Shravana 31 Vik Samvat 2067. Yugabda 5112: August 16, 2010

1. FESTIVALS: Thiruvonam — The Ashtami Rohini Vallasadhya (mass feast) is famous for its grandeur and religious significance. It is an annual ritualistic feast and is being organised at the Sri Parthasarathy Temple situated on the banks of River Pampa at Aranmula in Pathanamthitta dist., Kerala. The feast is jointly organised by the Palliyoda Seva Sangam and the Travancore Devaswom Board. This year, the feast will be organised on the birthday of Lord Krishna on September 1, 2010.
The Vallasadhya is usually served to the oarsmen of the snakeboats in a ceremonious ritual. Over 45 delicious dishes such as parippu, sambhar, pulisseri, rasam, avial, thoran, kalan, olan, koottukari, pachadi, kichadi, injipuli, pickles etc. are served on plantain leaves including 4-5 varieties of Payasam (pudding). The dishes are served in the background of songs sung to the tune of Kuchelavritham Vanchipattu (songs in praise of the Lord) and as the songs are sung, the participants will demand for a particular dish which will be instantly served. The legend is that in a Vallasadhya, all dishes asked for must be served in order to please the Lord. Over 40,000 people participate and an estimated 3,500 kg of rice is cooked for the feast.
Aranmula temple is one of the five ancient shrines connected with the Mahabharata. Legend has it that Arjuna built this temple, to expiate for the sin of killing Karna on the battlefield, against the dharma of killing an unarmed enemy. According to another legend, the Pandava princes, after crowning Parikshit left on a pilgrimage and in Kerala, each of these brothers installed Vishnu idols on the banks of the River Pampa and nearby places and offered worship. It is said that the idol was brought in a raft made of six pieces of bamboo and hence the name Aranmula came to be known.
2. PM MAKES FRESH APPEAL TO J&K, NAXALS FOR TALKS: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reached out to the agitating youth of the Kashmir Valley and to the Naxalites in his Independence Day address on August 15, emphasising once again his government's keenness for a dialogue with them. In a 35-minute speech delivered from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Singh said: "Discussion and dialogue are the only options to resolve complex issues."
Singh made a similar appeal to all sections of the troubled Northeast, where in recent months, the blockade of Manipur by Naga groups caused enormous disruption. The Prime Minister underscored that Kashmir was an integral part of India. "Within this framework, we are ready to move forward in any talks which would increase the partnership of the common man in governance and also enhance his welfare," he said.
3. SWATANTRYA IS A RESPONSIBILITY- BHAGWAT: PP Sarasanghachalak Mohanji Bhagwat hoisted the National Flag and offered salute to it, on the occasion of 64th Independence Day at the premises of Rashtrottha Parishat – an RSS affiliated seva organization -- Bangalore. Senior RSS adhikaris Sarkaryavah Suresh Joshi, Sah Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, S/s Madandas , MC Jayadev, Mukund, V Nagaraj and Dinesh Hegde, Mahamantri Rashtrotthana Parishat were present on the occasion.
Mohan Bhagwat said “the remembrance of glory of our country twice a year during independence day on August 15 and republic day on January 26 is becoming part of our social life these days. Though it is a happy and good approach in a healthy society, it should not be mechanical. We need focus on the real importance behind these celebrations.
“Even after 63 years of independence, our nation is not out of external & internal problems. Our Prime Minister in his speech listed several issues which are disturbing national integrity. Lack of unity amongst all is also a problem. Kashmir is burning and the exact problem there is not yet specifically diagnosed. Border infiltration is also causing a major threat. Though people are independent they need to focus more on self-discipline to make the society healthier.
“Since 1857 and even earlier to it freedom movement of Bharat has witnessed several inspiring sacrifices. 90 years from 1857 to 1947 were a period of extreme struggle which achieved us independence. After obtaining independence one should realize that independence is a responsibility. In a democratic nation like ours this responsibility is to be shared by all individually and we should not merely finger each time at government or politicians only.
“Meanwhile one has to understand the meaning and importance of the term ‘swatantrya’ and what ‘swa’ stands for? What is the importance of tricolor and Ashok chakra or dharma chakra in our national flag? Saffron represents sacrifice and knowledge; white peace and purity and green symbolizes prosperity. Our nation expects all these 3 aspects equally from every citizen hence one need to focus on self-contribution to the nation in these 3 aspects in each sector of life.
“We became independent in 1947. Rulers were changed. Now we have democracy and we are republic. We got independence to make our society stronger and more prosperous in every aspect. Our works and duties should focus on overall prosperity of the nation. To bring all positive changes required to make our country superior and stronger; all of us should think and work towards it” Bhagwat opined.
4. VHP LAUNCHES HANUMAT SHAKTI JAGRAN: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) International president Ashok Singhal said in Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad) that they were resuming the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation across the country from August 16 under the banner of the 'Hanuman Shakti Jagran Samithi'. Ashok Singhal said the VHP had decided to take up the agitation from grassroots level and create awareness among the people on the need to rebuild Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The campaign would be steered by saints and seers affiliated to the parishad and not by political leadership. Singhal said the parishad wanted all the political parties to pass legislation in Parliament for construction of the temple in Ayodhya. The young volunteers of the VHP are using the social networking sites to pass on the message among the netizens. The campaign is the beginning of an agitation that the parivar wants to take to its logical end.
5. IMPLEMENT CHITRAKOOT MODEL IN OTHER VILLAGES TOO—MADAN DAS: “The miracle of development witnessed in over 500 villages of Chitrakoot has attracted the attention of entire world. There is a need to implement this model in all the villages. But while doing it we should not let the feeling of arrogance dominate us," said Akhil Bharatiya Pracharak Pramukh of RSS Shri Madan Das. He was speaking at the general body meeting of Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) organised in Chitrakoot on July 25.
Reminding the workers of their growing responsibility after the passing away of Nanaji, Madan Das said they should be vigilant and accelerate the work for welfare of the society. He stressed the need to involve villagers in the planning process to achieve better results of the schemes.
DRI president Virendrajit Singh stressed need to promote team spirit. Principal Secretary of DRI Bharat Pathak pointed out that Nanaji wanted to create the picture of entire Bharat in Chitrakoot and the DRI is working on that project.
Former vice president of DRI and noted thinker, Devendra Swarup Agrawal said: "There is a need to bring the whole personality of Nanaji before the society. The reminiscences of Nanaji being collected will show the way to the new generation."
6. SAMSKRIT BHARATI LAUNCHES BHASHA VYUTPATTI YOJANA: There are few people who can write and speak Sanskrit fluently and mistake-free. Rest do it to show off their own knowledge and not for publicising the language. To do away with this problem, the Samskrit Bharati has started Bhasha Vyutpatti Yojana to train the new generation which will be the frontrunner in popularising the language. Nineteen students from 10 different states have been selected for the project. They can read and write Sanskrit and have graduated with good marks. They will be trained in ten months for delivering the language in pure form.
Prof Ramsalai Dvivedi of Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth and Dr Shreedhar Vashistha of Ramkrishna Dalmiya Shreevani Trust endorsed the importance of the project and offered their help. Delhi MLA Ramakant Goswami inaugurated the project on July 30. Suryanarayan Rao, President Samskrit Bharati Trust, Prof Chandkiran Saluja, President Karyagana Samskrit Bharati, Prof Upendra Rao from JNU and S Natarajan, president Kamakshi Temple Trust were amongst the distinguished audience.
7. GRAND DANCE SPECTACLE AT THANJAVUR: On September 25, the open space around the epic sculpture of the Nandi (the Bull) in the Rajarajesvaram temple at Thanjavur - popularly called the Brihadisvara or the Big Temple - will witness a grand dance spectacle. One thousand dancers from different parts of Bharat and abroad will come together to perform Bharatanatyam to celebrate the 1,000th year of the building of the temple by Raja Raja Chola.
The "Brhan-Natya Yagna" ((brhan in Sanskrit means big) is being jointly organised by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust, Thanjavur.
8. WAVES INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN PORT OF SPAIN: World Association for Vedic Studies (WAVES) has held a successful Eighth International Conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad-Tobago from August 4 to August 7, 2010, with the support of a number of organizations in Trinidad-Tobago (TT)
Dr. Suraj Ratan Rambachan, TT Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered the keynote address at Diwali Nagar of NCIC, and underscored that there could be no clashes of civilizations in a global society when governed by the Vedic precept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. HE Malay Mishra spoke of the unity of religion and culture in all societies and commended the institution of Ministry of Multiculturalism in TT. Mr. Mishra also hosted a banquet which was graced by the First President of TT, His Highness Sir Ellis Clarke,
Working in close collaboration with WAVES 2010 was the First International Conference on Ayurveda organized by the Bharaitya High Commission, in coordination with the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and the University of West Indies, Mt. Hope Campus. The Ayurveda Conference had participation from experts from various parts of the world including Bharat, and deliberated on Ayurveda as an Alternative Medicine System.
Over 100 scholars of Vedic studies and practicing Vedic scholars participating in WAVES 2010 covered a variety of topics related to the evolution of languages and cultures since Vedic times, the validation of Vedic wisdom by a number of scientific disciplines such as genetics, biology, neurosciences and consciousness studies. The central theme was the significance of Vedic knowledge for civilizational harmony and continued relevance of Vedic traditions for present times.
Scholars who participated in the Conference included: David Frawley, Jeffrey Armstrong, Rajiv Malhotra, Sethuraman Rammohan, Subhash Kak, S. Kalyanaraman, Nicholas Kazanas, Oleg Perzashkevich, Kalidas Shetty, Ved Nanda, Sampadananda Mishra, Kaushal Vepa, Shekhar Sastri, Sampada Savardekar. There were presentations in the Youth section by Eshan Kejriwal, Arnav Kejriwal and Kavita Pallod.
9. A PAGE FROM MY EXPERIENCE AS A VISTARAK: From July 13 to August 1, after the Midwest SSV where I was a shikshakh, I was a vistarak in North and South Carolina, during which I spent time in different homes, planning and conducting activities with local swayamsevaks. From Raleigh to Columbia to Charlotte and back, I met a number of swayamsevaks and stayed the night at eight different homes. One evening while I was in Columbia, Sabariji, Meghnaji, Debjitji, and I attended a dinner thrown by a friend of Sabariji. There I met some kishores, one of which, Arjun, comes regularly to shakha and conducts activities. The other four do not come at all but are close friends of his. This was a familiar setting for me – they were my age and we talked about things I would talk to with my friends. I told them about myself and asked them about shakha; they told me about their lives in Columbia and how they lost interest in shakha and stopped going. As we continued getting to know each other, I built a nice rapport with them; however, this was no major feat. In the comfortable social setting, I forgot why I had come to Columbia – to be a vistarak. I should’ve taken that friendly nonchalant conversation to a deeper level and diagnosed the reason for their shakha absence. Perhaps they feel bored and peerless at a shakha with a mostly bala gana, and thus don’t feel the value in waking up early for shakha – a reasonable excuse. If this was the case, that evening itself, I should’ve prompted the teenagers to consider taking a session at shakha or starting a shakha for kishores – something to get them involved again. However, the conversation that evening remained at the surface level and did not reach the maximum potential it could’ve. Nevertheless, later in the week, Arjun and I met to discuss some of these issues that I should have brought up that evening. We plan to conduct a Hindu Heritage Camp on October 2, targeting two age groups: bala and kishore, while the primary focus will be on the kishore. Afterwards, with the kishore gana at the camp, we will start conducting a regular shakha for kishores. (Aman Sharma, amansharma13@gmail.com, HSS short term Vistarak in USA shares his thoughts during the vistarak period )
10. OVERSEAS FRIENDS OF BJP-USA has strongly objected to the statement made by the Prime Minister of Bharat, Dr. Manmohan Singh, about granting autonomy to Kashmir saying that an insidious attempt is being made by the Congress party to divide Bharat on religious lines. Dr. Surinder Kaul, Chairman of OFBJP’s Jammu & Kashmir Cell, has said that the Bharatiya Americans are closely monitoring the unfolding situation in J & K, and are very concerned as J & K Government has completely buckled under the pressure of separatists. Chandrakant Patel, OFBJP organizing secretary, expressed deep concern that the separatists are now forcibly using the young innocent children as an instrument in their diabolical plans.
OFBJP has strongly condemned the recent arrests of displaced Kashmiri pundits in Delhi who were peacefully demonstrating against secessionists.
Mr. Jayesh Patel, OFBJP president elect, summarized that Bharatiyas all over the world are opposed to the idea of autonomous Kashmir as it is unquestionably the integral part of Bharat.
11. CLOUDBURST and FLASH FLOODS in LEH (J & K) - APPEAL for RELIEF -2010: The worst CLOUDBURST in Leh , and subsequent flash floods, triggered by sudden overnight heavy rain on the 6 August 2010, have resulted in killing approximately 150 people as per latest report and over 500 people are reported missing. Five villages – Nimmo, Basgo, Shapoo, Faing and Ney, apart from Choglamsar and Leh town have been very badly hit, where all communication systems, bus stands, Hospital and many other buildings have been washed away. Leh airport inundated with mud and water has been rendered un-operable.
A distance of 150 kilometers – from Pang village on the Rohtang – Leh highway up to Nimoo on the Leh – Srinagar highway has been hit, hence the road connectivity to the city has been cut from rest of India.
SEWA INTERNATIONAL, started relief activities in association with local partner organization Sewa Bharati Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir from the early morning of August 6, 2010 by providing food and temporary shelter to the affected.
There is an urgent need to provide relief and shelter to the flood affected. SEWA INTERNATIONAL, Bharat, (a registered organization with FCRA facility) whole heartedly appeals the benevolent to help these unfortunate victims. Your support will help reduce the sufferings of these people in the flood affected area of Leh, Laddakh. Sewa International is constantly helping the flood victims to bring back their life to normal.
Laddakh is a mountaneous Himalayan region under J & K state and is predominantly Buddhist. SI has been serving the local community through computer training classes and supporting the construction of school and hostel building.
For further information please contact: Telephone: +91-11- 23232850, 23684445
Fax: +91 11 2351 7722
Email: sewainternationaldelhi@gmail.com, Website: www.sewainternational.org
Please send your generous donations to:
SEWA INTERNATIONAL, 49, Deendayal Upadhyay Marg; New Delhi – 110 002
12. CBI’s CYNICISM EXPOSED: Plea to transfer case a motivated move -- The Central Bureau of Investigation’s plea to shift the Sohrabuddin ‘false’ encounter case outside Gujarat on the pretext that the atmosphere is ‘not conducive’ in the State and hence ‘fair’ trial is not possible is fit to be trashed. The investigative agency is now indulging in nit-picking by saying the status report it has filed before the Supreme Court does not make any such categorical demand. The fact is that the report is believed to have claimed the “atmosphere is not conducive” for holding trial in the State. Under attack for serving more its political masters in New Delhi than the cause of justice, the CBI has only lived up to its dubious image of being a Congress tool to settle political scores. How is the CBI so certain that a fair trial cannot take place in Gujarat when proceedings have not even begun, leave alone the case going to trial? In fact, the CBI plea came just five days after it filed a chargesheet in the case, and in the midst of questioning the accused, including Gujarat’s former Minister of State for Home, Mr Amit Shah. The case still has some way to go before actual trial proceedings begin. In the meantime, what indications has the CBI received for it to conclude that it will get a raw deal in the State? It must provide specific details and not take refuge in vague statements like the atmosphere there is “not conducive” for a proper trial. Just because the CBI is seen by many in Gujarat as being biased does not mean the State’s judiciary will be persuaded by popular opinion. If the agency’s convoluted logic is applied across the country then hundreds of cases would have to be transferred from various States.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the CBI’s absurd pleas has angered Gujarat’s legal fraternity. Both the Bar Council of Gujarat and the Gujarat High Court Bar Association have slammed the CBI for its crude remark; it has been pointed out that the agency is plotting to arm-twist witnesses to extract fabricated statements after getting the case transferred to another State. Given the manner in which the CBI has conducted its inquiry till now, this is a credible explanation for its strange demand. Even if for the sake of argument we were to accept the CBI’s plea, does it not place a serious question mark on the competence and integrity of the judiciary in the State? Moreover, since the Sohrabuddin case is being directly monitored by the Supreme Court, there is no reason for the CBI to be so dismissive of Gujarat’s judiciary. Quite clearly, the agency’s brief has nothing to do with ensuring a fair trial. The Congress has pressed it into service to discredit the Government and thejudiciary of Gujarat with the ulterior motive of destabilising the BJP Government. -- Editorial, the Pioneer, August 3, 2010
13. PAKISTAN's HINDU COMMUNITY has called for deployment of army in the flood-affected areas of Sindh province to safeguard the lives of thousands of Hindus allegedly being looted by the locals. Pakistan Hindu Council chief Ramesh Kumar has appealed to the government to move in the army in affected areas. "Our families are being targeted at gun-point by the locals of their localities. About 95 shops and 50 houses have been ransacked and looted by the miscreants," said Kumar.
14. BHARAT HAS MORE RICH PEOPLE THAN POOR NOW’: For the first time ever, the number of high-income households in Bharat has exceeded the number of low-income, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has estimated. In its report, "How India Earns, Spends and Saves", the NCAER estimated that despite the economic slowdown of the last three years, the number of high-income households should have reached 46.7 million by March 2010, exceeding the 41 million households counted as low-incomes.
15. BANGALORE TEENAGER DESIGNS CYBER SAFETY CURRICULUM: Shourya Saluja, a Class 12 student of Bangalores Indus International School is devising a curriculum For Classes IX to XII which will create awareness about cyber safety.
Its three components will focus on different safety issues of social networking sites. Children disclose too much information in their profiles, they upload photos and accept random people as friends just to increase the number in their friends list.They don’t know what dangers this can lead to, said Shourya.Kids will also be taught how to protect themselves from dangers like phishing messages, things to look after in a Local Area Network (LAN), internal security.
Cyber ethics will be another subject and kids will be tutored on how to be a good cyber citizen.
Infosys will leverage its subject matter expertise to develop content as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative.
16. SAPTAKAM CELEBRATES GURU POURNIMA AT FINNISH DAYCARE: Finnish Daycare in Hervanta named Maijalanpuisto Daycare invited Saptakam, a Bharatiya Sangeet Forum in Finland, to celebrate Guru Pournima at the daycare. The head teacher was touched by the concept of respecting a teacher, just like mother and father. As a token of respect to the teachers, Saptakam presented Greeting Cards and a Rose Flower to every teacher in the daycare. The group thanked the teachers and conveyed message of Guru Pournima. All the teachers were extremely happy at this gesture. Shri Vinod ji Pendharkar, senior karyakarta from Mumbai was also present at the occassion
17. 14-YR-OLD IS JUST ANOTHER BRIGHT BOY AT IIT-KANPUR: His lanky figure may find it difficult to push a tennis ball across but replace the racket with a pen and throw in some complex algebra and 14-year-old Sahal Kaushik, the youngest entrant into IIT-Kanpur's prestigious MSc physics programme, is instantly at ease.
If Sahal's feat of topping the Delhi JEE and landing an All-India rank of 33 is regarded as prodigious, it does not find mention within the Kaushik household. His parents, Nageshwar and Ruchi, are proud but are in no mood to let the success get to Sahal's head. A doctor by profession, his mother Ruchi Kaushik, said: "At the time of Sahal's admission to IIT, the director told us it was important to treat Sahal like any other student. He has done very well, but for us he's like any other bright boy who performs well in academics."
18. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN IS NYC'S FIRST INVESTMENT ADVISOR: Bharatiya-American finance expert Ranji H Nagaswami has been appointed the New York City's first ever chief investment advisor by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the wake of spiralling pension costs. Nagaswami will be the "full-time, central advisor to the Mayor's trustees on the five New York City retirement system boards, the largest municipal public employee retirement system in the country and the New York City Deferred Compensation Plan Board," the mayor's office said.
Nagaswami was born in Bharat and came to the US in 1984 to attend business school at Yale University. She most recently worked at Alliance Bernstein, where she was chief investment officer, overseeing $100 billion in assets and management.
19. BHARAT READIES CYBER ARMY TO SPY ON HOSTILE NATIONS: Borrowing a page from China’s art of cyber war, the government is giving shape to an IT infrastructure setup manned by a small army of Bharat's top 10 BPOs software professionals to spy on the classified data of hostile nations by hacking into their computer systems.
IT workers and ethical hackers who sign up for the ambitious project will be protected by law. The expertise of these professionals will be used to go on the offensive or preempt strikes by breaching the security walls of enemy systems.
The NSA has also asked the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and DIA to magnify efforts against electromagnetic-pulse bombs that can interrupt wireless signals inside the country. It has also directed the DIA to harden its Transient ElectroMagnetic Pulse Emanations Standards, known as TEMPEST in military parlance.
20. GEETA JAYANTI – Gita has outstanding capacity to harmonize between conflicting forces, because it says: "Sarvabhuteshu yenaikam bhavam avyayam ikshate Avibhaktam vibhakteshu tajjnanam vidhi sattvikam"
(That by which the one indestructible reality is seen in all beings, inseparate in the separated, know that knowledge to be sattvika. In all diverse things and beings of the world, one who perceives one single reality pulsing in them, has a sattvik knowledge.)
Mahamana Malaviya Mission has put a request that Gita Jayanti (Margashirsh Shukla Ekadashi) should be observed as "NISHKAM KARMAYOGA DIVAS" every year. Hindi tithi is fixed, but the English date will vary every year, which is fortunately falling on 17th December, 2010 in this calendar year. The Mission will make endeavour to perpetuate and propagate this message with its limited resources. However, the efforts by all government/non-government players all over the world will strengthen this mission of Universal Brotherhood by Nishkam Karma.
21. HINDUS WELCOMES JULIA ROBERTS TO FOLD: Hindus in USA has extended warm welcome to Oscar winning Hollywood star Julia Roberts into their fold after reports that the Pretty Woman lady goes to temple to pray.
September issue of women's fashion magazine Elle, on which Roberts, 42, is the cover girl, reportedly says: "The entire Roberts-Moder family, she reveals, goes to temple together to "chant and pray and celebrate. I'm definitely a practicing Hindu."Roberts grew up with a Catholic mother and Baptist father.Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA), heartily welcomed Roberts into Hinduism.
According to reports, Roberts has been interested in yoga for quite some time. She was in Haryana (India) in September last to shoot "Eat, Pray, Love" in an ashram (retreat).
In January 2009, she sported a "bindi" (vermillion mark on forehead) during her trip to India when she also visited Taj Mahal with husband Danny Moder. She has a production company called "Red Om Films", and "Om" in Hinduism is the mystical syllable containing the universe.
22. AGNI-III READY FOR INDUCTION: The indigenously designed and developed Agni-III missile, capable of hitting a target at 3,000 km, is ready for induction into the armed forces, Defence Minister AK Antony informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. The intermediate range Agni III ballistic missile is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads and now allows scientists to develop an inter-continental ballistic missile with ranges of 5,000 km and beyond.
23. JAGANNATH RATHYATRA IN SPAIN: The presence of the devotees was too large that the rope to pull the Rath was extended to 500 metres. Amidst the chanting of slogans like Jai Jagannath, the atmosphere turned highly devotional.
The popularity of Lord Jagannath has reached globally. Though the Rathyatra in Puri is famous world over and the devotees from across the world reach Puri to participate in it, similar Rathyatras are taken out in some other countries also. Many religious and social organisations including ISKCON play a key role in such Yatras.
A similar Yatra was taken out in one of the seven islands of Spain, Tenerife island, on July 11. The idols of Lord Jagannath, Baldev and Subhadra were specially brought from Orissa by a special plane. Before starting the Yatra, Mayor of Tenerife, Gop Mahatani of Indian Embassy, Shri Patit Pavan Das of ISKCON, Laxman Godhvani of VHP and many other distinguished personalities broke coconut and formally cleaned the streets to which the Yatra was to pass through.
24. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Hariom Bhat – UK, Dr. Martin from Germany Pravas:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Have you got the will to surmount mountain high obstruction? If the whole world stands against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is right? -- Swami Vivekananda
JAI SHREE RAM
Multiple Mutinies Now
Harsh V Pant
The Kashmir valley has been burning, once again. This time it's the new generation of young Kashmiris pelting stones at the might of the Indian state. They are venting their anger at a government that has been unable to capitalise on the stability of recent years to provide them with economic opportunities and political reconciliation. The telegenic, much-hyped chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir took 55 days to reach out to the people of the state directly after more than 50 people had already died in street protests and police action. Meanwhile, New Delhi fiddled while the situation in Kashmir deteriorated. After squandering various opportunities for making real political progress over the last few years, its only substantive response was to deploy the Indian army again after a hiatus of 15 years. The vicious cycle of killings-protests-killings continues with the government unable to intervene effectively. Even as the security forces have complained that their hands are tied in dealing with stone-throwing mobs, the demand to reduce the footprint of the security forces has come from the state government itself.
The situation in Kashmir today is symptomatic of the larger malaise afflicting the Indian state, which is facing a crisis of credibility on multiple fronts. The situation in the north-eastern states is serious with blockades and political turmoil. The challenge of Maoism is gathering momentum with Mamata Banerjee giving the Maoists a legitimacy that the government of which she is a part is trying to deprive them. The turmoil in the neighbourhood is readily evident as New Delhi becomes marginal to the evolving strategic milieu in Af-Pak.
The Commonwealth Games that were to be India's coming out party as a rising power have become a symbol of all that is wrong with India's political system. The stench of corruption and the government's inability to take action against politicians running the show is corroding whatever enthusiasm ordinary Indians may have had for these Games. The UPA's inability to come to terms with multiple challenges is stark despite opposition disarray.
Just last May, when the Congress won 206 parliamentary seats in the elections, it had unleashed a wave of optimism. That feelgood is now a thing of the past. One year into its term, UPA-II seems to have lost its way and momentum. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has the office but no power; the Gandhis have all the power without holding any formal office. The authority of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi rests on their distance from power and they have failed to use their political capital for anything except trying to maintain their own charisma. The prime minister, however, is in power because he is weak. There was a mistaken belief that the division of labour between Sonia and Singh she would take care of the party and he would run the government would work well for the nation. Exactly the opposite has happened.
The Congress has become callous and arrogant and the government is finding it hard to push forward any of the prime minister's priorities. Singh's cabinet colleagues are more interested in earning brownie points with the Gandhis and have openly expressed their contempt for the hapless prime minister. In the process, the Congress has perhaps irreparably damaged the office of the prime minister of India.
Not surprisingly, there is a whiff of fragility and under-confidence in the air, as if at any moment the entire facade of India as a rising power might simply blink out like a bad idea. Those who seek to challenge the Indian state's authority feel emboldened to take advantage of the paralysed decision-making in New Delhi.
Maladministration, dithering and incompetence are making India ungovernable with a growing loss of respect for all major state institutions. Corruption is having a corrosive impact on the social fabric by undermining the trust of ordinary Indians in their political system, institutions and leadership. Kashmir's recent turmoil has merely brought to the fore the fragile state of India's domestic affairs. The world media and India's elite talk about India's rise, often not realising that the state - beset with rising Islamist extremism, Maoist insurgency, and growing and conflicting demands of myriad interest groups is rapidly losing the ability to have its writ run over a large swathe of its territory. Though the Indian economy has continued to grow despite internal security challenges and foreign investors have not yet been discouraged by sporadic terrorist attacks, it may soon face the consequences of the grim security situation if investors find the Indian state too weak to wield due authority within its borders.
As a liberal democracy, India must acknowledge the aspirations of Kashmir's people. Yet there's little likelihood of this conflict getting resolved anytime soon, and the trouble for India is that its heavy-handed effort to keep the lid on Kashmiri demands will continue to besmirch its reputation as the world's largest democracy and a claimant for global leadership, including a permanent membership of the UN Security Council. India definitely needs to resolve Kashmir crisis but there are multiple mutinies that also need attention. It's not entirely clear if New Delhi's present political dispensation is capable of doing that. That's not a promising thought for a country that has just marked its 64th Independence Day. (The writer teaches at King's College, London). -- The Times of India, August 16, 2010.

Shravana 16 Vik Samvat 2067. Yugabda 5112: August 1, 2010

1. FESTIVALS: Karthigai festival in Tamil Nadu: Kacchiappa Sivachariyar, a Tamil and Sanskrit scholar, wrote the Tamil version of the Skanda Purana in AD 1350-1420. He called it the Kandha Puranam.
In the Kandha Puranam, Kartikeya or Karthigai is depicted as the destroyer of Taraka, the demon and the latter’s elder and more powerful brothers, called Soorapadman and Simhamukham. It is said that Lord Shiva let out a stream of fire from the third eye on his forehead and this split into six streams. Each stream landed as a child on a lotus in the lake known as Saravana Poigai.
It so happened that six women called Karthigai Pengal saw the six infants and took one each to bring up at their homes. On the day of Karthigai, Lord Shiva’s consort Parvati united the six children into a six-headed child. This led to the origin of the Tamil name of the deity - Arumugam or Shanmugam, which literally means ‘one who has six faces’.
On the day of Karthigai, a large festival is organised where most of the Tamilians participate with full vigour and zest.
2. WE WANT TEMPLE IN AYODHYA—The senior saints who have been leading the Ramjanmabhoomi agitation for about three decades have made it clear to the government that partition of the Ramajanmabhoomi would not be accepted at any cost. "We want only Sri Ram temple in Ayodhya. We can wait for the reconstruction but cannot accept any negotiation over the Ramjanma-bhoomi. There are more than sufficient mosques in Ayodhya as per the population of Muslims, but the Ramjanmabhoomi is one and only one in the world. The land that has been acquired basically belongs to Ramlala," said chairman of Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. He was speaking at the VHP’s Central Managing Committee meeting organised in Ayodhya from July 14 to 15. President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, Mahant Gyandas said we are ready to sacrifice our lives but would not leave the claim over the temple in Ayodhya. He said all the saints across the country are ready to discharge their duty for the protection of dharma.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal said Ramlala could not be seen under a tarpaulin for long, now each and every Hindu would have to engage himself in the task for reconstruction of the temple.
3. "HINDU TERROR" IS A CANARD, said RSS Sanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat on July 19, 2010, while inaugurating Sangha Karyalaya ‘Shakti Nivas’ and ‘Sabhagriham’ at a stone throw distance from the ‘Anantha Padmanabha Swamy’ temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Mohanji lit the traditional lamp and threw open the multi-storied building to the Hindu Samaj.
"For RSS happiness and sorrow, respect and insults, acceptability and rejection come intermittently. Without getting affected by both, we carry on our mission, cautiously. Just like cloth for man and not man for cloth, karyalayas are temples of Hindu Samaj and not office or place for karyakartas to live."
"The RSS aim is to develop positive Sanatan Shakti of Hindu Samaj through love, peace and unity. The target of certain media and quarters who spread canards against RSS is ‘Intense Hatred’. The crores of Hindus, all over the globe, know the true picture about RSS. We have offered total co-operation to the investigation agencies and for the past 85 years, RSS is working, subscribing to the laws of the land."
He concluded saying RSS is running 1.57 lakh service projects irrespective of religion, caste, province, and state etc., in addition to service during calamities and tragedies.
Sethumadhavan, Gopalakrishnan, AR Mohan, Gopalankutty, and Prof. CG Rajagopal participated in the functions along with several saints and sages of various mutts and ashrams.
4. COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY NEEDED TO FIGHT MAOIST TERROR-MADAN DAS – "There is a need to have a comprehensive, consistent, coordinated and Centre-led strategy to fight against Maoist violence in the country," said RSS Sahsarkaryavah Madan Das at a seminar on internal security at Ram Reddy Distance Education Auditorium of Osmania University campus in Hyderabad on July 15. The seminar was organised by Martyrs’ Memorial Research Institute, Hyderabad.
Madan Das said a kind of demoralisation has set in among the security agencies. Whenever they lose men, the politicians rarely realise their pain and sufferings. More detrimental is the fact that the politicians compromise with Naxals during the elections.
Presiding over the discussion Prof Manohar Rao, chairman of Martyr’s Memorial Research Institute, listed the sacrifices made by many to counter the menace of Maoism.
5. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN IS CHICAGO BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN – Sunil Kumar, a Bharatiya-American management guru, has been named the new head of the University of Chicago's prestigious Booth School of Business.
Kumar, who was born in India, received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has taught at Stanford since 1996. Currently the senior associate dean of academic affairs at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, Kumar, 42, succeeds Edward Snyder, who stepped down in June. Kumar will begin a five-year term as dean on Jan 1, the University of Chicago announced July 28.
6. DEEPANJALI GUPTA WINS THE ECO-AWARD IN SYDNEY: Deepanjali Gupta, a final year Bachelor of Business student at the University of Technology Sydney, was awarded the Eco-Champion Award for individuals at a formal Awards ceremony, celebrating World Environment Day on 5th June 2010. The event was organised by the multi-faith network, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) and was held at the Anglican Church in South Hurstville Sydney.
7. 'BRANCHES OF INDOLOGY LIKE RELIGION FLOURISHING IN RUSSIA': Indologist Viktoria Lyssenko of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Philosophy recently lectured at Kashmir University. She spoke to Aditi Bhaduri on Indology in Russia currently:
What is the state of Indic studies in Russia today?
Currently certain branches of Indology, which were earlier under strict ideological control - like religion and philosophy - are flourishing. Thanks to the initiatives of Prof Marietta Stepanyants, the author of the first textbook on Eastern philosophies, and the Bharatiya embassy in Moscow, a unique chair of Bharatiya Philosophy named after Mahatma Gandhi has been established at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences. Sanskrit and courses on various branches of Bharatiya philosophical traditions are taught. Last year, the first specialised encyclopedia of Bharatiya philosophy, prepared by Russian Indologists, was published and the State Commission declared it the best book of the year 2009. We actively cooperate with colleagues from the Bharatiya Council for Philosophical Research.
Your recent lecture was in Kashmir University.
The lecture was organised by the Centre for Central Asian Studies. I was moved by the interest my lecture generated. I talked about faith and knowledge in early Buddhism, which generated fierce discussion, especially the premise that in Buddhism, as presented in the first two parts of the Tripitika, faith was not considered necessary for religious fulfilment. The Buddha said not to accept anything on simply faith, but on personal experience, of which he considered meditative experience the best.
8. AN IIT, IISC-DESIGNED LAPTOP FOR JUST RS 1500: More than five years after it was conceived by then education secretary Sudeep Banerjee to take on Nicholas Negroponte's $100 laptop and one-and-half years after his demise, Human Resource Development minister Kapil Sibal on July 22 unveiled access-cum-computing device priced at Rs 1500 or $35 for students.
The sleek-looking device -- a cross between I-Pad and tablet PC and charged by an equally sleeker solar panel -- is designed by experts at IIT, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The upper price limit for the device is pegged at $35.
9. BHARAT'S OWN ATLANTIS? 2000-YR-OLD UNDERSEA TOWN TO BE EXCAVATED: Encouraged by the zeal witnessed at the recent world classical Tamil conference, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to fund an undersea expedition to excavate remains of a 2,000-year-old town, Poompuhar or Kaveripoompattinam, submerged under the sea off the Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu. Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography's (NIO's) marine archaeology wing will be assigned the task. The expertise of the underwater wing of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which was involved in past explorations of the ancient sunken towns of Dwaraka and Mamallapuram on the east and west coasts, will also be used. Reams of ancient Tamil literature and early geographers and historians like Ptolemy and Pliny have described the Chola town of Kaveripoompattinam as a vital maritime port that had trade links with the Roman empire and China before being washed away by tidal waves, now recogized as a tsunami.
10. STUDSTAT, NANO OF THE SKIES: In 2007, a group of students from the Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Bangalore participated in a seminar in Hyderabad. What they saw there changed their lives. Inspired by a presentation by American students on small satellites, these students wanted to build their own version of the nano-satellite. Despite an interaction with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and a concrete plan, the students were laughed at when they suggested the idea to their college. That is, until they met Jharna Majumdar, a retired scientist from Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) who’d just joined the college. At the end of their effort, Studsat, the nano satellite, was launched on July 12 aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C15 at Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, some 600 km north of Bangalore.
This was the first time ever that institutions other than IITs and IISc had succeeded at a project this large. It also signified the government’s change of heart.
Which is why ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishanan has now said that the next step was to extend the experiment and tap the country’s talented scientific brains. Studsat’s single largest accomplishment has been to show the government that a satellite can be built for less than Rs 1 crore.
11. COWS, TIGERS ARE EQUAL IN MP: Cows in Madhya Pradesh will now be on the same page as tigers as far as state protection is concerned. The assembly has passed the amendment to the MP Prevention of Cow Slaughter (Amendment) Act that provides for a maximum jail term of seven years for killing a cow or a bull, or being involved in such an act.
The same is the level of punishment one gets for killing a tiger under central legislation.
12. RUPEE BECOMES ONLY 5TH CURRENCY TO GET A SYMBOL: In keeping with Bharat’s growing economic might and its status as a major investment destination, the hitherto humble rupee is all set to get a distinct identity in the form of a new symbol. The Union Cabinet on July 14 gave its approval to the symbol which combines the Roman letter ‘R’ with the Devnagri ‘Ra’ .
The symbol will catapult the rupee into the company of four ‘elite’ currencies which have similarly distinct identities — the US dollar, euro, yen and British pound.
13. THE LARGEST OF ALL THE JANTAR MANTARS IS ALSO IN THE RACE: The other Bharatiya monument in the race for the UNESCO’s World Heritage status is the Jaipur’s celebrated astronomical observatory, Jantar Mantar. It is a collection of architectural astronomical observatories built by Maharajah Jai Singh II of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. He had constructed five such facilities at different locations. It is modeled after the one that he had built at Delhi. However Jaipur observatory is the biggest of these.
14. BHARAT SUCCESSFULLY TESTS BALLISTIC MISSILE INTERCEPTOR: Bharat on July 26 successfully tested a ballistic missile interceptor from a defence base in Orissa as part of its endeavour to create a shield against incoming enemy missiles. The indigenous interceptor was fired from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 170 km from Bhuvaneswar. It successfully destroyed an incoming ballistic missile - a variant of the Prithvi II fired from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on sea in Balasore district, about 70 km away from Wheeler Island across the sea.
15. OBITUARIES: SADANAND JI KAKADE & SHANKAR SHASTRY: Senior VHP karyakarta and former vice president Sadanand Kakde passed away at on July 12. He was 90. Born in 1920, Sadanand Kakde became a Sangh Sangh Pracharak and held many responsibilities as such as first organising secretary of VHP in Karnataka, Dakshin Kshetra organising secretary. Later, he became central secretary of VHP and then vice president. He played a key role during the second Ekatmata Yatra conducted in the nineties.
Senior RSS Pracharak Shankarrao Shastri passed away at the ripe age of 88 in Nagpur on July 13.
Shankarrao Shastri, who originally hailed from Kamptee near Nagpur, became a Sangh Pracharak at the age of 22. He was sent to South Bharat where he started his activities in the then Madras Province.
16. SANSKRIT DYING? THESE TECHIES SPEAK IT 30 MINUTES A DAY: Every working day, Hemant Gadgil (42)-an associate software consultant with the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-eagerly awaits that half an hour before lunch time, when he and 18 of his colleagues come together to learn to converse in Sanskrit. Gadgil is part of the Sanskrit Sambhashan Shibir (Sanskrit conversation workshop), organised by Maitree-a TCS unit for cultural and social activities-and Sanskrit Bharati that works for promoting Sanskrit as a spoken language.
17. HINDU SAMRAJYA DINOTSAV AT 95 CENTRES ACROSS BENGALURU: On Jyestha Shuddha Trayodashi, 1674, Shivaji was crowned as Chatrapati Maharaj. On June 24, 2010 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organised ‘Hindu Samrajya Dinotsav’at 95 centres across Bengaluru to celebrate and remember the great fighter who saved Hindu culture with valour and vigour.
One such Hindu Samrajya Dinotsav event took place at Rajajinagar Parents Association first grade college where swayamsevaks, senior citizens, women and children participated enthusiastically in the evening. Boudhik by a swayamsevak Pramod was the major attraction as he narrated the history of Moghul empire’s invasion and successful war against them by Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji is more popular outside India, he said, while citing a remarks of Home Minister of Vietnam who visited Bharat after Vietnam won the battle against America. Babu Jagjivan Ram, the then Home Minister of Bharat received her and suggested her to visit the Samadhi of Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru to pay tribute. But the Home Minister of Vietnam insisted to visit Samadhi of Shivaji Maharaj and praised Shivaji’s guerrilla warfare and voluntarily admitted that Shivaji is the role model for Vietnamese to win a war against mighty America.
Guerrilla warfare is irregular warfare, conflicts in which a small group of combatants uses military tactics, like ambushes and raids, to harass a larger and less-mobile traditional army. Vietnam war was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the twentieth century. It resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and an estimated two million Vietnamese deaths.
18. MADISON WI GURUVANDANA: Madison East WI shakha celebrated the Guruvandana Program on Jul 11th, 2010 at the Community center Sun Prairie WI.
A total of 6 teachers from local school districts attended the function. The students ranged from kindergarteners to eighth graders. The program started at 4.00pm with a welcome note by Naveen Aditya. Anu Sundram ji who works in American Family Insurance, performed Deep Prajwalan with talks on guru and guru vandana by Digant ji and Anu Sundaram ji, and guru stotram by all the participants were highlights of the celebrations.
19. HINDU COUNCIL AND INTER-FAITH DIALOGUE with Professor Raja Jayaraman, Vice-Chair: Hindu Council of Australia organised an Inter-faith Forum on May 8 on the theme of “the relevance of core values of one’s faith for today’s multi-faith Australia”. The major aim of the Forum was to provide a platform and an occasion to engage in a dialogue between leaders of various religious and spiritual traditions on the nature of their core values of their traditions. Its specific objectives were first, to highlight similarities between various traditions and second, where differences exist, to bring about a better understanding and appreciation of these differences in the context of creating harmony and peace in the society as a whole.
In conformity with the aim and the objectives as stated above, there were seven speakers at the Forum, each representing seven faith traditions which included Aboriginal spirituality, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Baha’i faith.
Based on the presentation of different speakers at the Forum, it was clear that while each faith tradition may have a set of beliefs and practices exclusive to itself, there are many other common fundamental values which they all share on issues such as the spiritual connectedness that exist between not only humans but also between humans and other things in the universe.
20. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Dr.Shankar Tatwawadi, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag reached U.K. on July 24. Shri Ravikumar, sah samyojak will return Bharat from HongKong by Aug 15. Visitors: S.Taniga from Paris, Gopi Prasad – Hamburg Germany & Ma.Bajranglal Sharma Singapore.
21. THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Have you got the will to surmount mountain-high obstructions? If the whole world stands against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is right? – Swami Vivekanand
JAI SHRI RAM
HINDU INFLUENCE IN INDONESIA
Lal Krishna Advani
Some years back, a friend who had gone to Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, on his return met me at Adipur in Kutch (Gujarat) and showed me a high-denomination (20,000 rupiah) currency note of that country with Lord Ganesh imprinted on it. I was as surprised, as I was impressed.
When last month a group of eminent Sindhi gentlemen came to Delhi from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and invited me for a World Sindhi Conference scheduled to be held at Jakarta on July 9, 10 and 11, 2010, I readily agreed. One reason was that I had never before been to that country, though I had often heard reports about the impact of Bharatiya civilization and more particularly, the impact of epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata on that country. The Ganesh inscribed currency note was only an example.
Accompanied by my wife Kamla, daughter Pratibha, my associate for decades, Deepak Chopra and his wife Veena, I left for Indonesia on July 8 and returned on July 13 with very fond memories of the trip. Indonesia comprises 13,677 islands of which over 6000 are inhabited. Of its total population of 20.28 crores, more than 88 per cent are Muslims, and 10 per cent Christians. Its 2 per cent Hindu population is concentrated mainly in the island of Bali, the famous tourist paradise.
The recently adopted new brand logo for the Island of Bali is a manifestation of country’s Hindu traditions. An Indonesian Ministry of tourism publication explains the logo as: The triangle (shape of logo) is a symbol of stability and balance. It is formed out of three straight lines in which both ends meet, taking the symbols of a blazing fire (Brahma – the creator), lingga or phallus. The triangle also represents the three Gods of the universe (Trimurti – Brahma, Wisnu, and Siwa), three stages of nature (Bhur, Bwah and Swah Loka), and three stages of Life (Born, Live, and Die). The tagline ‘Shanti, Shanti, Shanti’ represents peace upon Bhuwana alit dan agung (yourself and the world) that will deliver a sacred and holy vibe that awakens a deep aura that balances and makes peace to all living creatures.
Now let us anallyse the Ganesh-inscribed 20,000 rupiah currency note of Bank Indonesia. As I have mentioned in this piece earlier, I had seen this some years back and had resolved then itself to procure a specimen of the note to show it to others if I happen to visit that country.
The Sindhi Conference was a great success. More than a thousand delegates drawn from 32 different countries of all five continents – America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia - attended the conclave. Most of the delegates were youngsters or middle aged whose families had gone through the sufferings of mass migration which happened in 1947.
Partition of Bharat had dealt a terrible blow to millions on both sides of the Radcliffe Line. Hindus from Sind had not only been uprooted from their hearths and homes, but unlike Hindus of Punjab and Bengal, who had the satisfaction of saving something like half of their home states, had also been despoiled off their entire province, and forced to adopt different states of divided Bharat as their totally new homes.
Speaking to these Sindhi delegates I felt proud that they had not only gone through the traumatic experience of partition with confidence and fortitude, but, generally speaking, they had actually prospered immensely. They had succeeded in converting a calamity into an opportunity.
Of course, there were, in this gathering, delegates whose forefathers had gone to the countries they represented in this conclave, long before Bharat became independent and suffered this trauma of partition. The main organizer of this Jakarta Conference for instance, Suresh Vaswani was one whose grandfather had come to Jakarta some time around 1914, that is, nearly one century back! This family had since settled down here and made this island of Java their home. When we were in Sind, this class of traders who went overseas and earned wealth for their families was colloquially known as ‘Sindhworkies’.
For a visitor to Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, situated on the north-west coast of Java, the most striking landmark right in the centre of the city is the magnificently-constructed Shri Krishna-Arjuna pair mounted on a multiple -horse-drawn chariot.
In Indonesia, the names of places, of people, and the nomenclature of institutions also give one a clear impression of a benign Sanskrit influence.
It certainly pleased me to gather that the official mascot of Military Intelligence in Indonesia is Hanuman. The rationale offered by a local was that it was Hanuman who had been able to trace that Sita, kidnapped by Ravana, had been kept in confinement at the Ashok Vatika.
Our family spent four days in Indonesia – two days in Jakarta and two days in Bali.
Bali is one of the bigger islands of the country. Its industries include gold and silver work, woodcarving, weaving, copra, salt and coffee. But the moment you touch the place you can see clearly that the place is swarming with tourists. With a population of around three million, Bali has a tourist traffic of around one million every year. The capital of this island is Denpasar. Our place of stay was the picturesque Four Seasons Resort, a seaside resort not very far from the airport. On way to the Resort I saw a gigantic stone construction not very dissimilar to the Krishna-Arjuna one I had seen in Jakarta, except that this one was bigger.
Pointing to a statue near the Ngurah Rai International Airport, I asked the driver of my car: Whose statue is this? And you can imagine my surprise when he replied: “This is a depiction of Ghatotkachof the Mahabharata.” He added; “And the statue in the city itself showing Ghatotkach’s father Bheema waging battle with a demon is even more massive!”
In Bharat itself, of the two epics Ramayana and Mahabharat the average citizen is familiar with most characters of the Ramayana. But the characters of Mahabharata are little known. Indeed, even in Bharat very few would be able to identify who Ghatotkach is. And here was the driver of our car knowing full well both Ghatotkach as well as his relationship with Bheema!
Both at the Sindhi Convention in Jakarta as well as in Bali we were able to witness glimpses of scenes from the Ramayana enacted with slight variations from the traditional form as known to us in Bahrat. The performance, the presentation as also the general climate at the sites where the shows were held, were all marked by befitting piety and reverence.
Indonesia, I must say, seemed to know and cherish Ramayana and Mahabharata better than we do. -- http://blog.lkadvani.in/blog-in-english/hindu-influence-in-indonesia
SAMSKRIT BHARATI
A MISSION TO POPULARISE SANSKRIT
By KS Iyer
The main aim of Samskrit Bharati is to spread Sanskrit by making it a spoken language of the masses, as the language of everyday dealings, as it was in the days of yore. According to their booklet Samskritam Vadatu (Speak Sanskrit) Sanskrit cannot be promoted by mere appreciation or by speaking about Sanskrit. It will be possible for us to learn Sanskrit by oral practice alone-that is by speaking in Sanskrit in the school (in class), at home, at office, in factory, on road, in market, or playground, at dining table, in transit, on phone-rather by trying to express our feelings, emotions, instincts and sentiments in Sanskrit, wherever and whenever an opportunity presents itself to open our mouth. The key to unlock our mouth is in our hands and not with others! You need not be surprised if a Sanskrit missionary emphasises that while the first method to learn Sanskrit is by speaking the language of Sanskrit and declares at the same time that the secrets to the second and the third methods also lie in speaking the soft spoken and magical language of Sanskrit. In the words of the publisher of Samskritam Vadatu, "The best method to learn Sanskrit is to speak in Sanskrit-correct or grammatically faulty, speak Sanskrit with patience and pride."
The golden rule of Samskrit Bharati is Sambhashnena bhashabhyasaha sheeghram bhavati-that is, "The study of a language becomes rapid by conversation." Samskrit Bharati is particularly noted for conducting classes for conversational Sanskrit, for ten continuous days, each lasting for two hours a day. While they are handling their classes, using Sanskrit as the medium of instruction, their instructors use simple Sanskrit vocabulary that is readily evident in many Bharatiya languages. Their method of teaching is mostly impressive because of gestures employed, supplemented with hand drawn and printed charts, as well as gorgeous display of articles of daily use and toys in the form of birds, animals and common articles like clock, engine, computer, kitchen utensils, electric bulb and many other articles of daily use. Learners are also helped to identify the Sanskrit names/nomenclatures of the various articles that are displayed.
The unique and unprecedented method evolved by them, (born out of decades of teaching experience) to teach conversational Sanskrit with the simplest approach will enable a learner to converse in Sanskrit within two or three months.
Conducting Sanskrit classes in slums and correspondence courses in Sanskrit for the benefit of aspirants adds one more dimension to their achievements. A home page in the internet and commencement of the activities of Samskrit Bharati abroad in countries like USA, England, in European countries, as well as in many other countries have already heightened the image of Samskrit Bharati. No Wonder! Samskrit Bharati is marching from success to success!!
A HINDU AMERICA?
Francis X. Clooney, S.J.
I recently came across a column in the On Faith section of the Washington Post by Loriliai Biernacki. A friend of mine, she is a professor of Indian religions at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a specialist in the study of Hinduism. Her piece is entitled, "A rich and strange metamorphosis: Glocal Hinduism." She suggests that Hinduism today is becoming much more widely established in different parts of the world, and it is flourishing in many parts of the United States, both among Americans of Indian ancestry, but also among many converts to Hinduism.
In her piece, Bernacki recollects Lisa Miller's essay in Newsweek a few months ago, on how Americans are becoming Hindus ideologically:
"[Lisa Miller] tells us that an astounding number of Americans now believe in reincarnation. This conceptual, indeed cosmological, importation from Hinduism is seeping indelibly into the American psyche.
Even a percentage of self-identified Christians have little difficulty incorporating this Hindu notion. Similarly, the word and concept of 'karma' is so commonly parlayed in everyday conversation that its Hindu origins no longer even register, as the concept finds its way across wide ranges of socio-economic circles and in all sorts of milieus."
Biernacki speculates that Hinduism - Hinduisms - is uniquely able to be "glocal" - present across the globe, but yet still local in a multitude of particular identities. Alas: before our present era of over-centralization, the Catholic Church too excelled at being glocal!
This Hinduism meets our needs, Biernacki goes on to say, offering "a kind of proliferation of particularities, particular Gods, particular practices among communities that might have not ever had any access to these new, imported Hindu perceptions -- and at least for the West, beckoning a rich and strange metamorphosis." She concludes by suggesting that Hinduism may help us by showing us where we are going: "Our own increasingly plural world might take some solace, find a steady ease in the Hindu comfort with the multiple -- multiple Gods, multiple practices, and simultaneous multiple ontological structures of monotheisms, monisms, polytheisms, and panentheisms. In this sense, the future of Hinduism suggests a kind of opening to a global world in a way that sidesteps the vision of a one-world government or one-world ideology. It proposes instead a world model without hegemonic center, linked by a thread of cosmology, multiplicity instanced as network, a seamless interconnectivity that echoes a conceptual cosmology from Hinduism's past into our own global and glocal future."
It is an interesting essay that deepens Lisa Miller's Newsweek piece, and I recommend reading all of it. I am tempted to confirm her insights out of my own experiences - including my recent brief encounter with Amritanandamayi Amma. But my thought now goes in a different direction: If there is truth in Biernacki's insights, and there is, then what does this say about Christian identity in the United States now?
Catholic identity?
It is probably right that we are most concerned most of the time about issues in the Church, ranging from social ministries to ongoing debates about the ordination of women, and are rightly horrified by the individual and systemic aspects of the clergy sex abuse crisis - but we can overdo it, suffering too much introspection with our good and our bad, when the culture around us is going through deep changes. (One could add many others to Biernacki's particular focus, since Buddhism is influential, Pentecostal Christian Churches are multiplying, and of course Islam will become more and not less an important presence in this country; but Hinduism is enough for this blog.) Just think of the example she and Miller dwell on, the growing comfort of a wide range of
Americans - surely including Church-going Catholics - who accept reincarnation as a good spiritual possibility. This is no small change in the way people think - and it challenges us to speak more powerfully, more simply, about Jesus as one who dies and rises, even today.
The danger then is that we Catholics - to stick with us for a moment - will endlessly build and rebuild our Church in order to improve it and correct its failings, while yet forgetting that many, many people are no longer interested, are not waiting for us to discover spiritual depths, and care so little about us that even being "anti-Catholic" is no longer all that important. If our neighbors are practicing yoga (even Christian yoga), meditating, visiting gurus, and enjoying the prospect of multiple deities and multiple births - then we have to bear down, and think more deeply about who we are and how we speak, act, live.
Yes, we need ever to return to the message of Jesus, as given in the Bible and as celebrated in the liturgical life of the Church; yes, we need really to believe that "loving our neighbor" is indeed what Jesus would do, does do. But no, it is not enough to broadcast our faith without listening, or to insist with open mouths and closed ears that Jesus is the way and that Christian faith is superior to religions such as Hinduism, when we - the Church - seems not understand Hinduism except in a most superficial way, and have no clue why Americans might embrace reincarnation. (Education is lacking: as far as I can see, neither CCD programs nor major seminaries spend much time exploring the religions of India, and few deacons, priests, and bishops have done a single yogic stretch or quiet breathing exercise.) If we commend ourselves for proclaiming the Gospel while not getting Professor Biernacki's point, we may rather ironically find that for many, the Jesus of the Church will remain a distant and institutional figure, while Jesus seen through Hindu eyes may be the more powerful spiritual figure.
So - to turn on its head the old notion that yoga is navel-gazing - we would do well to be more yogic, more Hindu - less into Catholic-navel-gazing, and more attentive to the very interesting spiritual cultures flourishing around us, and unafraid at a diversity that we cannot control yet that does nothing to harm the uniqueness of Jesus. Attentiveness will help us to see better what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the world we actually have, in the one life given to us. Source: Catholic Weekly, Cambridge, MA.