towards the close of that period. From this fact we cannot justly conclude that…
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The Sacred Spit: Igniting Fire with Saliva
This article deconstructs the miracle claim of igniting sawdust with saliva. By secretly mixing sodium peroxide into wood dust, a performer uses a fine water spray to trigger rapid exothermic hydrolysis, oxygen evolution, and spontaneous cellulose ignition. The illusion relies on reactive inorganic chemistry rather than supernatural heat or divine wrath.
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The Oracle’s Fiery Breath
This article deconstructs the oracle trick of blowing sparks from the mouth during divine possession trance. By placing a smouldering, saltpetre-treated jute bundle inside the oral cavity, forced exhalation accelerates nitre decomposition and cellulose combustion. The illusion relies on internal chemical oxidisers and temporary salivary insulation rather than supernatural immunity.
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Hegel, Heine, Marx: Hanuman and Sabala
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya In ‘The British Rule in India,’ one of his contributions to the New-York Daily Tribune, 25 June 1853, Marx waxed both passionate and indignant: ‘We must not forget that these little [village] communities [in Hindostan] were contaminated by distinctions of caste and by slavery, that they subjugated man to external circumstances instead…
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Is the Face of Hinduism Changing?
Ram Puniyani Fali S Nariman recently made a very significant observation on the current political situation in India. The distinguished Constitutional jurist noted: “Hinduism has traditionally been the most tolerant of all Indian faiths. But, recurrent instances of religious tension, fanned by fanaticism and hate speech, have shown that the Hindu tradition of tolerance is showing signs…
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ISIS, Oil Politics and Peaking of Islamophobia
Ram Puniyani Just a month ago (August 2014) a group of Muslim activists-scholars organized press meets in various cities. They issued a statement condemning the brutal violence being committed by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). There statement carried a visual saying Islam Means Peace. The statement said “Indian Muslims Condemn the Brutal…
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Tools for Divisive Politics: Hate Speech and Patriarchy
Love Jihad propaganda spurs hate, not dialogue Ram Puniyani After the last general elections where Narendra Modi and his party won a majority overwhelmingly, the BJP has not been doing so well in subsequent by-elections. The Lalu-Nitish experiment is one model, but whether it will be replicated in different parts of the country is a…
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Does Love Know Religious Boundaries?
Ram Puniyani Communal politics, communal violence all over used women’s bodies as the site of contestation and community honor. This is the worst expression of patriarchal values inherent in the communal politics. We recall that it was the presentation of a road accident between boys of two religious communities that was propagated as an…
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Is ‘Hindu’ our National Identity?
Ram Puniyani From the decade of 1980 the identity based politics has come to the fore in our Country. The Shah Bano issue, the Ram Temple imbroglio and the Rath yatras, brought to fore the issues related identity, the first major casualty of this politics was the demolition of Babri Masjid. Around that the notion…
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The Modi Sarkar: Initial Symptoms
Ram Puniyani It is already over two months that Narendra Modi has taken over as the prime minister of the country. While some may call it as a ‘honey moon period’ others will say that its actions during last few months are an indication enough of shape of things to come. It goes without saying…
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Ideology as a Cover for Political Agenda: New ICHR Chief is a Communal Ideologue
Ram Puniyani Electoral and political arena is only one of the grounds through which political agenda of vested interests is achieved. Capturing of people’s mind, the ideological propagation, is the foundation on which political agenda stands and perpetuates itself. That’s how the change in History text books or teaching a communal version of History is…
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Gods on Earth: Shankaracharya says no to worship of Sai Baba
Ram Puniyani The phenomenon of God is probably the most complex one in the World. For believers there is a range of belief system about the supernatural powers. For agnostics it is ‘I don’t know’ and for atheists there is no supernatural power. The systems of thought relevant to the topic range from Animists (nature…
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Debating Secularism in a Communalized Society
Ram Puniyani In the aftermath of the recent elections Congress, Communist parties, Samajvadi and Lalu’s RJD, which can be called secular in some sense; bit the dust. In the review of defeat the major opposition party Congress, which has been in power for maximum number of years, one major opinion from its top leader A.K. Antony…
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Striving for Gender Justice: Overcoming Obstacles
Ram Puniyani While on one hand a PIL has been filed for UCC, there is another significant development in this direction. This relates to the personal laws of Muslim community. That ‘Muslim women are subject to more domination and gender injustice’ has been a widespread perception. While as such the Personal laws of different religious…
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Love Thy Neighbor: Nawaz Sharif’s Visit to India
Ram Puniyani India Pakistan relations have always been mired with in various controversies, which have been preventing the friendly relations with our neighbor, who in ‘popular perception’ is seen as anenemy. It is due to this that while all the members of SAARC countries have been invited, the one to draw maximum popular attention has…
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Dr. G. Ramakrishna:
Scholar of the People and Pioneer of Progressive ThoughtBiographical profile of Dr. G. Ramakrishna, highlighting his decades-long dedication to Marxist philosophy, academic research, and progressive social movements. Tracing his journey from Sanskrit scholarship to editing Hosathu, the text underscores his prolific literary contributions, translations, and unwavering advocacy for marginalized communities and rationalist discourse.
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Hate Crimes and Communal Polarization
Ram Puniyani The Modi Sarkar has been installed in power from last three weeks or so (May 16, 2014). While there is lots of hope from this government by sections of society, there are other types of fears which have started getting actualized and the consequences of that are being felt with great amount of…
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Can Modi be compared to Hitler?
Ram Puniyani With Modi coming to power in the 2014 elections various analysts have been arguing about the shape of things to come in very diverse ways. Modi himself is being compared to the likes of Nixon, Margret Thatcher, Reagan on one side and Hitler on the other. His being compared to Hitler has met…
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Critics of Lokāyatikas: The Accusers Accused
This incisive article examines the historical marginalization of the Lokāyata school, India’s ancient materialist tradition. It critiques orthodox philosophy for defending social hierarchies, demonizing rationalist thought, and subserving elite interests. By highlighting Lokāyata’s unflinching critique of Vedic authority and social inequality, the text underscores its enduring legacy in championing reason, ethics, and humanism.
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Assam: Ethnic Communal Divides to the Fore
Ram Puniyani The recent (May 01, 2014) violence in Kokrajhar, Baska killing 32 Bengali speaking Muslims is one more reminder of the seeping Bodo-Muslim tension in the region. This violence is being attributed to Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), whose legislator Pramila Rani Brahma allegedly stated that her party candidate and Assam minister may not win…
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Modi Wins 2014 Elections: Victory of Development or Divisiveness
Ram Puniyani The results of Parliamentary Elections are very interesting. With 31% vote share BJP-Modi won 282 Parliament seats, Congress with 19% vote share got 44 seats, BSP polled 4.1 percent of votes and drew a total blank, the Trinamool Congress won 3.8 percent of vote share with 34 seats, Samajwadi Party won 3.4 percent…
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Politicizing the Plight of Kashmiri Pundits
Ram Puniyani Politics is a strange game where no holds are barred for electoral advantages. It also expresses, to some extent, the political ideology of those playing these games in addition to the distortion of events, which are done deliberately. Interpretation of the very same events is diametrically different for different political groups. The sad…
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Critiquing Timpanaro’s Concept of Hedonism vis-à-vis Materialism – PART II
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya In the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts Marx emphasized the fact that humans become truly human only when they can rise above consumption and set themselves to other kinds of activity excepting those meant to supply their daily needs, the means of subsistence. One of their objections against the capitalist society, nay of class…
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Critiquing Timpanaro’s Concept of Hedonism vis-à-vis Materialism – PART I
Ramkrishna Bhattacharya Sebastiano Timpanaro believed that ‘the agreement between materialism and Leopardian pessimism had its basis in hedonism; and hedonism is the basis of all scientific systems of ethics’ (On Materialism p.66). I have already critiqued Timpanaro’s concept of ‘materialist pessimism’ (Psyche and Society 11: 2 December 2013, 7-15). Let us now turn to…