Author: Rajiv Malhotra

Indra’s Net is a metaphor for the profound cosmology and outlook that permeates Hinduism. Indra’s Net symbolizes the universe as a web of connections and interdependencies among all its members, wherein every member is both a manifestation of the whole and inseparable from the whole. This concept is the foundation for Vedic cosmology and it later went on to become the central principle of Buddhism, and from there spread into mainstream Western discourse across several disciplines. The metaphor of Indra’s Net originates from the Atharva Veda (one of the four Vedas), which likens the world to a net woven by…

Rajiv Malhotra: I wanted to start by asking you about the Jati system. A very controversial topic, the moment you say Jati, people immediately jump on you and say oppression, it’s very bad, Hindu’s are to be blamed. Then Hindu’s get defensive and say no! But you have a very different view. You are saying that actually Jati structure is actually very good for the economy and it is not oppressive, it is actually protecting people. So can you elaborate on that? Professor R Vaidyanathan: You brought up this interesting issue of the Jati system. I’ve always maintained two or…

I am responding to numerous requests to give my views on Tarek Fatah. I want to first examine Benazir Bhutto and Fareed Zakaria, both well-known liberal Muslims. This gives insights into other liberal Muslims. Bhutto and Zakaria established themselves as well-known liberal face of Islam by opposing Islamic radicalism. But this does not mean a love for Hinduism. They postured as anti-radicalists on forums like CNN, playing to the global liberal market looking for the USA Islam. They told gullible westerners what these westerners want to hear in order to feel good about the future of western liberalism. But Bhutto’s…

It is now recognized that western criteria are not the sole benchmark by which other cultural knowledge should be evaluated. While the term ‘traditional’ sometimes carries the connotation of ‘pre-modern’ in the sense of ‘primitive’ or ‘outdated’, many of the traditional sciences and technologies were in fact quite advanced even by western standards as well as better adapted to unique local conditions and needs than their later ‘modern’ substitutes. In countries with ancient cultural traditions, the folk and elite science were taken as part of the same unified legacy, without any hegemonic categorizations. However, modernization has homogenized various solutions, and…

One of Hinduism’s most important and distinctive qualities is the widespread appearance of living masters throughout its long history. It is they who have kept the tradition alive and constantly refreshed with new insights and interpretations for each time and context. My book, Being Different, explains how the Vedic metaphysics of sat-chit-ananda helps to bring about such a powerful flow of gurus in diverse circumstances. Gurus have exerted very powerful influences in preserving and enhancing the tradition through time. An institutionalized “religion of the book” is vulnerable because it can be wiped off by eliminating its physical infrastructure and burning/banning its…

Brand Management by other countries in USA India is under-represented in American academia compared to China, Islam/Middle East and Japan, among others. Even the study of Tibet is stronger than that of India. Worse than the quantitative under-representation is the qualitative one: While other major countries positively influence the content of the discourse about them, pro-India forces rarely have much say in India Studies. China China is fortunate that its thinkers are mostly positive ambassadors promoting its brand. Chinese scholars have worked for decades to create a coherent and cohesive Chinese Grand Narrative that shows both continuity and advancement from…

Indra’s Net is a metaphor for the profound cosmology and outlook that permeates Hinduism. Indra’s Net symbolizes the universe as a web of connections and interdependencies among all its members, wherein every member is both a manifestation of the whole and inseparable from the whole. This concept is the foundation for Vedic cosmology and it later went on to become the central principle of Buddhism, and from there spread into mainstream Western discourse across several disciplines. The metaphor of Indra’s Net originates from the Atharva Veda (one of the four Vedas), which likens the world to a net woven by…

My book (Being Different) brings to the foreground some fundamental differences between Indian and Western civilizations, and explores at length the spiritual, metaphysical, philosophical and historical basis for such differences. I argue, that to gloss over these differences, reveals a dismal lack of civilizational self-awareness and wishful thinking on the part of Westerners, and low self-esteem by Indians resulting in part of an education system that seems to be still fulfilling the mandates of colonial educators. Dharmic leadership too should be faulted for this when they are disinclined to embark on a serious comparative study of the West and India.…

Interviewed by Palak Shah A successful entrepreneur at the peak of his career, while owning 20 companies in several countries, taking an early retirement at age 44 to pursue philanthropy, research and public service is something unheard of. Meet an internationally acclaimed author, Rajiv Malhotra, an Indian–American researcher, writer, speaker and public intellectual on current affairs as they relate to civilizations, cross-cultural encounters, religion and science. He established Infinity Foundation for this purpose in 1994 and has given more than 400 grants for research, education and community work at Harvard University, Rutgers University, University of Hawaii, Columbia University, University of…

Interviewed by Ravi JoshiBest-Seller author Rajiv Malhotra, a public intellectual on civilizations, cross-cultural encounters, religion and science, has raised concerns over the bias of western scholars in their study of Indian civilization.R Ganesh is a Bangalore-based author in Sanskrit and Kannada. He is known for extempore composition of poetry. As practitioner of the art of Avadhana he has performed avadhanas in Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu and Prakrit. He also gives public lectures on dance (natya sastra), music, art, culture, literature, poetics.Ganesh’s scathing attack on The Battle For Sanskrit (TBFS) and against Malhotra’s competence came as a surprise to all practitioners of…