by M.K.Sudarshan September 9, 2026: Chennai, India Wednesday, September 9 Some men merely speak about tradition.Some preserve it. A rare few actually embody it.Sri Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar belonged to that rarest category. Through his discourses, yajnas, spiritual discipline, scholarship, and tireless propagation of Narasimha bhakti, he demonstrated how the values of the Vedic tradition could beContinue reading ““The Veda in Word, Work, and Worship” : Mukkur Sri Lakshminarasimha Chariyar: On the Vedas- 2”
Tag Archives: Religion
“Why the Rahasyatrayasāram Appeals to the Old”: A Conversation with the Young
The Setting: A quiet courtyard outside the temple hall, late afternoon. The golden light of dusk filters through the ancient banyan tree. Two figures emerge from the kalākṣepam hall — one elderly, silver-haired, standing erect and proud with a dignified bearing; the other young, bright-eyed, clutching a notebook. They have just attended a discourse onContinue reading ““Why the Rahasyatrayasāram Appeals to the Old”: A Conversation with the Young”
“The Threshold of the Infinite”: A Socratic Dialogue in the Ubhaya Vedanta Tradition
by M.K. Sudarshan August 2, 2026 : Chennai, India Here below is an imaginary, freewheeling conversation between a bright young Philosophy major student and the Unknown Sri Vaishnava Characters: Setting:A bright, sunlit stone-pillared pavilion (Mandapam) attached to a historic temple in South India. The warm afternoon light washes over the intricately carved pillars. Scattered palm-leafContinue reading ““The Threshold of the Infinite”: A Socratic Dialogue in the Ubhaya Vedanta Tradition”
II. “Seed, Flower, Fruit”: A Dialogue on Bhakti and Prappati — A Conversation on the Psychological Ground of Bhakti
The human capacity for devotion begins as a pre-religious seed of attachment and longing, flowers as bhakti in religious life, and ripens as prapatti, the fruit of complete surrender.
I.“Seed, Flower, Fruit”: A Dialogue on Bhakti and Prappati — A Conversation on the Psychological Ground of Bhakti
The human capacity for devotion begins as a pre-religious seed of attachment and longing, flowers as bhakti in religious life, and ripens as prapatti, the fruit of complete surrender.
The Cosmic Cul-de-Sac: How Indian Courts Became the Accidental Theologians of Chidambaram and Kanchipuram
By M. K. Sudarshan Both the roads from Chidambaram and Kanchipuram lead to the exact same destination: the Supreme Court of India. It is an expanding, timeless cul-de-sac where litigation goes to be indefinitely preserved in the hope that, one day, the conflict will simply fall asleep. In a previous essay posted the day beforeContinue reading “The Cosmic Cul-de-Sac: How Indian Courts Became the Accidental Theologians of Chidambaram and Kanchipuram”
Kicking the Can to Heaven: Why the Supreme Court Will Never Solve the Temples of Tamil Nadu
by M. K. Sudarshan July 1, 2026: Chennai, India “A satirical yet in-depth exploration of the 300-year-old Vadakalai vs. Tenkalai sectarian feud at Kanchipuram’s Varadaraja Perumal Temple and the legal stalemate that keeps it alive.” Introduction If you ever find yourself weary of standard political theater, pack your bags and head to the ancient pilgrimContinue reading “Kicking the Can to Heaven: Why the Supreme Court Will Never Solve the Temples of Tamil Nadu”
The Chidambaram Rahasyam: How a Sri Vaishnava Shrine became a Proxy War Pawn in Tamil Nadu politics
by M.K.Sudarshan June 30, 2026/Chennai, India Introduction The Chidambaram Nataraja Temple is globally celebrated as the cosmic stage of Lord Shiva’s Ananda Tandavam. Yet, deep within its sacred geometry lies a quieter, parallel sanctuary: the Thillai Govindaraja Perumal shrine. For centuries, this physical coexistence of Shiva and Vishnu symbolized a rare, uneasy theological truce. Today,Continue reading “The Chidambaram Rahasyam: How a Sri Vaishnava Shrine became a Proxy War Pawn in Tamil Nadu politics”
The age-old Vedic ritual traditions (“yajna”) that I’ve been so utterly ignorant of for so long …
The story of the Hindu yajna tradition in modern India is not merely the story of a ritual form in decline. It is the story of a civilizational inheritance that has gradually lost its centrality in the public religious imagination even while retaining immense scriptural prestige. The older Vedic world placed yajna at the heartContinue reading “The age-old Vedic ritual traditions (“yajna”) that I’ve been so utterly ignorant of for so long …”
How Manu Smriti Served Liberal Historians and Social Anthropologists as a Handy Tool to Stigmatise Indian “Patriarchy” as Misogynistic (Part 3 & 4) Concluded
By M.K.Sudarshan Chennai, India : June 22, 2026 Part III: How Liberal Historians Perpetuated the Colonial MythThe Continuation of Orientalist Narrative Post-independence, liberal historians and social anthropologists continued the British Orientalist narrative rather than correcting it: Key Figures: • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (1920s–1950s): Blamed Manu for caste oppression; burned Manu copies (1927)• Uma Chakravarti: “BrahmanicalContinue reading “How Manu Smriti Served Liberal Historians and Social Anthropologists as a Handy Tool to Stigmatise Indian “Patriarchy” as Misogynistic (Part 3 & 4) Concluded”