\ SAMVAD संवाद

Ashadha Krishna 2, Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124:16 June, 2022: SM 4006 (For Private Circulation Only)


1. FESTIVALS: GURU PURNIMA 2. THIRD YEAR SANGH SHIKSHA VARG CONCLUDED
3. WE ARE LOOKING AT HISTORY FROM THE BHARATIYA POINT OF VIEW: DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT 4. VISHWA HINDU PARISHAD – SANNYASI CONFERENCE
5. NO TRUE AND FALSE HINDUS : DR RAM MADHAV 6. FIGHT FOR POOR COUNTRIES IN THE WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, SWADESHI JAGRAN MANCH APPEALS UNION GOVT
7. HINDU SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA USA 8. SURREY GURUVANDA UTSAV
9. NEW JERSEY’S SECOND HINDU CLUB IN SCHOOL 10. HINDU YUVA HOSTED THE MOVIE ROCKETRY MAKERS
11. FISI UK SESSION ON NARRATIVE OF HINDUS IN THE WESTERN WORLD 12. UNGA ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON MULTILINGUALISM, MENTIONS THE HINDI LANGUAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME
13. DR S JAISHANKAR INTERACTS WITH BHARATVANSHIS IN PRAGUE 14. HOLY RELICS OF BHAGWAN BUDDHA DISPLAYED AT MONGOLIA’S BUDDHA PURNIMA
15. BUDDHIST MONKS THANK BHARAT FOR ASSISTANCE TO SRILANKA AND BUDDHA PURNIMA CELEBRATIONS 16. RAJNATH SINGH HANDS OVER 12 HIGH-SPEED GUARD BOATS TO VIETNAM
17. GALWAN MARTYR’S WIFE REKHA SINGH FULFILLED HER HUSBAND’S DREAM TO BECOME A LIEUTENANT 18. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN EIGHTH-GRADER CROWNED 2022 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE CHAMPION
19. FREEDOM FIGHTER ANJALAI PONNUSAMY DIES AGED 102 20. SANSKAR BHARTI PATRON BABA YOGENDRA PASSED AWAY
21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Article: TWISTING AN OTHERWISE COLORFUL AND DIVERSE HINDU CULTURE INTO SOMETHING MUCH MORE MALEVOLENT WAS FAIRLY EASY

1. FESTIVALS: GURU PURNIMA: Full moon day of Ashadha month (July 13 this year) is celebrated as Guru Purnima. On this day disciples offer Puja and pay respect to their Gurus. Guru Purnima is also known as Vyasa Purnima and this day is commemorated as birth anniversary of Veda Vyasa.
Guru Purnima represents the day on which Bhagwan Shiva as the Adi Guru or original guru taught the Saptrishis who were the seers of the Vedas. It is also the day on which Bhagwan Buddha delivered his first sermon (Dharmachakrapravartana Sutta) at Sarnath to five of his disciples, collectively known as Panchavargika. The 24th Jain Tirthankara Mahavir Swami made Indrabhuti Gautam of Gandhara his first disciple on the day of Guru Purnima.


RSS considers Bhaghwa Dhwaj as its guru and performs gurupuja utsav in every shakha all over Bharat by organsing Bhagwa Dhwaj puja and bouddhik sessions.  -GoTop

2. THIRD YEAR SANGH SHIKSHA VARG CONCLUDED: The Sangh Shiksha Varg-Tritiya Varsh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) concluded on June 3, at Reshimbagh, Nagpur. More than 735 swayamsevaks, including farmers, teachers, engineers, doctors drawn from various parts of the country participated in the varg.
Earlier, on June 2 evening, the prakat samarop samaroh of the varg was held at Reshimbagh. The president of Ramchandra Mission Shri Kamlesh Patel also known as Daaji was the chief guest during the occasion. Addressing the swayamsevaks, he said that for centuries Bharat has been the Vishwa Guru. Our land is a land of diversity, and all religions, castes and creeds coexist here as a symbol of ‘unity in diversity’. Speaking on the occasion, Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat said that our Dharma exists in fraternity and humanity and Sanatana culture or Hindutva is the Selfhood of our Rashtra, He recalled the social service activities undertaken by sangh during the COVID-19 pandemic in which lakhs of Swayamsevaks, with utmost dedication, worked door-to-door in the service of Corona victims. He said that the training camp will help the Swayamsevaks to acquire the necessary skills to make our country prosperous. Speaking on the Gyanvapi issue, Dr Bhagwat said that matter is ongoing, history cannot be changed, and neither today’s Hindus nor today’s Muslims created it. He emphasised mutual agreement and said issues should not be viewed with mutual antipathy.
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3. WE ARE LOOKING AT HISTORY FROM THE BHARATIYA POINT OF VIEW: DR. MOHAN BHAGWAT: A special screening of the film Samrat Prithviraj was held at Chanakyapuri PVR, Delhi, for the office bearers of the Sangh, which included Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, Sah Sarkaryavah Dr. Krishna Gopal, Manmohan Vaidya and others.
After watching the film Dr. Bhagwat said that the film looks at history from the Bharatiya point of view. He said that the film is based on facts and the message that the film gives is needed by the country at the moment. He added that to protect the honour of Bharat, Bharatiyas will have to fight together in the same way as the mighty heroes shown in this film. Several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, have made the movie tax free in the state.
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4. VISHWA HINDU PARISHAD – SANNYASI CONFERENCE : VHP Margadarshak Mandal, that is Aravazhi Kattum Aandror Peravai in Tamil, organised a Sannyasi’s conference in the city of Madurai on June 4-5, 2022. More than 200 Aadheenams, Saints, spiritual leaders of all traditions took part in this conference.
The meeting was presided by Madurai Aadheenam Guru Mahasannidanam Sri la Sri Harihara Desiga Gnanasampanda Paramacharya Swamigal. The Sannyasi Conference has passed five resolutions. The first resolution regarding temple management demanded that the temple management should not be mishandled and government should handover Hindu temple management to related groups of Sanyasis or organisations. The second resolution was against the forced illegal conversions and demands a stringent anti-conversion law in state. The third resolution focused on spiritual syllabus in formal education. Fourth resolution suggests how to save the environment to save the future. The fifth resolution condemns the decision of Pope to confer Sainthood for Devasahayam Pillai, which is a Hindu name, it is deliberately done to encourage conversion, as well as to divide Hindu society.
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5. NO TRUE AND FALSE HINDUS : DR RAM MADHAV: “Hindutva is mainstream in Bharat and it is a way of life in which there is no room for hatred,” said author and thinker Dr Ram Madhav.
He was speaking at a discussion event on his latest book ‘The Hindutva Paradigm’ organised by Sri Samskruthika Kalasaradhi, Singapore at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) Punggol Campus on May 8. Dr Madhav has over 200 publications to his credit and a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Nalanda University. Dr Madhav was the National General Secretary of the BJP and is a founding member India Foundation, a think tank. He is Member of the National Executive of RSS.
Madhav’s book expands on the notions of Hindutva, the Hinduness, and expands on Deen Dayal Upadhyay's idea of 'Integral Humanism.'
“There are no true and false Hindus, except when one can use these distinctions as part of a political narrative,” Dr Madhav said in his address to the 600 attendees at the event. “Hindutva and Hinduism are not two separate things. Hindutva is the Indianised name of Hinduism. It is Hinduism in practice.” He ended on a philosophical note, stating his book explored whether the Hindutva worldview could be adapted to the contemporary world of the 21st Century.
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6. FIGHT FOR POOR COUNTRIES IN THE WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, SWADESHI JAGRAN MANCH APPEALS UNION GOVT : The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) appealed to the Union government to fight for the interests of poor countries at the WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled from June 12-15 in Geneva, Switzerland.
In a resolution passed in SJM’s National Council Meeting held at Nagpur on June 5, the SJM noted that “four issues which will attract focus of member countries and which carry special importance for people of Least Developed Countries and developing countries are decisions on temporary moratorium on custom duty on electronic transmission; TRIPS waiver on vaccine, medicines and related technologies for treatment of COVID-19; permanent solution to Peace Clause in Agreement on Agriculture on public stockholding for food security and fisheries subsidies.” TRIPS is Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. SJM appreciated the Union governmnet’s decision to oppose moratorium on tariff on import of e-products.
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7. HINDU SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA USA: On June 5, more than 600 people gathered at “Darshana: A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization”, a nationwide travelling exhibition organized by HSS at AOL center in Los Angeles, California.
It was blessed by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of The Art of Living, Shree Mas Vidal (Maheshananda), a yogi, mystic, and practitioner of Ayurveda, Dr. Jasvant Modi of Jain Center of Southern California JCSC USA , Swami Poornaatmanand ji of Bharat Sevashram Sangh, Pujya Divyacharandas Swami & Pujya Akhandanand Swami of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Los Angeles. Several Dharmic organizations in Southern California came together to celebrate “Wisdom of Dharma in Time of Crisis”, and the "Darshana" exhibit showcasing global contributions of Hindu Dharma. Second generation Hindu Americans were enthusiastically welcoming the guests and explaining the contributions of Hindu Dharma to the "Darshana" exhibition visitors.
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8. SURREY GURUVANDA UTSAV: On June 12, Guru Vandana celebration was organized at Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, Surrey British Colombia where around 36 teachers were honoured. This was a special celebration where students honour their Gurus (teachers) and it was remarkable to see and be a part of it, said one of the participants of the event. The students explained aspects of Hinduism, shared songs, dances, and explained in quick summary the 18 chapters of The Bhagavad Gita.
The event involved lighting the oil lamp, honouring of Gurus and students got blessings by touching teacher’s feet, showing reverence and respect. They gifted teachers with a scarf/shawl which remains an integral way of showing honour of one's presence and respect to another, similar to Coast Salish cultures in British Colombia.
In May, Dallas has the first Guru Vandana with Bhutanese Kids. In this event 7 teachers including the school principal and assistant principal attended the programme along with local families.
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9. NEW JERSEY’S SECOND HINDU CLUB IN SCHOOL: In the last year, first Hindu Club was started in J P Stevens High School Edison, NJ with a group of 8 shakha kishors and kishoris. This year the second one was stated by Arnavji Ganesh and his friends, a Hindu- Sikh Club in Woodbridge High School, Woodbridge, NJ. The club is named as Saffron Alliance. On June 2, Woodbridge Township had hosted a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity showcase led by students and schools. The Saffron Alliance launch flier was showcased at the Woodbridge High School booth.
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10. HINDU YUVA HOSTED THE MOVIE ROCKETRY MAKERS: On 6th June Hindu YUVA at University of Houston hosted Dr. Nambi Narayan and R. Madhavan for a ‘speaker on campus’ program about the movie ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’. It is an upcoming Bharatiya biographical drama film based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer of the Indian Space Research Organization who was falsely accused of espionage.
They discussed the story of Dr. Nambi Narayan and his challenges. Madhavan shared some experiences from making the movie. Dr. Narayan shed some light on importance and challenges of space research in Bharat. The event was a great success with over 100 participants. 
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11. FISI UK SESSION ON NARRATIVE OF HINDUS IN THE WESTERN WORLD: On June 11, Friends of India Society International , UK organised an engaging session on the "Narrative of Hindus in the Western World" in which Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, Pallavi Joshi, Chris Blackburn (a political analyst in the UK) and Satish Sharmaji were guest speakers.
The maker of movie ‘Kashmir Files’ uncovered the Kashmiri Pandit’s untold stories worldwide. The movie 'Kashmir Files' is part of the same effort. It was urged that the diaspora should understand the patterns, take inspiration from the Hindu Vedantic philosophy, gather courage to actively participate in public life, come together more as a Bharatiya community and strengthen the Indic voice. It was a very captivating session that expanded the conversation and widened the perspective. 
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12. UNGA ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON MULTILINGUALISM, MENTIONS THE HINDI LANGUAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME: In a significant initiative on June 10, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a Bharat-sponsored resolution on multilingualism that mentions the Hindi language for the first time.
“This year, for the first time, the resolution has a mention of Hindi language. …The resolution also mentions Bangla and Urdu for the first time. We welcome these additions,” said Bharat’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.
Tirumurti said multilingualism is recognized as a core value of the UN and expressed gratitude to the Secretary-General for prioritizing multilingualism. “Bharat has been partnering with the UN Department of Global Communications (DGC) since 2018 by providing an extra-budgetary contribution to mainstream and consolidate news and multimedia content in the Hindi language,” he said.
As part of these efforts, the ‘Hindi @ UN’ project was launched in 2018 with an objective to enhance the public outreach of the United Nations in the Hindi language and to spread greater awareness about global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking populations around the world.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the six official languages of the United Nations; English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat.
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13. DR S JAISHANKAR INTERACTS WITH BHARATVANSHIS IN PRAGUE: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar interacted with the Bharatiya community in Prague on June 6. Dr Jaishankar was on the last leg of his two-nation tour to Slovakia and the Czech Republic to impart further momentum in ties with the two central European countries. "Delighted to meet the Bharatiya community in Prague. Good to see many of them doing so well. The expansion of the community has also been encouraging. Shared with them developments at home and the state of our bilateral relationship. Count on their continuing support," Mr. Jaishankar said. The External Affairs Minister arrived in Prague on June 4 from the Slovakian capital Bratislava. On June 5, Jaishanakar met Czech Finance Minister. The Czech Republic will take over EU Presidency from July 1.
Nearly, 5000 Bharatiya nationals—mostly IT professionals, business personnel and students are residing in Czech Republic. There are several informal associations of Bharatiyas/people of Bharatiya origin, who organise community events in association with the Embassy.
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14. HOLY RELICS OF BHAGWAN BUDDHA DISPLAYED AT MONGOLIA’S BUDDHA PURNIMA: The four Holy Kapilavastu Relics of Bhagwan Buddha brought from Bharat by a delegation led by Union Law and Justice Minister, Kiren Rijiju, were displayed with reverence and ceremonial fanfare at Ganden Tegchenling Monastery in the capital Ulaanbaatar on June 14. A holy procession was also carried out from Sukhbaatar Square near Parliament to Ganden Monastery. These Kapilavastu relics which reached Mongolia after 29 years, along with the relic of the Buddha’s tooth, a blessed idol of Mongolians, have been put on display for 11-days until June 24. Union Minister, Mongolian Parliament Speaker Gombojav Zandanshatar, Khamba Nomun Khan of the Gandan Monastery and a large number of monks, among other foreign dignitaries, were present on occasion.
Speaking on occasion, Kiren Rijiju said, “Several centuries ago, the spirit of Buddhism traversed from the Himalayan mountains of Bharat into Mongolian steppes and became our precious shared heritage.” Khamba Nomun Khan (Khamba Lama) expressed his hearty gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for his utmost support and decision to send the Buddha’s most precious relics to Ganden Tegchenling Monastery. Mongolian parliament speaker recalled PM Modi’s speech during his 2015 visit, where he said that the spiritual neighbourhood is the highest level of cooperation and relationship.
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15. BUDDHIST MONKS THANK BHARAT FOR ASSISTANCE TO SRILANKA AND BUDDHA PURNIMA CELEBRATIONS: A group of high-ranking Buddhist monks, the Chief Prelates expressed gratitude to the Bharatiya Government for providing humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka amidst the country’s ongoing economic and political crisis. They also thanked Bharat for organising the celebration of Buddha Poornima.
“Sri Lankans inherited their religion, culture, traditions and civilisation from Bharat and this relationship and brotherhood should grow from strength to strength. Buddhist philosophical concepts are right and most suitable to the entire world at all times and the Maha Sangha was touched immensely over Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi’s commitment and passion towards promoting Buddhism,” stated a Sri Lankan magazine, Satipatthana, in a press release citing a message of the Chief Prelates. On behalf of Maha Sangha, the prelates also expressed gratitude to Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) for organising the grand International Vaishakha Buddha Purnima.
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16. RAJNATH SINGH HANDS OVER 12 HIGH-SPEED GUARD BOATS TO VIETNAM: Bharat formally handed over the 12 high-speed guard boats constructed under the government of Bharat’s $100 million defense Line of Credit (LoC) to Vietnam at a ceremony at Hong Ha Shipyard during the visit of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to the South East Asian nation on June 9.
“It gives me great pleasure to join this historic ceremony. I am confident that this will be a precursor to many more cooperative defense projects between Bharat and Vietnam,” Shri Singh said speaking at the ceremony.
The speed boats will be operated by the Vietnamese Border Guard Force. The deal was executed by Larsen & Tourbo and of the 12 boats, five were built in Bharat while the remaining were built in Vietnam with assistance from L&T.
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17. GALWAN MARTYR’S WIFE REKHA SINGH FULFILLED HER HUSBAND’S DREAM TO BECOME A LIEUTENANT: Rekha Singh, the wife of Lance Naik and Vir Chakra awardee Shahid Deepak Singh, has fulfilled her husband’s dream to become a lieutenant. In June 2020, Lance Naik Shahid Deepak Singh was killed in a skirmish with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and was awarded Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind for his bravery. Rekha lost her husband just after 15 months into their marriage and decided to become a lieutenant to fulfill her husband’s dream.
Rekha gave up her job as a teacher and decided to pursue a career in the armed forces. Rekha Singh said: “It was my husband’s dream that pushed me to strive hard to make it to the Indian Army. I made up my mind to leave my job as a teacher and become an officer in the Army”.
Rekha Singh is one of the army wives who decided to continue their husband’s legacy. Nikita Kaul, the wife of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal who was martyred in the Pulwama attack, joined the Army in 2021. Jyoti Nainwal, wife of martyred soldier Deepak Nainwal, joined the Bharatiya Army as a Lieutenant after three years of her husband’s death in November 2021.
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18. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN EIGHTH-GRADER CROWNED 2022 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE CHAMPION: Harini Logan, a 14-year-old Bharatiya-American eighth-grader from Texas won the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee, beating Vikram Raju in the prestigious contest where children of Bharatiya origin have ruled the roost. Logan, who took home the USD 50,000 cash prize and Scripps Cup trophy on top of awards from Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica, was declared champion on June 2 night after she was reinstated by the judges in the final round.
She spelled 22 out of 26 words correctly, while Raju, a 12-year-old boy from Denver, got 15 out of 19 words right during the first-of-its-kind spell-off, a format that tested the contestants on how many words they could correctly spell within 90 seconds.
Vihaan Sibal, a 13-year-old from Texas, finished third while Saharsh Vuppala, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Washington, was fourth.
Over the past 20 years, Bharatiya-Americans have been dominating the Spelling Bee contest even though they comprise only about 1 per cent of the US population. Since Balu Natarajan won it in 1985, 20 Bharatiya-origin children have been crowned champions at the competition.
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19. FREEDOM FIGHTER ANJALAI PONNUSAMY DIES AGED 102: Freedom fighter Anjalai Ponnusamy, who fought for Bharat’s independence from colonial Britain, died on June 1, aged 102.
Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi on her demise said, “Anguished by the passing away of the distinguished Indian National Army veteran from Malaysia Anjalai Ponnusamy Ji. We will always remember her courage and inspiring role in Bharat’s freedom movement. Condolences to her family and friends.”
Anjalai was once a soldier who served under the command of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. At the age of 21, Anjalai joined the Rani of Jhansi Regiment – the women’s regiment of the Indian National Army – in the hope of discarding the yoke of British colonialism. After the war ended with the Japanese defeat, the Indian National Army was disbanded, and Anjalai returned home to continue her life in Malaysia.
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20. SANSKAR BHARTI PATRON BABA YOGENDRA PASSED AWAY: Senior pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and patron of Sanskar Bharati, Baba Yogendra, passed away following prolonged illness, on June 10. He was 98.
Born on January 7, 1924, in Basti, Baba Yogendra came into contact with RSS pracharak Nanaji Deshmukh during his student days in Gorakhpur and became a pracharak. He worked in Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Bareilly, Badaun and Sitapur. When Sanskar Bharati was formed in 1981, he was entrusted with the organisational work. He is also known for his contribution to the fields of music, theatre, literature, sculpture, archeology and fine arts.
He received a number of awards, including the prestigious Padma Shri in 2018.
Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi termed Baba Yogendra’s demise as an irreparable loss to the world of art and culture.
RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale and other senior RSS functionaries paid tributes to founder of Sanskar Bharati.
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21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Saumitra Gokhale, samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will travel to South Africa and Kenya. Visitors:
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: "Bharat is the meeting place of the religions and among these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization and aspiration.” – Sri Aurobindo
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JAI SHRI RAM
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TWISTING AN OTHERWISE COLORFUL AND DIVERSE HINDU CULTURE INTO SOMETHING MUCH MORE MALEVOLENT WAS FAIRLY EASY
AARAV PATIL

A project has emerged in defiance of years of discrimination in academia, led by second-generation Hindus who were fed the same gross misconceptions that worked to demonize their religion and culture.

When I walked into class just a few weeks ago, I was taught that my religion was one of social hierarchy and classism. That Hinduism is “a religion that preserves social inequality” at its core. Now, I know that high school history textbooks across America have been propagating religious bigotry for years, taking snippets of culture and presenting it as the absolute whole, pinning the responsibility for crimes colonizers had committed onto the very people they wrought those crimes upon.
But sitting there in that classroom, my ears filled with the wisdom of secular America, writing notes on a religion I practice, taking tests on a culture I belong to, hearing my own history taught back to me, not as a Hindu, but as an American citizen, I almost believed it all.
However, I couldn’t, as my understanding of my religion, culture, and values was crystal clear from the very beginning. I was raised in an environment where assimilation was synonymous with cultural suicide, and so I was never allowed to forget my roots. Other Hindu Americans, unfortunately, do not have such luxury.
With a religion so easily misunderstood as Hinduism, and practitioners so easily manipulated as Hindus, twisting an otherwise colorful and diverse culture into something much more malevolent was fairly easy. So easy that Hindus themselves were found nodding their heads in agreement as the White man enlightened them on the “true horrors of Hinduism.”

(Image) ‘Darshana – A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization, a traveling exhibition.’
I would have nodded along with them, if not for my upbringing, buried deep in Hindu soil and taking root in my brain.
It was then that I realized that there was nothing anyone else could do to fix such an ostensibly irreparable situation; I mean, it was hardly as if those pretentious British scholars that supposedly knew India like the back of their hands’ could reverse all the academic trauma they had deliberately caused. It’s not the White man that could solve such an issue; it’s the Hindu people.
So a project emerged in defiance of years of discrimination in academia, led by second-generation Hindus who were fed the same gross misconceptions that worked to demonize their religion and culture.
While Hinduphobes push against the education of the Western world about Hinduism, we, as Hindus, must hold our ground and cement our place in diverse, inclusive America as one of her many religious communities.
The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) is a non-profit organization, one among many of the Indic faith-based groups that worked tirelessly to produce a set of informative posters that, while elementary in style, provided as much information as it possibly could, leaving its viewers — if not enlightened — at the very least, informed. Then as April showers blessed American soil, so too did Darshana – A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization, a traveling exhibition.
I stood at my set of posters, heart pounding, as I watch the first batch of officials file through the door of the middle school gymnasium. When was the last time people were so eager to learn about a culture so foreign to theirs, especially a religion portrayed as controversial as ours? Would they listen, or would they just hear us, picking up segments of our explanations and twisting our language to fit their hateful narrative?
I locked eyes with a reserved young lady, an English teacher, perhaps. She asked my opinion on how the Hindu symbolism of the conch shell differs from that present in Lord William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” a book that I was glad to have read at that moment. We engaged in a healthy discussion of how literature and religion often intersect, and I told her all about divinity in Hinduism. She was surprised to see that Hinduism involved women and nature, things; something she told me she had not often seen in her own religion.
After an hour or so, she came back and informed me that she had learned more about Hinduism in a single hour than in all her years in high school, college, and beyond. She told me she would ask her school if the exhibition could be presented there as well. I expressed my gratitude to her, her and her willingness to learn, practically shaking because, just days ago, I was in school, reading about how unremarkable and unjust my own religion was. And now, I was being told that my religion, my people, were worth listening to.
The exhibition is still going strong, with local, state, and even federal officials attending it across the nation, expressing their gratitude for such an exhibition that allows them to broaden their own worldview. Even the King of Jordan, the 41st direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), though he only happened upon the exhibition, quite enjoyed the experience.
While Hinduphobes push against the education of the Western world about Hinduism, we, as Hindus, must hold our ground and cement our place in diverse, inclusive America as one of her many religious communities: to work side by side with everyone of every religion and belief to ensure the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of every American citizen, in alienable rights that were promised to us all so many years ago.
Aarav Patil is a sophomore at Upper Saint Clair High School in Pennsylvania. He enjoys writing opinion articles as well as reading them. (JUNE 1, 2022 : https://americankahani.com/generationz/hindu-swayamsevak-sangh/-GoTop


SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN shrivishwaniketan@gmail.com http://svn.epapers.in

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