By Anand Krishna There is a beautiful Sufi saying that earlier “Sufi” did not exist as a term, but there were practicing Sufis everywhere. Now the term “Sufi” exists, but there is hardly any true practitioner. The same can be said about “multi-religious cooperation” and “interfaith dialogue.” Such terms were not popular earlier, but [...]

The media is the most powerful entity on earth,” said the American black militant leader Malcolm X, popular in the 1960s. For, in his own words, “They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” How does the [...]

By Anand Krishna Hardly? Impossible? Not in Bali. Here, science and the arts are not poles apart. Here, science and the arts are not opposed to each other. On this beautiful isle of gods, the two not only meet, but also complement each other. This is the inner significance of Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge [...]

By Anand Krishna We normally associate celebrations with noise, loud music, singing, partying and of course crowds of people. Not so with the Balinese; not always. Here, on this isle of gods, silence and solitude are celebrated too. Indeed, the most important celebration here is that of silence. Yes, I am speaking about Nyepi – [...]

By Anand Krishna There is very famous Zen anecdote of a disciple asking his master, “Master, Master, what were you doing before your enlightenment?” And, the Master answered, “I was tending my garden.” “And,” the disciple asked again, “what did you do after your enlightenment?” “Don’t you see,” the Master asked back, “I am still [...]

By Anand Krishna Having written last week that “hypnosis or hypnotherapy can be used as tools to open one to meditation,” or to strengthen an already weakened brain, I must, once again, emphasise this. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy are not the only tools; there are several other, much, much safer ones, including but not limited to [...]

By Anand Krishna There was a vigorous debate last year whether yoga and/or meditation were part of certain religious rituals, belief systems, science or some sort of physical training. The census among those who raised the issue was that as long as yoga was done for physical wellbeing only, and without any chanting etcetera, it [...]

By Anand Krishna Baliku sayang, Baliku malang” – the expression in Indonesian is full of romance, deep sentiments and a long, heavy sigh. A lot is lost in translation, when the line is translated as “Darling Bali, Poor Bali” – or more appropriately, “O my darling Bali, O my poor Bali.” Repeat it a few [...]

By Anand Krishna First of all, forgive me for the provocative title.But let me assure you: to me, bules (white people) are as much descendents of the Aryan race as I am – so we are the same. You can call me a black or a brown bule – whatever; I do not mind it. [...]

By Anand Krishna It is common – and quite normal – to celebrate light. God is likened to light. God is conceived as the Lucent and the Luminous, the Radiant and the Resplendent One. Darkness, on the other hand, has always been associated with devil, with negative power. Not so with the Balinese, and the [...]

By Anand Krishna ABC! The Master reminds us: “Always Be Careful!” Psychic ability can do much damage to us, if we do not have our intellectual domain fully or substantially developed before we acquire it. Psychic ability minus intelligence can be the greatest hindrance in the soul’s evolution. The ego, the arrogance, the vanity, the [...]

By Anand Krishna The Bali Times Sanjaya was an attendant, kind of a private secretary, to the blind king of Hastinapura, Dhritrashtra. He spent two thirds of his life attending to the king. He had no private life of his own. Then, one day, just before the sons of the blind king would go to [...]