Another BP Podcast is up.
It was our crew of usual suspect; Vidhi, Kushal, MJ, Jahanara and myself. We spoke about Ms. Mahua Moitra; who is, to my mind, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reimagined as Lady Durga.
I frankly find the anti-elitist elements expressed in the podcast to be rather disconcerting. Even though V and I don’t necessarily agree; we are probably united in our interest in aesthetes.
I find Ms. Moitra to be enchanting and alluring in a way I don’t find Smirti, Sonia or Sushma. It helps that Mahua speaks with a Convent school-liberal arts-Investment Banker mannerism; makes her even more compelling.
You can listen on Libsyn, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher. Probably the easiest way to keep up the podcast since we don’t have a regular schedule is to subscribe at one of the links above.
You can also support the podcast as a patron. The primary benefit now is that you get the podcasts considerably earlier than everyone else. Razib is toying with the idea of doing a patron Youtube Livestream chat, if people are interested, in the next few weeks.
Would appreciate more positive reviews!
“We spoke about Ms. Mahua Moitra; who is, to my mind, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reimagined as Lady Durga.”
Now Please stop ????
“We spoke about Ms. Mahua Moitra; who is, to my mind, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reimagined as Lady Durga.”
I assumed that Zach was cracking some type of a joke.
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Agreed with everything Jahanara, MJ and Kushal said.
Vidhi, what does “secularism” mean?
Please define:
—Dharma
—Charta
——a sub-component of this are the Vedangas
—Kama
—Moksha
—Sarva Dharma Sama Bhaava Sarva Shrest
Which of these is not secular? And why?
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I think Kushal and Jahanara talked passed each other on Islam but would have agreed if this conversation was fully fleshed out.
There is such a thing as Hindu Islam, Bharatiya Islam, Swadeshi Islam, Hindustani Islam or Indian Islam–depending on how one seeks to define it. Planning a long form dive into this. The beginning of this Hindi video elaborates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v_eq5x4pVQ
This Bharatiya Islam is inextricably linked and intertwined with Sanathana Dharma or Dharma (or Hinduism if someone prefers to call it that.)
Jahanara Begun and Dara Shikoh were highly advanced spiritual adepts. They were closely tied to Sarmad Kashani (deeply revered by many Hindu masters), Chisti (deeply revered by many Hindu masters), Mian Mir (Qadiriyya order . . . who laid the foundation for the golden temple and was deeply revered by many Hindu masters), Shah Badakhshi. Jahanara Begum nearly became the head of the Qadiriyya order–one of the largest and most respected Sufi orders in the world. Dara translated 50 upanishads into Farsi and wrote Majma-ul-Bahrain (about Samaadhi and the close connection between Sufism and the Vedas). I think the only way Dara could have written such a masterpiece is if he himself extensively experienced Samadhi/Conciousness/Satori/Tao/Swarga.
Many Hindus (including Buddhists, Sikhs, Jain) continue to revere and respect Jahanara and Dara.
Many parts of Muraqabah are identical to large parts of the 10 Darshanas of the east. Including 3.37 in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, sections of Tirumantiram and much else. More on this in a future long term post.
Our own Brown Pundits Jahanara Rabia Raza is also as authentically Bharatiya, Swadeshi, Indian and Deshi as anyone could possibly be. And very wise. And very sweet too!
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Love the way that at long last Bharat is regaining some small measure of her previous self confidence (Aatma Vishwaasa).
To make spiritual progress we need to not care what anyone else thinks about us. This is the beginning of freedom or kaivalya or mukti or moksha or nirvaana.
Among my favorite quotes are beatitudes Mark 5:10-12
⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
As Kushal correctly said, Indians need to stop caring what foreigners think about Indians and India.
[no insulting the wives of one of the people running this weblog please; will not be published]