When I was a child, each year on the night of Diwali before going to bed, our family unlocked and slightly opened all the doors to our home. The reason, I was told, was that so on this night, Lakshmi Devi, the goddess of fortune, could freely enter...

I woke up last week to my radio alarm clock blaring the big news: terrorist mastermind Anwar al-Awlaki, who topped the U.S. government's controversial kill list, had been assassinated in Yemen. For me, the news hit home in a more specific, if not disturbing, way. I knew the man, and...

Sri Ganesh (also spelled Ganesa) is considered the lord of new beginnings. From the homemaker beginning her day, to the business owner commencing his account ledger, to the Bollywood director beginning the first scene of a movie shoot -- they all turn to Ganesh. Hindus of...