"Namaste India, says New Zealand"

Indian students might prefer New Zealand for higher studies and immigration after they were being targeted in Australia. Though New Zealand is close to Australia, there is marked difference in the country’s attitude towards multi-ethnic society and tolerant towards Asian race. "Namaste India, says New Zealand"

There are five main reasons why New Zealand serves as better overseas choice for Indians to study and immigrate.

1)New Zealand is an egalitarian society which accepts no difference in social structure. It also means that there is no prejudice on any race, ethnicity or religion.

2)Though New Zealand is predominately populated by the white population known as Paheka, there is an overhauling Maori population of 16%. Maori are the tribal inhabitants who are modern in their thinking but still have retained their traditional culture. Maori enjoys political rights in New Zealand and have 7 separate electorates in the 122 seats parliament.

3)Indians and Indian origin population enjoy better political influence in New Zealand than in Australia.

4) New Zealand has always been a favorite destination for migrants. It is believed that the Maoris who came 800 years ago from Pacific Islands through a canoe (boat) were the first migrants and they still have their culture and Marai (temple) intact. Even the whites (Pahekas ) who came from Dutch, Scotland, Ireland and British Isles were migrants. Therefore they have a passive approach to life.

5) The chance for immigrants to get Permanent Residency (PR) and then citizenship is more in New Zealand than in Australia. As per the latest trend, students who come to New Zealand on a one-year student visa can have their graduate open work visa for one-year which allows them to opt for any job. After one-year they can avail a two –year work visa on their respective fields. Meanwhile, they can apply for a PR and can get one if they get maximum points the skilled migrant category.

Source: internationalreporter.com

"Non-vegetarian food improves the body, not mind"

Question: Is it true that in olden days, the sages used to eat meat? There is an incident of Agasthya Muni eating meat in the "Vathapi - Ilvala" story.

Yes, we can see some mention about such things in very old stories. We need to understand clearly why and under what circumstances they used to consume meat. Firstly, they used to take meat, but not as their regular food. The animal would be offered to 'yajna', the sacred fire, and then the sages, having very high yogic power, would consume the meat as a prasada of the yajna. Due to this auspicious activity (of yajna), the animal would go to the heavens. In the story of Agasthya Muni, when he said ' vathapi jirno bhava', he was digested immediately. Such was the power of the sages in those days.

First we need to understand why we consume food. It is to have good health. Health means not only the physical health, but the mental health also plays a very important role. That's why in Sanskrit it is known as "swasthya", which means mental peace, purity and health. Meat or non-vegetarian food improves the body, but not the mind. So for those people who need to have physical strength, like soldiers, meat is not prohibited. Soldiers do not need to have as much thinking power. They have to fight like machines. But for people such as the priests (or the brahmins in general), mental power is the more important. We need to have peace and purity of mind, stability and concentration of mind. For such people meat is prohibited. If we start consuming meat, slowly we will loose these good qualities. We will not see these negative changes overnight. It takes time but we will see the changes clearly in the later generation.

Source: indiadivine.org

"Even animals can do sadhana"

Question: We were thinking that only human beings have thinking ability, and thus only they can do "sadhana" (spiritual practices), but other animals could not. Is this concept false? How can animals do "sadhana"?

Answer: This is not true. All animals can also do "sadhana" (spiritual practices). If animals cannot do "sadhana", they cannot get better lives, which lead to the human life. If they cannot get a human life, then they cannot get moksha (liberation) at all at any time. This is not true, thus it is proven that animals also do "sadhana" and get better lives.

They do "sadhana" by their mental activities. We can see a lot of differences in the behaviors of various animals. In the same category of, say cat, dog or cow, we can see a lot of difference between two animals. For example some are soft, some are sensitive, some are more active, etc. This is due to their mental "sadhana". Also in children, who are not having developed thinking power, we can see many differences. We have seen a child, in Bombay, around 2 years old. While sleeping, he tightly hugs a Krishna idol. He does not drink milk without offering to Krishna. He always wants to listen to Krishna's stories. He always wants to see the puja of Krishna. This is all due to previous "samskara" (purification). Like this, animals also will have their own previous samskara and "sadhana"

If killing plants is sin, how is vegetarian food better?

The following is a response of Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamji of Udupi Puthige Matha (of the Madhva Sampradaya) about vegetarianism. We will be posting each of his answers to various questions on the topic in successive posts.

Plants are also having life, so killing plants should also be a sin. Thus in what way is vegetarian food better than non-vegetarian food in terms of killing or committing "sin"?

It is true that plants also have "life" and killing plants is also sin.The best way is to observe total non-violence, that is to take only those fruits which have naturally fallen from the trees or plants. In this way we are doing harm to no one. But everyone can not follow that vow. We have to take food in order to survive and sustain this body. Hence, we need to take that path which is less sinful and does less harm to other jivas (living entities).

Now there are two reasons to say that vegetarian food is having insignificant sin. Many plants like rice, wheat, etc., are having life only for one crop time. Once their yield is over, they die naturally, even if we don't cut them. So by cutting those plants (which have already died) we are doing less or no sin at all. In other plants, like mango, coconut, etc., by plucking the fruit, we are not killing the plants, and so we are doing very minimal or no sin at all. So vegetarian food is less sinful. Moreover, it is inevitable for our survival, but non-vegetarian food is a luxury to us and we can survive even if we avoid that.It is more sinful since we need to kill animals all the time.

Next we need to know why certain acts are sinful। Each and every life (whether plant, animal, or human) has come to this world to do "sadhana" (spiritual practices), so that they may get a better birth next life and finally get "moksha" (liberation). Whenever such "sadhana" opportunities are cut short, it becomes a sin. For plants there is not much "sadhana" available to them. They cannot do any kind of physical or mental activities in terms of "sadhana". So by cutting them, we are not doing much harm to their "sadhana".So it is not so sinful. But animals can do a good amount of "sadhana" by means of physical and mental activities. By killing them, we are cutting short their opportunities to do "sadhana" towards their liberation (moksha). Thus it is much more sinful.

Source: indiadivine.org

Remove TTD Chief, urge Evangelists!

Christian Missionary groups in AP have met Andhra Chief Minister Samuel Reddy and demanded the removal of TTD Executive officer K. V. Ramanachary from his post.This is in wake of Hindu revival programs conducted by TTD which in turned checked the conversion agenda of Christists among poor and naive.

TTD in recent past has stepped up Hindu culture based programs like Annamacharya Kiratns,BajaGovindam, DalitaGovindam, teaching vedas to Fishermen & Tribal’s etc. The response to these Hindu revivalism was great.

This has angered Christian groups and are now unleashing their evil tactics once again. Chief Minister's son in law and a notorious evangelist is the mediator between Christist and CM, who himself is a crypto Christian.

SOURCE: http://www.haindavakeralam.com

Vedic Perspective On The Environment

The World Environment Day theme this year exhorts people to help combat climate change for our collective survival. It is interesting to know that the ancient Vedas have several references in them on environmental protection, ecological balance, weather cycles, rainfall phenomena, hydrologic cycle, and related subjects that directly indicate the high level of awareness of the seers and people of that time.

Ancient treasures of vast knowledge reveal a full cognizance of the undesirable effects of environmental degradation, whether caused by natural factors or human activities. The protection of the environment was understood to be closely related to the protection of the dyaus or heavens and prithvi or earth. Between these two lies the atmosphere and the environment that we refer to as the paryavaran.

The Rig Veda venerates deities like Mitra, Varuna, Indra, Maruts and Aditya, that are responsible for maintaining the requisite balance. Seers recognised that changes caused due to indiscreet human activities could result in imbalances in seasons, rainfall patterns, crops and atmosphere and degrade the quality of water, air, and earth resources.

The Rig Veda makes a clear reference to the presence of a protective layer – which we know now to be the ozone layer – that filters the harmful rays of the sun and protects the earth and praises the radiation that enters the atmosphere that is responsible for the health of the environment. In a hymn of the Rig Veda the seer prays to the Ashvins for their indulgence for protection against any excessive solar flares that also affect earth’s temperature.

It is remarkable that the people in Vedic times regarded Nature and the environment in a holistic manner and revered each of its constituents and entities by carefully preserving them. “Do not harm the environment; do not harm the water and the flora; earth is my mother, I am her son; may the waters remain fresh, do not harm the waters… Tranquillity be to the atmosphere, to the earth, to the waters, to the crops and vegetation.” This Vedic prayer invokes divine intervention to bless and protect the environment.

Source:Times Of India

A century after, Gangbal Pilgrimage resumes

The first batch of 100 devotees set out on a pilgrimage to the ancient Harmukh-Gangbal shrine situated at an altitude of 12,000 ft in Ganderbal district as the sacred sojourn was revived after about a century.

Chanting mantras, pilgrims started the religious undertaking after a gap of about a century, chairman of All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC) Vinod Pandit told reporters here.

He said 'Vedic Yajnya' commenced around 6 pm and 'Puran Ahuti' would be followed by 'Shraad' on Tuesday at Harmukh Ganga, popularly known as Gangbal.

Mr. Pandit said the three-day-long yatra had been revived as part of efforts to restore historic religious places which are of importance to Kashmiri pandits and preserve their cultural and religious history. The region is believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva.

Gangbal is situated in the hills of Harmukh range in the north east of Kashmir valley on Ganderbal-Sonamarg road. Gangbal is also called Harmukut Ganga and Hindus regard this place as auspicious as Haridwar.

Source: www.hinduonnet.com