Siva Prasadam
My humble pranams to His Holiness Sri La Sri Kauai Aadheenam and all the Siddha Purushas. With all your blessings all the activities are going on well here at Bharatham. I received the Hinduism Today January issue. It is purely the prasadam of Lord Siva. Every page is filled with dharmic messages presented after deep research. We are greatly indebted to your satsang for all your work done so meticulously. The Hindus around the world are guided by this Siva Prasada. I appreciate you and the dynamic Gana for all your dedication. Hara Hara Mahadeva!
Shanmukha Sivacharyar
adisaiva@gmail.com
Deforestation
“Badrinath’s Trees” (May, 1999) was a very good article. Unfortunately, when I visited Badrinath on October, 25, 2025, I found complete deforestation and a concrete jungle everywhere. The temple is surrounded by shops and a shopping complex and is completely hidden. In the name of development and tourism, the government has destroyed the sanctity, piety, pilgrim feelings and the natural beauty of Badrinath. I visited Badrinath in 1999, 2005 and again in October 2025. Badrinath now feels like a leisure resort for honeymoon trips, trekking and tourist entertainment. The government is preparing for boating facilities, a swimming pool, a mall and a DJ complex. On the day I visited, a high-volume DJ was playing around 9 pm near the center of Badrinath, within 800 meters of the temple.
Trees behind and in front of the temple and in Mana village are being cut. The temple is no longer visible, covered on all sides by shops, hotels and restaurants. Plastics and polythene waste are flying everywhere. A pilgrim site should not be treated as a source of income. If the government collects resources from the temple, they should be used for restoration, not for expanding a concrete jungle.
Dr.Sridari Dutta
sriharibharat@gmail.com
The Workings of Karma
The article “Karma and Reincarnation” makes it quite clear what karma is about (Jul/Aug/Sep 2019). It is interesting to learn about Hindu philosophy and its beliefs. Body, spirit and mind must be in balance and harmony. It is true that bad actions eventually come back to us. It is very important to always believe in God.
Carmen
carmen.164@hotmail.com
Hinduism in Nigeria
Thank you for the article “How to Formally Enter Hinduism” (Jan/Feb/Mar, 2016). In my country, Christianity was the colonial religion, and it prevented many populations from knowing the light and truth of the Hindu faith, which I now see as a humble path of worship. Only now, through the web and social communication, have I learned more. I want to convert, learn, grow and help teach Hinduism in Nigeria.
Johnson Nnamdi
nnamdiokorie330@gmail.com
Yoga Ashram
I recently came across your article “Yoga Vidya: A Living Hindu Ashram in Germany” (Oct/Nov/Dec 2025). Even through photographs and descriptions, it appears serene and inspiring. The ashram seems to uphold authentic yogic traditions: hatha yoga, raja yoga, havan, seva and disciplined practice are all clearly emphasized. The environment looks peaceful and dedicated to spiritual growth, which left a strong impression on me. My respectful pranam to Swami Sivananda, Swami Krishnananda and Sukadevaji. May their teachings continue to guide and inspire many seekers around the world.
Mantrasarita
mchilekar@gmail.com
Why the Term Sanatana Dharma?
Visitors in the Mini Mela gift shop here at the Kauai monastery sometimes ask why Hinduism is called Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Truth. Hinduism is known as Sanatana Dharma because it is not just one individual’s teachings but rather humankind’s evolving recognition of the eternal laws governing the way everything works—how the mind works, how karma works, how reincarnation works, how the soul evolves, how astrology works, how the Three Worlds work, how the Gods and devas work, how the universe itself—time, form, space, all souls, devas and other Gods—is created by the Supreme God from His/Her own essence, and how it all evolves through the yugas to eventual complete harmony, indistinguishable from God Himself.
I apologize to Shaktas for using the male pronoun for God, whom in our tradition we call Siva. We recognize no gender differentiation at that level of existence, considering Siva/Shakti as one Being who appears to different people in different forms.
Chamundi Sabanathan
chamundi@sonic.net
Racism
Racism works in two directions—not only when white people look down on darker skin, but also when black and brown people look up to white skin. Although colonial rule ended long ago, I wonder whether we are still mentally colonized. Consider the Queen Victoria memorial in Kolkata. As a child, I visited it. Yet she symbolized the empire that presided over mass starvation and economic exploitation, leaving India impoverished. Why do we preserve monuments to that legacy?
My main concern, however, is a different form of domination which I have encountered in the United States: being told that unless I convert to Christianity, I will be condemned to Hell. This raises troubling questions. Do our character and actions not matter? Are kindness, honesty and service irrelevant? If belief alone determines salvation, then entire communities are condemned in advance.
Reducing human beings to one characteristic—religion—is similar to racism, which reduces people to skin color; sexism, which reduces women to gender; caste discrimination, which reduces individuals to birth; and anti-Semitism, which historically targeted Jews simply for their identity. We know the horrors such reductionism led to in Nazi Germany, where families, including children and infants, were exterminated solely because of their religion.
Yet some proselytizing doctrines imply that billions of Hindus, Buddhists, atheists and others will endure eternal suffering for the same reason. These ideas are publicly preached without critique. Racism, casteism and sexism are condemned in the public sphere, but religious exclusivism that consigns innocents to eternal torment receives almost no scrutiny.
I fear this silence reveals a lingering mental colonialism—a hesitation to question dominant Western religious frameworks. In the twenty-first century, no faith community should be threatened with eternal punishment for following its own tradition. I have attempted to publish these concerns in several Western newspapers without success. I hope your publication will help bring this discussion into the open. Let us affirm the dignity of all sincere spiritual paths.
Vanamali Thotapalli
malipalli@yahoo.com
Nandinatha and Panini
Hello, dear representatives of Hinduism Today magazine. I study Vedic culture and translate scriptures from Sanskrit. In the article about Saiva Siddhanta on your website, it says:
“The first known guru of the Shuddha, ‘pure,’ Saiva Siddhanta tradition was Maharishi Nandinatha of Kashmir (ca 250 bce), recorded in Panini’s book of grammar as the teacher of rishis Patanjali, Vyaghrapada and Vasishtha.” I tried to find Sanskrit sources where this verse could be found, but I couldn’t find any. Please tell me which source, chapter, and verse I should read to find confirmation of this statement?
Viktor Kochergin
arbitrlaw@gmail.com
Editors’ Response: Namaste Viktor, thank you for your thoughtful inquiry. Upon review, we recognize that the statement on our website conflates textual evidence with lineage tradition (parampara) and also mistakenly includes the legendary Vasishtha among Nandinatha’s disciples. Maharishi Nandinatha’s metaphysical insights on the Maheshvara Sutras—the fourteen sounds traditionally said to have emerged from Siva’s drum—are captured in the Nandikesha Kashika. According to tradition, both Panini and Nandinatha were present at this revelation, with Panini employing the sounds to formulate Sanskrit grammar in the Ashtadhyayi and Nandinatha conveying their metaphysical and tantric meaning. The association of Patanjali and Vyaghrapada as disciples of Nandinatha belongs to the Kailasa parampara and is reflected in South Indian temple iconography, such as at Chidambaram, but it is not stated explicitly in Panini’s grammatical text. We will revise the original passage to clarify these distinctions and correct the error regarding Vasishtha.
The Lofty Teachings of Ramana
In Tiruvannamalai, where I live, there are many teachers of non-duality. Most of them know Sri Ramana Maharshi’s teachings very well and often assume that having this knowledge means the goal has been reached.
Yet Sri Ramana speaks from the standpoint of the jnani—a position that lies beyond the grasp of most teachers. His words arise from realization, not from instruction.
My aim has therefore not been to interpret or explain Ramana, but to rewrite his vision from the viewpoint of the devotee: one who has not yet arrived, who still lives within identification, memory and effort, and for whom Ramana’s silence remains a direction rather than a condition already fulfilled.
Peter Swami
shantionline@yahoo.com
The Great Kanchi Saint
The article “Kanchi Saint Attains Maha Samadhi at 99” (Mar/Apr/May 1994) gives a brief but full biography of Mahaperiyava. Congratulations to the author.
His Holiness, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi was born in 1894, and became the 68th Acharya in 1907 at the age of 13, not 18—not a huge mistake, but this correction will avoid unnecessary criticism.
R.Venketaramany
ramanitq@gmail.com
A Timeline of Humanity
I came across a timeline of human history from the Dec. 1994 issue of Hinduism Today. It is truly a “tour de force. “I have never seen such a superb summary anywhere else. May I humbly suggest that you bring the article up to date? It is time to rewrite the timeline!
I have been a subscriber for a couple of decades now and renewed last month. Truly, there is no magazine across the whole world so excellent as Hinduism Today.
Raja G. Bhat, MD
rajagbhat@yahoo.com
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By Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
One of Hinduism Today’s five purposes is “To nurture and monitor the ongoing Hindu spiritual renaissance.” This resurgence is reflected in the increase in Hindu pride and participation in events such as India’s 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela. Another expression is the extent to which yoga institutions are presenting Hindu teachings in Western countries. We showcased an example in our article “Yoga Vidya: A Living Hindu Ashram in Germany.” This institution, Europe’s largest yoga ashram, provides a daily routine of meditation before dawn, traditional fire ceremonies, satsang, scriptural study and voluntary service.
Globally, Hindu leaders and parents alike are actively seeking ways to inculcate the noble truths of our faith in today’s youth. At Hinduism Today, we let youth speak for themselves—to inspire and uplift others through opinion pieces and narratives about their own spiritual experiences. In “A Legacy of Faith and Courage,” Loshini Rajentharan, a Malaysian-born Tamil devotee of Rama and Hanuman, tells how her grandfather’s example of unwavering devotion to Lord Rama instilled a profound bhakti in her that is the anchor of her life.
The Indian systems of health and medicine are also burgeoning, with ayurveda facilities now established around the globe. To complement this knowledge, our October 2025 educational Insight section informed our readers about the lesser-known siddha system of medicine.
The article is written by Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary, a neurologist, neuroscientist, ayurvedic practitioner, sound medicine expert, author and advocate for integrative healing. Her journey began in the world of conventional medicine but her approach was different. She sought to understand why her patients were suffering and how they could heal at the root.That search led her into the ancient sciences of ayurveda and siddha medicine and the eventual founding of Sri Narayani Holistic Centre, a sanctuary dedicated to reviving ancient healing practices.
Dr. Chaudhary writes, “Siddha medicine is not just a way to treat illness—it is a sacred science passed down by our siddhars, showing us how to live in alignment with nature and the universe. When we follow these ancient teachings, we understand that true health is the balance of body, mind and soul, guided by the wisdom of those who came before us.”
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