A noticeable shift in values is taking place around us. Generation Z is questioning many assumptions that earlier generations accepted as established traditions and conventions. Ideas about work, success, authority, relationships, identity and social responsibility are being viewed differently now. Generation Alpha is emerging into an even more digitally connected world, shaped by technologies and experiences that previous generations could scarcely have imagined. Every generation inherits a worldview from those before it, but also reshapes it in response to the world it inhabits. Some beliefs lose their relevance, some are reinterpreted and new ones emerge. This does not necessarily signify moral decline. It may simply be part of how human societies evolve. But this raises a fundamental question: who decides what is right? More than a century ago, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche confronted this question through his provocative declaration, “God is dead.” He was not asserting th...
The Bhagavad Gita presents Karma Yoga as one of the paths to navigate the complexities of life. Yet we often face a dilemma about how to practise its teachings while living in the mundane world. Karma Yoga does not ask us to withdraw from the world or escape action. Instead, it asks us to transform the way we perform our actions. This is its essence. The Isha Upanishad too reminds us that one can live in the world through action without allowing action to become a source of bondage. The question, therefore, is not whether we should act, because action is unavoidable, but how we can act without becoming prisoners of our desires, attachments, expectations and outcomes. The starting point is understanding Swadharma. It is commonly translated as one's own duty, but it is more than simply fulfilling the responsibilities attached to a role. Swadharma arises from our nature, abilities, circumstances, responsibilities and, importantly, our values. It asks us to recognise who we truly are a...