Chaitra Purnima Vik. Samvat 2079, Yugabda 5124 : 1 6 April, 2022:SM 4002 (For Private Circulation only)
1. FESTIVALS: AKSHAYA TRITIYA: Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akti or
Akha Teej is an annual Hindu and Jain spring festival falling on the third tithi
of Shukla Paksha of Vaisakha (May 3 this year) and signifies the "third day of
unending prosperity". In Sanskrit, the word akshaya means "never decreasing".
The day is considered auspicious by Hindus and Jains in many regions of Bharat
for new ventures, marriages, investments such as gold or other property and any
new beginnings.
In Odisha, sowing of rice paddy for the ensuing Kharif season is commenced on Akshay Tritiya in a ritual called Akhi Muthi Anukula. The construction of chariots for the Ratha Yatra festivities of Jagannath Temple also commences on this day at Puri.
Jains who observe Varshi Tapa – year long fasting and ascetic austerities – break their fast on this day by consuming sugarcane juice to commemorate the first Tirthankara Rishabhdev ending his one-year asceticism. Fasting and ascetic austerities are marked by Jains, particularly at pilgrimage sites such as Palitana (Gujarat). -GoTop
2. KASHMIRI PANDITS WILL RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND AS ‘HINDUS
AND BHARAT BHAKT' - DR. BHAGWAT: On April 3, while addressing the Kashmiri
Hindu community via video conference on the last day of the Navreh celebrations,
RSS Sarasanghachalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat expressed hope that the Kashmiri Pandits
who were displaced from their homes in the 1990s after the onset of terrorism,
will soon return to their houses in the Kashmir valley as Hindus and ‘Bharat
Bhakts’.
On the recently released movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ that narrates exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990 in the wake of rising militancy, Dr. Bhagwat said that the film has exposed the tragedy faced by the Pandits. -GoTop
3. RASHTAPATI KOVIND LAUDS BHARATIYA DIASPORA IN
NETHERLANDS: On April 6, while addressing the members of the Bharatiya
community and ‘Friends of India’ at the Bharatiya community reception organised
by the Ambassador of Bharat to the Netherlands Reenat Sandhu in Amsterdam, Rashtrapati
Shri Ram Nath Kovind lauded the achievements of the diaspora which has been
taking small steps towards formulating the policies of their respective
countries and playing a role in changing the geo-politics of the region.
4. ABVP IS TORCH-BEARER OF NATIONALISM – DATTATREYA HOSABALE:
On April 15, speaking at the release of a compendium of two books recording
the 75-year history of the students’ organization Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi
Parishad (ABVP), RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale described ABVP as the
“torchbearer of nationalism”.
5. INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON REWRITING BHARATIYA HISTORY:
On March 29, an international seminar was organised by the Department of
Sanskrit, University of Delhi in association with Indian Council of Social
Science Research (ICSSR), on the theme of ‘Rewriting Bharatiya History’ in the
light of latest findings in archaeology. Addressing the gathering, RSS
Sahsarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal said that colonial historians and Marxists have
inculcated a kind of disdain for our culture and traditions among our people.
Shri J Nandakumar, National Convener of Pragya Pravah, said that during the colonial period, the story of our country was distorted so that we consider it as an inferior country. That’s why we need to rewrite our history. Prof Chandkiran Saluja - Director, Sanskrit Promotion Foundation and Prof B A Mani – ex-DG, National Museum and other dignitaries also spoke at the event. -GoTop
6. FOURTH CHITRA BHARATI FILM FESTIVAL-2022: Bharatiya
Chitra Sadhna promotes making and screening of films glorifying our ancient
knowledge system, values and ethos. It conducted a three-day 'Chitra Bharti Film
Festival-2022 (CBFF-2022) in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) from March 25-27. The
themes for CBFF 2022 were – Bharatiya Independence Struggle, 75 Years of
Independent Bharat, Unlockdown, Vocal for Local, Happy Village, Prosperous
Country, Bharatiya Culture & Values, Innovation – Creative Work, Family,
Environment & Energy, Education & Skill Development.
The festival ended with the prize distribution ceremony at Ravindra Convention Centre on March 27. Union MoS, information and broadcasting, Shri Loganathan Murugan was the chief guest during the ocassion. In his address he said that Bharat is moving ahead by connecting with its cultural roots.
Prizes were given in five different categories - short films, documentary, animation, non-professional and campus-professional. The biggest prizes were given to Kabir Shah and Deepika Kothari, producers of short film 'Chhoti Si Baat' and documentary film 'Bharat - Prakriti Ka Balak' respectively. -GoTop
7. HSS ACTIVITIES: To commemorate International Women’s
Day, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh HSS Dallas West Vibhag hosted "Connect Across
Diversity" event on March 26. 19 people including 7 samaaj shreni guests
attended the two-hour event. The guests shared information about their
organisations and HSS was introduced to them. There was an informal talk and
sharing of views on a few chosen topics relevant to women and society in
general. Some engaging sitting games were played followed by dance on Bharatiya
folk music with all attendees participating in it.
HSS Vivekananda Shakha hosted the exhibition in Wilton Comstock community center and Stamford Fergusson library in Connecticut on April 7. The exhibition opened with a traditional Hindu lighting of the oil lamp by Mr. Kevin - the superintendent of Wilton Schools. State senator Bob Duff, Interfaith group members, Wilton Firefighters and the Wilton Police department also visited the exhibition.
On April 10, Dr. Penny Eucker and LynAnn Kovalesky – directors at STEM school and Mrs. Amie McElroy – Dean of Students joined Mayor of Aurora City Mike Kaufman at the "Darshana” exhibition organized by HSS Colarado at STEM School Highlands Ranch.
HSS Varsha Pratipada events: On the occasion of Varsha Pratipada, HSS USA Veer Savarkar Shakha in Oak Park made snacks and distributed to those who had ordered. The funds generated were donated to Sewa International towards the relief effort in Ukraine. Mahilas came together to prepare the snacks and it was distributed on April 9. 17 Mahilas and 3 Purush participated in the effort.
On April 3rd, over 300 people joined Hindu YUVA UIUC to celebrate Hindu New Year. Multiple cultural tables at the event included a Sari & Dhoti dressing table, a Mehndi table, a Rangoli table and a food table. Darshana Exhibition was also displayed at the event. The University police also stopped by to look at the exhibition and engage in the celebrations.
8. HINDU SWAYAMSEVAK SANGH UK ACTIVITIES: On April 8, HSS Bharti Shakha,
Newbury, UK was invited to take part in the Interfaith Week celebrations at St
Barts Secondary School. Swayamsevaks and Sevikas decorated a corridor on the
weekend with posters on Hindu Dharma and also delivered a talk on “What it
means to be a Hindu?” in a year 8 assembly which was attended by over 150
students.
9. SEWA INTERNATIONAL – UKRAINE SEWA: Sewa Europe is
continuing its humanitarian efforts for the refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Along with its partner organisations, Sewa Europe is providing short-term and
long-term accommodation, food, assisting in hospital visits and onward journey
to safer places in Europe. It is also providing assistance with food
distribution in Ukraine.
Volunteers have been welcoming hundreds of families who fled Ukraine to Poland. These families are from some of the most impacted areas like Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kiev and a few from Lviv. These families arrived hungry, traumatised, after often risk-filled long journeys from the Eastern part of Ukraine. Volunteers arranged for hot meals and found them places in Poland to rest, including rented temporary accommodation. Volunteers have also arranged transit for some of these families to Dresden, refugee centre in Neuruppin (Germany), Spain, and resettlement with families they arranged for in Ireland, Sweden and Cyprus. -GoTop
10. SEWA BHARATI SERVED 20000 PEOPLE IN NORTHEAST THROUGH
DHANVANTARI MEDICAL SERVICE: Sewa Bharati has served more than 20 thousand
patients in North East through its ‘Dhanvantari’ medical service yatra from
March 27 to April 1 this year.
11. BHARAT’S HELPING HANDS: Rice to Afghanistan: In
response to the appeals made by the United Nations for humanitarian assistance
to Afghanistan, Bharat decided to gift 50,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) of wheat to the
people of Afghanistan. The second `In-kind Contribution Agreement’ between the
Government of Bharat and WFP for the donation of the next batch of 10,000 MTs of
wheat was signed by Joint Secretary (UNES) Shri Srinivas Gotru and WFP Country
Director Bishow Parajuli. The first installment of 10,000 MTs of wheat has been
successfully delivered to Afghanistan and delivery of the next batch of 10,000
MTs of wheat is in the process.
PM Modi, Nepal PM Deuba flag off Bharat-Nepal rail link, launch Nepalese RuPay:
On April 2, Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi and his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur
Deuba flagged off the 35-km long cross-border railway link connecting Jaynagar
in Bihar with Kurtha in Nepal. According to a Kathmandu Post report, the
Jaynagar–Kurtha cross-border railway link will be the first modern railway
service in Nepal.
Assistance to Sri Lanka: Bharat agreed to provide $1 billion credit line to help ease crippling shortages of essential items, including fuel, food and medicine in Sri Lanka. Bharatiya traders have started loading 40,000 tonnes of rice for prompt shipment to Sri Lanka. The rice shipments could help Colombo bring down rice prices, which have doubled in a year. The 40,000-tonne shipment is part of 300,000 tonnes that Bharat will supply to Sri Lanka in the next few months. A consignment of 40,000 metric tonnes of diesel from Bharat reached Sri Lanka on April 2, the fourth such assistance from New Delhi. Officials of the state fuel entity, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), said that the Bharatiya diesel supplies would ease the ongoing power cuts.
Bharat is planning to provide wheat and rice as gifts to Yemen, Ethiopia, Syria and Afghanistan, from its overflowing granaries through the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). According to the officials, the WFP had sought from Bharat an initial supply of two lakh metric tonne of foodgrains as an immediate requirement to provide to the vulnerable population in needy countries.-GoTop
12. BHARATIYAS IN OMAN: '75 DAYS, 75 YOGA EVENTS': On
April 8, Bharatiya Embassy in association with Yoga organisations in Oman
launched a unique Muscat Yog Mahotsav - a festival of peace, health & wellbeing
as a run-up to the 8th International Day of Yoga. As Bharat celebrates 75
glorious years of independence as AmritMahotsav, the Muscat Yog Mahotsav will
feature over 75 curated Yoga events all across Oman in the coming 75 days till
June 21.
13. GANESH TEMPLE STREET IN NEW YORK: On April 6, New
York's Bowne Street has been named Ganesh Temple Street in the honour of Sri
Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam, popularly known as the Ganesh Temple.
14. AFSPA REDUCED IN NAGALAND, ASSAM, MANIPUR: In a
major step toward peace and improved governance in the north-eastern states of
Bharat, the government of Bharat on March 31 said that areas under the Armed
Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the north-eastern states of Nagaland,
Assam, and Manipur will be reduced. In a tweet, Home Minister Amit Shah said
that the reduction in areas under AFSPA is due to the improved security
situation and “fast-tracked development" to end insurgency and bring peace in
the region of the northeast. He added that the north-eastern region, which was
neglected for decades, is now witnessing a new era of peace, prosperity, and
unprecedented development. -GoTop
15. RSS FIRMLY BELIEVES IN THE PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE OF
HUMAN BEINGS - KOBBI SHOSHANI: In an interview, Counsul General of Israel
Kobbi Soshani touched upon various aspects of Bharat-Israel relations.
In the interview, he said that there is a lot of synergy between the two countries. He said that Israel supports the “Make in India” initiative and technology transfer is taking place in defence sector and cyber security. He stressed that both countries are very old civilizations and there is a lot of similarity in culture.
When questioned about his presence in the RSS Vijayadashami Utsav, he said that during his previous visits to Bharat, he had heard a lot about the RSS work and had visited a few projects run by RSS functionaries. He was hugely impressed and wanted to get an insight into the organisation; hence decided to attend the function in Nagpur. He said that he has gathered an impression that the RSS is a nationalist organisation and is involved in the work of nation-building. He added that RSS is not against any other religion and firmly believes in the peaceful coexistence of human beings. -GoTop
16. AFTER 32 YEARS, KASHMIRI PANDITS CELEBRATE ‘NAVREH’ BY
DAL LAKE: For the first time after 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits celebrated the
‘Navreh’ (New Year) festival on April 1 along the banks of the Dal Lake. Before
their exodus, local Pandits used to celebrate the beginning of the new year at
Mata Sharika Devi temple situated on a hillock called the ‘Hari Parbat’ in the
middle of the old city of Srinagar.
17. FORMER IIT KANPUR STUDENT DONATED RS 100 CRORE TO HIS
INSTITUTE: Rakesh Gangwal, the co-founder of IndiGo airline and a
billionaire businessman, has donated Rs 100 crore to IIT-Kanpur. This money has
been given to help in the development of the School of Medical Sciences and
Technology and to build a 500-bed super-speciality hospital on the campus.
Rakesh Gangwal hails from Kolkata and studied mechanical engineering at IIT
Kanpur in 1975. In 1980, he joined the airline industry and later became the
co-founder of Indigo Airlines. -GoTop
18. UPI TRANSACTIONS TOUCH $ 1 TRILLION: The Unified
Payments Interface or UPI, developed indigenously by Bharat, has breached the
$1-trillion mark in transaction values for the financial year 2021-22. It is a
major milestone for the payments system which has witnessed substantial growth
over the past two years and led to further digital adoption for payments and
financial services.
19. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Pravas: Visitors: Darshan Soni
- USA, Abhinandan and Anshuman - Botswana, Syon Niyogi - Sri Lanka.
-GoTop
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Don’t be proud if you gain. Nor be sorry if you lose. -
Bhagwan Mahavir -GoTop
JAI SHRI RAM
---
SURVIVING COLLEGE AS A HINDU
-Marut Yelagalawadi
How peer
discussions strengthened and made me a calm defender of my faith
By the beginning of the fall, 2022, semester, approximately 20 million high
school graduates will be taking classes at US institutes of higher learning. A
small but significant portion of these freshmen university students will
identify as Hindus. However, since the turn of the 20th century, many of these
state and private universities abandoned religious aspects of education and
became more secularized, continuing the trend of secularization throughout
American society and the Western world at large. As these young men and women
begin their academic journey, it is clear that some will face a dilemma:
maintaining their identity and being outcasts, or denouncing their identities to
fit in.
I am one of these students who has faced such a dilemma, between fitting in with
the university social environment and being a practicing Hindu, and I have found
that such a dilemma need not be faced. If anything, practicing my Hindu heritage
and its core tenets—such as the belief in pursuing knowledge—has helped me
become a far more studious and hardworking individual in my college years. It
has helped me maintain my philosophical beliefs while befriending students of
different religious backgrounds. With American society being secular and
friendly to people of all religious backgrounds (and even to those with no
religious backgrounds), I have connected with American Hindus and engaged in
interfaith dialogue.
It could have been my enthusiasm was off-putting, or that the online Zoom setting depressed the reciprocation of my enthusiasm. Perhaps it was the subject matter I broached. While I gave my peers the benefit of the doubt, the event made me think of similar discussions and made me realize that Hinduism may not be understood or appreciated as much as it ought to be.
Outside of class, I have often spoken with many friends about Hinduism and related concepts. Two common trends stand out to me. The first is that many non-Hindu college students do not seem to know anything about Hinduism, or are accustomed to accept what they learn through social media.
For instance, in one discussion during a project on the relationship between religion and politics in a political theory class, a peer asked if Hinduism “has anything to do with yoga and meditation.” Later, he asked if simply sitting down cross-legged and chanting “Om” three times makes someone a Hindu. During a discussion in philosophy class, the lecturer pointed out the “polytheistic elements in Hinduism” that separate it from the monotheistic, Semitic religions. Rather than becoming disturbed, I simply chalked up these instances to misinformation or half-truths that lead to ignorance toward Hinduism. I have always found it enjoyable to discuss my faith and heritage with those who wish to understand it. If anything, these fruitful discussions have taught me more about my own faith, as complex and unique as it is.
The second trend is about irrational, unfounded bigotry as much as it is about misunderstanding—and this goes beyond one’s college years. As the secularization of institutions ramps up in the Western world in the 21st century, it seems that some antitheistic individuals use university platforms to stoke fear and hate against those of religious backgrounds, which has in recent years included American Hindus. Despite Hinduism’s being a worldwide faith shared by people of different ethnicities and nationalities, it is often conflated with the Republic of India and the current geopolitical situation in the Indian subcontinent. The terms Hindutva and Hindu nationalism are being thrown around in American universities, despite their having nothing to do with religions or politics in America. I distinctly recall one person characterizing Hindus as Nazis because of our use of the swastika—a symbol meant for peace that was and is unjustly used by truly deplorable white supremacist organizations.
It has become increasingly exhausting explaining to some non-Hindu peers that simply because I am a Hindu does not mean I have ties with India or the geopolitical situation in the Indian subcontinent, especially as it refers to complicated issues such as the Kashmir conflict. Explaining to these individuals that I am an American Hindu, born and brought up in the United States, falls on deaf ears. Unfortunately, it has become difficult for me to even try to change their view. But alas, it is something I will continue to do.
As when facing all forms of bigotry, it is important to continuously defend your heritage, but without engaging in altercation, to speak softly but be strong about your convictions. While I have not changed the minds of those who are against me based on my heritage, my words have been heard. Engaging in sincere discussion about Hindu heritage, I believe, helps ensure that fewer people become Hinduphobic and more people better understand what it means to be Hindu.
Anti-Hindu sentiment is not foreign to American universities or the United States at large, nor is it foreign anywhere else. Wherever there is ignorance, a culture of fear evolves into a culture of hate.
It is up to us American Hindus to not engage in more conflict, but to engage in valuable dialogue with those who do not understand Sanatana Dharma. It is important to shed light where there is darkness, and participate in meaningful discussions so that such ignorance is removed.
About the Author
Marut Yelagalawadi is an American Hindu residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. While involved in various Hindu cultural organizations, he is currently completing his undergraduate degree in Political Science.
E-mail: marutyelagalawadi@gmail.com. Hinduism Today, 2 April 2022
(https://www.hinduismtoday.com/ ) -GoTop
SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN samvadnewsletter@gmail.com http://shrivishwaniketan.
