Countless people across the world ask me, “Have you converted to Hinduism?” The question is understandable. After all, people don’t often behold an American woman of Jewish ancestry draped in the saffron robes of a Hindu renunciant.However, although the question is simple, the answer is comple...
As his belly rises with each deep, slow breath, his frayed undershirt exposes the bare skin underneath – brown, of course, due to genetics, but browned even more deeply from a life in the sun. The thin plastic chair upon which he sits bends with his weight as he sinks deeper into afternoon slumber...
So Parmarth seems to be more of a ‘city’ ashram, then, rather than a traditional ‘forest’ ashram, wouldn’t you agree?” the interviewer queries. He is a young man from Bombay doing a story on Rishikesh, gurus and the spiritual path in general. He’s come to Parmarth Niketan to take my in...
Green, crisp, tart granny-smith apples smothered in dripping, sticky honey. These are my memories of Rosh Hashanah as a child. I remember the anticipation with which I awaited the round plate that our counsellor at the Jewish day-care centre would place in front of us, apples sliced ever so delicate...
In America, one of the biggest holidays of the year is Thanksgiving. The feast is in honour of the first good harvest after the pilgrims came to the new land. In theory, this holiday is a beautiful one. The idea of gathering to give thanks, gathering on behalf of the bountiful harvest God has provid...
Sadhvi Bhagawati SaraswatiPresident, Divine Shakti FoundationThe telephone poles, windows of cyber cafes and restaurants, and walls of the ashrams are plastered with signs advertising every form of yoga imaginable -- from the traditional, standardized and internationally renowned Iyengar tradition t...
State of MindAs our car pulled into the driveway, my father checked the mailbox. “Did it come? I gasped excitedly. The year was 1986, and I had been waiting in breathless anticipation for the past two days. I knew that the results of my black belt test had been mailed and my heart plummeted into m...
“I f one more person pushes and squeezes me in the aarti again I’m going to scream!” The tears in her eyes are testimony to the very real and sincere pain this young woman from London is experiencing. To an Indian this pain is unfathomable. Pushing and squeezing are part and parcel of the In...
A sadhu sits, his lean body draped in a single, worn scrap of orange-ish brown cloth, swaying ever so gently in the rapture of his meditation. His head tilts barely perceptibly to the right. Otherwise his posture is perfect, his legs folded neatly and easily into lotus, palms up on his knees. His bo...