I remember some conversations that I had with some acquaintances whom I knew about 20 years or so ago. The gist of the conversations was that India needs an authoritarian approach in order to deal with the many challenges that it is facing. The Muslim culture – specifically Sharia – was praised. The question was […]
Author Archives: nikhilmg
The Benefits of Arrogance
This is the second of two articles on arrogance. Link to the first article that was published on 21 May 2024 is at the end of this blog. The first of these two blogs discussed why arrogance is such a cardinal sin in Indian society. This article will explain the causes of my being arrogant. […]
Arrogance in the Indian Context
I got into a lot of trouble when I was young because I was thought to be arrogant. And I was. And I was made to pay an exorbitant price for this. The punishment was out of all proportion to the crime. Why is arrogance thought to be such a cardinal sin in India. Much […]
The Mahatma’s legacy misunderstood
I want to make the point in this blog that Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy, teachings and example were misunderstood and misused by sentimental do gooders in India. Much of the time post independence has been wasted. The country has failed to develop and whole generations of Indians have wasted their lives because nobody did some clear […]
More Gems from Emerson
Here are two more quotes from Emerson’s essay on Compensation. Link is below the quoted text: Experienced men of the world know very well that it is best to pay scot and lot as they go along, and that a man often pays dear for a small frugality. The borrower runs in his own debt. […]
Disasters can help you. Here’s How
I first read Emerson’s essay of Compensation as a teenager. In those days I wanted to be a millionaire (it was the 1970s and being a millionaire in dollar terms was to be very rich). I bought some books by Napoleon Hill and read them. And Napoleon Hill introduced me to Emerson. Specifically Ralph Waldo […]
How Predestination can free you
This article is about Karma and how we can skillfully use this teaching on a moment to moment basis as we go through the day. Specifically I will be discussing Prarabdha karma. Below is a link to an earlier blog on this topic: Ramana Maharshi – whose teachings I am following now – believed in […]
Can the Country Afford This
Due to certain experiences I developed an aversion to working at a job when I was in my 30s. I had made some money on the stock market and wanted to live the rest of my life with learned leisure. I decided not to marry at that time since I did not have good career […]
Jesus Christ Criticized
I was influenced, when I was young, by Bertrand Russell’s classic book Why I am not a Christian. Link is below: https://www.amazon.in/s?k=why+i+am+not+a+christian+bertrand+russell&crid=2ZZJCP9CNRES5&sprefix=why+I+am+not+a%2Caps%2C988&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_5_14 Russell acknowledged that Christ was good and wise although he preferred the Buddha and Socrates over him. But Russell also criticized Christ as portrayed in the New Testament. One of the passages containing […]
A Necessary Part Of Your Education
I used to absolutely love James Michener novels. Here is the list of bestselling authors whose books I used to read repeatedly when I was young: I have always been a loner and controversial. As such I had to do something to keep myself entertained. And reading the books written by the authors above was […]