The Problem called "Highly Progressive Hindus"

The below article clearly elucidates the highly "Progressive" attitudes of some Hindus abroad. Hindus, Progression does not mean ridiculing our past and criticising our ancestors. It is more to do with carrying the gems of your great past and adapting it to the present. The words of Swami Vivekanada look directed at this "Progressive" section of Hindus. He says "A nation that has no history of its own has nothing in this world. Out of the past is built the future. Look back, therefore, as far as you can, drink deep of the eternal fountains that are behind, and after that, look forward, march forward and make India brighter, greater, much higher than she ever was. Our ancestors were great. We must first recall that." Time for some true progression? Enjoy the article...

Once you live in a country driven by highly democratic, laissez-faire principles, these principles become a part of your everyday life... That is why we will hear the average person speak words such as “This is a democratic country”, “I have rights, and I will stand up for them”, and so on.

A Hindu is not exclusive to such words. They also take pride in these principles that they have accustomed to and made their own. However, they fail to stand up to make use of these rights when it comes to defending their religion—because many are unaware of what their religion is all about.

Today, many Hindus have become so progressive and adaptive that they are forgetting to uphold their true Hindu identity. This is not to say that progressive thinkers are to be looked upon negatively. Rather, I am suggesting that people should be both progressive thinkers yet, upholders of their history, values and traditions which may have played a crucial role in who they have now become. We must not forget that the teachings of our parents, on how to live were driven by Hindu principles. Even if parents did not directly affiliate their teachings to Hinduism, due to its modesty as a religion, one must realize the truth and connect who they are, back to their roots. The issue I would like to address is that many Hindu’s tend to not only forget about their roots and religion, but instead they tend to look at other Hindus who are trying to uphold the religion as fanatical, backwards-thinking, outcasts.

If I go around greeting other Hindus with a “Namaste”, they frown upon me or look at me awkwardly with surprise, pausing before saying a “Hello” or a silent “Namaste” back. It is okay that saying Namaste may be awkward for them because it is not what they see every day, but to frown upon one who says “Namaste” is very insulting.

Another issue I have recently had to deal with was when I asked people if they celebrated Christmas and Diwali. Most would say yes to Christmas but many said no to Diwali. I wondered why especially because they labelled themselves as Hindus. Their answers usually were “I am forward thinking and like to adapt to my surroundings so that my children will have a better life here with others”, etc. That is true. I agree that children need to feel at home even at school, but if we just focus on adapting our children then what identity will they have as people when they grow up? Who will they label themselves as? If they label themselves as Hindu’s, how will they defend that they are in actuality Hindus who follow the religion, when they know nothing of it? These are some things that parents are forgetting to think about and, young adults face an identity crisis because they do not know who they are.

So we must stop judging others because they choose to be more Hindu. It is not all about adaptability and accommodations to western society. Our children should also be made to uphold and take pride in their roots. As an advocate for Hinduism, I have chosen to not celebrate western holidays—not because I disregard them or see them as null but only because surprisingly that is the only way I get questioned, “Why do you refrain from celebrating Christmas?” and thus I get an opportunity to make my point—that just as a “Hindu” has chosen to celebrate only Christmas and not Diwali, I as a Hindu have also chosen to celebrate only Diwali—It’s a free rein society. We all have individual rights to freedom.

Source: Chakra News

Gujarat Godhra Riots - Demythified!

The Godhra riots may have caught global attention but has the truth done so? Gujaratriots.com is an effort to do so. It has very nicely tried to resolve the myths surrounding the Gujarat Issue. The media had tried all their best to magnify the issue.One question for the media from the common man is "Next time you report any news, can we also have information of the sponsors (i.e. those who pay you for the news)? BTW, do you want some sponsorship from the common man to report what actually happened instead of shamelessly and falsely sensationalizing issues?" The following is a piece of information from gujaratriots.com.

Let's start with an interview by Modi to Aaj Tak’s Prabhu Chawla, excerpts of which were published in the weekly India Today, dated 4 November 2002:

“Q- Your opponents call you ‘Jinnah of the Hindus’.
A- I am hearing this for the first time though I still don’t consider you as an enemy.

Q- You are held responsible for the killing of 1,100 innocent people in the riots.
A- In our previous interview, you said 900 people. Now you are saying 1,100. Are you adding all the people killed in other states like Maharashtra and Bengal to Gujarat’s account?

Q- So what is the correct toll?
A- There would have been no riots in Gujarat if there had been no Godhra.

Q-Do you accept that you failed to provide security to the people of the state?
A-98% of Gujarat would not have peace if we had failed to fulfill our duties. We managed to control the riots within 72 hours.

Q-Why don’t you accept that Gujarat is being defamed because of Narendra Modi?
A- If that is true, give the people of Gujarat a chance to pronounce their verdict through elections.”

As we see, the number of people killed in the riots jumped from 900 to 1100 after Narendra Modi’s previous interview, i.e. within 4 months! Now it has jumped from 9,00 to 2,000. May be after 10 years, at this rate it will jump to 10,000! Already it is being said that, “thousands of Muslims were killed in Gujarat” and “3,000 innocent Muslims were butchered in Gujarat”.

Now let's resolve the Myths.

Myth: Whole of Gujarat was burning

Fact: Out of the state’s 18,600 villages, 240 municipal towns, and 25 district headquarters, only 60 places saw riots. If one includes the two big cities of Ahmedabad and Vadodara, by the wildest stretch of imagination, only 2 % of the state can be assumed to have been burning. Only 40 out of the state’s 18,600 villages saw riots.

Myth: The Gujarat police turned a blind eye to the rioting

Fact: Even though the situation was terrible, the police performed its work extremely efficiently. The police force was woefully insufficient. Uday Mahurkar reports for India Today (18 March 2002) On February 28, the police shot dead 10 Hindus in Ahmedabad alone reported The Hindu on Mar 2, 2002.

Myth: Sangh Parivar organisations like VHP organized the riots.

Fact: Out of Gujarat’s 18,600 villages, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had units in 10,000 villages at the time of the riots of 2002. If it had wanted- it could have easily organized retaliatory riots in many of these 10,000 villages. Instead-only 40 out of the state’s 18,600 villages saw riots. VHP General Secretary Dr Praveen Togadia is a Patel and hails from Saurashtra region of Gujarat- just like Keshubhai Patel. And yet- no riots happened in Saurashtra at all- even in the first 3 days!

Myth: Gujarat became a dangerous place to live in, in 2002

Fact: The opinion poll by the weekly India Today in its issue dated 25 November 2002 asked a question to its respondents-“Do you feel secure living in Gujarat today?” in which more than 68 % people including more than 56 % Muslims felt secure. While commenting on the entire poll, India Today reported, “Voters have rallied solidly behind the chief minister’s aggressive posturing. They have endorsed his view of the riots being a reaction to Godhra. They approve his fulmination against outsiders who have vilified the state. And they contemptuously dismiss all suggestions that Gujarat has become a dangerous place to live in.”

Source: Gujaratriots.com

"Declare Nepal a Hindu Kingdom"

Temple Project's blog is back after a brief hiatus. We will continue to provide readers quality information about Hinduism, Indian culture, history, etc. This becomes our Dharma. Yes, we strongly believe that "Dharmo rakshathi rakshitaha".

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Once the only Hindu kingdom in the world, Nepal was declared a secular state by its parliament in 2006, and the monarchy was abolished two years later.

Now, with a new constitution due in May, Hindu groups are pressuring the government to reinstate Hinduism as the state religion. Kalidas Dahal recently launched a nine-day prayer meeting to show the government that Hinduism still enjoys public support.

Dahal is backed by the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, which supports the monarchy and Hinduism but holds just four of the 601 parliament seats. RPP-Nepal chief Kamal Thapa, who was home-affairs minister under the deposed king, said his party sponsored a petition for a citizens referendum that was signed by more than 2 million of Nepal's 27 million citizens.

In a nation where nearly 75 percent of the people are Hindus, Thapa says Hinduism is needed to preserve Nepal's cultural identity.

Source: http://www.chron.com

"God, Save Us From The Saviours"

The following is an excerpt of an article on Christian Conversions by B R Haran Ji. It is high time that the Hindu Community wakes up and puts an end to all this nonsense.

Thiruvanmiyur is a beautiful place in Chennai, on the East Coast Road leading up to the southern tip of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvanmiyur is historically significant as the place where Vanmiki Maharishi did penance and worshipped Bhagwan Shiva. There is a Shiva temple Sri Marundeeswarar Temple. There is also a small temple for Maharishi Vanmiki opposite (slightly diagonal) to the Shiva Temple; both stand as testimonies to the ancient history of this sacred place.

Now, within hundred yards of the Shiva Temple, stands a huge ‘Advent Church’ which was started as a small prayer house just three years ago. On 5 August 2009, two digital banners, placed just above the compound wall of the Church, attracted the attention of passers by. They read, “Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti - First Year Anniversary” and announced, “Kathaakaalakshebam (Religious discourse) by Pujya Sri Bhagavathar Vedanayaga Saastrigal on Saturday 8 August evening by 5 pm – Entry free.”

Though churches claim they don’t practice casteism, the reality is exactly the opposite, as evidenced by conflicts between various castes within Christianity in various places. In fact, when evangelists convert gullible Hindus, especially Scheduled Castes, they always deceive them saying, “All are equal in the eyes of Jesus.” But once the conversion is over, the evangelists close their eyes and the
converted group finds no change except in the god and the pattern of worship. Still, the “Christian-Brahmin” Samiti was a real shocker as Brahmins converting is a rare phenomenon.

P.S: When these missionaries try to "save" people from "Satan". All we could pray is "God, please save me from these saviours!"

UK Kids Chant Veda Mantras

The following is the recitation of veda mantras by school children in London during the visit of Pratibha Patil to receive the Commonwealth baton.

Do you speak हिन्दी? Your Brain Must be Active!

Below is a piece of an article that appeared in India Today. Enjoy!

Learning Hindi has an advantage over English-it exercises more areas of the brain compared to the Queen's language. In a first-of-its-kind study in the country, scientists have discovered that reading Hindi involves more areas of human brain than English.

Scientists at the Manesar-based National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) have for the first time studied the processing of an Indian script-Devanagari-in the human brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

In contrast, Devanagari has the properties of both alphabetic and syllabic scripts. Scientists have found reading the language involves activation of the left and right hemisphere. The result of the study has recently appeared in journal Current Science. Researchers used the fMRI technique to record images of a working brain while reading Hindi. The study was conducted with individuals who primarily read Devanagari.

Source: India Today

"How to make Circles & Triangles with Squares & Rectangles?"

The following is an extract of an article that appeared in an American daily 10 days before:

While Western history has traditionally taught the Greeks were responsible for advances in mathematics, for things like irrational and prime numbers, Indian history has another story to tell.

Nearly a century before Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician, Vedic priest scholars had already discovered much of what the Greeks have been given credit for. These scholars made vast contributions to the field of mathematics, dated from 800 to 500 B.C., for the purposes of religion and astronomy.

Winona State University Professor Joyati Debnath will talk about how a period some have referred to as "primitive" was anything but - and they have the mathematical equations and expressions to prove it. "They were constructing sacrificial and burial altars in the shape of falcons and tortoises from square and rectangular layers of bricks - they were skilled craftsmen," Debnath said.

The Vedic period wasn't using the mathematics as philosophy, rather the priests were solving complex real life problems - like constructing sacrificial altars, burial monuments, relative size of the planets, length of the day, conduct of marriage and sacred laws.

Debnath described the problem: How do you make a burial structure that looks like a tortoise or a falcon, using nothing but rectangular bricks, stake and a cord? In other words, how do you make circles and triangles out of squares and rectangles?

To solve the problems, the priests had to have an advanced mathematical understanding of numbers that could tell them precisely how to arrange and trim bricks so that they came together in symmetrical ways. The measurements for the geometrical constructions were performed by drawing arcs with different radii and centers using a cord or "sulba."

P.S: Why cant we be taught Vedic Mathematics in our schools? Does it need a "White Certificate" or Will learning mathematics as explained in vedic texts question our "secular" image? (Another Post on Vedic Mathematics soon!)

Source: Winona Daily