Our Insight section revisits what has become the most sought after resource on our website, 14 Questions People Ask About Hinduism. These are the classics, about cows and karma, about reincarnation and cremation, about caste and vegetarianism. The questions have three levels of response, short for informal tweets, medium for the 90-second elevator encounter and long when you are relaxing after dinner and guests really want to learn about Hinduism.
Our publisher, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, dives deep in his Publishers Desk, exploring how we can discover and experience our innate divinity. Its a topic rarely elucidated, but it is at the center of every Hindus journey toward moksha.
Mugdha Shinde, 13, shares how her family celebrates Ganesha Chaturthi, with all the planning, visits from friends, festival feasting and special moments with the Lord of Obstacles. Another of our young writers, Shaina Grover, takes on a grown-up topic, the disparity between boys and girls in Hindu culture and asks how much of that is provoked by Hindu belief and how much is driven by societal forces.
Dr. Deepa Duraiswami of India has written a book that bridges the ancient Agamic text with modern temple management needs and strategies. Her premise is that the Agamas contain all of the organizational savvy that todays temples require (and often lack) and that temples would work better by returning to tried and tested systems. Anyone associated with the workings of a local temple will benefit from the authors insights.
Remember the day in 1995 when TV evangelist Pat Robertson viciously went after Hinduism? We wrote about it then, and the article provoked one of Indias greatest thinkers and defenders, Ram Swarup, to respond powerfully. Mr. Robertson recently retired and Julie Rajan decided to revisit the exchange knowing the issues still reverberate in American society.
One of the most dreaded of diseases is diabetes, which is dangerously prevalent in the Indian population. Ayurvedic expert, Dr. Virendra Sodhi, shares how the disease can be avoided through simple lifestyle changes.
In 2017 the leaders of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam fearlessly tackled a common problem of Hindu communities worldwide: what exactly do we all believe? Other religions have clearly defined creeds or specific texts which precisely spell out their beliefs and practices. To make the complexities of Hinduism approachable, the Sangam created a superb Hindu teaching aid, in the form of illustrated PowerPoint presentation. We share their mission and their creation in this issue of the magazine.
The popular Quotes & Quips section is filled with humor, cartoons and sagely sayings; Global Dharma has mini-stories from around the world; and Digital Dharma reviews a well-crafted video called The Untold Story of Sanskrit, which explores the central role of the language in expressing human knowledge in various fields. Its a rich issue, with something for everyone.
