! Our Inaugural Issue !" />
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A curated journal on art, culture and dharma

August 2015 Issue of Sutra Journal
! Our Inaugural Issue !

Invocation

Invocation

August, 2015 by Rg Veda

O Light, Illuminate Me - Rg Veda read more

Editorial August 2015

Editorial August 2015

August, 2015

Sutra Journal is a platform for diverse voices and the inaugural issue spans a wide range, from a first person account of sadhana to a survey of the integration of dharma shown in the writings of Fritjof Capra, to a scholarly investigation of mantra, to showing how Dharma relates to the scientific worldview and to the larger religious landscape, and more. There are articles pertaining to the intellectual, devotional and service aspects of Dharma, the latter being featured in interviews with practitioners... read more

What is Dharma?

What is Dharma?

August, 2015 by Pankaj Seth

What is Dharma? There is Hindu Dharma. There is Buddha Dharma. The root of Dharma means ‘support’, so Dharma is ‘that which supports’. Dharma refers to teachings and a way of life which support what the Rg Veda calls ‘Rta’ or ‘Rtam’. The words ‘rhythm' and 'ritual' are derived from ‘Rta’. The movement of the stars, the flowing of rivers and seasonal and biological rhythms are all aspects of Rta. Rta is the cosmic order observed with the senses, discerned through reason, and directly known... read more

Fritjof Capra and the Dharmic Worldview

Fritjof Capra and the Dharmic Worldview

August, 2015 by Aravindan Neelakandan

On 18-June-2004, a 6.5-foot statue of dancing Siva was unveiled at CERN by its Director General, Dr. Robert Aymar. A special plaque next to the statue explained the traditional symbolism of Sivas dance also quoted Fritjof Capra a particle physicist himself, For the modern physicists, then, Shivas dance is the dance of subatomic matter. The statue, a gift from the Indian Government, was to commemorate the long association of Indian scientists with CERN that dated back to 1960s. read more

Vedanta is Self Study

Vedanta is Self Study

August, 2015 by Chris Almond

One of the most common critiques of vedanta heard from sincere seekers is the idea that studying a text or scripture is insufficient to cause spiritual growth. To back this notion, people will smartly use traditional sources in support of their view. For the most part, what vedanta does is remove false assocations which when present do not allow us to see what we are-Upa, that nonremote self which is you. read more

Yoga and the Four Aims of Life

Yoga and the Four Aims of Life

August, 2015 by Pankaj Seth

In the context of the Indian civilization Yoga is a path to Moksha, or Self realization. Moksha is itself one of the four aims of life, along with Dharma/Virtue, Artha/Prosperity and Kama/Enjoyment. read more

The Gita and Me

The Gita and Me

August, 2015 by Philip Goldberg

I first became aware of the Bhagavad Gita in the mid-1960s. I was in college then, and taking my first tentative steps onto the spiritual path that would virtually define my life ever since. Instead of my assigned textbooks, which not only bored me but irritated me with their lack of profundity, I was reading about Eastern philosophy, mostly from secondary sources. Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist ideas had just entered the counterculture bloodstream, and ... read more

Interview: Anneke Lucas - Liberation Prison Yoga

Interview: Anneke Lucas - Liberation Prison Yoga

August, 2015 by Vikram Zutshi

Sutra Journal Editor Vikram Zutshi interviewed Anneke Lucas on her compelling life story and powerful work at Liberation Prison yoga. What followed was heart rending, uplifting and humbling. Without much further ado, here is their conversation ... read more

Mantra: Sound of the Infinite

Mantra: Sound of the Infinite

August, 2015 by Dr. Sthaneshwar Timalsina

Mantras are central to religious experience in India, found in all modes of ritual and practices, and accompanying all life events from birth to death. While mantras ground meditative practice and the many paths to liberation, they are also applied for magical power, alchemical transformation, and medicinal purposes, and for prosperity in various phases of life. Found in the earliest Vedic literature, mantras transcend Hindu culture and are also found in Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh traditions. read more

Yatra: India and the Sacred - Multimedia Presentation

Yatra: India and the Sacred - Multimedia Presentation

August, 2015 by Pankaj Seth

India’s coherence as a civilization depends in part on its commitment to Yatra – pilgrimage to sacred sites spread throughout the far reaches of the subcontinent. From Śaktī pīthas that sprung up when Satī’s body fragments fell to earth as the inconsolate Śiva carried her corpse through the skies, to Adī Śaṇkara’s māthas established in the far corners of Bharat, these places embody the sacred. Includes a Multimedia Presentaion. read more

Buddha: Nibanna Sutta

Buddha: Nibanna Sutta

August, 2015 by Buddha

There is, monks, an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated. If there were not that unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, there would not be the case that release from the born — become — made — fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, release from the born — become — made — fabricated is discerned. read more

Who is a Hindu?

Who is a Hindu?

August, 2015 by Dr. Jeffery D. Long

In the often-conflicted conversation between Hindu practitioners and scholars of Hindu studies, two views have tended to predominate in each respective camp regarding the character of Hinduism. I shall call these, respectively, the eternalist or perennialist view and the constructivist view.
According to the eternalist view, which is held by many Hindus, Hinduism has always existed. It is the eternal, Sanātana Dharma, essentially unchanging and true, and encompassing the vast range of ... read more

An Introduction to the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha

An Introduction to the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha

August, 2015 by Mary Hicks

What exactly is real? What is the nature of reality? What is the purpose of any particular life? These are some of the questions that the YogaVāsiṣṭha (YV) explores in tales that are epic in size and minute in their detailed storytelling, interlocking tales of kings, sages, and people from the entire spectrum of occupations. read more

Sankalpa: Setting an Intention for Life

Sankalpa: Setting an Intention for Life

August, 2015 by Molly Birkholm

Sit for a moment. Yes, you, the reader of this first edition of Sutra Journal. Close your eyes for a moment, before you read the rest of this article or turn the page. Take a few deep breaths… feel back into the heart and ask yourself the question, How is my heart feeling in this moment? Listen for the honest response, and if it feels right, continue, What will bring my heart into harmony? read more

Developing a Continuity of Practice

Developing a Continuity of Practice

August, 2015 by Virochana Khalsa

Most of us reading this journal are more or less engaged in a spiritual practice, such as meditation, which as it becomes a daily practice is formally called sadhana. However, despite the best of intentions, there is often dramatic variations of clarity over the days, such that sometimes it is just like starting again from scratch. I will share some tips to better carry forth a momentum from one sitting to the next, and in the process develop a greater integration... read more

The Gita: A Healing Revelation

The Gita: A Healing Revelation

August, 2015 by Dr. Jeffery D. Long

My first direct encounter with the Bhagavad Gita was in the parking lot of the Methodist church in Montgomery City, the small Missouri town where I spent most of my growing up years. I was reared Catholic, not Methodist, but was in the church parking lot because a flea market was being held there. I had gone there with my grandmother to sell her handmade arts and crafts. My mission was to find old sci-fi paperbacks and comic books. read more

The Role of Devotion in Yoga

The Role of Devotion in Yoga

August, 2015 by Bill Francis Barry

What do the classic yoga texts teach about the role of devotion in yoga practice? Is devotion to a higher force, deity or divine principle considered optional? What are the forms of devotional practice that are relevant to yoga? Answers to these questions are clearly stated in the Yoga Sutras, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Ramayana as well as less well known yogic texts such as the Yoga Yajnavalkya, and the Gheranda Samhita. read more

Ayurveda: List of Foremost Things

Ayurveda: List of Foremost Things

August, 2015 by Charaka Samhita

Food is the foremost among those that sustain life. Water among those that are refreshing. Exercise among those that make for firmness of the body. Zest for life among attributes of health... From the Ayurvedic source text, Charaka Samhita • 500 BCE read more

Devata: What is Deity Worship?

Devata: What is Deity Worship?

August, 2015

Hindus grow up on the stories in the epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the numerous Puranas, where heros, heroines, Devas and Devis are extolled as to their exploits and virtues. We fall in love with them. They become our role models. We do not grow up in fear of them, and so visit temples and shrines, and participate in kirtans with affection and devotion. Also, some of us don't actively worship deities at all, for there is no social pressure to do so. read more

Ganesha

Ganesha

August, 2015 by Adi Shankara

I meditate on that Devata with a single tusk... read more

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