Check out In Search of the Cradle of Civilization.  This book is required reading if you are interested in ancient history, and especially if you have any interest in the Vedic period.  I remember pouring through old archeology books at the University of Florida when I was completing a school project on the Mohenjo-Daro/Harrapa civilization (more properly called the Saraswati river civilization as the book describes them) and being both fascinated and puzzled by the conclusions and methodology of the history speculated on therein.  This book fills in the gaps, presenting a much clearer view of ancient India and the Vedas, free of colonial bias.  Read it!

-D

This website provides a nice concise overview of western philosophy, in the words of the philosophers themselves. If you don’t have time to read something more dense like A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, or just want a brief refresher, check it out.

http://www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/squashed/

I personally didn’t like their summary of the Bhagvad Gita, the longer summary is fine, but the short summary is terrible, so be warned.  The summaries of Western Philosophers seem to be better though.

On the evening of Mahashivratri, I thought it appropriate to offer some meditations and prayers for Lord Shiva.

ॐ त्रयम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टीवर्धनम्।
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान्मृत्योर्मुक्षीय मामृतात।।

OM trayambakaM yajaamahe sugandhiM pushhTivardhanam.h |
urvaarukamiva bandhanaan.h mR^ityormuxiiya maamR^itaat.h ||

Om. We worship the three-eyed One (Lord Siva) Who is fragrant, and who nourishes all beings; may He liberate us from death for the sake of Immortality.

Lord Shiva’s symbolism is beautiful, the unfoldment of which, when done properly, truly brings out the beauty of Hindu teachings. Often, however, this symbolism is misinterpreted, especially in the west. My focus will not lie with the misinterpretations despite this; too much time is spent disputing such nonsense, especially since none of it has any actual relevance or relation to those actively worshiping Lord Shiva.

Unfolding the symbolism of Lord Shiva could be an endless process, so we will focus on a few aspects from the mantra above, and a few stories.
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Depending on how you count, it seems recent research on what makes people happy may have finally caught up to… 8,000 years ago. This recent Scientific American blog article details the elusive nature of the search for happiness, and talks about the approach from a few different recent books on happiness.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=
C73C7109-E7F2-99DF-31EB094AF750C3C3&ref=rss

In this article, the author cites London School of Economics economist Richard Layard in his book Happiness (Penguin, 2005), as explaining that though economically our situation has improved over the last 50 years, people are not measurably happier. In fact, once income is above $20,000 a person, more money does not bring more happiness.

So, it seems our modern attitude has finally caught up to the starting point of Vedic inquiry. That the pursuit of material gain is endless, and does not contribute to actually making us happier is something well known to anyone who has studied Vedic thought. Read the article, the parallels you will find are striking.

The soul of Hindustani classical music lies in the expression of emotion. Understanding this simple objective is key to understanding all of the various complex and sometimes enigmatic features of this beautiful art form.

The subtle unfolding of the Raag through microtonal variations on notes, and the slow movements of the alaap create a rich aural environment designed to evoke a particular feeling in the audience.
In the later, faster movements, the environment becomes more populated with sound, and the subtle expression of emotion becomes more immediate, more forceful.

This is also why improvisation and audience reaction play such an important part in classical performances. The artist adjusts their performance for the particular atmosphere and the audience. In this case, fixed melodies do not suffice to communicate the full emotion that the artist seeks to evoke.

Hindustani classical music is not unique in seeking to express and communicate emotion, but it is the importance which the objective is given which has given rise to many of its unique features.

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

~ Lao Tzu

(A variation in translation of the second part of this quote was used as the theme for the recent movie Fearless, featuring Jet Li.)

There are many interesting programs on National Public Radio, one that I listen to often in podcast form is “Fresh Air”, an interview show dealing with “contemporary arts and issues”.

Fresh Air: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=13

NPR Podcast Directory: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php?type=main