Phalgun Krishna 3, Vik. Samvat 2077, Yugabda 5122 : 16 March 2021:SM 2024 (For Private Circulation only)
1. FESTIVALS:
ASHTANIKA: Ashtanika is one of the important Jain festivals and is one of
the oldest Jain ritual observances. The word Ashta means eight and Aanika means
every day. This ancient festival is next only to Dashalakshanaparva in
importance.
This ritual helps to gain greater spiritual insight, and wisdom. The observance of this ritual brings wish fulfilment for the devotees. -GoTop
2. RASHTRAPATI KOVIND AT VANAVASI SAMAGAM AT SONBHADRA: Rashtrapati Ramnath Kovind said that the development of the country can never be complete without the development of the people of tribal and dalit communities. He was speaking at the tribal gathering Vanvasi Samagam at Chapki area in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh on 14th March. He inaugurated the newly constructed building of Seva Kunj Ashram and the two hostels Varunoday, Antyoday and Shabari Bhojnalaya for students at the ashram. He performed Prakriti Poojan and havan with 11 representatives of Baiga Tribe.
Ramchandra Kharadi, National President of Akhil Bhartiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram presided over the function in which Governor of the State Ananadi Ben Patel and Chief Minister of state Yogi AdityaNath were also present. -GoTop
3. ‘MAKE AVIRAL-NIRMAL GANGA DRIVE A SUCCESS’:DR. BHAGWAT: RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat has asserted that volunteers will have to make all out efforts while working for holy Ganga as the mammoth Nirmal Ganga Aviral Ganga campaign is connected with the conscience of Bharat. While addressing volunteers during his speech at Ganga Samagra, he appealed, “This work can be completed only by awakening God within the person. We should not depend on the Government for this. For this, Ganga Aarti will be conducted in coastal village every morning and evening, training rituals to pilgrim priests and efforts for cleanliness of ghats, large plantations, water storage in ponds etc.”
4. WORLD’S BIGGEST CAMPAIGN FOR RAM MANDIR UNIFIED BHARAT – CHAMPAT RAI: Even as the world’s biggest campaign, ‘Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan’ for construction of the grand temple of Bhagwan Shri Ram at Ayodhya was completed on 27th February, it unified Bharatvarsh from East to West and North to South. Addressing a press conference, Champat Rai, Vice President of VHP and General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (Trust) said that even after the campaign, the devotees who missed this contribution drive can still make their contributions to the bank account of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra through the website, viz., https://srjbtkshetra.org/donation-options/
During this drive, many occasions and episodes were such that it moved the minds and hearts of the volunteers. At many places, while the beggars made their contributions, the daily wagers and small farmers also solemnly made their prayerful offerings. The Samarpan of the Rambhakt Muslim society is also significant. Devotees from outside Bharat are requested to wait a little more. They will be notified upon completion of FCRA formalities, said Champat Rai.
Champat Rai said that even if the final figures are yet to come, it can be said that till 4th March, the Samarpan amount would cross INR 2,500 crores. Significant among the contributions are Arunachal Pradesh—4.5 crores, Manipur 2 crores, Mizoram 21 lakhs, Nagaland 28 lakhs, Meghalaya 85 lakhs. Updating about the work going on at the Janmbhoomi site, he said that the foundation digging and earth removal works are almost 60% completed and it is expected that the foundation filling work will get started in the first week of April 2021. -GoTop
5. BHARATIYA ENVOY TO SRI LANKA OFFERS PRAYERS AT RAM SETU: On 11th March, Bharatiya High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay offered prayers at Ram Setu in Sri Lanka. Baglay was seen offering his prayers at the sacred place with a priest who was assisting him with the rituals.
6. HINDU SWYAMSEVAK SANGH (HSS) ACTIVITIES: HSS USA: On 11th March , as a part of Interfaith Alliance of Irving, HSS volunteers donated canned food & various supplies to Irving Care. Hindu community along with other faiths donated 2110 lbs worth of items. Anand shakha and Vijay shakha families in Irving were involved in this drive. HSS Seattle served over 300 warm lunches to CFH Bellevue (120), Union Gospel Seattle (90), Catholic Church Veterans (70) and others through the ‘Annalakshmi Sewa’ on 7th March.
HSS Dallas is approved to help COVID Mass vaccination drive in Collin county in Dallas. HSS is one of the very few approved organizations in addition to rotary clubs, few Churches and City staffed organizations. HSS’s continuing engagement with civic personnel and Sewa activities were useful while passing through the screening phase for the organizations.
The support will be in terms of Outside Greeting & Screening, Outside Traffic Control, Inside Navigators, Inside Check In & Screening etc.
HSS Japan carried out Cleaning Sewa in Shri Shri Radha Govind Ji Temple (Tokyo) with the help of swayamsevaks from Vivekanand Nishi Kasai Shakha and Rash Behari Funabori Shakha.
Shri Ram Kalani ji (Hon President, The Indian Chamber of Commerce, Japan) also joined and shared his valuable thoughts. -GoTop
7. ICAR GETS KING BHUMIBOL WORLD SOIL DAY - 2020 AWARD: Ambassador of Bharat to Thailand Suchitra Durai received the prestigious King Bhumibol World Soil Day - 2020 Award of Food and Agriculture Organization on the behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICAR on 10th March. Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand Dr. Chalermchai Srion conferred the award in a ceremony held at Bangkok.
8. SEWA BOSTON YOUTH CHAPTER’S FOOD DRIVE: Youth members from the Boston Chapter of Sewa International recently conducted a food drive that benefited five organizations including Roland’s House at Marlborough. Aarya and Maurya Virmani, both students at the Advance Math and Science Academy (AMSA), participated in the drive and chose to direct donations of about 700-800 pounds of non perishable food to Roland’s House based on current need.
9. ARCTIC STORM URI: SEWA INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTES FOOD, WATER AND ARRANGES SHELTER, MEDICAL HELP: Sewa International distributed over 43,000 pounds of food and hundreds of gallons of drinking water on 20th February to families affected by winter storm Uri in Houston.
Sewa is planning to distribute a truckload (43,000 pounds) of food every weekend for the next several months. These food drives are part of the COVID-19 and winter storm Uri relief efforts. “More than a million pounds of food will be distributed by the end of these drives,” said Nikhil Jain, Sewa’s Houston Chapter Coordinator.
A young couple with an eight-month pregnant wife, and an elderly couple did not have drinking water and electricity. Sewa volunteers were quick to respond and help. The elderly couple was provided a host family to ride out the storm. Another elderly woman living alone was one of the many that Sewa helped with accommodation , food and water. -GoTop
10. BHARATIYA DIASPORA’S TIRANGA CAR RALLY IN CANADA: A massive car rally was held in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area by Bharatiya diaspora to show their solidarity with the Bharatiya Government in regards with the new farm laws. The rally also showed its solidarity with the Canadian Government's decision to import Covid Vaccine from Bharat. More than a thousand families participated in this car rally held on 28th February. There were attempts to disrupt the rally at different points along the route but the car rally organizers ignored the bullying and harassment.
Hundreds of cars participated at the ‘Tiranga and Maple car rally’ in Brampton on 28th February.
Naresh Chavda, a prominent member of Gujarati community and Indo Canadian Chamber of Commerce said that at the time of Covid-19 crisis, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Bharat’s PM Narendra Modi have come together to save millions of lives by approving and supplying millions of vaccines. -GoTop
11. PM MODI RELEASES 11 VOLUMES OF SHRIMAD BHAGWAT GITA MANUSCRIPTS: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi released 11 Volumes of Manuscript with commentaries by 21 scholars on shlokas of Srimad Bhagavadgita at New Delhi on 9th March. The manuscript, published by Dharmarth Trust, is written with extraordinary variety and nuance of Bharatiya calligraphy ranging from Shankar Bhashya to Bhasanuvada. Speaking at the occasion, Pradhan Mantri Modi said, Srimad Bhagavadgita taught us how to serve the world and the people. He added that Srimad Bhagavadgita is the source of our inspiration and as Bharat is completing its 75th year of independence, we should acknowledge how Srimad Bhagwatgita inspired all our freedom fighters during the freedom struggle.
12. BHARAT - BANGADESH MAITRI SETU INAUGURATED: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Maitri Setu’ between Bharat and Bangladesh on 9th March along with other infrastructural projects in Tripura.
While inaugurating the bridge virtually, PM Modi said, "The connectivity between Bangladesh and Bharat will prove to be very important for the northeast region and for India and Bangladesh trade as well. This is a new trade corridor between Bharat and Bangladesh."
“With this inauguration, Tripura is set to become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 km from Sabroom," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina also addressed the event and congratulated both the countries for the inauguration of the bridge. -GoTop
13. HINDUTVA IS IDENTITY OF BHARAT – DATTATREYA HOSBALE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called upon the people to observe the service sense of RSS for understanding this unique organization while speaking after releasing a book on RSS written by senior RSS Pracharak and Akhil Bharatiya Sah Prachar Pramukh, Sunil Ambekar at Lucknow on 26th February.
The author Sunil Ambekar said that the book is an effort to answer the queries that normally come from the people. It may be mentioned here that Sunil Ambekar had earlier written a book titled, ‘The RSS-Roadmaps for the 21st Centuary’ in English and this book is the Hindi version of his earlier book.
Prominent among those who were present during the function included Sah Sarkaryavah Dr. Krishna Gopal and others. -GoTop
14. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Saumitra Gokhale Samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will reach Bharat from USA, Dr Ram Vaidya sah samyojak will reach Bharat from Kenya.
Visitors: Abhinandan—Botswana, Saurabh—Zambia, Sanjay Yadav—South Korea
Food for Thought: Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success. —Swami Vivekananda -GoTop
JAI SHREE RAM
MEET THE INSPIRING WOMEN PADMA AWARDEES OF 2021
Padma Awards — one of
the highest civilian awards of the country — were announced on 25th January. 29
women are among the list of 119 Padma awardees this year and below is a glimpse
of their rare contributions in Bharat’s social, cultural and political
landscape.
Bhuri Bai from Madhya Pradesh is a Bhil artist proficient in Pithora paintings and first tribal woman to popularize the art of Pithora painting. Veteran Table Tennis player Mouma Das has represented Bharat and won medals in multiple Commonwealth and South Asian Games. Shanti Devi, inspired by Vinoba Bave’s Bhudan movement worked for the betterment of orphaned children and distressed women by setting up 'ashram' at a tribal-dominated village Khambesu Shankalpadar in Odisha.
Bombay Jayashri Rammath, a celebrated Carnatic singer has performed in several regional languages like Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil. Radhe Devi, 88 is still pursuing the pledge she took when she was 25 — designing bridal wear and has protected Potloi Setpi weaving tradition in Manipur.
Sindhutai Sapkal runs orphanages in Pune area and has adopted over 1,000 orphaned children. Matha B. Manjamma Jogati is a transgender folk dancer of Jogamma heritage in Karnataka, the only trans woman to win the Padma Shri award this year. Lakhimi Baruah started the Konoklota Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank in 1998 in Jorhat, Assam to help women from underprivileged backgrounds become financially independent and secure. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak, a social worker from Aizawl, has empowered Mizo women and has played an instrumental role in promoting education, enterprise, and legal reforms for them.
Anshu Jamsenpa is a mountaineer from Arunachal Pradesh, who scaled world’s highest peak Mount Everest five times — twice in a record shortest time of five days. Uttar Pradesh’s senior litterateur Usha Yadav has authored more than 100 books, including the story collection 'Khme-piece Sukh', 'Dreams of the Rainbow' and novels 'Prakash Ki Oar' etc. Writer and politician Mridula Sinha was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution towards literature and education in Bharat. A former leader of the women’s wing of the BJP, she became the first woman Governor of Goa.
Bangladeshi musicologist Sanjida Khatun has pursued her master’s and PhD from Visva Bharati , Shantiniketan. Her literary contributions were recognized with the Ekushey Padak by Bangladesh government in 1990 and Rabindra Award by Bangla Academy in 2010. Entrepreneur Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat bagged the Padma Shri for her simple yet successful business Lijjat Papads which financially empowered many homemakers in South Mumbai – who came to be known as Lijjat Sisters. Eighty-year-old Rajni Bector is a well-known entrepreneur from Ludhiana. Her one-woman venture of bakery products and condiments from home has grown into Rs 541 crore business. -GoTop
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HSS (UK) PERSPECTIVES: SANGH MEANS ‘TO CONNECT’
When I gaze out of the window I see
the blue skies with the sun shining, interrupted occasionally by the drifting
clouds. I see large evergreen trees at a distance, dancing with the wind. I see
bluebells, daffodils, and roses rooted in the black soil, surrounding the green
shiny grass. I see pigeons, robins, and sparrows gliding high and low, searching
for worms. I see the bees buzzing about the flowers and the army of ants
crawling up the bark. I see a plethora of colours. I see movement. Out of the
window, I see a continually changing and delightfully diverse play.
What is That which enables this play?
Ordinarily in life, we see the separateness of black and white, up and down, believer and non-believer, left and right. From an analytical perspective, this all makes sense, for it helps us understand the world by abstracting away from reality and boxing it so that our minds will understand. One may even argue that language not only perpetuates this separateness, but even initiates it. Such is the play of words!
But perhaps the biggest hallucination in life is that we see ourselves as separate egos confined within a bag of skin. The ‘I’, though used only as a noun in a sentence, it starts to appear as real; so real that it guides every aspect of our lives. It is this ‘I’ – a sense of separateness that at once has led to the most remarkable feats of human endeavour, as well as the most atrocious acts of violence.
This feeling of ‘I’ is so strong that religions, ideologies and even science have been influenced by it. It is precisely here that Hindu sages and philosophers have seen things differently. Where the whole world saw separateness as a fundamental reality – either through religious belief (e.g. the separateness of God and man, believers and non-believers or heaven and hell), political ideology (e.g. left vs right wing) or scientific method (e.g. reductionism) – we, the Hindu civilisation, saw the inherent unity and interconnectedness of life. We proclaimed “Tat Tvam Asi” – Thou Art That – to boldly declare that You are not just You. You are You+Everything else. You go with everything you call the external world. This is Yog. This is the fundamental basis of Dharma. It is this lofty ideal which, in Sangh, we have managed to turn it into a living reality.
To delve deeper, we may bifurcate this ethos of connectedness into two parts:
Sangh with Self
Sangh with Others
“Sangh with Self” means to connect with who we are. Everyday, we humans live with the anxieties of the future and the regrets of the past. We try to look good and showcase identity at the cost of understanding it. We build personas, that we take seriously, but forget they are just masks. We, as humans, are consumed by the shadow of the ‘I’ which then directs our life. When human life is trained to see pass the individual ‘I’, a new world opens up for us. By cultivating practices that enable ‘Samskārs‘ – constructive habits – we are able to see past our own limitations.
Connectedness does not mean some fixed uniformity, nor a monotonous groupthink – these are reserved for those that do not see unity in diversity. We are all free to roam the playground as autonomous beings. Sangh simply reminds us that at a deeper level, we are connected.
“Sangh with Others” refers to our connection with the world. Specifically, it is how we engage with the world through our work – Karya. We may talk about selfless service or volunteering but these words are redundant when we say ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – that the whole world is one family. The word ‘Charity’ comes from Old English and in turn Latin, to mean ‘A Christian love of one’s fellows’. Though the word has evolved to become much wider, a remnant of it still persists. For one, charity in this day and age has become a trend, a marketable activity to fuel fundraising and status. In the Hindu philosophy, Karya or Sewa is not the act of one person giving to another person. It is about two people coming together and enabling a more enriching state of living. When people connect at deeper levels, thinking beyond their own identities, and work towards a better future, we call this ‘Sangh with Others’.
Where Sangh, translated as ‘connection’ becomes the purpose – with the Self or with Others – an enabling methodology must also be present. Both purpose and methodology come together.
In Sangh, our most basic methodology for building connection is through a structured and regular activity that we called Shakha. Humans need a certain level of structure in their lives. Shakha is the regular discipline of activating physical, intellectual, social and spiritual energy on a regular basis. Fundamentally the purpose for is to motivate our swayamsevaks and sevikas to move beyond the ‘I’ and work in the society we live in – so it is not about improving lives just for those who participate in shakha or simply those that look and think like us and it is certainly not about a group that must believe in the same God or geographical region as ‘I’.
Deendayal Upadhyaya, an eminent philosopher who dedicated his life to Sangh in its widest sense once said: “Hegel put forward the principles of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis; Karl Marx used this principle as a basis and presented his analysis of history and economics; Darwin considered the principle of survival of the fittest as the sole basis of life; but we in this country (India) saw the basic unity of all life.” (https://hssuk.org/hss-uk-perspectives-sangh-means-to-connect/ ) -GoTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN vishwav@bol.net.in http://shrivishwaniketan.
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