It's a small world after all...

Staying on the topic of (the false dilemma between) East vs West, here is another common misconception: " Understanding Eastern (dharmic) thought needs one to suspend the use of logic." Even in my previous post, one of the comments asked whether I'm implying that we need axioms without logic to understand Eastern thought. I'm not sure that means though, but I guess it means something like the above stated belief. Suspending the use of logic means speaking nonsense or committing a logical fallacy. For instance, if I argued that, "All fish swim, I too swim, therefore I am a fish." Now that is an example of suspension of logic. Speaking about emotions or proposing a model comprising of abstract, intangible elements (like chakras for example) or even proposing the existence of something that cannot be proved by logic, does not make something illogical. Science is full of models built on intangible axioms. Newtonian physics for example, is built upon the...

Quite regularly, on the "mainstream" media and social media, some spiritual guru makes news -- often for all the wrong reasons. This news is followed by a coterie of skeptics heaping mud on the "self-styled godmen" and often silently wondering how the heck did these people get so rich, when they don't feature on stock markets, business news or politics. Indeed, there are several spiritual movements and spiritual heads in India that are extremely rich. India hosts the world's richest deity -- some of its spiritual gurus have their own air fields, islands, and so on. The skeptics often see these as evidence of foul play and often conjure elaborate theories. No doubt, there are unscrupulous elements in the "spirituality industry" who often use their organizations as a front for something else. However, there are ample examples of spiritual movements in India which enjoy a vast global following, with ample donations and volunteer services. Many ...