Dharamshala, India. First, it’s in India. Second, it’s spelled four ways. And third, it’s His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s hometown. At least, for now. We arrived in Dharamshala (also spelled Dharamsala, etc.) last month to have an audience with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has been in residence there since about the time he […]
Tag Archives: hinduism
Himalayas: From India/Pakistan to Bhutan & Nepal + Chinese Tibet
Tawang, India. As I sit here at 10,000 feet on the veranda overlooking the cloud-covered mountain range before me, I study over my books on this spectacular mountain range. I am a long way from New York. Let me share with you what I am learning! The Himalayas is a mountain range in Asia, separating […]
Help Me to Support Education and Orphan Care in Bihar, India
Bodhgaya, India. One of the highlights of my pilgrimage to India has been meeting Ranjan Kumar, founder and president of the Gyanjyoti Rural Development Welfare Trust. Ranjan is a 22-year-old Indian Hindu whose passion and education is rural development. He aspires to become a member of the national government here where he can help improve […]
Ganesh Chaturthi 2013: Hindus Finish Lord Ganesh Celebration
New Delhi, India. Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, is the Hindu festival of Lord Ganesh. It is a 10-day festival marking the birthday of Ganesh, who is widely worshipped for auspicious beginnings. Ganesh is the patron of arts and sciences, and the deity of intellect and wisdom. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated all […]
Essay Five Years Ago: Will a Vow of Poverty Fill the Void In My Soul?
New York, N.Y. As I approach my fiftieth birthday, I am feeling incomplete. Part of me – my soul? – is still missing. In secular terms, I think I am not yet in touch with the best way to serve humanity. In theological terms, I would say I have yet to stumble upon God’s full […]
Bollywood for Beginners – A Seeker’s Guide
New York, N.Y. Speaking broadly, we don’t appreciate Bollywood because we don’t understand it. We fail to grasp it not for any intellectual flaw, but for a major cultural one: we didn’t grow up in India. The biggest point to absorb to better get Bollywood is that Indian cinema is both sophisticated and unique. Films began […]
The Two Krishnas: A Novel You Can’t Ignore
New York, N.Y. When I was a freshman in college I moved into the international dorm and was faced with people from around the world who spoke English better than I. Many of them frequently used vocabulary twice the size of my own. As I began the novel The Two Krishnas, I was reminded of […]
Buddhism and the Universal Concept of Social Responsibility
Bodh Gaya, India. Studying in Japan back in college, I had a very unique Buddhist experience, one of which I did not understand until years afterwards. I had joined a Buddhist student group that took me to the far north of Japan where we re-planted the mountainsides (“Shinnen No Mori”). This was an international concept […]
