I feel I need to stand up and say that in terms of religions and religious ideologies, I firmly believe that there is room for every religious experience, provided that plurality and diversity are respected and preserved.

Rig Ved 1.36.7

To do a Namaskaar or bow before someone means that you are humble or without pride and ego. This means that we politely bow before you since you are better than me. Pranipaat(प्राणीपात) also means the same that we respect you without any vanity.

1/9

Surrendering False pride is Namaskaar. Even in devotion or bhakti we say the same thing. We want to convey to Ishwar that we have nothing to offer but we leave all our pride and offer you ourselves without any pride in our body. You destroy all our evil karma.

2/9

We bow before you so that you assimilate us and make us that capable. Destruction of our evils and surrender is Namaskaar. Therefore we pray same thing before and after any big rituals.

3/9

तं घे॑मि॒त्था न॑म॒स्विन॒ उप॑ स्व॒राज॑मासते ।
होत्रा॑भिर॒ग्निं मनु॑षः॒ समिं॑धते तिति॒र्वांसो॒ अति॒ स्रिधः॑॥

Translation :

नमस्विनः - To bow.

स्वराजम् - Self illuminating.

तम् - His.

घ ईम् - Yours.

इत्था - This way.

उप - Upaasana.

आसते - To do.

स्त्रिधः - For enemies.

4/9

अति तितिर्वांसः - To defeat fast.

मनुषः - Yajman.

होत्राभिः - In seven numbers.

अग्निम् - Agnidev.

समिन्धते - Illuminated on all sides.

Explanation : Yajmans bow(do Namaskaar) before self illuminating Agnidev by making the offerings of Havi.

5/9

Muslim thought in India can be thought of as having two lineages

1. Islamic puritanism

Lineage : Sirhindi -> Shāh Walīullāh ->Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Deobandi movement, Maulana Azad -> Jamaat e Islami

2. Muslim nationalism

Syed Ahmed Khan ->Jinnah, Iqbal - > Ayub Khan/Musharraf

The former originated largely as a religious movement.

It has its origins in Sirhindi, who voiced the view in 16th cen, that Akbar's policy was "Indianizing" Islam too much

Too much of Din-e-ilahi crap.

Let's keep Islam pure

That lineage continues in the thinking of 18th cen theologian Shah Waliullah , the Delhi based Islamic scholar who lived b/w 1703 and 1762

Waliullah like Sirhindi emphasized segregation/purity
and loyalty to the Ummah (the global Islamic whole)

Not to South Asian muslims per se

Waliullah once said

"Muslims, no matter where they live, they should be completely separated from the natives of that country in their culture, traditions and mannerisms. And wherever they are, they must be immersed in their Arabic splendor and Arabic trends”

This line of thinking continues in two 19th cen movements-

That of Syed Barelvi - who fought valiantly against Sikh rule in Punjab at Balakot

And that of the Deobandis in late 19th cen

IMPORTANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GARUDA PURAN.

On the request of Garud, Bhagwan Vishnu, the rider of Garud, described this Puran based in Taksharya Kalp. It has ninteen thousand shlokas.
This book begins with a question and goes on to describe the Shrishti.

Then it describes the Surya puja vidhi, Diksha, Shradha, Nav vyuh puja, Vishnu sahastra naam kirtan and dhyan, Yog, Mrityunjay puja,Mala mantra, Shivarcha, Gopal puja, Trailikya mohan Shridhar puja, Vishnuarcha, Devpuja, Sandhya, Pancham tattva, Durga and Chakra Archana,

Maheshwar puja, Pavitra ropan puja, Murti dhyan, Vaastu maan, Prasaad, Sarvdev pratishtha, Ashtaang Yog, Daan dharm, Prayaschit, Narak description, Chakravyuh, Jyotish, Samudra shastra, Swar gyan, Tirth, Importance of Gaya, Different Manvantars, Pittra's, Varna dharma,

Dravya shudhhi, Samarpan, Vinayak puja, Grah yagya, Ashram, Shouch, Pret shudhi, Niti Shashtra, Vrat katha, Som and Surya vansh, Hari vansh, Bharat akhyan, Ayurveda, Medicine in Ayurveda, Rog nashak kavach, Garud Kavach, Traipur mantra, Prashna, difficulties in vyakaran,

Chhand shastra, Discipline, Snan Vidhi Tarpan, Bali Vaishvadev, Pavarna Karma, Sapindan, Dharmasar, Repentence of sins, Prati sankraman, Karmafal, Yug dharm, Vishnu bhakti, Method of Namaskaar to Hari, Narsingh strotras, Gyanamrit, Vishnuarchan strotras, Principles of Sankhya,

It has long been a custom in the Islamic world to compose collections of 40 Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) for believers to memorize. Thread for the the era of Covid.

The most famous perhaps that of the thirteenth century Shafi’i jurist al-Nawawi, which I use in teaching.

Collections of Prophetic traditions also exist for specific subjects or according to specific transmitters. And, separately, since the beginning of Covid, Muslim jurists the world over have been handing down legal opinions (fatwa/fatawa) on how best to respond.

Most recently, and the first such collection I have seen since the spread of Covid, the South African Shafi’i mufti Taha Karaan published a collection of hadith dealing with epidemics along with his own extensive comments.

The collection is fascinating for various reasons, both for the degree that it builds on premodern hadith commentaries and that which it presents a new synthesis of premodern views. If you’re interested in the premodern stuff, check out my book.