Points to Ponder

First Online: June 01, 2000
Last Updated: February 17, 2024

Hidden underneath the contents of Kamat's Potpourri are some fascinating pointers to life's most difficult questions. Some are the opinions of sages and saints, and some are those of the most common people you will find on the streets of India. - Ed.

• Why do Indians engage in idolatry?
  See our Indian cultural section for insight into this question, including a correction to the question.
• What is the difference between Renunciation and Relinquishment?
  Bet you thought they were the same. Luckily you weren't the first. Arjuna was.
• What is Wrong with Violence?
  Although well-known for his non-violent ways of fighting for justice, Gandhi explains that not fighting against injustice is worse than fighting with violence.
• Why do Farmers Smoke in India?
  This question is also -- why do Indians philosophize everything!? 
• Was Kansa a Communist?
  A teenaged boy comments on why God had to create the evil.
• What is the place of sex in life?
  Most people have a very hard time as to why we have discussions of erotica on a family site such as Kamat's Potpourri. Our take on it is how can something beautiful, and considered sacred by one generation to decorate temples, be not appropriate for another?
• Why does India need computers when what it needs is drinking water?
  Stories of personal experiences of introducing computing in rural India. Includes a profound answer to this question given by Jeppu Satish Rao, a pioneer in the field.
• What makes a man happy? What makes a man great? -- Answers from Yudhishtira on the complex questions of life.