By Darshnik Vyas

The role of a newspaper, it is believed, is to inform. But that is only a part of what a modern newspaper is supposed to do. A greater part of its mandate is to act in the manner of an ancient sage, or rishi, to help the reader in contemplation, meditation and, finally, spiritual elevation.

The term Kurukshetra has, for long, symbolised something more than a geographical location. It is a metaphor for the ceaseless tumult and conflict of the material world. In the modern context, it signifies the mode of being of the social, political and economic world.

The newspaper presumably has to reflect this. The editors, however, must not delude themselves into believing that they are aiming for, or arriving at, some objective representation of reality. Because reality is simply the name we give to our most cherished ways of looking at the world.

A newspaper has to move away from a problem-posing to a problem-dissolving attitude. A lot of the so-called problems arise because of familiar habits of thought. If you are enabled to see them differently, they will simply disappear. In that sense, the process is similar to the movement from ignorance, or avidya, to spiritual enlightenment.

Thats why a newspaper should endeavour to present perspectives that transcend our obsessive human-centric view of life.

This is how this newspaper has consistently addressed the question of diaspora or foreign origins, telling the reader that nationalism in this day and age is a liquid phenomenon, with no clearly defined contours.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Good morning, Kurukshetra - Times of India (blog)