John Irving’s notoriety as a novelist rests at least partially upon his admirable ability to fuse the comic and tragic in fiction, often within the same “sketch” or scene. His persistent vision of the absurd and sublime as conjoined twins alludes to a more profound and probing set of themes in his published fiction. In his novel, “The World According to Garp” the apparent domesticity […]

Non-violence and Willpower Why does an individual indulge in violence? This question has great importance for one who practices non-violence. Its answer compels us to probe the unconscious. We discover there what psychologists call a repressed desire that drives one to violence. It can be controlled only by strong willpower, which is the same as a strong vrata or vow. It is for this purpose […]

We all know that our prisons are the final point for the socially rejected criminals and violent transgressors. We know that our prisons are so overcrowded that the Supreme Court of California issued a court order to reduce the number of inmates. We know that since there are more inmates in prison the chance of getting rehabilitated are very slim to none. And we also […]