At work today with my amazing collaborators working on deep ecology and climate action, we were speaking about leadership, and on whether our work needs to be an invitation for leaders, or to leadership. While of course, it does not have to be an either/or question, how we hold the…

This project often invites interesting questions, one of which is often around why I would want to engage with Islam as a Hindu, Brahmin, living in India. I had one of those conversations with someone today. And while the intellect has a response to these questions that I often articulate…

It is the day of Laylat al-Qadr today (that began last night) — the 27th night of Ramadan, when it is believed the first verses of Quran were revealed to Prophet Mohammed. In some cultures, every odd night of the third Ashra (the last 10 days) of Ramadan are observed…

There is a story of a humble shepherd who was called a blasphemer by Prophet Moses, because the latter heard him offering to comb God’s hair, wash his clothes and kiss his hands. When Moses tried to explain to him the idea of an incorporeal God, God admonished Moses for…

Iyas ibn Mu’awiya al-Muzani was an Islamic Qadi (judge) who lived around the 8th century CE in what is now Iraq. Known for his wit and cleverness, a lot of stories are documented about his conversations and discernment. One of them is when a person came to ask him what…

The polymath Ibn Sina (known as Avicenna in the West), one of the most prominent writers of the Islamic Golden Age, physician, astronomer and philosopher, is once said to have conducted an experiment. He placed two lambs of the same age and physical attributes in two different cages and fed…

We have yet another day within Ramadan where confluences abound. Today is Good Friday according to the Eastern Orthodox churches that still follow the Julian calendar. The Jewish Passover ended yesterday, while the Buddhist Songkran continues till tomorrow, with today being the day of transitions between the old and the…

The Thai new year called Songkran begins today and the festivities continue for three days. Songkran is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Sankrant’ which literally means movement, or transformation. Songkran marks the movement of the sun from Pisces to Aries on the astrological chart. This movement is marked by several…

Part of my professional work has to do with trauma healing. While trauma cannot be avoided, for it is the backdrop of all life as we perceive it, it can certainly be managed well. More often than not, it is not the presence of trauma which leads to loss of…