\SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Vaishakha Shukla 12, Vik. Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 16 May 2019
1. FESTIVALS: Chardham Yatra -Uttrakhand: Badrinath, Kedarnath reopen for devotees after six-month winter break: Every year, the Chardham Yatra comes to a close in October-November for nearly six months as the hills of Garhwal remain under snow during the period. The doors of the Badrinath shrine were thrown open to public on May 10 at 4.15 am by chief priest Ishwari Prasad Nambudiri in presence of a large number of devotees, Mandir Samiti and administrative officials. Elaborate rituals preceded the formal opening. Around 10,000 devotees visited the high altitude shrine on the opening day including the Governor Baby Rani Maurya and former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
Thousands braved biting cold to visit Kedarnath on 9th May morning as the gates of the famous KedarnathTemple were reopened for devotees by the chief priest of the shrine Rawal Bhimashankar Ling at 5.35 am amid chanting of vedic hymns after conducting all rituals. Despite biting cold prevailing at the high altitude temple around 2,500 devotees witnessed the opening ceremony. -GoTop
2. 1569 SWAYAMSEVAKS OF RSS, Ubss Rsb PROVIDE RELIEF TO FANI CYCLONE VICTIMS: Cyclone Fani, classified by meteorologists as the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane (extremely severe cyclonic storm), made landfall along the east coast near Puri in Odisha state at 8.00 am on 3rd May 2019. Fani was the third cyclone to come off the Bay of Bengal in summer in 150 years. Bharat initially won praise, including from the United Nations, for moving some 1.2 million people to safety before the storm arrived, in what Odisha's Chief Minister called the "biggest human evacuation in history". "The almost pinpoint accuracy of the early warnings from the Bharatiya Meteorological Department had enabled the authorities to conduct a well-targeted evacuation plan, which had involved moving more than one million people into storm shelters,” said McClean, a spokesperson for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). However, between May 3 to 5, wind speed of 175-185 gusting up to 205 kmph caused extensve damage in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Bangladesh. Uprooted, fallen trees blocked road network, communication lines were completely broken and significant damage caused to the public infrastructure and kutcha houses. Failure of mobile connectivity added to the chaos. Puri, Jagatsingpur, Kendrapara, Bhadarak, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar were the most affected districts in Odisha.
15 to 16 hundred workers of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti (UBSS) and Rashtriya Sewa Bharati (RSB), worked together for the distribution of relief materials in the fourteen centres of cyclone affected areas. The Swayamsevaks were pressed into service for cleaning/cutting of broken and uprooted trees for the passage of the relief materials to different sites. The relief materials consisted of dry foods (biscuits, chuda(Thatched rice), jaggery, candles, match boxes, drinking water bottles/pouches, tarpauline/polythene, medicines, dried milk powder etc. Till 10th May, the relief material was distributed 268 villages covering 1, 64,076 affected people. The Swayamsevaks distributed cooked food to 31,213 people and dry foods to 6500 individuals.
Shree V.Bhagaiah ji sahasarakaryavaha (Joint General Secretary) of RSS told in the press conference on May 10 that about 1569 nos of swayamsevaks of RSS are working day & night relentlessly to reach the Fani affected people in distress. A medical team consisting of six doctors, paramedics along with medicines was deputed by the govt of Gujurat which assisted in treating the patients by Dhanwantari mobile medical unit of UBSS. Shree Samir Mohanty, Sanghachalak Odisha Purva, Shree Abhay Samantray, President UBSS were present in the Press Conference. -GoTop
3. Sanskrit invaluable window to bharatiya cultural treasure house: upa rashtrapati Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has complimented students from Karnataka, at New Delhi on May 8, for learning Sanskrit and trekking up to 12,000 feet on Himalayas and hoisting the Sanskrit Flag as part of ‘Sahyadri to Himadri’ expedition.As many as 46 students, including girls from Vasavi Primary and High School at Shivamogga called on Upa Rashtrapati Ji to share their experiences. The expedition was organized by Samskrita Bharati, a non-profit organisation working to revive Sanskrit. Addressing the students and expedition team, who belonged to different age brackets from 11 years to 64 years, Upa Rashtrapati Ji said Sanskrit is known as the mother of all languages and pointed out that scholars in western countries are doing research on Vedas, Upanishads and Sanskrit literature. -GoTop
4. JHULELAL TEMPLE INAUGURATED AT TIRATHADHAM IN GUJARAT: A newly built Jhulelal temple was opened on Cheti Chand day, which marks the start of the Sindhi new year, in the first phase of Tirathdham coming up on a 33-acre plot in Gujarat’s Kutch at the very spot on the banks of Kori where river Sindhu is believed to have once ended its journey. With the presiding deity, Jhulelal, watching benignly from a fish-shaped pedestalmade of pristine white marble, groups of devotees visited the temple on the Hindu Sindhi New Year day in April. Standing in supplication and amid chants of mantras by priests, they prayed and partook of prasad, the "mitha pulao", a sweet dish made of rice and sugar before dispersing. -GoTop
5. 29 years later, Kashmir Pandit returns to jubilant welcome: A Kashmiri Pandit’s homecoming to Srinagar, 29 years after he left the State, on May 2 was met with a rousing reception from locals, infusing hope for the peaceful return of the Hindu community that had to leave the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s in the face of raging militancy. Roshan Lal Mawa, in his 70s, threw open a shop selling dates in the volatile old city’s Zanai Kadal area, from where he hails originally.
He was among the hundreds of members of the Kashmiri Pandit community that was forced to migrate outside the Valley as militancy spread in the 1990s. He said his return to his roots “reflects the general yearning of my community to return home”. Leaders of regional parties joined in welcoming Mr. Mawa. -GoTop
6. Ex-ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar Gets France's Highest Civilian Award:Former ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar was conferred with France's highest civilian award - Chevalier de l'Ordre national de la Legion d'Honneur–on May 2 for his contribution to Bharat-France space cooperation. On behalf of the President of France, Ambassador of France to Bharat, Alexandre Ziegler conferred Kumar with the highest civilian honour of France. Jean-Yves Le Gall, Chairman of CNES, the French space agency, was present at the special investiture ceremony held at the Residence of France in New Delhi. -GoTop
7. ASI digs out 4,000-yr-old sacred chambers: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed underground "sacred chambers", decorated "legged coffins" and fascinating artefacts in what is being claimed to be a first in the Bharatiya subcontinent. Sanauli, the site of excavations, is located on the left bank of River Yamuna, 68 km north-east of Delhi which brought to light the largest necropolis of late Harappan period datable to around early part of second millennium BCE. Three chariots, some coffins, shields, swords and helmets had been unearthed, pointing towards the existence of a "warrior class in the area around 2,000 BCE," said an official from the ASI.These findings are being considered important to understand the culture pattern of the Upper Ganga-Yamuna doab. -GoTop
8. United in their devotion: THE Chitraparuvam Festival in Penang, Malaysia has been a yearly affair for devotees Kenny Lim and Shasha Wong. Seen wearing traditional Bharatiya attire during the mini Thaipusam parade on April 19 at Waterfall Road, Lim and Wong even brought a Bhajan cart which played devotional music.Wong, 45, who designed the cart carrying Lord Ganesha, said she has been paying her respects during Thaipusam and Chitraparuvam for over 20 years. “More than 20 years ago, my friend brought me to a Hindu temple and after that, I felt destined to become a Hindu devotee,” she added.
Lim, 44, who is a childhood friend of Wong, has also been a firm believer of Hinduism for about 20 years.“I go to Bharat each year to pay my respects at the temples there,” he said.
Hindu Mahajana Sangam president Dr Chandra Malairaja said the procession was held to mark the first full moon of the Tamil New Year.The festival drew more than 20,000 devotees who flocked to various panthal (refreshment stalls) along the way. -GoTop
9. Vietnamese, Bharatiya experts complete upgrade of towers at My Son Sanctuary: – After three years of renovations, Vietnamese and Bharatiya experts have completed the upgrade of Towers K and H – rare buildings that have remained as part of the complex of temples at My Son Sanctuary in the central province of Quang Nam.The upgrade work to restore Towers K, H, and A is being carried out over five years from 2016 to 2021, costing over 60 billion VND (2.58 million USD), including over 50 billion VND sponsored by the Bharatiya government and the remaining from the Vietnamese Government’s corresponding capital.
While excavating Towers K and H, experts discovered many valuable artefacts such as stone statues of the human form and lion heads, tower spiers, and other architectural objects dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
Once the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom, My Son Sanctuary is located within a hilly landscape in DuyPhu commune, DuyXuyen district, about 70 km southwest of central Da Nang city and 40 km from Hoi An city. It is comprised of eight groups of 71 monuments built throughout the 7th to 13th centuries. -GoTop
10. ICCS Participation @ the UNPFII 2019: “It is the indigenous peoples who protect 80% of the planet's biodiversity” - said MarĂa Fernanda Espinosa, President, United Nations General Assembly, during the inauguration of the 18th Session (22 April - 3May) of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “ Nevertheless, we must keep in mind that indigenous people are putting their lives on the line to protect Mother Earth. Day in and day out, indigenous people are sacrificing themselves to protect their territories from continual encroachment; but their strong sense of duty isn’t just aimed at their own communities, they also have a strong sense of duty to humanity’s continued existence” she added. Over two weeks, nearly 2000 participants from around the world discussed various topics, including: traditional knowledge, human rights, indigenous languages, indigenous youth and the protection of Mother Earth.
The participation of ICCS in this forum was of vital importance. ICCS will continue to network and partner with like-minded leaders and organizations, who believe in the vision of a world where communities, culture and nature are sustained in a manner that leads to Universal Well-being. ICCS – International Center for Cultural Studies strives to reach and bring together various ancient cultures and traditions of the world on the basis of commonlaities among them towards the goal of universal peace and harmony. -GoTop
11. Values of Hindu dharma lauded at national conference in Auckland: Addressing the Hindu Council of New Zealand conference in Auckland on May 6, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters highlighted the underlying values of Hindu dharma that influences how well the community was received and perceived in the country.Nearly 200 delegates representing 40 Hindu organisations, temples and associations from Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Dunedin participated in the conference.
Many youth delegates were born in New Zealand but majority of older participants were immigrants from South Africa, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Fiji, and European countries.The conference delegates included government agencies, Hindu community leaders, heads of organisations, temple executives, youth leaders, academicians, and businesspeople. Three delegates from Bharat also attended the Hindu conference. -GoTop
12. King Maha Vajiralongkorn crowned Rama X of Thailand: King Maha Vajiralongkorn — Rama X of Thailand — was crowned May 4 in a dazzling show of pageantry, laced with Hindu and Buddhist ritual, vowing to reign “with righteousness” on behalf of the Thai people. King Vajiralongkorn is the 10th monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned since 1782. The somber ceremony opened with the white-gowned king — the folds of his robe leaving one shoulder bared — receiving sacred water from across Thailand and dabbing it gently across his face at a shrine inside the Grand Palace complex.A cannon salute marked the moment as pipes played and Buddhist monks chanted.Several gray-haired Hindu Brahmins were also in attendance at the syncretic ceremony, which symbolizes Rama X’s transformation from a human to divine figure.
He later took his seat under the umbrella of state and was handed the great crown of victory, a tiered gold 7.3-kilogram (16-pound) headpiece topped by a diamond from Bharat.Born on July 28, 1952, the British-schooled Vajiralongkorn is known for his love of cycling and piloting jets. -GoTop
13. HINDU RELIGIOUS & SERVICE CENTRE (HRSC) DELEGATION paid a visit to Mukaa Primary School in Nunguni, Makueni County, Kenya on 7th May and was received by Mr. Charles Mulandi, field coordinator with 23 schools representative where HRSC has have school feeding project.
The convener of HRSC School Feeding Project Mr. Paresh Shah gave a motivational talk and explained in detail the activities of HRSC. 23 Primary Schools received Exercise Books, Dustless Chalks and Early Child Education books and 3 secondary schools received text books.
The team also did an impromptu visit to four schools where HRSC has feeding projects and was satisfied the way it is being implemented. -GoTop
14. CYCLONE FANI CAUSES NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO KONARK SUN TEMPLE -ASI: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said there is no structural damage to the Konark Sun Temple, a World Heritage Site, due to Cyclone Fani, which made its landfall near Puri in Odisha on May 3. There is also no major damage to the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, it said. The repair and restoration of the Jagannath Temple will be completed ahead of the annual Rath Yatra festival on July 4. A high-level team led by ASI director general Usha Sharma visited both the monuments located in Puri district a day after Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dashed off a letter to the Centre seeking immediate inspection of both the temples following the extremely severe cyclone which had packed windspeeds of about 200 kmph. After the visit to Konark temple, a 12th century edifice also known as the Black Pagoda, the ASI team observed that there is by and large no structural damage to the monument. -GoTop
15. Bharatiyas now the third largest migrant group in Australia: After England and China, Bharat ranks third on the list of residents born overseas according to the latest figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).The ABS’s preliminary estimates suggest there are 592,000 Bharatiyas living in Australia as of June 2018. This is a 30 per cent jump compared to Census 2016 figures which recorded 455,389 Bharatiyas living in Australia. Bharat now accounts for 2.4% of the Australian population and the median age of a Bharatiya migrant is revealed to be 34 years, same as those born in Australia. -GoTop
16. US has 2L desi students, 75% of them in masters: Of 11L Int’l Students, Half Are From Bharat& China: Bharatiya and Chinese citizens made up nearly half of the total 11.7 lakh international students in the United States as of March 2019. Those from Bharat dominated master’s courses whereas a larger percentage of Chinese students had enrolled for bachelors degrees. Collectively, the number of “active” students from these countries, at 5.8 lakh, comprised 49.5% of the total international students who hold an F visa or an M visa for academic and vocational studies, respectively.
The data was released recently in its raw form by the US department of homeland security and was based on SEVIS figures. SEVIS or the student and exchange visitor information system is the database that DHS uses to maintain and manage information on international students. -GoTop
17. Bharat-American Entrepreneur Jonjy Ananth Named Commissioner of Asian American Commission: The Massachusetts Senate has appointed Jonjy Ananth as the statewide commissioner of the Asian American Commission. Ananth is the principal and founder of Boston Mantra LLC, a healthcare start-up in Massachusetts in its incubator phase. The Bharatiya American is also a charter member of TIE Boston, considered among the world’s largest nonprofit networks dedicated to helping startups grow with 60 chapters worldwide. -GoTop
18. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Dr Ram Vaidya, sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will visit Japan. Visitors: Jagdish Sewhani – USA, Tejpal - Australia
FOOD FOR THOGHT: I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. - Rabindranath Tagore -GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
BHARAT’S IDENTITY IS INTRINSICALLY TIED WITH THE ETERNAL PHILOSOPHY OF HINDUTVA
It is imperative to expose the conspiracy to divide and confuse, and to establish the eternal philosophy of Hindutva, by dedicated action and practice. This will result in the unfolding of Bharat’s identity, known to the world since centuries.
Manmohan Vaidya
For ages, Bharat has offered a unique view of life because it is based on spirituality. Bharat believes that Truth can have various forms, names and paths to reach it. Though diverse, all these paths are equal. Bharat sees unity in diversity and has a capacity to establish unity amongst such expansive variety. It doesn’t see diversity as difference: This brand of spirituality teaches us that every soul is potentially divine and the same divinity pervades all things, animate or inanimate, and hence we all are connected with each other. To realise this connectedness, to expand its ambit and to work accordingly towards the betterment of the connected, is the basis of Dharma. Dharma, which is different from religion, is not exclusivist; it includes, connects and benefits all.
This view of life is the Hindu view and all those who live in Bharat, irrespective of their caste, region, religion or language, subscribe to this view of life. Hence, being Hindu or “Hindutva” has become the identity of all Bharatiyas. The founder of RSS, K B Hedgewar, made this Hindutva the tool to awaken the sense of unity among all Bharatiyas — connecting them with each other irrespective of their caste, region, religion and language. He started organising the entire society by binding them together with this thread of Hindutva.
However, those who, for their individual and political gains wanted to keep the society divided started opposing Hindutva and the Sangh by calling them communal, regressive, divisive and anti-minority: The opposition to and rejection of the seminal works of great souls and Hindutva proponents like Swami Vivekananda and Dayanand Saraswati was condemned by levelling these allegations.
But the activities of the Sangh, built on the foundation of Hindutva, kept expanding despite the ill-will directed at it. Then, the same ill-intentioned critics started saying that Hindutva is alright, but there is a demarcation between soft-Hindutva and hard-Hindutva. The Hindutva of someone like Swami Vivekananda is soft, but RSS practices hard Hindutva, which is condemnable. Books such as Why I Am Not a Hindu and then Why I Am a Hindu have been written by such naysayers, but irrespective of such attempts, acceptance of Hindutva has grown exponentially. This is because it’s the soul of Bharat and an expression of its consciousness: It cannot be countered by books that seek to compete with the epics.
Elements with vested interests started creating confusion by calling Hinduism a virtue and Hindutva an evil. A media house recently asked me, “What is the difference between ‘Hinduism’ and ‘Hindutva’?” I told them that it’s one and the same. One is in Hindi whereas the other is in English. S Radhakrishnan wrote a book in English, titled The Hindu View of Life and used the term “Hinduism”. Had he written it in Hindi, he would have used “Hindutva”. If Savarkar had written his book, Hindutva, in English, then he might have used the term Hinduism. That said, it is my personal belief that an apt translation of Hindutvaa should be “Hinduness” instead of “Hinduism”.
RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has clearly enunciated the meanings of “Hindu” and “Hindutva” in his three-day lecture series at Vigyan Bhavan. But propagandists won’t refer to it because it does not suit their malafide intentions. The real ideological battle is between the two different ideas of Bharat. One is the Bharatiya concept with roots going back to age-old spiritual traditions of the nation, and the other is an alien or foreign conceptualisation.
A journalist-turned-politician recently stated that in this election, the choice to be made is between “Hindu Bharat” and “Hindutva Bharat”. The only reason people like him talk of Hindu Bharat is because of the growing influence of “Hindutva”. It doesn’t reflect their conviction but convenience. Given that Bharat is coming together and uniting due to “Hindutva”, their casteist, communal and regional politics is weakening everyday and their support base is eroding. For their petty politics, it is imperative for them to divide society — if not in the name of caste, language or religion, then on the basis of Hindu and Hindutva. But today, the common Bharatiya is not foolish enough to fall into their trap. Their sense of entitlement has, thus, been challenged.
Another term which is being used to spread confusion is “Hinduvaadi” or Hinduist. There are capitalist, communist or socialist ideologies in the world, but in Bharat there is no place for any “-ism” like in the West. The “-ism”s in the west have a hegemonic tendency to impose their world-view on others, even by force. In Bharat, “Hindutva” (Hinduness) refers to people living and leading their personal, familial, social and professional life in the light of this spirituality based on a holistic view of life, called “Hindu”.
It is, therefore, imperative to expose the conspiracy to divide and confuse, and to establish the eternal philosophy of Hindutva, by dedicated action and practice. This will result in the unfolding of Bharat’s identity, known to the world since centuries, and Bharat’s purusharth will manifest in every sphere of social and national life. In his essay, Swadeshi Samaj, Rabindranath Tagore rightly says — “First of all, We will have to become what We actually are”.
(Indian Express, May 8, 2019. The writer is joint general secretary of the RSS.) -GoTop
Shri Vishwa Niketan vishwav@bol.net.in
