hinduism today, mar, 1998
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Hinduism Today, Mar, 1998TRANSCRIPT
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..... '·r~ ·'~,... Sanatana Dharma and Recording the Modern History of a Billion-Strong Global Religion in Renaissance
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COVER: The weaver-poet, Saint TlIUvalluvar, scribes his enduring scripture, the Tirukural, OR palm leaf, the paper of his day. (Above) Archives in Chennai, texts in-the Tamil language below. 1bis month we illustrate his ethical masterpiece. Page 20 . '
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INTERNATIONAL Lead Storr: Harvard's New Pluralism CD
Maps Americas Religious Topography 20 Encounters: Tolerance Isn't Enough 24 Mission: Satyamitranand in the UK 27 Fairs: Would You Buy a Used Elephant
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• • OPINION PubJjsher's Desk: He's One Worldly Teach.er
and He's Willing to Be Yo_ur Guru 10 LeUers 12 My ,-urn: Plea to You~h-Find the Truth 13 Editorial: Triumphalism Can't Triumph 16 Ayurveda: Guggal, New Healing Herb 45 Healing: AIDS, the Oonfusi9D Spreads 46 Minister's Message: BFeath Is Divine 50
~ . DIGESTS < ~ , Dlaspora ~ .- Quotes & Quips ~ Evolutions
7 News in Brief 17 Digital Dharma 46
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6
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Pandit Dwivedi Shastri
GUAElELOUPE
Roving Pandit ~ S A SYMBOL OF GUADE
J=\loupe's nascent Hindu renaissance, visiting Pandit Dwivedli Shastri presented a Ganesha statue to Jean-Claude Petapermal, president of the Caribbean island nation's Institute of the Indian World. The French-speaking brahmin pandit and astrologer expressed his hope that the statue would one day grace a traditional Hindu temple built for the 30,000 Guadeloupe citizens of Indian descent. The pandit performed satsangs and pujas across the island. He called for proper education of the community to counter the dominant Freneh acculturation and recommended creation of.a well-trained
ROYALTY
Queen Visits Arts School
Q UEEN ELIZABETH OF
Great Britain visited the famous Kalakshetra Foundation music and dance performing arts school in Chennai as part of her two-week state tour of India and Pakistan last year. R. Venkataraman, the former president of India, accompanied her as she walked through the seaside campus on the grounds of the Theosophical Society, visiting classrooms where st].l.dents demonstrated their skills, and watching a performance in the main auditorium. The school had been abuzz with excitement for weeKs prior to the short royal visit. It was a pleasant respite for the queen from a visit marred even before her arrival in India by gaffs in diplomacy and protocol. '
group of local priests. Britain's queen at Kalakshetra, Chennai
INTE lR FAITH
The Perfect Str::lnger ~U'VE BEEN INVITED TO
T the naming ceremony for your Jewish neighbor's newborn child. In the middle of the ser- • vice when the Torah scripture is beihg taken from its place on the altar, your beeper sounds with an important message from the hospital. Can you get up and leave without offending
CLOCKWISE F ROM TOP: J .S . SAHAI, AMI 'ItKUMAR, JEWISH LIGH TS, XALEKSHETRA SCH OQL
your friend or earning the icy stares of his entire congregation? It's not a question you're
,
Kanchi's Jayendra Saraswati and Vijayendra Saraswati
INTERFAITH
Kamakoti Head Visits Delhi
HIS HOLINESS JAYENDRA SARASWATI, SANKARACHARYA OF
Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam in South India, accompanied by his designated successor, Vijayendra Saraswati, received a nearroyal welcome in Delhi in November, orchestrated by the ruling BJP party. Large, official "Government of Delhi" newspaper ads announced his honoring not at one but several events. He was felicited by the former president of India, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the BJPs proposed primeminister (should they win the next elections), Delhi's chief minister, Sahib Singh, and BJP party vice-president Murli Manohar Joshi. The pontiffs message during the visit was that the Vedas contain the basic principles of right living. He urged people to "come off our lethargic attitude," remove differences and work for society. He dedicated a newly completed Adi Sankara temple and attended an All-India Vedic Conference. The two swamis arrived in New Delhi after touring Maharashtra, Uttara Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Nepal, Bihar and Kashmir.
likely to get answered in the middle of the service, but if you had already read Arthur J. Magida's new book, How to Be a Perfeq Stranger, you'd know just what to <to (stay put, in this cas~), not only in your neighbor's synagogue, but at weddings, funerals and holidays of nearly two dozen faiths including Christians of various denominations, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Jews. Each chapter systematically covers
Diversity's newest road map
what to wear, what to bring and what to do at each kind of ceremony or gathering. We can't vouch for the accuracy of the sections for other faiths, but the one on Hinduism has just a few mistakes-the name-giving ceremony, namakarana, for example, is confused with the fIrst giving of solid food, annaprasana. Technical errors aside, this is a very useful manual for navigating America's pluralistic religious landscape.
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M A RCH , Igg8 HIND U ISM TODAY 7
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The yasundhara swan boat on its Ganges River awareness trip
ECOLOGY
Another Kind of Swan Song VGE CROWDS GREETED THE SWAN-BEDECKED MOTOR
H launch of the Sri Ganga Conservation Awareness Trip at every stop from Calcutta to Allahabad. Swami Chidananda
Saraswati, president of the Divine Life Society of Swami Sivananda, traveled most of the journey on the boat. Dozens of other saints, politicians and ecological activists joined for all or part of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad program. Reports Rakesh K. Jaiswal of Eco-friends in Kanpur, "Millions of people were made aware of the pathetic condition of Ganga, and hundreds of thousands took a pledge to protect Her." The program's next stage is b~ educate the millions coming to the Haridwar Khumba Mela in Feb~ary-April.
THE VEDAS
God's Word, Sages'Voices
Let us now invoke for our aid the Lord of Speech, the Designer of all things that are, the Inspirer of wisdom! May He, the ever-kindly, be well disposed to our summons, and may He, whose work is goodness, grant us His blessing!
RIG VEDA 10.81.7
To the heavens be peace, to the sky and the earth; to the waters be peace, to plants and all trees; to the Gods be peace, to Brahman be peace, to all men be peace, again and again-peace also to me!
SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA 36.17
The Word, verily; is greater than name. The Word, in fact, makes known the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, the Atharoa Veda as the fourth, and the ancient lore as the
8 HINDUISM TODAY MA CH , 1998
NEW ZEALAND
Kiwi's Return •
to India
HENNA ON MY HANDS" IS A
TV-documentary prqduced for Asia Dynamic on the reallife arranged marriage of a New Zealand girl of Indian origin, Nalini Chhim~, to Prakash Kansara a boy from her father's ancestral village in India. The producer, Robin KingsleySmith, called it a '1abor of love," but some Hindu complained that it "painted a very negative image of our customs." The show explored the considerable cultural challenge faced by the New Zealand-raised girl adjusting to arranged marriage.
At the sacred marriage rite
EGYPT
Sri Chakra
I INDIAN RESEARCHER
R.K.S. Muthukrishnan believes Egyptian pyramid triangles are based on 'the same angles as the Sri Chakra and that the Egyptians may have followed a geometric cosmology similar to the Hindus.' He says the base angles, 51° and 52°, of the great pyramid of Giza match the central triangle ,of the Hindu mystic diagram.
fifth: the Veda of Vedas, the ritual for ancestors, calculus, the augural sciences, ethics, political science, theology; knowledge of the spirits, military science, astrology, the science of snakes and of celestial beings. The Word also makes known heaven, earth, wind, space, the waters, fire, the Gods, men, animals, grass and trees. It also makes known what is right and wrong, truth and untruth, good and evil, what is pleasing and what is unpleasing. Verily, if there were no Word, there would be knowledge neither of right and wrong, nor of truth and untruth, nor of the pleasing and unpleasing. The Word makes all this known. Meditate on the Word.
SAMA VEDA, CHANDOGYA UPANlSHAD 7.2.1
By means of the hymns one attains this world, by the sacrificial formulas the space in-between, by holy chants the world revealed by the sages. With the syllable Aum as his sole support, the wise man attains that which is peaceful, unaging, deathless, fearless-the Supreme.
ATHARVA VEDA. PRASNA UPANiSHAD 5.7
Homage to the source of health, and to the source of delight. Homage to the maker of health and to the maker of delight. Homage to the Auspicious and to the more Auspicious.
YAJUR VEDA TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD 4.5.8
Verses are drawn from various sources. Those taken from The Vedic Experience by Pro£ Raimon Panikkar are available at www.HinduismToday.kauai.hi.uslashramlDir-New.btml#VedExp.html
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Kriya Yoga is a direct gift from God, and was taught by Krishna to Arjuna (Gita 4:1-2). The modern revival of Kriya Yoga began in 1861 when Babaji initiated Lahiri Mahasaya. Swanli Shriyukteshwar, a realized disciple of Lahiri Baba, initiated Paramahamsa Hariharananda into original Kriya Yoga. Hariharanandaji also received direct teachings from Paramahamsa Yogananda.
Initiation is available at the Institute on Saturdays at 9 am. Monthly ten-day intensives are offered. Direct initiation is also available at more than 25 centers countrywide by monks and yogacharyas of this lineage.
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• June 27-July 25: Childrens'SUlllIDer Yoga Camp • June 28-July 4: Vedic Architecture, with Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, founder and research director of the Vastu Vedic Research Foundation, Madras, India • July 5-August 2: Yoga Teacher's Training course • August 2-9: Bhagavata Saptaham with Sant Venu Gopal Goswami • August 17-23: Vandana Shiva, director of Research Foundation for Science, Technology & Ecology, Dehradun, India and Andrew Kimbrell, founder National Centerfor Technological Assessment, Washington, DC
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God,God,God
A rare opportunity offered to my brothers and sisters all over the world .
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The Works of Swami Sivananda Radha Swami Sivananda Radha was trained in Yoga by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh. Her teachings are based on her 40 years of personal experience with the practices of Mantra, Kundalini, Hatha Yoga, Hidden Language, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and dreams. Free catalog of books/tapes/videos. Timeless Books • PO Box 3543 HT Spokane, WA 99220 USA. E.mail: [email protected] • Tel: 800-251-9273 • TelJFax: 509-838-6652
Mahabharata on tape or CD Enjoy this magnificent epic on audio tape or CD while on the road, or relaxing at home. Introduce your children to this immortal classic. Let them absorb its lofty ideals, its unforgetable characters and fabulous stories.
An exquisite reading of C. Rajagopalachari s translation, complete and unabridged.
"The rendering is specially good when it expresses the fear, excitement, anger, as
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9
PUBLISHER'S DESK
Everyo.ne H8S 8 Guru, Knowingly or Not Introducing Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguru Maha-Maharajji, the grea~ world teacher of hard knocks
BY. SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI
RI SRI SRI VISHVAGURU MAHA-MAHARAJJI IS SEEN IN THE picture to the right with· me in Rio de Janiero. What were we doing there? Well, it was the 1992 Earth Summit, when hundreds of political and religious leaders met to discuss the fate of mankind. It was only fitting that this worldly-wise
one be there at that time, .being a world teacher, a very strict one at that. Vishvaguruji, as I call him, teaches so patiently, yet accepts no excuses and remains unforgivingly exacting in his lessons. Everyone living on this planet has a guru, whether they know it or not. There are !hree kinds of gurus that are traditionally available to guide the souL The first, of course, are the parents. Next is the family guru, or a guru chosen by the children. The third guru, often the most attractive and always the most demanding, is Vishvaguruji. He does live up to his name in all ways, for vishva means "everything and everyone in the world," and guru, of cpurse, means "teacher." Maharaj is "great ruler."
When the world becomes the teacher, the lessons can be rough, enticing, unloving, endearing, unpleasant or full of temporary happiness. The world is relentless in its challenges, in the rewards it offers, the scars it leaves and the healing it neglects. The unrelenting Vishvaguruji works surreptitiously through the people you meet, as past life karmas unfold into this life. He never gives direct advice or guidance but leaves the lessons from each experience to be discovered or never discovered. His favorite sloka is 3111:1"12)"11(\ ~ -"Learn by your own mistakes." His way of teaching is through unexpected happenings and untimely events, which are timely from his point of view. Unnecessary karmas are created while the old ones that were supposed to be eliminated smolder, waiting patiently for still another birth. Pleasure and pain are among his effective methods of instructi n. He is the teacher of all who turn their backs on parents, elders, teachers, laws and traditions of all kinds.
Those on the anava marga, the path of the external ego, often claim to be their own guru. Some untraditional teachers even encourage this attitude. However, being ones own guru is a false concept. Traditionally, one would be his "own guru" only if he were initiated as such and his guru left the physical body. But even then he would be bound by the .lineage within the sect of Sanatana Dharma he dedicated his life to, and would still maintain contact with his guruji withirt the inner world. Therefore, he
_ would not really ever be his own guru at all. Being one's own guru .is a definite part of the anava marga, a very important part. It is
_. raw, eccentric egoism. A teenager doesn't become his own teacher in schooL A medical doctor doesn't become his own prof~ssor and then get a license to practice, signed by himself Nor does a lawyer, an engineer or even an airline stewardess. So, logic would
10 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH , 1998
tell us that those pursuing something as sensitive, as personal and final as the path to perfection cannot on their own gain the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful in this endeavor.
Well, we are having fun here, aren't we? But it is also a serious subject. Think about it. In the realm of training and responsiveness, we can say that there are two basic margas, or stages: the anava marga and the jnana marga, the path of wisdom. Those on the jnana marga know they need someone in their life who has already attained what they are seeking to attain, who can see ahead of their seeing and consciously guide them. This'is the traditional path of Hind\! dharma leading to Self Realization.
Those on the way of external ego have met many teachers, tested them very carefully and have found them all npt meeting up to their standards. They are the devotees of Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguru Maha-Maharajji, members of his Bhogabhumi Ashram, place of pleasure. The regular daily sadhana, discipline, is stimulating the desire for 'sex, for money, for food and for clothing.
Unlike other ashrams, here there are no apparent boundaries or clear-cut guidelines. Followers are free to do as they please. All classes are open to everyone, from the most refined studies to the most devious and low-minded. Advanced low-level classes feature how to "do in" your enemies and remain undetected; how to access pornography on the Internet, one of the great tools of the ashrapl, and then participate in the pleasures it recommends. There are courses on effective ways to beat the children, the wife, the husband to maximize domestic chaos. Executive education includes how to climb a corporate ladder, the pros and cons of saving face whell rightly accused and downing your accuser as misinformed or as a petpetualliar. One whole department is dedicated to selfindulgence. Advancements in technology provide never-ending novelty. Theres experiential training in crime and punishment, in I
terrorism and being terrorized, revenge, retribution and the quest for forgiveness. The ashram's brochure was mailed to me to publish in HINDUISM TODAY; ouf it was too extensive and provocative for our journal. (I'm sure its available on the Internet.) Vishvaguruji has teachers allover the globe, in every city and small community in every country. In fact, every facet of our lovely planet participates in his training programs at every moment in time.
Mid-range subjects include politics, how to lose and still gain in
the process. Love and relationships is very popular, with intensives in promiscuity, marriage, infidelity and divorce. How to find your little self and make it big-name and fame-is among the top ten pursuits. There are numerous variations on the acquisition and loss of property. Suicide and threatening suicide to get your own way have many students. Certain subjects are compulsory, including the quest: for health and longevity, and the reality of decline, death and dying. The emotional wing is always full, especially the se~sions on joy and sorrow. Anger is overcrowded, and jealousy, too. The list goes on and on. How to be totally committed to being noncommitted keeps many from advancing into higher grades. Keeping your children from becoming interested in religion, lest it hamper their education and job possibilities, has lots of apparently intelligent advocates. Making a living is one of the largest branches, with a recent addition of remaining sane while holding three jobs. Understanding your rebellious te~nager and other parenting challenges are very big. How to have a family and neglect it at the same time (subtitled Latch Key Kids) is the latest rage.
Most ashramites, or bhogis, are swamped with so many subjects. They struggle twenty-four hours a day and still never catch up. This is one tough school, and the odd thing is, enrollment is automatic; even without applying for 'a course, you wind up studying it. It's the default when the guidance of other gurus is rejected. Vishvaguruji has many doors for entering his ashram and only one for exiting. Gradually, eventually, and it may take many lifetimes, everyone comes to see that he is leading them to an understanding that every freedom has its price, every action its reaction, th'at the path to perfection is up and up and up. Recently 1 called Sri Sri Sri
Earth personified: Some have wondered whether the ancient world teacher Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguruji is a real be~ng or a fanciful fiction. His somewhat burdened existence is validated in the photo above, taken June 6, 1992, in Rio de Janeiro at the Earth Summit.
Vishvaguru Maha-Maharajji and suggested that students nearly ready to graduate might be recommended the solid principles of Sanatana Dharma, the less strenuous path of daily sadhana, right speech, right thought and right action, nOninjury-ahimsa-physically, mentally and emotionally. He complied. He understood. In fact, he said he's always drepping hints for his nearly five billion enrollees, that his every course points in iliat direction, though most students are very slow to catch on. He is infinitely patient.
So, you can tell your friends, "I have a guru and you have one, too. Everyone has a guru, whether they know it or not." All three gurus-parents, family guru and Vishvaguruji-unanimously say, "Its a dirty job, but somebody has to db it." Vishvaguru's school of hard knocks eventually, in this life or a future one, delivers all errant seekers back to a satguru, minister, rabbi, shaman or priest. To not repeat his training, you either learn through the tough reactions of his courses or gentler lessons under the guidance of the two other traditional gurus. All gurus are conspirators in the evolution of the soul, and Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguru Maha-Maharajji is no exception.
Well, Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguru Maha-Maharajji and 1 have become friends, partners, in the gruelfug guruing business. We understand each other and work together along with elders, swamis, gurus of all denominations of all religions. Oh! 1 almost forgot to mention: visit his home page: www.hindu.orglbhogal
MARCH, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 11
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December 25th's Pagan Roots IN REFERENCE TO YOUR EDITORIAL [IT'S Chrismastime in the Ashram Again, Dec;mber, '97], I don't think you"would 4nd any Christian historian who would deny that Christmas has pagan roots. For that matter, so does All Saints Day and Candlemas and Lady Day and, well, pretty much every traditional feast day. As you probably lq1ow, the Church deliberately "Christianized" Europe's older holy days. Whatever one might think of that practice (and the Puritans obviously hated it), I am not sure that it is in the same category as the horrible commercialization which, as Nis- '" senbaum rightly points out, has been around for quite a while. Also, I hope that Nissenbaum doesn't say, as your editorial seems to suggest, that Christmas first became important during the Reformation. Eastern Christians have never been verY' big on Christmas, but it wqs quite a lively feast day in the medieval West.
HEATHER ELIZABETH PETERSON GREENBEL~MARYLAND, USA
This Course,is on Course WE ARE DELIGHTED TO REPORT THAT THE first edition of the book Explaining Hindu Dharma: A Guide for Teachers, produced by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to aid teaching of Hinduism in British schools, has been sold out. The work has started on the second edition. This book tooK nearly three years to produce and has contributions from sixteen authors belonging to various Hindu organizations. HINDUISM TODAY also provided some very useful material for the book which presents the Hindu point of view to pupils from 5 to 16 years of age. This year thousands of 16-year-old students in the UK selected the option to study Hinduism for their GCSE (General Certificate of Education"Examination). Most of these students are non-Hindus. The book has received excellent reviews from schools teachers, inspectors and examiners.
NAWAL K. PRINJA RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SPOKESMAN
WORLD COUNCIL OF HINDUS UNITED KINGDOM
Enough with Tolerance I WAS INFURIATED TO LEARN ABOUT Chicago's nightclub, "Kafma" [Hindu Bar Protested, DIASPORA, January .' 98], which is one of the first Hindu '"theme bars." I hope the American Hindu Anti-Defamation Coalition files a lawsuit against this bar and puts it out of business. It is not enough to be just "shocked.' They have to act on their outrage. Hindus are tolerant to a fault. People have always taken advantage of their over-
12 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH, 1998
LETTERS tolerance, benign neglect and passivity. It is not uncommon to see Hindu gods, sages'and gurus being ridiculed in prime time sitcoms. It is time we fight back to protect our great religion and cultural heritage.
PRADEEP SRIVASTAVA DETROIT, MICHIGAN USA
'" I COMMEND THE LETTER BY MR. ARJUN J. Mehta and regret to say that your reply was disappointing not because it did not recommend violence but it promotes unquestioned tolerance [The Limits of Tolerance, LETTERS, January '98]. My view is that you can only forgive'a person, a community or a religion if it asks for forgiveness. I have yet to meet a Muslim who regrets what was and still is being done to Hindus where they are in a minority in Islamic nations. Forgiving what is not requested for is total cowardice, and we have probably used this aspect of our religion wrongly and unknowingly. It is time to say enough is enough and forgive those who ask for it.
'"
SHASHI H. DAVE OYSTER BAY, NEW YORK, USA
Let's Not Idolize I AGREE WITH A. K. NATARAJA (THE SEARCH is Within, LETTERS, November, '97) that we should be strong enough to resist external ridicule. However, I can also see Dr. Rambachan's point of view in his article (MY TURN, September, '97). The younger generation, especially those growing up in the West, need to have ambiguous terms cleared up since the language and wording we. use makes all the difference. I would like to point out that in the West and among those who profess to not being idol worshipers there is plenty of that very thing going on! When someone "idolizes" another person, one ~ho is full of flaws and physically mortal, whether it be a princess, a pop singer or a Ilolitician, then the true sin of idol worship is committed. When someone worships money, possessions or a vulgar pin-up girlthat is idol worship. It is harmless to have role models to look up to, but it is not healthy to "idolize."
SONIYA SHANKAR CORK, IRELAND
Surltrising Transformations YOUR' JANUARY '98 ISSUE, WITH ITS FOCUS on alternative medicine, was most interesting. I was particularly intrigued. by the comment in one of the articles [Welcome the-;New Healers, HEALTH] that the Johns Hopkins University and Medical Center, perhaps this country's leading hospital, now offers courses in alternative medicine.
In this regard, I was pleasantly shocked tW9 years ago when the main newsletter of this University did a large, full-page review pf my first book, The Astrology of Death. I didn't even know they had it! This book was specifically dedicated to bringing many of the ideas of Vedic astrology to.. Western astrologers. To my amazement, there was no mocking of the concept at all. Clearly the world of conventional medicine is indeed changing!
RICHARD HOUCK GAITHERSBURG, MARYLAND, US"A " [email protected]
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India in the Middle East WE IRANIANS LIKE INDIAN PEOPLE VERY much and are interested in getting acquainted with their culture, literature and religion-particularly mysticism'. I see students today inquiring about India. They learn of Hinduism by reading books like the Bhagavad Gita. They ask themselves, "How is this dreamy land in the new world? What happene'd to it in the age of speed?" Fortunately, we find out India still is India. We have reached this conclusion through your good magazine. It helps us to know and experience India today.
MARYAM AMINY SHIRAJ, IRAN
Toward Better Brahmins THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE SITUAtion of brahmin priests deserves much improvement. However, this cannot be accomplished in contegtporary India if they continue to claim superior . social status based on their birth and knowledge of rituals and scriptures. They will serve better their cause, as well as our religion, if they reach out to other Hindus, especially the socalled lower castes, and shed tJleir "touch me not" and "holier than thou" attitude and communicate with love. I am convinced that such a change will result in very posi-
, tive responses from the rest of the population and usher in a n~w renaissance of Hinduism, and also respect toward brahmins.
MUKUNDARAo BUCKHANNON, WEST VIRGINIA, USA
Letters with writer's n~e, address and daytime phone number, shou!Gl. be sent to:
Letters, HINDUISM TODAY
107 Kaholalele Road KAPAA, HI, 96746-9304 USA or faxed to: (BoB) 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 diversi~y among all sects and lineages; 2. To 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 flindu religion; 5. To nurture and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hinou renaissance. We invite our readers to share these purposes with us by WTiting letters, contributing reports and articles on events, sending news clippings and encouraging other to subscribe.
Publisher': Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Admin. Dir.: Paramacharya Bodhinathaswami Editor-in-Chie! Acharya Palanis~ami Publisher"s Aide: Acharya ~eypnswami Deputy Editor: Acharya Kumarswami Managing Editor: Sannyasi Arumugaswami Graphics Director: Sannyasi Natarajaswami Mauritius Editor: Sannyasi Murugaswami Mauritius Staff Writer: Sannyasi Devaswami Prod) Promotion Manager: Sannyasi Kathirswami Managing Ed. 's Aide: Tyagi Saravananathaswami Dep. Managing Ed.: Tyagi Karttikeyanathaswami Editor-in-Chiefs Aide: Yogi Yuganatha Advertising Manager: Sadhaka Jothinatha Subscription Manager: Sadhaka Haranandi~atha Correwondents: Gowri Shankar & Anandhi Ramachandran., Chennai; Choodarnani Shivaram, Bangalore; Rajil( Malik &: Mangala Prasad Mohanty, Delhi; V. S. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala; Basudeb Dhar, Bangladesh; Archana Dongre, Los Angeles; Lavina Melwani, New York; Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj, Kenya; Dr. Hari Bansh Jha, Nepal; Parasrarn Rarnoutar, Ani! Mahabir, Trinidad; Dr. Devananda Tandavan, Chicago; v.G. Julie Rajan, Philadelphia; Shikha
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Youths Need to G~asp 'The Value of Religion We will be neither happy nor successful if we fail to bring spirituality into our life
BY YARSHA RAMOUTA'R
R-ELIGION CAN BE DEFINED as a belief in, reverence for, or worship of a deity or deities and an observance
of a particular doctrine or doctrines. But religion is much more It is a way of life and a method of thinking, conduct and speech. Religion builds our character, instills in us values and inspires good deeds. It teaches us to be scrupulous and to know the difference between right and wrong. Thus, it'IIlolds our conscience. That is why religion is ~o important to the youth in society, especially now when there are so many distractions, avenues of escape to inlmorality and temptations to be led astray.
It seems as if the tapestry of a good, pure and disciplined society that took our forefathers lifetimes to weave has fallen to rapid moral decay and frayed ends. Abuse of drugs and alcohol, prostitution, defiance of parents and family life, theft, viotence and wanton destruction are rising rapidly, particularly ampng the twelve to twentyfive-years age group. Alcohol abuse is responsible for ramp911t drunk driving among the youth as well as sixty percent Q[ petty theft and fifty percent of spouse and sibling battery. We pick up the papers and read of so many crimes being committed by the youth of our country. Why? Can this be avoided or at least curbed? Of course it can! It all begins in the home. If each parent took his or her child to the temple, church or mosque and brought them up in an atmosphere of spiritual knowledge, there would not be as many lost people out there. The vicious circle of domestic violence, oppression and hate would be broken.
Wisdom, no matter how little, goes a long way. Religion and God would provide a haven, a phice of hope when feeling distraught and love'when experiencing nega-
tivity. They will make and keep you strong. Adversity will not hold you down, but spur you on to achieve more. When you think all has failed and a fight between you and the world is on, your faith will be your weapon. This is very, very important for the youth. I cannot even begin to stress its significance. The figures of academic
dropouts and suicides are increasing. Times are tough. Students are giving their all, but they seem to just fall short. Frustration and the thought of themselves as failures eat their spirit away. They loose sight of all their hopes and aspirations, and they shut the gates to imagination and sinother their dreams. If they only knew that with faith they could,fly anywhere, no matter how many obstacles come in their way.
Youth is often described as the springtime of our lives. It is when we are most energetic, imaginative, impulsive and carefree, living life to the fullest. Religion -in youth helps us to enjoy all these, and other things, even more. We learn to appreciate life for what it was, what it is and what it will become. We learn to see peo-. pIe f9r who they are, and not what they can offer. We learn to laugh and sing with our spirit, to let our personality shine through our eyes, to appreciate nature and all its glory. We learn what it truly means to be free.
As we go through life, the lessons will be many. But our life will be incomplete without love; love's glory will never shine without freedom; freedom will never be ach1eved without peace; and peace cannot exist without spirituality-our religion.
VARSHA RAMOUTAR, 22, is a veterinary medical science student at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.
MARCH, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 13
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loVING GANESA 800 Lavishly nIustrated Pages on Ganesa
by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Learn about Ganda's powers, pastimes, mantras, miracles, nature, science, forms, sacred symbols and much more! There
is no book about Ganda that's more complete. The Lord of Dharma comes to life through the pages of
this inspired masterpiece. Loving Ganesa makes
MONK'S COOKBOOK A tasteful arrangement of South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes perfected in homes and temples as offerings to the Lord. Indian ashrams serve the finest cruelty-free meals enjoyed anywhere, and the monks at Kauai's Hindu Monastery carry on that 6,000-year-old tradition. Believing that good food is humankind's best medicine,
they are sharing their secret collection of recipes gathered over the years. Includes a comprehensive introduction to ayurveda as it applies to nutrition and health, including the values of spices and herbs and their effects on the body. Sturdy wire binding, sW'x U;' 104 pages, $19.95.
approaching Ganda easy and inspiring. '~ copy of Loving Ganesa should be placed in every library
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AUM NAMASIVAYA BRACELET With this handsome piece of Indian jewelry for men or women, you can wear the most sacred Saiva mantra, ''Aum Namasivaya;' all day as a reminder of God's grace at work in your life. Best quality, made in India from silver, copper and brass, with the mantra in Sanskrit Devanagari script. Band is five-eighths inches wide. Excellent for gifts. $30.
THE VEDIC EXPERIENCE Back when we were gathering Vedic verses for Dancing
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RUDRAKSHA PRAYER BEAD NECKLACES It's very hard to find rudraksha prayer strands of this quality, and the price is unbeatable. The beads are sacred to Siva and endowed with healing properties. The beads are of uniform size, 3/S inches in diameter, in two styles: lOS beads on flexible thread, or 54 silver capped beads. Can be worn as a necklace or around the wrist. $25.
DANCING WITH SIVA
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BRASS DEITY MURTIS We commissioned craftsmen in South India to make quality bronze murtis for the home altar, hand forged and etched in the traditional way. Six-inch standing Ganesha, three-inch Sivalinga, and a six-inch Ardhanarishvara. Supplies are limited. Each statue is $45.
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EDITORIAL creeds. In many hearts and nations
One pay' My Religion Will Ru'le the World
religious triumphalism is still the flavor of choice. What is triumphalism? Prof Durwood Foster of the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, defines it as the belief which "assumes the primacy of one's own values and the right to rule others." It is the hope that my religion will
. one day rule all others, that it will take · over the world, eIlminate lesser dogmas, and reign as the global mega-faith. Many wish this in their hearts, though they may not openly speak of it outside their own circles. Triumphalism is found in all religious communities. For the religious right in many spiritual Naditions, it IS a
Irs called triumphalism, and it seem.s that almost nobody is immune from its conceits
\
BY THE EDITOR
ARVARD UNIVERSITY'S GROUND BREAKING PROJECT
on religious pluralism in America [page 20] is a potent sign of our multicultural times. To some it is a joyous • sign, a welcome reconciliation in which past hatreds are being hammered into present understandings. To many it
is a frightful omen, a most unwelcome misapprehension that will dilute and destroy Christianity's historic dominance in the United States. Hindus, of course, tend to side, with the first view. In fact, most Americans do. But by all means not all. .
Those who stand opposed to Harvard's celebration of religious differences are justifiably worried. Within a few short decades, the religious rainbow in America has grown from a basic pallet of red, white and blue-Protestant, Catholic and Jewish-to a dozen or more colors with many subtle hues between. As new pigments are added, basic colors are both enriched and diluted. That dilution worries those who love plain red. They don't want pm'k or rose. They may detest cerise, vermilion and maroon. While we see it as a more colorful world, they are seeing red.
And for good cause. Consider NEWSWEEK'S December 15 cover which asked, "Whose Faith for the Kids? Mixed Marriages, Holidays and Hard Choices." The story reveals a growing trend for people to marry ,outside their born religion, and what happens to the children raised in a multi-faith home. In describing how interfaith marriages are "creating, irr effect, a new form of religious ictentification in America, analogous to the 'mixed race' category," the story tells of Dilip Visvanath and Carmen Guerra, two doctors raisM in New York City. They were married at a Hindu temple in Queens on Friday night, and again by her Catholic priest the following morning in Manhattan. Speaking of their hopedfor children, Dilip said, "We want to expose them to both religions."
Similarly, Muslims are marrying Mormons, Jews are espousing El"iscopalians and Buddhists are wedding JaiJ).s. How profoundly is this affecting these communities? Very. NEWSWEEK cites several studies which conclude that today 50% of all American Jews marry.partners of ~ other faiths, as do 21 % of Catholics, ~ 3Q.% of Mormons and 40% of Muslims. U
Hindus have no such statistics, but certainly they would be comparable.
Even with all this mixing and mingling of isms, America is not freed of religious conflicts, and the rest of the world has yet to . experience the full impact of a free-flow of peoples and their
16 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH, 1998
mantra: "We shall overcome. Our God. will be the judge of all who worship at lesser altars. This is our mission on Earth,
our prayer and promise." Ahem! The definition of triumph derives from a military parade for Ro-
man conquerors returning from war. The qualification was • . simple-he had to have won a battle in which at least 5,000 enemies were killed. That sense of conquest abides in the word as applied to religion, though the battlefield now is more in people's hearts and minds. Religious leaders still perceive the struggle between faiths in warlike terms, their missions as campaigns, their gains as conquests, their losses as being besieged. Evangelists still love to sing "Onward, Christian Soldiers!"
Lest you find yourself taking refuge in the fact that not all faiths think in such bellieose terms, ponder this. On the World Wide Web this month you can follow an internal debate in the Bahai faith about triumphalism. That's right, Bahai, one ot: the most embracing and tolerant faiths in existence, one which has suffered the most harmful hubris of which triumphalism is capable, is itself wrestling with t;he notion that it may become the world religion of the future. If a small and tolerant religion like Bahai can dreain such triumphal dreams, imagine what nightmares larger faiths are capable of. An~ don't get too smug. Even our own Hinduism is not exempt, though we may be masters of the subtler martial arts. While accept'hg all faiths, Hindus also,take a kind of perverse pride in our universalism, noting-even when we don't say it-that our religion teaches the principle qf "Truth is one, paths are many" or "Yoga'~ light illumines all religions." This being true, all faiths are part of the Sanatana Dharma:. So, in a sense, all are following our path,
right? It's a philosophical triumphalism, and though we don't apply it to convert and condemn, we apply it nonetheless.
Christians appear to be discovering the dangers of triumphalism, and theFe are signs that a wiser view is being adopteg. Read From Triumphalism to Maturity by Harvard's Donald A. . Carson. Whenever we feel the flush of our ancientness and our all-embracingness, we can recall that is only our vieW and give honor to others' ways. That said, we need not accept the argument, still common in the Abrahamic faiths
that their scriptures coJ.{imission them to evangelize the Earth, and since we claim to respect their faith we must accept their mission. We must do no such thing. Instead, we can remind them of the simple rule oflaw taught in first-year torts classes: Your right to swing your arms freely ends at my nose.
I
ms "There is enough in this worJd for everyone's need, but there is riqt .. enough in this world for everyone'~greed." . .
Fran~~ and Ernest
ty"1
tf" '
The arrow is straight but cruel; the lute is crooked but sweet. Therefore.! judge men
• by ~eh" acts, not their appearance. Tirukural, Verse 279
If you don't believe in reincarnation, don't worry. You probably will in your next lifetime. Swami Beyondananda
The Chinese may have Tai Chi, but tasteful Indians have Chai·Tea!
There are voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and ~audible as we enter into the world. American poet, lecture1" and Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) who, disillusion,ed by Chnistianity, taught that God could best be ,found by looking inward to one's own Sot?!. •
Mah~tma Gandhi (186g-1948)
WANT TO HAVe AN OUT-Of!- 'ObY eXPE~/~N'~1 ~ PON'T
'LAMe YOU.
One has to discover the voidness of the seeming full before one can know the , fullness of the seeming void. Ram Swarup, in an essay comparing Hinduism with Buddhism.
Student activist U Aung Ko: "We will need to make an offering." American visitor Laura: "What kind of offering?" U Aung Ko: "That would depend on how much good karma you want for your llext life." Laura: "Hmm, I can't plan that far ahead."·U Aung Ko: "Then some fresh fruit from the market will do!" from the Hollywood mov~e "Beyond Rangoon," as U Aung Ko and Laura prepare to enter a Myanmar (Burmese) temple. •
I'M TRYING TO CUT DOWN ON MY AifACHMENT5.
"l~
EATING CHOCOLATE 15
MY.'GONE.~ 50,IVE TAKEN A VOW TO -------AB5TAIN FROM CHOCOLATE.
DID YOU KNOW?
Serious Studiousness HE WORLD'S FIRST UNIVERSITY
was established at Takshashilla, well known as Taxila (in India's
northwest region), in approximately 700 BCE. Another large university was founded at Nalanda in Bihar circa 500 CEo According to Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang, the Taxila campus housed 10,000 students and 2,000 professors. Students from as far away as China came to obtain a religion-based education.
More enlightening than a course on enlightenment. Sri Sri Sri Vishvaguru MahaMahariiji speaking of how, he, the world, teaches Dharma to people who follow his path. (See page 10)
Seek truth in meditation, not in molp.y books. Look to the sky to fmd the moon, "not in the pond. Persian proverb
MARCH, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 11
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18
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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• Monier Williams. Sanskrit-English Dictionary • Singh. Siva Sutras. • MacDonell. Vedic Grammar for Students. • Miller. Hindu Monastic Life. revised edition • Keshavadas. Ramayana at a Glance. • Wade. Music in India, Classical Traditions. • W.J. Wilkins. Hindu Mythology. pa. rep.
Also: 3,000 titles on our new web site.
8.50 16.00 9.00
• Ramanashram • Anandashram • Ramakrishna Order
For the new illustrated Motilal1996 catalogue containing 350 items, or for lists of books on yoga or ayurveda, novels, children's books, write or call:
• Anandamayi Ma • Scriptures-Puranas, versions of Srimad Bhagavatam, Ramayana, Mahabharata etc. Free LIGHTS OF GRACE catalog. Blue Dove Press
South Asia Books • PO Box 502 Columbia, MO 65205-0502 USA Tel: 573-474-0116 • Fax 573-474-8124 E-mail: [email protected]
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Tel: 619-271-0490 .Fax: 619-271-5695 • [email protected] Visa, MC, checks accepted.
February 27-March 2, 1998 Keauhou Beach Hotel • Kona, HawaII
(5 miles south of Kona on the Big Island)
• Over Ten Faculty, Including: Chakraeanl Ullal, Dr. David Frawley, Dennis Harness, Ph.D. Christina Collins-Hili, Dennis flaherty, James Kelleher, Ravlnder Angrlsh, Edith Hathaway, William Levacy, and Achcuya Ceyonswaml
• Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Classes • Registration fees: (for Main Symposium 2!1.7-3/t)
$220 by feb. to, .998 $245 after ~eb. .6, .998
($25 DISCOUNT FQR ACVA MEMBERS)
• Special Reduced Hotel and Car Rental Rates
. '
Eor more Infonnatlon contact: INSiflTUTE OF VEDIC ASf,ROL(t)(iy P.o. Box 2149, Sedona, A:r1zona 86339
o Please register me for attendance at the Vedic Astrology in Paradise, February 27-March 2, 1998, at the Keauhou Beach Hotel, Kona, HI Enclosed is payment of $ __ for __ Registration fee(s)
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caIl>B00-900-6595
o Please send more information about the conference and hotel. * Optional pre-conference introductory classes and post-conference
Intensives w1ll also be offered.
,
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Yoga Vani Instructions for the attainment of Siddhayoga during sadhana. postpaid: US$13.50 (USA) $16.50 (Canada)
Gum Bani 100 ways to attain inner peace. How to live a spiritual life--for monks and families. postpaid: US$9.50 (USA) $12 .. 50 (Canada)
The Major Distributor of books from India.
A sampling from our catalog: • The Broken Tusk: Stories of Ganesha. Krishnaswami. US$19.95 • Hindu Astrology Lessons: 36 Teachers Share Their Wisdom. Ed. by Richard Houck. $16.95 • Lakshmi Puja, Dipavali Puja: Book with Cassette. $12.95 • Book of Daily Prayer for All: Meditations on Siva-Sakti. Das. $9.95 • Sacred Hindu Symbols. Chatterjee. $23.00
• Two-year Ayurveda Certification Programs in person or by correspondence (either by post or via e-mail)
• Vishnu and His Incarnations. Gupta. $16.00 • Vedanta: What Can It Teach? Raina. $18.00 • Light of Tmth. Dayanand Saraswati. $20.00
Ayurvedic Products Distributors-wholesale or retail Catalog: $1.00 (free via e-mail) • Consultations.
• Secret Power of Tantrik Breathing. Swami Sivapriyananda. $10.00 • My Music, My Life. Ravi Shankar. $25.00
Ayurveda Holistic Center clo Swami Narayan Tirtha Math
• Namanjali: An Identity-Not Just a Name. Usha Kedia $9.95 VisalMC accepted.
82A-H Bayville Ave. Bayville, NY 11709-1671 USA TeVfax: 1-516-628-8200 • Ask for Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha E-mail: [email protected]
Nataraj Books 7073 Brookfield Plaza • Springfield, VA 22150-2915 USA Tel: 1-703-455-4996 • Fax: 1-703-912-9052 Web: http://ayurvedahc.com (Free interactive dosha self-test
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Available at bookstores everywhere Visa/MC Orders (Dept. HTC) 24-hour fax: 800-801-1952 or
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· COMMUNITY
Stirring 'Up: the Melting Pot Harvard~s Pluralism Project Delivers a Ground-brecikipg CD-ROM: On Comrrwn Ground
By LAVINA MELWANI, NEW YORK au ARE ABOUT TO GO ON A PIL
,grimage. Not to India's Kashi or Vrindavan, but to the sacred sanctu
aries of the United States of America. You will visit the more than 80 Hindu temples scattered across the conti~
n'ent, including the towering Sri Venkateswara -Temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Chola-styl~ Meel\akshi Temple in Texas, and America's oldest Hindu temple, located in Queens, New York. Y<'lU'li also immerse yourself in every nuance'of Hinduism as you listen to priests, devotees and second-generation youth talk about their faith. You'll see the rituals of puja, listen to the Ganesha Saranam chant and much, much more-all V\.\ithout leaving home.
All you need to embark upon this intriguing journey is a computer and the remarkable multimedia CD-ROM, On Comnwn Ground: World Religions in America (1997, Columbia University Press, New York). A few hours of browsing will take YOllFnot only through the salient points of Hinduism in the US, gut also of 15 other world religions now thriv,ing in this multicultural climate. Besides countless churches and synagogues, there are now hundreds of mosques, ,temples, shrines and meditation halls scattered '
20 HINDUISM TODAY M 4; RCH, Igg8
... through every town and city. Some even share the same street. "
How are the tra'ditions evolving, and what are the problems and issues facing faiths that alight in this land? How is America itself changing as a result? These are questions that Comnwn Ground asks and answers. It is the fruition ,of fastidious work by Diana L. Eck and the Pluralism Project at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massa- . chusetts. Eck, Profe§sor of Comparative Re-. ligion and Indian Studies at Harvard, spent over three intensive years with her team of researchers to actualize this powerful social education tool.
Eck is convinced that the Eastern religions in the US have adapted and evolved, and that the influx of new immigrants has, in hirn, transformed US communities. Once foreign, these transplanted cultures and their faiths are now integral. They have become American. "This is happening before our very eyes," Eck narates, "and historians of religion need to pay attention to it. it is the ongoing history of religion .... America is changing, too, as ~ begin to appropriate thls much more complex religious pluralism."
The world's religions in your hand: On Comnwn Ground documents the changing face of faith in over 18 communities in 400
centers, from Buddhist temples and Islamic centers to Christian churches and their di
'Verse denominations. The CD is in three main parts. A New Religious Landscap~ in-
vestigates the diversity in 18 regions of the US. At the click of a mouse one can access a comprehensive directory of mosques, temples and gurudwaras (Sikh temples). Maps
locate the centers-and addresses and phone n,!Pllbers are included! There are over 400 portraits of different centers. America's Many. Religions covers 15 different faiths,
Team-CD: (left to right) Grove Harris, Satnam Khalsa, Sam Herring, Diana Eck, Jenny Juyun Song, Ellie Pierce and Lance Laird
'" giving in-depth information on core beliefs, praptices and the challenges, historical overviews, timelines, discussions of religious practices and profiles ofleaders. Encountering Religious Diversity takes on the hard issues faced by each religion as it tries to fit into the surrounding community. Hindus may be surpri?ed to see and hear how oth-er faiths face the exact same obstacles they do, such as zoning and traffic complaints as attempts to stop temple building. Encounter- , ing Religious Diversity engages one to consider how passive tolerance can be turned int0 truly interactive religious pluralism, and discusses the ups and downs of this path. - The CD features an abundance of movies that bring each religious tradition to life as real people tell their stories. Excellent photographs show devotees engaged in day to day practices. Music of the various traditions augments the cultural"diversity even further. These real-life glimpses have a magical way of instilling a feeling of empathy, a djstinct feeling that "We are all in this together" and "Those people are not so different from us." If the CD is taken up by schools across the nation as expected, the social impact of youth's increased understanding will be unprecedented. One scholarly reviewer affirms that, "Every social studies teacher in America should have this CD."
There's more, including over 100 technical documents-a treasury of data for students and academics. All this is supplementedget this-by a comparative thematic index, a glossary, bibliography ' and a guide written by Eck. Online updates and an expanding database are available at the Columbia University Press website (see end of article). The Pluralism Project offers affiliate grants for "professors and/or departmen!s to involve themselves and their students in research on the changing religious life of their city or region ... and the new patterns of religious and interreligious involvement in •
MARCH, Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 21
/
American civil society." Applications can be found online.
Media for tlie masses: CD-ROM was chosen as the most effective technology to give students and academics the prodigious fmdings of the Pluralism Project's years of massive research. As Eck points out, education is one arena where inter..religious encounters can be intense, because school and college communities most reflect the diversity of society. She says, "Teaching about .religion is important in public school curriculums. For too long we have had the idea that it is less controversial to steer away from religion in curriculum. This is the moment in American history when we are trying hard to correct that."
This is a comprehensive teaching tool that makes it fun to learn about religion. In its fair and balanced way it gives answers to the many questions which minority children often ponder. Since religious and community leaders have given their own input, the information is correct and personable. Children and teenagers who I]1ay balk.at being force-fed religion will certainly be drawn toward Common Ground. They can play the quicktime movies and learn an eye and earful about Hinqu pujas; see Cat Steven's call to prayer; or hear gospel music from San Francisco and on and on. it is an irresistible invitation to pigh school students to become interested in the religious diversity of their area. They can enter through the US gateway map to find out what's happening in their vicinity. Teachers, too, are empowered to explain religion fairly and accurately with this CD as the guide. Hindus will fmd many fascinating facts about their own faith, and parents will fmd answers to questions their children ask about the reasons for rituals.
The history of tHe growth of Hinduism and the other world religions in America makes for interesting reading. In the early days,. when there were few temples and mosques, people would meet informally in each other's homes and pray at the home shrine. Yet, as each community established itself, a place cl worship was established, ,
22 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH, 1998
and cultural life flourished around that hub. At first, many temples and mosques were in makeshift quarters ~ or loaned premises span- ~ ning everything from a for - ><
mer mattress showroom in ~ '" Northridge, California, to a ~
YMCA in New Jersey. The ~ Muslim and. Hindu commu- .., nities of Houston, Texas, ~ gathered for prayers in the ~ multi-faith Rothko Chapel 81.. ____________ ~ ____ ... 1_
until they built their own centers. The Houston Zoroastrians still gather in this chapel while they complete their own Dar-e-Mehr. Sikhs in Queens, New York, established their gurtidwara in a former church while Muslims in Chicago started out with an old movie theater as their . community center.
The CD shows how Hinduism is changing as it becomes counted as an American religion. While vast numbers of Americans converted to Hinduism through vari~us organizations, born Hindus living in America are becoming mpre Americanized in thclr ways. The CD defines the trend, ']\merica's great new Hindu temples signal the presence of a religious community that has taken to American ways, with the spirit .of volun-
teerism that is so typical of America's many religious traditions. Membership dues, annual fund-raisers, temple publication~ and newsletters, videotapes of temple festivals and audio tapes of devotional music are all now part of the American temple milieu." ,
Many of the newer temples are an amalgam of Hindu and AmeJjcan styles, incorporating just a few ornate touches, while others go for overt Hindu architecture. The magnificent Sri Meenakshi Temgle in Pearland, Texas, for instance, echoes the architecture of South India. The Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago has a complex which 'houses both a Sri Rama Temple and a Ganesha-Siva temple, with a 8o-foot-tall temple
tower. Indeed, the Hindu identity and what constitutes a Hindu is constantly being negotiated in America, as fudians from different regions and communities reside in close proximity. In Nashville, Hindus building, a temple sent out a ballot to decide which would be the central Deity, since there are worshipers of Kali, Krishna and Shiva in their area. It was democratically voted to choose Lord Ganesha. In Livermore, the community decided on a joint Shiva-Vishnu Temple, thus appeasing the devotees of both Gods. IJl most temples, in deference to the many languages spoken by Indians, the literature is often in English. Where popula-
-I
Clickable culture: Screen captures show the elegant graphjcs and easy navigation windows. Windows of four of fifteen traditions are shown, along with the main entry window and the gateway to the religiOns. (Below, left to right) Pagan, Hindu, JeWish, American Indian (NavajO), Christian and Muslim images from movies on the CD.
1~~~~~~~1-' t .... 00 ...
tions are largely from one area of India, the temples are more insular.
As Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Budqhists, Jains and :Barsis become Americas next door neighbors, service providers, teachers, physicians and friends, the Eastern religions lose their strangeness. Intercultural marriages, too, are adding to the climate of tolerance and pluralism. Hinduism is especially qualified to participate in this new drive. As explained in the CD, " 'The one and the many.' No other theme in India has played so co'nstantly, like a continuously evolving raga, a musical scale with a multitude of variations. No culture on Earth has developed as complex an understanding of human and Divine as Hindu India. To say 'This is the one and only' may be a marker of importance to other cultures. Hindu India, however, has long taken a different measure of the meaning of plurality."
Altf.ough dotbusters, hate crimes, vandal-
izing of Hindu shrines and burning of mosques are realities, as are the bigoted statements of people like Pat Robertson, the truth j s that there are a multitude of ways that America's civic life is changing because of ~ew initiatives of inter-religious cooperation. After all, America was the site of the first World Parliament of Religions way back in 1893 and again, one hundred years later in 1993. In cities across America, there are sincere efforts at interfaith dialogue and experiments i1l, living together. Observes Diana Eck, "We see both things happening in the US. We can see incredible religious chauvinism on all sides and also attempts at ' cooperation and bridge-building that are virtually unprecedented. I think the picture is more optimistic than not."
On Common Ground is impressively com.prehensive, and it takes several long and focused sittings to absorb all its information. The same insight, depth and detail about Hinduism in American that we have just discussed is there for each of the 14 other religions. Its many navigatioflal options give freedom to wander off in diverse directions and explore as inspiration 'directs. On Com"!On Ground's world of intriguing facts can be the starting point for dialogue, tolerance and, better still, advises Eck, religious pluralism. It clearly should be required browsing at schools, colleges and places of worship. "Part of the strategy of the CD," Diana explains, "is to give the teacher a company of friends and scholars from a variety of standpoints to be present in the classroom to talk about each faith. Since a variety of voices are included, you get the idea that these religions are not monolithic. You begin to understand each religioris tradition as a conversation, and sometimes even as an argument. All the ideas we have about one another can actually be transformed when we meet one another. The CD is a way to meet one another in virtual space." . :..;
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 136 SOUTH BROADWAY, IRVI N GTON, NEW YORK 10533 USA. TEL: (USA) 1-800-944-8648;
FAX (USA), 1-800'944-1844; E-MA.IL: [email protected]
httpilwww.columbia.edulculcup ,. httpilwww.fas.harvard.edul- plUlalism •
MARCH , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 23
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7'
. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Let's Go Beyond. Tolerance" A Harvard professors report c¥d on religion
By LAVINA MELWANI, NEW YORK
IMAGINE BEING COVERED IN COLORS
from head to toe and having to walk several blocks in crowded Manhattan. This is the predicament Diana Eck, Director
of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University, found herself in after attending an avid celebration of the Hindu Holi festival at the Pushtamargi Temple in Sayerville, New Jersey. "They had a bonfire in the parkiNg lot and were throwing colors back and forth between the pujari [priest] and the worshipers," she recalls. '~ll of us were smeared with red powder. I was splattered with color allover IIJ.y face, my hair, my clothes. I didn't quite know what to do. So I just drove into Manhattan, through the toll booth, and parked in a garage in the Upper West Side and walked five blocks to the apartment building I was staying in. Literally no one noticed my appearance, and that is a tremendous testimony on the diversity of New York City. I was walking home from Holi as if I were in Vrindavan!"
Dr. Diana L. Eck"has been following the growth of Hinduism in America fer many years. She is also Chair of the Committee on the S!udy of Religion in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the international presidium of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. Eck has spent some time at Banaras Hindu University and is the .. author of Banaras, City of Light and Darshan: Seeing the Divine Image in India, among other books. Beginning around 1990, she noticed more and more s~cond-generation South Asians in her classes, children who had grown up in America.: as Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Jain. She recalls: "I realized at that point how much the religious communities of America must be changing. I developed a research project that used Harvard students, employed them as summer re!:earchers to do hometown research in Denver, Houston, Salt Lake City and Chicago to fmd out exactly what was happening."
From these early beginnings evolved the Pluralism Project, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment and the Pew Charitable
24 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH, 1998
Trusts, and the end result was On Common Ground: World Religions in America [see article page 20]. The most exciting part for all the researchers involved with the project was the illuminating hands-on experience of
doing the research, of putting themselves over and over in the position of b~ing a stranger in someone else's community. Eck herself recalls witnessing Baisakhi celebrations at a gurudwara (Sikh temple) in Fairfax County, VIrginla. "I remember arriving at that gurudwara at six in the evening as a total stranger and leaving at midnight from the midst of what really felt like a new family." One of the things Eck has noticed in her research is the gradual Americanization of Hinduism as it takes root in this country. She observes, "The Hindu temple in Troy, Michigan, is very unusual as an American • Hindu temple because it has brought t0gether people from a vast spectrum of society who have tried to design a Hindu temple that really is American." The temple is designed in the typically Western way, with a vast auditorium, ibckers for shoes, a large kitchen, skylights and a big congregation hall. She says, "They actually hired an architect to design not a Chola Hindu temple, but an American Hindu temple."
Eck, who has visited many temples and witnessed countless rituals, fmds that traditions of North and South India often merge in America \is the Indians here try to find a happy compromise. She recalled how the elaborate Ram Navami celebrations at the temple in Troy incluqed the marriage of Sita and Ram in a typically South Indian context followed by rounds of Om Jai Jagdish Hare, a time-honored North Indian song. And in a nod to the Americanization of Hinduism, this was followed b¥ a delightful play about Hanuman versus Superman by high school students. She says, "The play was touchingly devotional, but entirely presented in an American teenage idiom that was very winning." •
. Still, there exists an obvious gap between our 'live and let live" attitude and our actu~ al living together. Eck believes Americans need to step up from simple, passive tolerance to actIve pluralism. "Tolerance lets lie the half-truths and the half-baked stereotypes we hold. If there are incidents of vandalism, people aren't prepared to responeV because they just don't have accurate information. Our diversity is encountered in very critical areas-schools and colleges, hospitals and the military-so we certainly do need to know more about each other. That, to me, is the difference between mere tolerance and an active, generative pluralism, which requires an engagement beyond tolerance." ...
\
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Kriya Yoga Seminars: US, Can., Europe Roy Eugene Davis, a disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, will teach in these cities:
• Los Gatos, CA: Mar. 12 • Vancouver, BC: Mar. 17 • Ashland, OR: Mar. 20-22 • Dallas, TX: Apr. 4 • Munich, Germany: Apr. 18, 19 • London, UK: Apr. 25 • Detroit, MI: May 9
Request information and our free book catalog: Center For Spiritual Awareness • PO Box 7-H Lakemont, GA 30552 USA Tel: 706-782-4723. Fax 706-782-4560 E-mail [email protected] • Website http://www.csa-davis.org
Roy Eugene Davis' Books in India: (when ordering by mail add Rs. 15 postage each book) B. Jain Publishers • Post Box 5775 New Delhi 110 055
An Easy Guide to Ayurveda, Rs. 45 Motilal Banarsidass, Publishers 41 U.A., Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 110 007
The Book of Life, Rs. 65 A Master Guide to Meditation, Rs. 85 Life Surrendered in God (yoga-sutras), Hardcover, Rs. 295 • Softcover, Rs. 195.
Moneesh Resources - Gifts and Books
For the past 18 years, we have developed an extensive collection of gifts, statues and books to support you in your spiritual upliftment.
• A broad collection of spiritual texts of all traditions, esp. Hindu-Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Puranas, etc . • The fmest rudraksha malas, custom made-gold-filled, 14k gold, with silver etc . • A wide collection of wrist or necklace malas in various stones and styles • Statues of deities: Ganesha, Krishna, Shiva Nataraj, etc. • Posters, calendars and notecards of deities from the finest artistsall sizes • Puja and meditation items: Incense, prayer shawls, wool meditation asanas, cushions and more • Alternative health care remedies and books: ayurvedic and herbal preparations, essential oils and related books • Apparel: hatha yoga T-shirts and mats, meditation clothes, kurtas and dhotis
Call or write for our free catalog!
Moneesh Resources 467 Brickman Rd., Hurleyville, NY 12747-5314 USA Tel: 914-434-8990 • Fax: 914-435-0018
Deities Gilded in 24 K. Gold Ganapati sitting (or dancing), Ram Darbar, Lakshmi, Shiva-Parvati, Durga, Shirdi Sai Baba, Hanuman, Santoshi Ma, Tirupati Balaji, VIshnu, Shiva Nataraj, Krishna, Krishna with Cow. 3 to 5" (7 to 12 cm) high. $19.95 to $39.95. $3.50 shipping. Catalog. Discounts for retailers and temples.
Nirvana Collection 94 Route 416, Campbell Hall, NY 10916 USA. Tel: 800-374-2304 or 914-294-1498 • Fax 914-294-3870.
Superlative Tours to India-1997-98 • Tour 1: March 7-22, '98
Celebrating Phagwa (Holi) in India.
• Tour 2: April 10-24, '98 Kumbha Mela at Haridwar and other inspiring destinations.
For more information, contact: Kali Travel Ltd. ·169-12 Hillside Ave Jamaica, NY 11432-4498 USA
Tel: 718-291-9292 Fax: 718-262-0928
Visit Barsana Dham
VIsit Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple, Barsana Dham, and you will find you are in a different world, a world of spiritual peacefulness that will excite your heart with love of Radha Krishn.
Barsana Dham founder, H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati will be in residence during May and June, 1998. VIsitors can stay in the comfortable new guest rooms, enjoy fresh vegetarian meals and take part in the daily devotional activities of the temple.
Write for information about Barsana Dham, books by Shree Swamiji, audio and video tape lecture series in English and Hindi by Shree Swamiji and chanting meditation cassettes.
Upcoming 1998 events at Barsana Dham: Maha Shivratri, Feb. 28 • Holi, Mar. 14 • Ram Navrni, Apr. 5
International Society of Divine Love, Barsana Dham 400 Barsana Road, Austin, TX 78737-9075 USA Tel: 512-288-7180 • Fax: 512-288-0447 www.lsdl.org
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25
A Pluralistic Army: Chaplains of several faiths pose with the US Army soldie;S they guide
CAREER
Call for Military Ministers US Armed Forces are recruiting qualified Hindus as career clergy among i,ts soldiers
ARMIES SINCE ANCIENT TIMES HAVE
! required the services of religious ! '. guides. Consider, for example, Lord . Krishna on the battlefield at Kuruk
shetra, advising Arjuna on his duties as a kshatriya, or warrior. This reality of war has not changed, and nearly every army in the world provides chaplains to minister to its soldiers. What has changed is the religious make-up of the world's armies. In a dramatic example of America's religious pluralism, the US Armed Forces have t ommissioned not only Jewish and Christian chaplains of all denominations, but Buddhist and Islamic ones as well. Recently the Department of Defense stated its willingness to commission Hindu chaplains to minister to the nearly one thousand Hindus, mostly doctors, serving in American armed forces.
26 HINDUISM TODAY M~RCH, 1998
Chaplain is a general term for a person holding a spiritual office. It encompasses priests, ministers, rabbis, imams-any person of any faith holding such a post. In the United States Armed Forces, chaplains are regularly commissioned career officers, expected to serve twenty year~ or more.
The Indian Army has the same system, but uses the term "religious teachers." These serve as junior commissioned officers, nayabsubadar. There are religious teachers of five faiths-Hindu, Islamic, Sikh, Buddhist and Christian. They are trained for their religious duties at a special schooL Each major military base in India has a saroa dharma sthal where all religions can worship. Some bases have built huge temples-for example, that of the Rajputana regiment in Delhi.
The post ot chaplain in a branch of the US
Armed Forces presents an interesting career option to a motivated Hindu. The qualifications are quite stringent~American citizenship (or permanent residence), a college degree and the Hindu equivalent of a Master of Divinity in religious study, two years of pastoral experience, character references from one's guru dud temple society and the approval of a certified endorsing agency.
There is so far orily one endorsing agency for Hindus, Chinmaya Mission West. They will, at present, provide endorsement only for a fully qualified teacher within their own Mission. Other Hindu organizations can request certification as an endorsing agency. There are 'about 220 endorsing agencies of all faiths nationally. One can enroll in the Chaplain Candidate Program, a pre-commissioning training program, as a • graduate student. This is perhaps the simplest way to fulfill all the requirements, including the two years of pastoral experience. The services are prepared to adapt their requirements to the particulars of the Hindu priestly tradition. There are about 3,000 chaplains in the combined US forces, and 100 to 200 are added each year.
Being a chaplain in the US Army, Navy or Air Force is a full-time commitment. One lives on a military base, wears an officer's uniform and is subject to all the regulations of the military. Chaplains are not allowed to carry arms, but if the troops they minister to are sent to the front lines, the chaplain goes with them. Each chaplain ministers to those of hi~ or her own faith through religious services, classes and counseling.
Overall, chaplains are responsible for the morale of the troops av-d expected to counsel anyone in need. Every chaplain is trained to give last rites tg, a dying soldier of any religion. "There are no atheists in foxholes," says the old military adage. But proselytizing or "sheep-stealing"-converting soldiers from other denominations or religions-is not only frowned upon but would be cause for disciplinary action, according to one senior chaplain.
Pay is good, beginning at US$30,000,per year at the rank of captain, and perhaps reaching $60,000 as a full colonel by the en.{! of a 20-year career. Benefits are excellenthousing, food, full lifetime medical coverage, discOlfnt purchasing at base stores and 30 vacation days per year, to name a few. Lifetime retirement pay is about 50% of the highest salary earned. The entire employ" ment package is far beyond anything the Hindu temples offer their priests. , For the right people, the US military chaplaincy offers a challenging religious lllnistry, and for Hindus, it would be official recognition of a permanent presence on the American religious scene. .,..;
CHAPLAIN RECRUITING CENTERS: CHAPLAIN VANN, US ARMY, 800 223 3735. EXT. 60435; CHAPLAIN JOHNSON, US NAVY, 703
6g6- 5363; CHAPLAIN LEM.MON, US AIR FORCE 800 803 2452
UK Scenes: Scottish bagpipers-a common Sight at Hindu events-lead Swami into the ltall. Right, he presents prize to marathon winner.
MISSION
Swrami Satyamitranand Tours United Kh~gdom ,
Devotees across the Isles honor their guru
ITER COMPLETING AN ENTIRE YEAR
.
in silence, which he observes every , five years, Swami Satyamitranand
Ciri visited Britain in June and July of 1997. In forty years, the venerated swami, 65, has traveled to more than 50 countries, beginning with Nairobi in 1962, always alone, penniless and caring little for his own
health and comfort. Among the highlights of his UK tour was a two-day Rudra Puja youth event at Leicester. There after fielding dozens of religious questions from the thousands of adolescent boys and girls, he exclaimed, "The air is full of holy vibrations, like a Vedic school in India." He declared, "There is need for us to find out about our
beliefs, methods of worship, celebrations and their meanings, our id ills and values. Then only shall we be able to meaningfully appreciate and preserve oUr identity."
On July 20, Scottish bagpipers led Swami into a huge London hall overflOwing with disciples for the celebration of Guru Purnima, the yearly honoring religious teachers. He advised those gathered to "pause and ponder upon the intimate relations you have built with wife and children, parents and friends. Worthwhile intimacy can only exist between us and our Creator, the one who resides in each heart."
At Coventry, a giant Surya Yagna, three days of open-air Sun worship, was conducted by 501 devotees under Swami's direction, and enjoyed by 30,000 spectators. .,..;
SAAfANVAYA SEVA TRUST, SAMANVAYA KUTlR, SAPTA SARQVAR. HA.JU)WAR 249410 INDIA
Guru Purlllima: Youth participate in personal ritual worship (puja). Right, Swami sits bedecked in flowers offered in the guru-honOring rites.
27 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH, 1998
,
HE TIRUKURAL, "HOLY COUPLETS," IS A TREASury OF HINDU ETHICAL INSIGHT AND A LITERARY
masterpiece ofthe Tamil language, written by Saiva Saint Tiruvalluvar (ca 200 BCE) near present-day
Chennai in South India. This sagely compendium of practical advice is so pithy, so profound and so
sacred that it is sworn upon today in South Indian courts. The text focuses primarily on the first three
goals of life-artha (wealth), dharma (conduct) and kama (desire)-but also includes thirteen chap
ters on renunciate dharma, relating to life's fourth goal, rrwksha (liberation). In an extraordinarily compact
verse form of fourteen syllables, the poet presents 133 subjects of ten verses each on relationships, human
strengths and foibles, statecraft and more-1,330 verses in all. One of the worlds earliest ethical texts, the
Tirukural has been called "a bible on virtue for the human race."
Although it has been translated into English by many scholars, the Holy Kural has remained virtually unknown in the Western world. There is a similar work, written in modern times by the mystic Kahil Gibran, called the Prophet, which has been widely distributed. Everyone knows and loves this great work. The Holy Kural parallels the Prophet in many ways. Both books speak in profound yet useful terms of love and friendship, of health and death, of joy and sorrow.
haps its main function-to perfect and protect our lives in the everyday world by preventing mistakes which can cause an unhappy karma, by preventing erroneous attitudes which can bring unnecessary sorrow into our experience. There is nothing in the Kural that has to be obeyed. Each of the couplets contains such insight, however, that we are drawn to it and want to comply with its discernments.
Details of Tiruvalluvar's life are meager. It is known that he was a weaver lmd that his wife, Vasuki, was the perfect example of devotion and obedience to her husband. Several stories are told depicting the exemplary harmony in their marriage. The Tirukural was his only work, and though it is relatively short, it was sufficient to bring renown to the humble weaver, making him a venerated sage and lawgiver.
The Holy Kural is most useful in everyday life when its verses are committed to memory and meditated upon, quoted freely as one's very own. One of its greatest benefits is to guide our actions and our thoughts, to direct our purpose in life and refine our interactions with our fellow man. Business, family and personal problems can be resolved in the light of the saint's wisdom. If something is going along wrong in your life, bring the forces of life back into harmony by studying the Holy Kural and applying its knowledge. That is per-
Teach these gems to the children. This advice and admonition, coming from the Sanatana Dharma, the world's most ancient faith and culture, will enrich every childs understanding of goodness, right conduct and right thought. It is essential that the values which are the substance of the Holy Kural-the do's as well as the donts-be carried over into the next generation with courage, persistence and fortitude so that our descendants are benefited by these age-old insights into universal laws, humanitarian laws and plain common sense.
The Kural does not contain a single ethical concept or expression that would offend another faith, and thus it is a fme introduction to the scriptures of the East. The Holy Kural is a liberal meeting ground for all religions. It could well be called a Common Creed for the modern world. The selected verses which follow were rendered into modern 'i\merican English" by two acharyas of the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order at the request of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.
Translation's Dubious Art Ho\1V uneasily the Kurars cryptic verses yield
. N THE TAMIL LANGUAGE, TIRU
) means "holy" or sacred, and kural l means anything that is brief or short. '. In this case it describes the difficult
and disciplined kural-venpa meter in which the verses were written. Each twoline verse is short, containing just four feet in the first line and three in the second-14 syllables in all. As a rule, the last foot of the first line, or the first foot of the second line, rhymes with the first foot of the first line. In many ways these couplets are similar to such Sanskrit verses as the Brahrna Sutras. With subjects or predicates often only implied, the reader is left to intuit the meaning, and the result is an array of legitimate interpretations. Showing the range of style and meaning, here is verse 805 rendered by eight of the Tirukural's 150 known English translators:
Rev. W.H. Drew (1840): If friends should perform what is painful, understand that it is owing not only to ignorance, but also
ART BY A. MANlVEL
to the strong claims of intimacy. G.U. Pope (1886): Not folly merely, but
familiar carelessness, esteem it, when your friends cause you distress.
A. Ranganatha Mudaliar (1949): Deem the sting caused by friends to be born of not folly merely, but of easy fanllliarity.
K.M. Balasubramanlam, (1962): When thine own friends perchance did something thou dost hate indeed, do treat it as their folly or as friendship's privilege-deed.
Shuddhananda Bharatl (1971): Offence of friends feel it easy as folly or close intimacy.
G. Vanmlkanathan (1984): If intimate friends do some painful thing, take it either as a piece of foolishness or privilege of friendship.
P.S. Sundaram (1989): If friends hurt, put it down to ignorance or fanllliarity.
Salva Siddhanta Yoga Order (1993): When friends do things that hurt you, attribute it to unawareness or to the privileges of friendship.
<&U6m~6mlD ~dr<&!Drr Qu@iN$lW6m1D 6TdrW~rT85 <&ffirr ~a;85 ffiLLrTrT Q6'ulldr.
MARCH , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 29
/
Greatness of Renunciates Behold those who have weighed the dual nature of things and followed the renunciates way. Their greatness illumines the world.
CHAPTER 3 , VERSE 23
One's Duty to Give Riches retained by big-hearted men Resemble a fruit tree ripening in the heart of a village.
CHAPTER 22, VERSE 216
30 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH , 1998
Asserting Virtue's Power Be unremitting in the doing of good deeds. Do them with all your might and by every possible means.
CHAPTER 4, VERSE 33
Destiny A man may amass millions, but its enjoyment will never exceed that portion allotted to him.
CHAPTER 38, VERSE 377
Avoidance of Envy Fortune's Goddess, intolerant of men who cannot tolerate other's success, Introduces them to her sister Misfortune and goes away.
CHAPTER 17, VERSE 167
Unjust Reign A scepter-wielding king requesting a gift is like a lance-bearing robber demanding, "Give me all you have."
CHAPTER 56, V ERSE 552
Resoluteness of Action Do not disparage men who appear small, for there are those, seemingly insignificant, who are like the linchpin of a mighty chariot.
CHAPTER 67, VERSE 667
Honor Cultivate modesty in the midst of good fortune, but in times of adversity preserve your dignity.
CHAPTER 97, VERSE 963
Judging the Audience Speaking to an audience of thinking men is like watering a bed of growing plants
CHAPTER 72, VERSE 718
Possession of Courtesy If a man is easy of access to all, then the virtue of courtesy will be easily accessible to him.
CHAPTER 100, VERSE 992
Hatred Though men plot disunity and deliberately harm you, the highest path plans no hateful retribution.
CHAPTER 86, VERSE 852
Begging There are men who never deny a request, even in a dream. Begging from such men is as good as giving.
CHAPTER 106, VERSE 1054
MARCH , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 31
/
. NATIONAL TREASURES
Ne Cameras Allowed " .
Capturing on canvas the concealed countenance of Indias temple Deities
ITENDING SOUTH INDIA'S MAJESTIC
1 , Hindu temples, such as Madurai's I ! Meenakshi citadel, evokes profound . reverenCe and joy. As bhakti-filled
devotees bathe in the powerful radiance of the f}eity, they long to sorn.i!how bring the DeifIJ 's image, which may be hundreds or thousands of years old, back to their own homes for personal worship. But this is ethically impossible. Even taking photographs or video of a temple's main sanctum is traditionally taboo. The Gods, however, do have recourse to appease their devotees' desire for constant company. In 1978, they enlisted Sri. A Manivelu to paint their portraits. DiVinely inspired, Manivelu, 56, patiently sits before the temple's sanctum sanctorum . \ for hours at a stretch to sketch India's Gods and Goddesses and later to bring them to life in oil an4 watereolor. Manivelu, the chief artist ofJnanabumi, a monthly Tamil family magaZine, thus fills a unique niche in the art world. He also regularly produces original drt for HINDUISM TODAY,
influding the Publisher's Desk illustrations. Our Insight section this month displays another of his commissions-fdurteen illustrations of the ancient TIRUKURAL scripture. Manivelu recently spgke with HINDUISM
TODAY at his home itear Chennai.
0", the drive to portray divinity At ag~ ten, my wife endured the extremely traumatizing.experience of losing most of her family to small pox. Depressed, she became unusually withdrawn, and I only discovered her condition after our marriage. I fervently prayed to almighty God, seeking His grace for my wife's fast recovery. This spiritual involvement naturally gave me the urge-and a special power-to. render Gbd's images on canvas. "
On his heritage My ancestors were chariot and temple builders. I am in the ninth generation of this lineage. It is the custom 6f temples to appoint the elder sons of chief temple bUilders to assume the father's post after his demise. My elder brother is currently holding such a post. My father, Sri Arumuga Achari, was a chief temple builder, carpenter and also a capable artist.
32 HINDUISM TOD A.Y M RCH, 1998
On his hl~me village I was bOirn in Sikkal village of Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Sikk'al is famous for the Surasamhara temple festival, which denotes the day Lord Murugan received the Vel from -His mother Shakti. Qn this auspicious day the vigraha (image) of Lord Muruga perspires the same way hurn@ beings do. Even after wiping it again and again, the vigraha continues to perspire.
On his early life and training Mter schooling I became a mechanic, and eventually the supervisor of a fIrm. Meanwhile, I had great interest in my faffiily profession of painting and did this in my spare time. I learned from my father, be~g at age tel). I did not attend any art school
·or classes. I assisted my father and carefully observed his methods. He usually painted near the temple or at home. The chief artist of Kalaimagal magazine and guru to
me, Sri Kumarasamy, taught me how to shine as a devotional painter. , On his transition to full-time painting When Jayendra Saraswathy Swami of Kanchi Peetam visited Chennai two years ago, I showed him my paintings and asked him to bless me. He \vas impressed and advised me to quit the supervisor job and concentrate on painting full-time. With that blessing to sustain me, I complied.
On his depictions of temple icons There are differences between paintings for ordinary magazines and portrayals'of temple deities. My guru 'Sri Kumaras;my said, 'm-tists in abundance draw mundane pictures, but only a few can depict the Gods." Ever since he told me this, I painted only the Gods. Since 1978, Jnanabumi has commissioned me to pOFtray the mgT-aha in the main sanctum of India's most popular • temples. Before entering the temple I observe religious disciplines such as fasting, early morning worship and japa. Some peo-ple tried to intimidate me by sayillg that the fIerce-lookIng Gods will curse me if I went too close! But nothing but blessings have ever come to me. I do a sketch prior to the abhishekam, ritual bathing, and after the decoration. Finally, I drtlw sketches of the face-every detail is noted. I ask the priest for the temple's customs-what jewelery and dress are used on the deity, how many garlands are put on, etc. I draw the sketches just as I see the deity, asking the priest not to decorate just for the painting. I take a week t6 sketch, then do the painting at home within 45-60 days. I have c;ompleted about one hundred paintings-all published in Jnanabumi and suitable for hgme worship.
On why modern Gods look like film stars Some art students draw the same type of amateur pictures over and over again and ·these images stay in their minds. Mter graduating, they repeat the same style. Therefore, the presEtnt pictures are the same as they had practiced long ago. An artist must observe every part of the body carefully for his pictures. He must tell him- .... self that the eyes must be like this, and the nose should be sharper and so on. He ~ust be self-critical' of his paintings.
On finance and the future Everything is God's grace. My father used F
to say, "Do not worry. If not this God, some other God will look after you. The Gods will not let you starve." I believe my chil-dren will have the same intuition as I 'did to portray the Gods. My second son has completed a course in fIne art. A person should not treat painting the Gods as a chore. It should be done on one's own free will with full -involvement and commitment. ' __
MARCH , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 33
/
.. <~==--~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scru~ hard: A mahout bathes his elephant at the Gandok Riper during the fair in Sonepur
FAIRS
Aahh, That's the Spot!. Thousands of animals are bought and sold in India at Asia's largest elephant emporium
II NDER THE SHADE OF A MANGO
I ' grove in eastern India, four men . leisurely haggle over the 'price of a
magnificent ten-foot-tall81ephant. ''At least 1 million rupees," owner Ram Lakhan Verma says, demanding the equivalent of US$25,500 for 25-year-old Bhola. "Look at his tusks. Look at his nails. He is a healthy male in his prime." "Too much, too much," wran-
34 HINDUISM TODA.; MARCH, Igg8
gles the prospective buyer, unimpressed by the long tusks covered with brass rings or Bhola's leathery body painted in vivid colors. The deal falls through.
No problem: there are dozens of other elephants to choose from. More than 100 gaily decorated 'elephants quietly chew on sugarcane and rice paddy along the Ganges River while their owners wait for buyers at
Asia\; oldest and largest elephant fair, a yearly month-long jamboree during November. The elephants come fro'm across India to Sonepur, a dusty village in the eastern state of Bihar that has hosted the annual fair for at least 300 years. Hindu mythology tales describe a fierce battIe between a divine elephant and a viNous crocodile that is won by the elephant. Some people claim the battIe took place in Sonepur.
Hundreds of thousands of people throng the fair on the first day to buy and sell elephants, horses, cows, buffaloes, goats, dogs and birds. Some have come just to have a good time. Crowds ,mill about -the elephants-the star attraction-gawking at the
.. brass rings on their tusks and ears and the bright designs painted on their bodies.
Elephant owner Verma walked 10 days • with a retinue of 50 people and five elephants to reach the fair. The trek from his village of Faizabad, 180 miles to the west, was arduous, but Verma says nowhere else can he find such a market for his prized pachyderms. As dusk falls, Verma still had not sold Bhola. But he bought 'an eight-yearold baby elephant 'for uS$I2,300. In a few years, he hopes to sell it for a good profit.
The deals are almost always in cash to avoid bad checks. And Verma, like most dealers, is surrounded by burly bodyguards with fierce mustaches and guns. The number of elephants available for sale has dwindled over the years, Verma says. The Indian government has banned capture of wild elephants, tQ help animal conservation. But elephants still are sought by loggers, who use them in forests to haul trees, since machines often cannot m~euver through the vegetation.
Wealthy Hindu temp~s use elephants during religious ceremonies, often to carry idols of the Gods through the streets. Others hire out the animals for weddings and festivals. Though many people own elephants as an investment-earning good profits off the sale of a full-grown animal-the prime reason for having elfi!phants is social status.
Elephants are a status symbol among w~althy land owners, especially in rural India. The rich have vast farm fields and OI:;
chards that can satisfy the voracious appetite of these mammals, which are completely vegetarian. AIf adult elephant eats 450 pOIDlds of sugarcane, rice paddy and grass a dayone-fifth its body weight. Feeding the massive manIffial costs about US$500 a month,' about one year's wages for a farm hand. But owners can make up the money just using the dung as fertilizer for their farms. "The rich love to have elephants tied to their front door. It is a throw back to the days of the maharajas, when a man was respected by the number of elephants he had," says Sukhiya, a villager at the fair. WI
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T THE HEART OF HINDU ECONOMics is this: the test of every policy is not profit, employme.nt or growth, but how it strengthens family and community, individual character and sensitivity, states Romesh
Diwan, Professor of Economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Diwan, Dattopant Thengdi of New Delhi (founder of India's foremost labor ~ion, Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh), M.G., Bokare, (a disenchanted Marxist and author of Hindu Economics ) and others are advocates of a thoroughly Hindu revamping of today's economic systems. "Many economists wonder how practical these ideas are," state~ . Pi-of Diwan. "I think, at the ~
vestmel}ts and strengthening local economies by decentralizing economic and political power." The idea is not to enforce Hindu economics, as communism was enforced upon the people, but to create an environment where these principles become viable.
Economics has been a topic of discussion
of environmental resources such as forests. The Tamil Tirukural [featured in our Insight this mQnth, page 28] spoke of the right and wrong ways to gather and spend wealth. The new "Hindu economics" advocated by a few pioneers is based jn part on these ancient systems, and in part on a practical ap
plication of Hindu philosophy to the modern situation.
The best minds in economics and social sciences, such as Lester Thurow and Alvin Toffl~r, question the viability of the capitalist approach to economics. They are aware that in last two decades the gulf between private affluence.and public poverty has widened, the gap between the rich and the pOqf has virtually doubled, the Earth has been polluted and things far m6re precious to humanity-such as children, families, personal values and clean air and water-have been threatened. I"
core of it, Hindu economics is very practical because it touches all aspects of a human life." In places such as I,lalegaon Siddhi [see sidebar], where they
FUndamental questions remain Economic exponents: Dattopant Thengdi (left), Romesh Diwan unanswered. What is wealth? Is it
~ccumulation of monetary resources, or should it also take into account the nonmatenal possessions such as friends, family, health and environment? What should be the goal of economics? Should it be maximi.z~tion of profits or of human happiness? If It IS human happiness, then can either of
have been applied even on a minuscule scale, the results have been impressive and real enough to support Diwan's claim. It is not a system imposed from up down by the government, but, according to Diwan, "The government plays an important role in Hindu economics by defining priorities for large in-
36 HINDUISM TODA.Y M RCH , Igg8
for Hindu scripture since the Rig Veda. In that ancient scripture are found key concepts such as production, exchange, wages, interest, rent, profit and the market. Kautilya's Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft, includes extensive advice on taxation, customs duties, trade and intelligent protection
the prevalent theories-capitalism or communism-deliver that? The more the experts try to answer these fundamenta! questions of economics, the more they turn towards the Hindu approach. "In terms of
· larger ideas such as capitfllism and socialism, Hindu economics belongs te spiritualism" says Professor Diwan. •
According to Dattopant Thengdi, Hindu economics is fundamentally different from Western economics. To start with, he says, in the West economics is treated as a separate discipline. But within Hinduism, economics falls under artha, one of the four legitimate aims of life: dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and rrwksha (liberation). In Western economics, human beings are too often regarded as essentially econontic beings, carrying out economic activities, producing goods and, in turn, consuming goods to complete the economic cycle.
It is, of course, an oversimplification to say the Western economic system is totally selfish, for charitable giving is common in the West among both poor and-rich-witness the sated intention of Bill Gates, the world's richest mlm, to eventually give most of his money to charity or Ted Turner's recent billion-dollar gift to the UN. Indeed, American philanthropy has few equals . .
In contrast to ~he mechanical approach of Western economics, Hindu philosophy holds that human beings are not just physical entities to be kept happy by producing
. and consuming. Rather, humans comprise phys~cal, mental and spiritual aspects, and for the happiness of an individual all three
should be taken into consideration. When you apply these fundamental beliefs, the kind of economics you get is very different. For example, in Ralegaon Siddhi, 1he first thing Anna Hazare began was to earn people's trust by his own honesty and integrity. This, in ,turn, allowed them to trust each
. other-a significant factor in Hindu eco-nomics. He then persuaded the citizens to make their ·village self-sufficient by their oV{Il cooperative efforts so they were not exploited by outsiders. The environment of nonexploitation convinced the people that when they worked hard, they-not an outside person-benefited from the fruits of their own labor. Also it is important to keep in mihd that there is a fundamental difference between poverty and frugality. There was poverty in Ralegaon Siddhi prior to the application of ethical economic principles. Today, though the level of material consumption is not high: the poverty is gone.
Real-world application of a Hindu economic theory remains in a nascent state. The practical application of its principles on a pe sonal, national or global level, is not clear, but the goal is. As captured by the great spiritual teacher Sri Aurobindo: "The aim of economics would be not to create a huge engine of producpon, whether of the competitive or the cooperative kind, but to give to men and women-not only some men ane. women but to all, each in his highest possibl~ measure-the joy of work according to their own nature and free leisure to grow inwardly, as well as a 'simple, rich and beautifullife·for all." ..,I
By MEENAL PANDYA, Massachusetts
Miracle Village
GUiding Prin9iples Sri Dattopant Thengdi's book, Third Way, outlines the dharma of wealth
• For all economic activities, dharma must be the guidintprinciple and sva-dharma-what comes naturally to you-should playa fundamental role in choos-ing your economic livelihood.
• Workers, by contributing their labor to the business, can become shareholders ;md are thereby given participation in
..the ownership of their industries. De-pending upon the nature of the indus-try, the share may differ.
• Nature is to be respected: milked but not killed. Ecological factors, balance of nature and the requirements of future generations should never be forgotten.
• Education, ecology, economics and ethics-all four must be taken into con-sideration in an integrated maimer for any economic activity.
• Material wealth is to be acquired with the object of serving the society.
• It is not only the technical ''know-how'' but also the technical "know-what' (to understand what is good for the sOciety) that should be given consideration.
• Consumerism is not the ultimate goal of life. In fact, consumerism is not compat-ible with th~ spirit of the Hindu culture.
• The basic needs of life are available to every citizen.
Where Anna Hazare and Hindu economics changed the future
was beyond any hope for economic or social recovery. Droughts were a regular event, the soil was poor, there was little work to be had, about a fifth of the families ate only once a day and desperate denizens had taken to manufacturing liquor. Drunkenness, feuds and crimes were common occurrences. Life in this burg was pretty bleak.
II m;LCOME TO you cannot find a Ralegaon Sid- single liquor still.
dhi-a tiny vil- While neighboring lage near Pune, villages await the
India-where everyone government tanker cares for everyone elses to bring drinking well-beilog, where vil- water, Ralegaon Sid-lagers who have extra dhi has enough not grain harvest, instead of only for everyone in storing iit for the next the village but also year, de )()sit it in a for the hundreds grain bank where it can who visit. Sounds be borrowed by vil- like the almost per-lagers who have noth- feet community? ing to eat, where the Ralegaon Slddhl: Village activists take pledges Yes, now it is. How-temple is the hub of all ever, if you had visit-the activrities, where 400,000 I community, where not a single I ed only two decades ago you trees ha, been planted by the store sells tobacco and where would have seen a hamlet that
Then, Anna Hazare, a retired army truck driver inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda to serve others, set out to change things by putting the ethics back into the economics, and the village. He instituted what is now being called Hindu economics, governed not by profit motives but by dharma, encompassing not just the value of goods, but also of lives.
MARCH , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 37
I
I"
SOCIAL PROGRESS
Not for Wo.men Only India's leading advocate for women's rights doesn't fit anyones preconceptions
By POORNIMA NARAYANAN, DELHI
N A MILD WINTER EVENING I
walked into the home of Madhu Kishwar-social activist, international lecturer and editor of Manushi, India's only "serious" magazine about women. The
apartment is cozy, very Indian, with soft ikat prints, oil paintings and booklined walls. Madhu herself, dressed in bright ethnic colors, is a petite figure. Behind her unusually expressive, soft amber eyes, I see the trenchant mind that unnerves even the boldest bullies who attempt to defend or excuse India's blatant social abuses, especially tliose who denigrate her women. Over tea, we talked about her personal life, her journal's birth, its tremulous adolescence and, more recently: its heart-warming recognition as one of India's most ·intelligent and informed voices of soeial conscience and sensible religio/political debate.
Founded in 1978 by a group of women in Delhi, "Manushi was conceived to exist for a cause, for causes, and serve as a catalyst to make our society more just and humane," Madhu summarizes. "Our task is not just to passively put together articles that come to us but to initiate positive corrective change, improvement." For this reason, the Manushi world is far more than printed words and meeting bi-monthly deadlines. Always, the printed word is their most powerful tool, but Manushi's action palette includes all kinds of strategies .and endeavors-legal aid service, human rights campaigns, book publishing, even street plays, whatever.
Exposing the discrimination-and demoralizing minimallzation-of women in Indian society is the tempest that thrusts against Manushi's sails. But there is so much more. This is definitely not a for-woqten-only, feminists' empowerment manual. Manushi is very much every thinking m~ magazine too. Muslims love it. Though Hindu, Madhu routinely comes down hardest on her own co-religionists when they can't even live up to the most basic Hindu teachings of love and respecting God in people of all faiths. In'fact, Manushi's elusive editonhl mind-set disorients even the most loyal readers who think they have Madhu and Manushi pigeon-holed. Readers were stunned when Madhu came out supporting arranged marriages (while not condemning love mar-
38 HINDUISM TODA.Y M RCH, 1998
Daringly different: Madhu Kishwar at a meeting with HINDUISM TODAY in New Delhi, 1995 , riages) in a long, logically reason~d out article (for which she interviewed 1,715 adults). Fearing she had sold out to the arch-conservative medievalists, or entrenched patriarchalists she was supposed to be emancipating her country from-or just getting old and unromantic-readers stormed her mailbox with letters crying betrayal. She stood her ground.
It all began with Rs. 500: The story of Manushi's early years is the story of all "little" magazines with a conscience-uphill,
. bumpy, lots of begging, never enough readers. "Our initial capital consisted of no more than Rs. 500 (US$13) collected from early' volunteers," Madhu reminisces. "Oftentimes we would have no money for postage, and an issue had to be put together tlrrough loans. We could not even afford a typewriter. In those early years, Manushi was on the verge of dying every day." It was daringly decided at the outset to not accept grants and advertisements. And Manushi still does not. 'M our activities- including research, investiga-
tions, legal aid, etc.-are funded from subscriptions and single copy sales," Madhu proudly shares. "In India, if people see that you're not in social work for personal gainthat it's not a money-making enterpriseyou get a lot of affection and respeC't."
ca, Africa and ~ustralia on a pauper's promotional budget. Manushi sells itself. Inspired readers are its invisible sales force.
readers first fully understand the subtler forces within Indian societal fabric in order to meaningfully assess any event or issue. She did not want the journal to become simply a bullhorn for "propaganda-oriented repor!s of struggles by different organizations."
The editorial focus is an evolving thing.
Manush1~ has an impressive 6 000 sub-. ' scribers-parliamentarians to housewives-
Early issues dealt with specific social issues and hot-button incidents, notably atrocities against women, rural labor disputes, the landless poor, tribal rights, etc. However, Madhu soon realized that it was critical that
This brought a new energy to Manushi. and has spread its wings to Europe, Ameri-
;
Woman of Vision Interview with Madhu Kishwar
By POORNIMA NARAYANAN
Motivations: So often people presuppose that I take an interest in women's issues because I came from a patriarchal family filled with male or fatherly oppression. 'For me, it's been the contrary. Since I never was treated badly, I cannot beaT to see others maltreated. It's an aberration. It was only after I jOined college that I began to see how women grow up with such low self-esteem and therefore allow others to treat them shabbily. As a woman student trying to participate in university politics, I became mote sensitive to· the kind of pressures women confront. But not raIsed to accept an inferior, meek position, I would puf my foot down and say, "No, this mistreatment of women cannot happen."
Family background: My father worked for Life Insurance Corppration. He is now retired. My mother is a housewife. I have two younger brothers. Perhaps the only exceptional thing- which I never realized then, but I appreciate now when I see the lives of other women-is the amount of unconditional love, support and freedom, rarely given to kids, that: I got from my family, no matter what I did. Not j~st from my parents but also my grandparents, aunts and Uncles. This has contributed the most to my ability to stand by my own beliefs and convictions. In fact, Without their continued affection, I think I
,
would just wilt and die. I consider it one of the biggest blessings of my life.
Critics and challenges: The on'ly kind of women I have had problems with are Indian' feminists who are overly tuned to Westernized feminism and have very little respect for their own society and people. For some reason they're the· only ones who can't stand Manushi. Nothing satisfies them. I don't understand what they want, which is one of the reasons I distance myself from the Westernized feminist movement in India. I have an uneasy feeling they dislike Indian women as they are and want to remold them into creatures alienated from their own social environment.
I chose not to get married. I am happy in the life I've chosen, and enjoy the work I do. It's hard, but very challenging. Yes, stressful. I'm overstressed. I'm overexhausted. I'm over-worked. ,.
I am always calling upon my family to help Olit. My father will rarely walk out of the house without a copy of Manushi in his bag to get subscribers. If I asked them all to even sit on the street to polish shoes to do fundraising for Manushi, they would do it. That's the .kind of ullconditionallove and support that surrounds me. Which is equally true for most of my friends and volunteers-males and fe-males. '
Yoga and worship: The time I spend on yoga, meditation,
How-awful-every thing-is metamorphosed
On everyone's behalf: Manushi tackles the tough social issuqs
is, you could say, my puja time. When you're doing breath control, you're controlling your mind, focusing it. I don't do any ritualistic pujas as such. My family inculcated this idea very strongly in all of us, that doing good karma is the best puja. Also, to be honest, I haven't fully sorted out my relationship with God. The only kind of God that is ac- . ceptable to me (and luckily,
. our Hindu faith teaches it) is the idea that God is sarvavyapi, all pervasive, and indwelling-One who lives in every living being, connects all forms of life to each other. I
am unwilling to ever consider God as an external creature sitting in the heavens, telling people what tg. do, frightening them into submission. '
Her personal interests: Music interests me profoundly. Theater, good cinema, also. But I have very little time for those. If I had lived in a world where there'wasn't so much injustice, th~m perhaps I would have time for other pursuits. If I could, I would have spent my entire life on two things-music and yoga- and learning Sanskrit. But I don't have those luxuries available t o me. At least not in this lifetime.
MARCH . 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 39
,
. I
into more of a let's-see-what-wecan-actually-do-to-help attitude. Readers responded and subscriptions jumped. New articles appeared with a marked culturaI/x:eligious focus, r~flective, more philosophical. There came inspirational people p ofiles, presentations of Indian traditions, tribal rituals and their meaning, even humor (the hardest emotion for die-hard social activists to express). Readers died laughing when editors ran a piece on the superiority of Indian-style over Western-style toilets! Their tenth anniversary issue, "Women Bhakta Poets"-a superbly-crafted 108 pages on the female songsters and saints who helped shape India's spiritual landscape-was a masterpiece. In every issue there is always a deep-research piece by Madhu herself
In her "In Defense of bharrna" [issue #60] she outlined a down-to-earth, yet visionary 10-
point plan to .stren~en Hinduism. It included the return of temples to their earliest clesign as potent cultural- education hubs. Readers love her highminded, lucid writing style-so refreshing in India where British-era-styled journalists still delight in floral, Victorian phrases of hollow substance.
Poetry, film reviews, book reviews, fiction stories and analy
Masjid at Ayodhya in December, 1992. Madhu jets forceful: "The secular intellectuals argue that religion is unduly interfering in politics. In fact, it is the other way around. Politicians are taking over religious institutions and religious symbols with the sole aim of grabbing political power in the crudest possible fashion. I think a real believer would define religion, dharma, as a space for altruism, where you forget your self-interest in the name of God, where you seek no recognition, rewai'd, no monetary or political gain. It's simply labor fer God. Religion, or dharma, to me begins where self-interest ceases • to exist. That's what makes it sacred. My mother tells me how stressful it has become for her to go to the local Arya Samaj Mandir, because, she says, they start giving political speeches against Muslims and for-oragainst certain political parties. They do it even at shraddha (funeral) ceremonies. She says it's where we go to seek peace, we don't go to listen to political speeches!"
Dignified living: Femininity in India follows wise cultural traditions sis of social trends ~d political events-usually witlt-an angle on women-spice up the magazine a lot.
One would assume an opinionated magazine like Manushi would attract enemies. Strangely, it has not. "Only two kinds of people are perpetually annoyed with Manushi," Madhu relates. "One is a section of the feminist lobby in India and the other, one section of Marxists, who've been traditionally hostile." "What's
Madhu also realized that in order to accomRlish real social reform in India, it was essential to factor in unique, geographic, religious values and village customs-and never formulate a facile, one-solution-for-all approach-so often artificial, imposed, unwanted, alien' and delusively panacean in nature. For this editorial accomplishment, she has won major journalism awards.
People, not laws, dictate jJJstice: In the sp'irit of Gandhi, peaceful protest has been one of Manushis most effective,.:wedges in leveraging truth, compassion and justice. One demonstration outside the home of a young victim of dowry murder (whose husband burned his wife to death with kerosene because not enough dowry was paid) spark'ed hUndreds of similar protests all over India. Madhu precisely pinpoints its unprecedented success: "This form of protest has certain peculiarly Indian characteristics. In our society, social opinion matters far more in regulating social behavior than do laws."
40 HINDUISM TOOA,Y M RCH, 1998
Since many of her articles carry in-depth information about the legal aspects of social issues, I was, curious to know if Ma'ahu, an ex-professor, had any legal background. "No;I have no legal ,background at all," Madhu replied. "In fact, I believe that the presentday legal profession is devilish." The fire I have heard about her flares. "They make people fight, and then drag them into inferminable conflicts. When Manushi got started, a lot of abused wives came to us, right to our door, to seek help. W.e had perforce to go and look for lawyers who 'ould help them. In the process, we saw how very limited were the eXIsting laws in helping women and how limited the legal machinery is in giving people justice. There's something terribly wrong with this so-called modern system of jurisprudence that the British gave us."
One issue extensively covered by Manushi is the Ramjanmabhoomi movement that culminated in massacre and bloodshed in the aftermath 01' the destruction of the Babri
their grouse?" I ask. "That we exist," Madhu responds with a smile. "Other , than that, well, in 16 years of our existence, we have so far received only one hate letter, and that from an NRI in America who never read the magazine. His .finance executive was a Manushi subscFiber and since she was.not super-submissive, he thought Manushi was spoiling her. Other than this, Manushi h~ mostly evoked love and affection. I, would not have survived but for this."
It has befen a special evening getting to know Manushi and its charismatic editor, her courage and conviction, I leave Madhus home with good wishes for Manushi's fu..l ture, inspiring Hindu society to honor women as a precious strength and better 8ignify their position in the home, society and workplace. ..,."
FOR SUBSCRIPTION RATES OR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, WRITE TO: MANUSHI . cizo'). LAJPAT NAGAR 1, NEW DELHI , 110024 INDIA,
E -MAIL : [email protected]. OR MANUSHI c/o MANAVI , PO BOX 614, BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY 07003 USA.
. PARENTING
YOII're Worth a Million! Why 'we should rai:;e children tq respect themselves
I~MILY W~S OUT TO DINNER WITH
I ! their nine-year-old son. When the boy
. . fInished eating, he began to entertain
. himself by playing with a small plas-tic airplane. When he threw it in the air, it hit his father's glasses. His father flew into a rage. He became louder -and louder as he said, "Don't you know how dangerous it IS to throw things at people's faces? I have told you tim'e and time again about these things." Then mother chimed in with, "Why do you
self-esteem' he begins to see himself as inad~quate ana unacceptable. Children come into the world not knowing who they are. They learn who they are from those around them, their 'sense of self' develops from the attitudes reflected in the faces of those who are important to them and care for them."
Parents and caregivers are the childs first mirrors. When they respond with attention, cuddling, smiles, singing and talking, he (or she) begins to believe that he is valuable.
The ancient Tirukural reminds, "'Sweet are the sounds of the flute and the lute: say those who have not 'heard the prattle of their children." If, on the other hanei', he is neglected, treated with indifference or ignored for long hours at a time, he develops a negative view of himself
Kersey says a child's behavior is a clue to his self-image. When children are sure of themselves,
"I love you, daughter:" Simple words work wonders
• feel good about themselves, they B[e friendly, outgoing and self't!!onfident. They have no need to misbehave, make trouble, annoy and destroy. When children have a low opinion of themselves, they lack the courage and energy to tackle problems. A good self-image is not to be confused with conceit, which is quite the opposite-mere whitewash used. as an effort to cover up low self-esteem. A per~on with sincere self-respect is so secure that he does not need to impre~s others.
"It is our job as parents," Kersey
always have to make trouble? You can never behave. You are always getting into mischief We should have left you at home." Embar
' rassed, and stunned after receivi,ng several . slaps, the boy cowered in his seat until. his
parents were ready to leave. This is an anecdote from Katherine C.
Kersey's child-raising book, The Art of Sensitive Parenting. In the section "Fill Your Child with Self-Esteem," she describes the effect of the above sttuation: "By embarrassing ai'td insulting their son in public, these parents only make matters worse. By labeling him a troublemaker and telling him that he never does anything right, they provide him with a negative image to live up to. Incidents such as this take a toll on the child's
explains, "to raise emotionally healthy children who possess a solid sense of self-worth. We must enhance their self-' esteem so they will grow up to be constructive members of society who contribute to the peaceful ongoing of humanlQ.nd, possess inner strength and enjoy successful ~volvement with others." Self-esteem builds the same way muscles do~with constant work and practice. Just as muscles provide strength for the body, self-confidence brings "inner sureness" and is the backbone of happiness and the foundation of a productive life. Our goal as parents and teachers is to . encourage children to keep on trying and to do their best. ' wi
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the pas~ Muslims used to physically intimidate Hindus, but things are improving now. There are good Muslirrts who take you to their houses, try to make you comfortable and offer eatables."
The people of Delhi are much uplifted by the passing through of the kanwarias, which is like watching an endless series of wedding processions. Previolls years' pilgrimages have caused traffic jams, but special arrangements this year ensured a smooth interaction of traffic and pilgrims.
The city government of Delhi set up hundreds of camps during June and July to shel-
By RAJIv MALIK, NEW DELHI ter and feed the hundreds of thousands of ; N DELHI I AM USED TO A VERY COM- kanwarias passing tHrough the city. Local ; fortable lifestyle," said Delhi business- .. religious organizations also organized assisI man Navin Yadav, ''but after walking tance. At these places pilgrims could spend . torty kilometers in a day, I had .....--------------------'---1
no problem sleeping on the floor 9r in any open spac~. It is indeed a very powerful experience. My feet were so full of blisters, but God gave me the strength to carryon the journey."
Yadav was one of 1.5 million kanwaria pilgrims who trekked to Neelkanth, near Haridwar, to fetch sacred water from the Ganga and take it back to their home place. They traveled all or part way on foot and took but one meal a day. It was the largest number of pilgrims to date for this yearly observance. Many jtlurney hundreds of kilometers to and from their vlllages throughout Uttar Pradesh and neighboring states. Others, like Yadav, make the arduous trek on foot from Delhi itsel£
Their· name comes from the pole each carries known as a kanwar. It has a pot on either end to hold the Ganga river water. The 210-km (126-mile) trip from Neelkanth back to Delhi takes six days on foot. Kanwarias don't undertake this journey for ' penance, explains one. "They carry it for two rea~ sons-to thank God for fulfilling one's wish, or to tell Him to let things stay as they are. Kanwarias are mostly satisfied people."
The journey is not witho\lt its dangers, however, and each year ' a few kanwarias are injured or
Drawing water: Kanv/arias stop at Haridwar to worship their decorated arches for carrying Ganga water
killed in road accidents. Short of such major problems, it is rare that one drops out half way. Satish Kumar, age 32, recounts, "My first journey a couple of years back was very inconvenient, I had body aches and wounds. This time it was much better for me, sut some of my companions underwent a lot of suffering." .
Echoing the concerns of other kanwarias, Kumar said, "We have heard that in
the night on a carpet, wash and feed themf
selves and, as necessary, bandage their worn feet. At the roadside camp in Paschim Vihar, West Delhi, I saw the young kanwarias dancing and merrymaking to the beat of drums, despite sore feet and shoulders. In fact, there was hardly any sign of physical fatigue. In keeping with tradition, this group offered a portion of their Ganga water to the Siva Lingam at a nearby Siva temple. -.1
vascular disease is the nation's number one killer, accounting for two out of every five deaths, at a rate of 2,500 per day.
Guggal is also a cure for arthritis and rheumatism. A 27-yearold female patient of Dr. Sodhi had pains in her joints and was regularly taking large doses of potent allopathic drugs to keep her arthritis in check. Fortunate-ly, ~er father, a medical doctor with first-hand knowledge of the long-term side effects of the drugs- including diabetes, obesi- ..,. ty and ulcers-urged her to seek alternative treatment to free het from the 'drug regime.
Dr. Sodhi reports, "She underwent a cleansing treatment, modified her diet and took regular doses of guggal and 'boswelia-another natural herb. We reduced her allopathic drug intake to the bare minifuum, five milligrams a day. Recently she returned from successfully completing the Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,000-mile hike from Mexico to Canada, without inconvenience from her arthritis."
Guggal gOEIS to market: Resin is drawn from the desert-loving thorny plant during the winter months
Guggal is extracted f rom the Indian bedellium by making incisions in the bark during the winter. The resulting fragrant golden resin burns in fire, melts in the sun and forms a milky emulsion when stirred into hot water. Ori~ally it was used for religious rituals. The. resin was traded between India and Greece in the first century CE, the very time the ayurvedic trea
~. . .
LTERNATIVE MEDICAL PRACTITIONers share a common fate.in America--they often serve as a '1ast re
o ource" for patients whose conditions have not been improved by modern medicine. One such patient-"we'll call,her Joyce-came to Dr. Virendra Sodhi's Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Medical Clinic in Bellevue, Washington, suffering from high blood cholesterol. She had already spent five years in a leading-edge treatment program run by a major university, but with no improvement. Her blood cholesterol count measured 418, double the normal limit. She was discouraged and, given ( family history of heart trouble, worried for her future. Her husband, a doctor, was skeptical when he learned that central to her ayurvedic treatment-far from the high-tech regimen she had just endured-would be the resin of Indian bedellium, 'br guggal, a humble shrub that abounds in the arid, rocky tracts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Karnataka.
It's a common scenario, Dr. Sodhi told HINDUISM TODAY. "Hundreds of patients come to the clinic concerned with high blood cholesterol. In Joyce's case, she was given p~ncha karma treatment to cleanse her b?dy, placed on a kapha-pacify ing diet and given guggal, which is very effective in regulating lipids in the body, along with other herbs to treat her liver and rejuvenate her digestive functions. Within three' months, her cholesterol dropped to 167, well within average normal levels." With similar treatment, a 49~year-old man's cholesterol level dropped from 277 to 188 in five months. A
,woman's 239 level dropped to 129 in three months. 'A third patient, with an off-thechart triglyceride level.of 2,121, saw h~r level fall to 178 in only three months.
Despite such astounding exam.\?les and clinical studies in India showing improvement for nearly every patient treated, guggal is yet to gain wide acceptance in the US. This is unfortunate, considering that cardio-
tises that describe its characteristics were written.
Those treatises are full of praise for guggal and its curative actions-healing bone fractures and inflammations, treating obesity,~cers, hay fever, rheumatism and thyroia conditions, to name a few. It has none of the side effects generally 'associated With allopathic drugs such as clofibrates (used to reduce cholesterol levels), which can cause liver damage, gall stones and cancer.
In its pure resin form, guggal can cause diarrhea or skin rash~ if taken in excess. But in its extracted form, called guggal-lip, it has no known side,effects and is gentle on the body. It is believed to work by regulating the thyroid. A standard dose of guggal-lip is 250-500MG, two to three times a day. Guggal, advises Dr. Sodhi, is one antidote for our modern diet of highly processed, oily and salty food. ...
DR. Vl RENnER SODHI , MD (AYURVED), NO, AYURVEDIC AND NATUROPATHIC CLINIC, 20115 llZTH AVENUE NE ,
BELLEVUE , WASHINGTON 980°4 . USA
M A RCH , Ig g 8 HINDUISM TODAY 45
+-Ire Wtp Wearing the rrr'uths about AI OS? As the media spouts warnings, lefs n~vie:w the facts an~ myths about this insidious disease ,
BY DEVANANDA TANDA.VAN, M.D.
"
E LAST EXPLORED THE
AIDS epidemic in a . series of six articles be
ginning in September, 1993. Now, four years later, there is more evidence and new theories about this controversial and blghly politicized disease. On December 1, "World Aids Day," the news media tried to outdo each other with reports which, as usual, tended to increase our fear, but not our knowledge, of tire dreaded disease. We heard that there are more cases than we should have expected, that the people are sicker than before, that there may be some minor help from the "cocktail" multidrug medication and that the incubation period for the disease is again lengthened, now to ten to eleven years.
But there are serious problems with this scenario. As we mentioned in February, 1994, a minority of 'doctors at that time were unconvinced that HIV (human immunovirus) caused AIDS, because there was I}o acceptable scientific proof There still isn't. Robert Koch, a famous German bacteriologist, formulated a system of four postulates for establishing causation of disease. These postulates have not been met in the case of AIDS. There remains only a theory that HIY, along with other risk factors, is the cause of AIDS. But there is no proof that HIV causes AIDS, p.or in fact, tfiat it causes any disease. However, the prevailing opinion in medical ci~Cles and the government remains that HIV is a contagious agent that always results in AIDS.
The compelling logic presented by these skeptics is that if HIV caused' AIDS, or even if HIV were just a necessaFY part of th"e cause, every case of AIDS would have to test positive for HIV But this is not the case. The so-dilled AIDS epidemic in Mrica has over 70% of the patients with HIY. negative blood (see Lancet, October,
46 HINDUISM TODAY MARCH , 1998
1992, for a related study). The cause of their epidemics can be more plausibly pinpointed as starvation and other compromises to their immune systems.
AIDS-acquired immune' deficiency syndrome-is not the name of a specific disease. It is really a construct of clinical conditions. If these conditions occur in a patient who
tests positive for HIY, he is said to have AIDS. If he tests negative, the disease is given a different name, more clinical. The US Center for Disease Control claims that AIDS patients always have HIV positive blood. Other Health Organizations claim that the clinical picture is all that is necessary, HIV blood not withstanding. Wasting of the body is one of these symptoms, which is also associated with chronic infections, unsanitary conditions and malnutrition.
When the press says millions in a country are dying of AIDS, this is only an estimate of the number of people that are HIV positive. ThE1re is ample evidence th"at people with HIV positive blood can lead long • and productive Jives as long as they eat well, exercise regularly, do not take drugs, excess alcohol or tobacco products.
Skeptics about the HIV-AIDS connections implicate the roll of AZT, an extremely toxic drug originally given indiscriminately to all 'jUDS" patients. Its documented side effects are exactly the same as the symptoms of full-blown AID~. The simple reason behind the success of newer therapies may be the reduction or elimination of this toxic drug in the treatment.
To be continued ...
DR. TANDAVAN, 77, retired nuclear physician and hospital staff president, lives in Chicago, where he speCializes in alternative healing arts. Visit his home page at the HINDUISM TODAY website.
li!
EVOLUTIONS PASSED ON: Sad guru Sant Keshavadas, age sixty-three, at 2:20PM on December 4,1997, in Vishakhapatnam, India, where he had a vision of Sri Panduranga (a form of Vishnu) twenty years ago. A doctor reported witnessing a miracle-light emanating from Keshavadas' mouth as he spoke Gods name just before breathing his last. His body was cremated 3 days later in Bangalore at Vishwa Shanti Ashram. Thousands attended the December 16 commemorative ceremonies for the saint, our dear friend and a frequent contributor to HINDUISM TODAY. Keshavadas' esteemed wife, Rama Mata, will assume responsibility to continue his worldwide mission of expounding the Vaishnava bhakti tradi
Bhagavadgita temple, Bangalore
tion. At age 11 Keshavadas had a mystical "white light" experience that changed his life. He heard a voice say, "Sing my name throughout the world." He became a singing saint and roamed the world, establishing centers in
Europe and Trinidad, the Temple of Cosmic Religion in the USA and recently the Gayatri University and Bhagavadgita Temple in Bangalore. He loved pilgrimage, saying, 'J\. pilgrimage is beautiful. You can offer up at a holy place your sins, karma and anger and go back light-hearted." For information on Rama Mata's future activities, contact Maury Rama Iskowitz in the US at 1-310-827-9161, or Rarna Mata in Bangalore at 011-91-8118-22057.
PASSED ON: Senior, retired, Shankaracharya of Jyotir Peeth, Swami Shantanand Saraswatl JI Mahar~, age ninety, on December 7, 1997, in Allahabad, India. Senior leaders of the VHP participated in final rites. SWami became Shankaracharya in 1953 after the death of his guru, Brahmanand Saraswati. SWami Basudevanand Saraswati is his successor.
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YToga philosophy, meditation, and "plain living and high thinking"are the foundations for the Ananda intentional communities, which are based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda (author of Autobiography of a Yogt).
. There are seven Ananda communities-in Nevada City, 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 for 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 life and Kriya Yoga (app rox. 10 hours) of selected chapters. To
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Ananda, fOunded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Par am ham a Yogananda, is not affiliated with Self-Realization Felluwship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~47
Our warmest greetings
On the joyous occasion of
India Republic Day, 1998
Brahma Swarup Varma, Director ofAdministration,lHRF 621111ini Drive, Monroeville, PA 15146·1917
Phone: 412-733-1118 Fax 412-733-2224 E-mail: [email protected]
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your footprints for your children to follow!!! Herit~Q-e Research Foundation (IHRF) and mail to:
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48 ~==========================~==========================d
SUNDERLAL BAHUGUNA ENDED his fast at the work"';;ite of the controversial Tehri'Dam on , the Ganges River in the Himalayas after 56 days. Bahuguna was informed N6vember 26-before the call for new elections-by high level government officials that work was being suspended until he coukt:meet with,the Prime Minister. Bahuguna has " won promises-none fulfilled-frbm three former Prime Ministers to review the project, which faces criticism due to potential ecological impact, earthquake disaster and, most recently, even a dam-breaking missile attack from a hostile country.
HOUSESJN THE SMALL VILLAGE of Siadia in Orissa sfate, India, have no doors and no bars G>n the windows. Villagers believe Kharkhai Thakurani, their local Deity,' guards each house, say~jay Nayak, an educated youth of the villa:ge. Neighboring areas are regularly visited by thieves, but in Siadia the last robbery was twenty years ago. In tha.t case the thief was caught immediately, and he died within a month.
SRI SUGENIENDRA niEERTHA, whose visit to America was greatly appreciated by Hindus, will not be allowed to perform puja to Lord Krislma at'the U dupi $ri Krishna temple upon his return to Kerala, according to the Deccan Herald. He is abbot of Putige Math, one of the eIght m'onasteries founded by the great dualist philosopher, Madvachariya, 700 years ago. Sri Vidyavarinidhh Theertha, abbot of the Kaniyoor Krishna monastery, said the abbots oIthe eight, monasteries were expected to not cross the ocean. The provision dates from ancient times when sea travel made impossible the mandatory daily ablutions and observances.
INDIAN g..OW BONES are being used-reallyto filter water for towns in Northern England. Local vegetarians are turrung off • their taps and buying bottled water-lots of it-to avoid the local water filtered through charcoal made from the bones. Only the bones of old cows make good charcoal ("activated carbon," to be exact), according to the wa-
. ter utility, and only in India do cows live to a ripe old age. Cow bqne water? Vegetarians should ' , be aware that grtund cow bones are also sometimes used in the refining of sugar.
THE "GUIDE TO FOOD INGREDIENTS" from the Vegetarian Resource Group will alert you to such problems as the previous item's nonvegetarian source of activated carbon. For example, you inspect a,carton of delicious ice cream containing "cellulose gum." Should you be worried? Nope, it's to(ally a nonanimal product. But, wait, what about the "carmine" also listed in the ingredients? Yuck!-it's "food coloring derived from the dried bodies of female beetles." Contact VRG, Post Office Box 1463, Baltimore, Nfaryland, 21203, USA.
ONE IN SIX CANADIANS CHOOSE YOGA as their method of de-stressing, according to a survey conducted for the Royal Bank of Canada. Two-thirds of Canadians feel their J'bb is too stressful-two percent say it's so bad they believe themselyes on the edge ofanervous break- ", down. A . De-streSSing Canadians quarter do nothing to relieve stress, another quarter take to physical exercise, and a full sixteen percent have taken up yoga exercises.
READING THE MAHABHARATl, even a shortened version such as C. Rajagopalachari's Engli'sh translation, is a mammoth undertaking. Now you can listen to it on the way, to work or school, thanks to Dr. Akshay R. Rao's 13-hour dramatic reading ofRajagopalachari's excellent version on cassette tape or CD. Contact: 'Ethnic Enterprises, p.o. Box 385468, Bloomington, Minbesota 55438 'S,SA.
THE US RELIGIOUS WORKER VISA has been extended. another three years, despite allegations of widespr~ad fraud. "The Religious Professionals and Other Religious Workers" provision first added in 1996 to Am'erican immigration law allows for not only ministers, but nonclergy religious workers, such as instructm;s in dance and music, translators, and broadcasters to receive a visa and
. eventually permanent status. The US State Department "uncovered a troubling num-ber of scams, both indimdual and organized, including Christian churches th'at sell visas to the highest bidder," according to a report in Christianity Today. The visa provision has allowed Hindu priests and temple workers easier entry to the country.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: pf TER TYM!TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL NINTENDO, COREL , ,
MORT(L KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION, for those who don't already know, is the latest movie to be bas~d upon the video game of the same name. 'ffilyone who really wants to see this really doesn't care what any critic has to say," begins one scathing review: of this kid's martial arts flick. At issue for Hindus is a minor, four-armed character named "Sheeva" played by Marjean Holden. We only know one person who admits to seeing tile movie, and he claims the character is just named "Sheeva," and is not intended to be a warped depiction of the'Supreme God. \ We hope so. Investigation is underway.
·THE CENTER FOR INDIA STUDIES at the State University of New York at Stony Brook is celebrating one of its first major accomplishments-the release of Ananya, A Portrait of India, a formidable 900-plus page book on India. Forty scholar . collaborated to produce a "reliable, readable, single-volume resource" intended fOr college undergraduates. Sections include history-thankfully devoid of the now-debunked '/\ryan Invasion" of India theory-religion, society, business, art, language, literature, "Makers of Modern India," the Indian diaspora and much, much more. Contact: Center for In" dia Studies, E 5350 Melville Library, SUNY Stony Brook, New York 11794-3386 USA.
SEVEN-HUNDRED JAPANESE school children were rushed to hospitals after suffering seizures brought on by a popular TV cartoon show, "Pokeman,' based on Nintendo's "Pocket Monsters" video game. "1 was shocked to see my daughter lose consciousness," said one Japanese parent. "She started to breathe only when I hit her on the back." Video games are known to c~use seizures-convulsions, spasms or nausea, but this is the first case involving a TV cartoon. The children, living mostly in Japans compact apartments, were watching large sets from about three feet away. They had
".. " become very ex- . cited from the fast-paced show. 1rvventyminutes into the program bright flashing red lights filled the screen, apparently trigger-ing the seizure Pocket Monsters game reaction in the brain. A few of the children were hospitalized overnight, and more came in after watching video recordings or the same program over the next few days.
MARCH, Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 49
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,
MINISTER'S MESSAGE who is hiding in your fontanel. Kriya Yoga is
The Breath of God Is the foundation of all religions. What is this foundation? Calmness, which is godliness. That calmness cannot be attained without the guidance of a realized master. The professor of medicine teaches the medical students how to dissect the body intelligently. They learn the practical composition of the whole human system. Similarly, the seeker . of God must learn practical spirituality
•
Our Breath of Life By loving your breath, you love the liying God within you and attain the truth
,
from the realized master. The moment you touch a bare electric wire, your whole body becomes immediately full of electricity. Similarly, if you come to the touch of a real-ized master and practice faithfully accord
BY PA RAM A H A M 'SA HARIHARANANDA ing to his or her instructions, you ~ get -.divine light, divine sound and divine vibration within a short period in your whole body, and be free from all worldly sense.
OD IS ALL-PERVADING, OMNIPRESENT, OMNISCIENT, omnipotent. Where is He not? He is present in every human being, in animals, insects, plants, trees, creep
ers, grass-all life-forms are alive due to His breath. In the Svetasvatara Upanishad, verse 6:11, it is
written, «One heavenly Father is hiding in the head of every human being, all-pervading, the inner self of all beings." Re-, siiling here, in every human being, God is inhalirig. God is inhaling from the day we are born. We are thus born for God realization, because our whole body is God, the whole universe is God. Without His inhalation, life ends.
Human beings have two bodies. One gross body-ham (meaning «r ~")-which is full of delusion, illusion and error. But on the top of the head, He is hiding in the formless state, and He is stimulating our inhalation. That is our sa bogy. The Shiva Svarodaya scriptures verse 51 says, «The process of exhalation is said to contain the letter ham, and the inhalation contains the letter sa. " Similarly, Gheranda Samhita 5:84 indicates, «Breath of every person, in entering, makes the sound of 'sa', and in coming out (bahiryati), that of oom.' " This is hamsa, or so'ham.
The supreme, almighty Father is hiding in the fontanel in the top of the head, pulling t):J.e inhalation, and that is why we are alive and able to do manj'types of work. Human beings generally do fIve types of work: earning money by the breath; sexual enjoyment by the breath; eating and digesting food by the breath; feeling anger, pride, cruelty in the heart-center by the breath; and getting established in a religious mood in the vacuum center, because He is inhaling. If He does not inhale, all human beings will cease. I
There are 49 types of breath, of which 48 give us delusion, illusion and error. ~ere is only one very short breath called udan, air which gives calmness, godliness and liberation. God is inhaling all of these types of breaths. This is why human beings are completely engrossed in the material world. They do not know how to take this short breath. •
The many religions, cults, sects and monastic orders teach many different paths for God realizatiqp., but all rely on the fIve sense organs. Kena Upanishad verse 1:2-9 explains that our fIve sense organs are activated by the power of God, so we cannot know God by these sense organs. Observe the mind of all worldly people. They are religious, outwardly 'doing many good things, but their mind is constantly engrossed in the material world, becoming increasingly restless.
The Kriya Yoga technique that we teach does not rely on the fIve sense organs. It is not written in books; it can only be learned directly from a realized Kriya Yoga master or his empowere(I acharyas. Kri means «to do work." Ya is your indwelling self, sa,
50 HI~DUISM TODA.Y M RCH, Igg8
This human body is made of a great quantity of nerves. According to the Prashna Upanishad, verse 3:6, it is precisely 727,210,201. Because of our breath, our blood remains liquid and circulates throughout the whole body. The breath is our own living power of God. Breath is dharma. Dharma means «that which holds life together," and that is religion.
Kriya Yoga gives extreme importance to the breath. It teaches that breath control is self eontrol, breath mastery is self mastery, it is deathlessness. If you take a very short
breath and seek God in the fontanel and the pituitary, you will . attain calmness and God realization. The Bhagavad Gita, verse 5:27, mentions this short breath: «We are to fIx our attention in the pituitary, take a very short breath apd touch Him in the pituitary and in the fontanel." The breath must be so short that if you place your fInger in front of your nose, the outgoing breath will not touch the fmger.
People of all religions, cults and creeds should fIrst learn how to control their breath. Breath control is the foundation of all religions and the quickest means of success. In the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, verse 4:34, it is written, «If the breath is not short and touching inside the brain; if one does not maintain pin-pointed attention in the fontanel; and if the technique is not simple, easy and' quick, with no big words or complicated concepts, your practice will be in vain and empty."
If you give extreme love to the breath, you are a kriyavan. You will get divine joy. Your soul will be absorbed illl the Supreme . .t}.s the young bride loves her. husband, as the young groom gives love to his wife, as the miser loves his money, similarly everyone should love the breath. Love your breath, then you will experience the Reality, the Truth, the Joy. Calmness will come automatically and you will ul,timately become a brahmavid, a knower of the Supreme.
PARAMAHAMSA HARIHARANANDA, go, last living realized disciple of Shri Yukteshwar, attained the supreme state of nirvikalpa samadhi in 1948. He has been teaching the authentic Kriya Yoga since then.
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MISSION STATEMENT . Hindu Heritage Endowment is a publicly supported, charitable organization'recognized as tax
I
exempt by the IRS o~ April 22, 1994. Its .employer ID !:lumber is 99-0308924. FOJJndeg by Satguru
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, its philanthropic mission is t(') provide secure, professionally man-'" .
aged financial support for institutions and-religious leaders of all lineages of Sanatana Dharma.
MARCH DONOR PROFILE
"From the days of my youth, I have dreamed of creating a Hindu research institute and schools, and this is still one of my goals in life. I was very happy to know of the formation of Hindu Heritage Endowment, for this is the first step in s:reating a solid financial front for Hinduism in the modern world. Variou,s other endowments I envision include those for archeological/historical research, Hindu institutions, Hindu film / cartoon industries and, of course, historical temples, libraries and for helping the poor." Erasenthiran Poonjolai, a Malaysian studying Mechanical Engine'ering and Laser Technology Research in Great Britain, has dedicated much of his life to serving his
religion. As a youth he conducted academic and religious classes in local villages. In England, he has organized dharma-based ~ctivities and, ip 1995, formed a Hindu Society at Liverpool University
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FUND OF THE MONTH
The young women who devote years of their lives to becoming living channels for the Goddess in the ten districts of the Katbmandu valley are finding it il}creasingly difficult to adjust tC? life in the world around them once their time of service comes to an. end. And as the area becomes more influenced by Western visitors and values, many families are reluctant to allow theiI;. daughters to participate in this venerable tradition, for the years of educat-ion that are lost are important and hard to regain. The Nepal Kumari Goddess Education Fund will smooth this transition by providing a stipend for the education and adjustment of future Kumaris as' they re-enter the world from their time of service to the Gods. (For fhe incredible story of this sacred tradition, see HINDUISM TODAY, June 1997.)
A·PROFESSIONAL'S PERSPECI1VE. In many insta)lces, the family business accounts for a significant portion of the gross estate of a business owner. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 offers estate tax relief for these individuals. The estate tax savings from the family business exclusion may be
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over $300,000, depending on the size of the estate and the year of death. However, the family business exclusion is only available to taxpayers whq have m~t. the complex qualifying requirements. Two of these requirements are that the family business must account for 50% or more of the total estate and there must be "material participation" from family members before and after death. Nitai H. Pathak, CPA, MST, of Kling, Lee & Pathak, Artesia, California, (888) 721-5370 and (562) 921-8610.
As a public service, HHE occasionally will offer the opinion s of various finanGial plan ners. However, it ~ndorses neither these adviso.rs nor their counsel, and recommends that all individuals seek profeSSIOnal advice from several sources before making lffiportant long-term deCiSIons.
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R ECENT D ONO R S
Hindu Businessmen's Association Trust Edwin Hawk $1,186.57 Malaysian Hindu Youth Educational Fund
Adi Alahan $31.00 Se!vanathan Jothiswarar $608.33 Jeyasreedharan $40.00 Vel Alahan $250.00 Nalakini Niranjana $264.71 Total $40.00 Paramaseeven Canagasaby $14.36 Umah Rani Palanisamy $103.36
Mafua~iM~calFund Vel Mahalingum $11.29 Balan Rajan $71.58
Gowri Nadason $30.00 Manogaran Mardemootoo $17.48 Aran Sambandar $360.00
Matthew Wieczork $10.00 Vishwanaden Maofaoven $4.52 Padmini Samufu iran $343.00
Total $40.00 Nafuan Palani $509.00 Loganafu a Shivam $500.00
Easvan Param $229.13 Palaka Shivam $500.00 Mafua~i Travel Fund
Janaka Param $12.00 Saiva Siddhanta Church $7,828.33 Erasenthiran Poonjolai $75.00 Deva Rajan $52 1.00 Sivaneswaran Sockanathan $78.00 Total $75.00
Total $1,599.78 Gokula Vani $100.00 Purl Monasteries Endowment
Hindu Orphanage Endowment Fund Total $13,619.37
Gouri Shanker $31.00
Ramakumar & Sailaja Kosuru $20.00 Kauai Aadheenam Annual Archana Fund Total $31.00
Alex Ruberto $30.00 Gopiladeva Doorgiat $1.81 Sri Subramuniya Kottam Fund Matthew Wieczork $30.00 Saroja Devi Doorgiat $4.97
Andrew Schoenbaum $10.00 Total $80.00 Van ad eva Doorgiat $1.35
Total $10.00 Hinduism Today Distribution Fund
Arnouda Koothan $0.45 Egilen Koofuan $0.45 Sundari Peruman Memorial Fund
Himalayan Academy $2,850.00 Saravan Koothan $0.45 Markandeya Peruman $25.00 Soondiren Arnasalon $54.19
Kamaladevi Mootoosawmy $0.45 Total $25.00 Dustin Baumann $90.00
Yuvamanee Mootoosawmy $0.45 Thank You Gurudeva Fund Ravindra Doorgiat $52.83 Soondiren Nellatamby $0.45
Anand Greedhur $9.00 Se!vanathan Jothiswarar $22.79 Devaladevi Sivaceyon $3.13 Anonymous $118.00 Cheri Lyons $70.00 Nutanaya Sivaceyon $3.13 Total $140.79 Kartikeyen Manick $29.92 Patudeva Sivaceyon $3.13
Jayaluxmee Moothoo $13.54 Nandi Devi Sivanathan $2.90 Tirumular Sanuidhi Preservation Trust Dhanya Nadesan $36.71 Potriyan Sivanathan $5.72 Shyamadeva Dandapani $25.00 Chandran Param $100.00 Total $28.84 Total $25.00 Kanthasamy Pillaiyar $110.00
Tirunavakkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam Fund Surya Sabaratnam $38.00 Kauai Aadheenam Monastic Endowment
Govinden Sanjeevee $15.00 Vinaya Alahan $225.00 Peshala Dike! $10.00
Priya Devi Utchanah $10.00 Sivan Murrugappa Naicken $22.67 Clive Fetzer $40.00
Total $3,479.19 Kumaren Nataraja $9.07 Bhavani Param $2.00
Hinduism Today Endowment Trust Ramsamy Natarajan $18.06 Janaka Param $5.00
Dohadeva Samugam $95.00 Total $57.00 Anonymous $478.82
Total $478.82 Total $369.80 Undesignated
Iraivan Temple Endowment Loving Ganesha Distribution Fund Anonymous 687.31
Vayudeva Dike! $1,558.49 Eric Mitchell $10.00 Elfriede Paoletti $50.00
Kriya Haran $117.00 Total $10.00 Total $737.31
We especially thank those young child ren who gave a small amount, Total Recent Contrib. llS$20,846.90
tith ing from their allowance each month, creating posit ive patterns early in life. Total Endowment Funds US$2,263,912.53
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. HHE is a member of the Council on Foundations, an association of 1,500 foundations which interprets relevant law, inteJ;"national and domestic, and accounting, management and investment principles.
I W:ANT TO PARTICIPATE. WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY DONATION? You can send your gift to an existing fund, create a new endowmen.t 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, Hawa.ii, 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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TECHNOLOGY
Cyber India
You might as well set up the computer in your kitchen and let Tarla Dalal's CD cookery videos guide you
N' EED A JOB WRITING
software code in India or other budding techno nations? Itching for the details of India's next computer expo? Look no ,further than Cyber India Online ." (www.ciol.com). where you'll find 600 job list~ ings and a schedule df 24 trade shows staged in India within the next two months. Or, if you're trying to stay ahead of associates in system soft-
CD-ROM
Yummy f o r t he Tummy
SOLVE THAT QUANDARY OF WHAT TO COOK
tonight by tapping Indian culinary queen Tarla D81al's ''Desi Khana." This ravishing CD offers 140 Indian vegetarian recipes hy
perlinked to a glossary of every possible ingredi-
SAGES the world, seeing in it
God: Thy manifestation." Thus uttered Sri Ra-
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the Web at www.ra makrishna.org. You'll find affectionate bi-ographies, classic photos for sale @.d the universal teach-ings of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Sri Sarada Devi, plus a schedule of weekly classes and Sunday services at the Ra-makrishna-Vivek-ananda Center of New York.
ent-from cashews to cardamom. Wholesome curries, snacks, chutneys, breads, rices and more are complimented by nutritional stats for each dish. Many who love Indian food are intimidated by how it's prepared. The CDs videos eliminate such fears and get you right into "mango vanilla burfi. " Mac & Windows. US$30. Contact: Kirloskar Computer Services, 5570 Malleswaram West, Bangalore 560055, India E-mail: [email protected]
SERVICE and Sita Lozoff's uplift-
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Ashrams M ORE PEOPLE ARE
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. many feel the urge to get spiritual. Who will guide them? Most of us don't bother. Exception-al help comes from the Human Kindness gives resources Foundation, based for prisoners on the teachings and the rest of of Neem Karoli Baba. us, especially Atwww.hu Bo's best-mankind seller book, ness.org We're All you learn Doing about Bo Time.
Leaders of the info. age
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1806'3 LIFEWf£ HIHOU1SIf TODAY
LIFe IfEIfBE.R HJHDUISIf' TODAY 'REHAI9.SIIHC£ CIRCI,£.
101 KAHOlALELE ROAD. ~APAA. HAMAlI 987~6~930i
ADDRESS CORRECT.JOH REQUESTEI>
1I,/II,/,/,/,/",II"/,/fI,/,/,/,/",II"/,/""II,I
.f ........... " ........ Auto 3-DISIT 9'59
• PARADISE CA 95969-5969
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HOH-PRO,Hf OR6ANIZATION
U. S. POStAGE PAID LIBERT'rl. ItO PERIfIT NO. 275
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