August Kekulé, a German organic chemist, is famous for his work on the structure of benzene. Here’s how he arrived at it: Kekulé was struggling to understand the structure of benzene, a…
-
-
The story of Dhruva
Dhruva is a devotee of Vishnu, a Hindu god, in the Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana. Dhruva’s story is often told to Hindu children as an example of perseverance, devotion, and fearlessness. Manu, the…
-
The centuries-old tradition of Basant Panchami at Nizamuddin Dargah is so heartwarming!
Synopsis Basant Panchami, the Hindu festival that marks the onset of spring, is dedicated to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, and art. On this auspicious day, devotees adorn themselves in…
-
Dr. Sanduk Ruit: Bringing the gift of sight, and productive life, to those most in need
He’s known as “the doctor who saved 100,000 eyes.” As The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof put it, after visiting this Game Changer in Nepal, Dr. Sanduk Ruit may have restored sight to…
-
Anne Frank’s Diary
Reading Anne Frank’s diary for the first time can be a ground-breaking moment in any reader’s life. Since it was first published, the book has inspired generations of people around the world –…
-
Devotion to duty is the true virtue
This story from the Mahabharata highlights that our spiritual achievements are useless if we neglect our duties, or dharma: Kaushika was his parents’ only son. “Mother,” he said one day, ”I want…
-
Living in the moment
Jesus is passing through a village and he comes across a field full of lilies. He stops near it and says to his disciples, “Do you see these lilies?” The disciples look…
-
The creative process
Whenever Rabindranath (Tagore) would have the visitation, would have creativity arising in him he would not eat, he would not drink, he would not sleep for days together. He would lock himself…
-
Seduction into sannyas
There is a story in Buddha’s life. One day one of Buddha’s sannyasins was passing through a street where he had gone to beg. The most beautiful woman of that town, the…
-
How to find God
There is a very famous story about another mystic, a contemporary of Kabir, Sheikh Farid. Farid was going to the river to take his bath. A young man asked him, “Can you…