The Sword Poet, Scalpel Scribbler, Etherealnut...

One may call it Mythology, another may call it History. The way I see it—it’s a Story. A collective narrative passed down to us in today’s day and age from eons ago. The most innate human trait is our need to be engaged in a narrative. We spin stories to hold a conversation. Some tell stories to deceive, others to reveal the essence of truth. We build narratives for branding in advertising. We consolidate narratives with “proof” to win court cases. I could go on and on about the nature of stories and how storytelling is deeply embedded in the human psyche. I’ve dedicated most of my adult life to stories. But I write this monograph to highlight one particular character—someone who quite literally plays the best supporting role in one of the most soul-emancipating stories of all time. Hanuman. Anjaneya. Bajrangbali. He’s known by many names, each one echoing a quality, a momentous event, or an association with someone significant in his life. But not many know his true name. Most of his ...

Bakthi of Hatred and the Power of Tapasya and "entertainment tax." Ravana, let him rest in peace, was one of the greatest Bhakths of Sri Rama. Kansa was the biggest 'Fanatic' or 'Fan' of Sri Krishna, and Mr. Kashyapu, the father of Raja Prahalad, was an intense devotee of Sri Maha Vishnu. All the Maha Kalmnayaks, Mr. Raavan, Mr. Kansa, and Mr. Kashyapu, all intensely practiced devotion of  Hatred. While you're studying about some of the Tapasvis like Prince Dhruva, Raja Prahalad, or even the mighty Elephant King Gajendra, all of them performed intense Tapasya to earn the undivided attention of whom they believed to be the supreme primordial entity. All of them, born into distinct societies with different backgrounds, applied their unique functions to invoke the Primal Divine Essence. One common thing to note while studying these Tapasvis is that despite their intense desires and ambition to achieve competence and excellence in their respective fields of in...

  Heroism is the Maha Shakthi that arises at the source of a human energy system. Jana Nayaka, Gana Nayaka, Mana Nayaka, Vinaayaka, Adi Naayaka – our first hero, demonstrated to the world, through his esoteric intelligent quotient, that devotion towards one’s parents is yoga of the highest order. All he did was to make them, his parents, with his boundless gnaana, the centre of his universe, and we worship him to-date in this country. Actually, all ethereal rituals start only after invoking him. If you're truly immersed in an epic story, you'll get an intuitive feeling that a hero is about to make the ultimate sacrifice. And when he does, he throws away his life with a smile for the greater good. But the story isn't over yet, and if you don't feel the lump in your throat or tears in your eyes, the pounding of your heartbeat, then there's something wrong with your humanity. You must at the very least feel a tiny tear drop playing cliffhanger on your eyelid. In the ep...

  When a person brands himself as an intellectual giant of society, compulsively ridicules and confuses the same society, the foolish and ignorant masses will take it as long as it's entertaining. Once the confetti is out and the curtains close, the masses will make sure to make a 'Wise Man' out of the intellectually entitled. And the 'Wise Man' will readily apologize. When the elite act like entitled monsters, the foolish and ignorant masses they have been entertaining will show the entitled who the real multifaceted monster is. I consider the moving feet of God, Sri Adi Shankaracharya, to be the greatest of all intellects to have walked on this planet. Shankara, even after becoming the great acharya that he is, had the humility to bow down to a village drunkard when he (Shankara) felt that he had something to learn even from a stinking drunkard. That is one of the reasons we call him: Aalayam, Karunaalyam. Human society is always in awe of a humble wise person. Th...

In the pre-Anglicized history of our nation, one of our greatest kings, known for his acute sense of justice and truth, Maharaja Yudhishthira or Dharmaraya as we call him in Kannada, was serving his time in exile along with his brothers and their dear wife. Meanwhile, Duryodhana (Dharmaraya’s first cousin), who never seemed to spare a dull moment, neither for himself nor for his companions or for his adversaries (Pandavas - Yudhishthira and brothers), got this brilliant idea (we call it "chaturbhudhi") of going camping in the forest and partying with his friends and brothers. Duryodhana and company’s sadistic idea was to set up camp in close proximity to where Yudhishthira and his brothers had established their hermitage and mock them for their misfortune. To cut the story short, Duryodhana and Co.'s plan didn't work out; instead, karma had its way. 'D-Company' got into a skirmish with another folk or tribe in the forest, and Duryodhana, the great warrior with...