On doubt in science and religion

That doubt is of the greatest value in supporting the scientific tradition has been a fundamental principle for many of the greatest scientists. Richard Feynman has eloquently described how doubt and intellectual humility are values at the heart of the scientific enterprise.

Adam & Eve & the Egyptian serpent

Ancient Egypt had an immense influence on the world, through trade links and cultural contacts, so it should be no surprise to see ancient Egyptian ideas being propagated into later civilizations. Many Biblical figures in particular had very significant links with ancient Egypt, spending important and formative years there imbibing Egyptian ideas. In the Book of Genesis, we read about Abraham and Sarah going to Egypt and staying with the royal court, presumably becoming steeped in Egyptian knowledge and culture.

T.S. Eliot, the Vedas and the Concept of Time

The concept of time seems to have been a preoccupation for many leading figures of this generation across a variety of fields, stimulated perhaps in part by the linking of hitherto distant regions through railway and telegraphy during the nineteenth century, and likely also by the impact of Einstein’s work. Such figures might include Henri Bergson, Martin Heidegger, Marcel Proust, Salvador Dali and many others.

On the vision of God

A pivotal point in many sacred narratives is the encounter between the human and the divine, often in terms of a theophany, that is, a visible manifestation of a deity. Early in the Book of Exodus, we read about Moses’ first encounter with God in the burning bush.

Theology and Indian Philosophy

A translation and analysis of the Nāsadīya Sūkta

The Cosmos in Indian Philosophy

Reflecting on the sacred fig tree as a metaphor for the cosmos

A hymn to all the gods

What follows is my own translation of Rig Veda Mandala 1 Sūkta 89 (आ नो᳚ भ॒द्राः). The opening line of this verse is a well-known and well-loved one, quoted in the Baudhāyana Gṛhya Sūtra and many other later texts. The later verses include the famous lines भ॒द्रं कर्णे᳚भिः श‍ृणुयाम देवा etc. which appear in rearranged […]

The moral concern of the gods

Varuna, the God of Waters (1675–1700) — LACMA The Ᾱdityas in Indian history Do the gods care about the moral development of humanity? Do they encourage morally good behaviour and oppose those who act unethically? Many of the poets of the Rig Veda seem to have believed so, as did their Avestan compatriots. This article will present […]

Gods and Demons in the Veda

Kurma, the tortoise incarnation of Vishnu — Public Domain Image (Wikimedia Commons) Gods and Demons in the Veda How they are conceptualised and how this carries into later Hindu tradition The ways in which gods and demons are conceptualised in the Veda is interesting and distinctive in ways that continue to be relevant to subsequent thinking about […]