hindu, interfaith, american hindu, hindu temple, hindu chaplain, hinduism, art + culture, The Journal sangeetha kowsik hindu, interfaith, american hindu, hindu temple, hindu chaplain, hinduism, art + culture, The Journal sangeetha kowsik

RSS. Rakhi. & Qawwali

What does interfaith understanding actually look like? This month, between Rakhi, Qawwali, Krishna Janmashtami, temple tours, and one very boring “oneness” RSS event at Madison Square Garden, I kept returning to the same idea: faith is not only something we read about, it is something we experience. From welcoming two Greek Orthodox visitors into a Hindu temple to bringing a Jewish family and their 10-year-old daughter to Ganesha puja, this is a story about curiosity, compassion, and what it really means to see the world as one family.

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art history, museum, hinduism, religion, spirituality, faith, design, art, lineage, scripture, scholarship, education, india, south asia, hindu chaplain, hindu american, hindu temple, worship, arts, travel sangeetha kowsik art history, museum, hinduism, religion, spirituality, faith, design, art, lineage, scripture, scholarship, education, india, south asia, hindu chaplain, hindu american, hindu temple, worship, arts, travel sangeetha kowsik

Hinduism, AI, & that “Handsome” Shilpi (Artisan)

Sacred art in Hinduism is not content, it is lineage, discipline, and devotion. From temple sculptors who fast before carving a murti (not idol) to Arabic calligraphers who write as prayer, sacred art is an embodied act of reverence rooted in scripture and ritual. When AI reshapes deities to conform to Western beauty standards, it distorts theology and self-perception because algorithms may replicate form, but they cannot replicate lineage, love, or spiritual intention.

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