\SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Ashadha Shukla 3, Vik.Samvat 2075 Yugabda 5120: 16 JULY 2018
1. FESTIVALS: Raksha Bandhan stirs up one of the deepest and the noblest emotions in the human breast – the abiding and chaste bond of love between the brother and the sister. The delicate cord tied by the sister to the brother on this day pulsates with this sublime sentiment. The festival takes place on Shravan Poornima, falling on August 26 this year. This is also the final day of Shri Amarnath yatra.
At Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh shakhas, after dhwajarohana and dhwajapranam, all swayamsevaks stand in Daksha, while the senior most Adhikari offers pranam to the dhwaja, and ties the rakhi to the flag. The swayamsevaks mutually tie rakhi on the right wrist. After dispersal swayamsevaks visit the hamlets of the downtrodden in their area, tie rakhis and distribute sweets to the inhabitants there. --goTop
2. WILL BUILD GANDHI HERITAGE CENTRE IN UGANDA: MODI - Bharat will build a Gandhi Heritage Centre at a sacred site in Uganda where a portion of Mahatma Gandhi's ashes was immersed. Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi, addressing the Parliament of Uganda on July 26, said Gandhi in his life and beyond was one with Africa and Africans and the story of Bharat's own freedom struggle is closely linked to Africa. “At the sacred site in Jinja, 85-kilometre from Kampala, where a statue of Gandhiji now stands, we will build a Gandhi Heritage Centre," Modi said. Modi, the first Bharatiya Pradhan Mantri to address the Parliament of Uganda, said for Bharat, Gandhi was more than just the 21 years that he spent in Africa, or the First Non-Cooperation Movement he led. Modi said 20 years before Bharat's independence, its leaders had linked Bharat's freedom struggle to the fight against colonial rule around the world, especially Africa. "Mahatma Gandhi firmly believed that Bharat's freedom will remain incomplete so long as Africa remains in bondage. Free Bharat did not forget his words. Bharat pursued Afro-Asian solidarity in Bandung," Modi said. "We stood firm in opposition to apartheid in South Africa. We took leading and bold positions in former Rhodesia - which is now known as Zimbabwe, in Guinea Bassau, Angola and Namibia," he said. Gandhi's peaceful resistance inspired leaders like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Luthuli, Julius Nyrere and Kwame Nkrumah. --goTop
3. VHP UK hosts its first British Hindu Conclave of 2018: Scientists, lawyers, philosophers, writers, social workers, medical doctors, armed forces personnel and members of various Hindu organisations came together on 21 July 2018for a day long conclave at the Bushey Academy to analyse and highlight the British Hindu contribution to society as well as the challenges the community faces. The eventwashosted by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) UK. Dr Tribhovan Jotangia (VHP UK President) chaired the event. Prominent Parliamentarians such as the Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz MP and Lord Jitesh Gadhia presented their views on how to better facilitate interest between British Hindus and the authorities and Hindu representation in British politics respectively.
British Hindus are the third largest religious faith group in the UK and the communityisthe most law abiding, hardworking and tolerant, yet are marginalized on a mainstream level when it comes to considering issues they face collectively. On the backdrop of their contribution not being recognised, VHP put together this conclave to address how to raise awareness for the British Hindu community.
Jayesh Jotangia, a Barrister, Dr Manish Tayal MBE and Surgeon Commander of the Royal Navy, Dr Sachin Nanda, PhD (Oxon), Professor Pawan Budhwar of Aston University and others highlighted the British Hindu contribution to society and economy thus far. It was estimated that on average each British Hindu contributes £90,000 per year to GDP. Chandrakant Sharma of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh UK spoke about the challenges of British Hindus in the UK and in Bharat. The event was attended by 200 delegates representing over 30 British Hindu organisations. --goTop
4. PM MODI GIFTS 200 COWS TO VILLAGERS IN RWANDA: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi gifted 200 cows to villagers in Rwanda on July 24 to support President Paul Kagame's ambitious initiative for poverty reduction and tackling childhood malnutrition. Girinka Programme was initiated by Kagame in 2006 to provide one cow per poor family nutritional and financial security.Modi gifted these cows to poor families during a function at Rweru Model Village. Speaking on the occasion, the Modi said people in Bharat too would be pleasantly surprised to see the cow being given such importance as a means of economic empowerment in villages, in faraway Rwanda.
The Girinka programme has contributed to an increase in agricultural production in Rwanda - especially milk production and products, reduced malnutrition and increased incomes. --goTop
5. PM NARENDRA MODI SALUTES CBSE TOPPER ON MANN KI BAAT: Anushka, who scored 97.8% in her Class X exams, found a mention in the Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, the July 29. “I came across the news of Gurugram’s differently-abled daughter, Anushka Panda. Anushka didn’t let her disability deter her from becoming the all Bharat topper,” the PM said in the 46th edition of Mann Ki Baat on Akashvani. A student of Suncity School, Anushka topped the Class X CBSE exams in the differently abled category this year. Anushka was born with “spinal muscular atrophy”, a genetic disease that slowly reduces a person’s physical strength. A person with spinal muscular atrophy is not able to walk or even eat properly, and at times has difficulty breathing.She wrote the tests sitting on a special bench provided to her by her school. “I cannot sit for long, I need small breaks. But I had to study for long hours, keeping in mind the vast syllabus we have,” she said.“From the beginning, my parents have never treated me like a special child. They got me admitted to a private school along with normalstudents,” she said.What does she aspire to be? “A software engineer.” And how does she aspire to be an engineer? “Consistency, that is the key.” --goTop
6. Culture is a way of life and Religion is a way of worship: upa rashtrapati Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the Culture is a way of life and Religion is a way of worship. He was interacting with the members of ‘Youth For Bharat’, who called on him, in New Delhi on July 22.Upa Rashtrapati said that one should remember five things in one’s life – Mother, Mother tongue, Birth place, Motherland and Teacher who gave knowledge. One should try to talk in mother tongue at home. Shri Naidu advised the students to dream high, aim high and work hard to achieve them. People should be judged, should be selected, and should be elected on the basis of character, calibre, capacity and conduct but not on the basis of caste, cash, community and criminality, he added. v
7. Sewa During the Rath Yatra: Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti (UBSS) took up sewa works during the Rath Yatra from July 14. Inaugurating the sewa activities, RSS Prant Sanghchalak Sameer Mohanty elaborated how the RSS swayamsevaks took up relief and rescue work during the natural calamities in Odisha and other parts of the country. Sah Prant Karyavah Sudarshan Das said about 500 swayamsevaks divided into seven groups did different sewa activities including first aid, stretcher sewa, ambulance sewa, attending the patients in hospitals by the bed side, corridor for easy passage of ambulance, water distribution and sprinkling of water over the pilgrims to avoid sunstroke. --goTop
8. Abu Dhabi To Get Its First Hindu Temple By 2020: Abu Dhabi, the one of the seven Arab Emirates and the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is likely to get its first Hindu temple by 2020 with a legal entity been registered with the local government for its construction. Global Hindu religious and civic organization, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, will build and manage the temple. Sadhu Brahma Viharidas, in-charge of the Middle East at BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, said the temple committee is hoping to complete the construction by 2020.
The temple designed to have seven towers representing the seven emirates in the UAE will come upon a 14-acre piece of land at Abu Mureikhah in Al Rahba area on the Abu Dhabi-Sweihan-Al Ain Road, close to the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway.The stones of the temples will be carved in Bharat by stone artisans which while being translocated and assembled in the UAE. --goTop
9. BHARAT WINS FIVE GOLD MEDALS AT LISBON PHYSICS OLYMPIAD: Five students from Bharat bagged gold medals at the 49th International Physics Olympiad (IPhO 2018) in Lisbon, Portugal, between July 21 and 28. This is Bharat’s best ever performance in the IPhO in 21 years of participation.
Bharat and China topped the medals tally with five golds each among 86 countries that participated. A total of 396 students from across the world took part.
Two boys from Kota (Lay Jain and Pawan Goyal), one from Mumbai (Bhaskar Gupta), one from Rajkot (Nishant Abhangi) and one from Kolkata (Siddharth Tiwary) bagged gold. The IPhO competition consists of a theoretical and an experimental examination, each of five-hour duration. --goTop
10. Feeding People for 150 years: The fire that was lit in the kitchen at Vadalur still continues to burn without break for over 150 years feeding every visitor thrice a day - Swami Ramalinga Arutprakasa Vallalar (1823-1874) popularly known as ‘Vallalar’, gave new definition to spirituality with a noble and broad view. Vallalar's path of Samarasa Suddha Sanmargam, the highest evolutionary spiritual path because of its science of deathlessness, attracted people from all walks of life. Given that every living being is a soul which can experience joy and pain in its manifold forms of hunger, fear, disease, torture etc.; innate intelligence (indwelling Supreme Divine) finds ways to avoid, overcome these forms and attain supreme bliss. There is no better puja and ritual in all religions than feeding a hungry living being. Annadanam is Mahadanam or the greatest donation in all ways of worship and is an essential part of Sanatan Dharma tradition.
Swami Ramalinga Vallalar was never at peace when people went without food. The very basis of spirituality, according to the Swamiji, was the removal of hunger, since compassion seeking to remove hunger seeks to renovate the living temple of God, the body. Swami Ramalinga Adigal, to generate awareness and eliminate chronic hunger among fellow human beings with the principal of ‘Jeeva Karunya’ or symbolic CHAP (Chronic Hunger Alleviation Program) initiated Annadhana programme (House of Charity) on May 23, 1867—his first humanitarian work.
With the support of friends and well-wishers, the land was acquired at Vadalur and modest building was erected to house the kitchen. Donations of food grains and vegetables were accepted from worthy people and the kitchen started functioning. From the first day onwards the Dharma Salai served food to the needy and the hungry. The people were served to their full satisfaction. All people were treated equally without any caste or religious discrimination.
This Annadhaana ritual fed the poor thrice a day. The 21 feet long and 2.5 feet deep oven lighted by Vallalar in the Satya Dharma Sala is functioning without break, never extinguishes and is burning till today. More than one and a half century, this free-feeding of the poor continues to this day.
Tail piece: In the year 1972, Shri Madhavrao Muley, the then Akhil Bharatiya Adhikari of the RSS visited this Ashram. He was impressed by the symbolic removal of seven screens or hurdles and finally worshipping the ‘eternal light’. Later on, after some years, RSS conducted its annual training camp called OTC at the place. Former RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Rajju Bhaiya had also visited the place and appreciated the role of the Ashram in spreading the message of Swamy ji.—- report by Rama Devi, (Excerpts) The Organiser, July 25, 2018. --goTop
11. Assisting Sri Lanka with Emergency Ambulance Service, Bharat marks another major achievement in strengthening relations: Extending a helping hand with providing assistance by the expansion of Emergency Ambulance Service over the entire island in Sri Lanka, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi addressed the event over live video conferencing. Exemplifying the partnership between both the countries, PM Modi expressed happiness on the National Emergency Ambulance service being extended all over Sri Lanka.Associating the marking of the second phase of the service, Modi added that the people associated with this service have been trained in Bharat. The required skills and the local employment will also receive a boost. --goTop
12. BHARATIYA AMERICAN COUPLE SELLS IT FIRM SYNTEL TO FRENCH COMPANY ATOS FOR $3.4 BILLION: Bharatiya-origin couple Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi have agreed to sell their United States-based technology services provider Syntel Inc. to French firm Atos for $3.4 billion. Syntel, founded in 1980, employs 23,000 engineers in 30 countries, with over 80 percent of its staff based in Bharat. The cash deal will boost the presence of Atos in North America. Syntel earned $924 million in revenues in 2017, of which 89 percent was in North America. Desai and Sethi, who together held 57 percent stake in the company, stand to make nearly $2 billion from the deal. The former employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) started Syntel with $2,000 at their apartment in Troy, Michigan. The company earned $30,000 in its first year.
Sethi, the 63-year-old vice president of Syntelholds an undergraduate degree and MBA from the Delhi University, and a masters degree from the Oakland University. Desai, who was born in Kenya and grew up in Mombasa and Ahmedabad, is alumnus of IIT-Bombay and earned an MBA from the University of Michigan. --goTop
13. BHARAT VASWANI AND SONAM AMONG 2018 RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD WINNERS: Two Bharatiyas -one a psychiatrist who works for the mentally-ill street persons and another whose initiative to harness science and culture creatively for economic progress improved the lives of the Ladakhi youth - were on July 27 declared the winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award. Bharat Vaswani and Sonam Wangchuk are among six individuals who were declared winners of the award, regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize. Vaswani was recognised for "his tremendous courage and healing compassion in embracing Bharat's mentally-afflicted destitute, and his steadfast and magnanimous dedication to the work of restoring and affirming the human dignity of even the most ostracized," the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said in its citation for the winner. --goTop
14. WORLD HINDU CONGRESS TO MARK 125 YEARS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA’S HISTORIC CHICAGO ADDRESS:The second World Hindu Congress will be held in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. from September 7 – 9, 2018. Inspired by the Hindu principle, Sumantrite Suvikrante or THINK COLLECTIVELY, ACHIEVE VALIANTLY, the World Hindu Congress 2018 promises to be a movement not to be missed. On the eve of the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s historic address to the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, Hindus from around the world and of all backgrounds are invited to actively participate. As in WHC 2014, seven parallel conferences will be held:
World Hindu Economic Forum
Hindu Educational Conference
Hindu Media Conference
Hindu Organisational Conference
Hindu Political Conference
Hindu Women Conference
Hindu Youth Conference
Each of these conferences will focus on an area of strategic importance to the Hindu civilization and humanity. All Hindu organisations, associations, and institutions are encouraged to participate and invited to become partners in WHC 2018. For any queries, please contact us at info@worldhinducongress.org --goTop
15. Bharatiya Americans Donate 1 Percent of Income, $1 Billion Annually, But Cautiously: Indiaspora Survey: Bharatiya Americans, the wealthiest community in the US, donate an estimated $1 billion annually to non-profit organizations, but give far less than their potential because of a wariness of how their donor dollars are spent, summated Indiaspora July 17, releasing the results of a first-ever survey of American philanthropy.
The survey found a large “giving gap,” of $2-3 billion, and noted that Bharatiya Americans give only one percent of their annual income in charitable contributions. The U.S. population as a whole donates roughly four percent. If Bharatiya Americans contributed at that same rate, they could be donating as much as $3 billion per year, concluded the survey. --goTop
16. Bharatiya american attorney ranjan nominated district judge: The White House July 24 announced that J. Nicholas Ranjan has been nominated to be the U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.Ranjan is currently a partner at K&L Gates in Pittsburgh, Pa.Ranjan earned a bachelor’s in history from Grove City College and later earned a law degree from the University of Michigan’s Law School. --goTop
17. AMIT BHANDARI DONATES $50,000 TO EKAL’S MOBILE COMPUTER LAB: Houston based entrepreneur Amit Bhandari and his wife Arpita have donated $50,000 dollars to outfit a bus with 10 laptops for the Ekal-on-Wheels Mobile Computer Labs program. The solar powered bus has pre-installed self-learning software developed by IIT, Mumbai and accommodates two students per computer. One dedicated trainer, assisted by the local Ekal teacher provides two and a half hours of training in one village. The bus, which will serve the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh near Indore, was inaugurated by Amit and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Amit was impressed by how “coachable and open to learning the children were.”
A graduate in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Amit started his own company BioUrja (Urja in Hindi means energy) in 2006. The company trades in ethanol, petroleum products, crude oil, grains, metal tubing for the oil production sector and now renewable energy. --goTop
18. 25th International Sindhi Sammelan: Over 700 Sindhis — from all over the world, including from the Bharatiya American community — convened at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara in California July 5-July 8 for the 25th annual International Sindhi Sammelan 2018. The four-day-long event, organized by the Sindhi Community of Northern California in association with Alliance of Global Sindhi Associations, also marked the 100th birthday of Dada Jashan Vaswani, the revered spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission Pune. (Dada Vaswani passed away July 12 following a brief illness, at the age of 99.) The all-encompassing event offered an array of exciting activities, including theater, comedy, music, and dance. The 2019 convention will be held in Barcelona, Spain.--goTop
19. bharatiya Americans Highest Earners Among Asians in U.S.: Bharatiya Americans enjoy the highest levels of income among various Asian ethnic groups in the U.S., but wide economic disparities exist within the community, noted the Pew Research Center in a report released July 12. The report, titled “Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Rising Most Rapidly Among Asians,” surveyed income levels of several Asian American ethnicities and found that Asians at the top 10 percent of incomes earned 10.7 times more than those at the bottom 10 percent. Almost four million people of Bharatiya origin live in the U.S., with a median household income of $100,000, noted the survey. About 7.5 percent of the community lives at or below the federal poverty level, defined as $30,750 for a family of four in 2017. --goTop
20. BHARAT TO REMAIN FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY: ADB: Bharat will continue to be the fastest growing major economy, ahead of China, with 7.3% growth rate in 2018-19 and 7.6% in 2019-20, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on July 19.The growth in Bharat will be driven by increased public spending, higher capacity utilisation rate and uptick in private investment, said the ADB supplement to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO).While retaining India’s growth rate for current fiscal and the next, ADO said economic growth in China would decelerate to 6.6% in 2018 and further to 6.4% in 2019. The ADB said Bharat was the dominant economy in the South Asia sub-region with its growth gaining momentum at 7.7% in the last quarter ended March of 2017-18, the highest rate of growth since first quarter of 2016-17. --goTop
21. The Plight of Kashmiri Pandits: Jammu Kashmir Vichar Manch (JKVM) organiseda seminar on ‘Genesis of continued Genocide of Kashmiri Pandits’ as a culmination of month long campaign launched in commemoration of the communal carnage of Kashmiri Pandits in the year 1931. The monthlong activities included a letter writing campaign to PM, social media campaign, talks and seminars on the subject.
On July 13, 1931 Kashmiri Pandits were subjected to a communal carnage which followed the arrest of Abdul Qadeer for delivering a fiery speech against Maharaja Hari Singh.Many Kashmiri Pandits were murdered and their properties looted and ransacked. The attack of 1931 was one among the many dark chapters in the history of repeated genocides on the Kashmiri Pandit community. The Kashmiri Pandits continued to bear the brunt of communal onslaught from the hands of radical Islamists. Genocide of 1989-90 which led to killings of thousands of Pandits and one more exodus bears testimony to that. Even after 28 years of exodus our plight remains the same. The function concluded with a silent candle march from Rajendra Bhawan upto ITO Chowk Delhi in which large number of community members participated and displayed banners, placards etc to highlight their plight. --goTop
22. Hindu Center launched in Luxembourg: A Hindu Center has been launched in the Beggen district of Luxembourg with the “inaugural pooja” conducted by purohits from nearby countries; including Ganapthi-Lakshmi-Dhanvanthri-Navagraha homams, aarti, etc. It plans to have “Diya/Deepam” lighting rituals daily with devotional songs. It has been launched by Hindu Forum Luxembourg (HFL) which has 21 founder-trustees and whose Objectives include “Honoring the Hindu Heritage” and Values include “Live and Let Live”. It wants to serve the Hindu Community with a place of worship, community center, library, museum, knowledge sharing, community building, etc. --goTop
23. Hindus welcome renowned Tate Modern London museum offering yoga: Hindus have welcomed Tate Modern, one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in London, offering yoga classes from July 28 to August 18; and are urging all world museums to launch yoga on their premises.
This hour-long class will focus on “strength, mobility and relaxation”. This “gentle energising flow” will “wake up the body by linking breath to movement”. Tate Modern, whose Mission includes increasing “everyone’s enjoyment and understanding of art”, was launched in 1897. --goTop
24. 15th PravasiBharatiya Divas will be held in Varanasi from January 21 to January 23, 2019. It would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth. The theme of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be “Role of Bharatiya Diaspora in building a New Bharat”.--goTop
25. Hindus welcome free yoga sessions at Newfoundland-Labrador Lt. Governor residence: Welcoming launching of yoga sessions during summer at Newfoundland-Labrador Government House, the official residence of provincial Lieutenant Governor in St. John’s (Canada); Hindus are urging similar sessions on the lawns of all functioning Government Houses in Canada to explore various benefits yoga offered.These weekly outdoor all-levels free community yoga sessions will be held on the lawn of pristine Government House and will be guided by local yoga teachers. --goTop
26. ‘Hinduism has capacity to re-invent itself’: Veteran lyricist Gulzar launched Pavan K Varma’s 22nd book, ‘Adi Shankaracharya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker’, on July 17 in the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. “Adi Shankaracharya’s life fascinated me. He was born in Kerala and took samadhi in Kedarnath. In a short span of 32 years, he set up mutts across the country such as Sringeri Sharada Peetham in the south, Dwarakapitha in Gujarat, Govardhana Matha in Puri and Jyotir-Matha in Uttrakhand. Above all, he revived Hinduism and by the sheer cerebral energy of his thoughts, took Hinduism back to its philosophical roots,” said the author, Pavan Varma on the occasion.
Gulzar praised the writer for understanding the social change and explaining it through his writings. “Religion is a way of life. Even though it has failed many times, its grand success lies in the fact that it never dies. It has the capacity to re-invent itself,” added the author. Pavan said that the correlation between the latest discoveries of science in areas such as cosmology, quantum physics, and neurology increasingly shows what Shankaracharya had predicted. “What was seen through the philosopher’s eye is now being validated by microscope and telescopes today.” --goTop
27. Mauritius Devotees Build 108-foot Venkateshwara: The statue of the God Venkateshwara, was unveiled at 16th Mile in Forest-Side, Curepipe, by the Prime Minister. Measuring 108 feet, it is the tallest statue of this Deity in the world. The dedication ceremony took place on Sunday, July 1st. The idea of building this statue came to Acharya Brundavanam Partha Sarathi, who is the founder of Hari Hara Devasthanam at 16th Mile. 500 people came from India for its construction which lasted three years. “This statue is a first in the world. Mauritians must be proud. Thousands of people around the world go to Thirupathi, in Andhra Pradesh, Bharat, every year for the pilgrimage of the God Venkateshwara. Now we can enjoy His blessing here in Mauritius,” says Acharya Brundavanam Partha. --goTop
28. AHMEDABAD - Pakistan Hindu Migrants reason of HAPPINESS: This is venue, where they have got their new identity as BHARATIYA CITIZEN after many years, they left their forefathers home, business, land , city in Pakistan –some 10-15 years ago.90 applicants were issued citizenship certificates by office of District Collector on June 22. Last year Gujarat Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja distributed 104 citizenship certificates to Hindu migrants. Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel distributed letters & c.c. to 95 applicants in April 2018. District Collector office has already issued 320 citizenship certificates in total so far after power delegation. --goTop
29. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravaas: Visitors: Shyam Popat, UK.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Yoga is a means of compressing one’s evolution into a single life or a few months or even a few hours of one’s bodily existence.”— Swami Vivekanand. --goTop
JAI SHREE RAM
Women should have freedom to worship
Mata Amritanandamayi
Both men and women are equal. They are like the two wings of a bird. Which eye is more important, the left or the right? Both are equally important. It is the same with the status of men and women in society. Both should be aware of their unique responsibilities, or dharma, one’s personal obligations, calling and duties. Men and women have to support one another. Only in this way can we maintain harmony. When men and women complement each other, and move together with cooperation and mutual respect, they will attain perfection.
In reality, men are a part of women. Every child, first lives in the mother’s womb, as part of the woman’s very being. As far as birth is concerned, a man’s only role is to offer his seed. For him it is only a moment of pleasure; for a woman it is nine months of austerity. It is the woman who receives, conceives, and makes that life a part of her being. She creates the most conducive atmosphere for that life to grow within her and then gives birth to that life. Women are essentially mothers, the creators of life. There is a subconscious longing in all men to be re-enfolded by the unconditional love of a mother. This is one of the subtle reasons for the attraction that men feel towards women – because a man is born out of a woman.
No one can question the reality of motherhood – that men are created from women. Yet those with narrow minds will never be able to understand this basic reality. You cannot explain light to those who know only darkness.
The principle of motherhood is as vast and powerful as the universe. With the power of motherhood within her, a woman can influence the entire world.
Is God man or woman? The answer is that God is neither male nor female – God is ‘That’. But, if you insist on assigning a gender to God, then God is more female than male, because the masculine is contained within the feminine.
Women have to wake up and arise! Along with modern education, women also need to be educated regarding Atma jnana – Self-knowledge.
There has been a big debate over whether or not women should be allowed into the temple in Sabarimala in Kerala.
As the temple is located deep inside a dense forest and that too at the summit of a steep hillock, the pilgrimage to get there used to be strenuous, even dangerous. Wild elephants and wolves would be encountered along forest paths leading up to the temple. One had to trek these paths for days on end to reach the temple. Perhaps this was the reason women were not allowed to visit Sabarimala. But that is not the end of the issue. In these matters, spiritual teachers need to be consulted.
Men and women must have equal freedom to worship. In the Brahmasthanam Temples – temples constructed by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math – we encourage brahmacharinis (women who perform or observe penance) to conduct the puja, following scriptural commandments. In these temples, worship is done without any gender discrimination. At least in the presence of God, we should try to discard such discrimination. (Excerpts from Amma’s from Times of India: July 24, 2018) --goTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan www.shrivishwaniketan.blogspot.com vishwav@bol.net.in
