The high-souled Pandavas and Draupadi of great fame, having observed the preliminary fast, set out with their faces towards the east. Setting themselves on Yoga, those high-souled ones resolved to observe the religion of Renunciation, traversed through various countries and reached diverse rivers and seas… While the Pandavas set out for the forest, a dog followed them.

So begins the shortest book of the Mahabharata, the “Book of the Great Journey” (Mahaprasthanika Parva), where the most curious and profound story of “Yudhishthira and His Dog” unfolds between Heaven and earth.

• From Fr Giuseppe Scattolin, “Exploring Human Interiority”, a new article where the need for a deeper interreligious dialogue is argued for:

It is specifically in the taking of a stance before the Absolute that every religion reveals its most characteristic originality but also surprising matches with other religions.

• Finally, we present a rare translation of a Chinese Muslim poem from the 18th century, the Three-Character Rhymed Classic on the Ka‘bah, where “the Revelations of the Indian, the Chinese and the Semitic worlds” converge to produce a truly original work of art.

The doctrines of the Ka‘bah
pervade the Confucian Classics
and have been handed down over a myriad ages
to dispel ignorance and obscurity.