For years I’ve read like someone possessed - 4 to 5 hours every single day, outside work, on subjects that have nothing to do with my job. One random sentence sparks curiosity at midnight - I’m already down the rabbit hole. Researching. Noting. Writing till the birds start.
What truly nourishes my soul?
It’s losing myself inside pages that don’t just describe - they make you feel. The rough bark under your fingertips in a rain-soaked forest you can almost smell. The distant crack of thunder rolling through the words. The warm, slightly bitter taste of longing in a stranger’s voice. I read the greats who paint with all five senses… and I try to weave the same magic myself.
It’s the reckless joy of picking up something I knew nothing about yesterday and refusing to stop until I’ve tasted mastery - even if it’s only a sliver. It’s conversations that peel the soul open with my own restless self in the dark, and with people who see the world in colours I’ve never noticed. It’s unplanned outings where the only plan is to follow the wind and see where it takes us. It’s how I remember I’m still wildly, greedily alive. This question hit something deep. Thank you for asking it so honestly. What’s the one thing that feeds your soul?
https://x.com/i/status/2074896526200189182
The Stranger from Hyderabad
Pondicherry, 1920s. The afternoon lay heavy over the French quarter. Beyond the shuttered windows, the Bay of Bengal breathed against the shore. Rickshaws rattled over sun-baked streets. Inside the house on Rue François Martin, Sri Aurobindo sat in the quiet of his room. A visitor had arrived from Hyderabad. He was ushered in. Sri Aurobindo looked at him. And knew. The recognition was immediate.
https://x.com/i/status/2075112413175885951
Modern India owes an enormous intellectual and cultural debt to Bengal. From the national anthem and national song to influential thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, and many leaders of the Indian renaissance, Bengal helped shape the idea of modern India.
https://x.com/i/status/2074864382824304963
Auroville is "protected" by the Divine and the divine logic is not decided by human fallacy or the vagaries of human nature. Granted there is an intrusion by the "north Indian" muscle but deeper down U need to find the "ayanamsha" of supreme fulfillment.. bonne chance !!
https://x.com/i/status/2074378906174677381
श्रु What is Shru- श्रु? I love this root sound मूल ध्वनि
It means to listen, to hear, to receive through hearing
From it come words such as Sruti, that which is heard. The Veda, the Upanishads, some say the Bhagavad Gita, are Sruti
From it comes the word sravas in Rig Veda 1.1.5. Sayana translates it as fame which is related to hearing of course
The true fame is that of Agni because he is the Kavi, the Seer. कवय: सत्यश्रुत: The Kavi is the hearer of Truth
Sruti is the Veda and श्रु is critically important in the Veda
https://x.com/i/status/2075062336423891173
Vedic Meditation
The Art of Listening श्रवस्
Listening is a most interesting ability
Let us bring our attention to sound
Turn to the sounds about you. No pressure, no stress. Everything gentle and smooth
Naturally, receive them. The clock. The bird. Crickets. The car in the distance. Dog barking. The rustle of leaves. The sounds in the mind. Hold them, feel them. Without effort
Don’t react. Just let them be. Be quiet. Catch everything you can carefully, minutely
Listening goes very well with being quiet. Quietly listen श्रवस्
https://x.com/i/status/2074812280538042863
Learning from the responses of our friends we are trying to make the Veda easy to practice. And to approach the Veda by active engagement with it. Introduction not with theory but by application क्रियान्वयन
For ‘an ounce of practice is better than a universe of theory’
We will notice that many of the fundamental concepts or revelations that we take for granted in Vedanta and Tantra now appear there in seed form
For example, Dharana and Dhyana are there. Ekam Sat too. Rudra and Devi with their explosive energies and Vishnu too
We have touched upon first the practice of looking and then holding पश् and धी
But they are not separate, are they? They are the same process of growing aware and sustaining it. Only a different nuance is used for each by our wonderful teachers. A sustained witnessing is transformative for the fundamental approach is to grow in awareness and turning it into siddhi (the dhi is there in siddhi too, did you notice?)
https://x.com/i/status/2074694833713648122
Attention is the most fundamental process in our brains, argues neuroscientist Michael Graziano. | bit.ly/4wTksWn
In this article, he claims subjective experience arises when the brain attends to its own attention in order to control it, like an artist painting a picture of themselves painting pictures.
https://x.com/i/status/2075180437576573327
Language does far more than describe the world. | bit.ly/4h02TPs
In this interview, cognitive scientist and linguist Lera Boroditsky reveals how language actively shapes how we perceive space, time, colour, and causality, and emphasises why losing it is so dangerous.
https://x.com/i/status/2074546766301577424
“Requiem for French Theory”
by Monthly Review Press countercurrents.org/2026/07/requie…
French Theory has shaped academic debates across the humanities for decades. In "Requiem for French Theory", Aymeric Monville and Gabriel Rockhill offer a sustained Marxist critique of its intellectual legacy, arguing that its rise was intertwined with Cold War politics and anti-communist ideology. This introduction by John Bellamy Foster traces the historical origins of French Theory, examines its influence on contemporary thought, and situates the new book within broader debates on philosophy, class struggle, and imperialism. Published by Monthly Review Press, the volume presents a provocative intervention in ongoing discussions about Marxism, postmodernism, and the politics of knowledge.
Requiem for French Theory soundly criticizes this tradition’s chameleonic ideological permutations under new names, such as post-colonial thought, de-colonial theory, new materialism, and other trend-setting discourses. But it also reveals how these theoretical developments are all part of a broader anti-communist cultural front.
On October 18–21, 1966, a seemingly innocuous international conference titled “The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man” took place at the Humanities Center of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The conference was billed as bringing the main luminaries of French structuralist thought to the United States.
https://x.com/i/status/2075161625938780473
25th Conference of the European Society for Philosophy of Religion. The Revival of Metaphysics in the Philosophy of Religion. New Universalisms, Catholicities, and their Opposites, September 10 - September 12
Metaphysics, once vehemently criticised by logical positivists and postmodernists alike, seems to make a comeback both in the context of the analytic tradition and of the continental schools of phenomenology and critical thinking. Is there really a return of metaphysics and if so, what types of metaphysics are involved? A return of metaphysics forces us to reconsider our attitude towards premodern and modern philosophical and theological thought, with implications for the nature and tasks of philosophy of religion. What are the consequences for our view of the relationship between philosophy and theology? Pressing questions are:
(1) Which varieties of contemporary metaphysics are most relevant for the philosophy of religion? What brings this metaphysical turn about? Can religion do without metaphysics? Is a metaphysical approach in the philosophy of religion in any sense avoidable?
(2) Does a metaphysical turn overcome the standard objections to metaphysics? Is there any truth to post-metaphysical approaches?
(3) Does the emergent universalism within contemporary metaphysics encourage a joint search for common ground between philosophical and religious traditions? Can a revised notion of catholicity which goes beyond particularist approaches, bring different traditions closer together? Or should it strengthen the post-metaphysical critique and formulate opposites at the limits of possibility of that search?
(4) What are the ethical and political consequences of the return of metaphysics in philosophy of religion? Is a return to metaphysics and universalism in danger of bringing back a discourse of dominance and logocentrism? Is the search for common ground used as power tool?
What is the true purpose of Auroville?
In this inspiring talk, Deepti Tewari explores the deeper vision of Auroville as envisioned by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. She explains why Auroville is far more than a township—it is a living experiment in human unity, conscious evolution, and collective transformation.
Through thoughtful reflections on the Auroville Charter, Integral Yoga, education, service, and self-discovery, Deepti invites us to look beyond everyday challenges and embrace Auroville as a place of continuous learning, inner growth, and conscious progress.
https://youtu.be/A6Q0sOUOGVc?si=t1GbRNHrb6r_ziQr
Geography of the Moon brought audiences on a meditative sonic journey with Virginia Bones & Andrea Rubbio at Bharat Nivas, Auroville. #Auroville #TheMother #SriAurobindo
https://youtu.be/S_iRH0ITqb4?si=_t5ZloumtV0G62sS
https://x.com/i/status/2074708491252687092
Happy Birthday Shri Hariprasad ji!
Thank you for your unforgettable Hero flute melody—it has a permanent place in my heart. Your music doesn't just touch my soul; it truly reflects the divine spirit of Lord Krishna’s bansuri.
https://youtu.be/poGbrnVHSKM?si=Oe84XU7hUXJ4PZw_
#PanditHariprasadChaurasia
https://x.com/i/status/2072144778314264650
Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra
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