Essays

A confession … or at least an explanation for my Hare Krishna friends who wonder why that previously humble/submissive Divyasimha das now sometimes refuses to bow to authority of guru, sadhu and sastra. Well, it all comes down to first principles. According to Wikipedia … In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic […]

In the dharmic tradition there is no such thing as sin*. Or at least no such thing as non-contextual sin. Why? Because that would require absolute laws, pre-established by God, as to what is acceptable action, word, thought, etc. Step outside such laws and one becomes sinful. Simple. It’s a very Christian idea. But not […]

I said: Do not use terms in response to my image generation requests like ‘our’ and ‘we’ll’ that infer ChatGPT is a person or sentient being. This is not the first time I have instructed this. ChatGPT said: Understood. Future responses to image generation requests will be phrased without implying personhood, sentience, or collective identity. […]

What if victims are really neither children or any type of vulnerable person but ancient beings who have done it all (almost all) many times before? And while they may themselves presently be identifying self in victim terms, and onlookers see them in terms of their present bodily situation, they are all actually eternal souls […]

In this connection the reference sanskrit words are nitya-baddha (eternally conditioned) and anadi (beginningless). Firstly, our experience of life here makes it difficult to think outside the box of cause and effect – where everything has a beginning and end in time. However that is precisely the eternal arena that the words nitya-baddha and anadi […]

Maybe sin is not an actual thing. More a way of explaining why we are here, and at the same time not blaming God for the suffering of the world. Needed by those who doubt good reason for God’s creation. An attempt to distance God from what appears to be unworthy … incompatible with an […]

So long as a believer characterises this world as primarily a place of ignorance and suffering they have a problem in connecting it closely with God. Especially if they also embrace the idea that not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of the lord. And God is all powerful and all loving. I […]

No disrespect intended, but I am not a fan of comebacks like ‘Don’t worry about why you are here … just worry about how you are going to get out’ or ‘You don’t need to know why you are here, you should simply focus on how you are going to get out’. The main problem […]

I propose that the jiva (individual soul) is never at odds with God but is always functioning exactly as intended. It cannot be otherwise. It is a perfect arrangement befitting a Perfect God. That we are fallen souls, or for that matter identify ourselves in any other way whatsoever, is simply a construct which facilitates, […]

I’d argue it’s not religion It’s lust for certainty where problems begin. Faith is belief in something unknown. Something you choose to believe. Denying you don’t really know, and surrounding yourself only with like-minded people, doesn’t make something known. Why should it? How can it? That self-deception may be cosy for a while. But it […]