शच्या: क्लेशं क्वचनसमये तादृशं चिन्तयित्वास्मृत्वा देवीमचलतनयाम् विप्रयुक्ताम् शिवेन।रक्षात्मानं कथमपि शुभे जीवितालम्बनं मेपत्युश्छन्दात् व्यसनमपि हि श्लाघनीयं वधूनाम्।। Here is an English translation of the brief Tamil talk on the above Sanskrit shloka in an audio message sent to me today by Thoopul U.Ve. Sriman Satagopa Thathachariar who is Professor in Sanskrit and Nyaya Sastra at theContinue reading “A moving “shloka” from Vedanta Desika’s “Hamsa-Sandesham” offers solace to the human heart burdened with suffering: Thoopul Sri. Satagopa Thathachariar explains”
Category Archives: psychology
Why the West Sees Satan But India Sees Balance: How Different Views of Evil Built Different Empires
by M. K. Sudarshan 15 Jun 2026 Preamble: What You Will Read This essay in 4-Parts explores the profound ontological divergence between Abrahamic and Dharmic civilizational frameworks. At its core lies a fundamental question: how does each tradition conceive Evil? Abrahamic religions personify evil as Satan—a singular entity of pure malevolence engaged in cosmic dualismContinue reading “Why the West Sees Satan But India Sees Balance: How Different Views of Evil Built Different Empires”
கார்ப்பண்யம், கார்ப்பண்ய-தோஷம், மற்றும் பிரபத்தி ஆய்வு: ரஹஸ்ய த்ரய ஸாரம் நூலை அதன் உரிய உபதேசச் சுற்றுவட்டத்தில் வாசிப்பது
श्रीमान् वेङ्कटनाथार्यः कवितार्किककेसरी ।वेदान्ताचार्यवर्यो मे सन्निधत्तां सदा हृदि ॥ முன்னோக்கு பிரபத்திக்கான மிக வல்லுநரான சாஸ்திர முன்னுரையைக் காண வேண்டுமெனில் அது யாகசாலைச் சூழலில் அல்ல; தன் சொந்த விவேகத்தின் சுமையைத் தாங்க முடியாமல் முறியடையும் மனிதனின் நிலைமையில், போர்க்களத்தின் நடுவில்தான் அது விளங்குகிறது. பகவத்கீதையின் தொடக்கத்தில் அர்ஜுனன் வெறும் துக்கமுற்றவனாகத் தோன்றுவதில்லை; அவன் தர்மத்தில் திகைத்தவனாகவும், மனத்தால் சோர்ந்தவனாகவும், செயல் மேற்கொள்ள முடியாதவனாகவும் நிற்கிறான். 2.7-ஆம் ஸ்லோகத்தில், தன் இயல்பு கார்ப்பண்ய-தோஷம் காரணமாகContinue reading “கார்ப்பண்யம், கார்ப்பண்ய-தோஷம், மற்றும் பிரபத்தி ஆய்வு: ரஹஸ்ய த்ரய ஸாரம் நூலை அதன் உரிய உபதேசச் சுற்றுவட்டத்தில் வாசிப்பது”
Kārpaṇyam, Kārpaṇya-doṣham, and the Study of Prapatti: Reading Rahasya Traya Sāram in its Proper Pedagogical Constellation
श्रीमान् वेङ्कटनाथार्यः कवितार्किककेसरी ।वेदान्ताचार्यवर्यो मे सन्निधत्तां सदा हृदि ॥ Śrīmān veṅkaṭanāthāryaḥ kavitārkikakesarī |Vedāntācāryavaryo me sannidhattāṁ sadā hṛdi || Meaning: May the glorious Venkatanatha, the lion among poets and logicians, and the supreme master of Vedanta, always reside in my heart. Overview The most compelling scriptural prelude to the doctrine of prapatti is found not in aContinue reading “Kārpaṇyam, Kārpaṇya-doṣham, and the Study of Prapatti: Reading Rahasya Traya Sāram in its Proper Pedagogical Constellation”
Vidura, Birth, and Bhakti: A Tension in Reading and interpreting the Mahabharata
Author’s Note: The quotation discussed here in this essay below appears in Vedanta Desikan’s Rahasya Traya Saram, where a Mahabharata episode is re-read within a later Sri Vaishnava interpretive framework. The essay is merely an observation — neutral , non-judgmental and wholly academic. The writer’s purpose in penning the essay is solely to invite religiousContinue reading “Vidura, Birth, and Bhakti: A Tension in Reading and interpreting the Mahabharata”
From Gandhā Bharat to Vande Bharat: The Road Not Yet Travelled
Preamble: Fifty Years of the Same Observation In 1964, V.S. Naipaul arrived in India for the first time—a Trinidadian writer of Indian ancestry returning to his ancestral homeland. What he found shocked him. In his travelogue An Area of Darkness, he wrote a passage that would become infamous: “Indians defecate everywhere. They defecate, mostly, besideContinue reading “From Gandhā Bharat to Vande Bharat: The Road Not Yet Travelled”
A tale of Two Cities = A tale of Two Sects— A simplified version of the original review
AMARUVI DEVANATHAN MAY 26, 2026 Dear Reader, Two Class 8 children wanted me to re-write my original review in a simpler form so that they could understand in full. Hence this. Who are the Vadakalais and Thenkalais? Where do they come from? Why do they fight in Indian courts on completely insignificant matters? From whenContinue reading “A tale of Two Cities = A tale of Two Sects— A simplified version of the original review”
Ruins of the “Thanian War”: A Dialogue at Mahabalipuram”
Prologue Mahabalipuram is where the past becomes a touristic afterthought. The Pallava‑era rock cavities, the carved monoliths, the half‑ruined shrines—all stand serene under the coastal sky, admired for their stone, not their sacrament. Visitors pass by, take photographs, sip tea outside the temple, and move on. The devotion that once gave these stones life isContinue reading “Ruins of the “Thanian War”: A Dialogue at Mahabalipuram””
Why “Bahubali” and “Dhurandhar,” but No Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्)? Is Chanakya Less Cinematic Than the CIA?
Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्): The Classical Indian Drama of Intrigue, Intelligence, and Statecraft A Sanskrit political thriller Viśākhadatta’s Mudrārākṣasa is one of the most arresting works in the Sanskrit dramatic tradition. Unlike many classical plays that dwell on love, courtly sentiment, or aesthetic refinement, this drama is driven by politics, strategy, deception, and the struggle to consolidateContinue reading “Why “Bahubali” and “Dhurandhar,” but No Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्)? Is Chanakya Less Cinematic Than the CIA?”
Tamil Iyengars’s Quixotic squabbles
A note on the 500 years old Thenkalai Vadakalai wars of Southern India A Substack blog post on “Amaruvi Aphorisms“ is copied here below ⬇️ Sudarshan Madabushi https://mylapore.substack.com/p/tamil-iyengarss-quixotic-squabbles AMARUVI DEVANATHAN MAY 23, 2026 Subscriber Note Let me begin with a personal note. I belong to the Vadakalai school of thought. When I had sought toContinue reading “Tamil Iyengars’s Quixotic squabbles “