\ SAMVAD संवाद
Ashwin Shukla 11, Vik. Samvat 2078, Yugabda 5123:16 October, 2021: SM 3014 (For Private Circulation Only)
1. FESTIVALS: DIWALI
or Dīpāvali is one of the most widely celebrated festivals of Bharat.
This five day festival, starting from Karthik Krushna Trayodashi (November 2 to
6 this year) links to the day Rama, Sita and Lakshman reached Ayodhya after a
period of 14 years in exile. Dhanteras, the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight
of Karthik marks the beginning of Diwali. On the second day of Naraka
Chaturdashi, Bhagwaan Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura.
2. RSS SARKARYAVAH DATTATREYA HOSABALE ADDRESSED "ASSAM TEA TRIBES JATIYA JANSABHA": On September 30, RSS Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale addressed "Assam Tea Tribes Jatiya Jansabha" at Guwahati's Shri Madhavdev International Sabhagriha. Sarkaryavah asked the 108 different segments of Assamese tea tribes who attended the programme to upkeep the great values of tea tribe’s culture, tradition and age-old dharmic belief and emphasized the importance of different segments of the tea tribes staying together and united.
3. RSS SAH SARKARYAVAH RELEASES BOOK ON UNSUNG FREEDOM FIGHTERS: During an ‘Intellectual Meet’ at Sewa Dham in Itanagar on October 4, RSS Sah Sarkaryavah CR Mukund released a book which highlights unsung freedom fighters of Northeast compiled in “Northeast Chronicle” - a quarterly newspaper published
4. RSS WORKING FOR BHARAT’S PROGRESS: JUSTICE J B KOSHI: Addressing the Vijayadashami program organised by RSS Edappally Nagar in Kerala, former Chief Justice of Patna High Court Justice J Benjamin Koshi said that there is a deliberate attempt to portray RSS as anti-minority, which is utterly false. RSS is a great patriotic organisation working for the progress of this nation, he added. Commenting about the role played by RSS on unifying the society, he also pointed out that RSS is trying to unite everyone irrespective of their religion, caste, gender and every other difference. Justice Koshi also appreciated the Sewa works done by RSS during the Kerala flood and during national lockdown imposed due to COVID-19.-GoTop
5. SARSANGHACHALAK’S VIJAYADASHAMI SPEECH: In his Vijayadashami speech at Reshim Bagh, Nagpur on October 15, RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat emphasized on the preservation, nourishment and expression of ‘Swa’ (Selfhood) – the age-old cultural ethos of Bharat. He said that 75 years ago Bharat became ‘swadheen’ and started the process of becoming ‘swatantra’. Even though there have been steps in that direction, the journey from ‘swadheenata’ (independence/Self-rule) to ‘swatantrata’ (Self Model of governance) is as yet far from complete, he added. He urged everyone, specially the younger generation to learn and understand the causes behind the enmity and separartist attitude which led to partition of Bharat – not with an aim to foster animosity, but to prevent any repetition of such tragedy in future.
He said that besides the prevalence of ignorance, ambiguity, and skepticism towards the sense of ‘Swa’ prevalent in our society, certain newer global developments are fast gaining momentum and strengthening the actions of the divisive forces. He cautioned that the clandestine, uncontrolled currency like Bitcoin has potential to destabilise the economy and pose serious challenges. Also, as school-going children are hooked on mobile phones due to the introduction of online education during pandemic, unregulated broadcasts of varied material on O.T.T. platforms are open for everyone’s indiscriminate consumption. He said that in absence of prudence and a regulatory framework, it would become difficult to predict how and to what extent will this emerging phenomenon of connectivity by fair and unfair means sweep our society and urged the government to make efforts to regulate these affairs.
Dr. Bhagwat also said that an environment must be created in our homes that clearly spells out the moral from immoral and that swayamsevaks are carrying out ‘Kutumb Prabodhan’ activities to this effect.
Speaking about the Covid pandemic, Dr Bhagwat said that during the second wave of Covid, society once again exemplified resilience through its collective efforts. The society at large is vigilant about a third wave and Sangh Swayamsevaks along with several other benevolent people and organisations have trained workers right up to village level who will maintain vigilance and garner on-ground support in case of emergencies, he added.
He said that with the use of Ayurveda and other treatment modalities, primary healthcare needs can be effectively addressed at the local village level.He said that by rising above the conflict for supremacy of one method of medicine over another, rational use of all treatment modalities can ensure affordable, accessible, and effective treatment for all.
He said that there is a renewal of the confidence and the awakening of our ‘selfhood’ in our society also as witnessed during the Corona pandemic and the fund raising drive for Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Temple in Ayodha. He said that the manifestation of societal resolve in different walks of life was the natural corollary and congratulated Bharatiya sportspersons for securing medals at Olympics and Para Olympics.
Commenting on the economic viewpoint, he said that our economic paradigm emphasizes restraint over consumption – nurturing nature rather than conquering it. This approach considers all the stakeholders along with the end-user as members of a large (human) family – where gratification for all is ensured in a mutually harmonious and balanced manner. He also called upon for the implementation of population policies that will effectively tackle the problems of over population and population imbalance.
Regarding the situation beyond the northwest border Dr Bhagwat said that their predisposition - passionate fanaticism, tyranny and terrorism in the name of Islam - is sufficient to make everyone apprehensive of the Taliban. With China, Pakistan and Turkey have coalesced in an unholy coalition with the Taliban; our north-western borders are once again a matter of serious concern, he added. He said that our military preparedness on the borders needs to be vigilant at all fronts and at all times and the internal security and stability of the country must be secured by the government and the society with caution and vigilance. He said that residents of Jammu & Kashmir are braving and shall brave the renewed spate of the targeted killings of nationalist citizens with courage; but efforts for curbing and finishing off the terrorist activities needs speeding up.
Dr Bhagwat also expressed concern over the state of the Hindu temples and said that operating rights of Hindu temples should be handed over to the Hindu devotees and the wealth of the Hindu temples should be utilised for the worship of the deities and the welfare of the Hindu community. He also said that a non-discriminatory ease of access and opportunity for seeing, worshipping God’s shrine, to all devotees irrespective of caste and creed is also not practised everywhere and that this should be ensured. Alongside this thought, he said it was also necessary to devise a scheme to once again make temples the epicentre of our social-cultural life while ensuring appropriate management and operation of the temples based on the strength of the Hindu society.
Speaking about the unity of all Bhartvasis, he said that besides the differences in spiritual beliefs and methods of worship, we are all inheritors of a common eternal civilisation, culture and ancestry and that this unique inheritance is the very ground of our religious freedom. It is the grasp of this very fact that the country saw martyrs like Hasankhan Mewati, Hakimkhan Suri, Khudabaksh and Gaus Khan and a revolutionary like Ashfaqullah Khan who are admirable role models for all, he added.
He further said that certain problems can only be resolved with the initiative of the society and it is the responsibility of all those who claim to be Hindus to erect a stellar example of Hindu view-of-life with their conduct in personal, familial, social and professional domains. Only a unified, strong and well-informed society with a national character can assert its voice before the world and RSS has been working towards this cause for 96 years now, he added.-GoTop
6. CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAEL ATTENDS VIJAYADASHAMI CELEBRATIONS IN NAGPUR: On October 15, Kobbi Shoshani, Consul General of Israel, Mumbai, participated as a guest in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) Vijayadashami celebrations in Nagpur.
7. HSS SYDNEY — CHILDREN'S CAMP: On September 25 and 26, over 125 children from Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and some of their friends across Australia logged in for the first-ever virtual HSS Sydney Children’s Camp. The camp was organized from 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. on each day. Children were grouped into two different sections by school year and activities were carried out accordingly. The children were taken on an interactive, live-streamed session themed on “A Journey Through Mahabharata'', where they participated in activities such as physical (sharireek), intellectual (bauddhik), and arts and crafts.
8. KISHOR-KISHORI SHIBIR IN EUROPE: For the very first time in mainland Europe, a Kishor-Kishori Shibir was organised by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Europe Mainland. The virtual two day Shibir in August was exclusively for the age group of 11 to 17 years. The participants were those who were mostly born and brought up outside Bharat. The aim of the Shibir was to enable them to bond with like-minded young spirits, imbibe Hindu values and gain experience of the progressive work Sangh does in Europe. To gauge how comfortable the shibirarthis are with their Bharatiya roots, an anonymous survey was conducted with each question representing a daily life scenario and how they would react to it in their opinion. It was followed by a bauddhik on how to build a confident Hindu identity while living in Europe and why it matters. The shibirarthis discussed problems faced by teenagers and concluded that only by understanding their culture and roots can they turn these challenges into stepping stones and can work towards contributing to the local society as an European Hindu. -GoTop
9. KARYAKARTA VARG IN EUROPE: HSS Europe conducted a karyakarta varg in September with the theme Dhruv Tara - the guiding star. The aim was to take inspiration from the life of Sangh karyakartas who help us to overcome confusing and conflicting situations through exemplary examples of their lives. A session on “HSS Europe – Ek Anubhav Katha'' covered the experiences and struggles of how Sangh started in Europe . In the group discussion on “Sangh Ke Liye Jiye” many karyakartas shared amazing stories of other swayamsevaks and sevikas. Karyakartas also discussed how they could contribute to increasing the footprint of Sangh work across Europe. -GoTop
10. SEWA INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES: On the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti, Sewa International won the Mahatma Award for Covid Humanitarian Efforts. The Mahatma Award is a platform that was inspired by the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and recognises and celebrates social impact makers across the world.
On October 9, Sewa International Nepal and Janajati Kalyan Ashram, Nepal inaugurated "Skill Development Center" (Digital literacy program) at Phidim Municipality, Province-1. The program was conducted in the presence of Shree Phupu Chembe Sherpa, Chairman of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Buddhist Philosophy Promotion & Monastery Development Committee.
On Friday October 8, SEWA Trinidad and Tobago donated 10,000 K95 masks and 10,000 reusable masks to the Commissioner of Prisons of Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Dennis Pulchan, at his Golden Grove Office. President of SEWA TT, Mr. Revan
11. RASHTROTTHANA PARISHAT AND UNISYS INDIA SETS UP ICU WARD AT MAHARAJA AGRASEN HOSPITAL: As a part of its commitment to combating COVID-19 in Bengaluru, Rashtrotthana Parishat, supported by Unisys India, has handed over an ICU ward to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital managed by Agarwal Seva Samithi. With the intent to augment the city’s critical care infrastructure in
12. LAUNCH OF HINDU TEMPLES ASSOCIATION JAPAN: With the intention to support temples by increasing awareness and cross collaboration, Hindu Temples Association Japan (HTAJ) was launched on September 24. It aims to consolidate the details of various Hindu temples and upcoming temple projects across Japan. This will help anyone who is looking to visit these temples and will create a shared space for the temple teams to publish the details of various festivals and major activities. In future, HTAJ will help Temple teams with Legal assistance along with local regulatory know how on registering religious association and buying property for Temple. -GoTop
13. RAM TEMPLE, GHATS OF VARANASI SHOWCASED AT DUBAI EXPO: Replicas of the Ram Temple being built in Ayodhya and the BAPS Hindu temple coming up in Abu Dhabi were showcased in the Bharatiya Pavilion at the Dubai Expo. Alongside it was the ‘Statue of Unity’ and images of the ghats of Varanasi covered one of the walls.
Dikshu C Kukreja, managing director at CP Kukreja Architects which conceived the Dubai Expo Pavilion, said that the idea was to put the cultural aspects on the front part of the building and to have the Ram Temple on the ground floor as visitors would leave the pavilion with that in their mind. -GoTop
14. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP BREACHES SPACE FRONTIER: On October 11, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body consisting of various stakeholders of the Bharatiya space domain. The members of the organisation include government bodies such as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel’s One Web, Tata Group’s Nelcom, L&T, MapMyIndia and others. One of the main goals of the organisation is to supplement the
15. DRONE DELIVERS VACCINE IN MANIPUR: The country's top medical body ICMR used a drone to successfully deliver vaccines from Manipur's Bhishnupur via Loktak Lake to people living in Manipur's 'floating islands' of Karang. 'Floating islands' are chunks of hardened algae that float in the freshwater lake in Manipur's Moirang district.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted that the drone technology will speed up the last mile deliveries of healthcare supplies and will expand the supply scope of life-saving & emergency medicines. -GoTop
16. WORLD'S LARGEST KHADI NATIONAL FLAG UNVEILED IN LEH: On October 2, Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, RK Mathur, inaugurated the world's largest ‘Khadi national flag' in Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
The unveiling of the flag took place on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, with whom Khadi is synonymous.
Along with other army officials, Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who is on a two-day visit to Ladakh, was also present during the inauguration of the flag.-GoTop
17. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors:
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: To be happy always is something which is difficult to achieve. That is to say, happiness and sorrow alternate in one’s life and there cannot be uninterrupted happiness alone. – Ramayana -GoTop
JAI SHRI RAM
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GOLU, THE FESTIVAL OF DOLLS - SOUTH INDIA'S NAVRATRI!
Anjali Ankad
India
is a diverse country. It presents an endless variety of religious and cultural
patterns. The diversity is also reflected when it comes to celebrating the
festivals. One such festival is the Navratri that brings loads of joy and
happiness to one's life. It is celebrated in different ways across the country
for 9 days, dedicated to different avatars of Goddess Durga.
Kolu: As any other Hindu festival celebrated in our country, this festival too has a mythological aspect. The word "Kolu" in Tamil means an assembly convened by a King along with other significant members. It is displayed with depictions from Hindu mythological Puranas text, court life, royal procession, Ratha yatra, weddings, everyday scenes, miniature kitchen utensils. It is a traditional practice to have wooden figurines of the bride and groom together, called 'Marapacchi Bommai' or 'Pattada Gombe', usually made of sandalwood, teak, or rosewood and decorated with new clothes each year before being displayed on the Kolu.
Meanwhile, there are also other traditions followed in these South Indian states. Here is a glimpse of it:- Kerala : Education is the main aspect here. Known as Vidhya-Aarambham (beginning of education), it is a way to initiate a child to the world of knowledge. The major celebrations happen in the last three days of Navratri. Having said that, the last three days of Navratri are regarded as significant beginning with ‘Poojavaippu’. It is performed on the evening of Durgashtami. This ritual is conducted where any kind of study or work is put on hold. The next day or Mahanavami, people observe Saraswati Puja or the Ayudha Puja in which books, musical instruments, and tools pertaining to one’s profession are worshipped in front of the Goddess Saraswati.
Karnataka - Mysore Palace : In Karnataka, a similar tradition like Golu is followed with some slight changes. Decorated dolls are placed at homes and people exchange coconuts, clothes, and sweets among themselves. Scenes from various stories in the epics and Puranas are enacted and many devotees visit the famous Kollur Mookambika temple located in Udupi. The city of Mysuru has a 400-year long tradition of celebrating Navratri called 'Mysore Dasara' which is a legendary event that honors goddess Chamundeswari of Chamundi Hill, or an avatar of goddess Durga, who killed the powerful demon Mahishasur. The palace of Mysore is decorated with lights and flowers during Dussehra where “Jamboo Savari”, a famous procession takes place. It involves elephant parades, wherein one of them carries goddess Chamundeswari. 'Tiger Dance' is also performed here.
2) In southern India, the bride is presented with 'Marapacchi Bommai' during the wedding by her parents as part of wedding trousseau to initiate the yearly tradition of 'Navaratri Golu' in her new home with her husband. — www.newsbharati.com 11 October 2021 -GoTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN shrivishwaniketan@gmail.com http://svn.epapers.in
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