Sonam Wangchuk stands as a moral compass in a time when dissent is under siege. In our co-authored piece for The Wire, we argue that his peaceful resistance—anchored in Gandhian ideals and ecological wisdom—embodies the conscience of modern India. Wangchuk’s fasts and climate-focused activism are not acts of rebellion but acts of restoration: of truth, environment, and democracy itself. His story is a mirror to the nation’s soul, reminding us that silence is complicity, and courage is the truest form of love for one’s country.
Category: Philosophy for Everyday Life
The World is in Your Mind – Subjective Idealism
The whole world is in your mind. Ask yourself how and where you know that your body is there? Obviously … More
The puzzle of the ‘idiot savant’
Even now, when we operate with the more inclusive category of neurodivergence as opposed to pathology, savantism’s rarity and precocity … More
When I first Came to the US two Political Issues Unexpectedly Disturbed Me
by Pranab Bardhan, an Emeritus Professor at Berkeley, with main interest in Political Economy, Global Affairs with special focus on … More
Glorious World by Hermann Hesse
I feel it again and again, no matterWhether I am old or young:A mountain range in the night,On the balcony … More
The Paradox
God sent us hereOn this earthTo be human(and humane?). But we are anxiousTo get to heavenTo be Godlike. We forgetTo … More
I Have Paid My Dues to This World
I feel like I have paid my dues to this world. How so? Firstly, I have fulfilled my duty towards myself … More
Political Philosophy as if the Neighbour Mattered
In an age of rising inequality and social fracture, Political Philosophy as if the Neighbour Mattered reimagines governance around one timeless principle — love thy neighbour as thyself. This framework transforms moral empathy into measurable public policy, proposing a “Loving Republic” where care becomes infrastructure, justice is restorative, and every law passes the “neighbour impact” test. Drawing from thinkers across civilizations — from Bhishma and Confucius to Rawls, Gandhi, and Habermas — it offers a practical constitutional model for inclusive, ecological, and compassionate governance that treats the good society not as an abstraction, but as a shared moral practice.
Spinoza and Shankara: When God Became the Universe and the Self Became God
What if the philosopher Spinoza and the sage Shankara had met?
Both, separated by continents and centuries, spoke of one ultimate Reality—an infinite, self-existent essence that manifests as all things. Spinoza called it God or Nature; Shankara called it Brahman. One reasoned his way to unity, the other realized it through inner awakening. In both visions, the world is not separate from the Divine—it is the Divine, appearing in countless forms. To see this is to be free, to live it is to be blissful. The rest—names, forms, selves—are but waves on the same ocean.
On Friendship
“YOU ARE like a lone island in the middle of the blue deep sea. The dawn breaks; the dusk falls. … More
Know Thyself 