\SAMVAD  श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN

Bhadrapad Shukla 2, Vik. Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 1 September 2019


1. FESTIVALS: DURGA PUJA 2. $4.2M PROJECT FOR BAHRAIN KRISHNA TEMPLE
3. RAKSHABANDHAN IS FESTIVAL OF HUMANITY – INDRESH KUMAR 4. EXPATS CELEBRATE JANMASHTAMI AT ABU DHABI TEMPLE SITE
5. UAE AND BAHRAIN HONOUR PM MODI WITH THEIR HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARDS 6. GANESH FESTIVAL IN LA COURNEUVE: “IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO PRACTICE OUR RELIGION HERE”
7. KYOTO TEMPLE PUTS FAITH IN ROBOT PRIEST 8. ARUN JAITLEY PASSES AWAY
9. VRIKSHARAKSHABANDHAN 10. CHANDRAYAAN-2 NARROWS GAP FROM MOON
11. SEVIKAS TIE RAKHIS AT ARMY TRAINING CENTER 12. READY FOR SELFLESS SERVICE, IT’S RSS SWAYAMSEVAKS
13. RASHTRAPATI AWARD TO DR.JANARDHAN HEGDE 14. REALIZING BHARATIYATA IN EDUCATION
15. LAGHU UDYOG BHARATI: POISED FOR A TAKE-OFF 16. DEVELOPMENT OF SANSKRIT KEY TO NATION’S ALL-ROUND PROGRESS: DINESH KAMAT
17. HSS GURU VANDANA EVENT AT 68 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE 18. GITA JAYANTI MAHOTSAV IN LONDON
19. CAIRO'S "HINDU PALACE" TO REOPEN IN OCTOBER 20. BHARATIYA AMERICAN TEEN WINS SOUTH ASIAN SPELLING BEE
21. NUMBER OF BHARATIYAS IN UK FOR STUDIES AND WORK UP SHARPLY 22. BHARATIYA AMERICAN KASHMIRI PANDITS CELEBRATE ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370 AT HOUSTON MEET
23. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN Food for Thought
Article:

REUNIFICATION OF INDIA A NECESSITY


1. FESTIVALS: DURGA PUJA , the most popular festival in West Bengal, also celebrated in the states of Assam, Tripura and Odisha; and in Bangladesh and Nepal is held on Saptami, Ashtami, Navami and Dashami of the Ashwin Shukla Paksha, falling on 5-8 October this year. The colorful idols of Maan Durga are installed and Pran Pratishtha is done on Saptami. Nine different types of plants are also worshiped, representing the nine divine forms of the Goddess on Saptami day. On Ashtami, the goddess is worshiped in the form of a young unmarried virgin girl, adorned as Goddess Durga, in a ritual called the Kumari Puja. In the evening, the important Sandhi Puja is performed to worship Goddess Durga in her Chamunda form, which slayed the two accomplices of Mahishasura -- Chanda and Munda -- during her battle to kill the demon. The Puja concludes on Navami with a maha aarti. Goddess Durga is believed to have killed the buffalo demon Mahishasura on this day, and she's worshiped in the form of Mahisasuramardini. Dashami is when Goddess Durga returns to her husband's abode and the idols are taken for immersion. Married women offer red vermillion powder to the Goddess and smear themselves with it.--GoTop

2. $4.2M PROJECT FOR BAHRAIN KRISHNA TEMPLE: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi on August 25 launched the $4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Lord Sri Krishna temple in Manama and said it manifests the strong ties between Bharat and Bahrain. Modi, the first Bharatiya Pradhan Mantri to visit the key Gulf nation, offered prayers at the Shreenathji Temple in Manama, the oldest temple in the region, and also the “prasad” that he bought with the RuPay card after launching it in the UAE on August 24. He also greeted and interacted with the Bharatiya diaspora, who came to witness the event at the temple. The $4.2 million redevelopment project will be on a piece of land measuring 16,500 square feet and the new four-floor structure covering 45,000 square feet will have an overall height of 30 meters. Around 350,000 Bharatiya nationals, mostly from Kerala, live in Bahrain. The Bharatiya community comprise a third of Bahrain's total population of 1.2 million. -GoTop

3. RAKSHABANDHAN IS FESTIVAL OF HUMANITY – INDRESH JI: RSS Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal Sadasya and Patron of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) Indresh Kumar said that Rakshabadhan is the festival celebrated as a festival of humanity. He was speaking at the International Rakshabandhan festival organized by various organizations including MRM, Bharat-Tibet Sahyog Manch, Forum for Awareness of National Security, Himalaya Parivar, Dharma Sanskriti Sangam, etc. in New Delhi on August 13. Leaders of these organizations, religious personalities from Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhists, Sikh, Jain, etc. were present on the occasion. Muslim women in large numbers attended the function and tied Rakhis to Indresh Kumar and other dignitaries. MRM National Convener Mohd Afzal, FANS Organizing Secretary Golok Bihari Rai, office-bearers of BTSM, Himalaya Parivar, and other organisations were present. -GoTop

4. EXPATS CELEBRATE JANMASHTAMI AT ABU DHABI TEMPLE SITE: Thousands of expatriates marked Janmashtami, the annual Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Bhagwan Krishna, with various events across Abu Dhabi. Festivities started at the BAPS Hindu Mandir site and various associations across the capital and Al Ain during the evening hours. The celebrations included singing devotional songs, recitation of holy book Bhagavad Gita, praying together for peace and harmony, dance-drama plays, swinging the cradle of baby Krishna and more. There were close to 4,000 devotees at the BAPS Hindu Mandir site.
Sidhagauranga Dasa, 'yatra' leader of the Abu Dhabi event, said most of the devotees were from Mussafah and Bani Yas. "This is one day when we bring all these devotees from workers' accommodations. ISKCON Abu Dhabi started in 1994 and this is our silver jubilee year." -GoTop

5. UAE AND BAHRAIN HONOUR PM MODI WITH THEIR HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARDS: Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi was honoured with "The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance" in Manama on August 24 as he held talks with King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on various bilateral and regional issues. While receiving the award PM Modi said: "It is an honour for entire Bharat. This is a symbol of the close and friendly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Bharat."Earlier in the day, PM Modi was also honoured with the 'Order of Zayed', the UAE's highest civilian award, as a mark of appreciation for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.  -GoTop

6. GANESH FESTIVAL IN LA COURNEUVE: “IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO PRACTICE OUR RELIGION HERE”: Dressed in traditional dress, several hundred people participated on August 18 in the celebrations of Bhagwan Ganesh. The event was organized for the third time in a row in the municipality. The ceremony was organized by the Sri Sithi Vinayagar temple, in this commune which, after Paris, has the largest Hindu community in France. “The festival of Ganesh has existed since the beginning of time. It’s a tradition and it’s great to be able to organize it in France,” insists Pheepa, a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois who arrived from Sri Lanka in 2010.” -GoTop

7. KYOTO TEMPLE PUTS FAITH IN ROBOT PRIEST: A robotic priest the android Kannon, based on the Buddhist deity of mercy, preaches sermons at Kodaiji temple in Kyoto, and its human colleagues predict that with artificial intelligence it could one day acquire unlimited wisdom.“This robot will never die; it will just keep updating itself and evolving,” said priest Tensho Goto. “That’s the beauty of a robot. It can store knowledge forever and limitlessly.
Developed at a cost of almost $1 million (¥106 million) in a joint project between the Zen temple and renowned robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University, the robot — called Mindar — teaches about compassion and the dangers of desire, anger and ego. “You cling to a sense of selfish ego,” it warns worshippers. “Worldly desires are nothing other than a mind lost at sea.” -GoTop

8. ARUN JAITLEY PASSES AWAY: Senior BJP leader and former finance minister Arun Jaitley passed away on August 24 at AIIMS. He was 66. A lawyer by profession, Arun Jaitley was the Finance Minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet's first term. Arun Jaitley was jailed by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency. He was an ABVP leader at the time. He had written a series of articles on the dark days of Emergency last year.
RSS Sarasanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat Mourns Death Of Arun Jaitley: RSS posted on its twitter handle a joint statement of its Sarasanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat and Sarakaryavah Shri Bhaiyyaji Joshi paying tributes to the former finance minister and BJP stalwart."This talented and learned leadership is no more now. Jaitley had begun his social and political life at a very young age. The country is progressing on the path of development in various fields for which his contribution was necessary as well as important. May his soul rest in peace." -GoTop

9. VRIKSHARAKSHABANDHAN: Lt. Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi on August 17 tied traditional sacred threads to the old big trees in the botanical garden of Puducherry. Vrikshabandhan was done with an intention to sensitize people towards environment protection and promote a sense of brotherhood towards nature. The Botanical Gardens is spread over an area of 22 acres in the center of the city. The garden has 1500 species of plants with placards indicating the species, common name and interesting information like the uses of the tree, amount of oxygen generated and its medicinal value. -GoTop

10. CHANDRAYAAN-2 NARROWS GAP FROM MOON: Lt. Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi on August 17 tied traditional sacred threads to the old big trees in the botanical garden of Puducherry. Vrikshabandhan was done with an intention to sensitize people towards environment protection and promote a sense of brotherhood towards nature. The Botanical Gardens is spread over an area of 22 acres in the center of the city. The garden has 1500 species of plants with placards indicating the species, common name and interesting information like the uses of the tree, amount of oxygen generated and its medicinal value.
Chandrayaan-2 narrowed its distance from the Moon after a manoeuvre on 29th August morning. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said it completed the third orbit action lasting nearly 20 minutes to bring the spacecraft closer to the Moon. It was done from the Mission Operations Complex at ISTRAC in Bengaluru. An update on Day 38 of the launch said, “The third lunar-bound orbit manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was performed successfully. All spacecraft parameters are normal.” -GoTop
 

11. SEVIKAS TIE RAKHIS AT ARMY TRAINING CENTER: Rashtra Sevika Samiti sevikas of Durga shakha in Bengaluru took the opportunity of visiting Rashtriya Army Police Training Center at Bengaluru and tied Rakhi to 200 soldiers as gesture of gratitude for their service to the nation. Brig. Rajkumar gave them sweets and wished the best to all the sevikas. -GoTop

12. READY FOR SELFLESS SERVICE, IT’S RSS SWAYAMSEVAKS: 30 families got stranded and lost their means of commute when one bridge connecting the village and the mainland got washed away in recent floods and Landslides in Nilambur area, Kerala. The Villagers requested RSS – Sewabharati for help to restore the path with a temporary bridge and within no time Swayamsevaks swung into the engineering mission. Within couple of hours time Sewabharati – RSS workers made a usable strong bridge across the stream for the use of Villagers.-GoTop

13. RASHTRAPATI AWARD TO DR.JANARDHAN HEGDE: Dr. Janardan Hegde has been selected for the Rashtrapati Award – 2019. He has been recognized for the selfless service towards propagating Samskrit. Senior scholars who are contributing in the field of Samskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Classical Kannada, Classical Odiya are selected for this award. This award includes Certificate of Honour and 5 lakh rupees. Vidwan Sri Janardan Hegde is the founder and chief editor of Sambhashana Sandesha. He has authored various books related to Samskrit philology and grammar. -GoTop

14. REALIZING BHARATIYATA IN EDUCATION: “Each nation has a different background, different set of values, different scenario and different culture. So, there can’t be one education policy for the entire world. It varies from nation to nation. We need our own education policy because our nation has different perspective and needs. The presence of Bharatiyata in education is a must for complete knowledge and growth of a human being ”, said RSS Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat while addressing a gathering on the topic of ‘Bharatiya Education System and Need for Bharatiyata in Education system’. The discussion was organized by Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) as part of Gyanotsav 2019 at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi on August 18. “Time changes, technology changes, things change but there must be certain things on which we have to remain firm and those are our very basis of being Bharatiya”, he added. Among those who graced the occasion included secretary of SSUN Atul Kothari, convener of SSUN Dina Nath Batra and Vice Chancellor of Patanjali Yogpeeth Acharya Bal Kishan. -GoTop

15. LAGHU UDYOG BHARATI: POISED FOR A TAKE-OFF: “After successfully completing 25 years of fruitful existence, the Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB) is poised for a take-off. You are the trendsetters of tomorrow. Convert your organization into an influential entity with the capacity of transforming the situation in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the country”, RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohanrao Bhagwat, exhorted the delegates during the inaugural session of the Silver Jubilee All India Conference of LUB at Nagpur on August 16. A 1700 strong audience of entrepreneurs drawn from Manipur to Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir to Kanyakumari was listening to him in rapt attention. The LUB also honored the first generation entrepreneurs. Union Surface Transport and MSME Minister and MP from Nagpur Nitin Gadkari also graced the occasion. -GoTop

16. DEVELOPMENT OF SANSKRIT KEY TO NATION’S ALL-ROUND PROGRESS: DINESH KAMAT: Development of Sanskrit language will ensure all-round development of our country, said Dinesh Kamat, All India Organizing Secretary of Sanskrit Bharati in Bhopal on August 19. Speaking as a keynote speaker at the valedictory function of the week-long Sanskrit Saptah Mahotsava organized by Sanskrit Bharati, Kamat said that Sanskrit is protector and conductor of our age old tradition of knowledge and science and its development will ensure the all-round development of our nation. Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur was the chief guest of the program. Dr Krishna Kant Tiwari, Regional Organizing Secretary of Sanskrit Bharati Pramod Pandit, State Organizing Secretary, Neeraj Dixit, Vice President Dr Ashok Bhadoria, RSS Sah PrantSanghchalal Ashok Pandey, Prant Prachar Pramukh Dr Manish Jugran, Om Prakash Shivhare, Shiv Narayan Dwivedi, Pawan Dwivedi and others were present on the occasion.-GoTop

17. HSS GURU VANDANA EVENT AT 68 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, USA (HSS) organized Guru Vandana events in the months of May and June across the nation to honor teachers and their contribution in the society. More than 1700 academicians including teachers, principals, and superintendent a total of over 8000 attendees participated in 68 events held across the nation.-GoTop

18. GITA JAYANTI MAHOTSAV IN LONDON: Haryana Industries and Commerce Minister, Vipul Goel inaugurated the Shobha Yatra brought out in London on conclusion of the three-day International Gita Jayanti Mahotsav on August 11 in which a large number of residents of Bharatiya origin as well as of British origin and dignitaries from many countries around the world participated. Goel said that this is a scripture which would propagate the message of world peace. A large number of people gathered on streets to pay their respect to the holy scripture during the Shobha Yatra. -GoTop

19. CAIRO'S "HINDU PALACE" TO REOPEN IN OCTOBER: Cairo's long awaited landmark "Hindu Palace" or "Baron Palace" will open its doors to welcome the public this October. Its much-needed renovation, which started in August 2017, was reported to cost over US$6 million. According to Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, 90 percent of the refurbishment process has been completed as of now. Inspired by the Hindu temple of Angkor Wat (Cambodia), the mansion is often referred to as the Hindu Palace. It was built by a Belgian millionaire and the founder of Heliopolis Edouard Louis Joseph, or Baron Empain at the end of the 19th century. -GoTop

20. BHARATIYA AMERICAN TEEN WINS SOUTH ASIAN SPELLING BEE: A Bharatiya American teen from Edison, New Jersey, was victorious in the 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee, correctly spelling “flipe” meaning to strip off by or as if by peeling, to earn the national title and $3,000 grand prize, Navneeth Murali bested Hephzibah Sujoe, 13, of Fort Worth, Texas; Pranav Nandakumar, 13, of Austin, Texas; and Vayun Krishna, 12, of Sunnyvale, California, who all tied for the runner-up position, “It fills my heart to see such talented young spellers from across the country who make us proud as a community,” South Asian Spelling Bee founder Rahul Walia said in a statement.-GoTop

21. NUMBER OF BHARATIYAS IN UK FOR STUDIES AND WORK UP SHARPLY: Unperturbed by Brexit and the discontinuation of the two-year post-study work visa, Bharatiya skilled workers, tourists and students are flocking to Britain. The number of Bharatiya students choosing to study in Britain has shot up 42% in the past year (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) and the number of Tier 4 (student) visas issued to Bharatiyas is now at its highest level since 2011-2012 at 21,881, according to the immigration statistics of UK. -GoTop

22.
BHARATIYA AMERICAN KASHMIRI PANDITS CELEBRATE ABROGATION OF ARTICLE 370 AT HOUSTON MEET: Celebrating the abrogation of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora organized a meeting of Bharatiya American community members in Houston, Texas with the head of BJP's Foreign Affairs Department, Vijay Chauthaiwale.All the heads of Kashmiri Pandits community organizations from Bharat and community members from Australia, the UK, Germany, Singapore, Bharat and the U.S. connected with the meeting via teleconference Aug.18.

."The abrogation of Article 370 was a historic moment... It was the result of the strong ideological commitment, will to execute, emotional involvement, strategic implementation and focused techniques to execute the strategy that our visionary Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and his team had shown," he said. Surinder Kaul, international coordinator of GKPD, said: "It was time to celebrate the power and diversity of our great nation." -GoTop

23.
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Shri Vadla Bhagaiah ji sahsarkaryavaha RSS will tour USA and Canada. Visitors: Anand Kumar Pappuri and family;USA.


Food for Thought: There could never be any antagonism, real or imagined, between scientific and religious conviction, in Hinduism. — Swami Vivekanand -GoTop

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REUNIFICATION OF INDIA A NECESSITY

Markandey Katju

For a long time, I have been propagating the idea that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should reunite under a secular government for their mutual good (see the Mission Statement and articles on indianreunificationassociation.co.in). I have long said that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are really one country, with a common culture, and were one for centuries.
Many people have criticised this idea, more so in light of the recent developments in the subcontinent. Many Pakistanis, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, say that recent developments in the region prove that the founder of Pakistan, MA Jinnah, was right in insisting that Muslims get their own homeland otherwise atrocities (e.g. lynching, attacks and incarceration of Muslims for long periods on trumped-up charges) would be committed on them in a united India. So these developments prove that Partition was good for Muslims, and the idea of Indian reunification is only a pipe dream, they point out.
My reply is as follows: Our aim must be to create a highly industrialised country, because only then can we generate the wealth needed for the welfare of our people and give them decent lives. Only a high level of industrialisation can create millions of jobs to wipe out unemployment.
The Partition of India in 1947, and creation of an Islamic state, which was a historical British swindle on the basis of the bogus two-nation theory, was aimed at preventing this growth. If India emerges as another China, then, with its cheap labour, our industries will undercut their rivals from developed countries. Who will buy their costly goods then and won’t their industries shut down? One China has become a headache for the West. Will they permit another?
So the secret understanding among developed countries is that India must not be allowed to emerge as a modern industrial giant like China. To prevent that, Indians must remain divided on the basis of religion, caste, region etc.
All this talk of improving relations between India and Pakistan (such as that touted by the campaign Aman ki Asha) is unrealistic and nonsense. The very purpose of creating Pakistan as an Islamic state was that there shouldn’t be peace but hostility between the two neighbors and Hindus and Muslims. If there are good relations then the very purpose of creating Pakistan will be defeated.
Our common enemy is massive poverty, record unemployment, appalling child malnourishment, farmers in distress, spiralling prices, ignorance, lack of healthcare, unabated corruption, atrocities on minorities, etc We waste our scant and precious resources fighting each other instead of joining hands and fighting against these problems that are our real enemies. To say that Partition was necessary to safeguard Muslims is puerile. First, there are as many Muslims in India as in Pakistan (about 200 million in each). Second, Muslims in Pakistan may be safe from Hindu bigots, but are they safe from Muslim bigots? Are Ahmadis, Shias safe? Are Barelvis safe from Deobandis? They often bomb mosques, dargahs, etc. And are the Muslims there free from the evils of unemployment, price rise, malnourishment, ignorance, lack of healthcare, corruption, etc? It was a stupid idea that creation of Pakistan will keep Muslims safe. In fact Partition has increased the problems of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians there.
So, unless we reunite, we will keep wasting our scant resources fighting each other, and will never become a highly industrialised country, and thus remain poor with many social evils. As mentioned earlier, we are really one nation with a common culture, and were befooled by the British into thinking we are each other’s enemies. But how are we to reunite?
This can only be done peacefully and voluntarily, and will take a long time, maybe 10-20 years. The communal venom which was injected into our body politic by vested interests for over a century, will take a long time to be expelled. During this period, we must patiently explain to the masses the truth that we are really one nation, were one for centuries, and spread the idea of Indian reunification among them.
As Victor Hugo said, “There is one thing more powerful than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” The idea of Indian reunification is one whose time has come though it will no doubt take a long time to achieve.
We will be called daydreamers by many. But when Giuseppe Mazzini spoke of Italian unification, he too was called a daydreamer, though the dream became a reality thanks to the efforts of Count Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi. West and East Germany reunited in 1990 after partition in 1945. North and South Vietnam reunited in 1975 after a partition of over 21 years.
At present, all that needs to be done is to spread the idea of reunification, as is being done by the Indian Reunification Association. Later, when the idea has gripped the imagination and minds of the masses, then people will use their creativity and find ways to make a peaceful reunification a reality.
However, it’s vital that such a reunification is under a liberal leadership, which while ensuring religious freedom does not tolerate religious bigotry from any quarter and crushes it with an iron hand. Such progressive leaders will rapidly ensure industrialization of the nation, provide for the welfare of the people and catapult India into the front ranks of the world community. How and when such a historic transformation will take place, who these leaders would be, is impossible to predict. But it is a necessity. (The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India) — The Pioneer, 21 August 2019. -GoTop


Shri Vishwa Niketan  vishwav@bol.net.in

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