Grammy Awards for Kirtans?

Hindus have called for the introduction of "kirtan" as a new field of awards at the famed Grammys to be held at the Los Angeles' Staples Center on January 31 next year. Last Grammys were awarded in 110 music categories, covering 32 fields, including Pop, Rock, Rap, Country, New Age, Gospel, Jazz, Folk, World Music, Latin, Reggae, Blues, etc., for outstanding achievements.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that outside India, kirtan was attracting large audiences in the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, and many other countries of the world, resulting in various new albums and creation of the star kirtan artists.

Rajan Zed points out that Kirtan is rapidly and continually growing in the West and becoming a vogue and bringing increasing number of Americans to its events. According to Kirtan participants, the powerful healing and transformational energies of these ancient chants in a living room style music experience help calming and focusing the mind, uplift, provide a soothing melody, inspire, bring peace and connectedness, etc. Its sacred and spiritual experience takes one to the state of deep meditation. Moreover, Kirtan is highly accessible and does not require training.

Kirtan (also referred to as call-and-response chanting session, ecstatic chanting, participatory music experience, devotional singing, sacred chant) is one of the oldest sacred music genres of the world, which originated in India many centuries ago. Mostly a Sanskrit chant with audience usually clapping and swaying and repeating the words after the singer with some dancing, its lyrics are usually something like "Om Nama Shivaya", "Jai Govinda Jai Gopala", "Shri Ram Jai Ram", "Om Shanti Om", etc.

Kirtan has produced lot of star performers in USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Australia, etc., like Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, David Newman, Wah!, Shantala, Dave Stringer, Sean Johnson, Shyamdas, Snatam Kaur, etc., and has reached the mainstream venues.

With ticket/donation rates usually less than $25, Kirtan is a blessing in these difficult economic times as it offers means to connect to the heart, to the divinity that lies within, Rajan Zed adds.

Source: Newsblaze

Evangelists want to "save" Obama's Grandma From Eternal Damnation!

NAIROBI, KENYA: A row is simmering between Christians and Muslims in Kenya over reported attempts to convert President Obama’s grandmother, Sarah Obama, to Christianity.”We had invited her to grace our meeting in Kisumu,” Lewis Ondiek, an official with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kenya, told Ecumenical News International. “Mama Sarah had assured us that she was converting, and we were ready to baptize her today,” Seventh-day Adventist Pastor Tom Obuya claimed.

Some family members stopped Sarah Obama from attending the service, which was led by an Australian evangelist, John Jeremic. Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, said “Mama Sarah should not be forced by anybody to join Christianity since she is a Muslim. Conversion must take place in a voluntary manner.” He said, “Muslims will not sit and watch one of their own being coerced by some religious leaders to convert to Christianity.”

The 87-year-old Obama captured the media spotlight in the remote, mainly Christian village of Kogelo, in western Kenya, soon after Barack Obama was elected president in November. She is widely sought after to preside over occasions because of her new status.

Source: RNS

"O Goddess Earth, Please Forgive Us As We Walk On You This Day"

Twentieth annual Nevada Earth Day Celebration opened with prayers from ancient Hindu Sanskrit scriptures on a biofuel-powered stage in Idlewild Park in Reno (Nevada, USA) on April 20, 2009.

Starting with Shanti Mantra in Sanskrit, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed read “Prithvi Sukta” (hymn to earth) from Atharva-Veda, invoking the Goddess Earth, after sprinkling holy water of river Ganga from India around the stage.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, also prayed from another ancient scripture Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), where Lord Krishna is quoted as saying, “The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, the brightness of the moon and of fire—these are my glory. With a drop of my energy I enter the earth and support all creatures. Through the moon, the vessel of life-giving fluid, I nourish all plants.”

We may believe in different religions, yet we share the same home—our Earth. We must learn to happily progress or miserably perish together. For man can live individually but can only survive collectively, Rajan Zed said quoting ancient Hindu scriptures. O Goddess Earth, please forgive us as we walk on you this day, Zed added.

According to Travis Owen Souza, one of the Directors of Nevada Econet, which organized this Celebration, the Earth Day participants, many of them came as families, took a very positive message home. Nevada Econet supported informed action on the important environmental issues impacting the region and quality of life.

Nevada, strewn with limitless tracts of desert and more mountain ranges than any other state, is the largest gold producing state in the nation and second in the world behind South Africa.

Source: http://www.webnewswire.com/node/451593

Bali celebrates Nyepi, a Hindu Festival

Isn’t it extraordinary that the country with the largest Hindu population is unaware of the most remarkable holiday in Hinduism? The largest
Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, declares a national holiday each year — this year, on March 26 — to mark Hindu-majority Bali’s day of silence, Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru. This beautiful concept has been absorbed into the syncretic Muslim-Hindu culture of that unique nation.

We Indians are not averse to holidays, so we must be averse to silence. Since Hinduism went from India to Indonesia, the concept of Nyepi travelled the same route. Silence has been mislaid in the land of its origin.

The father of modern India, who could never resist the temptation of turning a virtue into a discipline, gave his voice a day off every week. Mahatma Gandhi would keep maun every Monday. If he had a meeting he could not avoid, say with a toff like a Viceroy, on a Monday, he would write down his answers on chits of paper and pass them on.

Source: Times of India

"Hinduism stands not to get influenced, but to influence”

The following is a first hand report of the Dharma Sabha by a Temple Project volunteer. Happy Reading!

Hindu Janajagruthi Samithi (HJS) organized a Dharma Sabha on 19th April, 2009 at the D.G. Vaishnav College, Chennai. The auditorium had an electrifying atmosphere with 400 Hindus gracing the occasion.

There was a grand reception, each one was invited by a traditional “Namaste” (becoming rare to hear these nowadays!). Tilak was applied to all (arousing the valiant Hindu spirit within each one),and rose water was sprinkled. Stalls were put up informing people about Hindu culture and spirituality. The meeting started off by the scintillating Veda Parayanam by the Chidambaram Dheekshithars, and soon the entire hall was sanctified.





V Sundaram began his talk by cautioning the Hindus against the forces of global Islam, Christianity, Marxism and the (more dangerous) anti-Hindu pseudo secularism by few political parties. The editor of News Today, expressed his dismay at the alarming rate in which the temples are being destroyed, with the government remaining a mute spectator. He said “A few countries like France, Italy had proudly declared their religion. In the US, before taking a vow, they commence their speech by mentioning ‘I promise on Jesus’, but why do we hesitate?” He concluded by urging every Hindu to feel proud of his religion and establish a Hindu nation.





Uma Ravichandran of HJS pointed out a few achievements of the organization like banning the entry of the film “Love Guru”in India,which demeaned the guru-shishya tradition, etc. She also said that around 8 lakh Hindus were being converted every year. The HJS member voiced “The plight of the children who were made to read the distorted version on Indian History (Ramakrishna Paramahamsa called a lunatic, Bhagat Singh called a terrorist, etc) has to be taken note.” She questioned why no monetary allocation was made for the Hindus and Sikhs after the Anti-Sikh riots and 1993 blasts when the minorities were given 330 crores.

Maharaj Anand Chaitanya Swamiji, a disciple of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, conveyed that if we wanted to protect our samskruti then we have to adhere to Dharma. The Swamiji,asked the crowd if they could make their sons and daughters feel proud of being a Hindu? Swamiji also pointed out that we are fed with biased news from most media houses (which have some vested interest) and asked “In the globalization era, instead of getting influenced, why cannot we influence others? This Hinduism stands not to get influenced,but to influence others.” These talks were laced with the invigorating cries of Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai, etc from the audience.

The last speaker of the day was Jagadguru Shri Jayendra Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, who began his address with a bang saying “ Only when there is birth, there will be death. As far as Hinduism is concerned, it is primordial (eternally present, without any beginning) and thus it has no death. We have to understand that Dharma always reigns supreme, whether we follow it or not.” The Acharya also said that according to the Tamil Tradition, we address a gathering of people as Sagodhara Sagodharigalle (brothers and sisters), treating each and everyone as our own family member unlike a few who address the people as ‘Paavigalle’ (Sinners).

The Acharya further requested all such organizations to unite as one and work together for Hindu Dharma.

A few resolutions passed by the HJS were:

1) Raise voice against the government for framing Sadhus.
2) Condemn TV channels and newspaper for calling Hindus as terrorists.
3) Execution of death sentence of Afzal guru.
4) Cancellation of funds for the Haj Pilgrims
5) Allocation of permanent place of stay for 5 lakh Kashmiri Hindus.
6) M F Hussain (famous for nude paintings! He painted Bharat Mata and other Hindu Gods and Godesses nude) should be brought back to India, and must be awarded punishment.
7) Protest against conversion.
8) Dheekshithars should have a control over the temple.
9) 10 Rs coin having cross symbol should be withdrawn.

‘Jaya Jaya Shankara Hara Hara Shankara’ was loudly chanted after passing each resolution.

The meeting seemed to be an eye opener for the common Hindu who is usually in his sleeping state (or Tamasic) urging him to bring out the Kshatriya in him. The call of Vivekananda to “Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached” is very much relevant to the Hindu society today.

Southeast Asia and its Hindu Footprints

New Delhi (IANS): He has done a documentary on the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism from India to southeast Asia. Now filmmaker S. Krishnaswamy plans to come out with the second part of Indian Imprints in 2010.

Hundreds of ancient monuments and temples reflecting the impact of ancient India on southeast Asia are presented in the 18-episode documentary serial. It has been filmed in over 100 locations in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

"We are planning to come out with a second part of the documentary by 2010 that will include more countries including Myanmar," Krishnaswamy told IANS.

"Thirty years ago when I made Indus Valley To Indira Gandhi, I came across facts that stressed upon India's not so well-explored bond with southeast Asia. Indus Valley... didn't have the scope to include those facts, since it was already four hours long. So, I decided to make a different film to go deep into the subject.

"I spoke to a lot of historians. But when we decided to go ahead with this film there was political turmoil in Cambodia. Without Cambodia we thought our documentary will be lacking an essential point, so we waited. Once things smoothed in the country, we took up the topic again," he added.

Krishnaswamy also revealed that one of the many things he got to know after his research was that Hinduism and Buddhism spread in various Asian countries as mutually infused religions.

"Hinduism and Buddhism were exported not as two different religions but as mutually infused in each other, while in a certain region one might be more prominent than the other. In Cambodia, there were periods when people were followers of Shiva and in other periods there were followers of Vishnu. Likewise, there were also followers of Buddha," said the filmmaker.

But why did the documentary include only five countries?

"While India has a relationship with almost all countries in Asia, the maximum impact was noticed in southeast. Also, we had to stop somewhere to lend focus. Thus, we decided to shortlist and zero in on these five countries."

Krishnaswamy has made Indian Imprints under his banner of Krishnaswamy Associates, Chennai. It was funded by state broadcaster Prasar Bharati. The filmmaker was recently given the Padma Shri award.

Apart from that Krishnaswamy has been honoured with national awards four times; he has also received the Watumull Foundation award in Hawaii and the lifetime achievement award at the US International Film and Video Festival, Los Angeles.

Indian Imprints, currently being telecast on Doordarshan's international channel DD India and DD Bharati, was completed in 2007.

Source: The Hindu

BJP's appeal to all Dharma Gurus for support

In addition to freeing temples from the control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Trust (HR&CE), The BJP has now promised to take the advice of Dharma Gurus. Following is a report.

New Delhi: Shri. Lal Krushna Advani, BJP's candidate for the post of Prime Minister has promised that a committee would be formed to solve problems faced by the country and advice of Dharmagurus and spiritual Gurus would be sought in this connection.

He has, however, tried to strike a balance by stating that there would be establishment of 'Rama-rajya' as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi following the path of secularism.

Advani has written a letter to about 1000 Dharmagurus and spiritual organizations for obtaining support. He has also promised to make efforts towards spread of Hinduism all over the world.

BJP has come out with an independent election manifesto, after 11 years, different from that of National Democratic Front (NDF) to show its spirit of strong Hinduism. He has said that on behalf of the party, special promise is being given to religious organizations.

Advani has stated further that the country has always remained on right path owing to its righteous base and advice given by 'Dharma-Gurus' and 'Spiritual Gurus' in the time of need. Now also there is need for advice from spiritual Guru as there is depression everywhere in the present time of recession. United Progressive Front (UPA) has created an atmosphere of atheism during its regime but NDA, if elected, will bring together religious organizations of all faiths to spread nationalism and spirituality, says the letter. It has been assured that there would not be repetition of issue created due to withdrawal of the land donated for Amarnath pilgrims. Further, priority will be given to the protection of 'Ram-setu', purification of water of rivers including River Ganges.

The ban on cow-slaughter will be strictly implemented. Without referring to Missionary Organizations, it has been mentioned in the letter that there would be strict watch on the financial aid received from outside India by religious institutions. There would be stringent rules to prevent conversions using this aid.

Source:Dainik Sanatan Prabhat

NGO's, Teesta Faked Gujarat Riots

Following is a report which appeared in the Times Of India. Obviously this is a fitting reply to the electronic media which has made Modi-bashing its "Swadharma". Hail the "secular media".

NEW DELHI: The Special Investigation Team responsible for the arrests of those accused in Gujarat riots has severely censured NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the riot victims.

In a significant development, the SIT led by former CBI director R K Raghavan told the Supreme Court on Monday that the celebrated rights activist cooked up macabre tales of wanton killings.

Many incidents of killings and violence were cooked up, false charges were levelled against then police chief P C Pandey and false witnesses were tutored to give evidence about imaginary incidents, the SIT said in a report submitted before a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam.

The SIT said it had been alleged in the Gulbarg Society case that Pandey, instead of taking measures to protect people facing the wrath of rioteers, was helping the mob. The truth was that he was helping with hospitalisation of riot victims and making arrangements for police bandobast, Gujarat counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, said quoting from the SIT report.

Rohtagi also said that 22 witnesses, who had submitted identical affidavits before various courts relating to riot incidents, were questioned by the SIT which found that they had been tutored and handed over the affidavits by Setalvad and that they had not actually witnessed the riot incidents.

Rohtagi said: "On a reading of the report, it is clear that horrendous allegations made by the NGOs were false. Stereotyped affidavits were supplied by a social activist and the allegations made in them were found untrue."

Obviously happy with the fresh findings of the SIT which was responsible for the recent arrests of former Gujarat minister Maya Kodanani and VHP leader Jaideep Patel, Rohtagi tried to spruce up the image of the Modi administration, which was castigated in the Best Bakery case by the apex court as "modern day Neros". He was swiftly told by the Bench that but for the SIT, many more accused, who are freshly added, would not have been brought to book.

The SIT also found no truth in the following incidents widely publicised by the NGOs:

* A pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu was gangraped by a mob, who then gouged out the foetus with sharp weapons

* Dumping of dead bodies into a well by rioteers at Naroda Patiya

* Police botching up investigation into the killing of British nationals, who were on a visit to Gujarat and unfortunately got caught in the riots

Source: TOI

Rulers Propose, People dispose

This article though appeared a year ago is still worth reading. Team Temple Project wishes all its readers and followers (!!!) a Happy and Prosperous New Year... Let us all strive to to achieve a culturally awakened country this this year. Happy reading.

In political theory, the definition of democracy is : By the people, for the people and of the people. A satirical description of democracy that is often doing rounds is ‘bye the people, far the people and off the people.’

This description of democracy was at display when the Tamilians across the world pooh-poohed the much-boasted Tamilnadu Government Order reducing the Tamil New year’s Day, to the nominal Chithirai Thirunaal. But the celebrations that were on view last Sunday proved beyond doubt that the government’s move to change the Tamil New Year was off the minds of the people, far from the hearts of the people and bidding bye to the scientific tradition followed for centuries will take a lot of doing.

The Tamil New Year (unofficial) this year was similar if not grander than those in the previous years. The major difference being the use of Chithirai Thirunaal in most television and radio programmes instead of Puthandu.

‘Chithirai Thirunaal may be inferred as an important day in Chithirai. What importance does Chithirai hold without it being the first month?’ asks a visibly agitated Tamizhvanan, a school teacher. The TV channels seem partial to Chithirai else why celebrate only Chithirai Thirunaal and not Panguni Thirunaal or Avani thirunaal. Most of the Tamil magazines and dailies published ‘Fortunes’ in tune with the Sarvadhari Tamil New Year that began on Chithirai 1st day.

The corporate world in fact heralded the new year celebrations this year. A popular GSM provider had provided full TT (for those who are new to the mobile lingo TT means Talk Time) and also had advertisement stating ‘Tamil New Year! New happiness and luck coming your way. SMS to ....’. The happiness and luck were quite cheap, priced at Rs 3 per sms. If it was Rs 3 in the previous case, it was Rs 300 at a popular star hotel at T Nagar for happiness through a traditional New Year lunch.

The retail market players had their own slew of offers. A popular shopping mart had announced 50 per cent off for the occasion. Even those selling tiles to textiles and calculators to computers had a discount to offer. If discounts were the trademark for a New Year celebration in some sectors, a hike in others proved the same. The prices of vegetables, fruits and flowers had shot up (forget the inflation, we have got used to it) on the eve itself.

Marimuthu, a vegetable seller says ‘it is the usual scenario of prices rising before every festival being celebrated. It is nothing new’. Coming to temples, many of the famous ones had special poojas and other rituals. The devotees flocking temples from early morning sent a crystal clear message. Muthuvel, a devotee says ‘the New Year is based on scientific facts propounded by our rishis to whom neither the past nor the future hold any secrets. But to our rationalists the past is a mystery and their future itself murky’.

People from all walks of life celebrated the New Year. Prior to the occasion, when asked about the celebration plans, a popular cricketer of yesteryear said that a prayer in the house and going to the temples just like any other New Year.

If all this was the scenario in the Dravida Nadu, it would be worth knowing the status of the Tamil New Year celebrated by our brethren at Sri Lanka for whom most of our politicos have been vociferously campaigning. The Tamil New Year was celebrated with great pomp and fanfare there with special rituals and all the other attendant events. In Singapore, the government’s Hindu Endowment Board played host to the celebrations. Similar was the case in America, Australia, England and Malaysia.

The Canadian Prime Minister had greeted all Tamils in Canada on the occasion. So what ? Our leaders will greet us happily for the English New Year, which they even dare not touch. For us, Anglo-Saxon is Tamilian and the so called Aryan is alien.

Anyway, Tamilnadu is sure to enter into the Guinness Books of World Records for having two Tamil new years, every year ! One for the people (in Chithirai), the other for the Government (in Thai) and of course, both for the advertisement-savvy channels including those owned by the rulers. Three cheers, Tamilians!

Source: Newstoday

Hindu Flags to decorate Chennai on 19th April

Dear Proud Hindus,

Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, an organization started by likeminded Hindus is dedicated to the cause of Protecting the Nation and Dharma is organising the First Dharma Jagruti Sabha in Tamil Nadu at Chennai city on 19th April 2009, 5.30 P.M., at D.G. Vaishnav College, Poonamallee High Road, Arumbakkam, Chennai. The speakers on the occasion include Maharaj Ananda Chaitanya , disciple of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Shri S Gurumurthy from Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Shri V Sundaram, Editor Newstoday, Smt. Sailaja Vittaldev, Sanathan Sanstha and Smt. Uma Ravi chandran, Hindu Janajagruti Samithi.

Objectives of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti include -
1. To create awareness about Hindu issues,
2. To Educate about Hindu Dharma,
3. To unite Hindus globally,
4. To protect the Nation.

With the above objectives Hindu Janjagruti Samiti does many activities like Nationwide campaign against Denigration of deities, M.F.Hussain campaign, Save Temples campaign, Hang terrorist Afzal Guru campaign. The major activity of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti includes organizing Dharma Jagruti Sabhas all over India. Hindu Janjagruti Samiti has organized 116 Dharma Jagruti Sabhas till now in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. After receiving a tremendous response in these states, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti has now organized a Sabha at Chennai.

This Dharma Jagruti Sabha will be a show of Hindu Unity, hence all likeminded Hindus are to be brought together to this Sabha. All are requested to come along with your friends, relatives & others to this meeting.

Contact details:
Sri. P. Prabhakaran, Co-ordinator, Hindu Janjagruti Samiti
Chennai. Mobile – 9003053054

Nevada Assembly Session Opens With Samskritam Mantras

SAMSKRITAM MANTRAS from ancient Hindu scriptures opened the Nevada State Assembly session in capital Carson City on April 6.

After sprinkling Gangajal (holy water brought from river Ganga in India) around the podium, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed started and ended the prayer with 'Om', the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.

Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism, recited from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use, dated from around 1,500 BCE, besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita, both ancient Hindu scriptures.

Legislators and others, including many teenagers, who filled the visitors gallery, stood respectfully in prayer mode with heads bowed down during the prayer. Adina and Kurt Karst, who came from Minden to listen to the prayer, described it as 'wonderful'.

After Samskritam delivery, Zed read the English translation of the prayer. Samskritam is considered sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages. Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Zed said, “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya,”, which he then translated as - “Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality.”

Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he urged legislators to keep the welfare of others always in mind. Concluding lines were 'Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti', which he translated as 'Peace, Peace, Peace be unto all'

Source: Merinews

Doctored CDs and Gita For Gandhi's: The Truth

The mysterious appearance of an allegedly ‘doctored’ CD is being used by our Hindu-bashing media to defame and condemn Varun Gandhi, the bright young B J P aspirant wanting to contest election for the Lok Sabha seat from Pilibhit. In this comical debate the media has conveniently forgotten that a number of similarly doctored CDs are being openly sold in hundreds across Pilibhit and several U.P. towns. According to a news published on March 22, 2009, in Hindustan Times, New Delhi, a CD of the so-called ‘hate’ speech of Varun Gandhi was being sold for Rs. 15,000 and several political parties and mediapersons were lapping up the coveted CDs.

On top of it, the buyers are openly telling the CD seller, one Maqbool, to “delete this scene, it will not serve my purpose”. And such openly ‘doctored’ CDs are being unabashedly purchased by the election campaigners for three well known political parties. Yet not one media analyst has tried to fathom the origin of the ‘dubious’ CD, nor who prepared it and why, nor where is the original CD. All these questions have been left unanswered by the Indian media as well as the Election Commission.

How is it that the Election Commission and our voluble media analysts have not bothered to investigate what made the cyber café owner, Maqbool of Pilibhit, openly doctor and modify CDs of Varun’s speech for selling them like hot cakes to all and sundry ? Most mysterious, however, is the inaction of the somnolent Uttar Pradesh police who have neither caught Maqbool, nor interrogated him.

Varun’s knowledge of Gita is questioned... Frankly, not many media analysts appear to have any sound knowledge of Gita, nor of the bold message of recourse to karmic action it gives to Hindus like Varun. No wonder they fail to realize that in not too distant past the same message had fired the imagination of the renowned stalwarts like Lokmanya Tilak, Aurobindo Ghosh, Ras Behari Bose and hundreds of revolutionaries and freedom fighters, including Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Ram Prasad Bismal and lakhs of foot soldiers of our freedom movement.

After conversion to the hollow western creed called ‘secularism’, most media WOGs (i.e., West Oriented Gentlemen) have lost their civilizational moorings. In their static minds ‘ahimsa parmo dharmo’, a truncated shloka popularized by Mahatma Gandhi, remains etched as the central theme of Gita. They seem to be blissfully unaware that Gita goes far beyond ‘ahimsa parmo dharma’ and gloriously sanctions the use of violence as a sacred duty in the cause of righteousness, especially for protecting ‘Dharma’. As highlighted by Swami Chinmayananda in a soul stirring article, the correct Shloka in Gita is ‘Ahimsa Parmo Dharma, Dharmah Himsa Tathaiva Cha’, meaning thereby that recourse to violence for protecting ‘Dharma’ is an equally important duty enjoined upon all Hindus.2 The learned sage bemoans that frequent misuse of this truncated sacred verse has reduced us Indians (read Hindus) to the status of “poltroons and cowards”.3 By over emphasizing non-violence, says Swamiji, “we have reached the pathetic situation of today when thousands, in cowardly fear take to precipitate flight, leaving their innocent children to be butchered and their unarmed helpless women to be converted or killed”.

The rousing speech of Varun Gandhi has to be understood in the context of the pitiable condition of Hindus of Pilibhit. In recent months there have been innumerable complaints by Hindus of Pilibhit alleging oppression by Muslim gangsters of the area, including scores of instances of cow slaughter which is forbidden by law. But no one listens to Hindus because the District Magistrate and Additional District Magistrate of Pilibhit, being Muslims, are perceived to be ranged against the majority community. In such a dismal scenario, the courage shown by Varun came like a whiff of fresh air for the beseiged Hindus of Pilibhit.

It is time that voluble journos and politicos realized that there is a healthy unanimity of views between what Varun Gandhi told the beleaguered Hindus of Pilibhit and what the learned Swami Chinmayananda upholds as our grand civilizational ideal, enshrined in Bhagvad Gita.

Though Priyanka Gandhi did not say anything about her own understanding of Gita, apparently she does not know much about the bold and valorous message to fight the forces of evil given by Sri Krishna to Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Gita does not preach passivity or renunciation, nor submission to tyranny. It preaches action, bold and purposeful, for achieving victory against tyranny. Instead of faulting Varun, she would do well to listen to the sagely advice of Swami Chinmayananda when he says that “the only solution for the day’s internal chaos is to bring home to the people the significance of the much neglected teaching of ‘dharma-himsa’. Gita gives the message of victory through valour to every Hindu, loudly and clearly, exhorting them to join the battle when no other option is available.

And that is what Varun Gandhi has been trying to do by relaying the wake up call to oppressed Hindu masses, besieged by jihadi terrorists and enemies of Dharma. It is time that our ignorant media analysts devoted a little bit of their time to re-reading of the Gita, instead of faulting Varun’s knowledge of the sacred Song Divine.

- R. K. Ohri, IPS (Retd)

Villagers seek govt support to maintain 300-year-old temple

CHENNAI: Every first Sunday of the month, villagers of Vengampakkam, belonging to the Agaram Then village panchayat, 40 km south of Chennaiassemble on thepremises of the Vengeeshwar temple. Not to worship the main deity, Shiva, but to mobilise money to pay the salary - Rs 2,500 - of K Srinivasan, the chief priest of the 300-year-old temple.

Located off the Vandalur-Kelambakkam High Road, the Shiva temple is the only ancient temple worshipped by the 200-odd families living nearby. Villagers from neighbouring villages such as Rathnamangalam, Kandigai, Mappadu and Kasapapuram also visit the temple regularly. Nearly 90% are farmers who cultivate crops themselves without employing labourers. For the farmers, the temple is the source of their prosperity, which brings good rainfall every year followed by a bountiful harvest. Paddy is the main crop here.

Jayachandran, E K Damodharan, a petty shop owner, and S Karnan, a lorry driver, were the catalysts in renovating the temple in 2003. The temple was then covered by thick vegetation and there were poisonous snakes, too. The three had a tough time convincing other poor farmers in renovating the temple.

Most farmers here eke out a miserable existence by cultivating small plots of farmland. But that did not stop Jayachandran, Damodharan and Karnan to organise a meeting of villagers near the old Panchayat Primary School on a Sunday in May 2003. Their hope turned to reality after about three hours of arguments between those who supported renovation and others who wanted more time. Soon, contributions began to pour in with everyone doing their bit. While some gave their hard-earned money, others brought bricks for the main temple construction. A few helped build the compound wall. The village carpenter S Chakarapani did not take any money to make the eight-foot wooden door for the sanctum sanctorum. He spent his own money to get wood from Kumbakonam. Almost all the villagers helped in the construction of the temple as well as a store room, taking turns to work.

The villagers then engaged a priest to conduct poojas. They now want a shelter for the Nandhi statue made up of stone, which stands before the main deity, and also a shelter for devottees. The temple does not have an electricity connection. An external wire has been tapped for power. "We want the government agencies or other donars to help us maintain the temple," says B Saravanan, a farmer and the local DMK functionary.

Sources in the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department told TOI that it would be difficult for them to take over the maintainance of the temple as they were cash-strapped. "It is better the villagers try to mobilise local funds to maintain the temple. We have our own limitations," they said.

Source: TOI

Sesame And Water: Where Do They Go?

An explanation of tarpanam by Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati swamigal of Kanchi Kamakoti matham.

All human beings must express their gratitude to their fathers (pitrs) and to the gods- they have a debt to pay their fathers, rites to perform for the gods. We must serve our fellow creatures to the best of our ability and extend hospitality at least to one guest a day. This is atithya or what Thiruvalluvar calls "virundu", also known as manusyayajna. Thiruvalluvar has said more or less the same thing as the Vedas say:

Tenpulattar, deivam, virundu, okkal, tan enru angu aimbulattaru ombal talai.

Tenpulattar are the pitrs, the fathers. All are duty-bound to pay their debt to them. Mother Veda says: "Matr-devo bhava, pitr-devo bhava. " (Be one to whom the mother is a deity. Be one to whom the father is a deity. ) Auvvai, who brings us the essence of the Vedas, observes: Annayum pitavum munnari deivam" [Mother and Father are the deities first known. ]

We must treat our parents with respect and do all we can to keep them in comfort. We cannot make sufficient recompense for all the sacrifices they make on our behalf. After they depart from this world we must without fail offer libations to them and perform the sraddha ceremony, all in the sastric manner. Though they ridicule the idea of performing sraddha, even reformers have agreed that we must care for our parents.

"The sesame you offer, the water, the balls of rice, the plantains and other items of food remain here," point out the reformists. "Or we see someone removing them before our own eyes, or eating them. You say that the departed parents are born again in this world. If that is true, is it not madness to claim that what is offered here will reach them?" Some of you must be harbouring similar doubts.

Let me tell you a story.

A certain man had sent his son to college in a distant town. One day the boy woke up to the fact that he had to pay his examination fee in a few days. So he wrote to his father: "Please send such and such a sum by telegraphic money order. " The father was a little perplexed. All the same he went to the telegraph office and handed the clerk at the counter the money that had to be sent to his son. "Please send it by telegraphic money order," he told the clerk. He had thought that the clerk would make holes in the notes, put a length of wire through them and send the whole thing to his son. Moments later the clerk said to the man: "Your son will get your money. It has already been sent. " The villager was again puzzled. He saw the money still in the cash box without the notes strung together. He told the clerk:"My money is still here. You haven't made holes in the notes yet." The clerk assured him: "It will reach your son." Now he turned to his work of sending messages: "Ka-tu-katu-katu." The poor village was still not satisfied.

But the money of course reached his son.

Offering libations to one's fathers is similar. If this rite is performed according to the sastras, the deities concerned will convey them to those for whom they are meant. If the fathers are reborn as cows the offering made to them will be taken to them in the form of grass or hay. The deities in charge carry out the orders of the Paramatman. So the father of the mother whose sraddha is performed need not personally come to receive the offering.

Does not the telegraphic money order reach the addressee? If the addressee resides in a foreign country our currency will not be valid there. If rupees are paid here arrangements are made to pay the money in dollars, pounds of whatever. The things offered to the fathers according to the sastras are conveyed in a form suitable to them.

What is important is a sense of gratitude to our fathers and faith in the sastras. At parties a toast is proposed to somebody and all the guests drink or eat to his health. They do so in the belief that by virtue of the mental power the man toasted will become healthy. Sraddha means that which is done in faith. Faith is of the utmost importance. If we do something we must do it according to the rules laid down for it. When you write a letter how do you make sure that it reaches the addressee? "I will write the address as I like. Why should I drop the letter in that letterbox over there? I have a better box at home." would you speak thus?

Source: kamakoti.org

Every One Has The Right To Be Ignorant!

The India Today Conclave offered a basis for a discussion on spirituality, “Halo or Hoax?” Javed Akhtar joked, “In movies we create an illusion and then after three hours we put up a sign, The End, and make people step back into reality, whereas spiritual people also create an illusion but they do not put an end to it.” The audience applauded. I smiled within and thought, yes, what this man says is correct, all that is created comes to an end. If something does not end then it is not created! Perhaps he didn’t even realise the profound truth of what he was saying.

So in some way he tacitly accepted that the love and drama he creates in the movies does end, but the love and transformation created by spiritual people never end. Yes, this whole world is an illusion that never ends. I drew Adi Shankara from his sarcasm. What an enigma: the perception and the reality.......

Spirituality is intoxicating. Only those who step into it will know. Before criticising we need to do our homework.Has one spent time with saints? Only then does one’s views carry weight, else they remain simple accusations only, a distorted perception, not reality.

Mr Akhtar thundered again: “All modern-day spiritualists are hypocrites”. Many people froze as he dismissed the present-day gurus. Today there are millions of people who follow spirituality: are they all hypocrites? I appreciated that he could express his feelings boldly, without pretension. But the contempt that was exhibited for gurus was alarming. The hatred and frustration were obvious from his body language. It’s not just Mr Akhtar. Many journalists, communists, atheists and naxalites live in that state of mind, of being anti-religious, anti-rich, anti-famous, anti-business.

Should I argue and put him down? No! I have never put anyone down. I can’t deviate from my nature. So I simply said, everyone has the right to be ignorant. A flash of Aurangzeb, who butchered thousands of gurus and would not listen to any reason or logic, came to mind. An intelligent man would look into all the avenues before he makes a comment or accusation.....Blaming the entire modern-day spiritual guru and sadhu community is as foolish as branding the entire Muslim community as terrorists.

Then came his next statement that Buddha went from the palace to the forest and today the gurus come from the forest to the palace. I said to myself, ‘Come on! Buddha went to the forest when he was unhappy and miserable, and he came right back when he became a guru’. Any high school student knows this. Besides, every palace had a rajguru. Last year hundreds of sadhus were evicted from the caves and hermitages of the Himalayan region, near Haridwar, by the forest department. People generally think sadhus should live in forests with torn clothes but the forest department wanted to send them to the city!

A man who equates arms, drugs and spirituality is not going to change his opinion immediately and anyway his opinion is not going to matter for what is and what will be. Come on, I thought, sing a new song. My compassion grew. Spirituality is not a matter of the head, it is a matter of the heart. I had two choices: to argue and turn the conclave into a conflict or to keep silence. I chose the latter.

(H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Founder of the Art of Living)

Source: http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx?PageID=8463&SKIN=D

50 Year old Footage of Tirupati Balaji Temple

Move to Malign Satya Sai Baba Fails

The following is an article which appeared in The Pioneer. The false cases on Sai Baba could not stand legal scrutiny and thus the accuser withdrew his complaint. Below are the excerpts from the article.

On March 14, a lingering, insidious smear campaign against Sathya Sai Baba quietly fizzled out when Channel Nine MSN removed a biased anti-Baba broadcast from its official Website. Ardent Sai defamer Robert Priddy admitted on his blog that Channel Nine MSN “would not have removed the video had there not been legitimate complaints about the content and disinformation in their video”.

Sai Baba devotees following the so-called sex scandal case were gratified to find that over the past few years many accusers were exposed as liars and worse. The main accuser, who inspired a BBC documentary, withdrew his California court case against the Sai Baba Society on realising exposure was nigh.

As usual, when false accusations are made against Hindu gurus, a high-decibel media campaign begins. But when the innocence of the accused is established, the cacophony melts into stoic silence. It is to the credit of devotees that anti-Sai Baba information has been purged from US Government and UNESCO Websites, among others.

Mr Alaya Rahm’s sexual abuse allegations against Sai Baba gained international notoriety when featured on the documentaries, Seduced By Sai Baba and Secret Swami. His allegations were published in Britain (The Daily Telegraph) and India (India Today). Mr Rahm filed his lawsuit, Alaya Rahm vs Sathya Sai Baba Society, in the Superior Court of California on January 6, 2005 (Case No. 05cc01931).

The trial was set for April 28, 2006, but on April 7 the plaintiff self-dismissed his own lawsuit. He attempted to sue for money damages, but no offers of settlement were made and no money or other consideration was paid; the case was dismissed “with prejudice” and is binding under the international doctrine of res judicata. This means Mr Rahm can never file another lawsuit against Sathya Sai Baba, in the US or in India, for the same claims made in this case.

Mr Kreydick signed his typed deposition on April 7, 2006. The same day, the defendant (the Sathya Sai Baba Society) filed Mr Kreydick’s deposition as part of the official record, and Mr Rahm self-dismissed his case! Obviously, he did not feel confident to take his case to trial, though he was represented by an experienced sexual abuse trial lawyer.

Further, in Form Interrogatory No. 6.3, Set One, Mr Rahm admitted to being a daily user of illegal street drugs and alcohol from 1995 to 2005. Thus, throughout his allegations and the filming of the BBC Documentary Secret Swami and the Danish Documentary Seduced By Sai Baba, Mr Rahm was under the influence of illegal street drugs and alcohol. This was suppressed from the general public by his family and anti-Baba associates.

Who inspired these venomous former devotees to launch investigations into vile rumours? Devotees say the ‘Anti-Sai Movement’ is an extremist hate group which habitually makes wild allegations, including the laughable claim that the Baba is allied with terrorists! One magazine published a fake picture of Sai Baba holding hands with Idi Amin!

The truth is that neither Sai Baba nor any organisation associated with him has been charged or implicated for sexual abuse, either directly or indirectly, and that reputable media agencies and independent journalists have not been able to confirm a single instance of sexual abuse linked to Sai Baba or his organisations. Gutter allegations tend to choke on their own stink.

for full article read Source: The Pioneer

Radioactive Gas No Match For Agnihotra

The following is a news item in The Hindu dealing with how a family regularly performing Agnihotra remained unaffected during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984.

Madhya Pradesh: The tragic incident occurred on the night of December 3, 1984 when the poisonous MIC gas leaked from Union Carbide factory at Bhopal. Hundreds of people died and thousands were hospitalized but there were two families – those of Shri Sohan Lal S Khushwaha and Shri M.L. Rathore, living about one mile away from the plant who came out unscathed. These families were regularly performing agnihotra (havan). In these families nobody died, nobody was even hospitalized despite being present in the area worst affected by the leakage of the toxic gas. This observation implies that agnihotra is a proven antidote to pollution.

Source: English Daily-“The Hindu’ of 4-5-85; news item under the heading ‘Vedic Way to Beat Pollution’.