SAMVAD

Bhadrapad Shukla 3 , Vik. Samvat 2072.Yugabda 5117: 16 September 2015


1. FESTIVALS: Diwali by Fijian Bharatiya Community in US 2. TESTING NEW IDEAS OF PUBLIC INTEREST GOOD FOR BHARAT: RASHTRAPATIJI:
3. GLOBAL CONCLAVE ON Hindu-Buddhist Initiative: 4. Vishwa Hindi Sammelan:
5.  ISRO conferred with 2014 Gandhi Peace Prize 6.  THENGADIJI CARED FOR LABOURERS LIKE MOTHER - MOHAN BHAGWAT
7.   WORLD HINDU ECONOMIC FORUM 8.   Odissi now becomes part of IIT's BTech syllabus
9. SAMANVAYA BAITHAK 10.  Parrikar commissions INS Vajrakosh
11.  A HUMANITARIAN POLICY 12. Ranganathaswamy temple consecrated
13. tranche of $500,000 for Syrians 14.  Jhumpa Lahiri Gets National Humanities Medal From Barack Obama
15.  ANNADANAM TO BUDDHIST MONKS 16. Mahesh Ramanujam named CEO of US Green Building
17.  PIO girl, 12, betters Einstein's IQ 18. cyberbullying Expert Gets $188,776 Facebook Grant
19. SCHOOL KIT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMME IN NEPAL 20.  PIO ENTREPRENEUR IN FORTUNE'S LIST OF POWERFUL WOMEN OF 2015
21. bharatiya-origin boy sweeps Australian spelling bee contest 22.  A SIKH-AUSTRALIAN OF THE DAY
23.  MPhil DEGREE IN HINDI TO WOMAN IN PAKISTAN 24. More tourist inflow after e-visa scheme
25. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT

1. FESTIVALS: Diwali by Fijian Bharatiya Community in US: The Norfolk Sports Cultural Events held a "Multicultural Diwali Festival" organized by the Fijian Bharatiya community at the Hayward High School, California August 22, with more than 500 people of all communities attending the event. To keep the children entertained, there was a bouncing castle, while for the grown-ups, the center stage was alive with music performed by local bands and audience members alike. Radhika Tilak, a dancer from Sacramento, was invited to perform, as was local comedian and singer Hemkumar Joshi. Naveen Maharaj, who has been playing for the local Fiji soccer team for the past 25 years, said, "Very excited, very challenging and very eager to play the other veteran teams of Vancouver." --goTOP

 

2. TESTING NEW IDEAS OF PUBLIC INTEREST GOOD FOR BHARAT: RASHTRAPATIJI: Rashtrapati Pranab Mukherjee's avatar as a teacher left schoolchildren "enlightened" "encouraged" and "humbled" after they got the "historic" opportunity to become students of the Rashtrapati of Bharat for a day. Asking his pupils to call him "Mukherjee Sir", Rashtrapatiji gave a lecture on the political history of Bharat to senior secondary students of Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya inside President's Estate on the eve of Teachers' Day.

In an hour-long class, Mukherjee talked in detail about Bharat's independence, economic growth and political journey post-Independence.--goTOP

 

3. GLOBAL CONCLAVE ON Hindu-Buddhist Initiative: The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) jointly organised a three-day global conclave 'Samvad: Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousness', in collaboration with the International Buddhist Federation and the Tokyo Foundation, from 3 to 5 September 2015. Proceedings of the conclave were conducted in the first two days at VIF in New Delhi, while the venue shifted to Bodh Gaya in Bihar on the third day. The conclave was inspired by Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi's vision of highlighting Bharat's civilizational links with world. Not only did the Pradhan Mantri inaugurate the conclave in Delhi but he also went to Bodh Gaya along with the delegates to offer a special prayer for global peace and harmony at Mahabodhi temple, Buddhism's holiest shrine.

While Japan's Prime Minister Hon'ble Shinzo Abe in a pre-recorded message said Japan owed it's 'rule of law' to Buddhism, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi emphasized that teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism can provide answers to many of problems the world faces, especially the ones related to conflicts and environmental degradation. Modi's resounding speech underlined the emerging dangers, both to the world and the environment. He stressed the quintessence of resolving conflicts lies in dialogue.

Delegates from over 15 countries, including SriLanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Taiwan, and a few European countries, among others, participated in the conference. --goTOP

 

4. Vishwa Hindi Sammelan: Tenth Vishwa Hindi Sammelan was inaugurated by Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi in Bhopal on 11th September. He said that eminence of Hindi as language is increasing in the world and to enrich it, it should be linked to other Bharatiya languages and its digital use increased. He dedicated a postal stamp on the Sammelan and also released Vishwa Hindi Sammelan's souvenir and special issue of magazine "Gagananchal'' and "Pravasi Sahitya: Johannesburg Se Aage." Pradhan Mantri Modi said that it is the responsibility of every generation to preserve the heritage and pass it on to the next generation. Language is not static or inanimate, but has consciousness like life. This is experienced through linguistic development and enrichment. 115 representatives of 39 countries participated in the Sammelan.

Pradhan Mantriji said that digital world has permeated deep into our life. We should mould Hindi and other Bharatiya languages to suit technology. Language and script have separate powers. Had proposal of writing all languages in Nagari script been effective, script would have assumed a role of national unity. Today, importance of Hindi is increasing in different countries. Indian films screened abroad have spread Hindi in the world.

Videsh Mantris Smt. Sushma Swaraj while throwing light on significance of organising the Sammelan at Bhopal, said that the state government is committed to promoting Hindi and Bhopal has been famous for organising successful conventions. She said that this Sammelan is being held after a gap of 32 years in Bharat. She hoped that Sammelan will be result-oriented. Mukhya Mantri Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Shri Modi is Hindi speaking Pradhan Mantri and has enhanced Hindi's honour in country and abroad.

The Sammelan started with Hindi Stuti Gaan. Guests were welcomed with stoles. Rajyapals of Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Goa, Kendriya Mantris and other distinguished guests graced the occasion. 12 parallel sessions, such as Videsh Neeti men Hindi, Prashasan men Hindi, Vijnan kshetra men Hindi, Sanchar aur Soochana Kshetra men Hindi, Bal Sahitya men Hindi, Videshon men Hindi Shikshan: Samasyaen aur Samadhan etc. were held. Union Minister gave two Sankalpas: action will be followed on the recommendations passed in these sessions and that the next session will be held in Mauritius in 2018.

Griha Mantri Rajnath Singh said on the concluding day that Hindi represents Bharatiya culture and values. Reports of 12 parallel sessions held during Sammelan were presented in the last session. He said that Hindi should be included as one of the official languages of United Nations. If 177 countries can support proposal of International Yoga Day, then why support can not be solicited for Hindi? Hindi is among the most spoken languages in the world. Technology companies realised importance of Hindi and are promoting it. Maximum contact on internet is generated in Hindi. --goTOP

 

5.  ISRO conferred with 2014 Gandhi Peace Prize: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was conferred with the Gandhi Peace Prize on September 9 for the year 2014 by  Rashtrapati Pranab Mukherjee at a function organized at Rashtrapati Bhawan. ISRO last year in its first attempt successfully placed communication satellite in Mars orbiter, wherein, Bharat become the fourth space agency in the world to achieve this. The award was conferred in the presence of Up-Rashtrapati, M. Hamid Ansari, the Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi and other eminent dignitaries and it was received by A. S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO on behalf of the organization. Speaking on the occasion, Rashtrapatiji congratulated each and every member of the Indian Space community on ISRO being awarded the coveted Gandhi Peace Prize. Rashtrapatiji said that ISRO is one such Bharatiya organization, which has nurtured, developed and demonstrated world class capabilities.

The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted by Bharat Sarkar in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This annual award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. The Award carries an amount of Rupees one crore in cash, a plaque and a citation.

Pradhan Mantri, Narendra Modi congratulating ISRO, on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014, said, "This is a fitting tribute to the hard-work of generations of scientists. Accomplishments of ISRO have contributed greatly towards peace and progress of humanity", the Pradhan Mantri  said. A.S. Kiran Kumar said that this is the recognition of the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai and the successive leaders of ISRO and their contribution. --goTOP

 

6.  THENGADIJI CARED FOR LABOURERS LIKE MOTHER - MOHAN BHAGWAT:  "How should be our conduct, both as a worker and a leader, should be learnt from Thengadiji and we should do it. The success that we see in different spheres of life today is basically due to the great tapasya of the great personalities like Thengadiji. How to find a way in a challenging situation and also how to achieve the goal can be learnt from Thengadiji. He was sure about the success of the path that we have adopted for serving the nation," said Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while releasing two volumes of Dattopant Thengadi - Jeevan Darshan in New Delhi on August 30. The function was organised by Delhi unit of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

The function witnessed many distinguished personalities including RSS Sarkaryavah  Bhaiyaji Joshi, Sahsarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, veteran Pracharak Madan Das, Union Minister Piyush Goel, etc. BMS president Baijnath Rai, author of the volumes Amarnath Dogra, senior BMS worker Ramdas Pandey and Delhi state BMS president VS Bhati also shared the dais.

Referring to Thengadiji's meeting with Guruji before becoming a Rajya Sabha MP, Shri Bhagwat said the latter asked him whether he cared and loved the labour class like a mother who cared for and loved her child. "What we saw of him (Thengadiji) was like this only," Shri Bhagwat said. "...He always thought about those who are victimised and downtrodden in the society. And to remove their tension, whatever was necessary, he used to do it," he said adding that since Thengadiji had close relations with the people of other ideologies too the other volumes on his life and works should be released by those people. Dattopant Bapurao Thengadi was a trade union leader and founder of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. He was born in Arvi village of Wardha district in Maharashtra. --goTOP

 

7.   WORLD HINDU ECONOMIC FORUM: "This forum is a clear symbol of how Britain's Hindu community are vibrant and engaged, contributing to British culture, society and of course, our economy for hundreds of years," said Priti Patel, employment minister and Prime Minister David Cameron's Bharatiya diaspora champion, while addressing the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) held in London from September 11 to 13. "This forum is evidence of the immense contribution Hindus make to this country from your children's success in schools, achievement in all professions and enterprising values," Patel noted.

The organising committee of the forum is chaired by London-based entrepreneur Anil Puri, chairman of the Purico Group of companies. "We want to encourage Hindus to generate wealth for society's well being. Our Vedas refer to 'Shata Hasta Samahara, Sahasra Hasta Sankira'. It literally means 'generate wealth with 100 hands and share it with 1000 hands'. We believe and practice Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam i.e. the whole world is one family," an official forum release said. Professionals, investors, bankers and entrepreneurs from around 30 countries gathered in London for the event. --goTOP

              

8.   Odissi now becomes part of IIT's BTech syllabus: IIT Bhubaneswar has inducted a course on Odissi in BTech syllabus, thereby becoming the first IIT in the country to introduce a dance form in its curriculum. IIT Bhubaneswar director R V Rajakumar said on September 12 the classical dance would be one of the 'breadth' courses of 12 credits in the four-year BTech programme. A breadth course is a general education course which all students at a university must take to give them exposure at the introductory level to a variety of fields, regardless of their core area of study. Explaining the rationale behind the move, Rajakumar said, "Dance can broaden the intellectual horizon of engineering students. It would also help them de-stress."--goTOP

 

9. SAMANVAYA BAITHAK: A three-day Samanvya Baithak (coordination meeting) of the RSS was held in Delhi September 2-4. The meeting was attended by 93 functionaries of 15 organisations. Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi was also present on the last day. 
Briefing the media, RSS Sahsarkaryavah  Dattatreya Hosabale said the inputs and suggestions from various organisations were shared at the meeting. The workers also shared their experiences in a natural course. He said the coordination meeting is not any decision making body of the RSS and no review of the government functioning took place. He said the direction of the government is right and it is working with full dedication and commitment, generating a feeling of trust among the people who feel the country would now move in right direction.         
Hosabale also said the Sangh gave no agenda to the government and it is working on the public agenda. He also dismissed the reports that the RSS is running the government through remote control. He said all models of economic development have failed in the country. Therefore, the meeting discussed the evolution of an indigenous model of development. Since the villagers have to move to urban areas for employment, study and health facilities, the experiences of village development activities were also discussed and shared. The meeting also discussed the Bharatiya prospective of education and how to achieve the objective of 100 per cent literacy. Preservation of the places of cultural and historic significance was discussed.
--goTOP

 

10.  Parrikar commissions INS Vajrakosh: Seeking to boost the defence capabilties of the nation, Raksha Mantri Manohar Parrikar commissioned INS Vajrakosh at Karwar, marking an important milestone in the history of Bharatiya Navy. During his address, Parrikar said that missiles at INS Vajrakosh should always remain ready for operational deployment. 

The commissioning ceremony was marked by traditional naval parade with precision. Captain Arvind Chari, Commanding Officer, read out the Commissioning Warrant and the Naval ensign was hoisted while the Naval band played the National Anthem. The Raksha Mantri expressed his happiness to see the complex and massive project executed successfully. Commissioning of INS Vajrakosh has marked the successful completion of a complex and modern project. Parrikar exhorted the crew to ensure that the 'missiles in Vajrakosh remain ever ready for operational deployment'. --goTOP

 

11.  A HUMANITARIAN POLICY: Refugees who've fled to India deserve better: The Union Government's efforts to officially open doors for persecuted minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh deserve to be welcomed. Such efforts stem from a much-needed recognition of ground realities and mark a sincere attempt to effectively deal with them. There are no two ways around the fact that religious minorities in the two neighbouring countries face a raw deal - in Pakistan, for example, targeted killings of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians are a routine affair and so are forced religious conversions. In Bangladesh, the situation is only slightly better. An increasingly intolerant strand of political Islam continues to threaten that country's religious minorities. For example, the hostile environment that engulfs Bangladeshi Hindus, including those who live in the big cities, during election season is just one example of how difficult the circumstances can become for minorities in that country. The other ground reality is that, because of religious persecution, several thousands of these minorities have crossed the border and moved to India. However, few of them have valid papers. Worse, India's own amorphous laws regarding such refugees or immigrants have meant that these people struggle to survive on the social fringes. They can't find work or complete their studies; they do not have access to Government subsidies or state facilities. Since there is no proper mechanism for them to be officially incorporated into the Indian mainstream, they have no choice but to slip in through the cracks.

This is what the Modi Government has sought to regularise, one step at a time. Earlier this week, it issued a notification under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Foreigners Act, 1946, allowing Bangladeshi and Pakistani minorities who had entered India on or before December 31, 2014, to stay on in India, even if they didn't have valid documents. In April, the Union Ministry for Home Affairs got the ball rolling on a new online system to handle long-term visa applications. Before that, in November last year, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had approved several steps that would make it easier for the Government to grant citizenship to such refugees. Moreover, easing the plight of refugees who fled persecution in neighbouring countries, and moved to India - on humanitarian grounds - has always been on Mr Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's agenda.

But all said and done, issues of migration and citizenship, not to mention assimilation, are of a sensitive nature, as the boiling controversy in Assam stands proof, and they must be handled with care. The Governments at the Centre and the State (which, notably, are on the same page, despite being led by different parties) must reach out to the opposition groups and build consensus. The latter's argument that this week's notification violates the Assam Accord, which labels all those who illegally entered India after March 24, 1971, as 'foreigners', is incorrect. As Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has pointed out, the Assam Accord deals with citizenship issues while the notification only says that those without proper papers will be allowed to stay - it is silent on the matter of citizenship, which presumably will be dealt with later. (Editorial, The Pioneer, 11 September 2015) --goTOP

      

12. Ranganathaswamy temple consecrated: Thousands of devotees from all over Tamil Nadu offered worship when consecration for 11 towers and 43 sub-temples of the famous Ranganathaswamy temple at nearby Srirangam was performed amid chanting of vedic hymns on September 8. The consecration is being performed in two phases -- for the sub temples in the first phase (presently) and for the main temples, including Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, Sri Ranganayaki Amman temple, and Sudarsana Alwar temple later this year. The temple, popularly known as 'Bhoo Loka Vaikuntam' (Vishnu's abode on Earth), and first among the 108 Sri Vishnu Sthalams, was renovated at a cost of Rs 25 crore from public contributions and that of HR and CE.   --goTOP

 

13. tranche of $500,000 for Syrians: Bharat on  September 7 gave the first tranche of $500,000 for Syrians in distress and displaced from their homes. The Bharatiya ambassador to Jordan gave the money to the Jordanian government which is coordinating relief for the Syrian refugees. Bharat has promised $2 million for humanitarian assistance to Syrians in March. Like most of the world, Bharat too was jolted by the reports of large numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing their war-torn country to Europe, their plight brought home forcefully with the picture of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi's body washed up on a Turkish shore. The war shows no signs of coming to an end, with Assad and the opposition including ISIS and sundry Al Qaeda-affiliated groups continuing a brutal and bloody conflict. --goTOP

 

14.  Jhumpa Lahiri Gets National Humanities Medal From Barack Obama: President Barack Obama presented the 2014 National Medals of Arts and Humanities to Pulitzer Prize winning Bharatiya-American author Jhumpa Lahiri and 20 other distinguished persons at a White House ceremony on September 10. "I always do good with writers and scientists. Those are my crew," said the president in his address to the audience starting with a quote from Emily Dickinson followed by his own joke on the political class.

"The men and women that we honour today, recipients of the National Medals for the Arts and the Humanities, are here not only because they've shared rare truths, often about their own experience, but because they've told rare truths about the common experiences that we have as Americans and as human beings," Obama said. "They span mediums and methods. We have artists, actors, writers, musicians, historians, a landscape architect, and a chef," he said. "Without them there would be no Edible Schoolyard, no Jhumpa Lahiri novels, no really scary things like Carrie and Misery," said Obama amid laughter.

"The 2014 National Humanities Medal to Jhumpa Lahiri for enlarging the human story. In her works of fiction, Dr. Lahiri has illuminated the Indian American experience in beautifully wrought narratives of estrangement and belonging," read the aide as Lahiri received the award amid applause. The humanities medal honours an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the human experience, broadened citizens' engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources. Lahiri's novel "The Lowland" was among the books Obama took with him while vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, an island summer resort in Massachusetts, last month. "The Lowland" is a story about two brothers who grew up in Calcutta in the 1960s. After one is killed, the other marries his pregnant widow and moves to the US. The New York Times calls the premise of this novel "startlingly operatic". --goTOP

 

15.  ANNADANAM TO BUDDHIST MONKS: Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh organised mass offering of food to the monks in State Periyatti Sasana University, Yangon and I had the privilege of attending this program and offering food to the monks in the University. The University is one of the major centres of learning for monks in Yangon. It is surprising to see hundreds of young monks together in saffron robes and leading monastic life. We were fortunate enough to offer the alms to the revered Rector (Vice-Chancellor), a very senior and learned monk high in order, and the Registrar who also happens to be a senior monk.

This program is an important part of the Buddhist tradition in Myanmar and forms an essential feature of monastic life of the monks as well as the society in general. There are a lot of rules for monks around eating. Foods must be offered by hand from a layperson, though monks who have received food can share, or trade, offerings with other monks. Most foods must be consumed by noon  of the day they are offered, so these cannot be saved for a snack or for the next day's meal, except to return them to a layperson. Filtered fruit juices may be offered and consumed after noon, till dawn the next day. From 12 in the noon till next day morning they are supposed not to consume any food and this is followed religiously.

Bhagwan Buddha laid utmost importance to this monastic tradition and did not permit monastics to grow, cook or even store food, but to eat only what was duly offered from a lay hand on a daily basis, locking them into strict dependence. This is aimed at developing humility among the monks on one hand as they are not allowed to amass wealth, not even a loaf of bread for themselves and on the other hand creating awareness among the laity that they have a responsibility of supporting the monks who have sacrificed their mundane life. - Shyam Parande, Secretary, Sewa International.) --goTOP

 

16. Mahesh Ramanujam named CEO of US Green Building: Bharatiya-origin professional Mahesh Ramanujam has been named the new CEO of the prestigious US Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built, and operated. Ramanujam, who hails from Chennai, would replace Rick Fedrizzi, the co-founder of USGBC and current CEO after he steps down at the end of 2016. USGBC board chair Marge Anderson said, "Mahesh is a proven leader who has exhaustive knowledge of the organisation, respect from its volunteer leadership and strong support from its team. He has extensive global experience and broad business acumen. He is the perfect choice to lead the organisation into the future." --goTOP

 

17.  PIO girl, 12, betters Einstein's IQ:  A 12-year-old Bharatiya-origin girl in the UK has achieved the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, outwitting physicists Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. Lydia Sebastian from Essex has joined the one percent of all entrants to attain the highest mark in the Cattell III B paper supervised by Mensa, the society for people with high IQs. Lydia completed the paper with minutes to spare at the sitting at Birkbeck College, London during her school holidays.

Lydia's father, Arun Sebastian, a radiologist at Colchester general hospital, said his daughter "had looked at the websites for the IQ tests herself and had shown an interest in them and talked to my wife about them." Cattell III B has 150 questions, often assessing comprehension through passages of texts, while the maximum score is 161 for adults, and 162 for under-18s. --goTOP

 

18. cyberbullying Expert Gets $188,776 Facebook Grant: Sameer Hinduja, a prominent Bharatiya-American and cyberbullying expert from Florida Atlantic University, has received a $188,776 grant from social networking site Facebook to study cyberbullying and dating violence among teenagers. The overarching goal of the study is to illuminate the nationwide prevalence, frequency and scope of cyberbullying and electronic dating violence among a population of youth in the US. --goTOP

 

19. SCHOOL KIT DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMME IN NEPAL: Nepal Earthquake caused massive damage to 500K houses & 7000 schools, which meant that innumerable school kids (near to 1 million) lost their study/school materials also in the rubble. On his visit to Nepal, Shyam Parande, International Coordinator, Sewa International found that the need of school kits was much more than anticipated and it could really help kick-start education process in the country. It was thus decided to almost double the existing lot to a total of "65,000" school kits, of which now 34,000 kits need to be procured and sent to Nepal.

SI's partner organisation HSS Nepal's District Coordinators (pracharaks) have been working in close contact with Nepal Government's LDO/CDOs in order to select schools in the remote and least accessible areas which have been most affected and need most assistance. SI has received hundreds of applications from affected schools requesting school kits drive to be conducted. --goTOP

 

20.  PIO ENTREPRENEUR IN FORTUNE'S LIST OF POWERFUL WOMEN OF 2015: A Bharatiya-origin entrepreneur has been named among the most promising businesswomen of 2015 by Fortune magazine in its annual recognition of 10 women innovators, groundbreakers and game changers. Payal Kadakia is the CEO and co-founder of ClassPass, a two-year-old start-up that gives customers access to thousands of boutique fitness classes in their area. "ClassPass is only two-year-old, but it has already booked more than 7 million fitness class reservations at gyms and studios across the US, plus Canada and the UK," Fortune said in a statement. Kadakia says she started the company after trying and failing to find a ballet class in New York City that she could attend. "In that moment, I realised the pain point that most people must experience in staying connected to their hobbies and passions," the magazine quoted her as saying. Fortune said Kadakia's idea tapped into a fitness craze. --goTOP

 

21. bharatiya-origin boy sweeps Australian spelling bee contest: Anirudh Kathirvel, a nine-year-old Bharatiya-origin boy is Australia's new spelling champion after he won the 50,000 dollars 'The Great Australian Spelling Bee' competition. Kathirvel, born in Melbourne to a Tamilian couple won 50,000 dollars education scholarship along with an impressive 10,000 dollars worth goods for his school on September 8. Anirudh said he could not believe his luck after winning the scholarship and asked his fellow spellers to "pinch" him. Anirudh said his favourite word to spell was 'euouae' as he liked the structure of the word as it was the longest word with consecutive vowels. "Some of the other words I like to spell are feuilleton, cephalalgia, ombrophobous," he said adding that he loves watching Bharatiya movies. Anirudh, whose parents Prithiviraj and Sujatha also migrated to Australia from Tamil Nadu 16 years ago, said, "I started reading from the age of two and slowly my reading passion evolved into my love for words. My parents encouraged and helped me to build up on my spelling." --goTOP

 

22.  A SIKH - AUSTRALIAN OF THE DAY: Tejinder Pal Singh, a Bharatiya-origin Sikh migrant driver in Australia has been named 'Australian of the Day' for feeding the homeless in Darwin for the past three years. He has dedicated the last Sunday of the month to feed the poor and homeless locals of northern Darwin.

Tejinder Singh works as an air conditioner mechanic by day and a taxi driver by night. It is for this noble act that he was featured as Australian of the Day on their website. He often finishes his taxi shift in the wee hours of the morning and carries out his food drive on very little sleep, but he quoted saying that the act of giving provides him to energy to continue. He cooks up 30 kilogrammes of Bharatiya cuisine to feed the homeless after his night shift. The free lunch that Singh offers comprises chickpeas, rice and vegetarian curry.

Commonwealth Bank has sponsored the Australian of the Year Awards for over 35 years, recognising extraordinary Australians who have made a big difference to the country.--goTOP

 

23.  MPhil DEGREE IN HINDI TO WOMAN IN PAKISTAN: Military-run National University of Modern Languages (NUML) has become the first Pakistani university to award an MPhil degree in Hindi. Shahin Zafar is the first student to receive the degree. Her thesis, titled 'Swatantryottara Hindi Upanyason Mein Nari Chitran (1947-2000)' was supervised by Professor Iftikhar Husain Arif and endorsed by the Higher Education Commission. Due to dearth of Hindi experts in Pakistan, Zafar's thesis was evaluated by two experts from Bharat's Aligarh Muslim University. --goTOP

 

24. More tourist inflow after e-visa scheme: The e-tourist visa scheme launched last year in November has brought in more tourists in the country with the Government data putting the footfalls in 1,69,976 during January-August, 2015 as compared to 17,120 during the same period last year, registering a growth of 892.9 per cent. The number of foreign tourists who arrived on e-visa was 22,286 during August itself against 2,705 during the same month in the previous year. At present e-tourist visa facility is available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 airports in the country. --goTOP

 

25. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors: Jagdish Sehwani - USA.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The gift which is offered to one who can make no return, with the feeling that it is one’s duty to give and which is given at the right place and time and to a worthy (deserving) person - that gift is held Saattwik. --Shreemadbhagavadgeetaa. --goTOP

JAI SHREE RAM


Blog: shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com, Email: vishwav@gmail.com

Bhadrapad Krishna 3 , Vik. Samvat 2072.Yugabda 5117: September 1, 2015



SAMVAD

Bhadrapad Krishna 3 , Vik. Samvat 2072.Yugabda 5117: 1 September 2015


1. FESTIVALS: Keralites celebrate Onam with fervour and gaiety 2. Homegrown cryogenic engine lifts space programme to a new height
3. Gita teaches not to run away from challenges: DR Mohan Bhagwat 4. Thousands take holy dip during first 'shahi snan' in Kumbh Mela
5. Maha Kumbh 2013 better organized than Fifa WC, says Harvard 6. PM pays glowing tributes to Naga legend Rani Gaidinliu
7. Hindu Temples of Angkor top world's  "Ultimate Travelist" 8.  PM RELEASES DIGITAL VERSION OF RAMCHARITMANAS MUSICAL
9. Canadian PM hails Bharatiya diaspora 10. Pak SC asks provincial govt to rebuild Hindu temple
11.  UAE decides to allot land for temple in Abu Dhabi 12. Three Bharatiya firms among world's most innovative companies
13. Bharatiya American judge among 11 Obama appointees 14. Bharatiya-Origin Doctor Grows New Ears for 8-Year-Old Boy
15. Teach bharat! Program Draws DC Metro Teachers 16.  Raksha Bandhan with State Rep and Shrewsbury Selectmen
17. British soldiers tug at heart strings on Raksha Bandhan 18. Bharatiya Scientist Awarded First Sunhak Peace Prize
19. Guruvayurappan Hindu Temple gets permit 20. Census 2011: Hindus dip to below 80 per cent, Muslim share up

21. BABA SAHEB PURANDARE CONFERRED  'MAHARASHTRA BHUSHAN'

22. 59-days Amarnath yatra concludes

23.   MAHAJAN BROTHERS RETURN TO A HERO'S WELCOME IN NASHIK

24. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN  & FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Article:

ERAWAN AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

 

1. FESTIVALS: Keralites celebrate Onam with fervour and gaiety: Keralites across the state celebrated Onam on August 28 with traditional fervour and gaiety.  People offered prayers in temples early in the morning while the day was marked by feast and festivities, including cultural programmes organised by various institutions. Heavy rush was witnessed at major temples, including the famous hill shrine of Lord Ayappa at Sabarimala, Sree Krishna Temple at Guruvayur and Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram. here. Onam is celebrated to honour King Mahabali, who according to legend ruled the state once, under whom the people were equal, prosperous and happy. People believe that it was on this particular day of Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam when Lord Mahavishnu took his fifth avatar as Vaamana, appeared in the kingdom of King Mahabali and sent him to the netherworld.  According to legend, on Thiruvonam day the spirit of King Mahabali visits the people of Kerala. Flower mats (Pookalam) were laid in houses and family members enjoyed the grand feast (Onasadya). -goTop

 

2. Homegrown cryogenic engine lifts space programme to a new height: On 27th August, Bharat's space agency, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), launched a 2,117-kg advanced communications satellite, GSAT-6, on its new-generation launch vehicle that is powered by an engine that has been developed entirely indigenously. The successful flight of the satellite aboard the GSLV-D6 vehicle marked several achievements for ISRO.

The flight was ISRO's second success with the CUS (Cryogenic Upper Stage). The success establishes ISRO's capabilities to launch satellites that are up to 2,500 kg in weight, and gives a boost to the development of the GSLV-Mk3 which is supposed to have much higher payload capacities, up to about 5,000 kg.

The satellite will facilitate digital multimedia broadcasting services to special mobile devices across the country. Law enforcement and national security agencies can use it for accessing satellite telephony services that work seamlessly, and reliably, across a vast area. GSAT-6 is the 25th geostationary communications satellite built by Bharat, and the 12th in the GSAT series. Five of the earlier GSATs have been launched by GSLVs.  -goTop

 

3. Gita teaches not to run away from challenges: DR Mohan Bhagwat: "About 70 per cent of the problems we face in our lives will vanish if we follow the path shown by our saints and scriptures. The rest 30 per cent will get automatically resolved by the Almighty as the divine power is itself silently protecting us. Therefore, it is time to follow the teachings of the saints and scriptures in daily conduct," said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a function organized in Surat on August 17. The function was organized by Subhmangal Foundation in the presence of Jainacharya Abhay Devsurishwar Maharaj and many other saints. On this occasion Shri Bhagwat was gifted with a copy of the Bhagwad Gita written in a special ink made from gold by a Muslim artisan, Yunus Shaikh. Herbs and 346 grams of 24-carat gold was used in writing the 168-page Gita. Yunus Shaikh, a resident of Surendranagar town said. "I have also written many holy books of Jainism and Hinduism. I firmly believe that these religions give us a message of humanity." -goTop

 

4. Thousands take holy dip during first 'shahi snan' in Kumbh Mela: The first 'shahi snan' of the ongoing Kumbh Mela began in Nasik on August 29, with thousands of devotees, including 'mahants' of various akhadas, thronging the ghats of River Godavari to take the holy dip.

The first akhada to take the holy dip was the Nirvani akhada, led by its mahant Gyandas Maharaj, who is also the president of the All India Akhada Parishad, who performed the ritual along with other 'sadhus' and 'mahants' at 7.15 AM.

It was followed by the sadhus and mahants of the Digambar akhada, led by its mahant Krishnadas Maharaj, who took the dip in Ram kund and Ram ghat from 8.00 AM onwards. The third and last akhada to take the dip was the Nirmohi akhada, who reached the ghats at 9.30 AM. The sadhus of the Chatu Sampraday akhada also took the royal bath.

Thousands of sadhus and mahants, including Naga sadhus of the 10 akhadas of Shaiva sect, took the royal bath at the Kushvarta Teerth in Trimbakeshwar town which received light showers. In Trimbakeshwar, the mahants of the Shri Pancha Dashanam Juna akhada, led by mahant Harigiri Maharaj, who is also general secretary of the All India Shaddarshan akhada, took the first royal bath at 4.15 AM. -goTop

 

5. Maha Kumbh 2013 better organized than Fifa WC, says Harvard: Maha Kumbh 2013 was far better organized than FIFA World Cup in Brazil and Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, says a book produced by scholars and students of Harvard University. The 449-page book 'Kumbh Mela - Mapping the Ephemeral Megacity', goes on to add: "For a country notorious for its 'lethargic' bureaucracy, the success of Maha Kumbh is truly noteworthy." The way a tent township -- much larger than the size of Manhattan in terms of population - pops up in a very short time-frame is an example and a project for planners, urban bodies and policy researchers. How more than 100 million come to a small place, stay there for 55 days, apart from a daily cycle of a crowd of nearly five million bathing at the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, meet each other, pray, join their gurus, camp with sadhus and ascetics and safely return to their native places are the things worth studying.

This is how the researchers of the South Asia Institute of the Harvard University, US, have viewed the successful management of Maha Kumbh 2013 in their book which was launched by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on August 17. Talking of the sheer magnitude of the Mela, the book says that over 50 days, there were 146 million (145,736,764) text messages exchanged and 245 million (245,252,102) calls made. "So is Bharat, which has high ambition to provide everyone everything from farmers to migrants to factory worker. Its ambitions are very high but capability very low, and then it generates disappointment. But the Maha Kumbh management and success belies this notion." -goTop

 

6. PM pays glowing tributes to Naga legend Rani Gaidinliu: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi, emphasized that Bharat must remember the glorious heritage of the freedom struggle, and ensure that the legacy of the struggles and achievements of our freedom fighters is passed on to succeeding generations. Speaking at the launch of a commemorative coin to mark the inauguration of the birth centenary celebrations of Rani Gaidinliu, the legendary Naga freedom fighter and social reformer from Nagaland on 25th August the Pradhan Mantri said it is our misfortune that people such as Rani Gaidinliu have either not been remembered adequately, or have been deliberately forgotten.

Chief Minister of Nagaland T R Zeliang in his brief address expressed hope that this would not remain a mere symbolism but would help remove the ignorance and misconception about the people of northeast Bharat. -goTop

 

7. Hindu Temples of Angkor top world's "Ultimate Travelist": Temples of Angkor in Cambodia have topped the Ultimate Travelist compiled by Lonely Planet (LP), which it described as "Hindu heaven on earth". According to an LP release, "this complex of more than 1,000 temples, shrines and tombs that form a virtual city of spires in the jungles of northern Cambodia, takes the crown" and it "was the undisputed champion by quite some margin… it was a complete landslide".

LP points out about Angkor: As the world's greatest temple to the Hindu god Vishnu…this magnificent monument is the greatest treasure of a Hindu kingdom that once stretched as far as Burma, Laos and southern China… Angkor is something out of the ordinary - a literal representation of heaven on earth, hewn from thousands of sandstone blocks and carved floor-to-ceiling with legends from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. Angkor Wat itself is the undisputed highlight, a massive representation of Mt Meru, the mountain home of the gods of Hinduism, executed in stone blocks adorned with bas-reliefs of such delicacy and grace that they could almost have been carved in the presence of the divine… Angkor isn't just an interesting ruin - it's a spiritual epiphany in stone. -goTop

 

8.  PM RELEASES DIGITAL VERSION OF RAMCHARITMANAS MUSICAL: Describing 'Ramcharitmanas' as a great work which imbibes the "essence of Bharat", Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the digital version of a musical production on the epic recorded by All India Radio on 30th August. Praising efforts of the artistes, the Prime Minister said they had performed not just 'sangeet sadhna, but also sanskriti sadhna and sanskaar sadhna' (devotion not just to music, but also to culture and tradition). The Prime Minister described Goswami Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas as a great epic which contained the "essence of Bharat." He mentioned how the Bharatiyas who had travelled to various parts of the world, such as Mauritius, kept alive their link with Bharat over successive generations through the Ramcharitmanas. Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley and Chairman Prasar Bharati Board A Suryaprakash were present on the occasion.   -goTop

 

9. Canadian PM hails Bharatiya diaspora: Bharatiya-Canadians are the largest and most successful Bharatiya diaspora anywhere on this earth, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. On a visit to the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto on August 17, Harper said: "In this uncertain and dangerous world, it is most comforting to know that Canada has certain friends like Bharat." "Canada's relationship with Bharat is special because despite the enormous differences between our two countries, we have a growing economic relationship," said the prime minister.  -goTop

 

10. Pak SC asks provincial govt to rebuild Hindu temple: Expressing dissatisfaction over the restoration work of a Hindu temple in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the provincial government to hire a renowned architect for rebuilding the shrine destroyed by fanatics in 1997. A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on August 25 asked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa authorities to come up with a plan to rebuild the Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj's Samadhi in Teri village of Karak district. -goTop

 

11.  UAE decides to allot land for temple in Abu Dhabi: On the occasion of Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi's visit the government announced its decision to allot land for building a temple in Abu Dhabi. Modi thanked the UAE leadership for this landmark decision. The UAE is home to 2.6 million Bharatiya workers, of whom around 20 percent are white-collar professionals. Bharatiya expatriates comprise 30 per cent of the UAE's population and are the largest nationality group. -goTop

 

12. Three Bharatiya firms among world's most innovative companies: Three Bharatiya companies figure in Forbes' annual list of The World's Most Innovative Companies topped by Tesla Motors, leading maker of fully electric vehicles. Ranked 41st, Hindustan Unilever, Bharat-based fast moving consumer goods company, tops the list of Bharatiya Innovative Companies. It operates in seven business segments ranging from soaps and detergents to tea and coffee and packaged foods.

It's followed by Tata Consultancy Services in the 64th spot. Bharat's largest IT company appears on the list for the eighth time. It took a major step toward bolstering its digital services with a training programme in digital technologies for a third of its workforce. 

Ranked 71st, Sun Pharma Industries, Bharat's largest drugs company, with 45 manufacturing sites across the globe, appears on the list for the fourth straight time. -goTop

 

13. Bharatiya American judge among 11 Obama appointees: US President Barack Obama has appointed Bharatiya-American federal  judge Vince Chhabria along with 10 others as full-time judges. The appointment filled 11 of the 14 vacancies in the court for the northern district of California and is the most dramatic makeover of such bench during his administration. The 11 Obama appointees sailed through Senate confirmation hearings. Obama nominated Chhabria, 46, to serve as a US district judge for the northern district of California on July 25, 2013.

His nomination was confirmed on March 5, 2014 by a vote of 58-41 and received his judicial commission on March 7, 2014. Born in 1969 in San Francisco, California, Chhabria completed his Bachelors' in Arts in 1991 from the University of California-Santa Cruz. He received a Juris Doctorate -- a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law -- in 1998 from the University of California-Berkeley. -goTop

 

14. Bharatiya-Origin Doctor Grows New Ears for 8-Year-Old Boy: A Bharatiya-origin doctor Dr Ananth Murthy, director of plastic surgery at One Perkins Square, Akron, Ohio in the US has successfully grown outer ears from rib cartilage in an 8-year-old boy after a series of 'miraculous' surgeries. Elijah Bell, a second-grade student at Frazer Elementary in Canton, Ohio, was born with bilateral atresia microtia, a rare birth defect where the outer ears are undeveloped, and, in Elijah's case, had no openings to the middle and inner ear.

"The changes we've seen in Elijah are really remarkable," Elijah's Mom Ms Colleen Bell said, adding that her son has a new outlook on life. -goTop

 

15. Teach bharat! Program Draws DC Metro Teachers: Teachers from around the Washington, DC region took part in the three-day Teach Bharat! teacher training workshop organized by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), California State-University Long Beach, and the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple (SSVT), the first ever program featuring a partnership of this kind. The workshop, held from Aug. 20-22 was led by CSU-Long Beach faculty members - and renowned history educators - Tim Keirn and Dave Neumann, and HAF’s education director Murali Balaji. Keirn is also the chief reader for AP world history, while Neumann is director of the History Project. Teachers who participated said their perspectives had been transformed by the combination of professional development training and cultural immersion.

While Teach Bharat has run in California over the past few years, it was the workshop's inaugural launch on the East Coast and the first time that the workshop's host - and chief sponsor - is a temple.  -goTop

 

16.  Raksha Bandhan with State Rep and Shrewsbury Selectmen: The festival of Rakshabandhan is celebrated at all the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas of US. All the volunteers and group members of HSS Abhimanyu Shakha at Shrewsbury - Massachusetts went to the  Town Hall to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, which signifies universal brotherhood and protection between the communities. In the program, about 40 people participated and children tied Rakhis to everyone symbolizing their well wishes for everyone. First, the State Representative of Shrewsbury and Westborough, Hannah Kane gave a warm welcome speech where she introduced all 5 of the Board Members of Shrewsbury and their families. Then we introduced ourselves to everyone.

A small speech about the significance of Raksha Bandhan was also given. With this program , Abhimanyu Shaka of HSS was able to successfully create a sense of community that value and spread the message of universal peace. -goTop

 

17. British soldiers tug at heart strings on Raksha Bandhan: Several members of Britain's armed forces attended 'raksha bandhan' events in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bradford in the week (24th-29thAugust), where the contribution of past and present members of the Hindu community in UK's military history was recalled. There are currently 950 members of the armed forces in UK whose religious affiliation is declared as Hindu. The events were attended by the minister for Armed Forces, Penny Mordaunt, and senior officials. The events also lauded the contribution of Hindu serving personnel throughout the history of the UK Armed Forces: World War I, when "750,000 Hindus where deployed overseas in the British Bharatiya Army (earning 8 Victoria Crosses); World War II where 1.25 million Hindus fought in the British Bharatiya Army (earning 18 Victoria Crosses); and the 950 current serving personnel". -goTop

 

18. Bharatiya Scientist Awarded First Sunhak Peace Prize: Noted Bharatiya agriculture scientist Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta, who has done pioneering work in aquaculture in Bharat, Bangladesh and several Southeast Asian countries, was on August 28 awarded the first Sunhak Peace Prize which he shared with the President of Kiribati Islands. Gupta, 76, shared the USD 1 million prize with President of Kiribati Islands Anote Tong in Seoul at a glittering function which was attended by invitees from all over the world. Billed as an alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize, the awards were presented by South Korean religious leader Dr Hak Ja Han Moon, the wife of late Rev Sun Myung Moon, who instituted the awards to recognize and highlight the work of individuals making big efforts for the betterment of the people.

Hailing from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh, Gupta, a biologist, was also the recipient of the World Food Prize in 2005 for development and dissemination of low-cost techniques for freshwater fish farming. -goTop

 

19. Guruvayurappan Hindu Temple gets permit: Guruvayurappan Temple of Brampton in Canada has received the building permit from the City of Brampton in Ontario, which it calls "a long and difficult process". According to Temple President Dr. P. Karunakaran Kutty, the "construction is to begin in early October". Temple has reportedly raised about $1.8 million and is seeking more donations. This Temple is proposed to be built in accordance with ancient Hindu Shilpa and Agama Shastras; plans to accommodate Sree Kovils for Guruvayurappan, Ganapathy, Sastha, and Devi; and hopes to be "a pillar of social cohesion, aside from being the spiritual epicenter for the Hindus of North America". -goTop

 

20. Census 2011: Hindus dip to below 80 per cent, Muslim share up: The percentage of Muslims in the country's population increased 0.8 percentage points between 2001 and 2011 to 14.23% or 17.22 crore. In the previous decade, i.e. between 1991 and 2001, their share in the total population had increased by a bigger measure or 1.73 percentage points to 13.43%. They were, however, the only community to register a growth in terms of their share in the total population.

The Census 2011 data on Population by Religious Communities, released by the Registrar General of Bharat on August 25, also showed that the percentage of Hindus dipped by 0.7 percentage points (PP) in the decade 2001 to 2011, pulling it for the first time below 80%. Hindus now constitute 79.8% of the country's total population. In the previous decade, the proportion of Hindus in the population showed a sharper fall by 1.94 percentage points.

According to the 2011 Census data, Bharat's population in the 2001-2011 grew 17.7% to 121.09 crore, with Hindus numbering 96.63 crore.

While there has been no significant change in the proportion of Christians and Jains, that of Sikhs has declined by 0.2 percentage points and of Buddhists by 0.1 percentage points during the decade. The growth rate of Christians over the decade stood at 15.5%, Sikhs at 8.4%, Buddhists at 6.1% and Jains 5.4%. -goTop

 

21. BABA SAHEB PURANDARE CONFERRED  'MAHARASHTRA BHUSHAN': At an impressive function held at the Raj Bhavan, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao bestowed 'Maharashtra Bhushan' upon Shiv Shahir Purandare, in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Ministers Subhash Desai, Vinod Tawde, Prakash Mehta, Diwakar Raote Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar and several other prominent personalities on August 19. After accepting the award, a humble Purandare announced that in addition to a cash prize of Rs10 lakh he had received along with "Maharashtra Bhushan" from the State Government, he would add another Rs15 lakh and make a total contribution of Rs25 lakh for the cancer treatment cause. -goTop

 

22. 59-days Amarnath yatra concludes: Over 3.52 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas this year as the 59-day annual yatra concluded on August 29 coinciding with the festival of 'Raksha Bandhan'. 'Chhari Mubarak'  being carried by a group of Sadhus led by its custodian Mahant Dipendra Giri, arrived at the 3,880 meter holy cave in the wee hours after tracking a distance of six kilometers from Sheshnag halting station, marking the conclusion of the yatra. Special prayers were held at the cave shrine, which houses the naturally formed ice-shivlingam, after the arrival of the 'Chhari Mubarak', the holy mace of Lord Shiva. -goTop

 

23.   MAHAJAN BROTHERS RETURN TO A HERO'S WELCOME IN NASHIK: Doctor duo Mahendra and Hitendra Mahajan, who achieved a milestone by becoming the first Bharatiyas to finish the difficult Brevet cycling Race Against America (RAAM), measuring 4,800 km from the West to East coast of America in eight days and 14 hours, got a grand welcome at Cycle Circle in Nashik.

Mahendra (39), a dentist and Hitendra (44), an anesthesiologist, participated in the race that began on June 20 with 130 teams from across the world. The brothers participated in the 'team of two' category and completed it in eight days and 14 hours without a single penalty. The time allotted for completing the race was nine days. Three other teams in their category got disqualified in the first 1,000 km, making the brothers the first and only ones to complete the race.  -goTop

 

24. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri V Bhagaiah ji sahsarkaryavaha RSS will tour USA. Dr. Manmohan Vaidya, All Bharat prachar pramukh returned from his tour to Australia & New Zealand. Shri Ravikumar, sahsamyojak Vishwa Vibhag returned from Hong Kong and Thailand. Visitors: Dr Nandini & Priya Tandon - USA, Saurabh Chaudhary - France, Ranbir Singh - Papua New Guinea

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny. -  Brihadaranyaka Upanishhad  -goTop

JAI SHREE RAM

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ERAWAN AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

KG Suresh

Earlier this month, a bomb exploded close to a shrine in the centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, killing about 20 people and injuring scores of others. The target of the attack, the Erawan temple dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator in the Hindu trinity, worshipped mostly by the Chinese, Thai and Bharatiya residents of the city, and tourists, represents the deep impact the ancient Bharatiya civilisation made in South East Asia. In fact, the word 'Erawan' is derived from 'Iraivan', which means, 'He who is worshiped'. It is one of the oldest words for God in the ancient Tamil language.

The Erawan shrine, formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine or 'Shrine of Lord Brahma the Great', is dedicated to the cult of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Lord Brahma. Five other shrines dedicated to Hindu deities are also located in the area: Phra Laksami (Lakshmi), Phra Trimurati (Trimurti), Phra Khanet (Ganesh), Phra In (Indra), and Phra Narai Song Suban (Narayana on his Garuda). The Brahma statue was designed and built by the Department of Fine Arts of the Thai Government and enshrined on November 9, 1956, following an astrologer's advice to build the shrine to counter negative influences on the Government-owned Erawan hotel.

The Chinese refer to Brahma as the  Simianshen or the Four-Faced God. The Erawan cult of Brahma, since its inception in Thailand, has spread, accompanied by faithful reproduction of the structure of the shrine and the image, among overseas Chinese in other countries of South east Asia including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, as also in Taiwan, and in China, with shrines established in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Shrines dedicated to Hindu deities including Brahma, Vishnu and Ganesha are commonplace across Thailand, particularly in hotel, residential and commercial campuses. One of the most popular deities in Thailand is Lord Ganesha.

Though the Thais are predominantly Buddhists, Ganesha is held in great reverence as he is believed to be the harbinger of good fortune. The Thais usually refer to him as Phra Phikanesuan or Phra Phikanet. There are many shrines devoted to him all over Thailand wherein the devout make merit by laying flowers, sweets, or other treats. This is a common practice for those who are looking for sEarlier this month, a bomb exploded close to a shrine in the centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, killing about 20 people and injuring scores of others. The target of the attack, the Erawan temple dedicated to Lord Brahma, the creator in the Hindu trinity, worshipped mostly by the Chinese, Thai and Bharatiya residents of the city, and tourists, represents the deep impact the ancient Bharatiya civilisation made in South East Asia. In fact, the word 'Erawan' is derived from 'Iraivan', which means, 'He who is worshiped'. It is one of the oldest words for God in the ancient Tamil language.
The Erawan shrine, formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine or ‘Shrine of Lord Brahma the Great', is dedicated to the cult of Phra Phrom, the Thai representation of Lord Brahma. Five other shrines dedicated to Hindu deities are also located in the area: Phra Laksami (Lakshmi), Phra Trimurati (Trimurti), Phra Khanet (Ganesh), Phra In (Indra), and Phra Narai Song Suban (Narayana on his Garuda). The Brahma statue was designed and built by the Department of Fine Arts of the Thai Government and enshrined on November 9, 1956, following an astrologer's advice to build the shrine to counter negative influences on the Government-owned Erawan hotel.
ome luck when starting a new venture or taking an examination. One of the more novel ways that his image is used is by businesses that are going through a tough period and hang his picture upside down to indicate their distress. In fact, many Buddhists in Thailand and elsewhere believe that Ganesh was a Bodhisattva, an enlightened being, who delays entering final Nirvana because he wishes to help those who are still suffering.

During a recent visit to Thailand, one was overwhelmed to behold the 24 metre high Pink Ganesha statue at Wat Samanrattanaram temple at Chachoengsao, about 60kms from Bangkok, surrounded by many beautifully crafted rats. One saw youngsters including couples whispering into the ears of these rats for fulfilment of their wishes. Inside, senior citizens were lighting lamps as Thai elders chanted 'Om Ganeshaya Namaha' while Buddhist monks meditated in the complex, where stood huge statues of Brahma and Lakshmi as well. In the souvenir shops outside, young Thais and Chinese were buying statues of varying sizes of Lord Ganesha as also amulets and pendants, which are hugely popular in the country.

The Chief Priest of the Thai Royal family continues to be a Thai Brahmin, whose ancestors trace their origins to Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. They look and speak Thai, yet all the rituals of the royal family and other Thai families, from birth to death, are conducted according to Vedic rites. Interestingly, the Thais including the chief priest recite the Tiruppavai, a collection of 30 stanzas in Tamil written by Andal in praise of Lord Vishnu (Perumal). The Thais celebrate the event as Triyampavai-Trippavai, a festival during December-January, corresponding to the Tamil month Marghazi.

This deep Bharatiya imprint highlights the close civilisational bonds between Hinduism and Buddhism, which, if synergised, has the potential to lend a healing touch to a world torn apart by increasing conflict and hatred. It also provides a strategic counter-balance to the ever-growing scourge of religious extremism and terrorism spearheaded by the likes of the Islamic State. Non-violence is fundamental to Hinduism and Buddhism. Their philosophies are compatible with modern democratic values and institutions. Hinduism and Buddhism are centered on non-violence and compassion towards not only humans but also animals and plants - which makes them ecologically compatible philosophies.

It is in this context that the Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousness, organised by the New Delhi-based think tank Vivekananda International Foundation in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation and Tokyo Foundation early next month, in the national capital assumes significance. To be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two-day conference will address the unprecedented threats and challenges related to peace and environment the world is facing today. Besides traditional, ideological and cultural rivalries, new challenges have emerged in the form of lawless forces backed up by violent ideologies that challenge de jure states, formed on the rule of law.

Today, the world is on a different tangent, as religious and ideological conflicts escalate and lead to terrorism and massive destruction. Terrorists, who were once described as 'non-state actors' are now controlling large parts of territories and also challenging the authority of de jure states that are responsible for the so-called world order. Massive violence has been unleashed against innocents who differ even a shade in their faith or thoughts from those of the extremists.

Such violent and destructive activities have pressured intellectuals, leaders and strategic thinkers the world over to develop alternative ways to tackle these situations. The current approach towards conflict resolution is largely based on Western and simplified perspectives of conflict between faiths and civilisations. It is important to recognise the importance of Asian traditions and values, especially the culture of understanding and acceptance of the alternative view, that go beyond the that go beyond the mercy-tolerance paradigm, in securing the future of world peace and harmony. Hindu-Buddhist values can be used as a tool to shift the paradigm to conflict avoidance and the path of ideology to philosophy.

The adaptation of a non-conflicting paradigm, inclusive of philosophic streams such as Buddhism and Hinduism whose adherents account for more than one-fifth of the world's population and cognates cultures such as Bharatiya and Japanese, alone can effectively promote democratic values, religious understanding and conflict avoidance in the larger interest of the world. 

Close on the heels of the recent Bangkok blast, the VIF-hosted meet in New Delhi seeks to comprehensively address myriad challenges in Asia i.e spread of conflict, transnational terror networks and sectarian violence, climate change, environmental degradation and conservation issues, from an Asian perspective. It also suggests creative solutions and a sustainable social, economic and political framework for management of conflict, fostering of cooperation and the promotion of environmental consciousness and an inter-dependent universal responsibility. If 21st century is to be an Asian century, the continent will have to offer a new model and vision for a world order, based on its democratic tradition that espouses the spirit of human cooperation, ethical behaviour, universal responsibility and prosperity of all nations. (The author is a senior journalist based in New Delhi) (Daily Pioneer 24 August 2015) -goTop


Shri Vishwa Niketan

Email: vishwav@bol.net.in  Blog: www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.in