Inherited x Ishva

Not saying it’s a lungi… but it’s a lungi.

I’ve always believed India’s greatest soft power is its people.

Everywhere I live, travel, and work, I see fellow Indians killing it - chilling in cafés, delivering slick presentations, brewing amazing coffee.

Giving a sh*t. Owning it.

But the learning never stops.

Especially when it’s about staying rooted in your culture.

You’ve got to take what’s uniquely yours and blend it with a modern mindset.

No matter where you show up.

That’s how we turn our heritage into a soft power the world truly admires. Not by forcing it, but by living it.

Helping people find that balance, is what I truly LOVE doing!

India’s finest philosophers…

Vedanta as in vogue today is based on what is known as Prasthana Trayee, the three texts of knowledge for emancipation.

1. The Upaniśads
2. The Brahma Sutras
3. The Bhagavad Gita

There has been many scholars and realized souls who have commented upon these texts in one time or the other. But it so happens very rarely, there has been an attempt to reconcile all the three texts into a single mould.
In the history of India so far, only three people have been accorded that recognition.

They are Adi Sankarācārya, Ramanaujācārya and Madhvācārya.

🌟They are revered as Paramācāryas, as the supreme ācāryas because they were the only three who completed the mighty task of unifying the Prasthana trayee into one tangible structure in the last two thousand years.

❤️Their work is the basis of today’s Indian religio-philosophical structure.

❔What makes their achievement mighty ?

First, they had to show how the Brahma Sutras, 500 in number, are consistent with each other and also justify their sequence. Then, they had to reconcile the sutras with the twelve principle Upaniśads. Finally, their whole thesis had to be reconciled with the statements of the Bhagavad Gita.

☑️ But the biggest litmus test of the times was that the doctrine should also be valid in terms of human experience (be your own lab!) and be immensely practicable - the practicality being justified with the help of the Itihasas, namely Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Not surprising then that we have only had three ācāryas in the last two thousand years!

👋 Read all about these three great personalities, their lives and philosophies - in our next big feature in the Inherited Newsletter coming soon. Subscribe (link in bio!)

When Śarabha met Sandalwood… or did He❓

🌟The iconic Mysore Sandal Soap is undoubtedly one of the most enduring images of Indian bath-time nostalgia.

There’s a lot written about the soap’s legendary status, the savvy marketing campaigns and that unmistakable festive, sandalwoody aroma.

🔎 But take a closer look at that little mascot on the soap box. The little fella is a mythical creature, bearing a lion’s body and an elephant’s head.

Known as Śarabha, the motif was borrowed by NSDL (the company that makes Mysore Sandal Soap) from the Mysore Royal Coat of Arms - designed by a certain Robert Taylor during the colonial era. The coat of arms depicts a ‘Gandabherunda’ and is held up by two ‘Śarabhas’. And it makes perfect sense for these two creatures to be together, courtesy a fascinating Puranic legend.

‼️Except that Śarabha is in fact a half lion-bird, not a lion-elephant! The lion-elephant is a Vyala or Yali.

So why did the Royal coat of Arms (and the soap) depict a Yali, instead of a Śarabha? Is it a case of mistaken identity? Or a naughty colonial era distortion? A design error, perhaps? Or was meant to be a Yali after all?

❤️We solve this mystery in our latest feature article. Link in bio shortly!

❔🤔 What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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📸 ii. Śarabha, Munneswaran Temple
iii. Royal Coat of Arms, Kingdom of Mysore
iv. Mysore Sandal Soap!