Shravana Shukla 6, Vik.Samvat 2075 Yugabda 5120: 16 August 2018

1. FESTIVALS: Nuakhai 2. TIME TO WIDEN THE IDEA OF INDEPENDENCE: RASHTRAPATI RAM NATH KOVIND
3. PM MODI ANNOUNCES HEALTHCARE SCHEME AYUSHMAN BHARAT 4. AMERICAN RED CROSS AWARDS $500,000 GRANT TO SEWA INTERNATIONAL
5. BHARATIYA - AUSTRALIAN WINS FIELDS MEDAL, ALSO CALLED ‘NOBEL PRIZE OF MATHEMATICS’ 6. DISCIPLINE IS THE HALLMARK OF RSS, SAYS JUSTICE KEMAL PASHA
7. LIFE OF NA KRISHNAPPAJI AN INSPIRATION TO NEW GENERATION SWAYAMSEVAKS - MOHAN BHAGWAT 8. NATIONALIST ROAR AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE
9. SINGAPORE FIRM TO LEAD CONSTRUCTION OF ABU DHABI HINDU TEMPLE 10. BHARAT-BUILT HOUSES IN SRI LANKA’S ESTATES HANDED OVER
11. NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR V S NAIPAUL PASSED AWAY 12. GOVT LAUNCHES ‘SEVA BHOJ YOJNA’ SCHEME
13. MOST PRODUCTIVE MONSOON SESSION SINCE 2000, LS WORKED 110% 14. 9-YEAR-OLD BHARATIYA CHESS PRODIGY WINS VISA BATTLE TO STAY IN UK
15. BHARATIYA TELESCOPE SPOTS DISTANT RADIO GALAXY 16. JNU HOLDS CONVOCATION AFTER 46 YEARS
17. NASA NAMES SUNITA WILLIAMS, 8 OTHERS, FOR FIRST SPACE FLIGHTS ON COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT 18. GOVT ACHIEVES TARGET OF 5 CRORE FREE LPG CONNECTIONS 8 MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Articles:
A. IN SOLIDARITY WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
B. SEEING THE GOOD WITH THE BAD

1. FESTIVALS: Nuakhai or Nuankhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand. Nuakhai is observed on Bhadrapad Shuddha Panchami (14th September this year) to welcome the new rice of the season. Nua means new and Khai means food. This same day is observed as ‘Rishi Panchami’ in Western Bharat in reverence to the Saptarshis – The seven sages.-GoTop
At places, Navgrahas – Nine planets are also worshipped on this day. It has a big significance for farmers and agricultural community.

2. TIME TO WIDEN THE IDEA OF INDEPENDENCE: RASHTRAPATI RAM NATH KOVIND: The country is at the cusp of achieving many long-awaited goals and should not get distracted by “contentious issues and extraneous debates,” said Rashtrapati Ram Nath Kovind in his address to the nation on the eve of Bharat’s 72nd Independence Day.  Kovind said that every citizen will be upholding the principles of the freedom struggle if he or she simply does his or her duty with sincerity and commitment, fulfils personal and professional obligations, keeps promises, does not jump queues and respects the civic space and rights of others ahead in the line. “The power to stay your hand is far greater than the power to strike with your hand and hinsa has no place in the society,” Kovind, 72, said.

In his second Independence Day-eve address to the nation, Kovind stressed the role of women in society saying, “The expansion of freedom in our country in many senses amounts to the expansion of freedom for women in our country….” He also highlighted the role of farmers in providing food security to fellow citizens and the contribution by the countries armed and police forces in battling terrorism and ensuring law and order. -GoTop

3. PM MODI ANNOUNCES HEALTHCARE SCHEME AYUSHMAN BHARAT: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of 72nd Independence Day from the ramparts of the Red Fort. In his fifth and final address in the current tenure, Shri Narendra Modi highlighted the achievements of the NDA government in the last four years – Swachch Bharat, PMFBY, Mudra loans, GST etc.
During the address, he also announced his flagship health policy –Aayushman Bharat from the Red Fort. The ambitious Ayushman Bharat or National Health Protection Scheme aims to cover over 10 crore vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) and provide health cover up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. -GoTop
The scheme will be rolled out on September 25, on the occasion of Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s anniversary. Modi began by congratulating the all-women INS Tarini team for circumnavigating the globe and paying tribute to freedom fighters and the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He said that the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament focused on social justice. He also announced the permanent commission for women in armed forces. So far women were given short service commission in Army, Navy and Air Force.

4. AMERICAN RED CROSS AWARDS $500,000 GRANT TO SEWA INTERNATIONAL: The American Red Cross awarded Sewa International a $500,000 grant to rebuild homes of the economically underprivileged devastated by Hurricane Harvey in Rosharon Village, Brazoria County, TX. This grant in the next 18 months will help Sewa reconstruct 11 completely destroyed homes and 24 partially-damaged homes thus benefitting 154 men and women, including 35 seniors and 47 children. Since day one of Hurricane Harvey’s sweep across Southern Texas damaging property and destroying lives, Sewa International has been at the forefront of rescue operations initially, and then in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Sewa was the recipient of a $397,000 grant awarded by the Greater Houston Community Foundation (GHCF) in December 2017, providing case management help for 600 individuals. Completing the work in record time, Sewa International ended up helping 1,600 individuals from minority and underprivileged communities, earning kudos from GHCF. Thus, this grant from the American Red Cross is an affirmation of the good work done by Sewa as well as acknowledgement of the can-do spirit of this Hindu faith-based charitable organization standing out amongst its mainstream peers. -GoTop

5. BHARATIYA - AUSTRALIAN WINS FIELDS MEDAL, ALSO CALLED ‘NOBEL PRIZE OF MATHEMATICS’: Delhi-born Australian mathematician, Akshay Venkatesh, 36, a child prodigy who finished school at the age of 13 and received a PhD at 20, is one of the four recipients of this year’s Fields Medal, the highest honour for a mathematician that is popularly known as the ‘Mathematician’s Nobel Prize’.
“A lot of the time, when you do math, you’re stuck. But you feel privileged to work with it: you have a feeling of transcendence and feel like you’ve been part of something really meaningful,” Venkatesh told. Venkatesh is recognized for his work in Number Theory — a theoretical branch of mathematics dedicated to studying integers. This has applications in cryptography — writing or solving codes.
The other recipients of the Fields Medal are Italian Alessio Figalli, Iranian Kurdish Caucher Birkar, and German Peter Scholze. -GoTop

6. DISCIPLINE IS THE HALLMARK OF RSS, SAYS JUSTICE KEMAL PASHA: Justice (Retd. Kerala High Court) Kemal Pasha said in Kochi that RSS is a disciplined movement. Its discipline is unique. It is inevitable to maintain secularism, unity and integrity of the country. Every Bharatiya needs discipline. He was addressing the Gurupooja-Gurudakshina programme of RSS in Bhaskareeyam Convention Centre in the RSS Kerala state headquarters complex, Kochi on 11th August.

He added that Hindu culture is Arsha Bharatiya culture. All our countrymen can claim this legacy. There is a belief in Islam that “you may have your own religious, I do have my own religion”. Unfortunately, Muslims have misunderstood its meaning. If they had understood the real meaning of this statement they would have come much closer to the mainstream of national life here. No one is supposed to degrade other religions.
Jce. Pasha was the chief guest in the programme. RSS Sahsarkaryavah V. Bhagayya delivered the key note address. -GoTop

7. LIFE OF NA KRISHNAPPAJI AN INSPIRATION TO NEW GENERATION SWAYAMSEVAKS - MOHAN BHAGWAT: ‘Nirmalya’, a book based on the life of senior Pracharak, Na. Krishnappa was released in Town Hall at Bengaluru on 12th August in presence of RSS Sarsanghachalak, Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, renowned novelist Dr. S.L. Byrappa, RSS Sah Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosbale, author of the book ChandraShekar Bhandari and other dignitaries.
Dattatreya Hosabale who introduced the book to the audience said that a Pracharak’s life is more of contribution to the society without any expectation or glory. Krishnappa was no different from it and the intention of this book is to not glorify the personality but make it an effort to inspire the next generation. Literary giant and Saraswati Samman awardee and novelist Dr S.L. Byrappa shared his association with Krishnappa from college days and credited a lot of his success to writing big novels to Krishnappa where the latter helped him with voluminous books to read.
Dr. Mohan Bhagwat who released the book opined that a pracharak life demanded to yield completely to the service of the society and Krishnappa’s life illustrates the same. The book is important in the context of carrying the baton to the next generation and it forms an inspiration to a lot of new Swayamsevaks. -GoTop

8. NATIONALIST ROAR AT TRAFALGAR SQUARE: The atmosphere in Trafalgar Square was resonated on the afternoon of 12th August, for three hours with slogans such as "Vande Mataram", "Bharat Mata Ki Jay" while placards of "Sikhs for United India", "Wahe Guru Save Us from this 2020 Madness", "Chuck De India", "United, Diverse Incredible India” on Tiranga and Union Jack background were dancing along the National Gallery footpath facing Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. 

Around 150 staunch Bharatiya origin British nationals of Forum India, including volunteers of Friends of India Society International, OFBJP and other Bharatiya organizations were strongly protesting against Khalistan movement.  They were proclaiming loudly "Sat Shree Akal", "Guru Nanak Dev Ki Jay Ho", "Guru Gobind Singh Ki Jay Ho" to show solidarity with nationalist Sikhs and united Bharat along with Maharashtra Mandal London's "dhol", "tasha" and "zanj" orchestra.  -GoTop

9. SINGAPORE FIRM TO LEAD CONSTRUCTION OF ABU DHABI HINDU TEMPLE: The entity constructing Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple announced that it has selected a Singaporean firm to lead an international team of experts in developing the historic temple complex.
Marking an important milestone on its path to constructing the temple in Abu Dhabi, Mandir Limited, the legal entity registered with the Abu Dhabi Government for the temple project, along with BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a global organisation managing Hindu temples, announced the project’s lead consultant and designer on 11th August.
An agreement regarding the appointment of RSP - Raglan Squire and Partners (RSP), an architectural firm based in Singapore, was signed by Dr B.R. Shetty, Chairman of Mandir Limited and Lai Huen Poh, Global Managing Director of RSP Architects, Planners and Engineers. Navdeep Singh Suri, the Bharatiya Ambassador to the UAE, and Samuel Tan Chi Tse, Ambassador of Singapore to the UAE were the guests of honour at the signing ceremony.
The temple with seven towers representing the seven emirates in the UAE will come up on a 14-acre land at Abu Mureikhah of Al Rahba area on Abu Dhabi-Sweihan-Al Ain road, close to Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway.
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha’s traditional architects (known as sompuras) and engineers will design the stone temple. The exterior of the temple will be made of pink sandstone from Rajasthan and the interior from white marble that will be handcrafted by artisans in Bharat. RSP’s experts from Singapore, Bharat and the UAE will form a team with BAPS’s core team and other respected sub consultants like Ramboll to develop a vibrant cultural and spiritual centre. -GoTop

10. BHARAT-BUILT HOUSES IN SRI LANKA’S ESTATES HANDED OVER: Over 400 families living on the famed tea estates in Sri Lanka took possession of their new houses built with Bharatiya assistance on 12th August.
The construction of the homes is part of Bharat’s commitment to build 4,000 homes in the island’s central highlands that is home to Malayaha Tamils. During his visit to the island last year, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi announced an additional 10,000 homes in the area.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who handed over the houses, appreciated Bharat’s commitment in partnering Sri Lanka in development projects. Mr. Modi, joining the event through a video conferencing link, said: “Sri Lanka has been and will remain special for India.” -GoTop

11. NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR V S NAIPAUL PASSED AWAY: Nobel prize-winning author V S Naipaul, known for his critical commentary on colonialism, idealism, religion and politics, died at the age of 85 on 11th August, his family said.

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born on August 17, 1932 in Trinidad into a Bharatiya Hindu family and moved to England at 18 after receiving a scholarship to University College, Oxford. He subsequently settled in England, although he travelled extensively thereafter.
Naipaul wrote more than 30 books of fiction and nonfiction. His first book was 'The Mystic Masseur'. His most celebrated novel, A House for Mr Biswas, was published in 1961. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. -GoTop

12. GOVT LAUNCHES ‘SEVA BHOJ YOJNA’ SCHEME: To lessen the financial burden of Religious/Charitable Institutions who provide Food/Prasad/Langar/Bhandara etc. free of cost to Public/Devotees, Ministry of Culture has launched a new scheme called “Seva Bhoj Yojna”.
The scheme will compensate such institutions of the Central Government share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST) so as to lessen the financial burden on religious and charitable bodies. Religious or charitable institutions such as temples, gurudwaras, mosques, churches, dharmik ashram, dargah, math, monasteries that have been in existence for at least three years before applying for financial assistance under the scheme will be eligible for getting benefits under the scheme, provided they meet other criteria. -GoTop

13. MOST PRODUCTIVE MONSOON SESSION SINCE 2000, LS WORKED 110%: The Monsoon session of Parliament in 2018, was the "most productive" for Lok Sabha since 2000, a think tank has said. According to the data compiled by PRS Legislative Research, 20 bills were introduced during the session and 12 were passed.
The Lok Sabha, it said, worked for 110 per cent of the scheduled hours and the Rajya Sabha for 66 per cent. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha spent 50 per cent and 48 per cent of their time on legislative business respectively, the data said.
This, the PRS Legislative Research data said, is the highest by both Houses in the 16th Lok Sabha and second highest since 2004.
This Monsoon session also had one of the most productive Question Hours of the 16th Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha functioned for 84 per cent and 68 per cent of their scheduled Question Hour time respectively, the data said. -GoTop

14. 9-YEAR-OLD BHARATIYA CHESS PRODIGY WINS VISA BATTLE TO STAY IN UK: A 9-year-old Bharatiya chess genius won his battle to stay in the UK after the expiry of his father’s work visa as the Home Office made an exception in the case due to his “exceptional talent”.
Shreyas Royal has won a series of chess championships and is ranked number four in the world in his age group and has the potential to be a future world chess champion.
But his father Jitendra Singh’s IT-related visa was set to expire next month when the family was expected to return to Bharat. A number of British MPs had intervened in the case to urge UK home secretary Sajid Javid to make an exception in Royal’s case due to his exceptional talent.
Shreyas, who was born in Bharat, moved to the UK aged three with parents Jitendra and Anju Singh from Bangalore six years ago. Shreyas, nicknamed Shrez, learnt to play the game in Britain and has since represented England internationally. He is currently competing in the British Chess Championships, which could be his last UK tournament. -GoTop

15. BHARATIYA TELESCOPE SPOTS DISTANT RADIO GALAXY: Astronomers have used a Bharatiya telescope to discover the most distant radio galaxy ever known, located at a distance of 12 billion light-years.
The galaxy, from a time when the universe was only 7% of its current age was found using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune. GMRT is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45-metre diameter. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics.
The galaxy is perceived as it looked when the universe was only a billion years old, according to the study appearing in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
This also means that the light from this galaxy is almost 12 billion years old. The discovery of such galaxies at extremely large distances is important for our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies, researchers said. -GoTop

16. JNU HOLDS CONVOCATION AFTER 46 YEARS: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held its second convocation on 8th August, 46 years after the first and only ceremony held by the varsity. The university’s first convocation in 1972 saw noted actor and theatre personality Balraj Sahni gracing it as its chief guest.
In the convocation ceremony that was held at the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) auditorium near JNU, the chief guest was university chancellor VK Saraswat.
Saraswat, a space scientist and Niti Ayog member, handed out PhD degrees to 400 students from 13 schools and special centers of JNU. Speaking at the event, Saraswat said that these students are the “future of the country”.  JNU vice chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said that the varsity was committed to encouraging critical thinking and freedom of thought among its students and faculty. -GoTop
 
17. NASA NAMES SUNITA WILLIAMS, 8 OTHERS, FOR FIRST SPACE FLIGHTS ON COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT: Bharatiya origin U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams is among the nine astronauts named by NASA who will fly the first missions into space on commercially provided rockets and capsules, starting next year. After years of vehicle development and building anticipation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has now put the crew in commercial crew spacecraft.
The space agency announced on 3rd August that the nine astronauts will launch on the first crewed test flights and missions of new commercial spacecraft built and operated by The Boeing Company and SpaceX. The missions will mark the first crewed launches from U.S. soil since the end of the space shuttle programme in 2011. -GoTop

18. GOVT ACHIEVES TARGET OF 5 CRORE FREE LPG CONNECTIONS 8 MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE: The government gave out the 5-crore free LPG connection, achieving the target almost eight months ahead of schedule.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan handed over papers for an LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana — which was launched on May 1, 2016 with a target to give 5 crore connections by March 2019 — to a Muslim lady Takrdiran at Delhi on 3rd August.
Speaking on the occasion, Mahajan said the scheme has not just saved eyes and money of the poor women but also now not required to venture into forests to collect firewood. Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the target has been achieved in 27 months instead of 35 months.
19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors: Sanjay Srivastav - Nigeria
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Established in Self-Realization, one is not moved even by the greatest calamity. – Srimad Bhagwad Geeta -GoTop

JAI SHREE RAM
IN SOLIDARITY WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Atul Jog
European countries physically eliminated and destroyed the identities of indigenous peoples; the world has much to learn from India and its Constitution
Christopher Columbus embarked on an expedition in search of India in 1492 and reached the Western Islands. The Spanish travellers mistakenly thought, in their search for gold, that they had reached India. So, this new world was given the name of India and its residents came to be known as Indians.But when the team led by Vasco-de-Gama that had set sail to search for India landed on the east side on the Calicut port of India, this time the real deal, in 1498, the local inhabitants were naturally called Indians.
People in the area that had been searched for by Columbus had a reddish tinge to their complexion and ended up in popular parlance being called Red Indians; there were at least four major such Spanish expeditions. An Italian, Amerigo Vepucci went on two expeditions and wrote a letter saying. “(Here is) A new world -— more densely peopled and full of animals (much more) than our Europe or Asia or Africa.Based on this letter by Amerigo, German map-makers named the landmass ‘Land of Amerigo’ on their maps, which gradually and over time came to be known as America (in 1507) and is today known as the United States of America.
Columbus, at the head of seven ships, started from Spain with 90 fellow Spaniards and landed on the sea coast of present-day Salvador on 12 October, 1492.  The local ‘Araawak’ tribe welcome them with an open heart and honoured them by giving gifts to all the members of the expedition. Columbus wrote to the King of Spain: “How peaceful and supportive these people are. On the basis of this, I say with certainty that there is no other nation superior to them in all the world. They behave politely with their neighbours. Their speech is accompanied by a very sweet and gentle smile. Although they remain naked, their behaviour is very gentle and commendable” Bur even after such praise of the locals, the Spanish unleashed a reign of terror over the next 50-60 years in the region subjugating the native population, their well-documented tyranny marked by oppression, exploitation and genocide. It was the start of the Spanish Empire. In 1493, Columbus came again with 17 big ships. Around 1,500 soldiers were accompanying him this time. He took control over many other islands in the region including Puerto Rico as his men slaughtered the native inhabitants of these territories. A large number of indigenous people of the many native tribes were taken captive.
After the death of Columbus in 1506, the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez arrived in Cuba with 500 soldiers in 1519 and reached Mexico for the first time. While the indigenous ‘Aztec’ tribal people welcomed him and gifted him gold, the Spaniard exploited some local discontent against tribal chiefs and a section of the Aztec people collaborated with Cortez in attacking their own capital or seat of power. Though he was supposed to return with gold, Cortez impounded all Aztec gold and more —he also established the Spanish Empire over the whole of Mexico. In a backlash, Aztecs rebelled and forced the Spanish army along with Cortez to flee. But the Spanish colonists returned in 1520 with enough firepower and heavy arms to create havoc and massacre the indigenous population where they resisted. The Aztec capital was destroyed and a colonial administrative capital called Mexico City was established.
During the expansion of this empire, Spaniards exploited both natural and human resources of the Americas ruthlessly, committing barbaric atrocities including exploitation of women. A large number of massacres were carried out repeatedly over the next 200 years. According to historical documents, in 1517, the Spanish first took five thousand Africans as slaves in several ships and transferred them to the neighbouring countries (the current West Indies) to work as bonded labourers. In the year 1607, the ‘Virginian Company of London’ was formed, and for the first time, one hundred English merchants were sent to that new area. A local tribals welcomed them. Using negotiations and what could be termed colonial diplomacy, the local tribal chief ‘Vahunsonakuk’ was declared the king of that tribe. This newly anointed ‘King’ was then ‘persuaded’ to get his daughter married to a prominent Englishman named John Rolf on 5 April, 1614.
With a matrimonial alliance in place, the British started to cultivate tobacco on the land of the people there on a large scale; the indigenous tribal people fought back. The conflict started in 1622. Although the indigenous peoples fought valiantly and killed hundreds of their British oppressors, they were defeated. The British created the first settlement named Jamestown. In 1675, Nathaniel Bacon attacked the native inhabitants of Virginia’s intermediate areas along with a 1000Englishmen. The tribal population in the area got reduced from 8000 to less than 1000 and the population of White men rose to 40,000. The saga of loot and plunder continued.
Similarly, during the age of empire, many European countries invaded the territories of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Australia and Africa. They destroyed the identities of the indigenous peoples who are till today searching for their pre-imperialist identities, before the ‘civilised’ savaged them. To remember the history of these indigenous peoples, we observe World Native Day on 9 August each year.
It is an acknowledgement of their sufferings and an attempt to strengthen their efforts to protect their culture. Bharat has stood with them in the fight for their rights.Ours is the only country in the world where we recognised rights of tribal/indigenous people in our Constitution, that is 55 years before the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (107th plenary meeting September 13, 2007).
A representative of the Government of India in the United Nations, while signing the declaration in 2007, had said that all the people living in our country are 'native'. No one came here from outside and managed to de-populate local communities wherein the settlers became the ‘natives’ unlike what happened in Australia and the Americas. Therefore, to protect the native inhabitants in the other countries of the world, India’s Constitution must be studied by these countries and they can follow in our footsteps.  (The writer is the All-India Organising Secretary of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and has worked among tribal communities for decades, Daily Pioneer 10th August 2018) -GoTop
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SEEING THE GOOD WITH THE BAD:
Problems notwithstanding, India has undeniably achieved a lot
Amish Tripathi
The wise among India’s ancients held that life must be approached with a sense of perspective. Of balance. For dharma is in balance. This is most required when we are buffeted by calamities which threaten to drown us.
It has been a grim year for me. Many tragedies hit my personal life. One after the other. One may keep one’s chin up, but inside, anger and depression arose. Hatred for an unfair world. Rage against even the Divine. And i was drowning in that most hopeless of thoughts: ‘Why me? Why my family?’
But recently, some wisdom has dawned.
One needn’t deny the pain my family and i have undergone repeatedly over the last year to also realise that, on the whole, life has been good to us. If one’s life has been, broadly, like the eternal Ganga ji, flowing strongly forward, then a period of pain and drought does not seem to justify depression and rage.
Perspective. It’s just a word. But if it can help you see that life has also been kind to you, perhaps you can handle the harsh times better. As with individuals, so with societies. And to gain perspective on society, one must pay attention to facts, not opinions.
I recently read a brilliant book called Factfulness, written by the late Hans Rosling. One of the themes the great statistician outlines in his book is the ‘negativity instinct’: most people believe negative news, even if good news is also presented. The mainstream news and social media, perhaps instinctively, have cottoned on to this. They repeatedly relay negative news, because that’s what gets them viewership/readership, which translates into money for them.
Chad Crowe
But we must remember that, more news of suffering doesn’t mean there’s more suffering.
Some have called the present times the Age of Anger. Media (both mainstream and social) is constantly carping about how terrible these times are. It is as if humanity has never had it worse. Public conversation across the free world is filled with negativity. And all this at a time, when judged by dispassionate facts and numbers, humanity has never had it better.
For the first time in human history, the world has come close to wiping out hunger. The bigger problem now is not hunger, but malnutrition in the poorer parts, and obesity in the more affluent parts of the world. Some relentless Cassandras may see this as a small achievement. It’s not. It’s huge. Many middle-class people across the world today lead lifestyles that would not be accessible even to the royalty a mere 200 years ago.
India, our own lovely motherland, has made enormous strides since 1991, when we began to move away from our suicidal socialist economic policies. We have pulled 270 million people out of extreme poverty in a little over two decades. And present numbers and trends suggest that we will wipe out extreme poverty in another decade. Yes, inequality may have gone up (and hopefully, that will be addressed as we rediscover dharma and charity), but wiping out extreme poverty at this pace after 1991, is a very significant achievement. And frankly, credit should go to all our leaders and our people.
If you want to examine data on India, then we must do it on a per capita basis – divide the total data by our population. This is needed for a fair comparison. For example, India is the sixth largest economy in the world. But that does not mean that we are rich; for on a per capita basis, we are not even in the top 100. But there is good news too, if you are willing to drill down to details. Data on a per capita basis shows India is actually among the least violent countries in the world. On a per capita basis, sexual violence against women is actually relatively low in India, even compared to most countries in the West. On a per capita basis, the growth in incomes in India has been pretty good.
This is not to suggest that perfection has been attained. Having perspective also means that we should not be naive optimists who ignore real problems. For example, data clearly indicates that while sexual violence is relatively low in India, mass murder of the girl child through female foeticide is terribly high. Road deaths in India are almost at genocidal levels. Easily preventable diseases and conditions, like diarrhoea, cause deaths of lakhs of Indian children. Simple things like hygiene can help here.
Perspective. Be aware of the many problems we still need to tackle. Be aware of the long road we still have to traverse. But equally, take some time to celebrate the long road that we have travelled already. Do not ignore the fantastic achievements of our country, and the things that we should rightly celebrate, even as we worry about what still needs to be done.
Perspective. Don’t let suffering weigh you down. Instead, let life’s blessings give you the strength to manage the harsh problems that life inevitably throws at you.
A hard election year is coming up. Things will get ugly and competitive. Everyone will fight. Many will start believing that we are overwhelmed with problems. Do not deny those problems. For life will never be without problems. But do celebrate the good aspects too.
If you have perspective, you will realise that, on balance, it’s logical to be positive. (Times of India Edit 7th August 2018) -GoTop

Shri Vishwa Niketan vishwav@bol.net.in

\SAMVAD  श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN

Ashadha Shukla 3, Vik.Samvat 2075 Yugabda 5120: 16 JULY 2018


1. FESTIVALS: Raksha Bandhan 2. WILL BUILD GANDHI HERITAGE CENTRE IN UGANDA: MODI
3. VHP UK hosts its first British Hindu Conclave of 2018 4. PM MODI GIFTS 200 COWS TO VILLAGERS IN RWANDA
5. PM NARENDRA MODI SALUTES CBSE TOPPER ON MANN KI BAAT 6. Culture is a way of life and Religion is a way of worship: upa rashtrapati
7. Sewa During the Rath Yatra 8. Abu Dhabi To Get Its First Hindu Temple By 2020
9. BHARAT WINS FIVE GOLD MEDALS AT LISBON PHYSICS OLYMPIAD 10. Feeding People for 150 years
11. BHARAT Assisting Sri Lanka with Emergency Ambulance Service 12. BHARATIYA AMERICAN COUPLE SELLS IT FIRM SYNTEL TO FRENCH COMPANY ATOS FOR $3.4 BILLION
13. BHARAT VASWANI AND SONAM AMONG 2018 RAMON MAGSAYSAY AWARD WINNERS 14. WORLD HINDU CONGRESS TO MARK 125 YEARS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA’S HISTORIC CHICAGO ADDRESS
15 Bharatiya Americans Donate 1 Percent of Income, $1 Billion Annually, But Cautiously 16. Bharatiya american attorney ranjan nominated district judge
17. AMIT BHANDARI DONATES $50,000 TO EKAL’S MOBILE COMPUTER LAB 18. 25th International Sindhi Sammelan
19. bharatiya Americans Highest Earners Among Asians in U.S. 20. BHARAT TO REMAIN FASTEST GROWING ECONOMY: ADB
21. The Plight of Kashmiri Pandits 22. Hindu Center launched in Luxembourg
23. Hindus welcome renowned Tate Modern London museum offering yoga 24. 15th PravasiBharatiya Divas
25. Hindus welcome free yoga sessions at Newfoundland-Labrador Lt. Governor residence 26. ‘Hinduism has capacity to re-invent itself’
27. Mauritius Devotees Build 108-foot Venkateshwara 28. AHMEDABAD - Pakistan Hindu Migrants reason of HAPPINESS
29. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN FOOD FOR THOUGHT
 Article: Women should have freedom to worship  

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