-Affirming Sanatana Dharma and Recording the Modern History of a Billion-Strong Global Religion in Renaissance

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H INDUISM T oo,,y was founded on January 5, 1979, bx Satguru Sivaya Submmuniya­swam i to st rengthen a ll Hindu lineages. Published by Himalayan Academy, 107 Kaholalele Road, Kapaa, H awaii 96746-9304 USA. Editorial Office Ph: 1·808-822-7032. Subscriptions: 1·808-822-3152 or 1·B00-890-100s: advertising: 1-808-823-9620 or l..goo.850-100s. All-department fax: [-808-822.4351 USA subscriptions: '"$35Il year, 8650'2 years. 89513 years, S5OOIIifetime. Foreign rates on request e 1997 Hima­layan Academy. All rights reserved. ISSN# 0896-0801. COIIESPONDEIITS: Cowri Shankar & Anandhi Ramachandran, Madras: Choodamani Shivamm, Bangalore: Rajiv Malik & Mangala Prasad Mohanty, Delhi: Vrindavanam S. Copalakrishnan, Kerala: Shyamal Chandra Debnath, Bangladesh: Archana Don· gre, Los Angeles: Lavina Melwani, New York: Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj, Kenya: Dr. Hart Bansh jha. Kathmandu: 1'arasram Ramoutar, Trinidad: Vetcha Rajesh, Lon­don: Ravi 1\>ruman, San Francisco: Dr. Devananda Thndavan. Chicago: V. G. Julie Ra­jan. Philadelpbla. Web Masters Deva Seyon: Sadhunalban Nadesan.

PUBUSHEI: Satgur u Sivaya Submmuniyaswnmi ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR: Acharya Veylanswami EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Acharya Palaniswami PUBUSHER'S ASSISTANT: Acharya Ceynnswami DEPUTY EDITOR: Acharya Kumarswami MANAOINO EDITOR: 1)!agi Arumugaswami ORAPHICS DIIECTOI: 'JYagi Natarajaswami PIOMDTION/ PRDDUCTION: 'JYagi Kathirswami MANAOINO EDITDR'S AIDE: 1)!agi Shanmuganathaswnmi ADVERTISINO MANAOEI: Sad haka Jothinatha SUBSCIIPTION MANAOEl: Sadhaka Haranandinatha EDITDR-IN-CHIEF'S ASSISTANT: Sadhaka Yuganatha DEPUTY MANAOINO EDITDI: Yogi Kasinatha MANAOINO EDITOI'S AIDE: Yogi Ekanatha

APRIL, 1997' .

" A-/CL "CJ~

, « '

COVER (clockwise): Jaffna-born UK couple gets married in London; Theertliam Festival at Nallur Temple, Jaffna, September 12, 1996; damaged temple in Jaff~ , Jaffna Municipal Building, 1996; Tamils flee August fighting, See pages 22-2 ' '

I'N T~.R N AT I O·N A L Religious Freedom: Germany Reins in

the Church of Scientology 17 Cover Story: Sri Limkan Tamils Tell

Tales of a Desperate Diaspora 22 Lady Astronaut: Kapana Chalwa, First

Indian to Fly the Space Shuttle 34 Devotiorr~Rudraksha Chariot Restored 38 Russian Revival: Tantra Worship

Catches Fire in Russia 49 Enlisted: Meet South_AFrica's

First Hindu Military Chaplain 52

' LIFESTYLE fnsight: Lanka's Remarkable Mystic 30 Buslile~s: Cremation Ashes in Orbit? 40

OPINION -• Publisher's Desk: Raising Children Without Hitting Them 8

Ed,torlal: Unintended Consequences 8 My Turn: Saving Our Culture

in Turbulent Times 10 Lfrers 14 A rology: What P~rtends Hale-Bopp? 38 Healing: Mercury Fillings, Are We

Slowly Poisoning Ourselves? 44 -!plster's Message: Your True

50 ~mpanion: the Self Within . DIGE§TS

5:" Quotes'" Quips '9 Evolutions 44 . Dlaspora 11 Digital Dharma 54

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. PUBLISHER'S DESK

Time.In and Time Out: Two Sides of Discipline Counteracting a rueful and 'supposedly traditional prin­ciple thc~t values physical punishment for raising children

B Y, SAT G U R U S I V A Y A SUB RAM U N I Y A S W A M I

HE LATE, MOST REVERED

Sri la Sri Sankaracharya of Kan.chipuram, near Chennai, once said he was privileged in his decades of extensive travels

throughout Bharat on foot_to have . heard virtually all the human ills, wants, regrets, sufferings and joys. This maybe-just maybe, along with his results obtained l?.r sadhana, extreme tapas and livmg the life he was born to live-greatly added to his attainmelft of supreme rrwksha.

Our experience is paralleL It has been 48 years since my ministry started, way back in 1949. Now, in its maturity, there are uncounted encounters to rely upon, much ex,perience to guide the fellowship and much energy to march into the future of futures. Among the concerns, one has become crucial to parents, who ask, 'rue there better ways to raise our children? We are entirely dedicated to ahimsa, noninjury, physically, emo­tionally and mentally, But how is this lofty ideal possible to follow when troubled by emotions that are too easily released by taking them out, in the fire of the moment{on those we love? How can misdeeds that happen in the home be absolved, and examples set that p'revent their repetition generation after generation?" .

Before we discuss solutions, perhaps you, the reader, can help me understand something that has eluded us all these many, mfillY years but was revealed in a recent l~tter I received: There is an old saying in Tamil,. a teenager wrote, often reci~d before or after slapping or beating a child: Adium uthaium uthavu vathu pol an­nan thambi uthava maddar. It means, "Even the help of one's younger and older brothers cannot compare to the benefit of being kicked and beaten." It seems t)J.is proverb, printed in certain school books, is taught to students.

This makes me ask the Hindu community worldwide: What fearful exp'ectations are we nurturing in young minds by repeating such an edict? Study until midnight to avoid a plastic rod. across .­the back? Obey tl}e teacher or get hit with a strap, then slapped in the face at home for getting b'eaten in school? Are there more slokas for himsa,.violence, in the' home-guidelines for corporal pUnishment? Is it our iJ;ltention to pass this information from gen­eration to generation? It seems to be. My young Asian monks can recite the above verse from childhood memories. I for one hope the rules will change in this nuclear-family age, for there 'are more seeming reasons to hit and fewer places a beaten child can find

6 HINDUISM TODAY. AP~IL, 1997

solace and love, without the presence of grandma, auntie and others.

The working mother slaps her chil­dren at home because they add stress to her already stressed-out nerve system. Father has a tough day on the job and takes it out on his son's back or face . with the hand, strap or cane. Does it give a sadistic joy to hear yow;g children cry in pain? Does it ynhance the feeling of ''I'm in charge here! You are not!"? Maybe theres a lot more fop me to see and learn about the "inside" of the Hin­du home. Frankly, I hope I know all I need to know, but I'm still open to learn.

In the past 80 years we've had two world. wars iIDd hundreds of smaller QIles. Killers come from among those who have been beaten. The slap' and pinch, the sting of the paddle, the lash of the strap, the blows of a cane must manifest through those who receive them into the lives of others. But there is a price to pay. The abuser one day becomes the abused. This is a law of life seen manifesting every day. It i s called karma. Action gives an equal or more intense reaction, de­pending on the intent and the emotion behind it. Corporal pllIlishment is ar­guably a prelude to gangs on the streets,' thos,e who will riot on call, and others who suffer in silence and hide behind a desk or in a routine profession, fearing reprimand and punishment, never talk-ing b!ick or offering an opinion. I

Is there.,:a covert consciousness that accounts for the fact that for 48 years, until early 1996, L didn't even know that t;:hildren of my international congregation were being beaten? Perhaps. Hindus know its wrong in their heart of hearts, but are blindly obeying the cultural ·attitude expressed in this himsa, violent, proverb, and thoughtlessly reacting to their own stress and anger. They don't even look for a better way. ,Well, there is a better way.

There are new methods and new sutras, if you will, such as this guideline from my book Living with Siva: "Siva's followers shall never ever govern their offspring through fear. They are forbidden to spank, .slap or hit their children, use harsh or angry words, ne-

glect or abuse them in any way. Cu(sed are those who do. Aum." This goes along with the innovative approach being taken by psy­chologists, sociologists and educators, in consideration of the tur­moil that engulfs tod!iY's world. The truth is being acoepted that methods that rely on what Dr. Fi'tzhugh Dodson calls "punishment power"-scolding, taking away privileges, spanking-do not illicit more 'desirable behavior in children (or adults). Rather, they pro­duce hostility, resentment and the desire for retaliation.

For parents seeking effective nonviolent alternatives, educators recommend a strategy called "Time Out." Dr. Dodson explains, "Time Out or 'Go to your room' nowadays is one of the more fa-

Pondering his problems: A teenager sits alone in the shrine ~oom, having upset his sister. Mother says, "Time out for 15 minutes." ................................................................................................ ~ ............................ . vored punishments .. . . It tells the child that if he cannot behave in a reasonable ~ay, he will be separated from other people." K.F.

. McCormick, M.D. , explains the procedure: "Time Out means mov­ing the child from the problematic situation to a quiet place apart from others. Sitting in a corner at school is also a form of Time Out." He summarizes the rules as follows: "1. Decide which behav­iors will result in Time Out. 2. Count how often these behaviors occur in a day. 3. Pick out a boring place where the child will ob­serve Time Out. 4. Explain Time Out to the child.l

"When lllisbehavior occurs: 5. Place the child in a Time Out quickly with only a brief explanation (explanation having been done prior to the event). 6. Using an egg timer, leave the chilci in Time Out one minute for each year of age. 7. REilllove all attention from the child while in THTIe Out. 8. When the bell rings, ask the children why they were placed in Time Out, then remove them."

Dr. Dodson advises Time Out as a remedy for most kinds of misbehavio~ for children three years and older, but cautions it

, should never, ever be used as a threat or a punishment: "Thats the last straw, young man, now you're going to have a Time Out and see how you like it!" "Time Out should be administered in as cool, calm, collected and prompt a manner as possible .... Once you get the child in his room, it matters not in the slightest what he does there. The purpose of the Time Out is to disrupt the undesirable behavior, and simply being in his room does that."

Time Out works best in c0njunction with its opposite, Time In. Time In is quality time \>pent with the child in an activity he en­joys, and just being together. Time In includes letting children share their feelings, positive opnegative, with parents lending a receptive, understanding ear. "When a child can express his feel­ings in words, they are over and done with and out of his system. When a child cannot express his angry feelings in words,.he will most likely engage in some sneaky, antisocial behavior as a substi­tute for 'expressing the feelings forthrightly," says Dodson.

What is discipline? The root of the word is the Latin discipulus, meaning diSciple. Dr. LameLlce Balter, author of Discipline with­out Combat, writes, "That word best expresses the ideal relation­ship of child to parent. A parent acts as teacher ~d model, helping his child to develop self-control, character, orderly conduct, a sense 0f values, good judgment, empathy for human beings and other creatures and, most important, self-diScipline." "The real tragedy," :00dson p.oints .aut, "is that s~ ~~y parents simply accept s,Pank­mg as theIr mam means of dlsclplme ... . They do not realize what a vastly different youngster they would have and how enormously more satisfying their relationships with him would be if they used such creative and humanistic discipline teclmiques as the positive reward system, the Time Out technique aFld othE:\fs .. . . " His books , and others can counteract the traditional misinformation about raising up Hindu children. Don't take that beating that you received out on your children. Be strong. Anger shows weakne§s of character. Love them and don't forget: a hug a day keeps violence away. LQve is the sum of all laws, mote powerful than any lash. It can combat xJolence in the home, community and country.

Ipositiuc Approaches to Discipline, KF. McCormick, M.D., Ccntcrfor Effective Discipline

TEXT S HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

How to Discipline with Love, from Crib to College, Dr. Fitzhugh Dodson, Signet, 342 pages, $5.95.

Who's in Control, Dr. Balter's Guide to Discipline without Com­bat, Dr. Lawrence Balter, Simon and Shuster, 187 pages, $8.95.

APRIL, 199 7 HINDUISM TODAY Y

/

" EDITORIAL

Oops,:U'nintended Consequences How Hinduism's problems turned out to. be opportunities, and other things·that bite back

BY THE EDITOR

ery was outlawed and intended to fill the coffers 'of European businessmen. In a massive undertaking between 1830 and 1850, the British shipped hundreds of thou­sands of East Indians to work their prof­itable plantations. It was not the intention of Anglican colonists to empower these la­horers, but rathei- to exploit them. What ultimately came oftheir efforts would cer-' tainly stun planner~. Most workers put down roots, had families and in time took over the islands. In Mauritius and Guyana today Hindus are a majority; in Fiji and Trinidad they are nearly so. Ironically and inadvertantly, the British handed 0ver sev­eral small and beautiful countries to the

. Hindus. Unintended consequences. English was introduced into India to cre-

ate a class of clerks and subordinate func-ONSIDER THE HUMAN PLIGHT, MADE PITIFUL NOT BY SOME tionaries to interpretate between rulers and the ruled. Instead, it merciless OmnisCience but by meddling man himself Try- became a major tool of nationalists who engineered the' country's ing to do one thing, he inadevertantly invites the complex independence. It also opened the doors of modern professions' to forces of karma to retaliate in sometimes vindictive and al- Hindus abroad and fueled a Hindu renaissance. Ditto the transla-most always unpredicted ways. Let's survey how man has tions of Indian texts and scriptures, scribed by missionary scholars

scientifically improved things to the brink of disaster, wreaking so they could better understand and expose the pagan texts as havoc where help was his -hope, drawing down n~ture's revenge. "containing precious little." In fact, these translations' created new

Here in Hawaii a blatant example slithers around-the rapacious respect for Sanatana Dharma, attracting inquiring minds like mongGose, brought to the islands by plantation owners to control Emerson and Thoreau. For the first time, Europe came to know rats who were ~evouring sugar cane crops. Not only was the rat the profundity of Indian philosophy, and, as Delhi's Ram Swarup nocturnal while the mongoose was diurnal (so they never met), but notes, "Christianity began to be subverted from within, without a the mongoose morphed from savior to savager, killing chickens and single missionary from India visiting Europe." Something similar driving rare "!:>irds to' ex~inction's edge. Unintended consequences. happened with the monumental scholarship of Sir William Monier

Behold the ominous green sea of kudzu taking over the American Williams, who labored for decades on A Sanskrit-English Dictio-Southeast and costing hundreds. of millions to eradicat!1. The vine nary to empower missionaries in translating the Bible and thus didn't come from Mars. Seventeen million seeds were intentionally make·Christian propaganda more effective. Far from serving that introduced from Asia by govern- r-;;~V"'7""""'~""""::::-:-:~-::-==="""""""" "..,.,.,.=;;+.:-::====-, purposE<, today his work draws m,ent agriculturalists seeking to ,.. ~ thoughtful scholars into Hinduism stop erosion and revitalize the ~ £ through the language and strengthens soil. Its vigorous, astonishingly un- ~ g the Hindu's self-ul1derstanding. Unin-managable growth habits were ~ ~ tended consequences. never considered, ans:! it now de- :: ~ Its happening ag~ today. Witness stroys entire forests, 'engulfs build- ~ ~ the massive diaspora of Sri Lanka's ,..,.. ings and pulls down telephone /~:; Tamil Hindu community. Ethnic fight-poles (really!). To kill it, spec;:ial ~ ~ ing has driven 700,000 Hindus from herbi~ides were developed, B ~ their homeland, forcing the~ to find which, wouldn't you know, so ef- ~ ~ refuge around the globe [see story fectively poison the soil that noth- 8 ~ page 22]. But they are not languishing. ing can grow for a year. Erosion ac- Their innate. ambition, love of educa-tually increases where it was planted! tion and commitment to community Unintended consequences. have brought Lanka's refl,lgees more opportunity than oppression.

Edward Tenner calls these "revenge effects" in his bestseller They have become profeSSionals, buitt temples and strengthened . Why Things Bite Back. Tenner distinguishes such consequences their situation in almost every case. Yes, they have suffered sJ.eeply. from mere side effects in this )Nay: "If a cancer chemotherapy But they are now established, and their enhanced financial and in-treatment causes baldness, that is not; a revenge effect, but if it in- telleqtual resources are feeding back to families and causes in Sri duces another, equally lethal cru;¢er, that is a revenge effect." His Lanka. T:t:Sing to rein in the Tamil Hindus, the Singalese Buddhists catalog of such events is mindboggling. He notes how home securi- have spread them like wildflower seeds across the .planet where ty systems installed by the hundreds of thousands diminished safe~ they (along with their spiritual and cultural heritage) are taking ty. Why? Because. cheap systems became popular, and these flood- root and flourishing as never before. ed police stations with false alarms. In Philadelphia, a mere 3,000 One is reminded of a Guru Nanak story. Inhospitably received of 157,000 calls over three years ·were re!tl, diverting the equivalent in a village, he bestowea a seeming blessing, saying, "May God ot58 full-time officers to answer them and promoting crime in keep you together always.".Warmly welcomed in another, he ut-these neighborhoods. Unintended consequences. tered an apparent curse, '':May God scatter you e.verywhere."

Hinduism has historically been more the foisted upon than the Pressed to explain, he offered: "It is better that bad people stay in foister, and thus is a net beneficiary of revenge effects. Consider one place so their influence is limited; similarly, it is best that good the British enterprise of indentured laborers, developed after slav- people are dispersed so their influence becomes widespread."

8 HINDUISM TODAY, AP~IL, 1997

'15 "All great ones have ~nderbne suffering.

'None can eS,c@pe ~hat is ordai.ned."

ltfoM, Nor

-

"Knowledge devoid of devotion is like chewing stones." Mata Amritanandamayi

Sage, Yogaswami (1872-1964)

I sought Him in terms of I and you. But He who knows not I from you taught.\lle the truth that I indeed is you. And now I talk not of I and you. Tlrumantlram, Verse 1441

Onqe a chief minister, in a: sudden spirit of renunciation, said, "I don't want to possess anything, I just want to be free." He renounced the world and went to sit in front of a temple. The king went tq the minister and inquired, "What is it you have gained by leaving everything to sit here like thiS?" The mi~ister looked up at the king and replied, "Yesterday I was standing and you were sitting. Today I am sitting and you are standing. That is the first gain."

"A spiritual man has to have the upper hand on the lower nature."

pne day two children were talking as children do. One said, "If you show me where God is, ru give you a mango." The other child looked around for a moment, then offered, ''I'll give you two man­goes if you can show me where God is not!"

Question: What do you get when you cross an agnostic with a dyslexic insomniac? Answer: Someone 'who stays up all night won­dering if there really is a'Dog.

It is easy to get what you think of, if you can get yourself to think of it. Tirukural, Verse 540

"Not compassi~ to jivas) but service to them as Siva." Sri Ramakrisna (1836-1886)

I'VE EVEN TAKEN A FIRM VOW NEVER TO EAT ANYTHING

AFTER I GO TO SLEEP, AND BEFORE I WAKE UP.

APRIL, 199 7 HINDUISM TGDAY 9

Loving Ganesa, at once simple,

deep and practical, teaches ever so

many ways that Ganesas grace

can be attained by sincere devo-

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to bring greater harmony.

contentment and spirituality into

ones daily life. An SOD-page illus-

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Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. $19.95

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We can and m\lst continue our Sri Lankan Tamil Hindu heritage in our new homelands

BY, T H I R USA T K U N END RAN

ORN IN BEAUTIFUL SRI

to Hindu parents, t fortunate to live very

close to the famous Nallur Kandaswamy Temple in Jaffna.

In July, 1983, riots erupted istand-wide, and thousands of Tamils were killed by Sinhales rioters. The.murder, looting and arson were condemned world­wide. This was the beginning of an exodus of refugees to many countries.

As a result, one can see Tamil places of wor9hip, shops, food outlets, newspapers and TV, programs in many places in the world. World cities such as Toronto, Paris and London have adjusted themselves to accommodate·this sudden explosion of a new ·culture. In just six years the Sri Lankan population in Metro Toronto has grown 600 percent and is still burgeoning.

I was. fortunate to enter Canada with my family, as I already had two brothers and a sister here. But not everyone in Sri Lanka was able to escap~ the continuing agony. We encount~red many difficulties. Our children were unable to speak English flu- . ently. There wa~ then only one place of worship-for Lord Ganesha-in a mobile trailer in a lonely spot outside of town. Everything was new to us. The Canadian cold winter was not a pleasant experience, but determination and worship of God helped us tremendously. We had to go in sub-zero temperatures and tread through knee-deep snow to pray at the Ri,fhmond Hill Ganesha Temple.

Back home in Jaffna, people are living in a bygone era with no electricity,. no com­munication, no water supply and little food. There is no medicine, no hospital facilities, no freedom of movement. Peace is not in sight. We exchange correspondence only; and that fakes several months. In every letter comes disheartening news of known and related .l(eoples' demise due .to bomb-

ing or shelling. We learn of food shortages, skyrocketfng prices and the urgent need for caSh, as the economy is at a standstilL Amidst all the killing and may­hem, religion and culture have not been forgotten but, on the other hand, are waxing stronger. Our Hindu belief is that during periods of calamity God wor­ship is the only solace that will

bring peace to the Ipind and souL Tamils, wherever they go, fortunately

take their culture and Hindu philosophy with them. Even so, there are a few black sheep who have hugged the Western style, have lost re~pect for the elders and the law of the land. Freedom comes with a price, and here in Canada it is sometimes abused by a few, and the sh~e has to be borne by the rest of the community. Some are suffer­ing from culture shock, others from stress.

Our newcomers to the West should not grasp the Western style of "live today and die tomorrow with no regrets." Instead, they should learn to live for thei{ spiritual upliftment. They should observe age-old Hindu traditions and guide their children

4:0 follow the same, to lead a meaningful life, with due respect t.o parents, guru ap.d God. We have among us today highly experienced teachers and other professional Tamils, and our youngsters in univer~ties are shining, which is an encouraging sign.

If we do hot build up our culture, all our efforts in having built temples and even our language itself will be forgotten by the next generation, and our children will blame us I

for our failure to guide them. We hope and pray that on this 125th

birth anniversary of His Greatness, Siva Yogaswami, our prayers will be answered.

THIRU SATKUNENDRAN, 51, has resettled in Toronto, Canada, with his family . He works as an account clerk in a local firm.

Judy Thorp with her daughter~

CROs.5-CULTURAL

Asian Roots TfIE us ADOPTION NETWORK

I called "Spice" conducts South Asian Culture Camps or­ganized by US parents to ex-­pose adopted South-Asian chil­dren to the culture and religion of their birth parents of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. Judy Thorp, with three Bangladeshi and ,Indian daughters, told HINDUISM To­DAY, "My children are baptized as Catholics, but we believe all religions leadto the same God. There is only one God. Many Hindus help us. We take children to Hindu temples, hold fes-, tivals at home and try n, use Hindu scriptures." To help, or for help:

USA TEMPLES

For the Next Generation i\ BEAUTIFUL NEW TEMPLE

J=\plan was ~ecently released after ten years of work by the Delaware, USA, Hindu Temple Association. Noteworthy is the broad, integrated community agenda that centers on a place of worship but encompasses youth education, positive com­munity relations and services such as "helping needy local families, opening the down­stairs hall to the communify for meetings on local issues." Past . president Bharat Gajjar hopes the temple will s,em the youth drain: ;'In Delaware, 90 percent of Hindu girls have married outside the Hindu fold. Now the temple can offer them a Hindu wedding and sufficient education so at least they will raise their children as Hindus."

JUDY THORP, 14655 WIGWAM LANE

BIG RAFlo.: MICHlG"':' 49307 USA

PHONE; 616--796-8627 Delaware temple, on 4.4 wooded acres J

IN DIA

Bringing Hindus ,' Back Home

NEW DELHI'S ASIAN AGE RE­

ported that in a December speech Vishwa Hind\ll'arishad president Ashok Singhal told party ,workers, "52,000 Muslims returned to Hinduism recently in the Gyawar area of Ajmer district in Rajastlian as a result of the Parishad's new p0licy to vehemently counter the conver-

sion mission of Islamic and Christian missionaries." He W!iS

addressing VHP workers at a gathering after visiting the par­ty's new 200-acre development

Catholic and Hindu ministry, inside Swaminarayan Mandir

INTERF A ITH

}.\rchbishop Visits UK Shrine

T HE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, THE MOST REVEREND

George Carey, made an historic first visit to a British Hindu temple on December 13-the Swaminarayan Mandir in Neas­den, London. He was given a tour by the mahant of the temple, Sadhu Atmaswarupdas. Rev. Carey spoke eloquently on interre­ligious understanding and cooperation. 'We need to express generosity and genuine tolerance in listening to the experiences of those from traditions different to our own. Interfaith dia­logue is not an option but a necessity. Building on a foundation of our common humanity, our shared spiritual quest and our common longings for peace, acceptance and love, we can speak and act together in a number of ways. For instance, we can together stand against the evils of racism, and challenge the ma­terialism that threatens to become all-enveloping. We can together work for the protection and enhancement of our environment; we can together bring practical help and support to those who suffer, both in this country and around the world."

comple.x outside Mumbai. After reconversion the VHP "have

. not left them high and dry," he said, but were busy "acclimatiz­ing" the .converts by organizing

rit~s, discourses by Hindu saints, celebm­tion of festivals and providing health and educational services. In Bansawada dishict another 5,000 had , converted .from Chrls-

Hindus gathered at Rajasthan festival

tianity back to Hinduism, and 275 VHP service projects there had "wiped out" the Christism missionary impact. In West Bengal, 250 service centers are countering conversion to Islam. VHP has set a goal to float 10,000 Hindu missionaries by the year 2,000. Singhal lament­ed that before the 1947 parti­tion, Hindus constituted 75 percent of India's popUlation, but now form only 61 percent of the combined population of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

APRIL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 11

/

No ethnic walls or polarizations at Anchorage, Alaska, Deepavali

SOCIETY

Snowland's Ethnic Harmony

MAYBE IT'S JUST TOO COLD OUTSIDE TO REMAIN COOlS aloof and socially withdrawn. Whatever the reason, the Alaskan Cultural Association of India brings to­

gether Indian Hindus, Bangladesh Muslims, Parsis and even American converts to Hinduism. True, most immigrant com­munities accept light "on the job" cross-ethnic socialization. But in Anchorage they have taken down all community barriers of­ten found in UK, Malaysia, Canada and USA, where Tamils, Gujaratis, Pakistani Muslims, Kerala brahmins and Caribbean Hindus, though neighbors, are worlds apart. An Anchorage Daily News report by Eric Burkett (a Bu.ddhist) says Alaskas small 200-strong, isolated Asian community has little choice but to stick together. Niraj Chandra told him that a high level of education helped the mostly professional group push beyond barriers. ACAI's new president, Anil Roy, held his first board meeting over lunch at his home, hosting a Muslim, Pakistani and an American Hindu. It was warm inside, if not out.

ROME

In God's Name? I AST OCTOBER IN ROME THE W:;atholic Community of Sant' Egidio, held a gathering called "Peace is the Name of God." In­side the Vatican reported that

"400 representatives of differ­ent religions, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Shintos, as well as more Qbscure Japanese and Indian cults," gathered for three days of prflyer and dialogue. Sant'Egidio's members work for understand­ing and leadership for peace "with each religion maintaining its own faith and characteris­

tics." Some Catholics wor­ry Sant'Egidio may end up "syncretistic," ignoring reli­gions' differences. But 1. V. says the Vatican supports them and "hopes their work may have a real evan­gelical and peacemaking role in the years ahead." Omshanti!

Orange-robed Hindu monks join world clf:rgy

12 HINDUISM TODAY. APRI.L, 1997

AND STATE

M YANMAR'S GOVERNMENT,

known as the State Law and Order Restoration Council, faces international sanctions for human rights violations. Still, the nation supports the Buddhist priesthood and al-

. lows Hindu groups to thrive. The Organizer reports that in October a Hindu Raksha Ban­dhan festival was held -by the Sanatana Dhamma Palaka As­sociation at a SLOCR office and the Minister for Religious Affairs, Lt. Gen. Myo Nyunt, spoke on the importance of the mettha, loving kindness, in­voked by this important Hindu festival. Hindus/also organized a formal presentation of robes and alms to Buddhist monks of the State Sangha.

Just being,a good human being

MUSIC MODEL

Soul Man's Soul

V IRTUOSO VIOLI:NIST AND

fusionist, L. Subramaniam, is a family man and a role model. In an interview for Life Positive he says, "I tend to treat Gods and Goddesses as my friends. Ganesha is dearest to me, for He symbolizes the tri­

umph against all odds. My personal religion is to speak my truth gen­tly, not to hurt anyone and to try to be a. good human being. It may sound like a cliche, but it is so difficult in today's world. There is so much strife and cOJllpetition."

Raksha Bandhan celebrated in Myanmar

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

ENVIRONMENT

Pasupati's Polluted River

NEPAL'S KATHMANDU VAL­

ley, with its sacred Bag­mati River and powerful Pashu­patinath Temple, is fast joining the ranks of environmental disaster areas. This mystical cleft of beauty nestled below Earth s rughest peaks occupies only .4 percent of Nepal's land but carries 66 percent of its verucles. Here, over 80,000 ve­hicles run on just 200 miles of roads. Pilgrims are disillu­sioned to find the Bagmati water unusable for worship. Even the temple has stopped using the water for ritual ablution and has resorted to pure well water. A public outcry is growing that, hopefully, will soon lead to needed changes.

CLOCk~ISE crR~o~~~i:, ~~~:t;~~~iio~~~~~~~&A!~~~~;~: STEPHEN HUYLER, INSIDE THE VATICAN

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Hard to Be Hindu THE ARTICLE, "IT'S EASIER TO BE A HINDU in, Ireland than in India," (MY TURN, Janu­ary '97), deserves my vote of thanks. In my own case, I was born outside India to de­vout Vaishnava parents but received very scant teachings. I was lost as to how to learn to be a practicing Sanatani rather than just roaming about with a ':Hindu" la­beL I picked up superficial knowledge from reading life biographies of' great saints which gave me food for thought and a thirst for deeper understanding.

H.J. PREMJEE .... RUE DE LA GARE, SWITZERLAND

"IT'S EASIER TO BE HINDU IN IRELAND than in India" gives a clear message that something is ailing India. By invading the social infrastructure through the mute of health care, social care, education and job possibilities, foreign.religions in India have outsmarted the native Hindu religion. Hinduism is not offering any practical so­lution to the present-day problems of edu­cation, health, economics and social order. In today's world Hinduism, too, needs to acquire effective strategies, image-building and salesmanship. Then people can realize it is not only a great philosophy but can also bring solutions to the day-to-day mis­ery to which nine hundred million Hindus are subjected in the land ·of their birth.

Let's Move On

DR. VATSALA SPERLING ROCHESTER, VT, USA

\o,vs@gotoit.com

SINCE INDEPENDENCE, LOTS OF CHANGES have forced the break-up of the joint family system ("Joint families, a Venerable Tradi­tion in Jeopardy," SPECIAL REPORT, January '97). The total lifestyle in India has changed. Economic conditions, decline in education and .. upbringing, political corruption, disre­gard 'of religion, blind following of the West, etc., are some of the major causes. In North America we ha\(e to find better solutions. In­novative ideas have to be searched for by our social thinkers and philosophers. The earlier we do this, the better it will be for us.

PRAKASH MODY NORTH YORK, ONTARIO, CANADA

'-prakash_Mody@tvo.org

THE JOINT FAMILY SYSTF;M, DISCUSSED IN your January issue, sounds good on paper, but there are several factors that make it un­workable in contemporary society The joint family system was an economic necessity and an arrangement of convenience when the economy' was agriculture-based. With the advent of industrial growth and a ser­vice-based econ0my, it is no longer possible

14 HiN DUISM TODAY APRIL, 1997

LETTERS for family members to stay in the same place and still survive economically. People have to move where the jobs are.

PRADEEP SRIVASTAVA DETROIT, MICHIGAN, USA

\o,srivasta@rnms.water.ci.detroit.mi.us

Ah,Shucks I HAVE NOTHING B1:JT SUPERLATIVES OF the new manifestation of Hinduism Today Extraordinary! Distinctive-no, unique! Beautiful! Soulful! Inspiring! Encouraging! Educational! Up to the minute! Global! Mys­tical! Supernatural! The new look transmits a spiritual and also earthly beauty wide awake that was sleeping in the previous for­mat. You have risen to new heights, while keeping all that was important and precious about the previous HINDUISM TODAY. Con­gratulations millions of koti-s of times to you alL A triumph! I feel as if I did it myself; I am taught this is real "oneness." •

DR. KUSUMITA P. PEDERSEN JAMAICA, NEW YORK, USA

Food for Thought I AM ENCLOSING AN ARTICLE ON GENETIC engineering of food. You should address this issue in one of your future publications. As your arficles are characterized by careful re­sear~h, intelligent arguments and the support of scripture, any word from you lends greater impact on the international readership.

MARION ZOBOSKI TOKYO, JAPAN

GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE CURE TO MANY cancers and infectious diseases may eventu­ally be from changes in genetic structure, it may not be wise to use religion to stop such progress. The major caveat is that in the manner ultrasound was used to detect fetal sex and induce abortions (as is done indis­criminately in India), genetic engineering may be used to manipulate the very core of our beings in a commercial manner.

RAJA BHATT, MD '-rajabhat@wilmington.net

Know Your Religion MOST YOUNG HINDUS IN MALAYSIA HAVE converted easily simply because they are blindly following rituals without knowing the meanings behind them. Some of our Hindu practices are scorned at, and most of us feel apologetic for them. I find HINDUISM TODAY attractive because it brings together the different views that make up I:!induism.

SUSILA D EVI BALAKRISHNAN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

\

I DON'T AGREE WITH DR. ASHOK K. JAIN (LETTERS, December, 1996) that we should tolerate Christian missionary activity be-

cause their money benefits the economy In Somalia, Africa, Christian missionaries tried to ~pread Christianity among local Somalies py offering food, shelter and education. But the Somalia people were ready to die of hunger rather than to convert. They chased the Western missionaries away at gunpoint Every Muslim child is taught Islam when they reach age six. If every Hindu could learn and ~nderstand the greatness of Hin­duism, I'm sure the problem of conversion would be less. I don't ask Hindus to die in hunger, but don't exchange your religion fo,r food or a luxurious life.

K. KUMAR SHARMA JOHOR BARRU, MALAYSIA

Just Happened to Be a Hindu TO SAY SAl BABA'S MISSION IS TO SPREAD Hindu culture is not right. His mission is to bring back the Vedic knowledge to its origi­nal value. The misconception is to reckon the Vedas with only Hinduism. The Vedic culture just happened to be Hindu culture.

\

SABAPATHY SIVA M.D. COQUITLAM, CANADA

'-Sabapathy _Siva@mindlink.bc.ca

Self Perpetuating YOUR RESPONSE PROVIDED TO DR. MUKU­nda Rao-to give a proportional voi€e to every Hindu lineage-is commendable (LETTERS, January '97). Hinduism is not personality based. It is well founded on the Vedas and Upanishads. For a serious seeker, the journey from paroksha jnana (percep­tive knowledge and physics) to aparoksha jnana (metaphysics) happens to be a tortu­ous one. Fortunately, the tools of hypothesis, logic, induction, validity and self-disputation were used by different system builders to es­tablish and propagate the Hindu lineages.

... Corrections

RANJI RAO DESHISTA SAN DElCO, CALIFORNIA, USA

'-raosr@gat.com

'V" Mahatma Gandh(s photograp/;; page 29 January '97, was courtesy of ,Dinodia. V" The Hindu S1Iudents Council's (USA) cor­rect e-mail address is hsc-can@hindunet.org. Visit their informative culrural and religiOUS home page at www.hindunet.orglhsc-canl

Letters with writer's name, address and daytime phone number, should be sent to:

Letters, HINDUISM TODAY 107 Kaholalele Road KAPAA, HI, 96746-9304 USA or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 or e-mailed to: letters@Hindllism Today,kau'ai.hl.lls

Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may appear in electronic versions of HrnDUISM TODAY. '- INDICATES LETTERS RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL

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Yoga Vani Instructions for the attainment of Siddhayoga during sadhana. postpaid: US$13.50 (USA) $16.50 (Canada)

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LAW

Germany's Clash .with SCiento'logy High -tech faith claims organized persecution

. N DECEMBER 1996 GERMANY'S FED­::~ eral and regional governments adopted 't a package of measures to counter what ill they called the "expansionist aims and

daim,to domination" of the Church of Scien­tology. Scientology is an applied religious philosophy of self-imprpvement, founded in 1954 by American science fiction writer and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986. The Church, centered in Los Angeles, estimates eight million members worldwide (including India), and 30,000 in Germany.

Grievances: SCientology leader with open letter tQ Kohl

"an end to this shameful/pattern of organized persecution," which it likened to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews in the 1930s. Furious with the comparison, the government dismissed the ads as an insult to· the victims of the Nazis. The Church sajd Kohl's dismissal "is typical of the con­tempt and indifference shown by highhanded German officials to the, Church's extensively docu­mented complaints of discrimi­nation over the past five years."

In January, US State Depart- '" ment spokesman Nicholas Burns, rebuked both sides in the dis1

pute, but said authorities in Bonn ''have interfered, we believe, with the religious rights of many Sci­entologists, among them Ameri-can citizens." ,

In Greece, an Athens court called the Church a danger to so­ciety and ordered'1t to close, stat­ing that "It is an organization with medical, social and ethical practices that are harmful." The move followed numerous com­

Trouble in Germany surfaced last sum­mer when youth members of Germany's rul­ing Christian Democratic Party demon­strated against the hit movie "Mission Impossible" because its star, Tom Cruise, is a Scientologist. In December, Germany said it would set up a central office to coordinate a federal and state carhpaign against the Church of Scientology, and would keep peo­ple linked to the group out of certain public jobs, such as counseling and teaching. Ger­man Chancellor Helmut Kohls government accused the Church of driving its recruits

into bankruptcy, splitting their families and seeking "demination" of German society, ac­cording to a NEWSWEEK report. The re­spected, magazine noted, "The Church has often been accused of brainwashing and fleecing its members and of intimidating its critics with threats and lawsuits."

Scientologists countered with newspaper ads, most recently an open letter to Kohl in the International Herald Tribune signed by 34 non-Scientologist Hollyw.ood VIPs includ­ing Goldie Hawn, Dustin Hoffman and Oliver Stone. It called on Germany to bring

plaints from relatives of members of the Church who claimed their Greek center transformed their kin into moody or suicidal automatons. Scientologists called the case a sham. International president Jentzsch crit­icized the case in a letter faxed from Los Angeles, stating "It is unfortunately reminis­cent of the former junta that ruled Greece as a totalitarian state, and the assault today is simply because the mission is not ortho­dox according to the prevailing vested inter­ests in Greece."

From Associated Press reports

'Owner's Manual for. the Human Mind' UTHOR L. RON HUB­bard began his move­ment with the 1950 publication of Dianet­

ics: The Modem Science of Mental Health. The book was an immediate best seHer. It is a 650-page account of Hub­bard's theory of the mind, called Dianetics. Its goal is to create a "Clear." A Clear, Hubbard explains in the intro­duction, is a person free of all psychoses, neuroses and re­pressions as well as any psy­chosomatic illness. His intelli­gence will be "high above the

norm," Hubbard asserts, and "Observation of his activity demonstrates that he pursues existence with vigor and satis­faction."

The Encyc/:opedia Britanni­ca explains, 'f\.ccording to Dia­netics, every experience is recorded in the mind as a mental image. Painful experi­ences, called engrams, are not completely available to the 'an­alytic: or conscious, mind. When stimulated by later ex­periences, engrams, which are part of the 'reactive or sub­conscious mind, cause irra-

tional behavior. Therapy re­quires working with an 'audi­tor' to confront engrams in or­der to 'clear' or free the mind." Dianetics believes in a thetan as the soul OI: life energy which. reincarnates. Most parishioners believe in God, but it is not a requirement of the system, nor are personal observances such as vegetari­anism. It holds that man is fundamentally good, and what is called evil results from aber­rations whioh can be removed permanently through self­knowledge.

Bible of Scientology: A com­plex analysis of human psyche

APRIL, 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 17

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"P,.ARAMPARA," an annual five-day festival celebrating the "Indianness underlying var­ious aspects of Mauritian culture," as Indi­an High Commissioner Shyarh Saran de­scribed it, was held in the island nation's capital of Port Louis. Featuring classical dance and music, more than IS0~artists-all Mauritian-participated in the unique themes for each day, including "The Mystic Yogi," "The Legends of Shiva and Parvati," and "The Divine Lovers-Radha and Krishna." Mauritian President Cas am Uteem paid tribiute at the November event /' to his nation's forefathers for maintaining their cultural identity.

/'

VEDIC HIGH-TECH-no, it's not an oxymoron. Studies of ancient Sariskrit shastras pre­served on palm leaves are yielding \'a com­plete compendium of formulas for manu­facturing super-alloy's, with properties unknown in modern times," reports Nexus. C.S.R. Prabhu, Technical D~rector of India's National Informatics Centre, says among. the alloys being tested are tamogarbha loha, a lead alloy of unusual properties, pancha loha, a blend of leac;l, copper and zinc which had unusual corrosion resis­tance to salt water for a copper alloy, cha­pala grahaka, a high-quality ceramic and bhandhira loha, a soundproof alloy. India's aerospace and defense industries are both said to be interested.

PRISON DIETS IN INDIA, called "woefully in­adequate" by the India's National Human Rights Commission, are now going-veggie. Having considered regional differences and requirements, and based on advice from

the National Institute ~~~ir.~!i?i~ of Nutrition in Hy- ~ derabad, "We recom­meI}.d only a vegetar­ian diet, and its cost comes to about US$O.SO per day." said NHRC chairman Jus­tice Ranganath Misra. Now, veggie cuisine

SPEAKING OF SOUND SCIENCE ... Tom Kenyon, Director of Research and Development at Acoustic Brain Research, writes, "The Vedic rishis of ancient Intlia coined a term­that conveys their experience-of the world as vibratory in nature. The term nada brah­man means literally 'the world is sound: And modern quantum physics would agree with the basic tenet." Kenyon is studYing the affect of r£.antras, chanting and rhyth­mic drumming on brain processes and

20 H INDUISM TODAY APRIL , 1997

physiology. He finds a reduction in stress hormones, slower heart and breath rates and EEG changes, including increases in alpha and theta activity.

POLITICS ASIDE, it seems God's blessings are a common desire. The Hindustan Times re­ports "almost all VIP leaders of the major political parties in the country made a bee­line to the Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Venkateshwar Temple in 1996 to pray for political success in the elections."

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S MISSION to America included the 18@3 World ParliaIIJ.ent of Re­ligions in Chicago. His triumphant return to India was'in 1897, and a centenar), re­enactment was planned for January ;26 to February 6. Monks of the Ra­makrishna Math and tens of thou­sands of devotees were to retrace Swami's route from Pamban, Rameswaram, to Vivekananda Illam Chenmu in honor of Swami's crowning achievement. A huge portrait taken at the Parliament needs three vehicles to transport in the parade. The Ramakrishna Math has appealed to the state for possession of the IS5-year-old Vivekananda Illam, where Swami stayed for nine days upon returning from the West.

SRI LANKA IS SUPPORTING UN observanse of two Islamic holidays. Eid-ul Fitr and Eid­ul-Adha, the end of Ramadan and the Hajj, which fallon different dates each year ac-cording to the Islamic calendar, will now join Christian Good Friday and Christmas as thy only religious festivals observed by the United Nations. There is no indication th{lt other world religions will receive the same recognition.

ANONG, THE FLOATING NUN, is attracting thou­sands of tourists each day to he' temple in Kanchanaburi, 70-miles west of Bangkok, .

. Thailand. Ten times daily the Buddhist nun, wearing her white habit, enters the temple pond, raising her arms and crossing her legs in poses of the Buddha and Hindu Deities. But as reported by the AP, "though she never treads water or touches bottom, her face never falls below the surface. Anong says total concentration ~d the po~d spirits enable her to float serenely."

BUDDHISM IS BURGEONING in France, where

"..

Religion Watch indicates IS percent of the ,French express an interest in Buddhism. Two million people describe it as "the reli­gion they like the best," and over 200 Zen, Tibetan and other Buddhist meditation centers have opened since the late '60s. Most of France's 600,000 Buddhists are of Asian origip, "but millions are influenced by Buddhism, particularly in profeSSional and intellectual circles," said the report.

HINDU STRENGTH REMAINS a target for Chris­tian evangelicals. In fact, the Global Prdyer ,Digest keeps profiles of specific Hindu communities-perhaps even yours. Maurit­ian Hindus are profiled, as are the "Chettier" of Tamil Nadu. "Like most peoples with a well-entrenched religious system: the Chet­tier are not responsive to the gospel," the Digest reports, noting only "25 of the 10,000 Chettier have responded to Christ. They are offered reading lessons, food and jobs by the churches. But the Chettier rarely accept Christ unless they are in a desperate situation."

DHARMA CALLS US ALL: Cambodia's Prince Norodom Ranariddh, his head and eye­brows ceremoniously shaved, preserved a long royal family tradition by entering a Buddhist mOlJ.astery for one week "I be­came a monk to learn the teachings of Bud­dhism and to clear my mind in order to have good character and show gratitude to my parents and cOlJ1patriots," said the prince. The largest, albeit ina~tive, Hindu temple in the world is Angkor Wat in Cam-00dia. It is a common tradition in South­east Asia for young men to spend a certain number of months as monks.

CONSTABLES CAN'T WORSHIP KALI anymore­at least not in the precincts of Tripura. Such annual worship is customary but, as

,., Press Trust of India reports, "in a bid to 'dissociate govern- /' w----.r""",,,,='" ment machinery from all kinds of reli­gious activity, the government in Tripu­ra has directed the state police to stop ".. performing worship of Deities inside , the premises of po- Kali Ma outlawed lice stations."

BRIEFLY is compiled from press, TV and wire-service reports and edited by RAVI

PERU MAN, award-winning radio journalist at KGO in San Francisco.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: ADVAlTA ASHRAMA, ROBIN HAMILTON, HINDUISM TODAY

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92

is erse Jaffna in London: The Gopu-Thangavelu nagasvaram troupe escorts the groom into the wedding hall. The full-time Jaffna musicians travel all over Europe.

r ...

-

SPECIAL REPOHT ,

Fourteen years of bitteF civi~ war between Sinhalese Buddhists and TanHl Hindus forced

, 700,000 Tamils to flee Sri Lanka. What began as a temporary diaspora in search of safety ~as become, for most.' a":permanent resettlement. Many are asking themselves, will'their Hindu religion and culture survive?

N 1975 THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH Commissioner for Refugees estimated 2.5 million refugees worldwide. To­day the UNHCR reckons there are 27 million refugees from war and p0liti­cal, religious or ethnic persecution in

140 countries. The 700,000 Tamils-one­third of Sr-i Lanka's pre-war Tamil popula­tion-are a small part of this global dis­placement. Many refugees, such as the six million ~ho fled Afghanistan at the height of conflicts ther-e, wait out hostilities in neighboring countries. Similarly, 20»,000 Tamils, as2cording to international relief agencies (1'00,000 by Sri Lanka government count), are waiting in India. India has no in­tention of allowing this community to re­main. When the war is over, whether next year or next decade, they will be sent home.

A half-million Tamils have fled around the globe. This group, too, thought their asylum temporary. But the prospect of peace is no closet now than ten years ago. Slowly, this re-

. ality is being acknowledged. Those in COUR­

tries that offer citizenship, such as Canada, Australia and Denmark, are actively taking it. Those in nations without this option, such as Switzerland, are finding their way to places with more settlement opportunities. Economic crisis, especially rising unemploy­ment, iripotential host countries and the un­precedented global flood of refugees has caused even previously hospitable societies such as Canada to restrict entry.

How did all these people enter so many different countries on Sri Lanka passports? For security reasons, those directly involved tend to wax vague when pressed for details. Several tragedies have inadvertently re­vealed some of the methods. The most re-

. cent was 'the apparent sinking of a boat and unconfirmed drowning of 209 refugees-in­cluding 50 Tamils-in the Mediterranean on December 25, 1996. Police reports cJfsclose

~ the Tamils had paid US$8,OOO each to a Co­~ lombo/ 'agent" to be transported by air to ~ Cairo lli}d then by boat to Italy. On Novem­: ber 23, nine Tamils died aboard the hi­< jacked Ethiopian airliner that crashed into ~ the ocean off Comoros. According to news

I

reports, this group Had flown from Colombo to Singapore to Nigeria. They were deported -from Nigeria and flown to Mumbai where they were refused entry and sent away on the doomed flight to Lagos. In Jury, 1994, Europe was stunned when 18 Sri Lankans suffocated while locked in a shipping con­tainer abandoned in Hungary. They were being smuggled from Russia into Europe. Each had paid $7,600 to be flown from C:;olombo to Moscow and transported through Eastern Europe. Until 1985, the fa­vored route was through East Berlin, from where it was easy to enter West Berlin. Un­til 1989, 19arents could take the desperate method of sending children as young as five or six to Germany directly, as visas were not required for those under 16. Unaccompa­nied children usually arrived with only the phone number of a relative or family friend.

Whatever the route, the resulting reality is a foreign country with a different climate, language, culture and diet. Adjustments are hard, but Tamil refugees are as resourceful as they are desperate. The first order of business is survival-housing, jobs, school­ing for the children. Somewhere down the list comes the need to establish culture and religion and successfully transmit 'it to the rrext generation-initially by language class­es. Such transmission of religion and culture in;.m alien environment is certainly possi- -ble: though most Hindu Jamils expressed to our journalists no clear idea how they' would do it. Catholics have moved their religion from country to country with little dilution, as have the Muslims. In both cases a trained priesthood and lay ministry see to the sys­tematic teaching of c!J.ildren, and oversee the necessary adjustments .

In ' this global su(vey, HINDUISM TODAY spoke with Sri Lankan Tamil Jeaders in more than a dozen nations who candidly de­scribed their situation and the future. Each lamented the daily agony of knowing their family and friends suffer back in their , beloved homeland, Lanka, yet they can do nothing about it. This harsh reality over­shadows daily life, even as displaced fami­lies adjust to new and safer environs.

APRIL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 23

/

- , ' SI) _~CIAL_ HEPOHT J

Commonwealth Settlers Most Tamils flee to English-~peaking countries

ApPROXIMATELY

160,000 Sri Lanka Tamils now live in Canada-7 percent of

the island's pre-war Tamil population ~nd the largest contentrabion in the Western world. Toronto alone has 125,000-by'far the biggest and most stable of ail expatriate Hin­du communities. "Canadians are very favor­able toward the refugees," said Tiru Rajarat­nam Gunanathan, secretary of the Tamil Eelam Society of Canada. But, faced with a flood of refugees from many countries, even Canada has in the last two years begun re-stricting entry. _

Arriving refugees live on welfare for six months, according to Gunanathan, and by then have gotten one, two or even three jobs in factories, bakeries, restaurants or as secu­rity guards. E~en qualified doctors, engi­neers and teachers start like this. "There are mixed feelings amONg Canadians about the refugees," he said. "Some care a lot. Others detest refugees, thinking they have come to grab jobs." Tamil and Somali refugees far outnumber all others. "We are treated as il­literates because people in Canada don't yet realize Tamils are highly educated," the re­spected elder complained. At Toronto Uni­versity, 35 percent of all engineering stu­dents are Sri Lankan Tamils. Conversion, he said, is not much of ll' problem here.

"The religious tradition is very I strong," states Gunanathan. "There is hardly a week­end op which you will not have several Hin­du programs. On the Tamil New Year, in April, you can't get near the temple. You have to park two miles away, take a shuttle bus, then squeeze into the temple." Temples are built in collaboration with the larger In­dian Hindu community, though Sri Lankan Tamils are among the prime movers. As to religious education, "The Hi,ndu teaching given is at a very high or very low level. There is nothing for the middle cIass of peo­ple," said Gunanathan.

Tamil language study is a primary con­cern, as the children live in an almost entire­ly English-speaking enclave. "Even the chil­dren of some of our priests don't speak Tamil," said Gunanathan. "Many give up try­ing to teach it because of the environment in Which children grow up." Child welfare is the hardest thing to deal with, admits Gu­nanathan. ''When we were in Sri Lanka, we punished children, caned them, to keep

24 HINDUISM TODA·Y A ~ RIL, 1997

Commonwealth welcome: (top ) Canadian devotees parade the Deity around the im­posing outer walls and gopurams of Rich: rrwnd Hill Ganesha Temple. Lankan Tamil children in performance of Saiva Thamil Sangam in Zurich, Switzerland.

them under control. But when th!i(child first goes to school in Canada he is told, 'If your mother or father hits you, dial 911 [the po­lice].' Here you cannot beat a child."

"North Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese all speak their language and maintain their cul­ture," the elder observed. "But we Tamils want to speak English at home, be Western­ized, look like any other Canadian. Yet, my Portugues~ neighbor speaks Portuguese. In thirty years in Canada he has never both­ered to learn English." One can meet Hindu

children raised in Canada with no/religious or cultu'ral education who are indistinguish­able from ordinary Ca~adians, except for their darker skin. A concerted effort is needed to avoid .this becoming the norm.

The 35,000 Lankan Tamils in nearby USA came as professionals, or under the family reunification program. They are a prosper­ous, even elite, community. US immigration has consistently refused asylum status ex­cept when forced by the courts. As a result, the country is a mere waystation for Tamils enroute to Canada, nearly all of whom pass through the US.

'The greatest number of Lankan Tamils in Europe live in the United Kingdom. Ac- I

cording to a UK publisher ~nd elder, 100,000 Lankan Tamils and one' million In­dians live among the Brits. A sizeable group was present in 1983, before the war, and this has facilitated the flow of refugees. Most Sri Lankan refugees live in the London area. London is prospering as no 'other city on Earth! immigration is a major political issue in this ethnically troubled country. The small island nation is dealing with millions of former colonial subjects. Early Lankan arrivals were mostly professionals, now es­tablished as engineers, accountants and teachers. More recent immigrants are gener­ally less educated and accept menial jobs.

Hinduism is well established in the UK, with manY ,Hindu organizations, temples, newspapers anet even three professional Tamil poets. Sri Lankans have blended ef­fortlessly into this stable infrastructure and been instrumental in building several new temples. Many brahmin..:priests from the homeland are performing daily rites and teaching the religion. There are a number of schools and independent teachyrs of lan­guage, music, dance, etc. Still, said the elder, "We have doubts whether the second gener­ation will be strong Hindus." Tamil parents emphasize education, and their children's entering the profession,s.

Thirty thousand SQ. Lankan Tamil~ have fled to Australia. A lib­eral family reunifica­

tion program allowed many to legally join relatives already in the country in 1983, re­sulting in an exponential growth, according' to Jai Maheswaran, 38, of Melbourne. He is world coordinator of the Tamils Rehabilita­hon Organization. About 30 perc~nt of the total came as refugees. Now the situation has changed, and "every attempt is made to discourage immigrants, regardless of where they are coming from," said Maheswaran.

The government does not offer much help flirectly, but it is relatively easy to get estab-

1

lished. Those coming for family reunifica­tion are well-educated people who easily mov.,e among Australias middle- and upper middle-class, observed Maheswaran.

Mo;t Hindu temples in Australia-and every-major city has one or more--.:Game up , after the exodus. Sri Lankans joined with Indian groups to start them. \'Childrens classes are planned," said Maheswaran, ''but not much is .happening yet. The Ceylon Tamil Association in Melbourne .gnd the

sent generation -are fervent followers of Hin­duism," he said, "and so see to the creation of temples. But the participation of the next generation is only because the parents force· them to go. If something doesn't happen very rapidly, the resurgence of Hinduism among Jaffna Tamils won't last long."

kan Tamils are in New Zealand; most en­tered through official channels. The country, he said, promotes multiplicity and accepts a small yearly allotment of refugees from the UNHll.C. Many Tamils in Kiwi Land are professionals; others do factory work.

. T~y Society in Sydney run som~ Tamil . language classes which include children of

- all faiths and do not teach religion. "The pre-

Dr. Rasalingam of Auckland, New Zea­land, is presid,ent of the Ethnic Council

and much involved in the care of refugees from all countries. He estimates 2,000 Lan-

Yogakumar, 30, came to New Zealand af­ter three years in Canada. He is optimistic about the future of Hindus here. Sri Lankan Tamils in Auckland are planning to build a Ganesha temple. There is a New Zealand Tamil Society, and an International Tamil Culture Society which are "working quite well to improve culture and language." ..

• I

:>i

~ '" -< :>i

"

Jaffna Priesthood /

Keerimalai brahmin builds new temple for Sri Lankans in Canada

UMARSWAMI KYRUKAL

is the foremost priest !n Toronto. His family was brought centuries ago

from Banaras tq Sri Lanka by the Jaffna King Vijaya Mahara­ja to do puja at the now 500-year-old temple of Keerimalai, one of Lanka's five great Siva temples. Keerimalai was . de­stroyed by aerial bombing in 1990. His father, thel temple's chief priest, moved to Colombo while Kumarswami, 42, and his wffe Chadhayru fled to Canada. Now they are Canadian citizens with a four-year-old, Canadian­born daughter, Bhagavati. He is chief priest and founder of the Canada Kandaswamy Temple. in Scarborough. So many Sri LanJs.an Tamils live in this Toronto suburb that, "every !;>us

you get on has six or seven," says one resident. It is a tribute to the religiosity of th~ community that virtually all Sri Lankan liturgists who have come to Canada are serving as full-time priests. 'They are very much in demand, do good. service and earn good money, said Gu­runathan of Toronto.

Kumarswami started the Kandaswamy Temple as a pri­vate enterprise. When it turned into a public trust, he became executive officer. "I have ob­served that overseas the con­tact between devotees and the priest is cut by temple trustees," he said. "But at this temple peo­ple can talk to the priest freely and tell their problems." A hun­dred people visit daily, 1,000 on weekends and more than 5,000

at festival times. Last Vijaya Da­

sami, he and 51 other Toronto area priests from Sri Lanka formed

~~~~~~~~ __ ~~ __ -k~~~~~.

. the Canada Hin­du Pries"€: Society. Their goal is a pries~-training school for their children. "There are many temples coming up," said Ku.marswami. "We don't want to have to rely on In-

War's ruins: The bombed-out historic Keeri­malai Sivan Temple ofNorther:n Sri Lanka

I

Ancient priesthood:. Kumarswami Kurukal with wife Chadhayni

dia or Lanka, but have our own trained priests. We are begin­ning the school to prevent our children from becoming ordi­nary Canadians and leaving the priesthood." Twenty of the priests are governmeut-ap­proved marriage registrars: On some auspicious days there may be 30 weddings in the Toronto area: /

Kumarswami reports that the destruction of the ancient Keerimalai Temple was raised in Sri Lanka's parliament in December, 1996, and a de­mand made to restore the his­toric monument. The Sinhalese government promised to look into the matter. The temple, like many others, is in bad con­dition. "There is no temple in Jaffna which is not damaged,"

Kumarswamis relatives report. Three people died and many were injured at Keerimalai in the 1990 bombing, during a festival attended by 500 devo­tees. It was the second aerial attack on the holy shrine. "We were in the midst of a homa to Goddess A~an when '" the temple was bombed. After it was over, we found the Amman Deity intact, but She had turned and faced the wall." The temple ';Pas destroyed cen­turies ago by the Portuguese Catholicsl and rebuilt in the late 19th century. The sea-side sanctuary, which faces India's shore a few miles away, will one day become the responsi­bility of this eldest son, who in­tends to return' and restore Siva's home on the island. ..,.;

APRIL , 1997 HI'NDUISM TODAY 25

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Paris: Thousands of delighted Parisi'Elns 1Iwmed out to watch Lord Ganesha's char~ot parade through the streets. 'Pte sponsoring Ganesha temple was founded in 1985.

SPECIAL REPOHT

The European EXperience Governments struggle with flood of refugees

SWITZERLAND HAS ENJOYED

"a thotisand years of peace and, at 700 years, is the old­est democracy in the world. It has achieved this despite

being divided, like Sri Lanka, into regions according to language-German, French and Italian. Switzerland accepts asylum seekers, and cares for them generously, but there is simply no future for. them in the country. Of the 40,000 Sri Lankan Tamils ther~, only a few dozen may ever achieve citizenship, according to the president of the Swiss Hindu Mamandram.- About 20 per­sons a month have been deported back to £ri Lanka, mostly recent arrivals. High un­employment is contributing to a growing Swiss resentment. Peter Wittwer, the gov­ernment representative in charge of all for­eigners in Zurich, commented favorably upon the conduct and religiosity of the Sri Lankans when he attended a large peace ceremony-held at Zurich'~~:Sivan Temple.

Employment opportunities are limited. The Mamandram. preSident, for example, was an accountant and university lecturer in Sri Lanka. Today he is a waiter, managing a restaurant liguor buffet. Even tHis is 'con­sidered a step"up from the kitchen jobs held by most refugees. Nonetheless, pay is good.

Since 1994 the community has begun a

26 HI NDUISM TODAY AP'RIL , 1997

dozen small temple's around the cC'lUntry. Many areas have Tamil language and reli­gion classes, but the Mamandram. president was not at all satisfied with the level of ed­uc'ation. The temples are staffed by brahmin priests from Sri Lanka who are doing. the pujas and samskaras. The priests also have to work, but they appealed to the govern­ment and were granted permission to find jobs, in flower shops instead of meat- and liquor-serving restaurants.

Christian conversion is a significant prob­lem, ~d in 1993 the Mamandram. organized a conference to fight it. Even two brahmins ha~e been converted and now go about con­fusing the people by reciting Sanskrit mantrams and saying, "This mantram is not for Murugan, it is really -for Jeh'ovah." Esti­mates are that 3,000 have been converted:

"We are all Jaffna, our children are half Jaff­nalhalf German, and our fear is the next genera­

tion German," laments E. Veera­gathiyar, 50, of Berlin. He has beer; in Ger­many since 1985 along with his wife and son, 18, -and daughter, 16. An accou~tant in Sri Lank:a with a government post, he delivers newspapers in Germany. There are perhaps 50,000 Sri Lanka TaIllils in the country,

which has been inundated with refugees from many nations, especially the former Yugoslavia. Relations with native Germans are not always smooth, notably in economi­cally depressed East Berlin. , There are about 25 temples staffed with Sri Lankan priests and 40 Tamil schools in Germany. The Siva Temple in Dortmund is extensive. More than 10,000 devotees (in, cluding many ethnic Germans) have attend­ed festivals at the Amman temple in Hamm. Eight Tami~ language newspapers and mag­azines, plus several radio stations, serve the Sri Lankan community. '

Conversion is a problem, and economi{: inducement is the method of choice. One new convert got in treuble with his pa'"stor ;when he fell down in church and cried out, "Muruga! Muruga!" "Converts are very ac­tive and aggressive," said Veeragathiyar, 'but after changing faith for jobs and privileges, they still come to the temple and pray to Mun}ga." Some German churches bring Tamil Catholic priests from India to conduct Mass in Tamil. ,.

Language is the major barrier for the 60,000 refugees in France, ac­cording to V. Sanderase­karam, 51, founder and

trustee of the Sri Manika Vinayakar Alayam of Paris. Refugees are treated well by. the government, he explained, but only 300 have passed the stringent citizenship re­quirement to read and write French fluent­ly. Like Germany, France is struggling with a huge refugee population and a soaring un­employ~ent rate. ./

The Tamil community has s~veral temples that celebrate all festivals and provide sam­skaras. There are also a few language and culture classes. Christianity has claimed about 4,000 converts here, says Sandera­sekaram. "They promise to get yqu a jon. But if they can really do it, why don't' they help the millions of unemployed French people?" The Christian-dominated country imposes ~ignificant restrictions on other religions­for example, no non-9 hristian place ofwor­ship may be identifiable from the Street.

Sallaswamy's wife died in the aftermath of the 1983 riots, "for wan't of >pedical attention in Co­lombo," he states, with-

out further elabQration. He was left with three boys, ages six, four and three months. Devastated by his loss, he left the boys with relatives and fled to Europe, ending up in Denmark. Now 54, he lives in Skjern work­ing as a translator for the Danish govern­ment with no intention of returning to Lan­ka. His boys joined him in 1989. His eldest son, Kumaran, now 19, said, "In the begin-

ning it was very hard. We are not always treated well. We have not been learning Hin­du r.eligion, excep,t what we read and hear from our father. We've also seen Ramayana and liJahabharata in movies."

The' Danes are making a concerted effort , to assimilate the 7,000 refugees, but turn away new arrivals. Those accepted are given intensive training in the Danish language for the first 18,months. They are able to gain permanent residence and, after s~ years, citiz§Ilship. Initially almost 2,000 converted to Christianity. Many others were going to Catholic churches and "worshiping the Hin­du Gods there since there were no temples," said one devotee. It was observed that these converts tended to' leave Christianity after two or three years and float between the two communities. The priests started con­ducting .... the Vratyastoma ceremony to for­mally bring them back into Hinduism. Th~ Danish. government, under the inspi­

ration of Queen Margaret II, has progi"ams in all schools to teach cllildren their mother tongue. Tamil children take Tamil class sev­eral times a week from first grade. The first graduates mostly educated in Denmark are entering professions and "showipg we can achieve something," said Sallaswamy.

~ . Sivalingam, 63, of Hel­sinki, was the first to ar­rive of 100 Sri Lanka Tamils I).ow in Finland, which lies at the north­

ern end of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Russia. ' It was easl for him to stay in

,

Into Africa: Rapidlg developing countries such1as Zimbabwe w elcome Tamils

1983-once he reached this remote land. He was granted asylum in three weeks, and is now a citizen, as are his wife and three chil­dren. Tamils are widely aispersed in the country. He said there is no organization of Tamils, no temples, and outside the home "It is not P9ssible to practice Hinduism." Siva­lingam was a research assistant at the Uni­versity of Helsinki before retiring, an¢ still teaches Tamil there. He gained local fame in 1994 for his Tamil translations of the nation­al epic Kalevala-a book of old Finnish bal­lads, lyrics and prayers as precious to Finns as the Devaram hymns are to Tamils.

The reception for all refugees in Finland has changed dramatically since 1983. The

Warm Welcome in Cold Norway Earlier Jaffna project opened ~oors

PRE-lg83 .BOAT-BUILD­

ing project in Jaffna sponsored by Norway provided an unexpect­

Far Corners Scattered worldwide by choice or chance

ERHAPS 20,000 LANKAN TAMILS are in Africa, most as contract

' workers, or "stranded" refugees . trying to get to Canada or Europe.

Muralitharan is one of 240 contract workers in Botswana, a landlocked desert nation directly above South Africa. They return to Sri Lanka every two or three years to renew their con­tracts and visas. Their status is "fairly secure," he said. Lankan Tamils are re­ported in Nigeria, Angola, Zambia, Zim­babwe and South Africa. There are 60,000 in the Gulf States, all on tempo­rary contracts. Hindu religious life is dif­ficult in these strict Muslim countries.

A few Lankan Tamils are in South­east Asia. "Not more than 100 Sri Lankan profeSSionals are in Singapore," reports Dohadeva Shanmuga. There are Tamils stranded in Thailand, the Philip­pines and Taiwan, according to Dr. Rasalingam. A few contract workers are reported to be in Brunei and Sabah. Some Sri Lankans pass through Malay­sia on their way to other countries.

ed access to this Scandanavian country. Tiru N. S. Pirabu of Drammen, a government trans­lator and social worker, reports there are now 8,000 Tamns in Norway, of whom half are ~iti- . zens. The first batch ot Tamils were a thousand students ad­mitted to language school in 1984, as a result of contacts be­tween Jaffna famils and gov­ernment personnel involved ,in

the ' maritime project. Fifty have graduated as doctors so far, others as engineers~an early example of the second generation moving easily into top' professions.

The fIrst arrivals had:to make do, however, and as a result are spread all over tll.e country working in restaurants, facto­ries, health and the fish indus­try. Tamils are respected for their disciplined work habits, and earn enough that most own homes and cars. A' recent news­paper report credited them

Forde: Tamil children join in city's International Day parade

, )

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with saving a local industry in the town of Vardo.

Refugees have established . five privately funded Tamil schools. Sivada-s is principal of the Cultural Center for Tamil children in 'oslo. It is a week­end school teaching Tamil lan­guage, Hinduism, dance and

,. music. Now in its fifth year, it has 15 telfchers and 280 chil­dren, ages 3 to 18. All the sch001s operate in public schools rented at nominal rates from the local municipal coun­cil. "This is better than other European count'ties for Ta­mils," said Sivadas. .,.;

APRIL , 199 7 HI'NDUISM TODAY 27

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country is now flooded with thousands of foreigners, including Somalis and others from Africa. ¥ost Tamils in Finland try to move on to other countries. Those that stay aI}! often sent to the North to work-the frigid outpost where nomadic r:appland~rs herd reindeer. There they experience the "midnight sun," as the area lies above the Arctic Circle. For 73 days in the summer the sun never sets below the horizon, and for 73 days in winter never rises abo~ it-hard­sl)ip duty for those born and raised,in the balmy tropics. If they can stick it out, each will be granted permanent status, but most try for Canada, Germany or France.

Pirabu of Norway reports there are about 25,000 Tamils in Italy. Some work in vine­yaras and housekeeping "in very baa condi­tions." One group is well established near Palemlo, according to the TRO. He believes there'were once 30,000 Tamils in the Neth­erlands, but government pressure forced some 10,000 to leave. Unknown thousands are helplessly stranp.ed in Hungary, Turkey, Poland, Russia and ' other East European countries, unable to get jobs or move on.

Hindu religious leaders traveling among

the displaced-Tamils in recent years have en-. couraged ~hem to settl~ down in their new

country, accept t1e karm~ that brought them there, attain citizenship and think about the future of their children. Tl:J.ey are beginning to do this. As seen in this report, a certain lev­el of economic security has been attained in most countries. Nearly all refugees are better off than they were ilJ. war-torn Lanka-a fact that compounds guilt with daily distress as 1:hey worry about family and frien:ds left be­hind. CommUI}ities have recognized that cul­ture, religion and language are not being ad­equately transmitted to the new generation.

Tamils of the diaspora have begun a unique "peace prayer" at meetings. Each touches the forehead, then raises both arms head-high, palms out, chanting "aum" sever­al times while thinking thoughts of peace and well being. By thus sending energy; prana, back' to loved ones in Lanka, they sooth their own emotional strain an(1 subtly serve peace's possibility. In Lanka, too, re­ports are that people are becoming more re­ligious, ·turning to God in their hearts and relieving hardship through prayer. Yet real peace reID-ains a distant hope. ~

Wh~re 'Have Lanka's Tami~ Found Refuge? The majority of the Lankan Tamil reflJgees have found sanctuary in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and ,the J]K, Commonwealth countries wherein their status is most firm. European countries accepted thousands to tens of thousands. Some are well settled, oth­ers are unsettled guests. Thous~mds are stranded in former Eastern Bloc countries, Rus­sja, Africa arid Soufueast Asia. A sizeable number, 60,000, are contract workers in the Gulf. States and some African and Asian countries. India supports 200,000, most~ in camps.

28 HINDUISM TODAY A P RIL, 1997

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TIMELINE

500 bee: Prince Vijaya and 700 followers from Bengal arrive in Sri -Lanka. 306 bee: Sinhalese become Buddhists. 432 ee: Tamil Pandyan king invades. 470: Pandyans ousted by Sinhalese. 1017: Rajaraja Chola annexes Lanka to India. 1070: Sinhalese oust Cholas. 1200: South Indians briefly· wle Lanka. 1400: Tamil kingdom founded in Jaffna. 1591: Portu,guese gain control of Lanka. Massive Catholic conversidn activity follows. 1658: Dutch gain control. 1796: British gain control. 1910: Growth of nationalist movement. 1947: Independence granted; English-edu­cated elite rule the country.

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1956: Bandaranaike's SLFP comes to power, Sinhala declared sole official language, state support of Buddhism becomes law. 1959: Bandaranaike assassinated. 1978: Tamil secessionists gain strength. 1983: LTTE kiU 14 soldiers; thousands die in organized anti-Tamil Dots in Colombo. 1987: India and Sri Lanka sign peace ac­cord with devolution of powers to Tamils. Indian army enters Jaffna. 1990: Peace accord [ails, Indian army leaves 1995: Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratun­ga, admitting Tamils' '1egitimate griev­ances," elected president on peace platform. 1995: Chandrika presents wide-ranging de­volution package. Cease-fire fails. 1996: 400,000 Tamils flee in front of "Oper­ation Riviresa," as army conquers Jaffna. 1997: India sends minister to Colombo with renewed commitment to govt. peace efforts.

PEACE PROSPECtS

Can They Find a Solution, Mutual distrl:lst remmns the biggest hurdle

RI LANKANS ELECTED CHANDRlKA

Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, in 1995 on a platform of peace. She acknowledged that previou~ governments had not

only failed to solve her country's situation, but that their insincere "methods resulted in acts of outright violence." A year and a half later military acl:ion has only increased and peace is no closer. At the moment, the Sin­halese hold Jaffna and have the upper hand. But they face c6ntinue'd desertions from their army and periodic military setbacks. The worst of these took place in the fall of

•. 1996 when 1,200 Sinhalese soldiers died in a single attack on the Mullaitivu army base.

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Still, ethnic disputes of equal or greater violence are being resolved in other parts of the world. The Israelis and Palestinians are reaching agreements on coexistence in a sit­uation with many parallels to that of Sri Lanka.;rhe Serbs, Croats and Muslims of the former Yugoslavia have finally stopped killing each other- albeit with NATO's

'"

heavily-armed encouragement. Parts of the former VSSR have peacefully become inde­pendent countries.

Tamil leaders acknowledge tq.at the ,devo­lution pac.kage initially presented by Chan­drikas government is generally acceptable. That plan creates a federation of regions wherein councils would control local police, education, land use, industry and taxation. It grants a level of autonomy similar to that of each state in the USA. But, they say, some third party must take an interest. Who might that be? India has tried in the past. The "UN is preoccupied with other conflicts. The oil-less island is low on America's list ~ priorities. The Tamils have suggested Nor­way or Canada as a mediator (60 Norwe­gian observers are guaranteeing the latest Israel-Palestinian agreement). One thing is certain: Unless Sri Lanka gets on the world's agenda, the 14-year-old conflict between two peace-affirming communities, Bud­dhists and Hindus, will not end soon. ~ ,

Chandrlka Bandaranaike Kumaratunga: President of Sri Lanka [left] , stated August 5, 1995: "Our new approach is predicated on unqualified acceptance of the fact that the Tamil people have genuine grievances for which solutions must be found. We have the mandate to l"esolve this problem . "

Velupillai Prabhakaran: Leader of the Liber­ation Tigers of Tamil Eelam told the Euro­pean Parliament in 1995, 'We are con­vinced that the Tamil national question can be resolved by peaceful means. It is the government which should take the initia­tive to resume the peace process.»

Lost landmarks: (from top to bottom) Cen­tral post office and Veerasingham Hall; bad­ly-damaged Jaffna public library; the now headless Saint Auvaiyar statue in down­town J affna near the bus station

APRIL , 1997 HI'NDUISM TODAY 29

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A Masterful [ife 1872-1964: At 3:30AM on a Wednesday, in May of 1872, a son was born to Ambalavanar and Sin­nachi Amrna n0t far from the Kandaswamy temple in Maviddapu-

ram, Sri Lanka. He was named Sadasivan. His mother died before he reached age 10. His aunt and unGle raised him.

In his school days he was bright, but indepen­dent, often studying alone high in the mango trees. After finishing school, he joined government ser­vice as a store­keeper in the irri­gation department and served for years in the ver­dant backwoods of Kilinochchi.

30 HINDUISM TODAY APRIL , 1997

INSIGHT

He held Truth in the palm of his hand, spreading love and knowledge of Siva

E STRODE POWERFULLY ALONG THE ROADS

and fields of his island each day, and those who saw him coming would move warily to the oth­

er side, avoiding the man whose look and voice could pierce the soul and shake the spirit of anyone he met. The white-haired, dark-skinned sage knew their thoughts, and sometimes spoke them aloud. He saw their future, and not infrequently intimated what lay ahead. If you didn't want to know your inmost Self, you didn't want to meet Yogaswami on the roadside.

He dressed in white and lived simply, immersed not in things of this world but in an expanded con­sciousness of the timeless, formless, spaceless Self, Paras iva. Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and even atheists sought his wisdom, whether it be delivered with heart-melting love or heart-stopping power. It was 125 years ago that Sage Yogaswami, the satguru of Lanka's Tamil Hindus for half a century, was born. Inwardly, it is believed, he continues to guide his followers, now scattered around the globe.

The decisive point of his life came when he found his guru outside Nallur Temple in 1905. As he walked along the road, Sage Chellappan, a disheveled sadhu, shook the bars from within the chariot shed where he camped and shouted

loudly at the passing brahmachari, "Hey! Who are you?" Sadasi­van was tfansfixed by that simple, piercing, in­quiry. "There is not one wrong thing!" '1t is as it is! Who knows?" the jnani roared, and sud­denly everything van­ished in a sea of light. At a later encounter amid a festival crowd, Chellappa ordered him, "Go within; meditate; stay here until I re­turn." He came back three days later to find Yoga­wami still waiting for his master.

Yogaswami sur­rendered hinlself

completely to his guru, and life for him became one of intense spiritual discipline, severe austeri­ty and stern trials. One such trial, ordered by Chellappa, was a contin­uous meditation which Chellappa demanded of Sa€lasivan and Kathirav­elu in 1909. F0r 40 days and nights the two disci­ples sat up0n a large flat

aswami He is mother, father and guru: Each morning in his austere hut

with its cowdung floor, Yogaswami would rise before the sun and light camphor to drive the night outside. His only worship was con­ducted at a small shrine which held the holy sandals of his satguru, Chellappaswami. He would offer a few flowers to the tiruvadi, and light an oil lamp. Soon devotees would arrive, eager to catch him ear-1y before he marched out on the roads, for he would daily walk 20 to 40 miles, alone. He continued this reginlen into his eighties. Devotees would quietly come forward, touch his feet and sit on the mats. At his gesture they would sing, usually from the Thevarams and other Tamil scriptures and mystic poems.

A Sri Lankan teacher, the late Tiru T. Sangarappillai Thirunelveli, vividly remembered the ashram during its height in the 1940s and 1950s. "I used to go early in the morning. I would see hand carts, bul­lock carts and motor cars all lined up on the road. Many would come out bearing fruits, fruit trays and paper bags. Others would enter, tak­ing milk and fruits. On one side people would worship. On the other people would chant the Tamil Vedas. People would wait patiently outside unable to enter. Inside people would be seated in silence. Such was the sight of the devotees. He would shower his grace on each one. He would sit in perfect silence; then he would sing. He would ask the devotees near him to sing. On many occasions I stayed the night. At times we could sleep only after midnight. Even then, Gurunathan would wake up by four, perform his ablutions and sit in deep meditation. After his meditation, he would worship God with divine songs. In this way his humble ashram slowly became known as a temple to a living God."

You are not these flesh and bones: Sage Yogaswami passed his early days in search of God, and lived his later life in union with Him [see timeline below]' His devotional and contemplative nature blos­somed early on. Even in his childhood, he rushed to the temple, cried tears of joy during worship and eagerly undertook penance, such as rolling around the temple in the hot sun. As a young adult, he vowed

himself to celibacy and renounced a place in his fathers business be­cause it did not allow him time to meditate and study the sc'riptures he loved so deeply. Around 1890, he found a quiet job as a storekeep­er for an irrigation project in Kilinochchi. Here, he lived like a yogi, often meditating all night long. He demanded utter simplicity of him­self, and purity. Purity would be what he later called all his devotees to achieve-in mind, speech and action. What appeared to others as incomprehensible austerities were, to Yogaswami, natural, necessary and even blissful strivings which brought him ever closer to God, who he called Siva. Yet, all of this was just a rudimentary preparation for the life he would live with his satguru.

Yogaswamis satguru, Chellappaswami, was intense, unpredictable, unfathomable. Once Yogaswami related to a devotee, "If it were you, you would not have lasted one day with Chellappa." Yogaswami lived over five years with him, from 1905 to 1911. At another time, a devo­tee said to Yogaswami, "Chellappaswarni has gone away, but he gave everything to you." Yogaswami at once clarified the process of his gurus "giving." "Did I receive it freely?" he retorted. "I obtained it by digging up a mountain!" Chellappaswami's outward appearance was of a rumpled vagrant. He would speak to himself and shout at those who passed by. He ate with the crows. Very few people recognized or acknowledged his divine stature. Thus, when Yogaswami began to follow Chellappaswami as a disciple, he was also deemed a madman, a guise not uncommon among masters of the Natha Sampradaya.

Yogaswami knew, however, that the day-to-day life that most peo­ple led could not give him the truth he sought. With his guru, he joy­fully denied himself the most basic of physical needs, including food, shelter and sleep, and ultimately transcended all of them. After Chel­lappa's passing in 1911, Yogaswami spent years of intense tapas under an olive (illuppai) tree. The junction at the illuppai tree was well traf­ficked, so Yogaswami always had stones at his side to pursuade loi­terers to move on. His practice during this period was to meditate for three days and nights in the open without moving about or taking shelter from the weather. On the fourth day he would walk long dis­tances, returning to Columbuthurai to repeat the cycle.

After some years, Yogaswami allowed a few sincere seekers to ap­proach. They worried that his sadhanas were too severe, and urged him to take care of himself. Eventually, they persuaded the yogi to move into a nearby one room thatched hut they had built for him. Even here he forbade devotees to revere or care for him. He prohibit­ed anyone even to rethatch the roof. His closest followers would do so only when he was away, being sure to be finished before his return.

rock. Chellappa came each day and gave them only tea or water. On the morning of the fortieth day, the guru brought some stringhoppers. In­stead of feeding the hun­gry yogis, he threw the food high in the air, pro­claiming, "Thats all I have for you. Two ele­phants cannot be tied to one post." It was his way of saying two powerful men cannot reign in one

place. Following this ordination, their sannyas dik­SM, he sent the ini­tiates away and never received them again.

Kathiravelu was not seen again. Yogaswa­mi began the life of the wandering ascetic, beg­ging for his food, visiting temples and chanting hymns. He undertook an

arduous foot pilgrimage to Kathirgama Temple in the far South. In 1910, af­ter returning to Jaffna, two devotees witnessed Yogaswami's "corona­tion." He met with Chel­lappa, who greeted him, saying, "Come! I give the crown of Kingship to you!-for as long as the universe endures."

ful of the hardship, and serene as ever. This was his home for the next few years. Intent on his meditative reginle, he would chase away curi­ous onlookeFs and worshipful devotees with stones and

Few recognized his at­tainment. But this changed significantly one day when he trav­eled by train from Colombo to Jaffna. An esteemed and scholarly pandit riding in another car repeatedly stated he sensed a " great jyoti" (a light) on the train. When he saw Siva Yogaswami disembark, he cried, "You see! There he is."

Chellappa passed in 1911. Yogaswarni, obey­

ing his guru's last orders, sat on the roots of a huge olive tree at Colombuthurai. Under this tree he stayed, exposed to the roughest weather, unmind-

harsh words. After much persuasion, he was convinced to move into a nearby thatched hut provid­ed by a devotee.

APRLL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 31

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Holding fast to his self-reliance, he would not even permit a lamp to be lit by another person. Day and night Swami was absorbed in his inner wor­ship, guiding the karmas of thousands, down to every detail of a marriage pro­posal, a health problem or a close fol­lowers business transactions. Politi­cians would always fall at his feet before embarking on their work. Every Sivaratri he would meditate through the entire night. Devotees de­scribed seeing brilliant light in place of Swami's body on these nights. Others were amazed to see him sit statue-like for hours on end. On one occasion which he liked to recall, Swami was seated in perfect stillness, like a stone. A crow flew down and rested several minutes on his head, apparently think­ing this was a statue.

Soften your heart and let it melt: As the years passed, Swami relented a little, permitting his ever-increasing fold to express their natural devotion. He allowed his hut to be cleaned, the

~ :; " z ~

In repose: At a devotee's

snakes removed and a new cow-dung floor installed.

do you want to be cleansed?' He gen­tly beckoned us into his hut. Talking to him was unnecessary, for one had only to think of something and he re­plied instantaneously. Yogaswami was aware of my thoughts all the time."

In another account, the late Dr. S. Ramanathan Chunnakam recalls a humbling lesson received in 1920. "I went to visit Swami with advocate So­masunderam of Nallur. In my youth, I was proficient in sword fighting and similar arts. As a result, I was a little arrogant. While on the way to the ashram, Swami appeared in the mid­dle of the road and felled me. I can never forget this incident. Even mar­shal arts instructors cannot show the proficiency in their hands and legs that Swami displayed. After I got up, Swami took me into his hut and show­ered me with love. But it was only years later that I understood the di­vine sport that made me eat the dust on the road to Swami's ashram."

Contemplative contemporaries:

Yogaswami was equally feared and loved. Even his ardent devo­tees approached him with trepidation, for he somehow always knew their innermost thoughts and feelings-the good and otherwise. If their motivation was not pure, he would berate them or pelt them with stones or see they never entered his gate. He was not a stranger to rough language, using it to keep the wrong people at bay. When one of his disciples complained about his sometimes incendiary tem­per, he replied, "Is not a big fire necessary to burn so much rubbish?" Still, even those he rebuked felt blessed, reckoning it a spiritual cleansing. Susunaga Weeraperuma, a Sinhalese Buddhist, recounted that in his first meeting, "Yogaswami was sweeping the garden with a long broom. 'I am doing a coolies job,' he said. 'Why have you come to see a coolie?' He chuckled with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Yogaswami revered and was deeply motivated by the other Hindu leaders of his time. In 1889, Swami Vivekananda was received in Jaffna by a large crowd and taken in festive procession along Colombuturai Road. As he neared the illuppai tree that Yogaswami later performed his tapas under, Vivekananda stopped the procession and disembarked from his carriage. He explained that this was sacred ground and that he preferred to walk past. He described the area around the tree as an "oasis in the desert." The next day, the lS-year-old Yogaswami attend­ed Vivekananda's public speech. He later recalled that Vivekananda paced powerfully across the stage and "roared like a lion"-making a deep impression on the young yogi. Vivekananda began his address with "The time is short but the subject is vast." This statement went deep into Yogaswamis psyche. He repeated it like a mantra to himself and spoke it to devotees throughout his life.

The pandit cancelled his discourses, located and rushed to Siva Yogaswa­mi's ashram, prostrating at his feet. His visit to the hut became the clari­on call that here indeed was a worshipful being.

From then on people of all ages and all walks of life, irrespective of creed, caste or race, went to Yogaswami. They sought solace and spiritual guidance, and none went away empty­handed. He influenced

I interpreted his words to mean, 'I am a spiritual cleaner of human beings. Why

On one occasion, Yogaswa­mi divulged his respect for

their lives profoundly. Many realized how b1essed they were only after years had passed.

Yogaswami's infinite compassion never ceased to impress. He would regularly walk 10ng miles to visit Chellachchi Am­maiyar, a saintly woman immersed in meditation and tapas. Yogaswami

would feed her and at­tend to duties as she sat in samadhi. Upon her di­rective, her devotees, some the most learned elite of Sri Lanka, trans­ferred their devotion to Satguru Yogaswami after her passing.

He would mysteriously enter the homes of devo­tees just when they need­ed him, when ill or at the time of their death. He would stand over them, apply holy ash and safe­guard their passage. He was also known to have remarkable healing pow­ers and a comprehensive knowledge of medicinal uses of herbs. Countless stories tell how he healed

from afar. He would prepare remedies for ill devotees. Cures always came as he prescribed.

When not out visiting devotees, Yogaswami would receive them in his hut. From dawn to dusk they came and lis­tened, rapt in devotion.

In 1940, Yogaswami

32 HINDUISM TODAY APRIl:., 1997

went to India on pilgrim­age to Banaras and Chidambaram. His fa­mous letter from Banaras states, 'Mer wanderings far in an earnest quest, I came to Kasi and saw the Lord of the Uni­verse-within myself The herb that you seek is under your feet."

One day he visited Sri Ramana Maharshi at his Arunachalam Ashram. The two simply sat all af­ternoon, facing each oth­er in elequent silence.

Mahatma Gandhi. He related, "Two European ladies came to see me. They had been in India to see Mahatma Gandhi and wanted a message from me. I asked them what Gandhi had told them. The Mahatma had said, 'One God, one world.' I told them I could not think of a better message and sent them away." Yogaswami also met the great sage Ramana Maharshi on a pilgrimage to India.

Good thoughts: Yogaswami articulated his own teachings in over 3,000 poems and songs, called Natchintanai, meaning "good thoughts," urging seekers to follow dharma, serve selflessly and re­alize God within. These gems flowed spontaneously from him, sometimes while in a devotee's home, often seated at the small side shrine to Parvati in a nearby Siva temple he frequented. Any devo­tee present would write them down, and he occasionally scribed them himself [see right]. Natchintanai have been published in sev­eral books and through the primary outlet and archive of his teach­ings, the Sivathondan, a monthly journal he established in 1935.

These publications preserve the rich legacy of Swami's sayings and sweet songs. The Natchintanai are enchantingly composed, and a joy to sing. Swami's devotees soulfully intone them during their dai­ly worship and discipline as much today as when the great sage walked the narrow lanes of Jaffna. Natchintanai are a profound and powerful tool for teaching and preserving Hinduism's core truths. Professional, modern recordings of Natchintanai are numerous, the latest being produced in the UK early this year.

Based in pure Saiva Siddhanta, the Natchintanai affIrm the oneness of man and God. Though Yogaswami dauntlessly stressed the nondual nature of Reality, he could never be labeled an Advaitic or Vedantin. He acknowledged ilie utmost peaks of consciousness as well as the foothills that must be traversed to reach that sUlllffiit, and constantly spoke of the Nayanars, the 63 Tamil saints who embodied his Siddhanta her­itage and ideals. His message was summarized by him in two words, Sivadhyana and Sivathondu-meditation on Siva and service to Siva. With these two, he ever asserted, one can complete the journey. ~

Don't go halfway to meet difficulties. Face them as they ~ come to you; God is always with you, and that is the ~

greatest news I have for you -Sage Yogaswami ~ z <

HINDUISM TODAY IS SEARCHING FOR ANY AUDIO, PHOTOGRAPHIC OR VIDEO RECORDINGS OF ~ SAGE YOGASWAMI IN OUR ONGOING EFFORTS TO CHRONICLE HIS LIFE . PLEASE CONTACT THE ~

EDITORIAL OFFICE BY PHONE , FAX OR E-MAIL WITH ANY INFORMATION YOU MAY HAVE. F-< <

Natchintanai: Above is a famous song of Satguru Yogaswami written in his own hand in Tamil. The transliteration is: Appanum Am­maiyum Sivame; Aria sahotararum Sivame; Opil manaiviyum Sivame; Otarum maindarum Sivame; Sepil arasarum Sivame; Deva­di devarum Sivame; Ippuvi ellam Sivame; Ennai andattum Sivame.

A poetic English rendering: Father and mother with Siva stay; Brothers and sisters light Siva's day; Wife with no equal treads Siva's way; Beloved children are Siva's play; Rulers and kings under Siva's sway; All Gods and Goddesses to Siva pray; All of the cosmos is Siva's clay; And my Lord, You are Sivame.

Where you can acquire Yogaswami's spiritual teachings ~L-__________ ~~~~L-________________________ ~~~

HIMALAYAN ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS , 107 KAHOLALELE ROAD, KAPAA, HAWMI 96746-9304 USA. TEL, 1-808-8220-3152; FAX, 1-808-822-4351. HTTP://www.HINDUIS~fTODAY.KAUAI.HI.Us/ASHRAMiYOGASWAMI .HTML

Free from birth on Earth: This rare photo of the venerable Sage Yogaswami was taken hours before his cremation on March 24, 1964

Not a word was spoken. Back in Jaffna he ex­plained, 'We said all that had to be said"

Followers became more numerous, so he gave them all work to do, seva to God and to the community. In Decem­ber, 1934, he had them begin his monthly jour­nal, Sivathondan, mean-

ing both "servant of Siva" and "service to Siva."

As the years pro­gressed, Swami more and more enjoyed tra­versing the Jaffua penin­sula by car, and it be­came a common sight to see him chaperoned through the villages.

On February 22, 1961, Swami went outside to gi~e his cow, Valli, his banana leaf after eating,

as he always did. Valli was a gentle cow. But this day she rushed her master, struck his leg and knocked him down. The hip was broken, not a trivial matter for an 89-year-old in those days. Swami spent months in the hospital, and once released was confined to a wheelchair.

Devotees were heart­stricken by the accident, yet he remained unshak­en. He ever affirmed, "Siva's will prevails wiili­in and without-abide in His will."

Swami was now con­fmed to his ashram, and devotees flocked to him in even greater numbers,

for he could no longer escape on long walks. He was, he quipped, "captured." With infi­nite patience and love, he meted out his wis­dom, guidance and grace throughout his final few years.

At 3:30 AM on a Wednesday in March of 1964, Yogaswami passed quietly from this Earth at

age 91. The nation stopped when the radio spread news of his Great Departure, and devotees thronged to Jaffna to bid him farewell. Though en­lightened souls are often interred, it was his wish to be cremated. Today, a temple complex is being erected on the site of the hut from which he ruled Lanka for 50 years.

APRIL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 33

/

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In training: Dr: Kalpana Chawla in space suit for astronaut training session at the Johnson Space Center in Texas, USA " .

PROFILE

Sky"$ Not .the Limit· I

Ka.lpa~a Chawla to be first Asian woman astronaut on the Space Shuttle

By LAVINA M1':LWANI, NEW YORK

HO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT

that a young Indian girl with feet firmly on the ground

would one day fly jnto the heav­ens? While for most peo~le out­

space is uncharte4 territory, for Dr. Kalpana Chawla, it is reality, a place she w.ill surely find herself visiting in the next few years. The 34-year-old Indian­American came a bit closer to her goal when she graduated from NASAls astronaut trllining program in 1995 along with 22 oth­er trainees, including five women. When she applied t6 the NASA program, there were 2,000 candidates, out of which only 23 were chosen. She is the first Asian woman astronaut.

34 HINDUISM TODA.Y A.I\RIL , 1997

Chawla is scheduled to blast off in Octo­ber, 1997, on board the shuttle Colombia. During 16 days in orbit, the specialists will study the affects of microgravity on a vari­ety of materials, focusing on how materials, including metal and crystal!!, solidify when .removed from the distorting affeG.,ts of grav­ity. Takao Doi, the first Japanese astronaut, will conduct a space walk.

"The training was really exciting, a lot of fun. In fact, it would be hard to top the ex­perience!" says the effervescent, petite astro­naut who looks far too young to hold a doc­torate. She told India West that the NABA doctor who interviewed her after an x-ray asked if she was a vegetarian. When she said she always had been, the doctor told her with a grin tliat he knew that to be the case

because, "everything i:qside is so clean." , .A native of Karnal, India, and now an

American citizen, she has a bachelor of sGi­ence degree in aeronautical engiI).eering from Punjab Engineering College and a master of sbence degree in aerospace engi­neering from University of Texas. In i988 she earned a doctorate in . aerospace engi­neering from the University of Colorado. I

For 14 months, Chawla and her fellow trainees underwent rigorous training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, working with mock-up shuttles, motion­base simulators, T-38 jets and parasails. They also experienced survival training on land and water, in Florida. Says Chawla: "A lot of our training was finding malfunctions and learning survival sl9.lls. We had a simu-

, lator of the space shuttle cockpit where all the s,\",itch layouts and the displays are iden­tical to the real thing."

Also memmable was the water survival training which prepares astronauts for mishaps if they land ,in the water. The trainees were launched-from the deck of a boat by parachute. After landing in thfi! wa­ter, they had to wait for the reSGuers to turn up. Cha'fla said, "They don't tell you when they'll CQme, but you know at the end of the day someone will get you."

So, while most Indian women are Earth­bound, how is Kalpana Chawla daring to reach for the skie~ and beyond, especially given her very traditional famify background? Her father, Banarsi Lal, is a businessman and her mother, Syongita, a housewi(e. Coming froni a conservative background, they were not keen for her to go to the US . Yet, as Chawla explains about her family, they have retained the best of old values while re­maining open to th~ new. She says, "They are conservative, but in a strange way. I think . they are very different from lots of othex;'parents. For example, my father never gave me a hard time on career choices. There was no, 'Nd, absolutely not.' You could always say, 'But-I want to do it.' If you said it enough times, then you would have it. I think in families that are truly conservative,

you don't even dare ask." Indeed, Chawla has always marched to

the beat of her own drummer. A passionate flyer, she holds commercial pilot's licenses for single and multi-engine airplanes and single-engine seaplanes, and enjoys flying aerobatics and tail-wheel airplanes.

She believes that mothers, even those liv­ing in a traditional society, can make things easier for their. daughters by not pressing them to conform to societys norms. Says Chawla: "I think + wouldn't even call my mom conservative, though she is from a con­~rvative family, and I think everyone .thinks of her that way. But as far bac,k as I can re­member, she's always said that you really must do what pleases you." Once in the US, Chawla was able to map out a path to her goals. She was hired by MCAT Ipstitute, San Jose, California, as a scientist to sUP:R0rt re­search in the area of powered lift at NASA Ames Research Center, California, in 1988. She was responsible for simulation and analysis of flow physics pertaining to the op­eration of powered-lift aircraft such as the Harrier in ground effect.

When you come from a certain back­ground in India, when you reach the right age, you are expected to nave an arranged marriage and do things the way they are done in the community. Chawla, however,

Space ready: US Space Shuttle in orbit works on-the Hubble te~scope; Dr: Chawla and the 1995 astronaut class

"Do something because you really want to do if. If you're doing it just for the goal,. and don't enjoy the path, then I think you're cheating yourself"

DR. KALPANA CHAWLA

found and marI;ied her own man, American flying instructor Jean Pierre Harrison, who shares her passion for flying.

Kalpana Chawla has suc;cessfully blended her Indian values with her Western educa­tion. She didn't have any ro4;: models in the workplace while growing up, so how did she believe enough in herself to go in for some­thing which was considered totally a man's job? She says, "I honestly didn't think of it ·that way. When I jOined engineering, there were only seven girls in the whole engineer­ing college. I was the first girl to go into aerospace engineering. The department chair; kept trying to channel me into electri-cal or mechanical, and I thought this is weird, why is he trying to do that?" Fin,ally, the professor got the message that she was determined t6 pursue aerospace engineer­ing, and he would tell his other students, all males, "She's here because this- is what she wants to do." She adds, "That's the message / I'd want to give other women: do something because you really want to do it. So even if it is a goal which is not necessarily within reach~it may be something which only a handful can do-but if you really like what you do, then you've never really rost any­thing. But if you're doing it just for the goal, and don't enjoy the path, then I think you're cheating yourself." ..

APRIL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 35

, !

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.1

RESTORATION

Rudraksha Ohariot Reborn

. I

Bead-bedecked vehicle

B, CHOODIE SHIVARAM, BANGAL<D RE

HE RUDRAKSHA-COVERkD CHARIOT

of Vaidyeswara temple in Talkad (near Mysore) ventured out in procession for the first time in many decades last No­

vember 16. Dr. S. R. Rao, a soil engineer in Karnataka, found the abandoned chariot last year. It had a solitary rudraksha still hanging on its side. "I was told by the priest it was more than 100 years old," said Dr. Rao. "I felt hurt by the neglect. Our scrip­tures tell us that every Siva temple must have a rudraksha chariot. I saw one in the Nanjangud Srikanteswara Temple." He re­solved to restore the chariot and purchased from Nepal 95 kgs. of rudrakshas, the hard, ornamented fruit stone of the blue marble t:r~e. He hired a Mysore carpenter to do the work, and local, villagers strung the seeds. Talkad js famous for its Panchalingeswara temples dating back beyond 200 BCE. They had been covered by sand dunes for cen­turies until excavated by Indian archaeolo­gists. Talkad was once the capital of the Ganga dynasty. Each of these temples once had a huge Chariot ~ntirely co~ered with rudraksha beads.

Restored: Rudraksha charjot in procession

36 HI'J./DUISM TODAY APRIL, 1997

technology. The Brihat·Samhita describes

comets in general as signs of great changes coming to 1;he w0rld, though each individual comet is said to have i't.s unique omen and result. Some fore­bode danger from fire. Those with crooked tails which ap"\ pear in the ' £outh portend pestilence to the population.

\ There are 22 described as round like a mirror without a tail, appearing in the North­east, that are children of t~ Earth and threaten with fa­miRe. There are three benefic comets that originated from the Moon which appear in the North and bestow an abun­dance of food.

Comet Hale-Bopp: As it appeared December 3, 1996

Varahamihira, describing one comet, says, "The single comet possessing three tails and three colors is nariled Brahmananda and is the son of Brahma (per-

COMETOLOGY

Multi-Tailed Comet Visits

haps a larger comet). It can ap­pear in any part of the sky, and when it does the world will 'end." Don't laugh. In March of 161$ a fiery comet with three tails appeared over Sri Lankan skies filling the whole country with fear and dismay. A Por-

Spectacular objects portend change-good and bad

tuguese historian related it was "followed by an outbreak of ill­ness which affected both man and beast. Fish died in such numbeJS that the.ir putrefying carcasses pollutecj. the air. Then I

OMETS THROUGH THE AGES HAVEl.AL­

ways brought with them a sense of mystery, foreboding awe and sometimes downright terror. Can these icy mud­

balls actually affect events on Earth. Are they signs from heaven of impend.ing doom? Hin~ scripture says "yes," but adds that comets are not always considered harbin­gers of calamity.

Vedic seers indicate that the placement in the sky of th~se phenomena when they are first visible to the naked eye should be care­fully considered. A comet first ippearing in the East signifies the rising of some eminent

. law-giver; in the midheaven, of some emi­nent kiJ(g; but in thte West, expect serious trouble. Rishi Varahamihira writes in Brihat SamhIta that sages before him studied the character of 1,000 different comets. As of 1995 modern-day scientists had identified only 878 comets that "pass near the Earth. Of these, 184 return less than every' 200 years. It is: astounding to ponder that ~ur sages of yore .knew of mor!,! of these comets simply through their highly developed spiritual sight. than to¢ay's scientists with all of their

on April 14 the entire city of Colombo was razed to the gTound by a severe earthquake. Great fissures opened in the surface of the ground, emitting sulfurous fumes. Fire added to the horrors> of that terrible night." For those Sri Lankans, the world as they knew it did end.

Sages further elaborate that a particular /Country and the people therein will expeFi­Emce some imbalance )Vhen a comet disturbs a constellation that relates to the national or personal horoscope. For example, on April 25, 1910; Halley's Comet was seen by the naked eye a~ the 28th degree of Pisces, with­in three degrees of the first point of kies, the ruling sign of Ep.gland. Eleven days later King Edward VII died. Not long after, Por: tl1gal, ruled by Pi~ces, experienced a revolu­tion and the dethronement of their king.

The soon-to-arrive iceball from heaven, Hale-Bopp, first appeared (over "the USA) last October, dimly visible to the naked eye it) the western sky-a p~rtent of trouble­near the end of the constellation of Scorpio. Even more inauspicious, it had three tails-a portent, the augurs tell, of destruction. .,;

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Computer

The Best Software for Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali with diacritical marks. The Hindi Word Processor for Windows from Krishna Software. US$109.00 + US$10.00 shipping. MasterCard/M.O. Tel: 416-315-3186. PO Box 86065, Oakville, ON L6H 5V6, Canada. Email: dsharma@worldchat.com. Distributorship available.

Cost-effective Tamil Software, Kamban. Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95 compatible (not for Mac): 2 fonts; 3 installations; US$59, money order/draft. USA: A. Nallappan 3387 Foxtail Terrace, Fremont, CA 94536. Tel: 510-795-7701. Other countries: Binnary Trading, 33 Moon Beam Walk, S. (277243), Singapore. Tel: 65-8726596. Internet: Lakshman@ cyberway. com.sg

Devotional Supplies

Ganges clayfired murthies, meticulously hand­painted. Sixty statues in stock, including Narasimha, Kalki, Jagannatha, Laxmi, Vishnu, Chaitanya, Shankaracharya. Priced US$5 to US$85. Color catalog, $2: JBL, Box H 163, Crozet, VA 22932-0163 USA.

Sri Yantra-3-dimensional pyramid-shaped, US$1O.00. Other yantras etched on copper plates, US$5.00 each: Sri, Kuber, Kali, Durga, Laxmi, Nine Planets, Ganesha and many others. Amarveda, Box 883, Marion, VA 24354-0883, USA.

Quality Incense from India. Golden Rose. Neel Kamal. Pure sandal­wood cones, and more. Fax: 970-949-5826 USA E-mail: vel@vail.net

Free Products and Services

Free educational flow charts on all aspects of Hinduism. Write to Viswanath. Am I a

Hindu ? [ISBN 1-879904-06-3 7 Box 5669 , New Orleans, LA 70156-6697 USA.

For inspiration, call (808) 822-SIVA (7482) day or night for a recorded sermonette by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.

Immigration

Canada Immigration Complete preparation of application package for US$l,OOO only. Leading team of immigration lawyers and consultants. Contact Surya Consulting, Inc. Tel: 709-747-4709. Fax: 800-330-3670.

Jewelry

Affordable jyotish gems/jewelry. Vedic astrological prescriptions filled. Paramahansa Yogananda bangles. Meditation beads. Free in-formation. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Order by mail from King Enterprises, 1305 N. H Stl A-289-T, Lompoc, CA 93436-3335 USA. Call 1-805-693-0911 (business hours).

OM Nama Shivaya trimetal bracelets. Excel-lent quality. Spiritual healing properties. US$9.00. Amarveda, Box 883, Marion, VA 24354-0883, USA. Tel: 540-782-9987.

Music and Art

Exquisite Vedic paintings done to order at very reasonable prices. Call Pushkar at 904-462-0144. PO Box 1094, Alachua, FL 32616-1049 USA.

East Indian instruments and gift items. Giant selection of instruments: harmoniums, tabla, daggas, kirtan instruments, audio/video tapes. Also incense, spiritual books, etc. For a beau-tiful catalog, send US$l to Encinitas Imports, PO Box 230419-H, Encinitas, CA 92023-0419 USA. Tel: 619-436-9589.

Hindu devotional paintings imported from In-dia. Catalog, write: Lakshmi International 411 Madison St. , Boonton, NJ 07005-2051 USA. Web site: http://www.Iakshmi.com

Devotional sculpture: Classic stone-cas murthies of Hindu deities for your hom e or temple. Ganesh, Shiva, Laxmi, Sarasvati Durga. Height: 2 ft. (61 cm) or 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m). Commissions available. Catalog: tel 800-608-8632 or 515-472-8115. Vedic Sculp ture Studio, 607 W Broadway #144 Fairfield, IA 52556-3200 USA. •

Portable Bina Harmoniums: Excellent qualit Y 2 and sound. 3 114 octaves, 2 sets of reeds,

drones, carrying case. US$450 includes UP S shipping and tax. Ananda, 2171 EI Camino Palo Alto, California 94306-1504 USA. Tel 415-462-8151

Brass statue of Kali, 7 inches. US$20. Als o available in large sizes and in black marble Amarveda, Box 883, Marion, VA 24354-088 3 USA. Tel: 540-782-9987.

Products/Stores

Jay Store: Houstons oldest Indian grocery store. Over 5,000 items-pooja articles and much more. UPS daily. 10AM-8PM every day. Tel: 713-783-0032 (USA).

Fine Woodwork Home shrines built to order. Custom cabinetry. New and remodel construc­tion. Reasonable prices. 30 years' experience.

Kanda and Adi Alahan • Rivendale Woodcrafts • 2570 Cloverdale Ave #10, Concord, CA 94518 USA

Purity Farms Organic Traditional Ghee. 100% pure, from cows raised completely free ofhor­mones, chemicals or pesticides. A delight to cook with! Wholesale/retail. Call 303-647-2368

Publications

Amar Chitra Katha for children. illustrated col­orful tales on Hindu mythology. Discounts to schools, distributors. ACK Agency, PO Box 1414,

Sathya Sai Bh~an CDs By leading Indian musicians. Recorded in India. Produced in Switzerland.

1. Way to Sai

2. Being with Swami

3. Always Sai

4. With Love

5. Feel the Divine (Exclu­sively instrumental bhajan music. Dharshan music at Prashanthi Nilayam)

Available from:

Los Altos, CA 94023-1414 USA. Tel/fax: 415-961-7878.

Sri Aurobindo books: Complete works of Sri Aurobindo, the Mother, Shri Madhav Pandit. Additional titles on Yoga, Philosophy, Ayurve­da and Alternate Health. Exclusive distributors for Samata Books Classical Spiritual Texts. Free Catalog: Lotus Light, Box 325HT, Twin Lakes, WI 53181-0325 USA.

For latest Indian magazines/newspapers­subscriptions available. Also available: Hindi, Gujarati magazines and much more. Call Emkay Advertising. Tel: 281-933-4005. Fax: 281-498-6286 (USA).

Auromere: Sri Aurobindo books, classical spir­itual texts, ayurveda books, children's books from India, ayurvedic products, incense, and much more. Free catalog: 1-800-735-4691 (USA).

Palani Pan chang 1997. Trivedi's American Panchang available in English or Gujarati. US$9 (+ US$2 slh). In 3 versions for NY, Chica­go, San Francisco times. 510-490-1533. De­vendra Trivedi, 4831 Piper St, Fremont, CA 94538-2525 USA . .

Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, childrens books. Low prices. Free catalog. Contact: Hindu Spiritual Books, 1085 Bathurst St, Toronto M5R 3G8 Canada. Tel/fax: 1-416-588-7767.

Free metaphysical booklist: Astrology, Dreams, Healing, Inspirational, Mysticism, Oriental, etc! (www.sunbooks.com) Sunbooks, Box 5588(HT), Santa Fe, NM 87502-5588 USA.

Vacation/Retreat

Beautiful rooms by the ocean. Ayurvedic meals. One hour north of San Francisco. Brighton Beach HAUS. Tel: 415-868-9778.

Videos

Acclained Spiritual Videos: Sadhana-India's holy men, see the kumbha mela. 60 min. US$33.95 pstpd (ck) Pal and Catalog available. Penny Price Media. 355C Lake Pleasant Dr. Staatsburg, NY 12580 USA. 914-876-0239, Fax 914-876-0260.

Yoga

Yoga in Daily Life Yoga classes, guest lecturers, satsang. Yoga related items, books, audio and video tapes and more. 1310 Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, VA 22301 USA Tel: 703-299-8946 • Fax: 703-299-9051

Natural Healing Through Ayurveda Pictured is our featured product-of-the-month from our assortment of ayurvedic products.

Prevent colds and flus naturally! Chy-wan-prash, the Indian "one-a-day" is considered one of the best health tonics in the world. With over 40 selected herbs, the main ingredient is the amla fruit which alone contains 20 times more Vitamin C than orange juice.

Saisaa • Giretheren V.S. • Oberburgstrasse 39 CH-3400 Burgdorf. Switzerland

A complete health tonic for the whole family!

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P. I. V. Sarmaa • Germany. Tel/Fax: ++49-2327-21201

Dhroeh Nankoe • Holland • Tel: ++31-20-6651744

!his is but ?ne from our over 225 Ayurvedic products Imported dIrectly from India. Buy directly from the USA's largest bulk importers of Ayurvedic products. For the past 25 years, our buyers have been traveling to India 3 or 4 times a year to insure our herbs are up to import regulatory standards.

Sathya Sai Book Centre of UK Tel: ++44-181-7322886. Fax: ++44-181-9093954

Contact Saisaa in Switzerland for bulk purchases or wholesale.

Bazaar Of India Imports • Since 1971 1810 University Ave • Berkeley, CA 94703-1516 USA Tel: 800-261-7662 or 510-549-9986 Fax: 510-548-1115 • E-mail: Tabla@ix.netcom.com Send for free, full 64-page catalog.

"We are going to strengthen

Hinduism in our area. Our orphan-

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and leading a religious-centered

life. The gurukulam is playing a

vital role in preserving and main-

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1-800-890-1008 Ext. 235

1-808-822-3152 Ext. 235

http://www. Hinduism Today. kauai.hi.us/ashram/

HHE.html

ENDOWMENTS

HINDU HERITAGE ENDOWMENT _~ I 107 KAHOLALELE ROAD

KAPAA. HI 96746-9304 USA

INV ESTI NG IN THE FUTU RE O F HINDUISM

BUS I N'E S S

Put Your Ashes in O~bit Unique methods of dispersal accompany a cremation boom in America

IMOTHY LEARY AND GENE RODDEN­

berry were scheduled to blast into space in mid-February. Leary, the '60s guru, died in June, and Roddenberry,

the creator of "Star Trek," died in 1991, but a small portion of their cremated remains were to be included in a planned rocket launch to release their ashes and those of 23 other people into Earth orbit.

They are part of a trend in the American funeral industry that favors cremation and other alternatives over traditional burial.

The Cremation Association 'of North America reports that cremations have in­creased for the last 10 years. Jack Springer, executive director, estimates that by the year .2010 nearly 40 percent of all deaths in America will result in cremation. Illinois state has one of the highest percentages for cremations, Springer said.

Much of the change in funeral tradition is being attributed to baby boomers-a name given to the generation of large numbers of babies born in America in the period imme­diately after World War II. As boomers ap­proach their life expectancy, more changes in the funeral industry are being anticipated by funeral directors and industry analysts. B60mers have left their mark on almost every field. The funeral industry is respond­ing to boomer buying trends.

Bonney Kelley, president of Kelley & Sons Burial Vault, said cremations are much more accepted now than in the past. As more peo­ple decide on cremations, they are often con­fused about what traditions to maintain and which to adapt to their own desires. "I call it What a blast: Cremation ashes into space 'tradition in transition.' People just don't ,. kn'ow what to do with the ashes, and those of balloon from Paris tq..San Francisco. Other us in the industry are trying to help them specialty items becoming more pof>ular due identify how they can cope," Kelley said. to cremations are small keepsake urns that

Gary Gartner's Houston-based company, families can give to family members and Celestis, was scheduled to send small por- jewelry lockets of the ashes. tions of 25 people's cremated remains into "Marketing is a new word to our pl'ofes­orbit. Gartner said he expected people in sion," said Bruce Cpnley, a funeral director. the space industry, pilots and environmental "What we see in the funeral service indus­enthusiasts to be interested in his services. try is a reflectio:p. of what is happening in But he w~; surprised by his diverse clien- other industries." Conley said he has adapt­tele. "Timothy Leary himself calleg. me days ed to fit the needs of clients and has devel­before he died and made the arrangements," oped a web page. He said he is not unique he said. The cost of this everlasting space in the industry. He has also delved into the voyage was US$4,800-1.7Iakh r~pees. "after-care market," providing a grief sup-

Other companies specialize in burials at port group and hospice programs. :~, sea. One firm will scatter a loved one's re- By SUSAN HERREL

mains over any chosen city from a hot air THE CHAMPAIGN NEWS GAZETTE (AP)

Call1ndia-59Clmin. 7days/wk, 24hr/day Bangladesh-69¢lmin. China-59¢lmin. Pakistan-69¢lmin. Sri Lanka-69¢ U.K.-30¢lmin. Australia-40¢lmin. Domestic-20¢lmin. Worldwide callback available. VGT calling cards $50 or $100.

Vignesh Global Telecom, Inc. POBox 2337 Santa Cruz, CA 95063-2337 USA Tel: 408-464-1212, 800-555-0276. Fax: 408-464-1333.

The biography of Gurudeo Pandit Shree Ram Sharma Acharya, known as "Pragya Avatar," the incarnation of purified intelligence. This unique book is powerful, impressive and inspiring. It makes an ideal gift. English or Gujarati, US$5 plus postg. For details: Tel: 1-847-692-7712. Gayatri Pariwar Yugnirman Yojna Gayatri Yug Literature Center, Mrs. Kusum Patel, 8413 W. North Terrace Ave, Niles, IL 60724-2329 USA

VJghnesh Global Telecommunications. Inc.

Saraswati Devi: A Remarkable Album Enjoy 75 min. of Sanskrit and Hindi songs composed and performed in a North Indian classical style by Aditya Verma, a dynamic young artist whose musical lineage draws from the greatest teachers and performers of Indian music, Pundit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Aashish Khan.

A musical tribute to the Goddess of inspriation and beauty. Saraswati Devi celebrates classi­cal Indian music and the ancient tradition of Mantra. "This album is an auspicious beginning for me," says Aditya Verma who sees his music as the means to share Indian culture.

·Composer: Aditya Verma • Tabla: Narendra Verma

• Vocals: Kala Ramnath • Narration: G.S. Birla

Find out more about this unique album at: www.palmistry.com/Galaxy.html New Release Price: $15 CD & $10 Cassette, $4 shipping and handling. Overseas add $4 please. (Canadian funds)

Galaxy Publications & Recordings 351 Victoria Ave. Westmount, Quebec H3Z 2Nl Canada Tel: 1-800-307-2292 or 514-484-8090 • Fax: 1-514-488-3822 For other recordings call/write for a free mail order catalogue.

Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit Summer Courses June 26-Aug 19, 1997

The Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Michigan (USA), offers intensive Beginning and Interme­diate Tamil, Hindi and Beginning Sanskrit in the Summer term. Courses are equivalent to a full years language instruction.

College students, high school seniors, and other adults are eligible to apply, no later than April 15.

For details, contact Marga Miller: Tel: 313-764-8571 Fax: 313-936-0996 • E-mail: mkmiller@umich.edu.

Sri Chinmoy Ayurvedic Institute The Sri Chinmoy Institute of Ayurvedic Sciences offers authentic training in the ancient traditions of Ayurvedic Medicine. Comprehensive programs taught in all areas: nutrition, pulse diagnoses, Ayurvedic skin care, massage, Panch Karma (cleansing and rejuvenation), and herbal medicine. Taught by Vrrender Sodhi, MD. (Ayurved), N.D. and N.D. staff Now enrolling evening and weekend seminars.

Sri Chinmoy Institute of Ayurvedic Sciences 2115112th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004-2946 USA. Tel: 1-206-453-8022 • Fax: 1-206-451-2670 e-mail: Ayurveda@Ayush.com • http/www.ayush.com

Worldwide Construction Sankara and Sons

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Tel/fax: 1-808-823-6698 Mobile tel: 1-808-639-2809 E-mail: Sankara@aloha.net

"Wealth that is acquired by proper means in a manner that harms none will yield both virtue and happiness."-Tirukural

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Hindu Heri~age Endowment 1996 Annual Report

The Year in Review Having completed Our second full year of operations at H~dtl.Heritage Endowment, our Hindu foundation on the island of K~uai, the staff looks back at a year of reaching out and finding better ways to serv;e the world Hindu community. Our assets now exceed two million dollars and we thank all who have given support. 1996 brought several innovative programs that will help broaden and improve ~e scope of our service:

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• COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS. In 1996 HHE joined the Council on Foundations, an/association of ' 1,300 corporations and foundations that r,rovides members vital information in areas such as relevant

. law, both international and domestic, and accounting, management and investment principles and prac-tices.

• THE ADVISOR. In association with a national publisher of tax law materials, we Qegan sending a monthly newsletter, The Advisor, to a select group of estate planners, attorneys and CPA§. who serve the Hindu community. This is a estate-planning newsletter for professional advisors which'focuses on technical aspects of charitable gift planning and current tax law and rulings. \

MEMORIAL FUNDS. During the year, om first memorial funds were established, a significant step for­ward to allow many individuals to create a living legacy in laonor of departed loved ones.

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During the year, grants totaling $93,600 were made to beneficiaries of HHE endowments. Even thoug~ Hindu Heritage Endowment is relatiVely young and still small in the world of foundations, our grants have placed th'ousands of Hindu books in libraries, sent HINbUISM TODAY free of charge each month to over 500 ashrams, libraries and theological seminaries around the world, supported several temples, including lano­scaping, religious ceremonies, purchase of. murtis, building programs and more, given an honorarium for the Hindu of the Year, aJ;ld supported orphanages and monasteries. Through a study of the Council on Foundations, we compared our pblicies with those of a broad cross-section of charitable' instituti.ons. We found our 'policies and investments comparable to most foundations, and leaning toward the conserva­tive side. We thank the investment managers who have served us so well this past year: Franklin Manage­ment, Inc., a subsidiary of Franklin/Templeton, Brandes Investment Partners, Inc.; Nicholas Applegate and Hawaiian Trust Company, Ltd. In 1997, the accounts managed by Nicholas Applegate will be taken e>ver by the First Hawaiian Bank Trust Division. We also thank Nathan Palani, an independ~nt CPA w~o pre.­pares our year-end statements, verity.ing their accuracy; as well as our legal counsel, AlVIn G. Buchlgnam.

, HINDU HERITAGE ENDOWMENT ·107 KAHOLALELE ROAD '· KAPAA, HI 96746-930411SA ".

TEL (USA) 800-890-1008,808-822-3152 FAX: 808-822-4351 E-MAIL: Sadhaka_Adinatha@HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us

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Paid Advertisement 1996 Annual Report Page 2

In Loving Memory

A memorial endowment is an effective way to acknowledge 16ve and respect for loved ones while help­ing create a better world 'for generations to come. Hindu Heritage Endowment takes great pride in ac­knowledging the Memorial endowments that were created this year.

A. Shanmugam and wife Sam­

bugardevi on their wedding day

Shanmugam Family (Ipoh) Fund / Bala ShanmugaJ;n, along with his mother, 3ambugardevi, and other mem­bers of the family created this fund to. give a small but permanent and steady income to the Abirami Amman Temple at Thirukadaiyur in South India. The fund honors A. Shan~ugam of Ipoh, Malaysia, born in 1925. He qualified as an electrical engineer in Taiping and was employed by Perak Hydro Electric Company in Malaysia. At age 25 he":married Sambugardevi. Through sheer hard work, Thiru Shanmugarv advanced and became a Senior Electrical Engineer. He saw his path to God by way of service and spent much of his time, effort and resources in assisting the

less fortunate. He is survived by his wife of 27 years and four ohildren. His wife stIll teaches Tamil and Thevarams to local cpildren, conducts Hinduism classes af a local temple and does much socio-religious work for the community.

Sundari Peruman Memorial Scholarship Fund Markandeya Peruman and son, Ravi, created this fund for two purposes: first, to pro­vide copies of the Saivite Hindu Religion children's course for children in the USA, and later, as the fund grows, to provide scholarships for deserving yquth to pa.rtici­pate in reLigious activities. The fund was create~ in honor of Markandeya's wife; Sun­dari, born in 1917, who married Markandeya in 1961, when they began together their study of traditional Hinduism. They moved to Houston, Texas, in 1977, where

Sundari Peruman they became active members of the Sri Meenakshi Temple, teaching children and helping in many other ways. Often, temple devotees who had left the security and

". strength of extended families in India same to look to this elderly couple almost as grandparents, turning , to them for strength, comfort and guidance. As one family said, "Their impact on all our lives is huge, es­

pecially with our spiritual growth. I am glad our children had the blessmg of learning Hinduism from Markandeya and Sundari. They are like family to us." Sundari left this world behind in 1995 a't age 78, and is survived by Markandeya, their three children and six.grandchildren.

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HEALING

A Toxic Monster In Your Mouth Mercury is lurking' in silver amalgams and may come out to haunt you

BY DEVANANDA TANDAVAN, M.D.

-F YOU HAVE SILVER AMAL­gam dental fillings, you may have a time bomb ticking in your mouth. Amalgam is a

mixture of silver, co~per, indium, palladium and 43 to 50.5 percent metallic mercury. Mercury is a liquid at room temperature but becomes solid when combined with other metals. It is more tox­ic than lead, cadmium or arsenic and has the property of giving off mercury vapor. Even in a compacted dental filling, vapor can be inhaled and distributed into tissues of the body, especially the brain, kidneys, liver and nerves, ' The Australasian Society of Ora! Medicine and Toxicology has affIrmed, "Mercury is poisonous. There is no safe form of mercury in living tissue."

It has been proven that mercury contin­uously leaves the amalgam. The amount exuded depends upon the number 'of fill­ings in the mouth and the length of time the fillings have been there, Its release in­creases when chewing, when the intraoral temperature is raised by smoking and drinking hot fluids, by grinding of teeth and,even by brushing the teeth. The mer­cury vapor is absorbed through the lungs directly into the arterial blood at a rate of 80 percent. In the brain it is preferentially stored in the pituitary gland and hypothal­amus. It binds to hemoglobin, causing de­creased transportation of oxygen to the tissues and can destroy kidney cells, lead­ing to kidney failure.

The greatest affect of elevated mercury in the system is neurotoxic, leading to memory loss along with a.tingling and loss' of sensations in the peripherai nerves. There may be hormonal changes, since it is selectively stored in the pituitary, the grand conductor of the nervous and hormonal system, Mercyry also passes the placental barrier and can adversely affect the fetus with possible physical and mental defects.

44 H:INDUISM TODAY APRIL , 1997

There are studies that implicate increased mercury level~ with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the dreaded Alzheimer's disease. In one Alzheimer's patient, all the amalgams were removed and mercury purged from the body by chelation. All symptoms of the disease disappeared. What can we do about this controversial subject? Select a

family.dentist who does not use amalgams. Many dentists still deny it is a hazard to health. If your doctor feels there is suffi­cient cause, you may opt for a more ex­treme course of action: replacing the amalgams with porcelain or non-amalgam fillings. Your dentist must proceed cau­tiously, following a prescribed pattern of replacement. The mere manipulation of the fillings will tend to release more mercury vapor, which may be inhaled. While re­moving the amalgams, the effects of mer-cury in the system can be offset by a diet rich in greens, high fiber, garlic, onions, distilled water, and supplements of vitamin A, C, and E, beta carotene and selenium.

WI} discussed other aspects of dental hygiene in the August 1989 issue of HIN­Dl,JISM TODAY and warned of another toxic " element, fluoride, found in fluoridated toothpastes and mouth rinses. Fluoride produces marked and irreversible changes in the teeth and bones. Gn Nov. 14, 1996, a London Telegraph headline confirmed,

. "Colgate pays out for fluoride damaged teeth," Thwas proven that a 10-year-old boy had the condition called dental fluorosis which developed due to small but frequent swallowings of fluoridated toothpaste.

DR. TANDAVAN, 76, retired nuclea: physi­cian and hospital staff president~ lives in Chicago, where he specializes in alternative healing arts, Visit his home page at the HINDUISM TODAY Website.

EVOLUTIONS AWARDED: Sri Swami Satchidananda the Juliet Hollister Award on Decem­ber 16, 1996, before an august assembly at the United Na­tions. Swamiji re­ceived the award in recognition of his teachings of Integral Yoga, interfaith un­derstanding and for creating the Integral Yoga Institutes. The award's Swamiji at UN founder has longed to create a "Spiritual United Nations" to encourage dialogue between the world's religions and to find solutions for international disputes,

OPENED: The Institute of Vedic Mathe­matics by Dr. T. Satyanarayana Raju in Troy, Michigan in January, 1995, The author of 20 books on Vedic mathemat­ics in English and Telugu, he is known

for his innovative teaching methods. He said, "Mathe­matics should be fun, and learning math should be a joyous venture." He invented a technique of using

Vedic math wiz fmgers to perform math calculations.

The institute's address is: 6095 River­ton, Troy, Michigan 48098 USA.

HONORED: Dr. Ahangamage Tudor Ari­yaratne with India's highest annual award, the 1996 Gandhi Peace Prize, for his lifelong achievements of elevat­ing, through nonviolence, the material, moral and spiritual condition of the people of Sri Lanka.

TRANSITION: Swami Aseshananda, age 97, on October 16, 1996, at the Vedanta Society of Portland, Oregon. A Rama­krishna monk since 1921, he was the last living monastic disciple of Sri Sara­da Devi. Arriving in the US in 1947, he served as as­sistant to Swami Nikhilananda in New York and Swami Prabha­vananda in Cal­ifornia before heading the So­ciety's center in Portland. A life of seva in US

DISCOVER THE INDIA YOU'VE NEVER KNOWN. It's time to come home and revisit your roots, where an incredible new India awaits. An India beyond your town, beyond your experience, perhaps even beyond your imagination. From the breathtaking Himalayas to the white sand beaches of the Indian Ocean you'll find an unmatched panorama of tradition and technology, of diverse cultures and architectural splendor, of natural wonders and seemingly endless recreational adventures. It's time to see the India you haven't seen.

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appreciated as an invaluable resource by the bhakti, the practicing yogi and the scholar alike. Many professors require it as a basic textbook for a variety of courses, at Furman University and Dickenson College, USA, for example.

English-speaking Hindus, yoga enthusiasts, and anyone interested in spirituality will be overjoyed by this remarkable reference work of Hindu belief and culture. The best English overview of Hinduism available today-Napra Review The swami concisely answers 155 key questions, ranging from "What is the ultimate goal of earthly life?" to "How are Hindu marriages arranged?" ... a 40-page timeline, a 200-page lexicon of Hindu terms, a comparative guide to major religious traditions, and a primer for teaching religious principles to children ... enriched by extensive scriptural quotations and reproductions of Rajput art. -Yoga Journal

HIMALAYAN ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS 107 Kaholalele Rd· Kapaa, Hawaii 96746-9304 USA' Tel: 1-800-890-1008, ext. 238 or 808-822-3152, ext. 238 ' Fax: 1-808-822-4351' e-mail: letters@HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us http//www.HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us/ashram/

Dancing with Siva and other HAP titles available in: • Australia: Yoga in Daily Life Tel: 02 9518 7788 Fax: 02 9518 7799 • Canada: Int' Yoga in Daily Life: 604 524 2942 Fax: 604 5241395. Europe: Om Vishwa Guru Deep Hindu Mandir PH/Fax 3611143504 email: ervin@maiLmatav.hu.lndia: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Delhi: PH: 11-777-1668 Fax: 11-751-2745 • Bangalore: Jiva Rajasankara Fax: 91-80-839-7119 email: jiva @giasbg01.vsnLnet.in • Malaysia: Hinduism Today / Sanatana Dharma Publi­cations: PH: 03 3319242. Mauritius: Saiva Siddhanta Church PH: 412-7682 Fax: 412-7177. New Zealand: India Emporium Tel: 09 3773733 Fax: 09 3733300. Russia: (Russian Language edition of Dancing with Siva) Centre ofTantra Sangha Tel: 70 95 465 0339 Fax: 70 95 972 0230 email: tantra@online.ru • Singapore: Hinduism Today / Sanatana Dharma Publications: Tel: 957 66 012 • South Africa: Wizard's Warehouse Tel: 021 461 9719 Fax: 021 45 1417. Trinidad: Aswinee & Narendra Persad Tel: 809 6628741 Fax: 809 662 3351 • UK: Hinduism Today Tel: 0171 9379163 Fax: 0171 4601819 E-mail: easan1@aoLcom.Alsoavailablefrom India Ink on the Internet at: www.pacific-basin.comlindiainklindiaink.html

• Yanthira Pooja Jan 29-March 17, 1997, sponsorship: RM 380 per day .• Mahakumba Abhishekam March 24, 1997 • Mandala Abhishekam March 25-May 11, 1997, sponsorship: RM 5,000 per day (daily 1008-conch abhishekam) • Mahotchava-Vilha (Kodiyetratam) May 12-May 21, 1997, sponsorship: RM 2,800 per day • Piraayachitha Abhishekam May 22, 1997 . Vairavar Pongal May 27, 1997

The renowned Sri Kandaswamy Temple was established in 1902, and for the past 4 years it has been renovated under the guidance of the SelangorlWilayah Persekutuan Ceylon Saivites Association.The main Deity is Lord Velayuthan-other shrines were in­cluded, a Raajaraajeswari shrine and a Koditthambam, among others. Devotees every­where are encouraged to attend or send donations for sponsorship of pujas.

SRI KANDASWAMY TEMPLE No.3 Lorong Scott, off Jalan Tun Sambanthan

50470 Kuala Lumpur • Malaysia Tel: 03-2742987 • Fax: 03-2740288

SATGURU SWA YOGASWAMI 1872-1964

Siva Thondan N"dayam) Edmonton

WORLD TOUR Commencing on the occasion of the 125th Jayanthi of this great sage, a sacred bronze murthi of Siva Yogaswami begins a world tour to visit his devotees at the many Sivathondan Nilayams and more than 35 Tamil temples and Hindu communities in Europe, Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia/Singapore, Mauritius, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. The tour will culminate with the murthi's permanent installation in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.

Yogaswami's worldwide missions are listed below.

653 Chereton Cresent N.W. Edmonton, Alberta T6R 2N2 Canada

Sivathondan Ndayam

434 Kankesanturai Road Jaffna Sri Lanka

TeL403-450-10~8

Sri Sivayogaswamys Sivathondan Centre

2131 Lawrence Avenue East, Scarborough, ONT MIR 5G5 Canada TeL 416-293-4697

Sivathondan Centre

9 Saffron Drive Hallam 3803, Victoria Australia TeL 03-9796-3964

Sivathondan Ndayam

256 B High Street North Manor Park, London E 12 6SB England Tel. 0181-552-6381

Sivathondan Ndayam

Chenkalady, E.P. Sri Lanka

Yogaswami Center

5 Moor Road 6 Colombo Sri Lanka 94 1 580-584

10111 ~_e_b_~-1-·n-d-Ul-·s-m-11-0-d-ay-.---:­kauai.hi. us/ ashramIYogaswami.html

For details on Siva Yogaswami's world tour, please call 808-639-8886. This advertisement is sponsored by Mr. T. Sivagnanam, Edmonton, Canada and Saiva Sid­dhanta Church, Hamm Mission, Germany.

Surrounding Iraivan Temple is an

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107 KAHOlALELE ROAD

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A TEMPLE BUILT TO LAST 1.000 YEARS

MEDICINE

Your reen~ge ' Vagetarian ' .. Nutritionist advises how to keep' erp. healthy

:Ii

'" z Building Health: Nutrit'ionist at New York Medical Genter recommertds vegetarian diet

By JilliICE JAMES, M.S. , R.D. (AP) EENAGERS WHO BECOME VEGETAR­

ia~s can be developing. dietary habits that help provide them' with a. lifetime of good health. A plant-based diet is

known to decrease the incidence of certain illnesses, including heart disease and colon and breast cancers. Obtaining accurate in­formation is the first step toward becoming a vegetarian. Essential sources of guidance include vegetarian cookbooks, magazines and a vegetarian food pyramid. '

Teenagers . should discuss their decision wJth their parents and perhaps with their­physicians. Suc!) a discussion will help allay concerns about maintaining a nutrient-rich,

, balanced diet and give parents time to learn how to prepare balanced vegetarian meals.

There are several forms of vegetarianism. Some vegetarians add fish and dairy prod­ucts to a diet of grains, beans, fruits, vegeta­bles, nuts and seeds. Lacto:ovovegetarians i ncorporate dairy products and eggs. Lacto­vegetarians add only dairy products while ovo-vegetarians add only eggs. Vegans ab­stain from all animal products in favor of an entirely plant-based diet.

Growing youngsters need more vitamins, minerals, calcium, calories and iron than do adults. Teenagers can meet their requi.re­ment of 2,200 to 2,400 calories through car­bohydrates such as brown rice, potatoes, couscous, bread' 'and cereal. Flant-based foods generally contain a form of iron that is

absorbed in smaller quantities than is-iron found in meats and poultry. Young people can boost intake by selecting iron-fortified cereals and ,breads on a daily basis. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables that are high in aseorbic acid can also increase the body's iron uptake. I

Those who elect to become vegans might have to add B12 to their <1!ets through forti­fied soy milk or vitamin supplements. Vita­min B12 is important to the development of the myelin sheath that covers ne~ve fibers.

Calcium is another important require­ment. Calcium-fortified soy or rice milk can be a good alternative for those who do not eat dairy products. Eight ounces of fortified soy milk contaiRs between 200 and 400 j'Ilil­ligrams of calcium; cow's milk has about 300 milligrams. Youngsters might still need tQ seek out other sources of calcium~for ex­ample, fortified tofu, almonds, black strap molasses, bt occoli and other vegetables.

Teens might want to go grocery shopping with adults and offer thei.r- input on food selection. If your teens have elected to be./ come vegetarians, support their choices. You could be supporting a change that pro­motes a lifetime of good health. WI

Janice Jarnes, M. S., R.D., is Senior Nutri­tionist at the Education Center at New York UniversiPy Medical Center's e ooperative Care Center: She is a member of the Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian sect which strictly adheres to a veg~tarian diet.

Warming the spirit: Swami Sddashivacharya conducting a traditional tantric fire sacrifice

CULTURE

Russia's Taste' for Tantra Siberian monk joins Hindu rites and Russian lore

USSIA'S LATEST UNREVEALED REV­

olution has nothing to do with rulers, parties or economics. It is an ascent of the spirit. Since 1992, t,he Moscow"

ba~ed Tantra Sangha has introduced. vera­cious Hindu philosophy and rit4al to the spiritually hungered populace of this im­mense nation in flux. Ushering in Russia's new age of ancient Vedic ways is Shripada Sadashivacharya AnandanatI1a Kaulavad­huta, more known simply as Swami Sada­shiw charya. Years ago, he was cemmanded by his Karnataka-based guru, Shripada Guhai Chennaoasava Siddhaswami, to "In­hale new life into the tantric path and spread the esoteric (rahasya) message of tantra to Russians and other peoples."

In 1993, Swami boldly told HINDUISM To­DAY, "We are Russian Saiyites. Our purpose is to unite all Russian worshipers of Lord Siva and the Divine Mother, to translate the sacred texts of the Saiva Aga'!1WS into Russ­ian and to spread the nondual ~ssage of Siva." Today the Sangha is officially recog­nized by the Russian government, and it maintains branches throughout the country. "We perform Vedic fire ceremonies under the open sky near rivers and forests accord­ing to orthodox Vedic Hindu rites-adjusted for the Russian situation," Swami explains,

His central ashram in Moscow is the meeting ground for most devotees, those who "live as real ' followers of tamtric Hin­duism." Devotional services, performed ac-

cctrding to the Tantras taught to Swami by his guru, are congregational-singing and praying while priests perform puja rites to· the Gods. The impassioned and engrossing daily and weekly worship in the small Shak-ti and Sivalinga temple attracts many unin­formed onlookers. According to Swami, "They quickly di~cover that Hinduism is much more devotional than Christianity. As . people are drawn to Hindu worship, their lifestyle becomes more pure, more spiritual. Many soon 'become staunch vegetarians. They learn Vedic excercises, ayurveda and begin to use astrology." Twice a year the Sangha organizes intensive seminars on tantric<sadhanas. PeoPle from allover Rus­sia come together in groups of 30 to 50 for comfortable lodging and soulful learning. During retreats, they partake of Hindu veg- I

etarian food only, which is first offered to Lord Siva and Kali Ma. . -

Pagan roots: The Russian affinity- for Hinduism has a historical dimension. Before the official Christianization of the 988 Indo­European Slavonic tribes, the ancestors of modern Russians and Ukrainians were fol­lowers of Slavonic p'aganism, which Swami asserts was akin to Hinduism. The Supreme God of the Slavonic pantheon was the great God, Rod, literally, "who gives birth to all." According to authoritative Russian, Western and Indian scholars, Rod is the same as the Vedic God, Rudra, or Siva. In Slavonic lan­guages, rod also means "trihe," "caste," "clan" and even "absolute" or "universe (all that exists)." . Today this ancestral name is the root of many Russian words: narod, peo-

. pIe; priroda, nature; rodnik, spring; roditeli, parents; rodina, motherl,and; rodnoy, native; etc. Many Russians view the recent spread of Hinduism in their couIl!;ry as a welcome revival of the pre-Christian native faiths.

Hinauism as taught by Sadashivacharya is , related to the Kalamukha and f ashupata

sects. Swamis of his tradition wear red robes and a black belt, carry a skull bowl, a tri­dent and wear a Sivalinga around their neck, which they. worship personally, as do Virasaivas. Swami Sadashivacharya is of the Rahasya Samptadaya, "secret tradition," which teaches three ways to God: Pasu, tht( easy path; Vira, the heroic, tantric patp; and Divya, the divine path of freedom and lib­eration. He ffillows and teaches the first path.

Sangha administrators eagerly invite Hin­du masters and instructors .em yoga, ayur­vedic healing, devotional worship and other / practices to come to Russia for a short time to help in teaching seminars and hosting re­t/eats. The most hopeful Sangha rp.embers expect rapid growth, believing that Satya Sanatana Tantrika Dharma will soon be­come a newall-human world religion. ..,.;

STANISLAV A. G OROKHOV, Moscow

C ONTACT: TANTRA SANGHA, P.O. BOX 70, M o sco w .

RUSSIA 103055 . E -MAIL: TANTRA@O NLlNE.RU

'APRIL , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY -\49

• I

/

I '

MINISTER'S MESSAGE

Your True Companion: The Self Within ' Contemplate the teachings. Gain a v~sio:p. of the exal t~d spiritual being that you truly are.

BY SWAMI CHIDVILASANANDA

"Truly, nothing in this world purifies like knowledge. He who in time becomes per­fect in yoga finds this knbwledge in his own Self." Knowledge of the Self arises from within. As you walk the spiritual path, knowledge of the Self becomes your true companion. It stands by you. Whatever happens, whether' you are joyful or sorrow­ful, whether you are ,making progress or being challenged by adversity, knowledge of the Self supports you. It steadies you and lights your way.

This message that the scriptures give is very piercing. They want to take you be­yond the bondage of the physical body. They want you to realize that the body is as

-transitory as a butterfly's wings, and that . the happiness you find in it is just as short lived. Become aware that there is a greater '

ITH GREAT RESPECT, WITH GREAT LOVE, I WEL- happiness, they say. The wisdom of the come you With all my heart. In the sacred text Self, the light of God within-that is your

called the Atmabodha the great sage Shankar-true companion. When everything works, acharya says: "When a seeker hears the Truth and when nothing works, the knowledge of the contemplates it, the fire of knowledge is kindled Self keeps you anchored; it keeps you

within. Then, freed from ~mpurities, he shines like gold." afloat. Welcome the teachings of the sages . The teachings that you hear from the great on~s and the and scriptures wholeheartedly and gener-

scriptures ignite a beneficial fire within. This fire is benefi- ously. Give yourself to spiritual practices as cial because of what it begins to burn away: painful thoughts, you never have before. Embrace your true unresolved feelings, dampening emotions and the old tena- 00( companion within. cious grudges you have been lugging around for years. It is ~ Have you ever seen rain falling on the Truth blazing in the teachings that reduces your useless @ parched ground? Isn't it amazing how tendencies to ashes. , '-----... quickly the tender green shoots push their

The more you contemplate the teachings, the more they enter way to the surface? It can happen in the twinkling of an eye .. -you. As you examine their worth attentively and try to, apply them, Think of the grace of the teachings in the same way -as the increasIngly you see their impact on your life. You come to under- sweetest rain falling from heaven. This shower of grace falls upon stand their incredible power, which enables you to uphold dharma, each' moment of your life. Each mO!llent is saturated with the wis-t,\live a life of goodness. You realize how timely these timeless dom of the teachings. Allow yourself to 1;>e soaked in this wisdom. messages are for you, right now. And you begin to surrender to Let the refreshing knowledge of the Self rise from the core of your your own inner Self This is what the teachings give you: the pow- being and bring forth its fruit. Truly the core 9f your being is so er to surrender to your Self again and again. When that happens, strong, so courageous. It is stronger than steel, more radiant than these beautiful, fruitful teachings begin to arise from within of gold. So reach the core of your being. Don't get stuck at the differ-their own accord. Hllving heard them over and over again in the ent layers of skin, muscles and tissues; don't become enmeshed in scriptures, in satsangs, from fellow seekers, you let them anoint the different strata of emotions and feelings. Keep traveling deeper your being. And then, as the Atmabodha says, you shine like golq.. and deeper within. Reach the strong core of your being" where Th~ kind of life you lead when you follow the teachings, \¥hen you abide all of the time. Embrace your true companion within.

you Become aware of God's presence in your: heart, is truly golden. Allow each moment of your day to become the embodiment of You no longer live an ordinary life, you live a golden life. You liye the Truth. Always remember that each person carries the golden yoga. You are not just marking off the days, the weeks, the months. light of the teachings. Let each object shimmer with God's mes-Each day becomes a beautiful garland of yo~ contemplations, sage. Let each element of nature reveal God's magnificence, Gqds your unselfish deeds, profound transformations, meditations, kind compassion, Gods generqsity, God's love, the Guru's unconditional thoughts, enlightening revelations and purposeful living. At the love, the ecstasy of the heart. Be with God as He creates the days.: end of the day you offer this garland to the Great Lord whose glo- and nights and suffuses them with His splendor. Embrace tl}.e true ry your heart sings without c~asing. But it doesn't end there. companion within, the knowledge of your own Self, the wisdom of E~erything that happens in the night, also becomes an offering to your .own Self I

the Lord. Each day and each nig.ht become another exquisite gar- With g¢at respect, with great love, I welcome you all with' all land for yOU to offer. my heart. Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jay! Your own,

The, teachings of the sages are penetrating. Take them in. TheY" are valuable. Evell if you are able to grasp only a minuscule por­tion of what you hear or read; allow your heart to embrace it. Al­low the teachings to penetrate 'y'our being. It doesn't matter if you ar~ hearing a teaching for the first time or for the thousandth time, allow it to reveal a newer, greater meaning. Let it enter you. Then that tiny' ray will expand' and your intellect will be illumined by its radiance. '

In.the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells his disciple, Ar~na:

50 HINDUISM TODA>Y A1\RIL, 1997

SWAMI CffiDVILASANANDA, or Gurumayi, is the successor of the renowned Indian saint Swami Muktananda. She ·teaches Siddha Yoga meditation to students in India and allover the world.

UTh T(nISM='=":' .:. -

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There are hundreds to choose from on this creative CD. Fall in love with the visual magic of Bharat and enhance your personal or institutional image.

Macintosh format only. No PC version available.

Here it is the Hindu art CD of the decade. Trek into the heart of mystic India with this spectacular collection of imagery drawn from the treasurehouse of Hindu spiri­tuality. This CD contains a wealth of clip art, Aums, pat­terns, textures, sacred sym­bols, borders, finished graphics and some rare Raj­put scans. Great graphics for an ashram bulletin, a yoga book, Web page or multimedia presentation.

Aums & Illustrations

M any images are or­ganized in

themes, like nature, Deities, people, borders, symbols, etc. Use the Fetch browser to get a quick overview, then double clic on a page for a detailed preview.

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SERVICE

s. Africa's" first Hindu Chaplain Sea change for religious freedom and equity . .

.N WHAT HAS BEEN HAILED AS A FIRST

'for South Africa, Vipra Kiriti Pillay, 48, has been appointed a full-time uni­formed Hindu chaplain to the 458 Hin-

dus serving in the South African National Defense Force (SANDF).

The assignment of the Vipm (meaning "Reverent" or "Learned One") is in keeping with the fledgling South African democra':. cy's white paper on defense, which empha­sizes freedom of religion provided that "re­ligious observances are conducted on an equitable basis and "1ttendance at them is fr.ee and voluntary."

Until now, only Christian chaplains were appointed to full-time positions, while part­timers served more than 900 religious groups in the defense force. The Hindu Ad­visory Board, cnaired by Swami Saradanan­d\l of the Ramakrishna Center, recommend­ed the appointment to the SANDF "My appointment came as something of a sur­prise," said the new 'chaplain, "as some of the others that were in contention were more academically (Iualified."

Chaplain Pillay completed a teaQher's di­ploma as well as ORe in indlistrial engineer­ing. ~ut his involvement in spirituality has been- even more impressive. He joined the Ramakrishna Center for studies in 1965 and was ordained a priest in 1969 by Swami Shivapadananda. He studied Sanskrit, Indi­an philosophy and Hindu theology for near­ly three years at Kailas Ashram at Rishikesh, India. Returning to Durban, he worked volunt~ily at the Ramakrishna Centers while maintaining his regula( job. For the last ten years, he has been ministering to the congre­gation in Chat?worth, South Africa's largest Indian townShip.

Spiritual steward: Vipm Kiriti Pillay with Chief Petty Officer Chinnappa (left) , . member of the base requests counseling, this takes pr~cedence over everything."

Sub Lieutenant Linda Heslop, the Publk Relations Offic~r at the base, sees a Hindu chaplain as a much needed post, 'l\lthough we have been working with Hindus all this time, it is only with this a.ppointment !hat

we have been given an opportunity to learn more about Hindus and Hinduis~ as well."

The Vipra begins each day at 7:30AM, dis­cussing matters of moral, spiritual and in­Ispirational valu~. Every Thursday at noon he leads a lively servi~e of bhajan, sat~ang apd discussions on Hinduism. Of the 280 Hindus stationed at the Vipras operatio~ base in Durban, about 40 to 50 at a time at­tend the services, which are infor~al, un­structured/and voluntary. Although he plans to draw up a syllabus, talks and discussions currently revolve around day-to-day experi­ences and real-life situations. In another dis' cussion program called FOCUS, the Hindu and Christian chal'llains present their re­'spective views on topics such as suicide, drugs and alcoholism. '

ht honor of his auspicious appointment, the Hindu Advisory Board designed a spe­cial rank insignia unique to Chaplain Pillay's position-a lamp and a flame. .-

Now in Durban, where the b~lk of Hindu servieemen and women are based, Vipra' Pillay states: 'l\lthough my work is mainly with the Navy, I also minister to the needs of Hindus in the Army and Air Force. If a On board: Teaming up with Sub-Lieutenant Heslop By AJITH BR!DGRAJ, South Af1"ica

52 HINDUISM TODAY A..\ RIL , 1997 .\

An Experience of a Life.tim a

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Kamakoti Peetam Page

LIKE MANY SWAMIS IN BHARAT, THE SAN­

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BHARAT

Virtual Ubrary

their 1200-year-old message and mission. This humble site, created by MaheshNet, introduces the Mutt, its founder, Adi Sankara, and the Jagadgurus who succeeded him. Their activities are highlight­ed, including havans, social service, revival of tra­ditional customs, temple renovation, promotion of Vedic study among youth, and building of temples, libraries and medical centers. Meet the gurus at: http://www.mahesh.netlprojectslkanchi.html

ideal for teaching today's computer generation the sig­nificance of Gand­hi's role in India's liberation from British rule, his history-changing teachings of non­violence and his

JOURNALISM

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cover some of the best of Hindu womens journalism on the Web. The Journal of South Asia Women Studies of­fers scholars an opportu­nity to practice one of the ancient 64 kalcM or arts, drama and story­telling-by submitting papers which address theoretical and practical issues relating to South Asian countries. You can download current and back issues and sub­scribe free by e-mail. O.r browse through multi­faceted subjects ranging from law, civil rights,

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politics and gender is­sues to philosophy, liter­ature, poetry, dance, music, folklore and more. And this distaff stuff is easy to find. For example, a query for the word Hindu returned 150 matches. Enjoy reading at http://www1. shore.netl-india/jsaws/i ndex.htm

The inspired Selfis nQt born, nQ{dQes He die;

He sprin~ from nQthin~ and becQmes nQthin~ He is nQt dest{Qyed when the bQdy is dest{Qyed.

KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA 2.18.566