Philosophy

Pramāṇa means right knowledge, a correct understanding of reality that can be acquired in one of three ways: sense perception, logic, and verbal testimony as the sources for the acquisition of valid knowledge.

The more we learn about other civilizations, the more anomalous the West seems. If we resist the presumption that Western culture is the growing tip of social evolution, to be contrasted with the stagnation of non-Western ones, what becomes highlighted is its dynamism, for better and worse. Rather than trying to account for the “undevelopment” of non-Western societies — why they did not evolve further along our path — it is the apparently self-generated and future-driven “progress” of the West that needs to be explained. What caused it?

Lucidly expressed in the Bhagavad-Gita and especially in Tantra, we see instructions on why we should not escape the endless woes of samsara, but rather embrace this dualistic world of ecstasy and heartbreak openheartedly and with deep spiritual intention.

Dr. Raj Balkaran is the Founder of the School of Indian Wisdom where he teaches original online courses combining scholarship, storytelling and spirituality to apply ancient wisdom teachings to modern life.

Death always comes as a surprise even when we know it’s coming. It’s as much a part of life as birth.

Of all meditations, that on death is supreme.

Across religious traditions, revealed scripture is viewed by the faithful as a direct link to that Being/Deity/Truth that reveals the wisdom contained within Its revelation as scripture.

The academic study of yoga is subtly at odds with its practical objectives.