The India-Pakistan Conundrum on October 28, 2020The modern Indian writer commenting on affairs between India and Pakistan has an acute dilemma: every time he or she is objective about Pakistan, his compatriots tend to see him as soft on the enemy and may direct suspicion and accusations towards him. Any hint of empathy challenges the “us” versus “them” paradigm. An Indian […]
Swami Agnivesh: Champion of Humanity on September 13, 2020There are few more inspiring Christian houses of worship than the great cathedral at Canterbury in the UK. It is of course associated with the killing of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Becket, and his rivalry with his former friend King Henry. Those who would like to know more about that episode in English […]
Discovering the Divine on a Deserted Island: The Fantastic Story of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan on August 25, 2020The story of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan is as unlikely as is its impact on the world centuries after it was written. The twelfth century novel was written by Abu Bakr Ibn Tufail, advisor to the ruler in Marrakesh, whose kingdom then included Andalusia, Tufail’s native land. The anthropomorphic and philosophic novel tells the story of […]
Nietzsche’s superman, Islam, and Covid-19 ( PartV) on August 25, 2020It is interesting in the context of what transpired in Europe in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries to examine some of Nietzsche’s warnings for us that resulted in his promotion of the Superman. Hehad warned against the state that takes the place of God as it will enslave us. It was “the coldest of […]
Nietzsche’s superman, Islam, and Covid-19 ( Part IV) on August 24, 2020Iqbal acknowledged Nietzsche in his short poem “Hakeem Nietzsche” or “Learned Sage Nietzsche” and mentioned him in his celebrated poetic work Payam e Mashriq or “Message of the East” (1923), a response to Goethe’s West-Eastern Divan. About Nietzsche Iqbal sighed, “His heart is that of a believer’s but his brain that of an infidel’s.” For […]
Nietzsche’s superman, Islam, and Covid-19 ( Part III) on August 21, 2020We have further interesting connections in the relationship of Nietzsche to Islam. Like other German philosophers such as Hegel and Goethe, Nietzsche too sought to understand the meaning of life and the place of the human in existence. The ultimate aim was to discover the path to a fulfilled and even contented life. In the […]
Nietzsche’s superman, Islam, and Covid-19 ( Part II) on August 21, 2020Examining the qualities of Nietzsche’s Supermen figures we may deduce some broad characteristics: they have a sense of destiny; something is driving them to spread their message and understanding to the world. They are generally protective of the weak and the vulnerable and concerned about the minorities. They are inclined to see the big picture […]
Nietzsche’s superman, Islam, and Covid-19 ( Part I) on August 20, 2020When Friedrich Nietzsche ran to stop the brutal owner of a horse from thrashing it mercilessly in Turin, Italy, and threw his arms around the animal crying, “I understand your pain,” it gave us an extraordinary insight into his character and mind; more than his usually convoluted philosophic utterances. Nietzsche, who blithely declared to the […]
India and Pakistan: Searching for humanity in the age of madness(Part 3) on August 15, 2020The interactions I have described are in in keeping with the old spirit of nobility of the Indian and Pakistani soul inspired by the inclusive sages of the land like Lord Buddha, Asoka, Mahavira and Guru Nanak; and on the Muslim side Data GanjBaksh, Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Moinuddin Chishti, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, […]
India and Pakistan: Searching for humanity in the age of madness (Part 2) on August 13, 2020Seeing the ugly confrontation between India and Pakistan and the disgusting acts of violence that it has generated on the Subcontinent it is understandable to see Hindus and Muslims and Indians and Pakistanis as eternal foes with undying hatred for each other. And Muslim mobs in Pakistan and Bangladesh have exhibited similar violent hatred towards […]