hinduism today, feb, 1998
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Hinduism Today, Feb, 1998TRANSCRIPT
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COVER: Young Indian women graduate from college in Delhi. Higher education bas become a success symbol and social requisite for Indias rising middle class. Our feature story this month investigates religions role in their up-scale lives. Page 20
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. FEBRUARY, 1998
INTERNATIONAL Cover Story: Indias Middle Class: Reengi-
neering Hinduism in the TV Age 20 Prodigies: America's Sanskrit Sensations 24 Celebration: Guadeloupeans Light a FIre 26 Pilgrimage: Rare Recital of Rarnas Legacy
In the Remote Reaches of TIbet 36 Kenya: Riots Can't Halt the Rath-Yatra 44
LIFESTYLE Insight: Quick: How lloes Buddhism
Differ from HindUism, or Does It? 28 Sooks: "Dearest, Will You Rub My Feet?" 34 Mjgt:!ltion~ Montreals Lankan Temple 3l Striving: A Most Natural Practice 39 Parenting: No-Fault Feedback Works 41
OPINION Publisher's Desk: Forget Retaliation-
Getting Even Just Makes You Odd Letters My Turn: Taiwan Buddhist Nun's Views Editorial: Can a Religion be Godless? Astrology: Here Comes the Eclipse! Healing: Brimstones Good for You Minister's Message: Back to Our Roots,
Which Lie in thetVedas
-10 12 13 16 45 46
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DIGESTS Diaspora 7 News in Brief 49
- Quotes & Quips Evolutions
17 Digital Dharma 56 46
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6
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Ecuador's new trains from France were too heavy for the tracks
ISSUES
Getting Rid of Bribery
].\
BRIBED OFFICIAL IN ECUADOR, SOUTH AMERICA, ENGIN
eered the purchase of nine trains from a French company. When they arrived, it was discovered they were too heavy
to run on the country's tracks, resulting in a loss of millions of dollars. Fed up with such greed, Ecuadors vice-president called upon Transparency International, a Germany-based group dedicated to deterring bribery and graft in business and governments. Together they drafted new laws which, at least irlitially, have stemmed graft in Ecuador. Corruption, states TI, is usually invisible, but its effects are dramatic, escalating costs of projects, hurting taxpayers and distorting entire economies. Of the key economic powers, only the US has outlawed companies from bribing foreign officials. Other leading powers, such as all European nations, have refused to enact similar laws. TI opens offices in countries that request help with corruption.
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, OTTO-SUHR-ALLEE 97 -99. D-IOS8s BE HLfN, GERMANY
have changed the , world in tllis century,
1'*1. •• \1, ...... including Gandhi, Al- , bert Einstein, civilrights leader (and Gandhian) Martin Luther King, BeatIe John Lennon, inventor Thomas Edison, and architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The ad con-
Gandhi on highway billboard sign, USA .
MARKETLNG
Mac Gandhi?
M AHATMA GANDHI IS ONE
of a group of unexpected personalities featured in Apple Computer:s new campaign, "Think different." Apples ads honor the ,creative geniuses who
cept is that Apple computer users can be just as creative as these great people. Whatever
• the logic, Hindus are delighted to have tIle Mahatmas dars'han, spinning wheel and all, gracing TV sets and billboards across America, especially as part of such an august assembly Of the 20th century's great people. •
RESTORATION
Sun Temple ·
THE SUN TEMPLE OF KOR
nak was built by King Nafasimhadeva of the Ganga dynasty 700 years ago. Over the
I
UNITED KINGDOM
Bagpipe Boom
GRUFF I\AGPIPE PLAYERS,
decked'out in tartan, busby and sporran, have become a familiar sight at fashionable Hindu and Sikh ceremonies across Britain," reports the UK Independent. "On, Sunday we do a Hindu wedding in Leicester," said 60-year-old Willie Cochran, bagpiper leader of the Balmoral Highlanders. "ItS growing all the time. We 'play
Bagpipes at UK Sikh Wedding
the' standard Scottish melodies, which they seem to like." Some trace the taste lor bagpipes to the days of the British Raj in India when pipers played for royal weddings.
centuries, the ~agnificent sandstone monument has suffered from structural deterioration, sand drift and,. vandalism. Now the World Heritage Fbnd has given emergemiY assistance to the Archeological Survey of India to help arrest damage to the upper portions. ASI restora
tion plans call for making the temple watertight, severely restricting areas that tourists can visit and possibly even building a replica of the original in another location. The innermost shrine has been dosed for over a century.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: COREL, SARAH BANCROFT/INDEPENDENT, YA.MASAXI SHU, APPLE COMPUTER, INC. FEBRUARY , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY '7
/
ARTS
Rising Star of Odissa Dance "7\ LL I WANT TO DO IN J=\life is dance," says , the startling prodigy of Odissa dance, Bijayini Satpathy "1 dance to satisfy my soul. In the process, if it pleases the audience, that is my reward." Indian newspapers have lavished praise upon the dancer, the foremost protegee of PItOtima Gauri-head of the renowned Nrityagram schobl of dance and the arts near Bangalore in South India. "I fIrst saw her among a group of 30 Odissi dancers in Bhubaneswar auditioning to join our tour to the USA and Canada," relates Protima. "She was totally immersed in the ecstasy of dance. I recognized instantly her incredible potential."
Gauri featured the young Satpathy in a Ra-vanaiSita performance Bijayini Satpathy in RavanalSita dance
THE VEDAS
God's Word, Sages'Voices
May Mitra, Varuna and Aryaman grant us freedom and space enough for us and for our children! May we fmd pleasant pathways, good to travel! Preserve us evermore, 0 Gods, with blessings.
RIG VEDA 7.63.6
There is on Earth no diversity. He gets death after death who perceives here seeming diversity. As a unity only is It to be looked upon-this indemonstrable, enduring Being, spotless, beyond space, the unborn Soul, great, enduring.
SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRlHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD 4-4-19-""
Where there is duality, there one sees another, one smells another, one tastes another, one speaks to another, one hears another, one knows another. But where every-
8 HINDUISM TODAY . FEB.~UARY, 1998
perfected by Gauri over two decades. She was amazed when Bijayini mastered her leading role in just two weeks!
The Nrityagram school follows a traditional guru kula system of students living with their teachers. It is decidedly an exclusive school-there are just 20 student~, all girls. Beyond an initial fee of RS.500 for a threemonth evaluation period, the education is entirely subsidii ed, plus students are encouraged to perform publically as soon as they aTe ready. They are also trained in lectures and demonstrations to promote the art of dance.
Bijayim will be touring California with Gauri in May and June of this year and is available for performances, lectures and workshops.
INDIA CONTACT: PROTIMA GAURl, NRITYAGRAM, HESSARAGHATTA,
BANGALORE, KARNATAlCA, 560 088, INDIA. USA: clo 10600 WILSHIRE AVENUE, APT 310, LOS ANGELES ,
CALIFORNIA 90024 , USA
INTERFAITH
Globa,1 Forum In Turkey TJ'HE GLOBAL l'ORUM OF
I spiritual and parliamentarian leadet:'s regional meeting in Konya, Thrkey, focused upon the concerns of an immediate area-Central Asia-rather than the world, as at earlier conferences in Oxford, Moscow and Rio. More than a hundred religious, cultural, business and political leaders discussed '10ng-term strategies to establish a balance for economic growth and human well-being into the 2'1.st centurY:"
Religion and politics team up
thing has become one's own Self, with what should one see whom, with what should one smell whom, with what should one taste whom, with what should one speak to whom, with what should one hear whom, with what should one think of whom, with what should one touch whom, with what should one know whom? How can He be known by whom all this is made known?
SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRlHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD 4.5.19
Than whom there is naught else higher, than whom there is naught smaller, naught greater, the One stands like a tree established in heaven. By Him, the Person, is this whole universe fIlled.
KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA, SVETASWATARA UPANISHAD 3·9
o guide of the spirits, restore to us our sight, give us again our life breath and powers of enjoyment. Long may our eyes behold the rising of the sun! 0 gracious Goddess, grant us your favor and bless us. May Earth restore to us our breath of life, may Goddess Heaven and the aery space return it! May Soma give us once again a body and Pushan show us again the way of sahration.
ruG VEDA 10.39.6-7
Verses are drawn from various sources. Those from The Vedic Experience by Prof. Raimon Panikkar are available at www. HinduismToday.kauai.hi.uslVedExp.html
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Gett.ing 'Even Is Su'ch An ada Thing to Do' Sages say its wiser to not retaliate for injuries received and to let human and divine law do their own work
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
EVERYONE HAS WILLPOWER. IT IS INHERent to the makeup of the physical-astralmental-emotional body. The center of willpower is the manipura chakra, located at the solar plexus. Unlike other energies,
the more willpower we us~, the more will we have to use. Actually, by exerting our willpower, we store up new energy within the manipura chakra. This happens when we work a little harder than we think we an, do a little more than we think we can d"a. By putting forth that extra effort we build up a great willpower that we will always have with us, even in ouf next life, the next and the next. Willpower is free for the using, actually.
When we relate willpower to .actions and compare actions to dharma or adharma, we find that adharmic, or uririghteous, actions bring uncomfortable results and dharmic actions bring comfortable results. If we act wrongly toward others, people will act wrongly toward us. Then, if we are of a lower nature, we resent it and retaliate. This is a quality of the instinctive mind. "You strike me once, I'll strike you back twice. You make a remark to me that I don't like, and I will put you down b~hind your back. I will make up stories about you to get even and turn other people's minds against you." This is retaliation, a terrible, negative force. When we use our willpower to ret!iliate against others, we do build up a bank account o( willpower, to. be sure, because we do have to put out extra effort. But we also build up a bank account of negative karma that will come back on us full force when we least expect it. When it does, if we remain locked in ignorance, we will re ent that and retaliate against the person who plays our karma back to us, and the cycle repeats itself again and again and again.
Those living in the higher nature know better. Belief in karma and reincarnation are strong f9rces in a Hindu. Two thousand years ago South India's Saint Tiruvalltlvar said it so simply, "Worthless are those who injure others ~engefully, while those who stoically endure are like stored gold. Though unjustly aggrieved, it is best to suffer the suffering and refrain from unrighteous response."
Nevertheless, we see society tearing itself apart through retaliation. Beautiful organizations r'etaliate against their leader, against each other. Countries divide and-retaliate. Political parties retaliat~ Vmdictive law cases are pro1'essionally handled retaliation. Retaliation means to pay back injury with injury, to return like for like, evil for evil, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It seems to be a part of humankind, though it is a negative part of hUmankind. It does not have to prevail. It is not spiritual. We would say it is
10 HINDUISM TODAY FE \l RUARY , 1998
demonic. We would say it is asuric. We would say it is unnecessary behavior, unacceptable behavior, a wrong use of willpower. People who have a lot of will can, if they wish, retaliate very, very well. They can ruin another person. Remember, the force will come back on them three times stronger than they ever gave it out because their strong willpower will bring it back with vigor. This is the law. •
Therefore, the wise person chooses his actions according to dharma, which is quite specific as to how we must behave. Those who connive to retaliate after a misunderstanding comes up should know they are carving a destiny of unhappiness for themselves by digging a pit of remorse, self-condemnation and depressiOn. They will fall into it in the far-off future.
Some might ask, "Does nonretaliation mean that one should not protect himself, his family, his community?" We are talking about revenge, not self-defense. To oppose the actions of an intruder to one's home or community at the time of the intrusion is very different from tracking him down later and vanda'lizing his home in retaliation.
We cannot hurt another without getting hurt back in the future through some other way, generally through other people not even associated with the person we hurt. Those who 0ffend us or commit crimes against us, we can be sure, will receive justice in arl unerring manner through the law ofkarmao If the matter is a serious one, we can seek reconciliation through the laws of the land. In criminal cases, justice can be sought through the courts. It is not wise to take matters into our own hands and be the instrument of punishment, for by doing so we reap the same negative karma as the offender. Retaliation on a
, wide scale can be seen in cases of mob violence, terrorism and guerrilla warfare.
Therefo:re, it is wise to cultivate the powerful force of compassion, of righteous response, forgiveness, of admitting our own mistakes, of not saving face and lying our way out of a situation just to make ourself look good or putting others down so we can stand taller, so that we can save face. That is a face you would not want to save. It is a face not worth saving. #
Those who accept the truth that retaliation is not the proper .
.
An eye for an eye? Not in this case. The bearded man receibes a blow to the cheek, perhaps because he has been too truthful with his acquaintance. Being of a higher nature, the eldef seeks no retribution, but tnstead offers forgiveness when the offender approaches with a sincere apology and demonstrates true remorse. ~u_.u" ••• .,u ........... \o..u •••• u ••••• u ••••••• , ....... ,.,u ••• ~ •••••••••• , ........... u ............ u ..... u ..... ." .. u ••
way to live, but are unable to stop trying to get even, are on the road to correcting themselves, especially if they feel remorseful about their impulses and actions. Through divine sight, the soul perceives unwise actions performed when in the lower nature as a hindrance to spiritual progress. Penance received from a guru or swami and well performed propels the soul into its natural state of bliss, All help is given by the divine devas to those seen performing a sincere penance. Gurus of every lineage receive the verbal confession of devotees and give out the appropriate penance .... prayashchitta. They reco~ze divine absolution, knowing the penance has been fulfilled, when the inner aura is bright as a newborn child, the face happy and the testimony on the result of the penance discloses true atonement.
The problems in society reside within the low-minded people ~ who only 1cJ{ow retaliation as a way of life. To antagonize others is
their sport. They must be curtained off and seen for what they are. If you believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that a person is of a lower nature and incorrigible, then it is best to avoid his company. To not antagonize the person is the best protection. Societies all over the world are trying to contr~l these peo.\?le. It is OIie of the purposes of government. Everything in the universe is in perfect law and order at every point in time. Peace on Earth only comes when the lower-natured people are lifted up and made to obey the higher standards where rural and national communities are giving way to an international community and high-minded, spiritual people are entering government and dynamically taking charge, making changes and managing affairs better than ever before. They are joining hands with others of like nature to control the negative forces. The prophecy of a global village is in sight.
SpealQng ofhonretaliation, this issue, of HINDUISM TODAY'S Insight focuses on Buddhism, Hinduism's sister faith. The peaceloving Dalai Lama, exilea leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is setting an extraordinary example of not striking back at ¥1tagonists. While he has campaigned relentlessly for political assistance for his people's cause since 1959, when at age 15 he flectacross the Himalayas for help, he approaches the Chinese with care and respect, though he never forgets China's armed takeover of his nation in 1957 and the extermination of 1.2 million Tibetans by 1972. This humble being has never failed to exemplify the dharma of ~ompassion, advocating "the kind of love you can have even for those who have done you harm." He once wrote: "My enemy is my best friend and my best teacher because he give.s me the opportunity to learn from adversity." If there was anyone wh0 deserved to lash . out in a vindictive way, it wQuld be the Dalai Lama, but he has chosen a higher path. We listened to him appeal for Tibetan autonomy over the years at international conferences in Oxford, Rjo de Jianero and Chicago, and he never deviated from his posture of love, truflt and compassion, with full C'onfidence that the divine law will finallY manifest a righteous outcome, an agreeable solution. He is setting a noble pattern in the international arena, where
. ' spiritual people can forge new principles for a global dharma. On an individual level, all can strive to give up the urge to "get
even," heeding ,the Vedic admonition, "Here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will. And as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap." Every belief creates certain attitudes. Those attitudes govern all of our actions. Belief in karma, reincarnation and the existence of an all-pervasive Divinity throughout the universe creates an attitude of reverence, benevolence and compassion for all beings.
FEBRUARY, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 11
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Beyond the Facts I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER MY DEEPEST ADmjration to the writer of the article "Hindu of the Year" [TRIBUTE, Decembe'r 1997]. Sri Chinmoys myriad activities aJ}d interests are not easily condensed into two pages. The sweep from meditation to, say, weightlifting, is so vast and so astonishing that one can easily become overwhelmed. To "Start with, there is sheer weight of facts-seven 'million bird drawings, 13,000 song~ and so on. Guru's abundance in every field presents a challenge to the Western mind. But you have presented everything with such loving understanding and intuitive oneness. You have ' seen beyond the facts to Gurus fundamental aim of making spirituality accessible to all, no matter what their walk of life or background. I would like to congratulate you on wnat I feel must be one of the best articles ever written about his life.
, VIDAGDHA BENNET JAMAICA, NEW YORK, USA
I WAS NOT ONLY DELIGHTED ABOUT THE honor you conferred upon Sri Chinmoy, but astonished about so many small details you gave about the Sri Chinmoy Centre life and Guru's own activities, and, above all, about your capacity to present everything in an interesting and well-understood manner. Some of us disciples are writing about our master, including me, but hardly. anyone ever has written about him in such a delightful, readable and yet reverential way.
I
JYOTISMAN DAM KUESSABERG,GE~Y
Rakhi for the Sisters WE ARE BACK IN INDIA, AFTER 17 YEARS' stay in Kenya, for Deepavali and Bhaya Dhooj festivities. On Bhaya Dhooj day, I accompanied my husband to his sister's houses and missed more than ever before not havipg a brother of my own. When I saw this ritual of tying a thread on the wrist as a symbol of protection between my husband and one of his sisters, li felt an internal trauma. Having worked with gender issues for over a decade, I came up with a solution, to start the concept of "Didi Dhooj." I am going to celebrate this in the future as I got favorable responses from my sister and friends. When we women of the world are asking for equality in all other aspects in life, why not in Hindu ritt(als?
I PRABA PRABHAitAR BHARDWAJ
• NEW DELHI, INDIA
Your Defense is Absurd I THINK YOUR DEFENSE OF "WOMANLY Protocol" [LEITERS, December 1997] makes very little sense. True, such conduct was the norm which ancient soci~ty preserved, but
12 :HINDUISM TODAY FEBRUARY , 1998
LETTERS it is meaningless today. The last sentence in particular verges on the border of absurdity. Women have to walk behind men because they "are more capable of living the higher ideal," There is much that is good in Hinduism, but there is also much that is rotten and should not be defended. Admittedly, philosophical and spiritual parts of Hinduism are truly unique, but some of the so-cial codes are obsolete. .
SHARMA " [email protected]
Asked and Answered I ENJOYED READING THE ARTICLE "MAK
ing it Relevant for Smart Young Souls," [EDITORIAL, October, 1997]. Hindu children are confused in the two cultures; they feel that: they do not fit in any of them. Peer 2ressure in the Western culture will make diem depressed. Since most Hindu pare~ts cannot answer their questions such as, "Do you worship cows and idols?" does HINDUISM TODAY have any plan of action or recommend a book which will answer these type of questions? We would like to preserve our heritage of Hinduism.
HARSHAD KAPADIA HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA
1/ Visit our Worldwide Web site. There you will find answers for the nine basic questionS-including yours-about Hinduism. http://hinduismtoday . kauai. hi. usl ashraml H imalay anAcademy IPublicationslJ nana Danal9QuestionsAndAnswers. html
A'Rightful Request This is a letter sent to the attorney geneml of Trinidad & Tobago, with a copy to HINDUISM TODAY ["Legal IneqUity," LAW AND ORDER, December 1997].
tian houses of worship liable to such treatment. The foregoing are but illustrations of what appears to be a diSCriminatory pattern (If legislation that continues to be in force in your country. While at one time such legislation might conceivably have been judged to be an understandable, while surely not a, commendable, use of state power (viz., when Trinidad & Tobago had yet to achieve their independeI{ce, and whilst dependent possessions of a power with an establishment State Church) certainly the Trinidad & Tobago of 1997, with a cosmopolitan, educated multireligious and multi-ethnic community and with decades of. independence behind if', no longer needs or wishes to be embarrassed by the continued existence of such legally-mandated inequality.
It is our understanding that the Constitution of Trinidad & Tobago specifically guarantees freedom of religious expression and provides for the peaceful co-existence and equality of all religious t raditions without discrimination. It is further our understanding that your country is a party signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and to the American Convention on Human Rights. Both of these international treaties, to which Trinidad & Tobago has voluntarily become subject, require their signatories to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion and to refrain themselves from practicing such discrimination. Under both treaties, states-parties may be held legally accountable for their actions and omissions constituting breaches of the international human rights normative standards the treaties provide for:. It is our fervent hope that your government lives up to its legal and moral obligations as a responsible member of the community of nations and immediately rescinds the regressive and oppressive legislation at hand. I am writing to you in connection with the
continued existence in Trinidad & Tobago's statute law of certain laws discriminatory toward your country's Hindu religious community It has been brought to our attention that , there continue in force statutes, mostly of British colonial vintage, which either favor the Christian religion over other religious communities and traditions or disfavor other religious bodies to the advantage of Chris-
WILLIAM A. CURSON THE MAGNUS F. HIRSCHFELD , CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
CROSSWICKS HOUSE, 270 CLAREMONT AVENVE MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, 07042 USA ,
Corrections .-The correct street address for Galaxy Publications and Recordings is 351 Victoria Avenue,Westmount Quebec H3Z 2N1 Canada ["To Goddess,With Love", December, 1997]. . tianity. Such statutes include, we are in
formed, The following among others: The legislation governing blasphemous libel, which proteCts only the Christian religion from "any contemptuous, reviling, scurrilous or ludicrous portrayal" of. God, Jesus Cp-ist, the Bible or the formularies of the Cnurch of England. The legislation makin~ illegal the search or seizure of a Christian Church by the countrys law enforcement or military authorities without a judicial warrant, leaving Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and other non-Chris-
Lattars with writers ~e, address and daytime phone number, should be sent to:
Lattars, HINDUISM TODAY
107 Kaholalala Road KAPAA, HI, !P746-gs04 USA or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 or e-mailed to: [email protected]
Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may appear in electronic versions of HINDUISM TODAY. " INDICATES LEITERS RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL
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HINDU RENAISSANCE TEAM
HINDUISM TODAY was founded January 5, 1979, by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, for the following purposes: 1. To foster Hindu solidarity as a unity in diversity amo.q.g all sects and lineages; 2 . 1b inform and inspire Hindus worldwide and people interested in Hinduism; 3. To dispel myths, illusions and misinformation about Hinduism; 4. To protect, preserve and promote the sacred Vedas and the JIindu religion; 5. 11) nurture and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hindu renaissance. We invite our readers to share these purposes with us by writing letters, contributing reports and articles on events, sending news clippings and encouraging othe s to subscribe.
Publisher: ' Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Administ. Director: Paramacharya Bodhinatha Editor-in-Chief Acharya Palaniswami Publisher's Aide: Acharya Ceyopswami Deputy Editor: Acharya Kllmarswami Managing Editor: Tyagi Arumugaswami Graphics Director: Tyagi Natarajaswami Mauritius Editor: Ty~gi Murugaswami Mauritius Staff Writer: Tyagi Devaswami Prod.lPromotion Manager: Tyagi Kathirswami Deputy Managing Editor: Yogi Kasinatha Managing Editor's Aide: Yogi Rishinatha Editor-in-Chiefs Aide: Yogi Yuganatha Advertising Manager: Sadhaka Jothinatha SubSCription Manager: Sadhaka Haranandinatha Correspondents: Gowri Shankar & Anandhi Ramachandran, Chennai; Choodamani Shivaram, Bangalore; Rajiv Malik & Mangala Prasad Mohanty, Delhi; V's. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala; Basudeb Dhar, Bangladesh; Archana Dongre, Los Angeles; Lavina Melwani, New York; Prabha Prabhakar Bhar.dwaj, Kenya; Dr. Hari Bansh Jha, Nepal; Parasram Ramoutar, Ani! Mahabir, Trinidad; Dr. Devananda Tandavan, Chicago; VG. Julie Rajan, Philadelphia; Radhika Srinivasan, New Jersey; Shikha Malaviya,
• Minnesota, Rajesh Jantilal, South Africa Artists: A. Manivelu, S. Rajam .\ Cartoonists: Barry Geller, David Lourie,,Mario de Miranda, Manick Sorcar, Gary L. Stair, Bob Thaves Photo Contributors: Thomas L. Kelly, Stephen P. Huyler, De~ Raj Agrawal, Phal S. Giro~, Tony Stone Images, Photobank, Art Wolfe Inc., Gordon Wiltsie, Indivar Sivanathan Web Masters: Deva Seyon, Sadhunathan Nadesan Scanning: Vlkram Patel, New York Distribution: Jiva Rajasankara, Bangalore; Dohadeva Samugam, Singapore; Chudikadevi Saravan, Selladurai Perakasam & Rohini Kumar, Malaysia
Buddhist and I-di~du Dharmas Do Diffe{ But these dissimilarities should not stop us from living in peace and harmony
BY THE HONORABLE YIHUA
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERences and similarities
between Buddhism and Hinduism? Both originat
ed from the same motherland, Bharat, from the same blood ties and culture. They are like twin sisters. Even today, it is difficult to tell the differences between them.' But when you spend more time with them, examine them closely, come to know them, become good friends with them, you may be surprised to learn that though they do have many similarities, their natures and characteristics are indeed quite different.
Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in the law of karma" cause and effect-"what deed you do, that you reap." This is the ancient law that long and forever governs. But Hinduism emphasizes the concept of Atman. That is, the Self, or the center "I." Due to ignorance, the Atman is abiding by its own deeds and taking rebirth again 1illd again. Thus the law of karma is always entwined with the concept of an absolute Self
But Buddhists feel that the concept of "self' or "I" is the main source of all suffering. From the concept of 'T' there arises the idea of "mine," then "my house, ~y property, my enemies," etc. Then follows "I hate; I love; I want ... " All this is a source of" differentiation and defilement which goes on in an unending spiral.
According to Buddhism, the only door to liberation from this I-and-my consciousness is the realization of Non-self, knowing that all phenomena, including the concept of "I," arise as dependents. Not even dust can exist independently; nor does it have the self nature or awareness of its self existence. Thus non-absolute entities such as hatred, enemies and ignorance can be cleared away, since they do not exist permanently. Then the mystical door of Sunyata is fmally found and the stage of Nirvana secured.
The term God, or Deva, appears in both Hinduism'and Buddhism. God does exist in both religions, but to most Hindus, God is the Supreme Being, the Controller of the world-an Absolute Being who is worshiped and petitioned for merits and forgiveness. Though Buddhists do not deny the existence of God, to them God is not the
Controller, not the Creator, nor the Only One. Whoever has accumulated enough good merit will have the chance to take . birth with the status of a "Deva," qr "God." Due to past merits, this "God" may have a lot of power, but still not have the right understanding of Sunyata. Having not yet given off the cravings of self, he is still just one of many sentient beings taking rebirth in the realm of samsam, albeit in a more advanced stage of evolution.
When Sakyamuni Buddha achieved full enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, He proclaimed, "All sentient beings have the 'Buddha Nature. '" That meant that a brah.min, a kshatriya, a vaishya and a sudra all have the same potential to achieve full enlightenment and become one of the future Buddhas. The Buddha Nature is the poten-, tial power of full understanding. All phenomena and things change. Therefore, even the most evil person, even the most ignorant person, can study and practice the' Dharma and finally attain Buddhahood.
Whether Hindu or Buddhist, if everyone believes in the law of cause and effectfollowing the righteous path that all the ancient sages practiced-then all the sentient beings, communities and societies will have less' trouble and suffering and will bring greater peace and harmony to the world.
YIHUA, of the Fokuangshan Buddhist Order in Kaushiung, Taiwan, studied the Hindu roots of Buddhism in India for over lO years.
FEBRUARY, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 13
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\~~ " ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.? EDITORIAL
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Can You Have Religion Without God? Reflections on how two great faiths, bot~ born in ~ndia, have agreed to disagree
BY THE EDITOR
is presumptuous. It leaves them out. The Dalai Lama was challenfting them, in his sweet way, to find words and concepts that could bridge the Abrahamic world and the BuddhistlJain world.
It would be nice to say this was accomplished. But that is not so. The gap seemed, for those present at least, impassable. Christians felt,it unbefitting to use generic terms like "the Divine" to address the Biblical Jehovah, and Buddhists were left to endure with resigned nobility.
Meanwhile, the Hindus at these global gatherings were perfectly at home with both views. For us, God is seen as'1:he Creator, Preserver and Dismantler of an
~ things. It is He who breathed out the Vedas. It is He who graces our existence and makes it potentially sacred. He is the
WE FIRST MET THE DALAI LAMA IN 1972 IN NORTHERN Life of our life, the Eye of our eye, the Heart of our heart. Our India. On that precious December afternoon Hinduism prayers rise to Him, our mantras penetrate to Him, our hopes rest converged with Buddhism, and it felt like milk was in Him. So we can accept the prayerful petitions of Jews and pouring into milk. There were 72 of us traveling with Christians and Muslims as our own.
Gurudeva, HINDUISM TODAY'S publisher, and we were nearing But Hindus also see God in an impersonal way. After all, Advaita the end of a three-month pilgrimage. As our busses lumbered up Vedantins and all Hindus who accept a nondual philosophy speak t~e mountain toward Dharmasala, the remote city where 10,000 'Of Parabrahman, the Absolute Reality that is neither Creator nor Tibetans have taken refuge from Chinese aggressions, we were created, that is timeless, formless and caus~less. One does not offer in a jovial mood. Gurudeva sensed our anticipation, and led us prayers to That. One is eternally and ineluctably That. God, soul in a spontane~us ren,dition of "Hello, Dolly!-a myrthful and world are profoupdly one and the same. For the severest Ad-reference to the "Dolly Lama." vaita Vedantin, just as for the Dalai Lama, there is no God as per-
We entered past the heavy security and were ushered into a for- sonal Lord. Thinking thus, the Hindus present were perfectly at mal chambe~ where· we sat on heavy carpets before an imposing home with the Buddhists' call for using a term that does not divide chair, under the watchful gaze of rifle-bearing guards. Moments the Divine from man. So, once again, Hinduism discovered its-later the 37-year-old Tibetan Buddhist holy man, whos~ name is competence to bridge diverse views, to integrate divergent Tenzin Gyatso (and who would later be awarded the 1'~89 Nobel philosophies, as it has done through the ages. Peace Prize) appeared with no fanfare. Dressed in heavy maroon 'TIiis morlth we explore the nexus, between Hinduism and Bud-robes, he surveyed his visitors, all dressed in saris, dothis and saf- dhism. We approach this comparison with the uneasy knowledge fron robes, seated in pad11UlSana, and smiled hugelY. Gently he di- that we are not fully competent to the task. Our tradition is the rected his guards to remove the chair, and sat down on the spartan Tamil Saivism of South India and Sri Lanka. \}'hile we know that floor with the American Hindu holy man and his devotees. We all heritage well, we cannot say we know it perfectly, and our knowl-reveled in the palpable affection and one-mindedness as a long edge of Buddhism is far less perfect. So we enlis ed the help of discussion careened'through many subjects-reincarnation, theolo- scholars, Ram Swarup and Vamadeva Shastri. It is especially gy, God, monastic training, meditation, inner light and liberation. I important' now, in 1997, to compare these paths. In the West, Bud-especially recall the Dalai Lama's quick laugh when 30 or so dhism and Hinduism are both gaining ground and proviping spiri-among us raised their hands enthusiastically in response to {lis tual alternatives to Europeans and Americans. These newcomers query, "Have,any here ever recalled moments of a past life?" No are sometimes naIve about the subtle disparities of Asian paths. doubt he did not expect such a reply Yet, if they are to follow them faithfully from so many blue-eyed Hindus. That's they need to fathom the differences. How him on the right at a recent New Delhi can they, if we ourseLves don't have su<;:h walk for world peace. )lIlderstanding to convey to them?
We met this great soul again in While mapping the differences is cru- • Oxford in 1988 and Rio in 1992 at the cial, so is acknowledging the shareq val-Global Forum for Human Sur,vival, and ues and traditions. Hindus and Buddhists again in Chicago at the 1993 both base their way on the Dharma. Parliament of World's Religions centen- They both follow strict personal sadhanas nial. At those meetings he spoke mov- and meditations. They both arose in In-ingly of his struggle to free his people dia, and indeed the Buddha was himself I
and to stop the killings (it is said at born to Hindu parents. They both value least 1.2 million Tibetans have been :.=~Ir.~~I1!!!1 __ "" ____ ~ noninjury to other beings. They both killed in their homeland). He also gave ~Q , place stress on what is practiced more a bold voice to the Buddhist be1ief that there is no creator God. than on what is believed. They both teach of reincarnation and It was a defining moment of these sessions. In all such interfaith seek resolution of karmas "toward the goal of spiritual liberation, meetings religious leaders speak in terms of God, intone prayers called moksha. Little wonder that during this month's meetings to God, write their formal statements of purpose in aclalowledge- With the editorial staff our publisher was heard to say, "I don't ment of God. To the Buddhists this Creator-centric presumption see much difference in Buddhism and Hinduism."
16 HINDUISM TODA;Y FE ~ RUARY, 1998
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IUI'ES &. Imps "For fear of causing terror to living beings, let the Bodhisattva
~striving -Co attain ~ompassion refrain frof!1 eating flesh."
Friendship among fools is particularly sweet, fOlr therejs not the slightest pain when they part. Tirukural, Verse 340
A man went inta an astrolager's office and wait, d for a reading. The astrologer examined his chart and said, "You will be poor, unhappy and discontent until y'ou are 45 years ald." "What will happen then?" asked the stunned man. The aStrolager calmly replied, "Then you'll get used ta it." ,
What d0 you call a sadhu who cannot sew his torn dhoti? A "mend-he-can't."
Gautama !he Buddha (CA 624-544 BCE) ...
I know I am not my body, although I have 'Often wandered, "If I'm nat my body, who is?" Swami Beyondananda
King Akbar asked his Prime Ministe , "Birbal, who is greater, God 'Or me?" Birbal, who was wise and understaad the king's ego, told him, "Yau are indeed greater, your majesty." "Haw is that?" Birbal replied, "Yaur majesty, if sameane cammits a crime, you can banish him fram yat.& kingdom, whereas Gad can do nathing, far haw could God, who pervades everything, banish someone from His kingdom?" ,
A shrewd but unlearned weaver in ancient Tamil Nadu, India, often attended public debates held at the Tamil Sangam, where high Tamil was spaken 4 eely. "Da you un.?erstand the language?" the weaver was asked one day in 2897BCE. "Na," he said, "but I know who is wrang in the argument by observing wha becomes angry f!.J;st!"
I could find foad even in Gandhi's kitchen! A New York beautician telling Eastern European dictator as she rummages through the apparently empty kitchen o/his medieval, castle-like home, in a scene from the hip and humorous Hollywood movie, 'The Beautician and the Beast"
A rude village man once insulted Gautama Buddha. "You have na right teaching others, you are nothing but a fake." Buddha was not upset. He asked, "If you buy a gift for someone, ~d that persan daes nat take it, ta whom does it belong?" The man replied, "It would still bel0ng to me, since I baught the gift." Buddha smiled, "It is the same with your anger. You b"ecame angry with me, but I was get insulted. Therefare the anger falls back on you. You are ,the one who becames unhappy, not me. All you "have dane is hurt yourself"
Leave your EGO here
WELL, I GUESS I HAVE TO SETTLE FOR 2 OUT OF 3. /
FEBRUARY, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 1t
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Magic of Sanskrit: from Shant; Shant;
A special debut album on CD, presenting Andrea and Sara Forman, sisters considered to be two of the most advanced Sanskrit scholars under the age of twenty. They have won accolades wherever they have performed and are gaining worldwide renown.
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I'QUNOEO IN 1~2:. n IlY PARAMAHA. NSA YQGANANQ· A
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. SOCIETY
Mid.dle Class, Middle Path God keeps His central, if slightly revised, place in the life of 13harats newly upscale urbanites
I AM OF THE OPINION THAT RELIGIOUS
people have the courage to face the world positively," said Shri Kishore Tripathy of Cuttack in the West India state of Orissa. Tripathy, a newspaper manager, is a, member of India's
emerging middle ctass. As for the middle class . worldwide, religion is important to him, but not in the form it is followed by his pareI}ts and grandparents. Because of secular eQucation, television, foreign influence, travel and a less restricted life style, Bharafs middle class is less inclined to the magic and ritual dear to earlier generations- though .. hardly willing to relinquish Hinduism's frequent festivals. They are religious for the most part, even deeply so, but tend toward a more intellectual and inwarcl)y meditative experience of faith.
Two-hundred million mostly urbandwelling Indians of all religions and all castes whose income levels are reaching and surpassing one lakh rupees a year (US$2,800) comprise Bharafs burgeoning huddle class. It is the largest reshaping of the country's social structure since the British attempted through Lord Macauley's education program to create a class of Indians who would stand between the masses and their British rulers. That group still exists-English in all their arrogant aspects · except appearance. They
20 HINDUISM TODAY FEJl RUARY , 1998
Mass Ganesha puja: Group worship like this in temple or home is a favorite of middle class devotees
anachronisms, intellectual clones of people rarely found in England any more, engaged in disparaging any and all things Indian while lauding all things Western. India's new middle class differs from Macauley's minions. Especially, they are Indian. To a significant extent they have seen through and rejected the anti-religion beliefs of the communists, rationalists and secularists. ' This is in keeping with religious tendencies of the middle class in most industrialized countries [see sidebar below].
To explore the religious life of this growing middle class community-almost the population of the United States and increasing at the rate of ten percent a yearHINDUISM TODAY correspondents across India conducted a survey. They asked Mr. Tripathy in Oris-
. sa, Mrs. Rajaram in Delhi, Mr. Matthe~ in Kerala, Mrs. Jain in Bangalore and their friends and
neighbors about their personal religious life, whether they were more or less religious than their parents, how they were educating their children in religion and their' general observations on the middle class. Our study is not scientific, and the responses 13y no means uniform, but general trends are seen.
By MANGALA PRASAD MOHANTY, DELHI
I FEEL THAT NOT BELIEVING IN GOD IS a temporary phase," continued the insightful Tripathy. "In Orissa, with the increase in education and wealth, the
religious feelings are growing. People are offering fmancial support for the construction of temples and vigorously observing rituals and testivals. My entire family regularly worships, Lord Ganesha. I teach my children that reilgious people are decisive, they progress in life, they offer everything to God and owe it to Him. Not that all religious people are successful in life, but they are not unsuccessful. Non-followers lack direction in life. The essence of religion is in the principles, not the rituals."
The adjacent state of West Bengal has had a communist government for years, but, points out M.e. Bhandari of Calcutta, "Every year people celebrate Kali puja and other festivals in a large way, despite the rul-
ing Communist Party influence. It is a contradiction between faith and politics." Even here, in the stronghold of Inilia's communist ideologists, an atheistic middle class has not emerged. Bhandari is president of Bharat Nirman, an organization founded to bring a revival of the Indian way of life.
In response to questions about his family, Bhandari said, "I strongly feel that the youngsters should grow according to their own talent and aptitude, and your own life should be such that they can learn from your conduct and behavior rather than on your instruction and imposition."
Religion is central to the life of Bidhan Das, a doctor at the Jain medical centre in New Delhi. "I am optimistic about the growth of . religious practices among the middle class and others," he told HINDUISM TODAY. "I see that everybody, including doctors, are Godfearing people. We may not be observing a}l the rituals, due to shortage of time, nuclear family, working wife, etc. , but we are religious. For example, before making an incision in surgery, I and nearly every doctor will say, 'By the name of the all mighty God.' Daba and dua (medicine and blessings) go hand in hand. We are mere messengers of healing."
Srimati Janaki Rajaram is a native of
Religion, American Style Second, there is a "knowledge gap"-the breach between Americans' stated faith and their lack of the m~st basic knowledge about that faith. Middleclass Hindus,complain of the same lack of basic knowledge. Finally, there is a growing "gap between believers and belongers"a decoupling of belief ,and practice. Millions of all faiths are believers, many devout, but they do not participate in denominational· organizations.
Where India's middle class might be headed
&EORGE GALLUP IS the man who takes the religious pulse of America. He is more
famous for "Gallup Polls" that predict election results upon which many a politician's dreams die long before election day. But his Princeton Religion Research Center in New Jersey has a divine missionto provide an in-depth profile of the religiou,s beliefs and practices of Amer-. icans. His insights into ,eligious beliefs and attitudes are useful in understanding both the present and likely future religious disposition of India's middle class.
Given their affluence and worldliness, Americans are surprisingly religious-only four percent are atheists, while 96 per-
cent believe in God or a universal spirit; nine in ten consider religion "very or fairly important in their
ence between the way the people think of themselves and the way they are. Despite religion's popularity,
America's faith: PRRC surveys beliefs and practices
Americans, like many middle-class Indians, tend to view their faith as a matter between themselves and God, to be aided but not necessarily influenced by religious institutions. They believe, according to PRRC research, that people should arrive at their religious beliefs independently of any church, and that it does not make any difference which church a person attends because one is as good as another.
lives." PRRC's 1996 report, "Re
ligion in America," posits three "gaps"-each of which fmds parallel in India. First, there is the "ethics gap"-the differ-
evidence suggests that it does not change the lives of Americans to the degree one would expect from The level of faith professed- a problem echoed in India's struggle with corruption.
F EBRUARY , 199 8 HINDUISM TODAY 21
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South India, now a housewife and woman's rights activist in Delhi. "In the cities," she said, "because of the fast life style, workload, culture of money, children's study, ladies ~orking, children playing on computers, adults attending parties,,,:going to clubs, watching TV, there is no time left for puja and observance of rifuals and other practices. Nowadays parents have to devote more time to children, thus the religious practices are in decline."
But for her 'personally, like many of the brahmin class, home religious life is strong: She is qrnte forthright about a woman's religious responsibility. ':At home," she said, "because of timing and capacity, women do a lot of the worship. Every day in the early morning, I perform worship by chanting prayers in Sanskrit, which I am also teaching to my granddaughters. I and all members of my family offer flowers, fruits and milk with honey to God 'imd light the sacred lamp. In most middle-class families, at least some members offer daily puja. "
placed ritual observance in many Hindu homes.
The strength of the Muslim and Christian faiths in Kerala has not gone unnoticed by the middle class Hindus. Improbable for a religious culture measured in millenhia, it is now from the example of these other faiths that Hindus are waking up to the need for religion. Mr. Divakaran said, "Having seen the progress of the Christians and Muslims as strong communities, socially, economically and religiouslY, we feel that our Rids should be taught about our religion."
CHOODIE SHIVARAM, BAN GALORE '
SPECIAL HOME WORSHIP ceremonies to the Goddess, vrats, have become a kind of fad amongst Ban
galore's middle class. A recent example of this combined ritual and social occasion is the 'rushwarya Lakshmi Puja" in which the lady of the house worships Goddess Lakshmi for prosperity on Friday evening with her lady friends, to whom she gives gifts and a book detailing worship of the Goddess, Those attending can, if so inspired, use the book
V.S. GOPALAKRISHNAN, KERALA to repeat the puja in their own
THE MIDDLE CLASS IN h,ome. Other forms of group wor-Kerala is different than ship, both at home and temple, in other parts of India, are popular with the middle for it is the influx of Worship, old and new: Television competes with Lakshmi puja class. •
money from expatriate workers Here is a glimpse into my own in the Gulf states which has created the gratitude, "We should not forget God when personal experience, as ~ example of how group here, not so much a local economic we prosper day after day. Religion is the the meaning of religion has been transformboom, as in the rest of India. Kerala is dif- thread which keeps us together." 'The opin- ing itself in recent generations. My grandfeFent, too, for its history of extensive Chris- ion of Mr. Latif, a Muslim, and his friends mother was intensely religious, very orthotian conversion, its decades of communist echo these t:p.oughts. Many Muslim women dox. As a child, .I enjoyed this ' religiosity rule a'nd its 100 percent literacy rate. Among are now wearing the veil, which Latif re- because it meant more people at home, a the religious community, more Christians gards as "clear indication of how religious celebrative mood and the tasty food offerand Muslims, proportionate to their popula- we Muslims are"-and can also be attributed ings. But as I grew and saw my mother's rittions, have land,ed Gulf jobs. As in Bengal, to contact with the far more conservative ualistic religiosity, I found it boring an~ at communist rule doesn't ensure an atheistic Muslims of the Gulf states. Another indica- til;nes painfuL I began questioning the population, though here in Kerala Hindus tion of the religiosity of both communities is meaning and signifIcance underlying the~ who support the communists tend to be al- that there is no dearth of Muslim and Chris- pujas, but the answers given did not conmost religion-less, while Ghristians and tian boys volunteering to become priests, vince me. Now I understand religion in a Muslims who support the communists polit- while the Hindu community actively dis- different sehse. I do not believe in pujas and ically remain staunchly religious . courages its youth from such a liftl. elaborate worshiping. I pray, more often I
The emerging Christian and Muslim mid- Middle class Hindus in Kerala interviewed converse with God. I look at Him as a fafher, dIe class is enjoying an unprecedented im- by HINDUISM TODAY revealed religion to be a friend and guide, That's my religion. provement in fheir standard of living and be- much less important in their lives fhan it was Indira Yesupriya, an employed Christian coming more religious, too. dnce mass was in the lives of their Christian and Muslim lady, considers herself more religious than conducted in the Cafholic churches only on neighbors. They unanimously said they do her parents, who were more ritualistic. She Sundays. Now it is done almost every day. not read any of fhe scriptures. In fhe evening, is, however, very clear on fhe necessity of reMr. Matthew, a tailor, explained why he was they never recite hymns at home after light- ligion in her life. "I follow religion as a way a regular churchgoer, "It is the only place ing fhe traditional oil lamp. Instead, television of life just like the way we breafhe," she said. where we could gather and have some peace provides the main activity-something ob- "To me, it's natural,. I don't go to church regof mind after the work." Mr, Sam, also a served throughout India. In fact, one can ularly or read fhe BIble or any religious texts. Christian, felt he should regularly offer his postulate that it is television which has re- Religion gives you something serious to fall
22 HINDUISM TODA.Y FE RUARY , 1998
t
back upon. All religions teach the same thing, to be good, just, fair. Our children will be better citizens of the world if we teach them,..the right way to religion."
'Tm less religious than my parents," admitted Mrs. Jain, a teacher cUld Bangalore resident. ' "My mother had more time to devote to religion; her way of being religious was more throl)gh pujas. While we think logically now, they would never question. To me, religion gives you the faith that if there is no one for you, still there is God ~ who will be with you. Being in- ~ human and nasty to others and ;; praying to God does not mean E religion'::' ;;;
"My way of religion is Off to school: These children's education will propel them into Inthrough work," offered Mrs. dia's middle class, regardless of their present social status
ation is found in America and other industrialized countriesgrowing affluence does, not diminish religiosity, as many preSUllle. This middle class is seeking a different form of religion, one which is to them logical, provable, scientifIc even, one which is not so much a matter of outward form, but . of inward closeness to God. They are uncOll{fortable with the ritual potencies which guided, enhanced and protected the lives of their parents. They are unable, it .seems, to feel the very real contact between the hUlllan world and God's world which is facilitated by ritual. Perhaps this trend away from ritual and religious texts is explained by the modern secular education system' and its
Jayashree Dandi, a Bangalore musician, ''I'm sincerejn my work and my .. prayer is in that. I have made sure that I : have inculcated religious values in my children by teaching them right values, respecting elders, being harmless to others, not being mde or arrogant. Religion gives you a conscience." ,
Madhavan, an employee in a private fIrm, said, "I have tried to get down to the essence of Hindu philosophy and pass it on to my children so that they understand the real meaning of the religion and not the superfI-
cial aspect through rituals, as we did. Once we understand the signifIcance behind each festival, it's very meaningfuL Impressing a correct value system in our children is most important if we desire to contribute to the world some worthy citizens. Religion is the only real source for inculcating this p alue system." ,
CLEAR1.Y RELIGION HAS NOT BEEN DISmissed from the lives of India's middle class. Indeed, it is central to most. The same situ-
related values and social matrix which created this middle class of lawyers, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. Fortunately, Hinduism has little trouble accommodating a ritual-less devotee, for there are ep.tire branches of orthodox Hindu philosophy and practice which reject ritual. One need only reference the commonly available Upanishads for a road map to God within.
Two obstacles appear to inhibit middle class faith. One is foreign concepts about religion such as the view that "Religion is the opium of the masses," and that "faith in rit-
A Capital Picture Show
uals is based on fear and superstition" and "swamis and gurus are unnecessary." The fIrst is a Marxist teaching. The others derive fnrm Protest~t Christian rejection of ritual worship
R AGHU RAJ'S DELHI is a delightful pictorial slice of life of India's capital city. Rai, born
in 1942 in Punjab, is one of India's most distinguished photographers. The middle class is not the central theme of this large-format book-the city and all her people arebut one would have to search for a more insightful pictorial portrayal of the bourgeoisie.
The begirming photos are black :md white, conveying the Delhi of several decades ago when push carts, ox carts and cycle rickshaws were only begirming to compete with Tata trucks and fhree-wheelers, Vllith characteristically sly hUlllor, RID transits from past to present and black and
subjects range from children playing in the monsoon-flooded streets to political rallies and lawn parties, Hindus celebrate Holi by covering everyone and everything in sight with colored powders, Muslims attend a mosque, and Buddhists ferry a huge
His city: Where all that is India coalesces statue of Buddha
white to color with a photo of a farmer ploughing his fIelds by oxen with an Air India 747 behind him on one page and on the next a color photo of a cow upon a Delhi traffic island casually observing a passing businessman. The
across a fIeld, The long introductory text
by Pavan K. Varma tells the story of Delhi from ancient times to the present in truly exquisite prose.
Harper-Collins Publishers, 7116 Ansari Road, New Delhi 110002, India
and priesthood as found in Catholicism. The second obstacle is religious education. In India, Christians and Muslims have comprehensive systems to educate their youth; Hindus have almost nothing. Previously Hindu religion was taught in . the context -9f the joint family; today's nuclear family 1s too busy. Programs must be developed and taught by various Hindu institutions. Parents must recognize the changing circumstClDces, understand the need for a 'Systematic religious edti(;"atiQn and send their children for regular, religious instruction from an early age right fhrough their teens. Then a fIrm and solid foundation of ethics, morals and intelligent religiousness wilt be instilled in generation after generation of Hindu children. ..
F E BRUARY, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 23
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YOUTH
Smitten by Sanskrit . USA sisters es~hew lesser teenage p~rsuits in favor of Indias most sacred language
IWO HOURS BEFORE SUN
rise, when most houses lie slumbering, lights turn on in the Sparks, Nevada, home
of Andrea Devi Forman and her sister, Sara Anjuli. A small fire is kindled on the porch, fed by clari'fied butter. Sanskrit chanting lilts through the air. Their family is performing a yajiia, Vedic fire ceremony-at 4AM in the morning!
Performing pre-dawn yajiias is just one way that Andr~a, 18, ~d Sara, 15, are not your typical., party-all-weekend teens. They ·find better channels for youthful energ!es, and their unconventional hobby of Sanskrit ' scholarship is turning heads. "My husbanq, Robert, arid I are long-time students of the Vedas," affIrms Linda, their mother. "While pregnant with Andrea, I read the Rig Veda's 9th aRd 10th mandalas out loud."
'Mer Andrea was born," Linda continues, "we were in a store here in Reno and saw an Indian family. They were st;,u-ing at us. Knowing how mu'eh Indians love babies, I assumed they were g entranced with our beautiful ~ girl. §uddenly, they approached ~ us. Hle father held out his arms ~ and said, 'Please?' I hesitated, g
is the Rjg. It's so cool. The Rig Veda chants are intense. They follow a specific meter and melody. You can physichlIy feel the effect. My second favorite is the Yajur Veda-more melodious, still intense, but not like the Rig."
There was one problem. Whenever Andrea heard Sanskrit chanting, there were multiple voices. She wanted a companion, too. And her gaze fell on her younger sister: Sara became Andrea's chanting partner.
While not as interested as Andrea in the mechanics of the language, Sara had an uncanny ability to read and chant from the Devanagiri script almost immediately after seeing a page.
The kids' chanting increased exponentially. Sanskrit now reverberates through their home • on weekends and even during the week- after schoof. Teachers at public school pull them out of class to chant for other students. Andrea recounts, "When I first get up in front of a class and start talking, some' kids are snotty to rri~, rolling their eyes as if bored. But when I start chanting, the room gets silent, and you can feel the negativity lift; then everyon~ is saying 'Do more! Talk more to us!'" Teachers have even called Linda to ask. what she has done to make the girls "so different" from other kids.
and he plucked Andrea from Sanskrit-savvy: Andrea Devi Forman (left) and sister Sara.Anjuli my arms. 'It is a}l right, yes?' he ..:
• A growing reputation is testified ~o by the girls' recent performance for Ram Karan Sharma, India's elite Sanskrit scholar at Californi~s Berkeley University, and at th~ Vedic Astrology Conference in San Diego. While their skills are formidable, they are not yet exposed t9 the ritual chanting of temple priests-a class of its own. Rating accuracy, Andrea says, "We did not grow up in. a Vedic society. I've never been to a"temple. I didn't ~tart
asked. 'We must bless this beautiful child for you.' He chanted Sanskrit and applied red powder to her forehead. 'She is very special, yes?' he asked. He thanked rIlj3 for allowing hhn to bless her, placed her back .• in my arms, smiled and left the store." .
Andrea recalls when age nine, she "heard pujas ,and yajiias from Dr. Vasant Lad and various swamis. I yvas excited and thought, 'I have to learn Sanskrit. '" Two' years later at summer's edge, Andrea was' perusing ay.'trrvedic books and asked her 'inother why she did not want to read them in their original form. She 'pointed to the DevanagariSanskrit script-and said, "Mom, you should just .read this. It's easy." Toward summer's end, Linda found numerous pages under
24 HI~DUISM TODA.Y F Ili BRUARY , 1998
Andrea's bed of what appeared to be a Sanskrit and English dictionary. Andrea nad matched Devanagari letters from of the glossary of an English translation of the Rig Veda, and formed the whole ,Sanskrit alpha.bet! One year later a professor re'4ewed Andrea's makeshift "dictionary," amazed to find it 95 percent accurate.
Andrea began chanting Sanskrit and listening to tapes by the ayurvedic doctor, Vasant Lad. "Obsessed with Sanskrit," would not be overstating her enthusiasm. "It became my focus," she recalls. Soon, she could effortlesslx chant slokas from memory and translate them into English. "The heart of the universe is in Sanskrit," chirps Andrea. "I study Hindu scriptures. My favorite Veda
frpm as early an age as Indian pundits." She is hopeful to soon be immersed in templ~ during a planned trip to India. Robprt has recorded a CD of the girls. It has music with a pop/Ne'.4 Age slant, besides traditional scriptural pieces like the Shanti Mantra. Andrea says the reason for using Western music is to expose more people to Sanskrit. I
Asked whether the family considers itself Hindu, Linda said, "I suspect our deep inter~st in the Vedas , plus our home being filled with pictures and statues of Hindu Gods and Gotldesses, and our devotion to them, surely indicates where our hearts lie!" ...
With LINDA F ORMAN in Sparks, Nevada THE F ORMAN FAMI LY, 965 LYDIA COURT, SPARKS, NEVADA
USA 89436, Web, www.ShantiSanskrit.com· E-mail: [email protected]~
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Superlat ive Tours to India-1997-98 • Tour 1: March 7-22, '98
Celebrating Phagwa (Holi) in India.
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• Tour 2: April 10-24, '98 Kumbha Mela at Haridwar and other inspiring destinations.
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Keeping the flame: Celebrants and spectators at the 1997 Diwali celebrations in Le Maule. Festive lamps were made from halved coconuts. , . ,
French-lettered Indians in a remote corner of the Caribbean reclaim their Hindu identity
OURNEY TO GUADELOUPE, THE TWIN
outpost of France in the paraFrench West Indies, and you
encounter a kaleidoscopic diversity skin colors, facial features and ethnic
praxes. The majority of the 400,000' inhabitants are descendants of freed African slaves. Nearly eight percent, 30,000, are Indian. In 1854, after the atrocious slavery period ended, the French and British brought our ancestors to the islands to service the si)garcane fields as indentured workers. Four generations ago, they came froljl the Malabar coast; Pondicherry and regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, via Calcutta. The vast majority of them have been Christianized and have imbibed French cutture so deeply that, put aside occasional goat sacrifices and strong remnants of the Indian folk and religious musical traditions, mostly everything Indian has vanished-until recently.
In contrast to the nearby islands of Trinidad and Tobago and the distant but kindred islands of Mauritius and Reunion in
26 HINDUISM TODAY FE, BRUARY, 1998
the Indian Ocean, where the Indfan majorities have safeguarded their Hindu culture, Guadeloupe€ill Indians do not usually wear Indian clothes or cook Indian food except on a few special,occasions. Similarly, Indians in nearby Martinique number much fewer and feel somewhat ostracized, . although their work in Indian dance has become well-respected in the field of the arts. Most Indians in Guadeloupe are Catholics or belong to one of the active Christian groups, especially Jehovah's Witne$s and Seventh Day Adventist. In a cultural couR d'etat executed with devout ecumenicism, the Virgin Mary's image 'is often worshiped with Hindu rituals.
But recent trends indicate that this may all be changing. In the last ten years or so, many associations for the promotion of Hinduism and Indian culture have appeared. The Institut du Monde Indien (Institute for the study Of the Indian world) was begun by Jacques Sidambarom, Jean-Claude Petapermal and Roland Gopy to resuscitate Hin-
du rituals ~d network with other Hindus of the world, especially in Trinidad and Tobago, Reunion, Pondiche~ry and Paris. Among other groups that have coalesced over recent years are the Hindu Sabha, the Guadeloupe Inde Sangam, Les Amis de nnde (Friends of India), ISKCON and devotees of Siddha Yoga Dham. In 1997, I took the hr lm as host and producer of Guadeloupe's one and only two-hour weekly Indian FM radio program called Musique a l'Inde. The popular program features classical and modern Indian music as well as discussions on Hindu philo.sophy and culture.
But the central motif of the Hindu revival here is the yearly celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights. It seems that everyone, including many non-Indians, has rallied around this occasion for revelry. During the 1996 celebrations, public radio announced that Diwali would be celebrated every year' without fail, earning the festival a place on the Guadeloupe calendar as an unofficial but requisite popular holiday. Many Guadeloupeans and tourists who had been attractecito Hindu philosophy, yoga, music, fashion, food and temples while visiting Europe, the USA or India, were delighted with the news and turned out in large numbers for the 1997 festival held at Le Moule.
Atlantic
Cuba
Carribbean ~ Sea Guadeloupe
Venezuela
Caribbean soiree: (clockwise from top) Le Maule's Mayor, Madame Louis-Carabin; the Ganga Devi dancers; map of the French West Indies
Let there be light: Be' ides private obser- 1997, and Diwali was celebrated in the city and that she is contemplating a visit to India. vances, only one small group led by Jocelyn of Le Moule, where a great number of Indi- The sea breeze kept blowing out the Nag~in, a pusali (priest), had been cele- ans live. The Mayor of Le Moule, Madame diyas, but this could 90t darken the mood. bratmg Diwali. Nagapin's grandfather came Loui~-Carabin, assisted in securing the use Instead, we had fun running anq. relighting from India and passed onto liim his knowl- . of an attractive open-air venue by the sea. them. There were over 1,000 people of all edge of Indian scriptures, inspiring Nagapin With guidance from Vaddakekara, a small races and religions. The press, including to hold on to his heritage. Another pusali, Kerala-style wooden temple was built the television, gave substantial coverage. Of Marguerite Perian, wanted to participate in preceding night with volunteers working till course, there was lavish food-Iaddus and the revival of Diwali rituals, but he first had 2:00AM. Eighteen bamboo poles were raised other Indian sweets prepared by M;ohanans to learn Tamil, because his ancestors had with multicolored "OM" flags along with a wife and volunteers, vegetarian meals preforgotte)l how to speak it. More influential special flag flying Lakshmi (which was also pared by the Taj Mahal and Maharajah impetus came from a Kerala engineer, Mr. specially delivered from Trinidad). Monty restaurants and rotis served by an Mohanan Vaddakekara, who ' was sent to La~smi puja was performed in the after- Inman family according to their great . Guadeloupe in 1992 by the European com- noon, and many people bought diyas to illu- grandmother's recipe. f>. very successful pany he works for. In 1996, Vaddakekara is- minate the arel1a. The religious ceremony table of books on Indian culture and fudian sued a directive to the Guadeloupe Indian was followed by a cultural Jete. The Mayor music gave attendees a chance to learn community, unequivocally declaring, "This performed the ritual lighting of the' kuttuvi- more-and there were fireworks! It was the is the year we must celebrate Diwali!" That laku, standing oil lamp, and gave an insight- biggest Diwali ever on this small island. year, they celebrated in St Franc;ois, a sea- ful talk on the value of Diwali for all Guade- Even so, the ambitious and motivated side resort town whose mayor, Mr. Ernest loupeans. She described Diwali as an Vaddakekara sees this .. as just the fledgling Moutoussamy, is an Indian and which is occasion for rejoicing and celebrating the beginnings of the recently awakened Hindu home to a significant Indi~ population. ,virtues of tolerance and cooperation. She community. He rela\es, "Last year, we built Some 400 people gathered for the festival. commended the Indian community for their a simple altar with banana trees. This year,
ButFthere was a hitch. Ifi the fmal prepa- high values and active role in society The the Deities were housed in wood. In ten rations they realized they had no diyas, the Mayor was presented with many gitt-s, in- years," he foretells, "we'll have gold! With small clay lamps that are critical to any fes- cluding a compact disc of Indian music, Ma- the blessings of the Gods and Goddesses, tival oflights. Like a Hindu Olympic' torch, hatma;Gandhis autobiography and'an Indi- how can this not come true?" ~ diyas darted over from Trinidad via Feder- an scarf by two too-cute, sari-clad girls. She By SRARAD SARA}, Guadeloupe al Express, arriving just in time. . finally thrilled the audience when she re- JEAN-SAMUEL SAHA!, PO BOX 747, POINTE A PITRE CEDEX,
GUADELOUPE 97172 FRANCE. www.outremer.coml-shamdl Enthusiasm and.wherewithal fructified in vealed that her daughter's fiance is Indian,
FEBRUARY, 1998 H I'NDUISM TODAY 27
INSIGHT
Dharmic Differences Buddhism sprung from the Hindu heart and heartland, then pioneered its own distinct vision. Now, 2,500 years later, how similar is Buddhas Way?
. SIA'S TWO SPIRITUAL TITANS, HINDUISM AND
, Buddhism, have exerted profound influence . on the planet and its people since their be-
ginnings. They are unique in offering imperative moral direction alongside esoteric knowledge of the yogas leading to transcendent states of consciousness and ultimately to Liberation. Taken together, Buddhist and Hindu adherents and enthusiasts would roughly account for one-quarter of the entire world population. Both religions have spread from the same soil, India, to countries far and wide. Buddhism especially has settled abroad, while its once powerful presence in India has dwindled to fewer than five million adherents (.5 percent of the population). Despite significant similarities and lasting philosophical affinities, profound and undeniable differences remain between them, differences that sincere seekers of either tradition must eventually cognize, understand and resolve to agree or disagree with, thus essentially choosing one religion or the other. This feature is in three parts. First, New Delhi's doyan of Dharma, Ram Swarup, offers a thought-provoking overview of Hindu-Buddhist kinships and boldly proposes how the Buddha can be "explained" in a Hindu context. Second, New Mexico's Vamadeva Shastri eloquently calls for a deeper understanding among Western seekers who cling to misconceptions about both of these great rivers of righteousness. Lastly, nine essential beliefs of both traditions are presented.
By RAM SWARUP, NEW DELHI
UDnmSM IS RETURNING HOME TO INOlA AFTER A LONG EX
ile of a thousand years. Religious tolerance of the average Hindu partly explains the warm reception. But a more important reason is the fact that Buddha and Buddhism form an intimate
part of Hindu consciousness. Buddha was a Hindu, and Buddhism is Hindu in its origin and development, art and architecture, iconography, language, many of its beliefs, psychology, names, nomenclature, religious vows and spiritual disciplines. Hinduism is not all Buddhism, but Buddhism forms part of the ethos which is essentially Hindu.
28 HIND U ISM TODAY FEBRUARY, 1998
Buddhas transcendence is the highlight and essence of his teachings and the justification of his claim to be a great world teacher and guide. Similarly, Buddha's compassion was not merely secular or even humanistic. Rather, it was a deep and loving concern of the "Enlightened One" for worldly creatures caught in the wheel of existence-birth, disease, decay, old age, death. The peace he taught was the Upanishadic "peace beyond understanding," not merely civic and political truce amongst men and nations. The joy he taught was the joy of emancipation from the web of repeated births.
To understand the relationship' of Buddhism with Hinduism is to
understand the deepest questions relating to spiritual theology as well as a whole gamut of yogic practices and spiritual disciplines. However, this relationship has been clouded, misunderstood and its intimacy minimized for two reasons. One reason is Buddha's silence over such fundamental questions as Brahman, God and soul, questions which occupy the center of interest in the Upanishadic literature. The other reason is Buddha's individual nuances and emphases. These nuances are not lacking in the Upanishads, but there they form only a part of a larger whole and therefore do not create the same one-sided impression of escapism and the painfulness of existence.
Nirvana: painting inside a temple at Sarnath, India, depicting Buddha's enli.ghtenment there and the forces he vanqUished to reach it
But was Buddha just an anomaly? Or was he a mighty representative, a leader of a well-authenticated spiritual tradition such as is so highly developed in the Upanishads and confirmed by great teachers and seers of ancient times? Thus posed, the question is not difficult to answer. His spiritual experience could not be random, arbitrary and personal. It must have been of a character universal and necessary, and there is reason to believe that his spiritual experience was wholly in the Vedantic tradition. Buddha's spiritual experience of enlightenment confirms and closely agrees with the Upanishadic teaching regarding the nature of the Ultimate Reality. He belonged to the
Upanishadic heritage, and he cannot be understood in any other sense. The attempt to understand him in isolation, divorced 'from that tradition which he confirmed, enriched and represented, has only led to misunderstanding and distortion of his teachings. He himself claimed no originality, only to have "Seen an ancient way; followed an ancient road." What Buddha experienced was the vision celebrated in the Upanishads that the world of man divorced from Godhead, the phenomenal world conceived independently of the transcendental principle, is nothing; it is an illusion, maya, an imposition, a house of cards, a castle of sand. But the nature of Buddhist Nothingness should not be misunderstood. In fact, there is nothing peculiarly Buddhist about this Nothingness. It is the process of self-noughting enjoined by all mystical religions and yogic disciplines. For going into spiritual regions above, it is necessary to pass through the doors of Nothingness. This is why an arhat has been defined as one in whom all outflows, all desires, all sense-life have ceased.
In Buddhism, as in Vedanta, self-abnegation was to precede transcendental experience. Not only in the self-noughting of the phenomenal but also in the characterization of the transcendental, Buddha follows the Upanishads. The nihilistic rendering by which Buddhism is known today is caused by his future followers like Nagasena, but there is nothing in the teachings of the Master himself to support this negativism. Nirvana was described as a state in which there is "neither old age, nor fear, nor disease, nor birth, nor death, nor anxiety." This is virtually the language of the Vedanta, the "That" of the Upanishads, declared to be imperishable, deathless, free, unborn, self-existent and formless by the Isa Upanishad. This is called Nirvana by Buddha and Brahman by Vedanta.
Still, there are differences to be accounted for. As one studies the early Buddhist literature, one encounters a certain atmosphere of dryness, of narrow and laborious self-culture, of strenuousness. One misses the atmosphere of effortlessness, fullness, ease and self-abandonment which one comes across, say, in reading Chaitanya, Mira, the Alvar saints and the other devotional figures of Hinduism. In Buddhism one is particularly struck by the omission of any reference to God or soul, those mighty facts of spiritual experience which figure so much in the Upanishads, the Gita, the Mahabharata and in the religious consciousness of the country in general Other differences of nuances and emphases generally relate to the misery and transitoriness of this life. These are why a reading of Hindu and Buddhist literatures leaves two distinctly different impressions on the mind.
But let us not stress the differences too far. As we have seen, there is an important tradition of the Vedanta which is very much akin to the life-denying trends in Buddhism. Similarly, there are many schools of Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist methods of sadhana which are akin to the more affirmative tradition of Hinduism. In these schools one does not pass into a void or Sunya effected through negation of all thought-forms or thought-complexes and through detachment from the world. Buddhism in these developments is no longer dry or flat, but rich and even luxuriant, though these powerful developments in Buddhism are not found in the earliest records and are not agreed upon by all schools.
Probably, in its world excursion, Buddhism followed the trail of Hinduism. It went where Hinduism was already known and honored. There it made a permanent niche in the affections of the people and destroyed nothing. Nourished by their psyche, it acquired a new wealth and became thoroughly indigenous. It was not governed by a distant mother-church. Instead, it drew its sustenance from the soil of its adoption. This prevented it from becoming the handmaid of imperialism, exploited from afar. Its center and authority was always local. It thus became the genuine voice of the people who lived by it.
Recapturing their lost identity, regaining their sense of the divine and transcendent and uniting into a mighty force of living spirituality, let Hinduism and Buddhism, the two sister-religions, come forward and offer their healing message to a troubled world. In the absense of this message, inferior ideologies and life-philosophies are having a field day and are doing inlmense damage to humanity.
FEB RUAR Y, 1998 HI N DUISM TODAY 29
Yoga and Buddhism By VAMADEVA SHASTRI (DAVID FRAWLEY), NEW MEXICO
T IS NOT SURPRISING THAT MANY OF US BORN IN THE WEST,
particularly after an initial exposure, are apt to regard Yoga and Buddhism as more or less the same. The differences that have existed between the two systems historically are less obvious to
us than their commonalities. However, the tendency to fmd commonality between these two great spiritual traditions is not limited to the West. Swami Vivekananda, the fIrst great fIgure to bring yoga to the West, examined the Buddhist Mahayana scriptures (sutras) and found much similarity between their key teachings and those of Vedanta. In recent years, with the influx of Tibetan refugees, including the Dalai Lama, into India since the Chinese occupation of Tibet, there has been a new dialogue between the two traditions that is bringing about greater respect between them.
Various syncretic Hindu-Buddhist teachings have existed through history. Buddha himself was born a Hindu and some scholars have argued that Buddhism as a religion apart from Hinduism did not arise until long after the Buddha had passed away. A Siva-Buddha teaching existed in Indonesia in medieval times. Buddha became accepted as an avatar of Vishnu during the period when Buddhism was still flourishing in India, and many Hindus still consider that we live in the age of the Buddha-avatar. Most Hindus accept Buddha, even if they do not accept all Buddhist teachings.
However such syncretic trends did not exclude disagreements and debates between the two traditions, which were quite common historically. Nor did they ever succeed in fully uniting them. Their traditions and lineages remain separate to the present day. Generally, the Hindu Yoga tradition sought to absorb Buddhism into itself by reinterpreting Buddha in a more Hindu light. Buddhism, however, strove to maintain its separate identity. Most Hindu and Buddhist teachers, including those of the Yoga school of Hinduism, found it necessary to discriminate their doctrines, particularly on subtle levels of practice and insight. Hence, while we can honor the connections between these two systems, we cannot overlook their differences.
The Yoga Tradition: By Yoga here we mean primarily the classical Yoga system as set forth by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. However, Patanjali was not the inventor of Yoga, as many people in the West are inclined to believe, but only a compiler of the teaching at a later period. Classical Yoga was always part of the greater Hindu Vedic tradition. It clearly deals with the nature of the soul, God and immor-
tality, which are the main topics of religion throughout the world. Its main concern is religious and by no means merely exercise or health.
The Buddhist schools, of which there are four in classical Indian philosophy, though they shared many ideas with Vedic spirituality, like karma and rebirth, did not accept the authority of the Vedas and rejected a number of key Vedic principles. All Buddhist schools employ meditation, but some add more specillc yogic practices, like pranayama and mantra. Such systems may be called Buddhist yoga by modern writers. However, yoga as a term is lacking in early Buddhist texts, particularly of the Theravadin type, and becomes prominent mainly in the Buddhist tantric tradition that developed later, particularly as practiced in Tibet.
The Buddhist Mahayana tradition, particularly in its tantric forms, uses breathing exercises, mantras, visualizations and deities, much like the Yoga tradition. The Theravadin tradition has less in common with Yoga, though it does use similar meditation and concentration methods. It generally rejects devotional worship and the use of deities such as occurs in yogic paths. In fact, it could be argued that Tibetan Buddhism, with its mantras, deities and yogic teachings, is closer to Hinduism in its teachings than to such Buddhist schools.
Buddhism grew up in a cultural cauldron of Hinduism. For this r'rason, Indian and Tibetan Buddhism have included ayuroedic medicine, Hindu astrology, Sanskrit, the same rules of iconography, the same forms of temple worship and other common factors. A number of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, like Ganesha and Sarasvati, appear in the Buddhist tradition. Some fIgures, like the Goddess Tara, appear in both. Yet, as Buddhism moved to other countries, many of these connections were either lost or their basis forgotten. Nepal has remained one region of the Indian subcontinent in which both these religions have continued. In this regard Nepalese Hindus and Buddhists respect one another but seldom combine the teachings of these two different religions by way of their actual practices. They tend to follow one tradition or the other, but seldom both.
In the Yoga Sutras, only three sutras out of two hundred deal with asana, yogic postures. The great majority deal with meditation, its theory and results. Unfortunately, however, yoga today is most known for its asana tradition-the most popular, visible and outward form of the system. Buddhism, by comparison, is known as a tradition of meditation, as in the more popular forms of Buddhist meditation like Zen and Vipassana. Many people who have studied yoga in the West look to Buddhist teachings for meditation practices, not realizing that there are yogic and Vedantic forms of meditation which are traditionally not only part of the yogic system but its core teaching!
Yoga aIlld Buddhism are both meditation traditions devised to help us transcend karma and rebirth and realize the truth of consciousness. They see the suffering and impermanence inherent in all birth-animal, human or Godly-and seek to alleviate it through developing a higher awareness. Both emphasize the need to dissolve the ego, the sense of me and mine, and return to the original reality that is not limited by the separate self Both traditions emphasize enlightenment or inner illumination to be realized through meditation.
Both systems recognize dharma, the principle of truth or natural law, as the basic law of the universe we must come to understand. Buddhism defmes itself as Buddha Dharma or the dharma of the enlightened ones, which is seen as a tradition transcending time or place. Yoga defInes itself as part of the Hindu tradition called Sanatana Dharma, the universal or eternal dharma, which is not defined according to any particular teacher or tradition.
Dlverge:nce: The main differences between the two systems are over their cosmic view and way of practice. Vedic systems are built upon fundamental principles like the Self (Atman), the Creator (Ishvara) and Godhead (Brahman). Buddhism rejects all such ontological principles as mere creations of the mind itself Apart from such philosophical differences, both systems share the same basic ethical values, like nonviolence, truthfulness, nonattachment and nonstealing. The vows that Buddhist monks take and those that monks and sadhus take in the yoga tradition are the same, as are those of the Jains.
Vedanta defInes the Absolute as a metaphysical principle, Beingconsciousness-bliss, Satchidananda or Brahman, in which there is perfect peace and liberation. [Though some would say that Satchidananda is saguna brahman and the transcendent absolute is nirguna brahamanJ. Buddhism does recognize an Absolute which is non-dual and beyond all birth and death, however, Buddhism generally does not allow it any defInition and regards it as a void. It is sometimes called the Dharmakaya, or body of dharma, though Sanskrit Buddhist texts never call it Brahman.
Buddhism generally rejects the Self (Atma or Purusha) of yogaVedanta and emphasizes the non-Self (anatman). It says that there is no Self in anything and therefore that the Self is merely a fIction of the mind. Whatever we point out as the Self, the Buddhists state, is merely some impression, thought or feeling, but no such homogenous entity like a Self can be found anywhere. Even so, a number of Buddhist traditions, particularly traditions outside of India, like the Chan and Zen of China, have used terms like "Self-mind, one's original natUJre, the original nature of consciousness" or "one's original face," which are similar to the Self of Vedanta. But by and large,
Buddhism has tended to lump the Self of Vedanta as another form of the ego or the misconception that there is a Self
In contrast, the yoga-Vedanta tradition emphasizes Self-realization, or the realization of our true nature. Yoga-Vedanta discriminates between the Self, which is our true nature as consciousness, and the ego (ahamkara), which is the false identillcation of our true nature with the mind-body complex. The Atman of Vedanta is not the ego but is the enlightened awareness which transcends time, form and space.
Is there a GodP The Yoga tradition is based upon a recognition of, respect for and devotion to God or the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. One of its main principles is that of surrender to God (Ishvara-pranidhana), which is said to be the most direct route to Self-Realization. This is perhaps the main point of difference between Yoga and Buddhism. Buddhism rejects God (Ishvara) or a cosmic lord and creator. It sees no need for any creator and considers that living beings arise through karma alone. Yoga emphasizes devotion and surrender to God as one of the main spiritual paths, bhakti yoga, through which we open our hearts to God and surrender to the divine will. As Buddhism does not recognize God, devotion to God does not appear. That is why we don't fmd any signifIcant tradition of great devotees and singers of divine love in Buddhism like Chaitanya, Ramakrishna, Tulsidas or Mirabai in the Hindu tradition. Buddhism does recognize devotion to the Buddha. However, devotion to great teachers does not quite strike the human heart with the same significance as devotion to the Divine Father and Mother of the universe.
If we equate the One Mind of the Buddhists with the One Self of Vedanta, make Buddha and God the same, give the Buddha the power of creation of the universe and make other such correlations, both traditions could be synthesized. However, prominent Buddhist leaders have yet to make such statements. Until they do, we cannot dismiss such differences as unnecessary, but must respect them. If you believe not only in karma and rebirth but also the existence of God or the Creator, you would be a Hindu, not a Buddhist in your views.
It is crucial that such meditation traditions as Yoga and Buddhism form a common front in light of the needs of this materialistic age. Their common values of protecting the Earth, nonviolence, recognition of the law of karma, and the practice of meditation are perhaps the crucial voice to deliver us out of our present crisis.
Left to right: Monks and lamas at the week-long summer festival at Chongra in the Derge district of eastern Tibet; a Buddhist thangka painting of the Hindu deity, Ganesha; Dai Pagoda, Xishaung Banna, Thailand; Buddhist monks at the Sakya center; Dehra Dun, India
ssayin~Basic
Veneration: Buddhist rrwnks worship before the massive brick stupa at Deer Park in Samath, India, the site of the Buddha's first serrrwn
Buddhism BUDDHISTS BELIEVE THAT THE SUPREME
is completely transcendent and can be described as Sunya, a void or state of nonbeing.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN THE FOUR noble truths: 1. that suffering exists; 2. that desire is the cause of suffering; 3. that suffering may be ended by the annihilation of desire; 4. that to end desire one must follow the Eight-Fold Path.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN THE EIGHT-FOLD
path of right belief, right aims, right speech, right actions, right occupation, right endeavor, right mindfulness and right meditation.
Hinduism HINDUS BELIEVE IN A ONE,
all-pervasive supreme being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.
HINDUS BELIEVE IN THE DIVINITY OF
the Vedas, the worlds most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God's word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion which has neither beginning nor end
HINDUS BELIEVE IN KARMA,
the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.
32 HINDUISM TODAY FEBRUARY, 1998
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN DHARMA
(the way), karma (cause and effect), reincarnation, the sanga (brotherhood of seekers) and the passage on earth as an opportunity to end the cycle of birth and death.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE THAT LIFE'S AIM IS
to end suffering through the annihilation of individual existence and absorption into Niroana, the Real.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN THE
"Middle Path," living moderately, avoiding extremes of luxury and asceticism.
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT THE SOUL
reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and rrwksha, spiritual knowledge and liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT THE tINIVERSE
undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT DIVINE BEINGS EXIST
in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN THE SANCTITY
of the Buddha and in the sacred scriptures of Buddhism: the Tripitaka (Three Baskets of Wisdom) and-or the Mahayana Sutras.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE IN THE GREATNESS
of self-giving love and compassion toward all creatures that live, for these contain merit exceeding the giving of offerings to the Gods.
BUDDHISTS BELIEVE THAT MAN'S TRUE
nature is divine and eternal, yet his individuality is subject to the change that affects all forms and is therefore transient, dissolving at liberation into Niroana.
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT A SPIRITUALLY
awakened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation.
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT ALL LIFE IS
sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, "noninjury."
HINDUS BELIEVE THAT NO PARTICULAR
religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of God's Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.
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33
BOOKS
flubbed Wrong by Life? hance blood circulation and to expel toxins from the body. "Diseases do not "go near one who massages his feet before sleeping, just as snakes do not approach ea-
Johari advocates daily ~assage and a 'non-toxic diet gles," one ancient text says. It is also a rejuvenator, giving relaxation ahd purifying the mind.
Massage, Johari writes, is the fIrst frieno one has from the time of birth. Babies are massaged beginning six days after birth. Why so young? Because babies cannot move their bodies much. Massage increases their circulation, preventing dehydration and skin cracking, and their bodies grow quicker, with strong, resilient skin. Johari explained to HINDUISM TODAY that "Massage for baby girls prevents facial hair. I noticed that women in the West have to shave. But women in India do not, because they were massaged from an early age. I feel afraid to see some Western womens' faces with so much hair." Other countries also massage their babies, including Iran, Bhutan, Burma and Thailand.
Masseur: Harish Johari chatting with HINDUISM TODAY at his publisher'S home in Vernwnt, USA
Growing children learn to massage elders, and upon marriage, massage continues as a daily routine for the couple-.,healing and reducing stress. It is a cleanser for tlJ.e body, which is bombarded with air pollution, impure foods
IKED FOR HIS FAVORITE ANECDOTE desctibes in his new book, Ayurvedic Masabout massage, Harish Johari related sage (available in six languages), how intehow one fIne morning he was walk- gral massage is to Indian life today. "You ing with his friend, Andras Fricsay don't need special clinics. Family members
Kali Son, the prominent German theater ac- of all castes perform it on each other," Johari tor, along the bank of the river Ganga in told HINDUISM TODAY in a phone interview Haridwar, India. "A man from Vermont, short~ before nearby had a small stand of returning home to his native oil bettles and a mat," Johari rv/yurvedic India from his yearly visit to recalls. The man didn't know ~ '"/ /. the USA. Indian massage is English, and Andras was Jf/~assage actually already present in helpless with Hi.·ndi, but the America, he said, for the
T,adiljolljft {,,,lin,, Tuh"i4l1n J., man wanted to give Andras a 8' /"" ' J 8oJy .. J M,. I common "Swedish massage" massage. He sat on the mat, ~ migrated to Europe via Per-waving his arm and tapping ~ sia long ago. his thigh, gesturing for the .E Massage is one piece of German visitor to come. But ~ Hinduism's cpmplex mosaic Andras did not understand ~ of healing traditiQ.ns, trace-the gestures and thought the ~ able back 6,000 years to the man was challenging him to Z HAm" IOHAR! Atharva Upaveda. Even to-a bout! So Andras began pre- Treatments that are a treat day, in a world vastly differparing, telling Johari, "Tell ' ent from Vedic times, they him to hold on. I will take off my shirt fIrst." are dynamically alive, practiced by millions Johari rapidly clarilled that the poor man just around the globe. Ayurveda, the "Science of wanted Andras to lie down for a massage! Life," postulates fundamental principles for
Riverside massage parlors are just one ex- the proper functioning of our bodies. Masample of how common and popular massage sage in aYUrvedie texts is exhaustively delinis in. India. Johari, a seasoned practitioner eated, right down to the measurements for (and recipient) of massage from childhood, oils and pastes. Its main purpose is to en-
34 HINDUISM TODA;Y FIj:BRUARY, 1998
grown with pesticides and the stress of fastpaced living. When as~ed how busy people can be expected to massage for one hour daily, Johari replied, "Do they have a different body from us? No. They can get sick and miss work while healing themselves. Or, they can massage a little every day, apd not get sick! If you can't massage for 45 minutes straight, try to at least 25 minutes in the morning and 25 minutes before bed." , In his well-crgfted book Johari gives us formulas for oils-he has acquired from s$ts, ar.urvedic doctors and folk people in India, assuring us they may be used without fear of harm. General body massage, for dryness, memory, for cold and poor circulation, for women of differing ages, for hair, for excess body heat and for newlyweds and coupleseach category has a clearly written recipe of oils to use for maximum and safe results. '
Johari's discussion of "The Role of Vibrations in Massage" (he means energy, not vibrators) is intuitive. Massage is a miracle of touch-energy is exchanged between receIver and giver. Thoughts and feelings are transferred to the receiver's body, Johari says. In India, therefore, outside the immediate family, men generally massage men and women massage women. This avoids unnec-
essary energy waste and entanglements between the sexes. He also gives instructions to the massager how to raise his energy by breathing patterns; the massager should visualize himself as a servant of the Divine, transferring energy into the receiver.
A chapter on "practical guidance"-from beauty massage to the therapeutic massages for specifIc ailments-teaches how to relax one's hands, work with the rhythm of one's own heartbeat, how to approach thtl recipient's ,body, kneading joints and muscles 'and how to use oil. Use of tobacco, alcbhol, meat, fIsh, eggs or any nonvegetarian food should be avoided by those seeking a beautiful countenance, according to the section on beauty massage. Johari said he can identify a meat-eater while massaging him. "He smells bad. One who eats foods like vegetables, fnnts and nuts and has pure thoughts, smells like sandlewood."
Not to be forgotten are animals. "Especially cats and dogs," says Johari. 'l\nd 'cows love to have the flap of ~ under their neck massaged." He notes guidelines for massaging animals are codifIed in Ayurvedic texts.
Can real benefIts only come from a professional? "Professionals can help," says Johari,"'but not too much, because they have to massage so many people that they get tired. But if I massage you and you massage me and we don't massage others, then we can spend more time massaging each other. Especially if the wife is massaging the husband, then he is lucky. It is better than anyone else could give. I am quite fortunate in this regard. At home, if I go and lie down, I automatieally receive a massage from my wife, without me even asking her!"
People's lives often change after being massaged. Johari says that -some become vegetarian because they feel better without meat in their body. "I tell people the body can easily digest vegetarian food; nonvegetarian food is diffIcult. The body spends more energy digesting meat than energy it gains frpm the meat. Meat-eating also makes one cruel. Vegetarian food is less toxic. During massage, I explain that the' toxins we are removing from the bodY/ come from food, and vegetarianism produces less toxins."
Johari has not only written an easy to follow instruction book on ayurvedic massage, but has included within the book specifIc guidelines on purity as understood and practiced by orthodox Hindus. You will definitely want to refer to this text in learning and practicing massage for your family, because it is written with high-minded guidelines for the inner and miter well being of the giver and the receiver. And because we can all use a rub now and then. _
With TARA KATIR in Kapaa, Hawaii TO ORDER AYURVEDIC MASSAGE, WRITE TO: INNER TRADITIONS ,
DEPT. H, P.O. BOX 388, ROCHESTER, VERMONT 0 5 767 USA PHONE:
/ -215-238-4466, Web: www.gotoit.com
Milk for Murugan: Priest directs ladies G,frrying decorated pots of milk to the sanctum as offerings for Lord Murugan at His new temple in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
QUEBEC .
Securing Canadian Roots Lankan Hindus transplant their religion far north ,
1 HE SAlVA MISSION OF QUEBEC BEgan in 1984 with a dozen devotees
meeting in borrowed space at local temples. They were among the Tamil
Hindu refugees who flooded out of Sri Lanka following communal riots in 1983. The subs quent prolonged civil war has resulted in more than a hundred thousand Sri Lankans finding refuge in Canada. The dawning realization that the return home will be long or never in coming has JIlotivated the group to seriously consider building a perp1anent temple to their favored Deity, Lord Murugan (Kartikkeya, in North India).
Poorana Thiyagaraja Kurukkal of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, performed the blessing of the land in 1992. A few months later a huge tree-planting ceremony was attended by
more than 1,000 devotees, government officials and guests. The 7,000-squarefoot cultural center completed in 1995 serves as a temporary temple. Construction of the real temple, designed by Sri Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai and patter~ed after the Maviddapuram Murugan Temple in Lank~, will begin in early 1999.
By 1991 hundreds of devotees succeeded in raising CAN$135,000 toward a temple. A year later they located and purchased two acres of Chapparam: Taking Muland for CAN$450,OOO in the rugan around the temple
,Montreal' suburb of Dollard-
Devotees haven't waited . for the copstruction projects to bring to life their / traditional celebrations. In 1997, 8,000 joined the August chariot festival. Dozens performed austerities such as piercing,.the body with small silver spears, or rolling on the grolll1d behind the chariot.
des-Ormeaux. "Only faith in Lord Murugan and guru's blessings encouraged the Tamils to embark on a multi-million dollar ve-nture with only $135,000 in hand," recalls one organizer; The project was blessed by'Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, publisher of HINDUISM TODAY, who is providing the main temple deity in granite.
In November, even freezing weather did not inhibit some men from braving outdoor festivities barechested during Skanda Shastian example of the spirit brought to Canada by these staunch Hindus of Sri Lanka. _
By S. THIRUNADARAJAH, MONTREAL ARULMIKU THIRUMURUGAN TEMPLE,
16 11 ST REGIS BOULEVARD, DOLLARD-DES-ORMEA.UX, QUEBEC, HgB-3H7, CANADA
FEBR UARY , 199 8 H INDUISM TODAY 35
PILGRIMAGE
Barnas story is recited at Sivas Himalayan home
High-altitude devotion: Shri Morari Bapu near base of Mount Kailas in the central Himalayas, Buddhist prayer flags flutter behind him
IT WAS BAPU'S LONG-HELD WISH TO
recite Ramayana on the banks of Lake Mailasarovar, beside Mount Kailas, where, according to the sages, Lord Siva first narrated the sacred story of Lord Rama's life to His consort
Parvati. I was blessed to be among 197 ya
India, in dozens of countries, on land, on the sea and:even in the air, on a chartered 747· In charismatic style, he inspires 'devotion and lends insight into the language and glories of the Ramayana of Tulsidas.
Kailas, the '~bode of Bliss," is the apex around which the world revolves, the Mount
tris (pilgrims) in August, 1997, with Rashtriya Sant Shr} Morari Bapu gathered on the shores of LakE',r Manasarovar at a lung-fatiguing 16,000 feet for the renowned religiou; leader's 519th Ram Kathapresentation of Ramayana through song and inspired lecture. August_ 15th, India's Independence Day, fell mid-pilgrimage: It dawned cold with the promise of sun. Fresh snow had powdered the surrounding ... peaks. "On this day," Bapu to~d us, ~ "o\rr nation celebrates its greatness " ~ with the world. Satya and ahims~ ~ truth and nonviolence-is the ~~~~~
permitted to visit Kailas in over forty years. After 1954, access was restricted due to the China-Tibet disputes. The border was closed in 1962. Policies were relaxed in 1982, and since then a limited number of Hindus have been graI}ted access each year.
Bapu's month-long pilgrimage began on July 26 in M1Jl!lbai, India. The group of 197 yatris flew to Kathmandu where we remained for three days before flying to Lhasa, Tibet. Eleven nights were spent in Kathmandu, Lhasa and Shigatse, the rest traveling or at Kailas.
strength of the Hindu soul or atma. Miles-high: Bapu and pilgrims approach Lake Manasarovar
The expenses topped one million US dollars, mostly covered by generous contributions of several devotees of Shri Morari Bapu. The eveJit was organized by the Indo-,British Cultural Exchange in affiliation with Sita Ram Seva Trust, UK, and Shree Satguru Seva Foundation, USA. It took several years of negotiations with Chinese and Tibetarr officials to secure permission. This Its influence has transformed the
world. It is the victory of the sadhus, our monastic representatives of truth; that make tliis country great. The road to moksha, liberation from rebirth, is through India."
"Manas-Kail'as Ram Katha" was inspired by Shri Morari Bapu as a "Prayer for World Peace." For three decades, Bapu has recited the Ramayana in sacred shrines throughout
36 HINDUISM TOD AY FE~RUARY, 1998
Meru of Hindu geography, mountain home of Lord Siva, sacred to five religions and within 50 miles of the source of four of India's major rivers. Kailas and Lake Manasarovar are imbued with Divinity and spirituality. Remoteness and awe-inspiring beauty protects its sanctity.
This was th e first large group of Hindus
unique group was comprised mostly of Gujaratis, many of whom live in India, while others joined the yatra from the US, Canada, England and Africa. The youngest in the group was eighteen years old. The most senior was seventy-three. Hindi and English were the official languages, though Gujarati prevailed in conversation. The entire en-
\
tourage from Lhasa to Kailas included 100 Tibetan drivers and helpers, 60 Nepali sherpas and 2~5 Chinese military escorts.
Chinese regulations required each pilgrim to ungergo extensive medical tests prior to the arduous pilgrimage. There were. several doctors and nurses among the yatris and a ' vehicle was outfitted as an ambulance. Specialized equipment included high mountain tents, oxygen Qylinders, heavy-duty generators, high pressure stoves and iIIfra-red cookEjrs. A thousand cases of mineral water and 10,000 gallons of petrol were on hand. A period of altitude adjustment was required, so we remained in Lhasa for several days before cLriving 800 miles west across the great plateau of Tibet.
For four days we traveled along sandy and bumpy single-track roads in 55 Toyota Landcll}isers. Aside from a few outpost settlements on the route, civilization was reduced to chance encounters with nomads herding their sheep or yaks. Travel was at times improvised, as w~en one Landcruiser driver opted to ford a major river instead of taking the bridge with the rest of the vehicles-"TILe engine stalled midstream, and a truck had to tow us out," reported passenger Hasmukh Patel.
Our main camp, Kailas Puram, was situated on the banks of the sacred Lake Manasarovar at 16,000 feet. A satellite phone link was available and helicopter evacuation facilities were iIi place" Luxurious bedding and thermal wear were provided along with puja articles, dishes, mirrors, walking sticks, a water purifier and carlister, to list only a few of the gifts presented to each yatri-it was a "five-star" trekking trip.
D ring the first three days, some members of the group performed the parikrama of Kailas. Arrangements had been made for everyone to join the circumambulation, but incidents of acute mountain sickness became a concern-fifteen members had already been evacuated to lower ~levations. Bapu aBPointed 11 representatives for the group and cautioned only those who felt highly motivated to proceed. I was ampng those who chose to 'fIalk the 32 miles around the holy mountain. I had been to all the prominent shrines in the Himalayas, but nothing prepared me for the high-altitude conditioIlls where deep breathing is difficult and even speaking requires great effort.
An old Tibetan sherpa woman led me along the rugged path around Kailas, and at night she slept beside me in-- the tent. We crossed streams, balancing upon stones and reached Dolma La Pass (above 17,000 feet) early on the second day. It was a triumph. Gazing upon the majestic belfuty of Siva's throne, we celebrated with chocolate and dried apricots. TIle rock strewn descent led across a snow field before reaching the valley floor. I fc)llowed th.e old mountain woman
down gentle slopes over grassy fields of delicate flowers back to camp.
August 10 marked the sooth birth anniversary of Sant Sri Tulsi Das. The sun rose to a cloudless sky and temperatures rose into the 70S. There was no wind. "Tulsi Das gave us Ram mantra (sacred word), " said Bapu. "No saint has given so much. In the Kaliyuga (the present Age of Darkness) Ram nam (name) and Ram katha (recitation of Ram's story) removes delusion and instills' devo-
tirtha (holy place) is not a picnic. " Climate is unpredictable in Tibet, particu
larly during August. Though extrem"e conditions were expected, fine weather prevailed with 'the occasional auspicious shower. Every style of jogging suit, fleece-wear and woolen kameez was sported by the participants. But after sunset, when the temperatures dropped, the singular fashion was the group-~sued navy German military mountain jacket. Nepali sherpas attended to every
detail of earthly comfort. We enjoyed. soft beds and excellent vegetarian food.
Three venerable swamis from .... India graced the yatra with their presence. A Sivalinga was in.> stalled upon the banks of Lake Manasarovar. Each evening, the group gathered and sang the entire Sri Ramcharitmanas-story of Rama's life. Into the_dark, songs of praise to Lord Siva were chanted, creating a powerful prayer for world peace. -:
Near the end of the pilgrimage, Saroj Goel said, '~I'd return tomorrow. To see Kailas, pure white, shining is beyond description. Taking a bath in Manasarovar, being away from civilization, with no pollution, I felt close to God. It has broadened my outlook. My values have changed, small matters don't bother me now."
Rama's camp: Morari Bapu with Indian flag at lake
The final morning was particularly cold. Frost glistened in the grass as we gathered at dawn to listen to BaRu's closing blessing. "Ramayana IS more than words, it is superconsciousness,' protected by those who sing it, recite it and ponder its meaning." At this holiest shrine, so close to the home of
tion." Hari Ohm Patel, one of the youngest yatris, recalls the evenings, "We loved to sit near Bapu by his fIre and watch the moon and hoW: it would light the whole camp. Kailas glows at night. It was so peaceful. I realized' how fortunate I was to come here." The youngsters ~njoyed exploring the area on the bright, moon-lit nights.
Shri Morari Bapu recently celebrated his 50th year of his life. A soft rarn began to fall as he began the selected chaupai or verse for this katha, "Kailas is the noblest of mountains and very beautiful, since Siva and Parvati ,have made it their eternal home." An inspired orator, he quotes scriptures interspersed with singing and chanting. In his unique humor he advised those compla1ning of sleeplessness: "Reciting the name of Ram at nighl;< is the medicine for the body'and the soul." He said, "Whatever name pleases you, take it, take refuge." Bapu seldom uses English words, but once he said, "Pilgrimage to a
the Gods where four great rivers arise-Sutlej, Brahmaputra, Indus and KaTnali (a Ganges tributary )-Bapu concluded his recitation, saying, '~ttain to the heights of Kai·las and the depths of Manasarovar."
Hasmukh Patel said ab..,smt his yatra, 'Tm glad I went. Bapu gave me the opportunity to see Kailas and bathe in Manasarovar. Every day when the picture of Kailas and
. Manasarovar comes before me, I must turn off the car radio and loudly sing the sacred verses in praise of Kallas and Lord Siva."
The Hindu commuiiity the world over will share in the fruij of this historic yatra. As mutual understanding develops between India and China, the possibility opens for future pilgrims to reach Kailas without restrictions. On the return journey I heard Tibetan Buddhist drivers singing, "Dalai Lama, Sita Rama .... " " _
BY SITA SHARAN, COLORADO, USA, SITA IS A FREELANCE WRITER AND A VAIRAGI SADHVI W HO DIVIDES HER TIME
BETWEEN THE COLORADO ROCKIES AND THE HIMALAYAS
FEBRUARY , Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 37 I ,
I'
38
DISCOVER THE WORKS OF J2{"yurvedic -::4assage
dlttiSh ::;Jolzau TrtldiliOllull/HliO Il Tu-hli itj ut5 for B/trancing Body alid MillJ
The Healing Cuisine India 's Art of Ayurvedic Cooking
Harisli Johari is an inspired cook who s(1ares his culinary wisdom in this treasury of vegetarian cooking based upon ancient Ayurvedic principles of healing. ISBN 0·89281-382-2 ' $16.95 pb
Chakras Energy Centers ofT ransfo17nation
Visualization and chanting techniques direct creative energy to higher consciousness. ISBN 0·89281-054·8' $14.95 pb
"Among the best of Western explications, combining traditional, visionary. and practical views. "
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Sounds of the Chakras In this companion to his book, Chakras, Johari demonstrates the entire intonation cycle for chakra meditation. ISBN 0·89281-307-5 $9.95 one 60-minute audiocassette
Ayurvedic Massage Traditional Indian Techniques for Balancing Body and Mind
This introduction to Ayurvedic massage shows how the gentle bodywork therapy promotes wellbeing on both the physical and mental levels. ISBN 0-89281-489-6 • $19.95 pb 115 b & w illustrations
Numerology With Tantra, Ayurveda, and Astrology
Numerology reveals fascinating characteristics about human personality. Johari 's unique system combines numerical calculations, astrological data, and ayurvedic principles. ISBN 0-89281-258-3' $12.95 pb
Leela The Game of Self-Knowledge
Precursortothepopulargameofchutes and ladders, Leela is the ancient Hindu game of life. Play reveals karma and patterns governing your life. ISBN 0-89281-419-5 $24.95 boxed set: book, game board, and die
Chants to the Sun and Moon Japa for Energizing the Planets Within
Tools for Tantra The Healing Power
Japa- repetition of a mantra-appeases planetary influences to bring peace and prosperity. Johari intones the preferred number of repetitions of the mantras for sun and moon. ISBN 0-89281-563-9 $9.95 one 60·minute audiocassette
Tools for meditation and self-re- of Gemstones The Monkeys and the Mango Tree
alization, Tantric yantraswerelargely lost to the modern world unti I Johari ' s careful research revealed them. His illustrations of yantras are reproduced in full color in this book. ISBN 0·89281·055-6' $18.95 pb
Sounds of Tantra Mantra Meditation Techniques from Tools for T antra Focus on the beautiful geometric paintings of yantras in Tools for Tantra while listening to these recordings of the words of power, or use as background for meditation. ISBN 0-89281-016-5 $15.95 two 60-minute audiocassettes
In Tantra,Ayurveda, andAstrology
This practical guide to the power of gems in various Hindu traditions gives instructions on how to use them to maximize physical and psychological well-being. ISBN 0-89281 ·608-2 • $14.95 pb
Breatht Mindt and
Teaching Stories of the Saints and Sadhus of India
Drawn from the Puranas, th e Upanishads, and the MahabhaJ:ata, these illustrated tales capture the enchantment and wisdom of India. ISBN 0·89281-564-7' $12.95 pb
Consciousness Attunements for This is the first guidebook for Westerners that explains the teach- Dawn and Dusk ings of Swara Yoga-the conscious Music to Enhance Morning and observation and control ofbreathing Evening Meditation for physical and psychic energy. ISBN 0-89281-370-9 ISBN 0-89281-252-4 • $9.95 pb $15.95 two 60-minute audiocassettes
Available at bookstores, or order from Inner Traditions, Dept. H, P.O. Box 388, Rochester, VT 05767 1-800·246-8648 Please add $3.50 for the first book, $1 each additional, for shipping Visit our Web site at wvvw.gotoit.com
. , WOlvlEN OF VISION Twenty years ago, I redirected myself
.R,eclaiQiirig Sadhana: ' N(Jurisher of Health
toward living a life entwined with nature. I was led back to the HimaIaYas. I found myself descending from a mountain to face the light shadows of an afternoon sun, stretching across the forest of winter trees adorned with ice. The iced branches accentuated natures dynainic structure in fluent movement. Each branch seemed to replicate the cosmic forms, musical symbols, horns of the reindeer, delicate tear drops, letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, shapes of animals, spiral of creation and the sixpointed star of the snowflake, all brought forth from the vibration within natur~.
Let us practice wholesome activities that allow us to dance within Natures cosmic rhythms
Here, in the serene HUnalayan winter, I firSt recognized that all of nature is perpetually within sadhana. In this state of profound personal serenity I was thrust to the depths of my heart, where I discovered the true nature of sadhana. Sadharia is formed from ojas, prana and tejas. These three primordial principles coalesce into the cosmic templates of food, breath and sound. This discovery, rooted in the wisdom of the Vedns, emerged as myobservance of human life within nature deepened. On top of that HimaIayan mountain, my own cognition awoke to the ways of universal sadhana.
. "\
BY ~RAHMACHARINI MAYA .TIWARI
Ny EARLY LIFE WAS FOSTERED BY WHOLESOME
practices that preserved the good Earth-the practices of sadhana. Before my birth, my family moved from the sacred land of India to the isolated land of Guyana. Because Guyana was
about one hundred years behind the technological worl~, we were able to safeguard our ancestral" memories throUlgh·the practice ofsadhana. The/Sanskrit etymology of the word sadhana comes from the single root 'sadh, ' that bears ~ mult~ude of meanings. In its original and whole sense, however, sadhana is the wholesome activities practiced in harmony with the cyclical rhythms of nature. By practicing these activities provided by the universe to sustain salubrious health, my family secured our rhythmic, harmonic sonority with the Divine. Fbr all humans, practice of sadhana is the vital means of accessing cognitive memory-memories gathered{hrough our past lives. Once our cognitive memories are awakened and oW" remembering self begins to " function, we are able to achieve' resplendent health.
Far away from the homeland of India, my family preserved the practice of sadhana. The land was the hearth of my people's ptactice. The Vedic rituals they performed were a living recreation of the sacred, tied as they were to the bOlmty of the Earth and the sweat of the people. As a result, our comate wisdom was maintained by the elders who kept th~se sadhanas alive. •
In my youth, I listened to family elders tell stories of the Eruth , practices of my ancestors, the ancestor~ of fudia. The Vedic heritage of India and ~epal begins with the story q[ the ancient sages, called rishis, who lived in Aryavarta, the sacred land of the Himalayas. Here, sadhana as a practice fIrst emerged. These ancient sages experienced the Divine in all activities, assimilated the vibrations OIf the Divine and transJV.uted them into their thoughts, thereby bringing forth knowledge in the-form of sound. Their primal intention was to cognize the inflPite consciousness by communing vl'ith flature's cosmic rhythms, bonding with the trees, herbs, rivers, animals-all of life. Within each fInite form they recognized the infInite. From there, they ascended to cognize the absolute Divine Love found equa'lly in all things. Through their sadhana, they sustained land, waterrwind arld fIre.
Although modern life is nearly an antithesis to the ancient land of Aryavarta, through the practice of sadhana, each of us can begin to recognize the infInite in the finite. By reordering our lives to move witlhin the cosmic rhythms we can cognize the absolute Divine Love found equally and wholly in all things.
.,
The healing forces of sadhana work through nature in many ways. The leaves and bark of the trees are continually massaged by the wind; the rocks and pebbles are rubbed by the streams and rivers; the animals are bfl.!.shed by the undergrowth of the forests and the birds are caressed by the wind and skies. These natural motions are part of the universe's immense rhythms and comprise her innate practice of sadhana. All forms of life, other than the human species, naturally remain in the bliss
of their Moth'ers bosom, enduring life, obeying their instincts for survival. • I
We are also equipped with this universal instinct, with cosmic impulses that irretrievably bond us to the creation. We need only redirect our life to move within the cosmic rhythms, instead of fighting the natural order, and our universal instinct will guide us. In the practice of sadhana, we may be able to resume our human • birthright as stewards who s~eguard all of life. Sadhana is more than humans' mere duty to dharma.. To quote Rabindranath Tagore, in discussion of one who practices sadhana: "The water, does not merely cleanse our limbs, but it purifies our heart, for it touches pur soul. The Earth does not fnerely hold our body, but it gladdens our mind, for its contact is more that a physical contact. It is a living presence." And when we learn to dance within the
. ' Earth's cosmic rhythms, we begin to heal from a core deep within us. We experience sadhana.
BRI. MAYA TIwARI,founder of the Wise Earth Sclwol of Ayurveda, is reviving and reintrocfucing Vedic Earth Sadhana teachings. An established autlwr, this column for HINDUISM TODAY is based on her newest work, Migrant Spirit: Recovering Our Ancestral Memories, to be published in the spring of 1999. Bri. Maya lives reclusively as a brahmacharini in Asheville, North Carolina, USA
FEBRUARY, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 39
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Moneesh Resources - Gifts and Books
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•
. PARENTING
Sh,ow Your· Understanding . How to connect. w.ith your childs emotional life
IIFTH GRADE GIRL IS VERY ANXIOUS
abOlit a math test she is taking the next day and approaches her mother that evening to discuss it. Mother
and daughter enter a conversation in which mother tries to bully. her out of the fears and make the girl think positively. But never does the mother communicate to her daughter that she understands her fears about the test. As"al result, the daughter still feels per-
test scares -lou because it's different from anything before. It's modern math and you have to do fractions in completely new ways, and it's frightening." Devi: "It sure . s. I read some of these paragraphs three or four times that tellliow to do it, and I still don't understand." Mother: "It's awfully scary when you read how to do it a couple of times and still don't get it." Devi: "It sure is! Could you help me with the really tough parts? If
I could understand the principles of how to do it, !think I'd be all right." M6ther: "What really upsets you is not being able to understand the principles; is that right?" Devi: "Thats it." Mother: "Yes, I'll be glad to help. I didn't have modern math when in school at your age, so I may have trouble understanding the principles at first,J oo. But between the two of us I think we can figure it out." -Devi: "Thanks, Mom, you really do understand how I feel."
Dr. Dodson comments on this example: "Mother does not jump in with superficial' reassUrance or advice. She takes [Devi'sl feelings of fear seriously, does not belittle them, and by feeding them back to her lets her
Caring: IJ..etuming the child's words puts him at ease
. know that she genuinely understands how she feels. By doing this she is able to uncover the reason this particular test is scaring Devi-the unfanuliar modern math and her difficulty
turbed and unconfident. Why? There has been no feedback between the paren~ and child, according to child psychologist Dr. F. Dodson in his book How to Discipline with Love. He describes feedback as: 1) Listening carefully to what your child is saying, 2) Formulating in your mind what your Fhild is expressing, 3) Feeding back to her in your own words the feelings she has just expr~ssed.
Here is how Dr. Dodson advises to hold a feedback conversation in the above situation: De,/i: "Mother,. can I talk over something with you? We've got a math test tomorrow, and I'm sqared I'm going to flunk ' it." Nlother: "Can you tell me mo re why you're so afraid about failing?" Devi: "Well, I know I've gotten 'pretty good grades on my math tests before, but this is different. It's called modern math, and we have to do fractions in ways I've never done." Mother: "This
in understanding ,the principles involved. Once she uncovers this, she is able to res.pond to [Devi'sl request for help in understanding these new, difficult principles."
Dr. Dodson advises, "When using the" feedback technique, you will typically begin sentences with: "You feel" or "You feel angry" or 'Tm hearing you say. ,':' With the feedback technique, you do not a~k your child why she feels a certain way; you simply accept the fact thar she does. You do not bring in your feelings; you stay with hers. You speak only in reply to her; that is, when she expresses a feeling, you feed it back. When she is silent and is not expressing a feeling, you are silent." This and many mor~, loving techniques forge lasting bonds between parents and children. ...
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42
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Home Remedies from India: Herbal and Natuml by Dr. Ranvir Pahwa, Ph.D, HerbalistHome.opath. US/Can$15 (includes shipping and handling) check or money order to: Heritage Holistic Health and Environmental Institute, 1527 A, Idylwyld Drive N., Saskatoon S7L lA9 Canada.
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Ganges clayfired statues for puja, meditation, immersion, other rituals. Sixty intricately hand-painted images, many hard to find. Color catalog includes 200 other deities. Send US$2 to: JBL, Box 163 H, Crozet, VA 22932-0163 USA.
Beautiful wooden puzzles. Krishna, gods and goddesses. Also two games for Hindu children: Memory and Dominoes. Call Lakshmi: 209-337-2477 (USA). [email protected]
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Quality Incense from India. Golden Rose. Neel Kamal. Pure Sandalwood cones, and more. Tel: 970-949-6329 USA Email: vel@vai1net
Education ' ,
Spirituality & healing in ni'edicine-IV & V, December 14-16, 1997, Boston, Massachusetts and March 22-24, 1998, Houston, Texas (USA). Directed by Herbert Benson, MD. The course will explore the relationship between spirituality and healing in medicine and give perspectives from world religions. Contact: Professional Meeting Planners, tel: 1-800-378-6857 or 781-279-9887, Fax 781-279-9875. E-mail: [email protected].
Excellent correspondence course on Vedic Astrology by Jyotish Krishnan, recipient of several awards including the recent award of Jyotish Vachaspathi by ICAS, India. Normal cost for four courses, US$558 (November or December registration: $200 off). Tel/fax: 972-783-1242 or write PO Box 852892, Richardson TX 75085-2892 USA.
Vedic Astrology classes, workshops, tutorials, books. Offered by Umananda (Stephen Quong, Ph.D., Jyotisha Vachaspati), in Mount Shasta, California. 17513 Grizzly Den Road, Lake Shastina, CA 96094-9448, USA. Tel: 916-938-2997. Website: www.jyotisha.com
Vedanta Society, 1440 Upas Street, San Diego, CA 92103-5129 USA. Phone: 619-291-9377. Conducts Sunday morning lecture, Friday evening class. All welcome.
The Hindu University of America, Houston Campus (Texas, USA) is now enrolling students for Master's Degree, effective Fall '97. For more information, contact Dr. Lal Sardana, tel: 713-666-2225.
Free Products and Services
Free educational flow charts on all aspects of Hinduism. Write to Viswanath. Am I a Hindu? Box 56697, New Orleans, LA 70156-6697 USA. [email protected]
Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj Meditation Blessings. Peace, bliss and Self-Realization attained through meditation. Receive a photo of Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj , holy ash and meditation instructions. No charge. Send name, address and phone number to Dhyana Center of Roanoke, 833 Woods End Lane, Roanoke, VA 24014-1423 USA
Find God. "What right has a man to say that there is a God ifhe does not see Him?" Anyone with a burning desire to honestly know God, please contact Dr. Arona, 183 Jalan Besar, Bukit Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, West Malaysia.
For inspiration, call 808-822-7482 (or 808-822-SIVA) day or night for a recorded sermonette by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Sixty upadeshas are rotated and changed daily, each one is ten to eighteen minutes in length and covers topics such chakras, the story of the soul, handling karma, fear, worry and other states of externalized consciousness, affirmations, putting teachings into practice, establishing oneself in sadhana, color meditations, and much more.
Jewelry
Affordable gems/jewelry for ayurveda, astrology, meditation. Satisfaction guaranteed. Mail order. King Enterprises, 1305 N. H St./ A-289-T, Lompoc, CA 93436-4377 USA. Tel: 805-736-0449 (business hours.)
Astrological gemstones. Specially chosen for their metaphysical qualities by Umananda (Stephen Quong, Ph.D., Jyotisha Vachaspati). Call 916-938-2997 or visit website www. jyotisha.com for current inventory and prices.
Astrological rings, pendants of gemstones, made to order in 14, 18, 22 karat gold or silver. Call Manju: 914-434-6630 (USA).
Music and Art
Hindu Deity paintings, notecards and prints from India. Website: http://www.laksluni.com. Catalog. Lakshmi International, 411 Madison Street, Boonton, NJ 07005-2051
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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 beautiful catalog, send US$l to Encinitas Imports, PO Box 230419-H, Encinitas, CA 92023-0419 USA. Tel: 760-436-9589 •
Beautiful devotional sculptures and masks. Special new-year offer-33% off classic cast stone murthies for your home, temple or retail shop. Ganesh, Shiva, Laxmi, Sarasvati, Durga, Buddha. Ht: 2 ft. (61 cm) or 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m). Free catalog, tel: 800-608-8632, 515-472-8115. Vedic Sculpture Studio, 607 W Broadway #136, Fairfield, IA 52556-3200 USA.
Exquisite Vedic paintings done to order. Art book, Windows to Spiritual World. For free fly-
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Products/Stores
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Vegetarian cats and dogs are not only possible but desirable. Eleven years' experience in makirlg it happen with Vegepet supplements. Tel: 800-884-6262 or 406-295-4944 (USA).
Publications
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Behold the invisible power like a meteor from heaven . For the first time, you can explore The Secrets of Aum and Gayatri, a book by Pandit Tripathi that reveals the mystical principles behind the greatest of mantras. A must for Hindu and non-Hindu homes. 184 pp. Hardcover. Published in USA. US$19.98 postage
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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).
Scientific Basis of Hinduism, is a 152-page book written by a practicing neurolOgist to demonstrate how available scientific/logical data validates various Hindu teachings. To order this book send a US$9.00 check or money order to Parveen Khosla, MD, PO Box 8665, Kansas City, MO 64114-0665 USA.
Palani Panchang 1998. Trivedis American Panchang available in English or Gujarati. US$9 +$2 s/h. 3 versions for NY, Chicago, San Francisco times. 510-490-1533. Devendra Trivedi, 4831 Piper St, Fremont, CA 94538 USA.
Making and Using Ghee-the Royal Oil. The art of making and enjoying this precious, healing, spiritualizing food. 89 p. US$7.95 + $2.50 shipg. Purity Farms, 14635 Westcreek Rd., Sedalia, CO 80135-9605 USA. Tel: 303-647-2368.
Retreat/Vacation
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Temple Services
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Procession begins: Africans, Asians and Europeans gather to follow Shri Krishna in chariot as it leaves the Kenyatta Conference Centre in central Nairobi
KENYA
Riots Fail to Hinder Yatra Chariot proceeds despite deadly disturbances
By PRABHA PRABHAKAR BHARDWAJ
ON AUGUST 8, 1997, A NATIONWIDE strike in Kenya by opposition leaders demanding constitutional reforms and the ousting of long-term president
Daniel arap Moi turned violent. Policeman Gilbert Simiyu was beaten to death at a rally in support of the strike. Demonstratorsmostly unemployed youth-then rampaged through downtown Nairobi, the mition's capital, smashing stores and stoning hO,tel windows. Two IIJ,ore people were killed. The following day was to be the yearly Rath Yatrain which the icons of Shri Krishna, Balaram and Subradhra were to be paraded through the city streets. But most of the Asian community, which is predominately Hindu, was hiding behind closed doors, and markets were shut. Most thought the event would-or should-be canceled. Asians-descendants of laborers brought to East. Africa by the British a century ago to work 0tl the railroads-number about 70,000 out of Kenya's total population of'25 million.
Yet, as August 9 dawned, Krishna's towering chariot prepared to leave on schedule from its home at ISKCON's Sri Sri Radha Bankebihari Mandir. "Because of the events of August 8, people were very afraid, especially the Asian community," temple chairman SwaIDi Umapati Das told HINDUISM TODAY. "I received many calls to postpone the Rath Yatra procession, and for a little
while, I also became double-minded. But I contemplated and decided, the yatra is in the honor of God, who protects the whole world, so why should there be any fear? So, we carried out the plans undeterred."
The parade started, from the Kenyatta Conference Centre in central Nairobi, until recently the city's tallest building. Only the swamis from the temple and 15 regular African devotees were there at the beginning. "We were very afraid," con~essed Swami Umapati das, "but there were no untoward incidents. In fact, it was more peaceful than usual-no stealing of personal articles like handbags, for example." As the day went on, the crowd that followed the chariot ~ept gr;owing as peace returned to the city. Men and women, children and grandparentS, Africans, Asians and Europeans sang and danced through the streets in one rhythm to the "Hare "Krishna" mantra. Sweets were distributed to 15,000 people along the route, while nearly 1,500 took a Jull meal at the temple complex upon completion of the' Rath Yatra.
All 450 ISKCON temples worldwide observe the annual Rath Yatra festival, following,the tradition of Jagannath Puri temple in Onssa, India, as instructed by ISKCON founder, A.G Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada. The festival usually takes place near the beginning of August, with the date set by each temple for its local observance. --
Eclipse: A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the sun's light from reaching Earth ,. • ASTROLOGY
Tht~ Total Solar Eclipse How Hindus understand this celestial spectacle
, to see the Sun disappear. His two court astrologers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict it, so the necessary countermeasures to make the Sun return-e.g., shooting arrows at the sky, beating drums and shouting-were not
J
or shortly thereafter. Recent examples are the 6-4 quake which took place near Mumbai on September 29, 1993, the day of a lunar eg.lipse, and the devastating 8.6 quake in Kobe, Japan, on January 20, 1995, again the day, after an eclipse.
From the astrological point of view, the eclipse affects everyone on the planet, not just those in its visible path. The Hindu astrological treatise Brihat Samhita is replete with gloomy descriptions of what to expect from eclipses,~ depending on the particular part of the sky they appear in. It does offer some hope, though, for, "If within seven days there should be a clear shower, there .,. will be prosperity and peace in the land, and anything untoward due to the eclipse will be warded off completely."
On a personal level, astrologers see the zo·diac sign in which the eclipse occurs as an area of emphasis or possible crisis in the affairs related to that house in an individual's horoscope. Astrologer Chakrapani Ullal explains it as "an obstruction of the life forces" of those energies governed by that house, an impact which can be compounded by other aspects of the person's astl ology. For example, the February 26th eclipse is occurring in Aquarius, so if Aquarius falls in the second house of your horoscope, it could cause disruption in your financial affairs. Or, if Aquarius lies in your seventh house, relationships or marriage could be debilitated. Brihat Samhita asserts expiatory ceremonies can ward off potential ' calamities that would otherwise befall the person or
his family. Many astrologers believe eclip
ses have a dr layed impact, which is later triggered by the movements of the planets. B. V. Raman advises avoiding important events, especially marriages, during certain days in the six months following an eclipse. Those q.ays are when the moon is in the same nakshatra (constellation-satabhisha) as during the eclipse.
EVERY HOTEL IN GUADELOUPE HAS been booked for months by people eager to witness the coming total solar eclipse which will cross the Carib
bean Sea on February 26. Other skygazers have made reservations 'via the Internet to be at ground zero aboard pricey yachts to experience the sudden darkness and drop in temperature as the shadow of the moon falls directly upon them. But according to Hindu astrology, you should think twice before setting sail. It may be interesting, but not in your best interests. Our ancient seers would probably recommend jumping .overboard rather than peering through a pair of binoculars at- the disappearing sun (even with suitable filters). Traditional advice is to be immersed in a river and chanting during an eclipse to mitigate .the negative effects, because mantras performed in water have more power. But nowadays some ask, "Isn't this all superstition?"
Eclipse cruise: Ship route will intercept eclipse path . I
So, should you book a rock in the nearest rive)", instead of a suite on a cruise ~hip? Not because you're superstitious, of course, but because you don't believe in
The word eclipse in itself has foreboding indications, coming from the Greek ekleipsis, meaning "failure to appear." A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes exact-1y in line between the Sun tind Earth, obscuring or eclipsing the light of the Sun from an area on the planet. Some Rig Veda hymns refer to eclipses, which figure later prominently in the Mahabharata. Certainly in the absence of knowledge, an eclipse is a terrifying event. On~ of the earliest recorded eclipses was in 2136 BeE. The Chinese Imperial Emperor Chung K' ang was horrified
performed. Yet, the sun returned quite on its own, casting royal doubt upon the usefulness of Hs( and Ho. Both were sUlllffiarily executed by the Imperial army. To this day,
, in many areas loud noises are made to chase the moon away during an eclipse.
Eclipses have a known correlation with an increase in earthquakes. Researchers"speculate that the stronger gravitational force generated by the combined tidal force of the Sun and Moon pulling along the same axis disturbs the crust of the Earth and sets the stage for earthquakes to occur immediately
taking chances. It's up to you. Many who have experienced a total eclipse of the Sun can attest to the very ~ impact it has upon the conscious mind, which seems to become temporarily unhinged. Astrologically, the impact depends upon your own chart. Remedies are possible, especially through intense sadhana, spiritual effort, but few people these days have the time or will to really employ them. At least we can rest assured the Sun will return on schedule-our astronomers not wanting to risk the fate of Hsi and Ho in ancient China. __
F EBR UARY, 1998 Hf'NDUIS M TODAY 45
\ \~.i'·· .~~~~~~lI1l11l11l11~~lI1~lI1l11l11~lI1~~~1 HEALING
Minu~ the Hellflre; , Br1mstone Is"(;ssential Organic sulfur must be maintained in our body to .provide flexibility and combat disease
BY. DEVANANDA TANDAVAN, M.D .
BRIMSTONE, THE LEGEN
dary yellow substance that burns with malodorous fury, is very toxic to hu
mans in its inorganic form. It is better known as sulfur, which is a nonmetal mineral that b-ehaves somewhat the same as oxygen in its chemical reactions. It is also reputed to hav!;) cleansing properties. In its organic form it is one of the essential elements of the body. It is not in any way similar in reaction to the inorganic sulfides, sulfites and sulfates to which many people are allergic; in the organic form there is no allergy. This substance has been somewhat ignored by nutritionists even though it is essential. Our bodies contain a great deal of this organic sulfur. It is found within the muscles and brain tissues, the hair, skin and bones.
There is now availSlble a pure crystalline substance called MSM, methyl sulfonyl methane. It may be derived from DMSOa naturally occurring compound. MSM occurs naturally in the following foods: plants, meats, fish, dairy products, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other crucifer vegetables. Garlic is a good source. Since MSM is soluble in water, most of that found in our foods is either dissipated as steam or thrown out with the water. Incidentally, this cooking water is a great source of nutrients to be added to stews aJ)d soups. It is eAsy to see that the vegetarian, and especially the vegan, is likely to be deficient in this essential substance.
MSM links with amino acids and vitamins to assure that "new" cells are viable and able to perform their function. These sulfur amino acids are essential ,and the body cannot fabricate them witt out the presence of organic sulfur. Without enough sulfur, the body tends to become more rigid, less flexible, which is part of the "aging".process, Sulfur helps to regulate tissue
46 HINDUISM TODAY F E"BRUARY , 1998
breathing and maintain a balance between acid and alkaline properties of the body. Perhaps its most important role is in carbohydrate metabolism, necessary for hypoglycemic states (low level of glucose in the blood) and diabetic conditions. Organic sulfur acts as an antioxidant and so aids in having a strong immune system and
defense against invaders, Patients who are hypersensitive to various drugs notice that if MSM is taken along with the drugs, hypersensjtivity is decreased or eliminated. There are no apparent drug interactions with MSM, and no toxic data is obtainable since it is water soluble and excreted in the urine if not utilized.
Clinically, such conditions as allergies, hyperacidity, hypersensitivity to drugs, chronic constipation, chronic fatigue, chronic bronchitis and pulmonar,y (lung) dysfunction, parasitic infestation, deafness (due to fibrosis) , glaucoma (eye disease) and also cataracts have shown elimination or improve~ent after adding MSM as a dietary supplement. Present studies are being done on the effect that MSM may have on macular (skin) degeneration. Many skin conditions as well as joint stiffness and aches do well with this supplementation~
There are no known toxic reactions to the addition of MSM to the diet. It is available in capsules, crystalline form, ointment and in solutions for eyes and ear ' Suggested daily dose, as a supplement, is 500-2000 mg per day. It must be taken daily as it is used by the body right away or excreted.
DR. TANDAVAN, 77, retired nuclearphysician 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: Septuagenarian musician Pundit Rayl Shankar with the Premium Imperial Award on October 21 in Tokyo, conferred by Japan's Emperor Akihito. Often hailed as Indias cultural ambassador, Shankar gave a mesmerizing sitar recital one month earlier before a sell-out crowd in New Yorks Carnegie Hall, accompanied by his talented daughter and musical heir,
~.,- '."~.~'. ,'" ...... .,... .. , , ~?:'. ~'. ~ -1'~ "
-::: .-::- i(' '-' ,
:., .. ~\, Anoushka. The sitar virtuoso
BLESSED: Dr. Goylndappa Venkataswamy, age 78, with Western management techniques and yogic philosophy. Following the late Sri Aurobindo, "Dr, v." created Aravind, the worlds largest eye hospital, at Madurai, India. It conducted 107,000 surgeries in 1996. Two-thirds of the patients were treated free of charge. Dr. v.' says, "The important thing is the deep commu-nion we make With patient with the patient."
CONCLUDED: A 7-year legal battle on October 16, 1997, between Ananda Church of Self Realization and Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) when SRF's remaining suit was dismissed. The dispute began when SRF sued Ananda for copyright and trademark infringement. SRF had obtained copyrights on Paramahamsa Yogananda's writings and trademarks on words like Self-Realization. Ananda challenged., and Federal Court Judge Edward J. Garcia ruled in its favor.
DIED: Advaita Vedantist HarlYansh Lal Poonja on September 6, 1997 in Lucknow, India, at age 86. Poonjaji, as he was known to devotees, was a disciple of Ramana Maharshi and taught that our true nature is unbounded, limitless consciousness; we need sim-ply to realize this A non-dualist fact.
The Ayurvedic Institute
Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Physician and Director of the Institute, with visiting faculty, offer the Ayurvedic Studies Program, seminars and private consultations.
Yearly Curriculum: • I: Introduction to philosophy,
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Write/call for our mail order catalog and information: The Ayuvedic Institute • PO Box 23445 Albuquerque, NM 87192-1445 USA Tel: 505-291-9698. Fax: 505-294-7572
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Writings and Music of Sri Chinmoy
We offer a wide selection of Sri Chinmoy's inspirational and instructional written works, including essays, poetry, plays, and extensive answers to questions asked by seekers.
Music includes soul-stirring audio and video performances by Sri Chinmoy on instruments from all over the world.
New this fall-God Is .. . , " selections from the more than one thousand books Sri Chinmoy has written in over thirty years of teaching meditation and spirituality. His intimate knowledge of God transcends religious dogma and scripture, shedding light on each seeker's path to the divine. In simple language, he transmits an astonishing depth of knowledge that directly communicates the wisdom of the soul.
For a free catalog with over 70 items, contact:
Heart-Light Distributors p. 0. Box 85464-H Seattle, VVA 98145-1464 Tel: 800-739-2885 or 1-206-527-2099 Fax: 1-206-527-2099
The Expanding Light retreat center offers a wide variety of workshops and retreats in yoga and yoga teacher's training, meditation, Ayurveda, alternative healing, chakras and Kriya Yoga, For a free 24-page guide to programs, call 800-346-5350.
IT~ga philosoph!,. medi~ation, and "plain living. and high thinking"are the foundations for the Ananda inten
tional communtties, which are ba~~d on. the teachlll~s of Paramhansa ~ogananda ~author of Autobiography of a Yogt)' - There are seven Ananda communltleS---,1ll Nevada Cuy, CA (Ananda Village); AsSISi, Italy (Ananda Europa); Palo Alto
and Sacramento, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; and our newest near Brisbane, Australia. Three of the communities have schools based on the Education {or Life philosophy. Ananda's retreat facility, The Expanding Light, offers programs year-round in yoga, meditation, alternative healing, and the spiritual lifestyle. The Ananda Course in Self-Realization is available for homestudy in meditation and yoga. Books and music by Yogananda and Ananda's founder, Swami Kriyananda, are available from Crystal Clarity, Publishers. We also offer a healing prayer network and support to 70 Ananda meditation groups in the U .S. and abroad. Visit us at http://www.ananda.org
The Ananda Course in Self-Realization is a Audio Book: Read by Swami Kriyananda, a comprehensive home-study course with instruc- close, direct disciple who lived and studied tion in beginning and advanced meditation, yoga with Paramhansa Yogananda. The original postures fOr higher awareness, breathing exercises, 1946 edition of Autobiography of a Yogi yoga philosophy, diet, nutrition and vegetarian- audio book is $29.95, includes six cassettes ism, deepening your spiritual lift and Kriya Yoga (approx. 10 hours) of selected chapters. To preparaton . For a brochure, order or fOr a free catalog,
pi"" ,all 888-535"'60. ~A ,all 800-424-1055.
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Ananda, fOunded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, is not affiliated with Self-Realization Fellowship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~47
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Gurani Anjali (Guruvi)
Author, poet, songwriter and artist. Hear her message for the body, mind and spirit. Experience the Yogic perspective. Books: Ways of Yoga, Rtu (meditational poems), and the soonto-be released: Think on This . Audio cassettes: Someone is Calling, From the Silent Depth Within Me and other works. Yoga Anand Ashram. Tel 516-691-8475 • Mailing address: 49 Forrest PI, Amityville, NY 11701-3307 USA • http://www.santosha.com
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All are invited to Gayatri Pariwar Chicago's 108-Kundi Gayatri Maha Deep Yagya performed to celebrate the birthday of Pragya Avatar, the prophet of a New Era, Pandit Shree Reem Sharma Acharya, on Vasant Punchami, Sunday, Feb 1, '98, 10AM-4PM. Taft High School, corner of Nagel & Bryn Mawr, Chicago. Calli Gayatri Pariwar Chicago, 847-692-7712 or Gayatri Mandir, 773-465-2533.
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BRIEflY,,, A EUIj.PPEAN COMMISSION for Humal} Right's unanimous decision on November 7.may result in ending corporal punishment of children in Europe, even by thei: parents. In an apIJeal by a 1z-year-old British boy caned by his stepfather, the commission ruled the boy's punishment was "d$ading".pnd had violated Article 3 of the Elffopean COllvention on Human Rights-that no one shall be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The decision, when formally confIrmed by the European Court, will not outlaw all corporal punishment, but it will make legal beating by parents much more rare, ana it will virtually ban caning in schools . .
ACCESS TO AMARNATH CAVE will be much easier next year if the J;munu and Kashmir government opens the Baltal route from Srinagar. Instead of trekking 46 km at heights up to 14,000 feet, pilgrims will be able to drive to within seven kilometers of the h:oly site. Security considerations in this war-torn region m9-Y yet thwart the plan.
KERALA'S COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT has taken over the Sivagiri Math and affIliated institutions after a decade-long dispute over the mona.stery's management.[HINDUISM TODAY, J;m. 1997]. Supporters of thi,s central institution of Narayaha Guru (1856-19Z8) had thought matters settled in 1995 when state Rolice forceably took the place-
. , frorrf supporters of Swami Saswatheekananda and installed Swami Prakashananda as the president of the trust. Swami Prakashananda blames political intrigue on the part of his predecessor tpr the latest move. Not only do tlle math's control and fmances Sivagiri Mutt, Kerala come under the government, but the sannyasin monks attached to the monastery have even been asked to turn any gifts of cash or kind received o¥er to the government offIce.
HINDUS IN MARYLAND, near tht$ US capital, were blessed by the visit of Sri Sl1gunendra
. TheeP1:ha Swamiji, 35. He is abbot of Sri Putige Math, one of the eight famed monasteries of Udupi, Kerala, founded by the great dualist philosopher, Madhvachatya; • ,. 700 years ago. SUgundendra has held the post since 1974, when at age 1z~he was se-
, ? , CLOCKWISE ~.nOM TOP: COREL, NEPAL ROYAL P~ACE, MADHU RAJ
lected from among 500 candidates. His visit was reported in some detail by the famed Washington Post newspaper.
THE WORLDWIDE FUND for Nature's 'Alliance for Religion and Conservation" is an at-tempt by the WWF " to enlist the help of religious organizations in projects of ecological restoration. WWF India is espe-6ally pleased with its cooperative project in Vrindavan, India, birthplace of Lord Krishna, to restore the area's forests. They are working to duplicate this ef
Vrindaban tree •
fort across -India. Address: Worldwide FUnd for Nature, Avenue du Mont Blac, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
OTHER RELIGIONS, :rOO, are taking a serious interest in ecology. Ecumenical, Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual leader ef 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians, has made the environment a "spiritual and moral issue" and excessive pollution almost a formal sin. He has promised to have 1,000 "green priests" especially trained in ecological concerns by the year 2000.
DELHI'S BJP GOVERNMENT is making yoga and naturopathy a compulsory school sub-
. ject. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi said at an O~tober function promoting drugless therapies, ''A majority of the diseases like cancer, diabetes and ulcers are caused by stress, which is nothing but a negative state of mind. An equilibrium can be estabfished only through yoga and traditional remedies prescrilfed by ayurveda."
AMERICA IS REACTING to 30 years of easy divorce laws. Some states are creating
·"covenant marri~ges" which are much harder to end. Those seeking divoI"6es under them must fIrst undergo counseling and long waiting periods. Recent research is demonstratmg the long-lasting damage to chil<dren caused by divorce. Catholic and
, Episcopa'l churches in Louisiana, where the fIrst such law was created, are considering giving church weddings only for coup!.es who enter into a covenaht marriage. .
FIRST R' WAS THE "SITA garbage company." Now it i? "Vishnu sandals" and "Krishna boots" that ha'(e British Hindus up in arms.
"" The Hindu Religious and Cultural Society in Ifeicester took umbrage at the shoe name because "to assooiate footwear and leather with our Gods causes huge offense and insult," said Mahesh Prasher, the society's secretary. Clarks, one of the country's largest shoemakers, has ordered its staff to cover up the I\ame of the shoes, which appears only on the boxes. In 1992, a French garbage company had to remove its initi"als, SITA, from the side of their trucks as a result of similar protests.
.1
"GOD LIVED WITH THEM" is the latest production of Swami Chetanananda of the Vedan·ta Society of st. Louis. This prolifIc author engagingly tells the story in detailed narrative form of sixteen of Sri Ramakrislina's monastic disciples. One learns of their training under Ramakrishna and, after his passing, the challenges and t£iumphs under Swami Vivekananda. This is a companion volume to his earlier They' Lived with God 0)1 28 lay disciples of Ramakrishna. Address: 205 South Skinker Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri 63105 USA.
KING BIRENDRA OF NEPAL attended an October meeting of more than 100,000 persons at an all-India Hindu conference in Haridwar. The three-day event was jointly sponsored by Sri Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, the World Hindu Federation of Nepal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. It was the fIrst time the king had come to India to attend a Hindu religious meeting. In his speech, he called for the "protec-tion of the Hindu Nepal's King Birendra way of life" and / for Hindus to integrate traditional valGes into the reality of present-day life. Delegates unanimously condemned the Tehri Dam project on the Ganges river.
SMOG-CHOKED MUMBAljJESIDENTS will bless Honda Motor Company and its new superclean gasoline engin~. Honda claims it is so clean the emissions from the tailpipe can be less polluted than the surrounding air. The remarkable engine is relatively easy to build and relies upon a powerful computer to control combustion timin~. Production is expected in two years, and could herald welcome relief to polluted cities worldwide.
FEBRUAR Y , 199 8 HINDUI8M TODAY 49 "
MINISTER.S MESSAGE cate and sublimate them. This is done by
Don't H'ide from Our the cultivation of a moral sense and its application in daily life thr6ugh practicing the following spiritual ideals: 1) Purity of heart, or that which is free from hate, malice, resentment, vengeance, avarice, wickedness and imputing bad motives to others; 2) Unselfish love, spontaneous compassion and kindness to and consideration of others, with matching deedS; 3) Integrity of feeling or depth of sentiment-rather than sentimentalism-of thinking, of expression through speech and action, and honesty to oneself and to others; 4) Sublimation of passions and worldly desires; 5) Purifica!ion of the ego toward'humility of spirit and genuine modesty.
•
Roots~the Vedas Accept and proclaim Indias Hindu s'Qbstratum, while still allowing all faiths to flourish
• BY SWAMI S·H I V APR E MAN AND A
Vedanta represents the essence of Hinduism. As the word implies, it is the culmination or conclusion (anta) of the Vedic teachings, consisting of the Upanishads. More than a thousand years before the common era, Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa interpreted them in his Brah1TULS'Utras and, in the name of Sri Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita. In the history of civilization, no other teachings have expressed such a positive, unifying spirit of reconciliation. By the vision of monism, making God a transcendental, all-pervading spiritrather than a singular, all-important and the only valid deity, as in monotheism-it took
IL HINDUS HAVE A MORAL AND SPIRITUAL OBLIGA
tion to remind themselves of their cultural heritage in the Vedas and be proud of it, while rising above sectarian narrow-mindedness. Being in the West for the past thirty-six years, I am more and more
aware of this deficiency li!ll0ng many of those who are born in the Hindu tradition, and specifically so at all levels of the Indian diplomatic corps.
Mter independence, in 1947, the Indian government's policy became bi~ed in favor of a half-baked, distorted form of secularism, when just the sense of being a Hindu became something to be reticent about among the third-rate imitation of Westernized intelligentsia. It still persists. There cannot be a more secular nation than Britain or the Urrited States. Yet, the British are not ashamed to call themselves a Christian nation, where many other faiths flourish in liberty-the Queen still being the defender of the Anglican faith. Americans are not ashamed of their Biblical heritage, while many other faiths thrive within -its fold. They are not ashamed to print and emboss on their currency the motto, "In God We Trust."
No other faith is more tolerant of other faiths than Hinduism. Even before the incursion of Islams conquering violence in Northwest India, in the S3uthwest Islam was welcomed as the religion of Arab traders. In the first century of this common era, Christianity found its place in Southeast India, long before the onset of Catholicism and the violent impact of the Portuguese. Desperate for its . survival and .to hold back the onrushing tides of a totally alien, iconoclastic culture, Hinduism raised its sectarian walls and slid into decadence with the passing of the centuries. It is, thus, time to remind ourselves of our roots.
The Vedas are the earliest spiritual literature in history. They have greatly influenced the Hindu view of life. The word is derived from the root vid, to knOw. Knowledge has two sides, 1) empirical and 2) the pertinence of the material reality, with an hlfinite possibility of widening understanding. Hinduism's basis is to regard the world as a stage on.:which human beings act out a morality play, the purpose of which is to overcome suffering and be happy, happiness being the innate nature of the spirit (anandaY embodied in an inadequate vehicle, living in an imperfect world. Freedom of the soul from material bondage is the spiritual goal, and its merger in the transcendental spint (Brahman) the common destiny. This freedom is attainea through devotion to one's inner spirit (atman or God), knowledge of the various truths of existence and by leading a life of self-discipline and self-improvement.
Life suffers when it is led by the blind force of impulse's and mundane desires. The purpose of religion is to understand, edu~
50 HI!"DUISM TOD.AY FEBRUARY, 1998
away the inherent sting of intolerance and iconoclasm. Judaism, Christianity and Islam have a lot to learn from it, as all religions should learn from one another the best in each other.
Tlie imm nsely broad vision of V~danta is expressed in the following ways. Brahman or the Supreme Being is not a deity or a substance than can be confmed within a conceptual image, but is an immanent spiritual presence in creation, wlille being transcendental. Even though God cannot be defmed, the human spirit can relate to the indefmable through spiritual ideals qualified by the adjectives, to rise above qualification: infInite, to expand them constantly; eternal, to provide the security of permanency; universal, to have the relevancy among all, irrespective of religious,or cultural backgrounds; and transcendental, in order to realize them better. The mantra sha vasyam idam satvain in the Isha Upanishad, that "all is pervaded by the infInite spirit," created for the first time in the human consciousness a sense of sanctity for all forms of life, not only for humankind, and not merely confined to one's own • tribes, but respect for animals and nature as well. The three monotheistic reli~ons-Judaism, Christianity and Islam-uphold God as the transcendental creator, but the Brahman of Ve~ta, while being transcendental and unaffected, is also immanent in the universe. '
;
SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDA, 72, was private secretary to Swami "Sivananda, taught Yoga-Vedanta in Rishikesh and now directs large centers in South America-namely Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
-Intternt'l Conference on Ancient India Maharishi University of Management
, In Los Angeles, California, USA August 7 to 9, 1998
THE WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR VEDIC STUDIES, INC. (WAVES)
invites academics and scholars to their second biennial international conference:
Founded in 1971 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. • Accreditation: North Central Association of Colleges and Schools • Graduate and undergraduate programs in a broad range of disciplines, including pre-med, computer science, electronic engineering and Maharishi Vedic Medicine
NEW PERSPECTIVES ON VEDIC & ANCIENT INDIAN CIVILIZATION
Sponsored by California State University, Northridge, CA.
• Students learn to engage the managing intelligence of Nature for success in their professional and personal life • Food is allvegetarian • Campus is drug-free, crime-free and alcohol-free • Financial aid is available • For a free video:
CALL FOR PAPERS
Papers may be submitted on archaeology, anthropology, history, social sciences, language, literature, linguistics, science/technology, ayurvedalhealth, martial arts, Hindu scriptures, contemporary works and issues, philosophy, ethics, practices, agriculture, ecology, etc.
Office of Admissions, Maharishi University of Management Fairfield, IA 52557 USA
Several symposia are being planned. Registration: single, US$75; two in a family $125; students $20. You are welcome to send your registration payment along with the title of your paper if you are presenting one. Contact:
• Shiva G. Bajpai, 670 Wildomar St., Pacific Palissades, CA 90272,818-677-3551, fax: 818-677-3614, [email protected]
• Bhu Dev Sharma, 6300 Ackel St #265, Metairie, LA 70003, 504,-483-7463, fax: 504-485-7928, [email protected]
• Deen B. Chandora, 770-939-5172, fax: 770-414-5341 • Robert Goldman, [email protected] • Subhash Kak, 504-766-4273, fax: 504-388-5200
[email protected] • Klaus Klostermaier, 204-269-6258, fax: 204-275-5781
CC~The Best Overview of Hinduism
Tel 800-369-6480 • www.mum.edu
Self-Unfoldment
By Swami Chinmayananda. "Success should be your habit," says Swami in Self-Unfoldment, a guided manual for personality development, success in action, and steps to spiritual growth .• US$12 plus $3.75 postg. Tel: 888-CMW-READ or 215-396-0390
http://www.chinmayaorglpublications Chinmaya Publications 560 Bridgetown Pike Langhorne, PA 19053 USA
AvaHable in English Todar'~ Napra Review
The new) 5 th edition of Dancing with Siva Hardbound Collector's Edition-only 500 copies printed
Anyone with a spiritual inclination will enjoy the crystal-clear teachings presented in Dancing with Siva, Hinduism's Contemporary Catechism, the masterful work of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Here is India's vision of the Divine in its endless richness and variety: philosophical, mystical, meditative, devotional and ethical. . "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 outstanding art." - Yoga Journal
1,008 pages . hardbound, smythe-sewn binding, 5.5"x 8.5", cloth, gold embossed cover uS$56 including shipping (for air mail, please inquire) . 165 all-new, extraordinary paintings . ISBN 0-945497-97-0
HIMALAYAN ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS 107 Kaholalele Rd· Kapaa, Hawaii 96746-9304 USA . Tel: 800-890-1008, ext. 238 or 808-822-3152, ext. 238 Fax: 808-822-4351 • [email protected] . www.HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us
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51
MISSION STATEMENT
Hindu Heritage Endowment is a publicly supported, charitable organization'recognized as tax - • I
exempf by the IRS on April 22, 1994. Its ~employer ID !lumber is 99-0308924. FOJJndeg by Satguru , Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, its philanthropic mission is to 'provide secure, professionally man-
, , . aged financial support for institutions and religious leaders of all lineages of Sanatana Dharma.
FE~RU~~Y DONOR PROFILE
Manager and pari: owner of a dynamic and growing lumber and building supplies company in Vail, Colorado (USA), Vel Alahan has always been happy to share the fullness which has come into his family's life. Together, he and his wife have~shown the generous pioneer spirit of the mountains by working hard fOl over a decade to help start a Hindu temple in the Denver metro region. In 1986 Vel asked close friends in the Colorado Indian Hindu community for a ceremony to formalize his conversion to Hinduism. The community enthusiastically responded by flying in a priest and making all of the arrangements for the namakarana (name-giving) ceremony, formalizing the Hindu
names which Vel and his wife, Valli, had legally adopted. Since then, Vel has helped to start sever-al endowment funds with Hindu Heritage ~l\dowment and gives freely to this and other charitable causes. If you visit the mountains of Colorado, be sure to look up Vel in his new store.
FUND OF THE MONTH
Each year, HINDuiSM TODAY honors one Hindu saint for l}is selfless work in helping to spread the timeless wisdom of Sanatana Dharma. The saint and his or her work is featured in HINDUISM TODAY and he or she receives a bronze plaque and an hO{lorarium (currently US$l,008) . .since the inception of this Hindu Renaissance Award, those who have been honored are: Swami Paramananda Bharati (1990), Swami Chid~nanda Saraswati (1991)). Swami Chinmayananda (1992), Mata Amritanandamayi (1993), Swami Satchidananda (1994), Pramukhswami Maharaj (1995), and Satya Sai Baba, (1996) and 'Sri Chinmoy (1997). Hopefully this fund will grow in siz;e -to one day equal or even surpass sueh' generous contributions to the growth of humanity as the Nobel P~ace Prize. After all, who can oHer more to the peace of mankind than those who help individuals find. peace within their own hearts and minds?
A PROFESSIONAL'S PERSPECfIVE: "It is better for you to do a few hours of estate p1annin'g during your lifetime than to lose 37 to 55% of your estate tp the IRS tax collector. The law (through proper planning) allows you to legally avoid t~xes, deduct your charitable contributions and shelter your estate in many different ways. Why do you have to throwaway your familY's inheritance?" Niraj P. Baxi of NPB Estate Planning, San Francisco, 1-800-686-8436.
As a public'service, HHE occasionally will offer the opinions of various finandal planners. However, it ~ndorses neither these advisors nor their counsel, and recommends that all individuals seek professional advice (rom several sources before making unportant long-term deCiSIOns.
----------~----------------- - - --_.- ----~ - - - - .---
Hindu Businessmen's Association Trust AdiAlahan $41.00 VelAlahan $120.00 Paramaseeven Canagasaby $9.07 Vel Mahalingum $11.35 Vishwanaden Moorooven $4.53 Sivakurnaren Mardemootoo $9.52 Manogaran Mardemootoo $62.78 Easvan Param $75.39 DevaRajan $682.23
Total $1,015.87
Hindu Orphanage Fund Peshala Dikel $15.00 Gunasekaran Kandasamy $28.67 Ramakumar & Sailaja Kosuru $20.00 Francine Martin $11.00 Bhavani Param $2.05 Alex Ruberto $15.00 Ramesh Sivanathan $1.26 Saraswathy Sivanathan $6.93 GokulaVani $15.00 Matthew Wieczork $30.00
Total $144.91
Hinduism Today Distribution Fund Soondiren Arnasalon $28.33 Vijayam Arnasalon $26.06 Starr Barrie-Hull $150.00 Dustin Baumann $90.00 Ravindra Doorgiat $40.13 Toshadeva Lynam Guhan $274.36 Chitravelloo Gunasegaran $126.18 Arnravaddee Kownden $27.20 Kartikeyen Manick $45.40 Ganesha Mathialagan $83.03 Jayaluxmee Moothoo $27.05 Kamala Mootoosamy $16.68 Chandran Param $85.00 Sahanadevi Param $58.00 Kanthasamy Pillaiyar $330.00 Logadassen Raday $45.56 Balan Rajan $151.27 Ramsamy Pillay Samoo $77.44 Priya Devi Utchanah $10.00 GokulaVani $70.00 Tamarra Westgate $20.00 Hinduism Today $1,030.72
Total $2,812.41
Iraivan Temple Endowment Starr Barrie-Hull $88.00
R ECENT D ONO R S
Mohana Sundari Gunasegaran $76.94 Aran Sambandar $135.00 Loganatha Shivam $500.00 Palaka Shivam $500.00 Sivaneswaran Sockanathan $78.00 Peshala Dikel $10.00 Vayudeva Dikel $1177.94 Mohana Sundari Gunasegaran $71.99 Edwin Hawk $2,944.36 Gunasekaran Kandasamy $104.36 Umah Rani Palanisamy $92.45 Padmini Samuthiran $378.20
Total $6,157.24
Kauai Aadheenam Annual Archana Yajataceyon Caremben $0.89 Sukanta Caremben $0.89 Gopiladeva Doorgiat $1.35 Saroja Devi Doorgiat $4.96 Vanadeva Doorgiat $0.90 Arnouda Koothan $0.45 Egilen Koothan $0.45 Saravan Koothan $0.45 Souda Koothan $0.45 Bharuni Mahesan $1.37 Bhaveshan Moorghen $0.91 Shanda Kumaran Moorghen $0.91 Kamaladevi Mootoosawmy $0.91 Yuvamanee Mootoosawmy $0.91 Dhanya Nadesan $16.71 Selven Nellatamby $4.51 Pakion Vedee Raday $18.22 Ruben Raday $0.46 Aran Sambandar $225.00 Kevin Pillay Samoo $6.83 Govinden Sanjeevee $15.00 Hemavalli Sivalingam $0.97 Kanta Ruban Sivalingam $0.97 Rohini Sivalingam $0.97 Nandi Devi Sivanathan $3.15 Potriyan Sivanathan $3.15 Lutchmeee Subramanien $0.91 Sivamalar Thuraisingarn $0.64 Siven Veerasarny $60.00
Total $373.29
KauaiAadheenam Monastic Endowment Vinaya Alahan $125.00 Anonymous $50.00 Gunasekaran Kandasamy $28.67 Sivan Murrugappa Naicken $22.70
Kumaren Nataraja Ramsamy Natarajan Devarajen Selen Samoo Dohadeva Samugam
Total
$9.08 $18.04 $45.56 $95.00
$394.05
Kumbhavalai Ganesha Temple Endowment Ananda Sivanesan $16.66
Total $16.66
Loving Ganesha Distribution Fund Eric Mitchell $10.00
Total $10.00
Malaysian Hindu Youth Educational Fund Jeyasreedharan $40.00
Total $40.00
Mathavasi Medical Fund Matthew Wiecwrk Gowri Nadason
Total
Mathavasi 'fravel Fund
$20.00 $30.00 $50.00
Erasenthiran Poonjolai $75.00 Total $75.00
Nallai Aadheenam Orphanage Fund Thilakavathy Sunder $5,000.00
Total $5,000.00
Saiva Agamas Trust Matthew Wiecwrk
Total $10.00 $10.00
Sri Sarada Sevashrama Orphanage Fund Thilakavathy Sunder $5,000.00
Total $5,000.00
Sri Subramuniya Kottam Fund Andrew Schoenbaum $10.00
Total $10.00
Tbank You Gurudeva Fund Vayudeva (David) Dikel $32.83 Ravi Peruman $20.00 Gayatri Rajan $51.00
Total $103.83
Tirumular Sannidhi Preservation Trust Shyarnadeva Dandapani $25.00
Total $25.00
Tirunavakkarasu Nayanar Gurukula Fund Vel Alahan $10.00 Paramaseeven Canagasaby $13.60 Ananda Sivanesan $33.32
Total $56.92 We especially thank those young children who gave a small amount, Total Recent Contrib. US$21,295.18 tithing from their allowance each month, creating positive patterns early in life. Total Endowment Funds US$2,243,065.630
INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND CONSULTANTS: Franklin Management Inc.; First Hawaiian Bank, Trust & Investment Division; Brandes Investment Partners, Inc.; Pacific Century Trust (Bank of Hawaii); Alvin G. Buchignani, Esq., attorney; and Nathan palani, CPA. HPIE is a member of the Council on Foundations, an association of 1,500 foundations which interprets relevant law, international and domestic, and gccounting, management and investment principles.
I WANT TO PARTICIPATE. WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY DONATION? You can send your gift to an existing fund, create a new endowment or request information through the address below. Credit card gifts may be made directly by E-mail. Or, use the HHE tear-out card in this magazine. to join our family of benefactors who are Strengthening Hinduism Worldwide. Thank you.
HINDU HERITAGE ENDOWMENT /
KAUAI'S HINDU MONASTERY 107 Kaholalele Road
Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746-9304 USA Tel: (800) 890-1008, Ext. 222
Outside US: (808) 822-31§2, Ext. 222 Fax: (808) 822-4351
E-mail: hhe@l)indu.org
www.hindu.org/hhe/
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MISSIONARIES
Savry Students
lJKE TO SEND YOUR
riends a digital postcard during a festival? Join an. on-line "chat" session to discuss pressing issues or nuances of Indian philosophy? Consult the sacred calendar, panchangam, for the year's festivals or the
~rV'oJj S W ~~ '2ij~~OS 0)
An e-mail postcard
daily astrological weather? Notify the Hindu Anti-Defamation League (write to editor@rbhatnagar.ececs. uc.edu) about insults in your local media? You can do all this at the Hindu Students Council's large website at www.hindunet.org. It surveys everything Hindu, plus
CD-ROM
Hindi's Digital Guru
E- MBARRASSED BY YOUR CHILDREN' S HINDI
on your last visit to relatives in India? Buy them "Hindi Guru," by Magic Software, and let their computer teach them Hindi by tak-
ing them on a digital visit to North India-recreat-
NEWS MEDIA
Zillions of Zines lOOKING FOR YOUR
L-favorite news publication on the Web so you can read it for free? Don't bother laboring
through generic search engines. Just go to "The Ultimate Collection of Newslinks" at http://ppp p.netllinkslnewsl, waere 7,000+ onlin,.e magazines and newspapers worldwide are conveniently organized by continent and country. More are added every few days,
ing experiences as the guest of a Hindu family. They'll learn traditional greetings and how to understand a Hindu wedding and more as the narrates standard conversational phrases, supplemented with cultural clues, songs, word games, a dictionary and illustrated encyclopedia. US$49.95. Write: Magic Software, F-6 Kailash Colony, New Delhi llO 048, India. E-mail: [email protected].
OUTER SPACE
Orderly Chaos
Indias anniversary. The Eye magaZine in India listing
and you can register your own publication in a flash. You'll find 62 links to Indian publications, ranging from The Hindu to Computer World. Nepal has eight links, Bangladesh eleven and even tiny Mauritius has eight. India's listing is the third most popular on this site.
IF YOU THINK OUR
cosmos is chaotic or empty, note these Upanishadic insights: "This whole uni:verse is subject to Life .. .. it is encompassed by order." Out of every seeming destruc-
GQd is the whQle universe. He is the GQd Qf life immQrtal and Qf all life
lives by fQQd. His hands and feet are everywhere. He has heads
and mQuths €ve{ywhere. He sees all, He hears all. He is in all. KRISHN~ Y~UR VED~, SVElASVATAIV\ UP~NISH~D 3.15-16