\SAMVAD श्री विश्व निकेतन SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN
Bhadrapad Shukla 2, Vik. Samvat 2076 Yugabda 5121: 1 September 2019
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
---
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
