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

o 74470 12134 3

Letters to the editor, subscription and .editorial inquiries should be sent to Hinduism Today, 107 Kaholalele Road, KapaBl, Hawaii 96746-9304 USA. E-mail: letters@hindu.org. HlNDUlSM ToDAY (ISSN# 0896-0801), November; 1998 Volume zo, No. 11. Editorial: 1-808-8zz-7032 (ext. 241); subscriptions: 1-808-8zz-703z (ext. 2'35) or (in USA) 1-888-464-1008; adver tising: (USA) 1-800-850-1008, (over­seas) 1-808-8zz-7032 (ext. Z33). All-department fax: 1-808-82Z-4351 . HlNDUlSM TODAY is published monthly by Himalayan Academy, a nonprofit educational institution; Satguru Sivaya Subramu­niyaswami., Publisher; Acbarya Palaniswami, Editor. USA subscriptions: US$3911 year, $741'2 years, $10g/3 years, $600Ilifietime. International rates are an additional $10 per year. Also distributed through major subscription agencies worldwide. Call1-BoB-Bzz-7032 for bulk orders (ext. Z35) or permission to publish a HlNDUlSM TODAY article (ext. ZZ7) or fax I-BoB-Bz2-4351. Printed in USA.

( "I""\c-ui;,,,,, from left) The nine planets of 0 solar system pose for a group '1~'"}1l<lJ'll newlyweds and kin at their family festival in Barbados, .

'-'lI.iU\.J.~fP""1l U1lal at his Vedic Astrology center in Los Angeles, CalifJrrua '

. NOVEMBER, 1998

~W~·Cf'~· INTERNATIONAL Lead Stor,y: Vedic Astrologers Bring their

Subtle Indian Craft to America 20 Caribbean: Hirldu Life on Barbados 32 Defamation: Ganesha Departs Disney 35 Discrimination: Fired for a Swastika! 36 History: He's One Determmed Historian 50

LIFESTYLE Life Decisions: Choosing a Career 25 Spirituality: Your Inne;: Astrology 26 Insight: Nakshatras: the Twenty-Seven • Superstars of Vedic Astrology 27 L~a"'J1ing: ?mart Kids Don't Smart 41

OPINION Pub'lIsher's Desk: Regrets and Worries ... • Flee from the Eternal Now 10 Letters 12 My Jurn: What Qualifies an Astrologer? 13 Editorial: Becoming Good Navigators

6n the Sea of Time 16 Women of Vision: Why Ramas Role as

Husband Doesn't Inspire Women 39 Healing: Indian Food that Can Kill 46 Minister's Message: Two Swamis Lay Down

the Law on Corporal Punishment 52

DIGESTS Diaspora Quotes & Quips Evolutions

7 News in Brief 17 Digital Dharma 46

49 54

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6

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Thai Buddhist monk enters Preah Vihear temple on opening day

CAMBODIA

Gods Allowed Reentry

CAMBODIA REOPENED THE KHMER MOUNTAINTOP PREAH

Viliear temple August 1 to symbolize the end of its civil war. "Peace and stability have prevailed. The temple is now open for visitors," said Colonel Va Xuen, commander of Cambo­dian troops deployed to guard the stone edifice. The Khmer Rouge held the Hindu temple, built in the 15th century at the height of the old Khmer civilization, until its soldiers in the area defected to the government in March, 1998. "We've cleared landmines to prepare for visitors," Xuen said. The temple, near the Thai border, was a popular tourist site until it was closed in the early 1960s when Thailand and Cambodia disputed its ownership. The dispute is considered history now, and Cambo­dia promises to spend $I million restoring the neglected temple.

Ma Sharda School performs in Nairobi, Kenya

Literature, in 1913. TheMa Sharda School of Music in Nairobi celebrated his' 137th birth an­niversary in May, 1998, with a joy­ous rendering of selections from Rabindrasangeet, Tagores over 2,500 songs, per­formed at the In­

KENYA

Celebrating a Poet's Birth nABINDRANATH TAGORE IS

N:Jest known throughout the world as the fIrst Asian to be awarded the Nobel Prize for

dian High Commission. Led by their dedicated teacher and foremost exponent of Rabindra­sangeet in Kenya, Mrs. Raja­shree Mukherjee, the youth thrilled audiences with Tagore's invocations to God in different ragas, songs that express every mood of life, from change of seasons to love and patriotism.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: REUTERS, MANIAM SELVAN/COURTESY RA-~~A~U:~~~C~=~A7INDU.TEMPLE Q( GREATER CHICAGO,

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keya to circle the world. "Who can go around t,he world first?"

MEMORIALS

Standing Tall

HE'S A LEGEND NOW, HAV­

ing stunned the 1893 Par­liament of Religions with his

eloquence. To honor Swami Vivekananda as the first man to bring Hinduism to America, a ten-foot bronze statue w'as un­veiled August 13 at the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. "Our original plan was to put the starue in a city park in , Chicago, but apparently there's no precedent for honoring a re­ligious leader in that way," s~d Barbara Horton of the Vivek­wanda Vedanta Society of Chicago, which raised money for the monument. Swami At-masthananda, the Vice-Presi- , dent of the Ramakrishna Mis-sion, performed the dedication. The image is modeled after a photograph of Swami taken in Chicago after his appearance at the Parliament of Religions.

Vivekananda as he was in 1893

NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 7

Young girls, like these Nepalese porters, are often forced into labor

SOC I,..E T Y

The "Girl Child Decade" OLIGHTS OF GIRLS ",?ORLD­

r wide, especially in Irldia, are highlighted ever more frequently today, as shown by People & the Planet magazines latest issue, "The Girl Child." The articles ex­plore the ever-growing imbal­ance of girls and boys in India as a result of sex-selected abortion, infanticide and neglect. New surveys put mortality in the 0-4

age group 43 percent higher for girls than for boys, with another upswing in the 15-19 age group. Girls commonly toil from dawn to dusk in fields (or in industries) while boys get educated in school-India was home to 197 million illiterate women in 1991. Visit People & the Plariet's web­site to read all the major articles: www.oneworld.orglpatpl.

THE VEDAS

God's Word, Sages'Voices

By their words the inspired sages impart manifold forms to that Supreme Self, which is the One.

RIG VEDA 10.114.5

The man who sees, who breathes, who hears words spoken, obtains his nourish­ment through me alone. Unrecognizing me, he yet

dwells in me. Listen, you who know! What I say is worthy of belief. RIG VEDA. DEVI SUKTA 10.125.4

I This aPman is the Lord of all beings, the King of all beings. Just as the spokes are fixed in the hub and the rim of a chariot wheel, in the same way all these beings, all the GOGS, all the worlds, all life breaths, ali these selves, are fixed in the aPman.

SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD 2.5.15

8 HINfiuISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998

I 1

..-

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Twetan monks create a mandala USA

Grain by Grain

FIVE THOUSAND VISITORS '"

streamed through Washing­ton D,C. s Arthur Sackler Gallery over one August week­end-more than double the usual attendance-to witness two Tibetan monks from India, Tsering Wangchuk and'Dhon­den Gyatso, painstakingly con­structing a "mandala of the Healing Buddha:' out of colored marble sand. The demonstra­tion (praised by the Washing-ton Post) accompanied the just­opened "Buddhas Art of Healing" exhibit, featuring the only existing paintings from a Tibet medical atlas. The Sack-ler was also home in 1997 to an excellent Hindu puja exhibit.

I breathe out strongly like the wind while clasping unto myself ali worlds, ali things that are. I tower above the earth, above the heavens, so mighty am I in my power and splendor! RIG VEDA, DEVI SUKTA 10.125.8

I r

I

The All-Powerful Divinity dwells as the living individual in ali living things. Hence the wise bows before a horse, a I

man of low birth, a cow, 'Or an ass. YAJNAVALKYA UPANISHAD 7

The Vedas are the divinely revealed and most revered scriptures, sruti, of Hinduism, likened to the Torah (2,000 BeE), Bible New Tes­tament (200 eEl, Koran (600 eE) or ZendAvesta (600 BeE). Fbur in number, Rig, Yajur, Sarna and Atharua, the Vedas include over 100,000 verses. Oldest portions may date back as far as 6 ,000 BCE I

I

t

1

!

Who Is a Hindu? ':Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are di­verse; and the realization of the truth that the number of gods to be worshiped is large, that indeed is the dis­tinguishing feature of the Hindu religion." B.G. Tilak's definition of what makes one a basic Hindu, as quoted by India's Supreme Court. On July 2, 1995, the Court referred to it as an "adequate and satisfactory formula. "

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PUBLISHER'S DESK

Will You Dare Live' ,

I n the" Eternal Now? Abiding in the moment is the height of security, but to maintai:r:t it takes practice and a clear subconscious

BY. SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI

, OU ONLY HAVE A MINUTE, ONLY SIXTY

seconds in it. Didn't want it, didn't choose it, forced upon you, can't refuse it. Yet you suffer if you lose it, give account if you abuse it. Just a tiny little minute, but eternity is in it. For not

to love is not to live, and npt to give- is not to live." That's an old proverb I was taught when young. There is really very little to be said intellectually about -the eternal now. You have to live in it, and in living in it you discover a higher state of conscious­ness than you have experienced in your life. Because the vibration of the eternal now is so very high, part of your mind and nature does not like to experience the security of the eternal now, which is' really the height of security. It takes practice to maintain a continued experience of the eternal now.

Can you visuiilize yourself, right at this instant, balanced on the top of a tall tree? If the tree were to bend toe far forward, you would fall to the ground, or down into time and thought. If it were to bend too far back, you would again fall. Bal­anced on the top of this tree, you can look out over the country­side and enjoy everything you see. But if you stop to think about one thing of the past; you would become so engrossed in what you are thinking about that you would again fall to the ground. You find that you cannot live in a thinking consciousness balanced so high. ,Here you live in the eternal now, with great awarenes& of what-is around you and within you, but with no thought on it.

Can you feel like this? Right now you are here. Right now noth­ing else maHers. You are aware. You are alive, and you are in eter­nity. Finding the eternal now is a vibration even more powerful than that of sound or light, for you are in the consciousness of Be­ing-being intensely aware, being very alive. In that state of con­sciousness you can see that when you begin to think, it is like climbing down the tree and wplking along through the forest. On ille ground you cannot see the forest. for the trees. On top of the tree you can see the entire fores( and enjoy it. In the eternal now you find awareness in every part of your body, every fiber of your consciousness. Your life depends upon your awareness! Here you can enjoy seeing the birds fly by, the waterfall, the countryside.

You can enjoy all that, but you dare not stop to think upon the flight of one bird, because you would become too engrossed in thClught and fall into a lower state of consciousness. That bird might remind you of a pet bird you had at home, and the thinking mind would go on and on, landing you on the ground. When you become aware and start living in eternity, in the eternal now, you find that eternity is within you. Then you can see there is no life.

10 HINDUISM TODA~ NO :V EMBER , Igg8

Nor is there any death. You have transcended even the laws of reincar­nation in that state, hold­ing the consciousness of eternity, for you are be­yond the soul which rein­carnates and creates a new form around itself

What is the instant? That is what we have to discover through a mo­ment of concentration. What is the moment? We all know what the past is-many people live in the past, over and O\~er

again, and they never catch up with the present. Other people live in the future-but of course when they do, they are really only living in the past, too, and they never fmd the present either.

Just as an example, how many times have you gone to the temple without being fully tliere? Part of you was there, part of you was living in the past, part of you was trying to live in the future; and there you were, emoting over the things that.happened that should never­have happened, and fear(ul of things that might happen in the future, which probably won't happen unless you con­tinue being fearful of their happening until you create them! '

Do youJrnow that the ability to live right now, in the instant, is a spiritual power, reflecting the awakening of the soul and requiring a sub­conscious control of the mind? Your soul is never bothered with the things tllat disturb the rest of the mind! The mind lives in the past, and the mind tries to live in the future. But when you quiet your mind, you live in the present. You are living within your soul, or the higher state of your mind which is undisturbed by the things of time.

Also, when you live in the present, you eliminate fears, worries and doubts. Of course, you might feel a little out of place for a .

while, as if you weren't anybody, if for years and years you have been accustomed to making fears, worries and doubts your cher­ished possessions-more important to you than anything. There are people who just wouldn't know who they were if you took away their"f'ears, worries and doubts. But if you want to be somebQdy, something, a state of being, you want to live in the eternal now.

There is a simple formula for attaining the eternal now. If you can remember it, you can center yourself within yourself very quickly .and experience living right this instant. Imagine yourself

, Three modes of living: The man on the left is burdened by the past, fretting over things he wished had never happend. The man on the right is worned about the future. Neither has time fo catch up with the present. 'The being in the middle lives in the now---centered, positive and secure in the certainty that "I'm all right, right now." ..................... ~ .............. ......... , ..... u ... ..................................... . ... n ..... u ..................................... .

now, worried, bothered and disturbed, and in the midst of your disturbance say to yourself, :'1 am all right, t ight now. Just this in­stant, I am all right." What a shock to the disturbed part of your mind! It will not only be shocked, it will be shllttered out of its disturbance when you declare the truth that you are all right in the eternal now. .

It is one thing to say "I am all right, right now," and it is another thing to feel it. Can you feel that you are all right, right now? Can you really believe it? Can you hold that feeling, so that this affir­mation becomes permeated through your subconscious mind? Let this feeling permeate so deeply through your subconscious mind that it begins working within you, the same way your involuntary subconscious keeps your heart beating and the other processes of your body going.

'Tm all right, right now." Let the feeling of these words Vibrate within you. Then every time you abide in the luxury of worry­and the luxury of worry is one luxury you cannot afford-say to yourself, 'Tm all right, right now," and forget about where you are going, forget about.where you have been and just be where you are, where your physical body is, in its immediate surroUndings.

When you do that, you fmd that where you were going and what you were worried about has to do with the egotistical you-your pride and the various qualities that you hasten to rid yourself of when you think you should improve yourself So, it is really very practical to live now and be all' right in all the nows. But remem­ber, since living in the eternal now lifts you into a higher state of consciousness than you have been accustomed to, you have to con­tinue to feel that you are all right, right now. When you continue for long ~eriods in the consciousness of the eternal now, something mysterious and wonderful begins to happen-your soul, your su­perconscious, begins to work out your spiritual destiny. When you quiet your mind, and only when you quiet your mind, you give your soul a chance. What difference does it make) f you do have problems? They will work themselves out if you can keep the con­fusion of your lower states of mind out of the way.

Visualize your soul now as a shaft of light. Visualize your mind as various layers surrounding that soul, covering up the brilliancy of that light. If you live in the layers around the soul, which only cover up the brilliancy of the light, you add to the confusion around the soul. But you can choose to live in that shaft of light. By realizing that you are all right this instant, that light of your soul has a chance to shine thro~gh the surroun<#ng layers of the mind just a little, enough to calm your future-fer yOUF future is made ill the prE!.sent, in the eternal nQw.

Announcing Our Daily Web Page: Now you can visit on the Inter­net our Kauai Aadheenam on the Garden Island of Kauai. Just point yOpI' browser to http;llwww.gurltdeva.dynip.coml-htoday/to­day/. Here yQ.u'll enjoy my daily spiritual message in live voice, read todays newest news and a fresh lesson of the day, see some current digital photos and soon a video. Aadheenam is the South India name for an ashram. It is where 25 of my monks-acharyas, swamis, yogis and sadhakas-serve in creating HINDUISM TODAY

month after month after month. This is our 20TH year of produc­ing the magazine. For those who do not know, our tropical island is 3,800 miles east of Japan, 4,8'00 miles north of Australia, 2,200 miles south of Alaska and 2,750 miles west of California.

Come to the ashram in cyberspace for daily darshan. Do it now. Don't delay. You will be very welcome.

NOVEMBER , Igg8 HINDUI SM TODAY 11

Dress Code for Temple Goers I AM A MALAYSIAN OF CHINESE ORIGIN, and I am very interested in Indian/Hindu c;lture, especially on the aspect of dr~ss and costume. There is, of course, a signifi­cant Indian minority in Malaysia, and I have many indian/Hindu friends. One of the best gifts I have got from an Indian friend was when he taught me how to wea( the dhoti, wpat they call here a veshti for men. The sad thing is that not many men wear the veshti nowadays in Malaysia, not even in the temples, except for the priest. Many of my friends say that wearing a veshti is uncom­fortable since ' they are more used to trousers. I have to say that there is nothing really uncomfortable about the veshti, one can get used to it after a while, but the trib­al style where the cloth goes under the legs to .be tucked behind takes a bit of getting used to. Some of my friends whose origins are from Kerala say lhat some temples there enforce traditional clothing on men when they go there. Do you .think there should be a dress code for all who enter temples?

I JAMES CHONG

PERAK, MALAYSIA " acchong@pc.jaring.my

A Big Barrier-Social Divisions COMING FROM A COUNTRY LIKE MALAYSIA, one inevitably notices that the Hindus here are made up of many different groups iden­tified with different Indian states, languages or castes. We nave the Telegus, Malayalees, Gounaers, Chettiyars, Mudaliars, etc., etc., and the list never seems to end. What aston­ishes me most is the fact that as people of a common religion, just Hindus, we instead look at each other through the eyes of "he or she is not one of my kind," and this has cre­ated and clouded the progress of the Hindus in this country. Each temple.or Hindu or­ganisation is identified as "a Ceylonese tem­ple" pr "a Chettiyar temple," etc. The worst part is when a boy and a girl of two different groups fall in love and decide to get married, the opposition is so strong that often the couple decide to part and save their family the shame of marrying out. This is unbeliev­able. Hindus and yet not Hindus. What is the problem here? Identifying yourself with a special language or caste group rather than being proud that you are a Hindu, this is the problem. It stunts the progress of the Hindu yommunity in terms of education, econom­ic and social welfare. Certain groups are found to only contribut~ and help their own kind and are proud of it. If only we didn't belong to a Nair, a Pillai, a Menon, a Goun­der, a Chettiyar social caste group or what­ever else andJ ust belonged to the Hindus, we might find ourselves conquering moun­tains and leapiNg over the tallest buildings.

12 HI,NDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998

:LETTERS If only we' could realize we are all actually brothers and sisters, and it doesn't matter what we speak or how we speak but that we are all of one kind. If only? Would you be willing to teach your child that every Hindu is a Hindu and not a member of some lan­guage or caste group? If only we could break these barriers created by our forefa­thers and still practiced by many!1f only we could change ourselves firsf! Then I think Hindus all over the world still have a chance. No Hindu should be greater or lesser than another, and no Hindu should eye himself as the greatest and look down on his neighbor. After all, dear Ganesha, I wonder what You are and what language You speak?

KRISHNAKUMARI NALLAKUMAR " kumari@frim.gov.my-

Sadhu Bathing Order IN YOUR KUMBHA MELA TIME LINE IT IS mentioned [INSIGHT, pg 34, Sep.' 'g8]: "ca 1780: British establish the order for royal bathing by the monastic groups (the same order is followed today)." It is my impression that it was (Thode) Madhavrao Peshwa, the Maratha Prime Minister, who established this order (prior to 1780?) after figllts broke out at &e Nashik KiImbha Mela and not the British. The British East India Company had just won the Battle of Plassey (1757) and would hardly be in a position to dictate religious rules in 1780. The British Crown seized power of India in 1857 after the Na­tional Uprising. It was then that major re­forms, changes, and degradations in Hindu religion started taking place.

I AMOL lOSHI

" ahjoshi@hotmaihcom

Ten Years to Worldwide Reiki I'M SURPRISED NO ONE HAS RESPONDED TO the "Reiki" article (HT January 1998). For many years, I have believed that hatha yoga and meditation are the keys to achieve Self Realization. This is true, however, Reiki is no! just for healing-it is a path to Enlight­enment. When you put your hands on any part of the bQdy, the flow of healing energy begins. Remove the hands and the energy stops! This is a simple but powerful tech­nique. Your readers should consider adding Reiki to their daily routine. Within the next ten yearS"; I believe Reiki will spread rapidly throu~hout the entire world.

MARC EDWARDS " marced@asan.com

Remembering' Krishnanaildji IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT THE COVER OF the" August issue should carry ' the photo­graph of President Nelson Mandela at a Hindu center at Durban on Dipavali cele­brations. Also, Swami Ghananandji's warm

and reverential tribute to Swami Krish­nll9andji [MINISTER'S MESSAGE, Aug. 'g8] as "Swami of Africa" will bring happy memo­{ies, satisfaction and gratitute to thousands of people whose lives were touched by Swa­mi Krishnanandji. I met him in 1981 and to­day memories come flooding to my mind of, his deep spirituality, compassion and true greatness. It is right and proper that Mahat­rna Gandht.. and Swami Krishnanandji who made history in and for Africa are remem­bered together. Swami Ghananandji and his message are a compliment to Africa. '

,

NAUTAM RAVAL • HARROW, UNITED KINGDOM

Don't Dismiss Ancient Tamil THE POSSIBILITY THAT AN ANCIENT DRA­vidian tongue could be the language of the Harappans should not be discredited [LAN­GUAGE , May'98]. The letter "+" also repre­sented "K" in ancient Tamil. The Rig Veda mentions dark complexion"ed residents. Pure Tamil words are traceable in ancient Sanskrit texts. Tamil was older or contemporary with Sanskrit and perhaps its culture and cere­monies were the cornerstone of Hinduism.

THAVARAJA SUNDHAR SUNDRAM KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Conspiracy Behind a Name? I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED WHY, IN ENG­lish, Christianity is the only religion referred to with the suffix "-ity." Every other religion is referred to as an "-ism," Hinduism, Bud­dism, Jainism, Judaism, etc. The suffix "-ity" suggests a state of being, as in gravity, agili­ty , volatility. It suggests a quality inherent to the subject -the way religion is supposed to be. The suffix "-ism" suggests a precon­ceived set of thoughts to which one agrees or does not without it being inherent to one's nature as in communism, capitalism, dada­ism, minimalism, etc. It is not hard to imag­ine that people who first coined. the term did not feel comfortable calling other's reli­

;gion a religion. But now that we are free to call ourselves anythil)g, we should call our­selves "Hinduity" and let people Imow that we have caught on to their conspiracy.

SHRUTI AND ABHIJIT T. SHUKLA " ashuklas@bellatIantic.net

<

Le~ters with writers n~e, address and daytime phone number, should be sent to:

Letters, HINDUISM TODAY 107 Kaholalele Road KAPAA, HAWAII, 96746-9304 USA or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 , or e·mailed to: letters@hindu.org ,

, Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may appear in electronic versions of HiNDUISM TODAY. \., INDICATES LETTERS REC,EIVED VIA E-MAIL

~~~MYTURN

HINDU RENAISSANCE TEAM

HINDUISM TODAY was founded January 5, 1979, by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. It is a nonprofit educational activity of Himalayan Academy with the following\Jlurposes: 1. To fos­ter Hindu solidarity as a unity in diver-sity among all sects and lineages; 2. 'fo inform and inspire Hindus worldwide and people interest­ed in Hinduism; 3. To dispel myths, illusions and misinformation about Hindl:lism; 4 .. To protect, preserve and promote the sacred Vedas and the Hindu religion; 5. To nurture and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hindu renaissance. We invite our readers to share these purposes with us by sending letters, reports on events, news clip­pings, and encouraging others to subscribe.

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I

Can Astrologers Be Spiritual Mentors? Only if they are trained in counseling and steeped in personal spiritual practice

BY l)MANANDA QUONG

OR PROFESSIONAL ASTRO­logers who encounter daily the hopes, fears,

. desires and aspirations of often desperate people facing real-life crises, predictive ability and technical expertise are not enough. They must develop the capacity to address the psycho­logical needs of the client, above and beyond the basic interpretation of the horoscope. How many professing to be astrologers have received any kinel of formal training in counseling skills, or even any informal preparation, which qualifies them to give advke to peo­ple on a variety of important issues?

How many times have we seen or heard about clients who have departed an astro­logical consultation feeling distraught, con­fused and discouraged about specific con­clusions and predictions concerning future events in a person's life? Indians typically believe in karmic retribution and in as­trologers' predictions, which they expeot in any consultatiol}. What the eyes see, the mind interprets according to ones expecta­tions and beliefs. A, strong belief that an astrologer's predictions will come true will have a major effect upon one's perception and interpretation of the "objective reality" of events to come. Americans tend to be­lieve they can alter their destiny through conscious choice, and prefer directions for personal, spiritual transformatiqn. In either case, there is a large subjectivity factbr and room for judgmental errors. It would be prudent to show discretion and humility in ones presentation, lest some error of judg­ment result in actual harm to the client. At the very least, predictive astrologers should speak in simple, clear language, according to the level of understanding of the listener, and not inundate the client with excessive technical jargon.

In Brihat Samhita (11.2), Sage Varahami-

hira describes the qualities of the ideal astrologer: "He must be clean, efficient, bold, elo- -quent, possessed of genius or ready wit, knower of the time and place, sincere, not timid in assemblies, not to be overpow­ered by his fellow students, expert, free from vices, well­versed in the performance of curative and preventive types of

rituals, as well as in that of magic and bathing, engaged in the worship of Gods, observances or austerities and fast; pos- • sessed of great power generated by the wonderful achievements of his scientific knowledge and,capable of answering queries made by others and suggesting remedial measures for troubles, other than the visitations of God." Knowledge of as­trology must be complem~nted by spiritual practice and a religious life ~hich enables the astrologer to be an instrument of the Divine, providing advice based on spiritual values and the wisdom of personal E)xperi­ence. The spiritual qualities which make a -person a great yogi are the same attributes which contribute to eminence in astrology. Only a life lived in ~ccordance with dhar­ma can produce the wisd~m and loving kindness that can heal as well as inform.

As "great as astrology is, we should also recognize its limitations, and maintain ~ clear understanding of its role in the con­text of our ovef"all spiritual evolution. We should not lose sight of the unlimited, infi­nite, illlbounded nature of our.true Being­ness, which is always beyond the realm of cause and effect. Astrology pertains to fhe interactions of cosmic forces in the realm of manifestation, and does not provide a direct path to realization of the Divine.

STEPHEN QUONG, 47, has traveled exten­Sively throughout India, Nepal and Sri Lan­ka. He began studying astrology in 1970.

NOV EMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 13

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EDITORIAL

-- --~ ---- ~-----

, maybe 6 or 7 or 4), since the week we live is, like the day, flexible in its length

We Ar~ All \X(ayfarer-s depending on the c~lestial movements. "Weekends," which we call retreats and dedicate to nonworldly matters, are usually two, but sometimes three, days long. All this brings us cl0ser to the sa­cred cosmo~, though it can confound our connections with the rest of the world. We're alWays hearing one among us utter, "What? Today is Saturday?" We also avoid important meetings or events during ashtami, the eighth day of the lunar cycle. Ironically, some Vedic astrologers don't themselves fol-10w the traditiimal Indian calendar, which is understandable in this 7-days­make-a-week world. Less understand-

, .

On the Waves of Time .

And one of the few truly useful navigational tools is an ancient one -V.edic astrology

BY'THE EDITOR

ELIEVING NOTHING, THE SKEPTIC IS BLIND; BELIEVING everything, the naif is lame_ Somewhere between the t~o lies the lucid land of viveka, discrimination, which neither doubts every inexplicable phenomenon nor swallows every un'~x~un:ined statement. In this issue we explore the uncanny

Vedic technology ofjyotisha, that hoary knowledge derived from sec­oddary Vedic texts, born, they say, of Lord Brahma who taught it to Surya, the Sun, who gifted it to Brighu, the first human to know the science of astronomy and astrology. Its about time. And its about the unseen forces that swir about our blue Earth-island, creating tides, not of matter but of mind, not-of water but of flow.ing fates and karmas.

Ronald Reagan, when President of the lJnited States, confounded the White House staff and embarrassed aides by having his itiner­ary and major meetings scheduled in careful consultation with his wife's astrologer in California. Scoffing staffers counted it pure silli­ness, others thought it merely impolitic of him.

,Mr. Reagan is not a lone heretic. Queen Elizabeth I consulted the stars. Galileo, the Italian mathematician and astronomer, cast charts on the side, as did the Gentian celestial scientist Johannes Kepler. Britain's Princess Diane followed the stars, and many Hollywood stars do the same. Ditto with Carl Jung and American-millionnaire J.P. Morgan. That said, astrology still is not anywhere near as im­portant in the Western world as in Asia. A '1990 poll of Americans found that while nearly 30% of Christians in AmeFica believe in astrology and read their horoscope weekly, only 5% had personally consulted an astrologer_ Like so many other things, astrology in the Occident is anout personal things­about me and mine, my spiritual progress, my love life and business suc­cess. In the Orient these con~erns are not absent, but larger concerns domi- ~

" nate. Astrology in India is about(auspi- ~ ciousness, about connections, about sa- ~ cred timing and being in a flow with '" . the ebb and tide 0.£ divine forces. This universalizing approach to as­trology gives the science a maturity that it tends to lack in the West, where it is seen as a frivolous, campy diversion for lonely souls try­ing to get a grip on their out-of-controllife.

At the HINDUISM TODAY headquarters in Hawaii, monks move in a matrix of Vedic understanding. We don't observe the days of the week in our life on Kauai, rather follow.ing the sacred lunar calendar for which our Monday is called Sun 1 and our Friday is Sun 5 (or

16 HINDUISM TODA;Y NOYEMBER. 1998

able is why they don't always follow the • knowledge they teach others. Consider

how when an astrology conference was being planned last year, we proposed it happen on an auspicious day. "That won't work," came the answer. "Its not a weekend!" Behold the new auspiciousness!

The astrologer is something of a tribal shaman. Ideally, he or she is the one with special insight, a wider vision that lifts awareness be­yond our little world, connecting us to the canopy above, expand­ing perception beyond the narrow sliver oHime in which we live by bringing past lives and actions into the now. I have said before that astrologers tell time with a bigger watch.

The genuine astrologer is a time navigator. He teaches that time is not all colorless and neutral: the same in all directions. Time has its eddies, its waxing and waning, its preferential ways-and in that sense is much like the oceans, full of change. No ship's captain worth his hardtack would consider the sea uniform, everywhere equal and indifferent to his passage. No, the sea is alive with idle doldrums and treaCherous'tempests, and, yes, dangers worthy of anticipation.

To the astrologer, time is like that sea, with changing moods and forces, some propelling us swiftly forward, others opposing our well-plotted progress. Today time impels, tO,morrow it impedes. How foolhardy is the seaman who keeps his canvas unfurled in a storm or stows his sails when good winds blow. Time is a kind of psychic wind, blowing now this way, now that. As a ship's captain

, heeds the chart reckoned by his navi­gator as to course, winds and tides, so our life's journey benefits f{om anoth­er chart, our astrologer's appraisal of protean time's orderly and sometimes ornery flow. It benefits, too, from a deep submissio to the fact that .this life is all our own self-created sea; and the navigator's chart cannot chan~ the waters we are in, it can simp,ly help us exploit the currents and avoid the perilous shallow reefs.

The subtle art of astrology turns on what to give importance to. Ask ten as­trologers, and you may get ten distinct'

responses. The key is finding one that suits you, your needs and . understandings. If ever it seems too confusing or you fall into doubt about your days, remember the words of Sri Lanka's greatest sage, Satguru Yogaswami: 'M times are auspicious for the true devotee of Siva." He wanted to combat the superstition and Sani-phobia that often surrounds an astrologer's forwarnings. He meant that we need not cringe in fear that this time is bad for me, that time is good. All times are beneficent to those who cling closely to God.

\

QlJOTES & tlllPS "There is no conflict between politics and religion, for -both aini ~t perf~ction of the individual and s,ociety"

, . Member of India's Parliament Swami Chinmayananda, asked whether it's difficult to be a religious leader and politiG..,mn at the same time

"Yes, I have previous management experience. In a past life, I was the master of a galley ship where I kept 100 men rowing 24 hours a day."

Many advances in the sciences that we consider today to have been made in Eu­rope were in fact made in .India centuries ago. Grant Duff, British-historian (!)f India

A round luit: • This is Tuit. Guard it

with your' life as Tuits are hard to come by, especially the round

ones. This is an ~dispensable item. It will help you become a more efficient worker. For years we have heard people say, 'TIl do it as soon as I get a Round 'lUit." Now that you have on~, you.

can accomplish all those things you put aside until you get

a Round Tuit!

I can ,do it because 0f yoga and meditation. If all'ministers would meditate, they can also interact with,people calmly. Dr. Prasanna Patsani, member of India's Par­liament! commenting that every legislative

session is full of commotion and that all political leaders should be taught yoga and Transcendental Meditation.

Some came with sandals or bathroom slip­pers ... some even dared to step in clad il! jeans and funky glasses. The Kathmandu Post on the reason for a new law that all

• parliamentarians must wear the traditional s~ack, knee-length shirt, matching jacket and cap during parliament sittings. In the past, only government ministers have vol­untarily worn Nepali dress, while deputies turned up in a range of informa.z wear:

Each child, at birth, has a bowl of light. If he tends to his light, it'll grow in strength and he can do all things: swim with sharks, fly with birds, know and understand all things. But if he becomes envious, jealous, angry or fearful, he drops a stone into the bowl and some light goes gut. Light and the stone cannot. coexist. If he continues to

put stones in the bowl, the light will go out and he will become a stone himself A stone does not grow or move. If at any time he tires of being a stone"all he needs-t:o do is turn the bowl upside down and the stones will fall away and the light will grow once more. Ancient Hawaiian saying

The Patience Prayer: God, please grant me patience ... and please don't delay!

DID YOU KNOW?

Western Pundits

WHAT IS A PUNDIT? THE WORD is from the Sanskrit pandita, '1earned person," but a new

meaning surfaced when Dwight Eisen­hower denounced "sensation-seeking columnists and commentat0rs" as "pun­dits_" So now the word has a pompous connotation in the West, and, accord­ing to a humorous account in the New York Times, todays journalist "pundit" boldly w.rites into stories that he isn't sure about certain facts, secure in the knowledge that most readers will take that to mean he really does know but is protecting a source. FUrther, the "pun­dit" is loyal only to fact-gatherers and bosses loyal to him, and requests news tips from colleagues who are less "exalt­ed" but more knowledgeable than him.

NOVEMBER . 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 17

18

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The Great Cycles of Life Understanding the rhythm of the dasas

Edith Hathaway took up W estern as­trology and hatha yoga in 1976, and Vedic astrology in 1988 under the ini­tial tutelage ofVamadeva Shastri..

J[ASA IS A CYCLE OR PERIOD OF time. In Vedic astrology there are 55 differept dasa systems, of which the VImsottari is most

used. Vimsottari literally means "120," and refers to manS ideal 120-year life­span, with various cycles, subcycles and sub-sub-cycles within it. These dasas are indicators of when the karnw.phala, fruits of karma from past lives, will unfold. The sequence of the dasas is the same for everyone, but the starting point varies according to the individual chart, specifically the Moon's nakshatra. The duration of the mahadasas, or major cycles are: Sun, 6 years; Moon 10 years; Mars, 7; Rahu, 18; Jupiter, 16; Saturn, 19; Mercury, 17; Ketu, 7; and Venus, 20. Dasas unfold differently for each person, depending upon the birth chart.

An example close to me is that of the great Hindu saint, Ma Anrritananda­

Edith Hathaway

mayi, known as Am­machi. The first 19 years of her life­her Sun and Moon dasas- were ex­tremely difficult. She was unnoticed, uncared for, treated as a domestic ser­vant and completely misunderstood by her own family. The dasa sequence for Ammachi since age 19 has steadily im­

proved the material conditions of her life, even as a satguru and Holy Moth­er. When she entered Rahu dasa in 1972, devotees came and her first ashram began. 'IJpical for a spiritual master, her dasa sequence starts off with many difficulties, then improves dramatically. During her Saturn dasa, beginning in 2006, her influence should become extremely prominent.

20 HI ~DUISM TOD b Y N <\VEMBER, 1998

E IT MEDITATION, MANTRAS, YOGA, ayurvedic medicine, vastu archi-tecture or-to go further back-the systematic study of language, an­cient Vedic arts and scienceS' have slowly penetrated Western life.

Among the least recognized of these divine­ly inspir~d intellectual colonizers is jyotish, Hindu astrology. Its introduction has picked up steam only in the last five or ten years, aI\d it seems destined now to eventually dis­place the Western system of astrology-it­self derived from the Greeks who took it from the Hindu system thousands of years ago. Prominent among jyotish's harbingers is Chakrapani Ullal, who arrived in America in 1979 as the personal astrologer of Swami Muktananda. A few years later, in 1981, Chakrapani set up practice in Southern Cal­ifornia. Today he runs a thriving counseling service dealing with hundreds of clients a year, including major corporations. He's one of several cross-cultural facilitators who have inspired hundreds of Americans to pursue the divine art and many thousands to seek its wisdom.

Dennis Harness, for example, met Cha­krapani in 1980 at Swami Muktananda's ashram in Santa Monica, California. "It was a profound experience of being seen at a soul level," Harness told HINDUISM TODAY. "During the session, many predictions for the future were made which have come to pass. Chalqapani told me that my profession would involve teaching, counseling, consult­ing and advising using astrology. At one point during the consultation he looked deeply into my eyes and said, 'I know your mind very well, perhaps better than you. ", Harness is one leader of the American Council of Vedic Astrology, a recently formed group representing about half the practitioners of Hindu astrology in Ameri­ca-several of whom have written and been featured in the sidebar stories to this article.

Unlike in India, astrology has been exiled to the margins of r~spectability in the West since the Middle Ages. Though rarely en­forced, laws against "fortunetelling" - .which includes astrology-exist today in many communities. Earlier in the century some of Americas most prominent astrologers were arrested. When enemies of Nancy Reagan, wife of US President Ronald R~agan, want­ed to get even with her, they expos.~d the fact she had been consulting an astrologer, Joan Quigley, throughout much of Reagan's presidency, and that his meetings of state were generally timed according to Quigley's advice. The First Lady was widely ridiculed in the media.

Two groups, normally at opposite ends of issues, vehemently attack astrology today: conservative Christians and crusading secu­lar humanists-the former as a devilish art, the latter as superstitious balderdash. Nev-

Medical Astrology To foresee problems and guide treatment

Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley) divides his talents between astrology and ayuroeda, writing, editing and teaching in both fields

AMONG THE FmST QUESTIONS AN astrologer may hear from a new client is, "How is my health going to be?" or even, "How long am I

going to live?" Medical astrology aims at assessing our health potential, our likely diseases, their possible cure and our life span, as well as potential emotional and mental problems. This system is inti­mately connected with ayurveda, the Vedic medicine.

All of us eventual­ly get sick and die, so every chart has negative health po­tentials- a disturb­ing fact when deal­ing with those close to us. Proper Vamadeva Shastri analysis can show us when a person is likely to get sick and their potential for recovery. If a person has come down with a major ill­ness and is entering into difficult plane­tary periods, the prognosis is not likely to be good. If the periods change to something positive, a quick recovery can be indicated. The chart can also show which treatment may work best for them- and especially when to schedule major surgery. Even wrong treatment can be predicted!

Remedial measures can promote health. Gems, mantras and rituals for planetary deities can make a real dif­ference in the vitality of a person. Gems help fortify the pranic (energy) field and subtle body which is highly sensitive to cosmic rays. Mantras and rituals are good for problems caused by occult influences.

By providing early warning of im­pending negative planetary periods for our health, astrology gives us time to take precautions and offers methods to minimize the negative effects.

NOVEMBER, 1998 HI N DUISM TODAY 21

Right Timing Working with, not against, the stars

Christina Collins-Hill began her prac­tice of West em astrology in 1968 and incorporated the Vedic system in 1989. She assists a celebrity clientele and stu­dents and is a TM teacher.

LECTIONAL ASTROLOGY (MUHUR­

ta, "moment," in Sanskrit) selects a time for an action to commence by searching for positive future plan­

etary placements. By doing this, we can relieve or correct difficult conditions in the natal chart which cause impedi­ments to a desired objective. Spiritual muhurta includes timings for initiation, weddings, name-giving, etc. Material muhurta covers matters of education, business, surgery, travel, law, etc.

A client of mine, Mike Love, lead singer of the popular music group "The Beach Boys," approached me with the years-long dilemma that many of the songs that he had either written or co­written did not carry his name as the

Christina Collins-Hill

author. Through four years of litiga­tion, we used muhurta for dates to file documents, arrange deposi­tions, court dates, etc. When difficul­ties seemed in­evitable, we used remedial measures, such as ayurvedic remedies to "cool down" the nature

of the participants. The fmal results? The other band member admitted Mike wrote the songs.

Another client absolutely needed a passport immediately Learning that it would take six weeks, he called me in distress. Using a muhurta that had a two-minute window of auspiciousness, I asked him to personally drive himself to the passport office-not to send an employee-and hand in his request at the exact time. He received the pass­port in just three days!

One can learn the complex art of muhurta, but I recommend engaging the services of a competent astrologer for all important life moves.

22 HINDUISM TODAY . NOVEMBER , Igg8

ertheless, astrology remains widely popular, and columns of advice appear in nearly every daily newspaper in the country.

The first Vedic astrologer arrived in Amer­ica in 1946 in a book, not a boat. H~ was Sri Yukteswar, guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. Yukteswar was.a major figure in Yoganandas hugely popular Autobiography of a Yogi, read by millions. "In this text," recounts American Vedic astrologer Gary Gomes, "many of those outside India got a taste of the power of astrology in India and the use of remedial measures such as gemstones."

Western astrologers were more or less aware of the Vedic system, either through Autobiography of a Yogi or by' reading The Astrology MagaZine, published by J)r. B. V Raman of Bangalore, India. Some knew their own system had problems, that it was a truncated and inaccurate version of the more complete ancient astrology So, in a re­turn to their own roots, they invited Ra­man-a revered figure in India-to speak at a New York conference in 1959. He came before the 60S outbreak of spiritual fervor and the arri';al of swamis from India, and to some extent he provided a groundwork for them. He reintroduced the concepts ofkar-

ma and reincarnation to Western astrolo­gers, fundamentals missing from their sys­tem. Hes continued to visi~eight times up to 1993-and has seen many Westerners adopt the Vedic system under his guidance and inspiration.

In the 70S only a handful of Americans . were trying to figure out the Vedic system,

but then in the early 80S the Transcenden­tal Meditation movement of Maharishi Ma­hesh Yogi and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness both began actively promoting Vedic astrology, along with other traditional Indian arts and sciences.

Freelance Indian astrologers have visited or immigrated to America also in the 70S and 80S to serve the immigrant Hindu ~om­munity Their numbers are not known; guesses range from fifty to several hundred, I

if priests practicing part-time are included. Serious, full-time American Vedic astrolo­gers probably number about 50, according to Harness, and several hundred more are capable amateurs.

Many of those adopting the Hindu system were adepts at the Western system. The ma­jor difference, according to them, is that the main focus of the Western system is psy-

chology, whereas in the Vedic system the fo­cus is predictions. But there have always been businessmen, such as J.P. Morgan, the richest man of the 19th- century, and politi­cians, such as the Reagans, who have made practical use of the science of light.

Some Vedic astrologers, Harness for ex­ample, use the system in conjunction with psychological counseling-citing a pattern set by the famed psychiatrist Carl Jung, who corresponded in the early 50S with B. V Ra­man on the charts of difficult patients. Oth­ers, such as Chakrapani, Stephen Quong and Christina Collins-Hill, work in the business world. Asked about her clients" Christina commented, "Mostly I talk to their lawyers" -meaning she was involved in he client's crucial corporate dealings. Laxshmi Shan­kar Trivedi, an elder of the Gujarati com­munity living in Fremont, California, coun­sels a few dozen businessmen. He provides the service of horary, the answer to a single quesfion, based upon the moment it was asked, sometimes augmented by the inquir­ers chart. Grateful clients amply reward him with a share of the profits his advice brings.

With .astrology, there is a perennial ques­tion of credentials. Even in India, where

Jaipur: Part of the observatory, Jantar Mantar, located at Jaipur, Rajasthan, In­dia, and founded by Maharaj Jai Singh in 171 6. These giant rruzsonry instruments were used for determining local time and eclipses, as well as plotting the location of the stars and the rrwvement of planets, all with extrpordinary precision. Smaller ob­servatories were built by Singh at Delhi, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi.

K.N. Rao: He predicts that some of the American Vedic astrologers will <'become very good after eight or ten years. In 2020, the generation that will come and dominate America will be spiritual. The country will then take to the spiritual life very well. "

there are degree programs (Trivedi has a masters' in astrology) and certification tests (such as by the Indian Council of Astrologi­cal Sciences, founded by Raman), anyone may call himself an astrologer and start a practice. In America, Harness, Quong, Va­madeva Shastri and others held a sympo­sium in 1992 with Raman as the key speak­er. From this developed the American Council ot: Vedic Astrology, which encom­passes perhaps half the practicing Vedic as­trologers in the country and offers certifica­tion tests. This level of organization 'and training among, the followers of the Inaian system in the US has only developed within the last few years. ,

Astrologer K.N. Rao's tours and seminars in 1993 to 1995 opened new vistas of know 1-edge for the fledgling community in Ameri­ca, especially with regard to the dasa system and other more complex aspects of the Hin­du science of the heavens. Unfortunately, Rao became unhappy with b9th his tour hosts and Americans in general. Unl.!ke Ra­man, he arrived in a fairly decadent Ameri­ca. Raman came in the late 50S, when Amer­ican life was still kind and gentle. "My personal experience," Rao told HINDUISM TODAY reporter Rajiv Malik in a recent in­terview in New Delhi, "is that America is to­tally, one hundred percent, a mercenary country with all the ills of capitalism. Fami­ly life has broken down, and society has be­come totally dysfunctional." Rao is aghast at the lack of respect for parents, the loose sex

Little Omens Reading subtle signs

James Kelleher learned astrology in 1975 from M.K Gandhi. He has pur­sued the practice full-time since 1980.

F AN ASTROLOGER WANTS TO

know what is going to happen in the future, he can, rather than ana­lyze a chart, look around for signs.

An entire branch of Vedic astrology, called nemitta, is devoted to this sub­ject. Omens, we are told, work because of the interconnectedness of all things.

A couple of years ago, I was invited to dinner, along with two other as­trologers, by a popular lady-guru in Delhi. She asked us, "Will I return to India permanently?" Since my friends were accurately read­ing her chart, I would have nothing to add. So I scanned the room for signs. Sud­denly, the guru asked the cook to bring three glasses of milk. Then an ex-consulate general to India came to visit. I had James Kelleher what I needed. When my turn came, I said, "The signs coinciding with this reading suggest that you will return to this country permanently in three years-indicated by the three glasses of milk and the consulate generals arrival"-a predic­tion later confirmed as accurate.

You don't have to be an astrologer to use nemitta. Birds, animals, the weath­er and other events can all give clues that will reveal your future. There is also a system called swara, based on which nostril is more clear at the time of a yes-no question. If on Sunday, Tuesday or Saturday, at the time of asking, the right nostril is more clear, then the answer is yes. If the left is the clearer one, then no. On Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday it is reversed, left is yes, right is no. This may sound like mumbo jumbo, but it is based on esoteric principles related to the ida and the pingala., two types of subtle energy which run up the spine in different ways on different days of the week, and it works-as do other forIllS of omen reading.

NOVEMBER, Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 23

I

Parenting by Dharma Astrology's clues for good child rearing

Self-taught, Dennis F'la.Mrty is certified in Western and Eastern astrology and uses both. He has been initiated into Su­fism, TM and Kriya Yoga.

INSTRUCTION ON THE RAISING

of children in Hinduism is quite different than in other faiths, be­cause of the doctrine of reincarna­

tion. Vedic astrology can benefit any family, Hindu or not, who shares this belief system.

First, an astrologer can identify for devout parents those times for concep­tion more divinely ordained than others to bring an evolved and high-minded soul into their family.

Dennis Flaherty

Health of their newborn is then natu­rally the parent's fore­most concern. The childs chart will indi­cate areas of constitu­tional weakness and potential illness. In some cases balarishta yogas-negative kar­mas of the past with the potential to cut

this life short-are seen. In all cases, in­cluding extreme ones,

remedial measures are effective, espe­cially the parent's prayers. This is not wishful thinking. I have personally seen miracles.

The astrologer can suggest appropri­ate education, based on, the child's incli­nations for profession. Spiritual inclina­tions may be seen and encouraged. Appropriate discipline can be recom­mended. For example, if the child has a strongly placed Saturn, verbal admon­ishment can bring about humbling re­sults. If Mars is strong, physical chores constructively engage the childs nature, but corporal punishment will only neg­atively engage the Martian nature, fur­ther fueling samskl1:ras of anger and po­tential violence. What is good for one child is not good for another. Raise the child according to his or her nature, not anothers nature.

24 HINDUISM TODA·Y NOVEMBER, 1998

life and the self-centeredness. Such observa­tions-he himself confesses a lack of tact­ana disagreements over money during his tours left him at odds with several promi­nent Vedic astrologers here. Raman made many of the same observations-though somewhat less heatedly-in his entertaining book, ,Hindu Astrology and the West. Rao's main complaint about the astrologers was a lack of training-especially in the area of predictions, which he considers the heart of Hindu astrology. "There are some very goo.d Americans who want to. take the spiritual life very seriously and who are keen learn­ers, but they are overly dependent on their computers and cannot do mental calcula­tions. My advice is to first of all do worship."

Whatever the faults of the nascent group of Vemc astrologers in America, one must ac­knowledge the great personal sacrifice each has made to practice their art. Both associa­tion with astrology and Hinduism can lead to serious, even permanent rifts with par­ents, wives and family members-especially for those doing it full time. Even in ordinary life, announcing you are an astrologer does

not enhance your social standing. Despite these obstacles, dozens of sincere individuals are working hard to learn' the complex Vedic systems. Many mix Eastern and Western as­trology, though Chakrapani and Quong at­tribute this to a lack of thorough familiarity with the Vedic system. Several say proudly they are Hindus.' Those who do not cite a specific religion tend to follow an eclectic path, selecting behefs and practices from various traditions. They may have been born as Christians, but have outgrown that belief system. Traditionally, according to Raman, Chakrapani, Rao and others, an astrologer who expects divine guidance should follow a sattvic, pure, lifestyle, and some are found

... lacking in this respect. Vedic astrology may displace Western as­

trology, as Chakrapani predicts, but the • greater impact is that these astrologers are spreading the core Hindu beliefs of karma and reincarnation among their clients-95% of whom are not Indians. They are also ex­ponents of the efficacy of prayer, sadhana (spiritual diSciplines) and self-sacrifice to al­ter the course of a l?erson's life. ..

Michael's Smart? Ask His Chart

S PART OF THIS

story, HINDUISM TODAY sent as­trologers inter­

viewed for the article the birthdate, time and place (and nothing else) of ge­nius Michael Kearney, who entered high school at 5, graduated at 6 and at age 14 was the youngest person to ever receive a master's degree in America. We asked, "What is exceptional about this person?"

Of the seven responses we receive'd by deadline, four were amazingly accu-

,. <

'" o ....

" '" z :c

)( T ~ 'n .n.

,

* South Indian Style

')) e Chart for Michael Kearney (ascendent)

" - --Born 7:10 pm

VJ January 18, 1984, J1 0 Honolulu, HawaII

~ ~ 'U'~

Jl ~

rate. Among the readings: ''highly intelligent, early ed­ucational advancement;" "excelled in academic stud­ies, performed lSeyond their years;" "Unusual attain­ments in the form of educa­tion;" "great deal of creative talent being recognized now." The other three were

cf ~ IJ - 'It

not too close on the educa­tion, but indicated, among , other traits, that Michael has a strong intuitive and spiritual nature-something we confirmed with his par­ents. Is there any other sci­ence which can know any­thing about a person, sight unseen?

t

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" '" t: ::; <~~----------------~-

Right profession: A contented Anil Gupta at his Navratan Kendra shop, Haridwar

LIFE DECISIONS

Planning a Stellar ' Career Chart the best course for your ·ability and destiny

William Levacy is a self-taught astrologer who practices in Southern California. He is a certified teacher of Transcendental Medi­tation, and considers himself a "Vedantist." He shares here his experience about how to choose a career.

N THE SHELVES OF ANY MAJOR B~OK­

, seller you'll find many books on how to ' locate that perfect job. To their dozens of methods-submission of resumes,

personal connections, moving up in the cur­rent business, etc.-we can add one more: astrology. With this time-tested process, we can fmd our best choice for education and career. Later in life, we can use it to get clar­ity when we encounter those proverbial "forks in the road" as our caree!; branches out in various directions-or per­haps doesn't branch out at all.

I have found three special places that identify career activ­ity. The first house or ascendant and its ruling planet give big ' clues . . The sixth house, that of service, has more to say about those "bread-and-butter" jobs that make us money. The tenth house, of karma or action, tells us about career or life purpose.

proached me to help identify lier five-year old's capabilities-a perfect age to set career directions. I saw the child would be interest­ed in skills related to precision and high technology. All through the child's early ed­ucation, the mother could see these interests and skills, and she encouraged them. Now, at 18, he is entering the university with' a hap­py specialization in computer technology.

Two of my cli~nts proVide an example of mid-career adjustments. They were success­ful consultants, but, wanted to take a major step up with their business. One of the ladies called to ask about a new opportuni­ty. I looked at their charts and, indeed, saw the potential for positive career change-but only for the next seven days. I told her and her partner to go to the interview that very

week-they did, we:re accepted, and successfully made q,: major upward career move.

Several years ago a client ap- William Levacy

Vedic astrology can give clues to your karma in this life. It can tell you where your dreams lie and how you might make the most money. From that point forward, you can set a vision for your future and develop the competence to deploy those dreams completely, correctly and m a timely manner. ,;

Financial Astrology Getting as rich as destiny allows

Stephen Quong, Uman4nda, is a trained investment consultant, and since 1991 a full time Vedic astrologer specializing in finance.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING IN THE

world of business. Through a care­ful analysis of an individual's birth­

chart, an astrologer can predict not only a person's overall pros­pects to succeed in a specific field of en­deavor, but outline the exact timetable when the favorable karmas of previous lifetimes which affect finances become reactivated. He can also predict when increase is not likely, those times when a person should concentrate on preserving his present capital.

For example, one of my clients had opportunities in both aircraft leasing and the shipping business. Apparently, there was an immediate, appealing prospect in shipping, and none for several years in the aircraft leasing business. Nonetheless, my analysis indicated success for him only with airplanes, and in the near future at that. Trusting my advice, the individ­ual continued in the aircraft business. He attained extraordinary success a short time later, while the shipping opportunities fell through.

The choosing of an auspicious time and date (muhurta) for a business meeting or court appointment can also make a significant difference in ensur­ing amicable or favorable outcomes.

Besides personal karmas for wealth, there are collective karmas which manifest as business cycles and overall increases or decreases in the stock market. There are many successful investors who use astrological analysis of cycles related to planetary place­ments, lunar phases, even sun spots and solar flares, as their primary basis for timing their trades.

NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 25

I,

Chakrapani Ullallearned astrology from his father and grandfather. Early in life he came into contact with Swami Nityananada, and later that master's revered disciple, Swami Muktananda. It was Muktananda who in­sisted Chakrapa.ni pursue his family profes- • sion, even though he had obtained degrees both in business and law. Here he shares with us his insight into spiritueLllife.

STROLOGY OFFERS TO ':QIE TRUTH

seeker who endeavors to maximize the opportunity for self-reflection

. and spiritual discipline a knowledge so profound in its nature th~t it can be a companion to any journey, as deep and as subtle as the aspirant is prepared. to take.

By looking at the horoscope and how the planets demonstrate dharma (righteous­ness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation), one gains insight into the individual's basic instincts, and can sug-

26 HINDUISM TOD.A.Y NOVEMBER, 1998

gest the best, lifestyle and spiritual regimen (sadhana) for that individual. The three gu­nas-sattva, calmness; rajas, action; and ta­mas, inertia-coexist in a varying degree of dominance, also evident from the chart. The interplay of the gunas determines the nature of all our thoughts, feelings, and actions, hence sadhana is recommended according to the predominate guna. Hatha yoga and meditation for those of sattv;c nature, devo­tion for the rajasic person and s~lfless reli­gious service for the tamasic.

The influence of certain planets encour­ages or hinders spiritual awareness, Jupiter being the most auspicious indicator, and Sat­urn being an indicator of steadfastness. The powerful influence of Jupiter is demonstrat­ed to me often in my consulting practice. I remember one case, owing to the rather bold and dramatic gesture of my client, who canceled her ' check after her consultation with me because she considered the predic-

Devotion: Priest of the Hazareshwar Temple in Udaipur, Rajasthan, tenderly arranges flowers for Nandi, Siva's bull.

tions preposterous. She could be described as somewhat flighty, flirtatious and fun lov­ing, with a tendency to manipulate people to her advantage. I advised her that she would likely marry a foreigner, live abroad, be­come very religious, and that it would ben­efit her to begin a program of meditation. Ten years later, when Jupiter dasa started, she went through an enormous transforma­tion in line with my predictions. In July, 1998, she actually showed up at my door, feeling ashamed of how she had treated me

' a decade earlier, and insisted she write ·a check as a gesture of apology.

In another case, I told a poor friend, one who used to visit Swami Muktananda with me, that he would become a great philan­thropist. That friend later became rich and just a few months ago decided to devote half his profits to spiritual work. Others have gained the confidence to take up the life of a sadhu. I once advised a doctor that his chart indicated skill with mantras. He developed this skill, and learned mantras to recite be­fore surgery that greatly helped his patients. One couple who sought a child only suc­ceeded when, following my advice, they in­creased their religious worship to offset neg­ative influences in their chart.

Sometimes the advice just . lets people cope better with life. After I explained to a talented lady that the lack of recognition she deserved which so frustrated her was fore­seeable in her chart, she became accepting and less angry about it; I told one rich man that he must live a very simple life, or he would have problems. He forgot my advice, developed a lavish lifestyle for he and his family and, as predicted, started to face many difficulties. Recently he remembered my advice, simplified his life and his prob­lems diminished.

Sometimes it is just the knowledge ofkar­ma and reincarnation implicit in Vedic as­trology which, especially for the Wester:per, creates a spiritual perspective on life. It helps the individual take responsibility fQ! the circumstances in which he finds himself and forego resentment at the seeming mis­fortunes in'dicated in the chart-whiqh is, after all, a mere messenger of one's karma, and in fact an opportunity for personal growth. ~,

CONTACT INFORMATION: CHAmAPANI ULLAL, 12044 • KEARSARGE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90049 USA;

B.V. RAMAN, SRI RAJESWARI, #28 (OLD 115/1) NAGAPPA STREET, SE SHADRIPURAM 560 020 BANGALORE , INDIA; E:.N.

RAO, F291 SARASWATI KUNJPATPARGAN], 110092 DELHI, INDIA; GARY GOMES, 854 BROCK AVE, NEW BEDFORD, MA 02740-4842, USA; STEPHEN QUONG, 17514 GRIZZLY DEN ROAD, LAKE SHASTINA, CALIFORNIA 96094 USA; DENNIS

HARNESS, DENNIS FLAHERTY. VAMADEVA SHASTRI, EDITH HATHAWAY, WILLIAM LEVACY, CHRISTINA COLLINS-HILL

AND JAMES KELLEHER, ALL d o AMERICAN COUNCIL OF VEDIC ASTROLOGY, POST OFFICE BOX 2149, SEDONA,

ARIZONA 86339 USA

The nakshatras, central to Hindu astrology, are the subject of this month's four-page In­Sight section. Contributors to this introduc­tion include Devendra Trivedi, B.V Raman, Dennis< Harness, Vamadeva Shastri and Lin­daJohnsen.

HAT'S YOUR SIGN?" PEOPLE IN

America ask, meaning, "What the position of the Sun in

zodiac when you were born?" But in India, when the temple

priest queries, "Whats your nak­shatra?" he wants to know the position of the Moon at your birth. The difference is not superficial. In Western astrology, the birth position of the Sun is considered paramount, while in Hindu astrology, the Moons place­ment is most critical. While both systems use (with important differences) the zodiac, or rasi, division of twelve parts (Aries, Pisces, etc.), Hindus further refme this to 27 nak­shatras-literally, "star clusters," also know as the '1unar mansions" (Ashvini, Bharani, etc.). The moon passes through all 27 in the course of a lunar month, at the rate of about one a day. The division is ancient. The list of the 27nakshatras given in the Krishna Yajur Veda (Taittiriya Samhita 2-4-10) as part of the construction of the sacred fire altar was likely recorded in the second millennium, BCE. Each nakshatra is governed by a Vedic Deity-Krittika by Agni, Rohini by Prajap­ati, and so forth.

A nakshatra is male or female, as well as

sattvic, rajasic or tamasic in nature. Sattva is the quality of spirituality and purity. Rajas is high-energy activity. Tamas has the basic quality of dullness, inertia and darkness. A specific symbol [see pages 28-29], animal species, sex, caste, temperament and prima-

Krittika: Star map adorns 1890 painting of the personification of Krittika nakshatra

ry motivation-dharma (life purpose), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (en­lightenment)-is associated with each nak­shatra. An individual is born when the Moon is in a nakshatra suited to his destined experiences of that lifetime. Astrological in­terpretations are based both on the naksha­tra and the rasi [zodiac sign] of each planet, but for both the Moon and the planets it is the nakshatra which has the deeper effect.

Nakshatras are of primary importance in muhurtha, or electional astrology, estimat­ing the optimal timing to undertake any new venture, such as starting a new business, building a new home or choosing an auspi­cious wedding date [See page 30].

Nakshatras (as well as rasis) mentioned in ancient texts provide clues of great historical value. In scriptures, such as the Vedas, Pu­ranas and Mahabharata, are found refer­ences that at the equinox (or solstice), the Sun was in a particular nakshatra. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the Sun slowly changes nakshatras at the equinox­so one can calculate backward to arrive at the date of the scripture accurate to within a few hundred years. For example, in the Atharva Veda (19.7) and Shatapatha Brah­mana, the solstice is in Magha, the period of 27oo-1900BCE. This fact is used to trace the beginning of the later Vedic age.

On the next two pages the 27 nakshatras are explored, how they relate to the 12 rasis and the basic qualities of a person born un­der each nakshatra. ~

NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUI SM TODAY 27

"

The following is a condensed summary of the characteristics and tendencies of persons born when the Moon is located in each of the 27 nakshatras. Noted next to each nakshatra name is the star with which it is associated. There are 2 1/4 nakshatras per zodiac sign.

1. Ashvini (Beta Arietis): Passionate, impulsive, attractive and intel­ligent, people whose birth Moon is in Ashvini can also be headstrong and extravagant. They enjoy travel, are often skilled workers, and may have healing abilities. The Ashvins are Vedic gods of light, heal­ing and inspiration. 2. Bharani (41 Arietis): Bharani folk are usually healthy, happy, skill­ful and conscientious. They also tend to be somewhat impatient and self-indulgent, and find it hard to forgive. Setbacks can shift their priorities from material preoccupation to spiritual transcendence. 3. Krittika (Alcyone 2-Pleiades): Krittika types are fiery, full of cre­ative energy, highly ambitious, dedicated to divine service, self-mo­tivated and "think big." They stand out in a crowd and can become quite famous. They're prone to eating too much. 4. Rohlni (Aldebaran): Rohini gives a loving, truthful disposition, serenity, a sense of responsibility and a love of the arts, beauty and culture. If the Moon is afflicted, they may be prone to stubbornness, anger, selfishness and fault -fmding. 5. Mrigashira (Lambda Orion is): Gentle, sensitive, highly perceptive, drawn to romance, music and the arts, Mrigashiras prefer a quiet, comfortable life, can be very hard working and are frequently drawn to spiritual life. Some are haunted by self-doubt or egoity. 6. Ardra (Betelguese 7): FUll of vitality, good athletes, Ardras live life with enthusiasm and intensity. Sympathetic and helpful, they're of­ten drawn to the study of esoteric laws. If the Moon is afflicted, they can be cruel, lashing out at others unfairly at times. 7. Punarvasu (Pollux 11): Good-natured, generous emotionally, pru­dent financially, content to live a relaxed, uncluttered life, self-disci­plined, yet playful. They need to guard against complacency and watch their health. They make good friends. 8. Pushya (Delta Caner i): They are stable, easy going personalities, prosperous, well educated, popular, virtuous, nice looking, forth­right, intelligent and wise. Can be overly rigid, selfish and arrogant. Productive and caring people who make good teachers. 9. Ashlesha (EpSilon Hydrae): Self-reliant, excellent communicators, capable of great concentration and penetrating insight. Their candor can turn to tactlessness, and they may manipulate truth to protect themselves. Don't humiliate them; they will never forget it. 10. Magha (Alpha Leonis): Regal, ambitious, pleasure loving, physi­cally strong, they easily rise to leadership positions, honor tradition

. and pursue noteworthy projects. They enjoy being served more than serving, and they can fall prey to a voracious desire for sex. 11. Purva Phalguni (Delta Leonis): Magnanimous, loyal, delightful conversationalists, earthy, attractive. They get their way without in­timidating others. Often they are wanderers, drawn to the arts, and enjoy life to the full. The body is usually healthy, but the mind is so active and creative, they tend to leap before looking. 12. Uttara Phalguni (Beta Leonis): Likeable, generally well-to-do, earning substantial salaries through their exceptional intelligence. Make wonderful friends, and are always ready to help their com­panions. Success, courage and love of adventure may appear, but ro­mantic escapades may lead to trouble. 13. Hasta (Delta Corvi): Hard working, industrious and exceptional­ly resourceful, they make fine artisans, specialists, business people and teachers, but are not often leaders. May display intelligence, a sharp wit and healing ability, also a lack of patience, and a deter­mined effort to manipulate others for their own ends. 14. Chitra (Spica 16): Charming and stylishly dressed, drawn to any­thing new or out of the ordinary. Magnets to the opposite sex, often artistically gifted, they surround themselves with beautiful things. May at times become self-indulgent. These are intelligent, honest, efficient and never superficial people.

28 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998

atras The Moon's location at birth along this ancient division of the ecliptic is, says Hindu astrology, a prime indication of a person's basic characteristics

ART: A . MANIVELU

15. Svati (Arcturus 17): Independent, generally quiet, nice people who control themselves in public. They are helpful, pleasant con­versationalists and rarely hold grudges. Like travel and strongly at­tracted to religion or philosophy. Sometimes they experience chron­ic discontent. 16. Vishakha (Alpha 2 Libra): Purposeful, forceful, commanding in appearance. Excellent public speakers who enjoy making money. Courage, ambition and one-pointedness carry them quickly to their goals. They revel in turmoil and enjoy a good argunIent. 17. Anuradha (Delta Scorpio): Well-to-do, they dislike austere lifestyles, but have a deep spiritual nature. They value family and friends, enjoy organizing projects and managing people. The less mature are prone to jealousy and depression. 18. Jyeshtha (Antares 18): Deeply passionate, able leaders, re­nowned for their adherence to virtue-and their testy tempera­ments! Generally cheerful, but quite irascible when provoked, they gladly fight to defend the helpless. 19. Mula (Lambda Scorpii): Set in their ways, clever, soft and happy disposition, but somewhat suspicious of other people's motivations. They tend to find their way to money, or money finds its way to them. 20. Purvashadha (Delta Sagittarii): Patient, independent minded, convincing in speech, proud, lucky in love, outgoing people who will stick with their friends. Value their own opinions over other's. 21. Uttarashadha (PI Sagittarii): Popular, idealistic, influential, sta­ble, introspective and ethical. Good both at starting projects and completing them. Drawn to work which uplifts others. The less ma­ture may be lazy, easily distracted or stressed out. 22. Shravana (Altair 20): Intelligent, well-educated, and prosperous. A degree of fame usually comes their way. They love to learn, make good teachers and enjoy traveling. Often drawn to religious life, or a life of service, but they may become rigid or fanatical. 23. Dhanishtha (Alpha Delphini): Courageous, generous, often pros­perous, upbeat, ambitious and with a universal outlook. They bring people together for a worthy cause. Not easily fooled, they carefully analyze any proposition put to them. Can be aggressive, rash or overly conservative. 24. Satabhishak (Lambda Aquarii): Blunt but honest, disinclined to conform, almost always get their way. Drawn to fields requiring pen­etrating insight such as science or philosophy. Can become a mind­less workaholic, private, hiding their real thoughts. Most devoted to service of humanity, whether recognized or not. 25. Purva Prostapada (Beta Pegasi): F1ne speakers, good business skills, can make money and hang onto it. Generally fairly serious people, yet may act impetuously or have a hard time sticking to a de­cision. The less mature can be phobic, cynical or may strike out vin­dictively at others. 26. Uttara Prostapada (Gamma Pegasi): Well-balanced and ethical people, kindly, self-sacrificing, supportive, very convincing in dis­cussions. They sincerely enjoy family life and like to help others. When conflicts or competition arise, they are likely to hold the winning hand. Young souls can be lazy, irresponsible and envious. 27. Revati (Zeta Piscium): Healthy, intelligent, with a sweet disposi­tion and artistically gifted, they love people, wish harm to no one and nourish those in need. While they don't seek much for them­selves, wealth and joy are often spontaneously bestowed on them. The less mature may display an inferiority complex, a servile nature, or fall prey to continual disappointments.

Nakshatras: Here with the Earth in the center is a diagram depict­ing the 12 rasis, or signs, of the zodiac surrounded by the 27 naksha­tras, according to their relative location in the heavens as seen from the Earth. Each nakshatra is given a symbol related either to its sub­tle vibration or to the shape of a nearby constellation of stars. There are also four equal divisions of each nakshatra, making a total of 1 08 expressions of human nature.

NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 29

doing things requiring a harsh, strong or cutting force.

Dreadful: Bharani, Magha, Purva Phalguni, Purvashadha, and Purva Prostapada. All stir the mind, leading to evil deeds such as setting fires, poisoning and destruction, also imprison­ment or confinement. Purva Prostapada is good for repen­tance and penance.

Mixed: Krittika and Vishakha are best for mundane daily activ­ities. Krittika can be good for fire ceremonies due to its deity, Agni. Excellent for meditation.

Right Timing: AIl life's important or mundane activities go better when attuned to the Moon's vibration

Dr. B. V. Raman, India's fore­most astrologer, now in his 80S, writes that "the constellation of Pushya is the most favorable of all the nakshatras. It is said to neu­tralize almost all doshas or flaws arising out of a number of ad­verse combinations. Pushya, the constellation par excellence, has the power to overcome negative forces and assert its benefic na­ture. Despite all its positive influ­ence, Pushya is still considered inauspicious for a marriage cere­mony." The days from the third

ASTROLOGY

Stars Above, Life Below quarter of Dhanishtha, the 23rd nakshatra, to the end of Revati, the 27th, are unsuitable for any kind of auspicious work, except Uttara Prostapada. Each naksha-

Take advantage of the good times and dodge the bad tra has a set of syllables which should be used to begin the name of a person born under that nak-

AKSHATRAS ARE A POWERFUL MEANS

to find auspicious times for every imaginable human activity. They're also useful for avoiding actions on a

day when results are likely to be frustrated. In order to find that date when the cosmic vibrations will be just perfect for you to make that big career move, buy a car or plant your garden, you need a panchan­gam-an astrological calendar-calculated for your region [see resources]. The Moon's nakshatra is the same allover the world at the same moment, but the human conven­tions of time zones and the international date line make the calendars produced in one place not applicable to another. Pan­changam in hand, you can proceed to re­search dates according to the following re­commendations. In general, activities will bear more productive fruit if the Moon is waxing, that is, moving in the brightest phase toward full moon day

The nakshatras are divided into seven de­scriptive categories as follows:

Light: Ashvini, Pushya and Hasta are es­pecially good constellations for travel, sports

30 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998

activities, doing healing work or administer­ing medicines, opening a business, sales, trade and borrowing and repaying.

Soft: Mrigrashira, Chitra, Anuradha and Revati are excellent for learning music, dance and drama, performing auspicious ceremonies such as marriage, buying and wearing new clothes, the enjoyment of plea­sure, romance, conception of a child and making of friends.

Fixed: Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Prostapada are good for permanent works such as making vows or taking oaths of office, building homes and laying the foundations of cities, plowing the land, planting and purchasing farms.

Moveable: Purnarvasu, Svati, Shravana, Dhanishtha and Satabhishak are good for buying vehicles, for parades, gardening, change of residence or career, travel and other major life changes.

Sharp: Ardra, Aslesha, Jyeshtha and Mula. Their vibration contributes to separation from spouse or friends, argument, the work­ing of black magic, exorcism, punishment and harm to others. These are good days for

shatra. This gives a name in har­mony with the person's nature, and also is an easy way to record ones nakshatra.

By consulting an astrologer, or studying books on the subject, one can determine aus­picious times for celebrating samskaras, rites of passage for children, medical treatment, beginning of education, etc. This more com­plex analysis, involving your own birth chart, the location of the planets during the time period in question, can more precisely bring your desired aims into harmony with uni­versal energies-something that is not neces­sarily going to happen when you schedule activities only according to a conveniel!t.day of the week. Those who live by this ancient lunar calendar swear it empowers their life. One way to fmd out is to try it. ..-

RESOURCES: PANCHANGAMS: HINDUISM TODAY HTTP:// WWW, HINDU,ORClsCIENCES/PANCHANGAM.HTML; PALANI

PANCHANG, 4831 PIPER STREET, FREMONT, CALIFORNIA 94538, USA. EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES CORPORATION OF

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Lavish Sindhi wedding celebrations signal the thriving of Hinduism in a Caribbean outpost

32 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER , 1998

By LAVINA MELWANI, NEW YORK MOUND OF SALT BETWEEN THEM, THE

new bride, resplendent in her fmery, shyly picks up a handful in her palms and passes it to the bridegroom, who

hands it back to her. Thrice the salt exchange takes place, after which,the bride touches his feet. She repeats the ceremony with all her new in-laws, bowing to the elders and hug­ging the others, including the family cook, to ensure good relations in her new life.

This ancient custom, datar, has been handed down through generations of Sindhi Hindu families and has become a part of their Vedic wedding rituals. One would ex­pect to see it in Sindh, Pakistan, India-even in New York City-but it was a bit startJing to. observe it on the holiday resort island of Barbados, a place populated by touris~, where rum is the drink of the day and flying fish is the national dish.

Althougl{ the bridegroom was born ip Sri Lanka and the bride in Spain, they had met in Miami. At heart, both wanted nothing less than a real Indian wedding. They con-' sidered traveling to India, but decided to wed in Barbados, which is now their home. • The preparations started a full year in ad­vance. Since there are so few Indian images in Barbados, the bridegroom's mother took a trip to Mumbai and Delhi to purchase the

Kinship: The bride (right) and her new sister­in-law exchange salt in a ritual of bonding

z < z " < ~

Sind hi rite: Seven married women assist the bridegroom's mother in prayers for the couple

paraphernalia, including huge cutouts of Radha-Krishna and the Taj Mahal, to pro­vide a backdrop for the boisterous sangeet and mehndi party. With no Indian grocery stores or restaurants, everything Indian in Barbados, from dals to DJs, is brought in from Miami or New York.

For wedding services, even the priest is imported- a practice common to most of these islands, including St. Martins, St. Thomas and Jamaica. Priests are generally invited from New York, since they are more famili!l1"'-with Sindhi traditions. This season, however, all the New York priests were booked solid with weddings in the city, so the Sabnanis hired a priest from Trinidad, who performed the Vedic rites beautifully.

Barbados has a tightly-knit community of just 80 Sindhi families, and everyone of them has a home shrine. The, Sabnanis' shrine is especially handsome, with beauti­ful idols and pictures, incense, beJli; and a light which burns constantly, be it day or night. It is this spiritual spark which is re­markable about the community here. In­deed, for many years the Sindhis kept Hin­duism alive solely through their private shrines at home, which paid tribute"to every Hindu deity, to the Bhagavad Gita and the Guru Granth Sahib, too. A Hindu temple for the community was a dream for a long time, but it was only a few years back that a Sindhi businessman and philanthropist do-

nated the building which has become Bar­bados' firs~and only Hindu temple.

Many Sindhi families face · a universal dilemma. As older generations pass on, the younger ones discover they do not know the rituals of their faith. Nor do many Hindu priests know the regional customs. Even some of the elder statesmen of the communi­ty have lived on the island so long that they are uncertain of the original rites. Many of the younger women voiced this concern to me, hoping that !i book on Sindhi customs for the passings of life might be published to give them guidelines on the appropriate behavior.

But Pundit Jeevan Maharaj of Trinidad l<.elieves the future looks bright for Hindu­ism in the islands of the Caribbean. A son of the Dharmacharya of Trinidad and Tobago, Maharaj grew up in Guyana. He went to col­lege, pursued a legal career and now travels through the islands, even to Canada and America, conducting Ramayana, {'urana and Bhagwat yajnas, as well as weddings. His message to the isolated islanders is, "People are getting ahead in life, but they are not getting along. They are getting mon­ey, but losing their children; getting name and fame, but losing their culture. You can't keep telling children about an India of thou­sands of years ago while they are watching American television of the present in the Caribbean. So :t:.0u can't blame them for a sense of confusion and loss. We have to cre-

J ate a fine balance. Many of us are so busy trying to get our children all the things we didn't have, that we forget to'pass on to them the things we did have."

The earliest Sindhi settlers came from Ra­jasthan and Bombay 50 years ago, before In­dependence. In fact, a few hardy souls were there early in 1945. Some of the first families who came here were the Thanis, Motwanis and Kripalani, and these are still well-known names on the island. Many of these entre­preneurs started their businesses in the old days by going into the countryside on bicy­cles and selling their goods from suitcases.

Today, the Indian community com.,prises people from many regions, but the primary graup is still the Sindhis. According to Prakash Mahtani, a community leader, 95 percent of the members of the Hindu Asso­ciation of Barbados are Sindhis. A majority of Hindus in Barbados are followers of Ma­haraj Charansinghji of Beas (a district of Amritsar in the Punjab), Sri Satya Sai Baba or Sadhu Vaswani. It is a community of many vegetarians and teetotalers. In fact, when the Sabnanis planned their son's wed­ding, this all-important point was well con­sidered. They had to make sure the cake and refreshments would not offend anyone.

Barbados is part of the Lesser Antilles, bounded by the Caribbean Sea on the one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Just 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, it is so flat that Christopher Columbus didn't even spot it when he discovered the neighboring is­lands. Apart frpm the sun, sand and sugar cane, Barbados' most winning resource is its people-a warm, friendly lot who go out of their way to help newcom~rs.

. With the opening of a giant new software solutions company, Barbados is fast becom­ing the quintessential destination for Indian computer programmers. Srinivasan Vishy is the president of PRT Group Inc., which is headquartered in New York and services -Fortune 500 companies. The company has launched its new software solutions compa­ny, TTSL, in Barbados, where it employs sev­eral hundred people. The company is active, ly recruiting computer programmers from India to work and live here. If they have their way, thousands will come. US Visa quotas for such engineers are 30,000 per year, while 300,000 jobs go unfilled. TTSL hopes to fill the market need by establishing a program­ming base offshore. They offer unparalled personal attention to employees, including giving them the apartment of their dreams.

Barbados is a special place, where your spiI'its are lifted by the perfect play of sun, sky and sand and the happy smiles of Bar­badian schoolchildren walking hand in hand. Long after you return home, as I did to New York in August, the memories stay with you, turning the coldest days of winter into summer once again. ..,..,

NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 33

34

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. DEFAMATION

Elephant GOd Walks Defending Lord Ganesha, one highly motivated Hindu woman wins a war with Disneyland

Main attraction: Prominent website ad

T TOOK MORE' THAN A YEAR TO GET

Disney to understand our sentiments and do the right thing," explains South­ern California housewife Jayashree Kr-

ishnan. "Fired up by the article I read in HINDUISM TODAY [Ganesha Lives in Dis­neyland, November, 19!}6] which described the display of Lord Ganesha in a ,most derogatory manner, I could not stay passive. I visited Disneyland in November of 1996

and was appalled and deeply hurt to see Ganesha thrown among janitorial supplies in the queue area of the Indiana Jones Ad­venture ride. My heart sank hearing the gig­gles of the passers-by and, even worse, the indifference and passivity of Indians."

Krishr'ian tried to rally the local Hindus to rescue Ganesha from His hapless plight, but the response was discouraging. "I felt helpless and vulnerable," she recalls. 'i\nd I wondered whether mighty Disney would even care if I voiced my opinion. So, I approached the big Hindu organizations. I elicited my husbandls

help to write to the VHP and American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD) through the Internet. There was no re­sponse from the VHP." The AHAD was

eager to take up the matter, but they were engaged in a skirmish with Sony over the defamation of Lord Krishna [Hindu Protest Forces Sony to Remake CD, July 1997]. A "higher official" at a famous Hindu Temple in the LoS' Angeles area told her, "Lady, you can do what you want. My one phone call to Disney will take care of this problem."

Apparently it did not. After seeing no change during a visit to Disney in the spring of '97, Krishnan concluded it was up to her alone. She collected signatures from friends at the Chinmaya Kasi center in Anaheim, California. Bramachari Someshwar, the res­ident acharya, spoke to the congregation to rally support. Sp.e distributed pictures and

the mailing addresses of the officials at Dis­ney whom she had already written to.

Much of her ordeal was simply waiting. Six months later, a letter from Disney stated that they were looking into the matter. Fear­ing that her appeal was drowning in red tape, Krishnan renewed her effort to get people to write to Disney. Finally, in late July she received a ~ordialletter from Christine Goosman, a senior show writer in Show Writing and Concept Development: "I apol­ogize for the delay. I waite9- to write this let­ter until the situation had been resolved and I could bring you a positive response. Fol­lowing in-house discussions with our de­signers and management, the statue of Ganesha has been removed from the queue area and is no longer in public view. We are ·sorry that the inclusion of the figure caused offense, but want to assure you that the sit­uation has been corrected. Thank you for taking the time to write us with your con .. cerns and for your patience in awaiting a re­sponse. Your input was of great value to us."

Triumphant and relieved, Krishnan ex­ults, "One of the most satisfying moments of my life was receiving that letter. Without the ' article in HINDUISM TODAY, I would not have become aware of such an insult to Lord Ganesha by an American icon."

Another Ganesha still sits contentedly in the adjacent Jungle Cruise ride. His sur­rouhdings are natural, not derogatory, so His placeTent was never found offensive. ~

CONTACT: DAVE FISHER, DISNEY, POST OFFICE BOX 25020 , GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA 92112 USA

Statutory statues: (above) Ganesha in the Jungle Cruise ride; (left) A 1996 photo of the "Indy" Ganesha before His removal

NOVEMBER , Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 35

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-~ -------------~ ------ - ----------------- ----- --- ----

. DISCRIMINATION

Symbol ·of -Goo'd and Ev.il Hindu sues Hyatt hotel for religious discrimination after being fired for draWing his swastika

IHE UNIMAGINABLE ATROCI­

ties committed by Nazis dur­ing World War II still weigh heavily on the world's psyche,

and few images' reawaken the ig­nominy and suffering more strongly than the Nazi swastika. Devlhder Paul Kaushal, a devout vegetarian Hindu from New Del­hi, learned the extent of this stig­ma at work one day. His employ­ment of over twelve years at the Hyatt Regency in WoodfIeld, just outside of Chicago, was terminat - ~ ed after he innocently used win- ~ dow cleaner to spray a swastika on ~ a mirror he was helping to clean. ~ ":~~~

The image . was immediately ~ ,. wiped away, but Kaushal's co- ~ ... """"""'-' __

His case has been in the local newspa~ pers, as well as India Abroad. There was a report or two on the radi6, but Kaushal com­plains that all this has been too brief and too shallow. "1 wish someone would get this across to the American public, with a televi­sion documentary or something, to let people know there are very different meanings."

The swastika is a symbol of unknow.n ori­gin that has been employed for thousands of

years as a religious sign and a dec­orative emblem. It has appeared in ancient China, Egypt and In­dia. It has been found on Greek coins, pre-Christian Celtic and Scandinavian artifacts, the cata­combs of the early Christians in Rome and Byzantine .buildings. Until 50 years ago, it was widely used by American Indians.

workers were taken aback, and Comfort castle: The main lobby of the Hyatt Regency, Woodfield

For Kaushal, who was born in Punjab and moved to New Delhi at age four, the swastika had al­ways been the symbol of every­thing good. "We had our ow.n tem­ple,» he recalls. '~d whenever we did the Divali puja, the swastika was the fIrst image set dow.n. When 1 got married, this was the fIrst sign we put on. Whenever we buy a house or open a business, this is the fIrst sign we put on the complained. Kaushal made efforts

to explain to his seniors that in his religion the swastika is a prevalent image associated with auspiciousness. But they were not convinced. He was asked to resign, and when he didn't, was fIred days later. Kaushal is now suing the hotel giant for religious discrimination, seek­ing reinstatement, back pay ahd damages.

Married with two boys, ages 5 and 2 , thir­ty-six-year-old Kaushal told his supervisor, "There is no way thaI:' I am going to resign af­ter working for so long with the com}'lany. If I was young, I wouldn't care. But I have a fam-

ily. I am not going to resign. I don't know what you are thinking. This is my religious sym­bol." Kaushal claims he had n0 knowledge of how deep the revulsion for die swast ika runs in the West. He told HINDUISM TODAY, "I did not mean to offend anybody. Now that I have learned more about it, I do feel sorry for the holocaust victims. But people should also be aware that this is our religious symbol. We Hindus have been using it long before anybody else. It is very hard for 'me to get this through to the public."

building." He is painfully aware of the irony­his symbol of goodness is another man's sym­bol of evil-and he struggles with the impli­cations of hi~ case. "Its a hard lesson for me to learn. 1 just want the public to know that our symbol has a very different meaning."

Prior to press time fOJ this issue, Kaushals case was scheduled for mid-October. His at-torney was optimistic. w/

Ancient Icon HO.COULD FORESEE

that the battle of World War II in Europe

prohibited. After the outbreak of World War II, four Arizona tribes protested Nazi aggres­sion by banning the swastika.

the use of the emblem com­monly know.n today as the swastika, or fylfot, on our blankets, bas­kets, art ob­jects, sand­paintings and clothing."

would deeply impact na­tive American Indian tradi­tions for decades? The swastika was one of the most used ancient sym­bols of the Native Americans. This fact is little know.n, not because it's use was insignificant, but because in Feb­ruary, 1940, it was

The proclamation of the ban (photo right) reads, "Because the above ornament, which has been a symbol of friend­

ship among our forefathers for many centuries, has been desecrated recently by another nation of peoples, there­fore, it is resolved that henceforth, from this date on and forever more, our tribes renounce

36 HINDUISM TODA.Y NOVEMBER , 1998

The specific list of restric­

Never again: Hopi, Fred Kabotie, (left) and Apache, Miguel Flores, banning the swastika

tions signifies the extent to which the tribes had used the motif in every aspect of their daily life up to the time of the ban, perhaps even more so than Hindus. A parallel might

be if Hindus were to proscribe the use of the sacred symbol, Aum.

RESOURCE: THE SWASTIXA: A HISTORY, BY ROBERT R. WEGER, rnEBOR REGEW

AND ASSOCIATES, BOX 1806, LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA 9454 9 USA

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WOMEN OF VI-SION left her destitute even while she was preg­nant with his children."

The U,rifalling Po.wer Of Fern'ale Fidelity ,

Joshi told his audience th~t the purpose of the Lakshmi Mukti program was to see that no modern-day Sita would ever have to suffer the fate of Ram's Sita, left without anything to call her own. By transferring land-to their wives, they were paying off "a long overdue debt." In village after village I would see men reducea to tears listening to Sitas story. In 15 months more than 613 villages carried out the Lakshmi Mukti program of land transfer to wives celebrat­ing the occasion as though it were a festi­val. Men felt good atoning for the

Lord Ramas tragic treatment of his ch~ste wife Sita show women which men to avoid

BY MADHU KISHWA·R

GREW UP THINKING THAT SITA, HEROINE

of the Ramayana, was a slavish wife with­out a mind of her own who deserved the shabby treatment of her husband, Lord Ram. It took me a long time to understand

that it is not Indian women's masochism which m~es Sita appear an appealiDg role model. It is her supreme loyalty, combined with her digni­fied refusal to go through the humiliation of a second fire ordeal, She makes Ram appear so uncouth and unreasonab e that this one injus­tice has not been forgiven all ·these centuries.

During Ramanand Sagar's' "Ramayan" telecast on TV, as the episode approached when Sita's fidelity was to be tested with an agnipariksha (fire ordeal), the serial makers were flooded in advance with so many letters protesting the depiGtion of Sita going through the agniparik­sha that he had to deviate from his text and show a mock agnipariksha, witli the TV Ram making it clear that he did not doubt Sita's chastity. Clearly, Ram's injustice to Sita hung so heavily on the collectjve conscience of Indians that they will­ingly demanded even a'sacred text be altered.

I witnessed the power of Sims story ,to move men's hearts in Maharashtra. I was working on the Lakshmi Mukti program to persuad~ peasants of the organization, Shetkari Sangathana, to , empower women by voluntarily transferring a portion of the fam­ily land in the name of the wife. During our campaign, Sangathan~ leader Sharad Joshi pointed out to men ,how their wives toil for them selflessly, how crucial their wives' labor and care is for the well-being of the fanuly. He would ask his audience: "But how do we men treat our Lakshmi's? [Sita is an incarnation of Lakshmi]. Often no better than Ram treated Sita! When Ram was banished for 14 years Sita could have stayep. back, but she insisted, 'Wherev­er go'es Ram, there goes Sita. My place is by your side.' She suf- . fered numerous privations for him jQyfully. Though Ram's enemy, Ravan, respected her chastity when she was captured by him, and did not violate Sita against her wishes, her own husband subjected her to the cruel humiliation of a&nipariksha to prove her chastity. Even fire could not touch her. But on their return to his kingdom, at the mere hint of a slanderous remark by a laundryman, Ram asks b akshman to take away Sita ana. leave her in a forest without explanation. Maharani (Great Queen) Sita became a beggar overnight because her husband turned against her. It did not occur to him to tell his subjects, 'If Sita is not good enough to be your queen, then my place is by her side. I cannot stay here either.' He

wrongdoing of Ram. An a dditional two theusand villages volunteered to accept the Lakshmi Mukti Program, but the leader-ship somehow lost momentum.

People will say approvingly, "He is a Ram-like son or a Ram-like brother or a Ram-like king," but almost never say in approval, "He is a Ram-like husband." Women do not wish a Ram-like husband, even while they wish to be as loyal as Sita. Likewise, no woman wants a Krishna or a Vishnu, for Krishna is seen as a Casanova who kept many women dangling after him. Women often pray for a Krishna-like child, but almost never pray that they get a Krishna type husband.

Siva alone of all the Gods is considered the most desirable type of husband. Un- , married women fast on Mondays praying to Siva that He bless them with Parvatis good fortune. Why? Because Siva is single minded in his devotion to Parvati. He has rio eye for any other woman. When she

immolates herself as Sati to protest her father's ins,ult of her hus­band, Siva is ready to burn down the whole world and rests only after he has brought her back to life. She carries treQ1endous influ­ence in his activities, a companion and advisor rather than a servile wife. They are our mythology's most celebrated and happy couple, representing per!ect joy in togetherness, including iI;t their sexual union. Yet, Parvati had not been able to seduce him with her physical charm. She did rigorous austerities to win him.

Why do women want a Siva-like husband and not a Krishna or Ram? At the heart of this ehoice is the awareness that women's well-being requires a stable family and a m~ who will act respon-, sibly towards his wife and hi!, children. Most women shudder at the prospect of being a single parent, like Sita. Nor do they want to be a wife like Rukmini, who is forever waiting for her husband" who is too busy with his various dalliances. For a stable family life, sexual loyalty and restraint are a pre-60ndition. Even while preaching its...Vi.rtue to women, most men have found it hard to live by those norms. And women have had a hard time trying to hold

. 'men to it by making their own lives examples to be emulated in this respect. Some succeed partially, some well, some not at all. But most keep trying because they know if they give up or take to the ways of men, there is little possibility of fmding an emotionally stable family life for themselves and their children.

MADHU KISHWAR, 47, New Delhi, editor of Manushi, India's lead­ing'magazine on human issues, espeCially women right's, is an eru­dite activist in the effort to raise up the qualify of life in India.

NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 39

I

40

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"I'll teach you ... " Sure. These kids won't be in any mood ~o learn after this lesson

LEA.RNING

Do Smacks Lower Smarts? . Punishment leaves intel}igence behind, says study

. -\ OUNG ASHOK WAS CANED ONE MORN-

ing before school for pushing his sister. j Next door, Kugan pushed his sister, but instead of caning, mom sat him down

and calmly explained more appropriate be­havior. That day in school, was Ashok as re­

.ceptive to learning 'as Kugan? Not according • to the University of New Hampshire's Mur­

ray Straus, co-director of the Family Re­search Laboratory (www.unh.etlulfrV) and author of numerous studies on after-effects of corporal punishmeqt. He and Mallie Paschall have found th'llt children who are never or rarely spanked have higher s~ores on tests of cognitive ability (knowing through .awareness, perception, reasoning, judgmel\t) than . those frequently spanked. Spanking refers to several forms of punish­ment, such as slapping, caning or paddling. The fmdings are based on a representative sample of 960 US children ages one to four at the start of the study. The study took into account many other factors that could affect a childs cognitive ability-mothe\"s age, ed­ucatilm, whether the father was present in the household, number of childrer( in the family, mother's supportiveness and cogni­tive stimulation, ethnic group and the child's age, gender and birth weight.

"Cognitive ability of children ' who were not spanked in either of two sample weeks increit>ed, while cognitive ability of children who were frequently spanked decreased," reports Straus. "Children who were spanked didn't get dumber. The study shows that spanking is associated with falling behind the average rate of cognitive development,

not an absolute decrease in cognition." Straus believes one reason for higher cog­

nitive ability in children spanked the least is that, wanting to avoid corporal punishment, "parents use more verbal methods of con­trol, such as explaining to the child." Some parents think explaining correcfbehavior is a waste, but research shows these ver­bal parent-child interactions enhance the child's cognitive stimulation. Straus's study also confIrms recent brain research showing that we "downshift" from our brain's cere­bral cortex (cognitive learning center) into instinctiveness when faced with 'threat. Even if the parent says she is smacking "with love," can. we honestly expect tllat a spank seems nonthreatening to a child? No.

In another study,about learning, Claudia Mueller and Carol Dweck of Columbia Uni­versity found that children told they_ were smart were vulnerable to setbacks, while those praised for their efforts were not. ' "Praising childrens' intelligence, far from boosting their self-esteem, encourages them to embrace self-defeating be4aviors like worrying about failure and avoiding,:risks," Dweck said. "But when children are taught the value of concentrating, strategizing and working hard in dealing with academic challenges, they're encouraged to sustain their motivation, performance and self-es­teem." Bottom line-it's better to praise An­jali for her hard work than for her brains.

Since discipline means "to teach" and cor­poral punishment is now scientifically proven to impair learning ability, Hindus should avoid viotent child rearing. ~

Child Abuse To identify and prevent

•

- OU GREET YOUR SCHOOL STUDENTS

one morning and Devi, usually cheer­ful' walks in the classroom looking sullen, with a slight limp, and, oh, it

looks like there may even be a red mark on her cheek. What should y.ou do?

As child abuse escalat~s, parents are ask­ing: What is child abuse? How do I talk to children about sexual abuse? Who are the abusers? Are my children at risk? How do I cope if my child is abused? Nowhere are an­swers more thoroughly given than in James A. Monteleone, M.D's, new A Parent's & Teacher's Handbook on Identifying and Pre­venting Child Abuse, (G.W Medical Pub­lishing). It's not that Dr. Monteleone wasn't dealing with abuse for many years. It's just that, until now, there was no request for practical, hands-on information for parents.

You'll fInd out what abusive injuries look like (paleness, sweating, vomiting or diffi­culty in breathing can mean an infant was shaken), what behavioral signs mean and don't mean (injuring pets can indicate a

child is abused) .and how --=---------,. to communicate

with children regarding body safety issues (just as you'd teach kids to look both ways before crossing a street, while sparing gory details of what it's like to be run down, you can teach about sexual abuse without being graphic). Dr. Monteleone explains how to work with US laws, create a supportive home environment and how to keep kids saf~ on the Internet. In the first edition of the book, Dr. Monteleone disapproved of most corporal punishment, but his next edi­tion makes a compelling argument that any' form of physical punishment is abusive. ...~

C.W. MEDICAL PUBLISHING, 2.601 METRO BLVD, ST. LOUIS, MIS­SOURI 63043 USA, WEBSITE: www.gwmedicalcom

NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 41

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42

CLASSIFIED

Classified ads are US$25 for 20 words, $1/word for each additional word, payable in advance • Hinduism Today, 107 Kaholalele Rd, Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746-9304 USA. Tel: 800-850-1008, 808-822-7032 ext. 233, 808-639-1006. Fax: 808-822-4351 • E-mail: ads@hindu.org

Appeals

Multi-crore Vedic project. Sanatana Guru­kula education in Vedas, Sanskrit, offered free

-to children between ages 8 to 12 since 1994. Forest, enchanting river Cauvery near Banga­lore provide natural setting. Completion of Gurukula project requires U'$400,000. Medi­tation complex, $250,000, medicinal plants conservation park, $62,500. Donors will be offered free stays in the sylvan setting. Assis­tance is urgently sought. Send contributions to: Om Shantidhama, #3371 13th Cross, K.R. Road, 20d Main, Shastrinagar, Bangalore, 560 028 India. Tel: 91-080-661-5328. Fax: 91-080-661-0914. Teachings in the Vaishnava Hindu Tradition.

Ashrams

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Computer

Fast, friendly, fun software-Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, diacritics, all-in­one for Windows, now on special offer. Call 416-315-3186 (Canada).

Haydn's Jyotish for IBM or MAC, U'$95. Demo available. Microcycles, Inc. Tel: 800-829-2537 or 310-202-8337, 10am-5pm, Mon.-Fri. , Pacific time (USA).

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Beautiful wooden puzzles. Krishna, gods & god­desses. Also two games for Hindu children: "Memory" and 'Dominoes."Cali Lakshmi: 209-337-2477 (USA). hanuman@spiralcomm.net

Quality Incense from India. Golden Rose. Neel Kamal. Pure Sandal­wood cones, and more. Tel: 970-949-6329 USA Email: vel@vail.net

Education

Excellent correspondence course on Vedic Astrology by Jyotish Krishnan, recipient of sev­eral awards including the recent award of Jy­otish Vachaspathi by ICAS, India. Normal cost for four courses, US$558 (registration through Dec. '98: $200 off). More than 100 persons have already benefitted by this course. Excellent ref­erences. Tel/fax: 972-783-1242 or write: PO Box 852892, Richardson TX 75085-2892 USA.

Accredited Vedic astrology degree program offered by state-recognized Florida Vedic Col­lege (FVe.) Also: books, workshops. Contact Shyamasundara Dasa, Dean of Astrology (FVC), Jyotish Sastri, member ICAS, fully trained by masters in India, over 20 years ex­perience, author of the pioneer Matrix Jyotish Vedic astrology program that made Vedic astrology accessible to the West. Tel 352-332-3931 E-mail: shyamasunclara.acbsp@com.bbt.se

Information on astrology, gems, vastu shastras, ayurvedic herbs, contact Niranjan Mehta at www. newdynamic.com • Tel: 707-869-1763 (USA). Try free 10 minutes.

Vedic Astrology classes, workshops, tapes, books. Offered by Umananda- Stephen Quong, Ph.D., Jyotisha Vachaspati. 17513 Grizzly Den Road, Lake Shastina, CA 96094-9448, USA. Tel: 530-938-2997. Website: www.jyotishacom E-mail: quongassoc@jyotisha.com

Edith Hathaway, Vedic astrology: See her web­site at www.livefromsantafe.com.Click on "Health & Spirit," then scroll down to "Vedic astrology: From India, with love." (See also page 20 of this issue of HINDUISM TODAY.)

Free Products and Services

Free educational flow charts on all aspects of Hinduism. Write to Viswanath. Am I a Hindu? Box 56697, New Orleans, LA 70156-6697 USA. arvind-4@msn.com

For inspiration, call 808-822-7482 (or 808-822-SIVA) day or night for a recorded sermonette by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Sixty upadeshas are rotated and changed daily, each one is ten to eighteen minutes in length and covers topics such chakras, the story of the soul, handling karma, fear, worry and other states

of externalized consciousness, affirmations, putting teachings into practice, establishing oneself in sadhana, color meditations, and much more.

Find God. "What right has a man to say that there is a God if he does not see Him?" Any­one with a burning desire to honestly know God, please contact Dr. Aruna, 183 Jalan Besar, Bukit Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, West Malaysia.

Vedic Astrology: Free information on the many benefits to self, family, business. Write VedicAstro, PO. Box 975, Guthrie, OK, 73044-0975 USA, or see website: http:// hometown.aol.comlvedicastro/index.html

Jewelry

Jyotish/ayurveda gem and metal information. Free brochure. Informative video: $12. Satisfac­tion guaranteed. King Enterprises, 1305 N. H St.lA-289-T, Lompoc, CA 93436-4377 USA. Tel: 805-736-0449 (no credit cards.)

Astrological rings, pendants of gemstones, made to order in 14, 18, 22 karat gold or silver. Call Manju: 914-434-6630 (USA). Website: www.moneesh.com

Sweet, sattvic jyotish quality gemstones. "The quality of the gem is directly related to the power of the effect." Importer, whole­saler, G.I.A. graduate gemologist with 18 years experience personally selects the best Jyotish quality gemstones for you. Superior quality, competitive pricing, satisfaction guaranteed. Visa, Me. We ship anywhere. Jay Boyle Company • Tel: 800-559-5090 (USA) Website: www.astrologicalgem.com

Gemstones from the Vedic astrological tradi­tion. All natural stones. Rings, pendants, navaratnas. Satisfaction guaranteed. Referrals to Vedic astrologers. Free brochure. Healing Gems™.1-800-552-1321 www.healingems.com

Music and Art

www.lakshmi.com • Heart-melting Hindu Deity paintings, notecards and prints from India. Ganesha, Shiva, Karttikeya, Rama, Hanuman, Krishna, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kali, more.

Exquisite Vedic paintings done to order. Art book, Windows to Spiritual World. Pushkar, PO Box 1094, Alachua, FL 32615-1094 usA .. Tel: 904-462-0144. www.seva.iskcon.netlpushkaralintrop.htm

East Indian instruments and gift items. Giant selection of instruments: harmoniums, tabla, daggas, kirtan instruments, audio/video tapes. Also incense, spiritual books, etc. For a beautiful catalog, send US$l to Encinitas Imports, PO Box 230419-H, Encinitas, CA 92023-0419 USA. Tel: 760-436-9589

Products/Stores

Purity Farms organic traditional ghee. 100% pure, from cows raised completely free of hormones, chemicals or pesticides. A delight to cook with! Wholesale or retail. Ask about our 89-page book, Making and Using Ghee-the Royal Oil. Call 303-647-2368, USA.

Elegant, custom Hindu clothing for all occa­sions-kurtas, punjabs, salwar kameez. Natur­al fabrics. Free brochure: Palani Stitches. 510-680-7278 USA. spalani@flash.net

Publications

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

Sri Aurobindo books. Ayurveda. Reiki. Classi­cal spiritual texts. Homeopathy. Aromatherapy. Alternative health. Also over 7,000 health products including ayurveda, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies, incense, essential oils, massage oils, etc. Wholesale-retail-mail order. Free catalog. Lotus Light, Box 1008HT, Silver Lake, WI 53170-1008 USA.

Sri Chinmoy writes with clarity and simpl­icity on meditation, world peace, reincarna­tion, spirituality. Also: music for meditation­flute, esraj, chimes, cello, much more! Free catalog: Heart-Light Distributors, PO Box

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Palani Pan chang 1999. Trivedi's American Panchang available in English or Gujarati. U'$9+$2 s./h. 3 versions for NY, Chicago, San Francisco times. Tel: 510-490-1533. Devendra Trivedi, 4831 Piper St, Fremont, CA 94538-2521 USA.

#1 English-language astrology magazine: "The Mountain Astrologer". Primarily Western Tropical Zodiac, but includes Vedic articles. Well-written articles; forecasts; interviews; book and software reviews; astro-humor. Sample copy postpaid U'$6 USA/Canada. Tel: 800-287-4828, U'$9.50. Overseas 530-477-8839. www.mountainastrologer.com

Vedic astrology: Groundswell Press is fully dedicated to popularizing and demystifying Vedic astrology primarily among Western as­trologers. Our books emphaSize the sidereal "baseline" but they also layer some western fac­tors and procedures on top of this for a more en­riched, and more popular, synthetic approach. For further information about these books, please see: www.richardhouck.com

Videos

Acclaimed spiritual videos: Sadhana­India's holy men, see the Kumbha Mela. 60 min. US$33.95 pstpd (ck). Pal and Catalog

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Wanted

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Hinduism Today is looking for unusual news items that impact the global Hindu family. Quips, quotations, cartoons, professional pho­tographs, anything that you think will be of in­terest! Send to HINDUISM TODAY, 107 Kaholalele Road, Kapaa, Hawaii 96746-9304 USA or call 808-822-7032, x227. Fax: 808-822-4351 E­mail: ar@hindu.org

Yoga

Yoga in Daily Life. Yoga, meditation, guest lecturers, satsang. Books, audio & video tapes and more. Free catalog. 1310 Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, VA 22301-1714 USA. E-mail: yidl@erols.com • Tel: 703-299-8946 • Fax: 703-299-9051.

The Ayurvedic Institute

Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic Physician and Director of the Institute, with visiting facuity, offer the Ayurvedic Studies Program, seminars and pri­vate consultations.

Yearly Curriculum: • I: Introduction to philosophy,

theory and systems (Fall). • II: Introduction to Ayurvedic

assessment (Winter). • III: Intra. to management of

imbalances (Spring).

• Correspondence Course·by ·, Dr. Robert Svoboda, Ayurvedic Physician

• Weekend and Intensive Seminars: Ayurvedic Cooking, Psy­chology, Herbology, Pulse Reading, Sanskrit, Jyotish, etc.

• Panchakarrna-purification and rejuvenation by licensed staff: oil massage, herbal steam, cleansing diet, herbal therapy, etc.

• Ayur-yoga-integrating Ayurveda and Yoga for the purpose of returning each person to his or her balanced state.

• Ayurvedic and Western herbs, extracts, oils, books, audio and video tapes and a quarterly journal.

Write/call for our mail order catalog and information: The Ayuvedic Institute • PO Box 23445 Albuquerque, NM 87192-1445 USA Tel: 505-291-9698 • Fax: 505-294-7572

I

43

M I SSION STATEMENT

Hindu Heritage Endowment is a publicly supported, charitable organization te~ognized as tax ex­

empt by the IRS on April 22, 1994. Its emyloyer ID nlll!lber is 99-0308924. Foun~d by" Satguru'

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, its philanthropic mission is to'provide secure, professionally managed

financial support for instihltions and religious leaders of all lineages of Sanatana Dharma.

N OVEM.~ER DONOR PROFILE

Sharing a profound interest in things mystical and beginning their study of traditional Hinduism together, Markandeya and Sundari Peru­man were married in 1961. They moved to Houston, Texas, in 1977, and became active members of the Sri MeeI1jlkshi Temple. Often, temple devotees came to look to this elderly coupl~ <tlmost as grandparents. As one family said, "Their impact on all our lives is huge, especially with our spiritual growth. I-am glad our children had the blessing of learn­ing Hinduism from Markandeya and Sundari. They are like family to us." When Sundari (photo left) departed from this world in 1995, Markandeya and son Ravi started a memorial endowment to which

anyone who loved or admired Sundari Per~man is welcome to donate. The fund is dedicated to teaching Hindu children in A1p.erica about thsir religion.

FUND OF THE MONTH

A remote jewel floating in the Indian ocean, Mauritius is a pilgrimage destination10r sophisticated tourists from three continents. N9w pilgrims of ~ ~

another sort are journeying to a fishing village on the Nortneast coast of this island where a unique nine-foot tall, five-faced statue of Gane­sha emanates a serene sense of sanctity that pervades the surrounding spiritual park. Gane­sha is enshrined in an imposing Kerala-style mandapam (right), and visitors find that peace of mind comes quickly in this beautiful seacoast sanctuary. You can help support this spiritual park by checking the "Panchamukha Ganapati Endowment" on the enclosed donation card.

A PROFESSIONAL'S PERSPECJ1VE: In general, you and your spouse may make tax-free transfers to a .child (up to $20,000 plus an infl~t\on adjustment) without giving the child immediate access to the giJt;,.by using either (1) the Minor's Trust or (2)the Custodial Account. Property and its jncome in a Minors Trusf may be used by or for the benefit of the child before age 21, and the remainder

will go to the child when he or she reaches age 21. Howeverr a custodian man­ages the property in a custodial account until.it must be turned over to the child wh~n he or she is no longer a minor. Before deciding between a minot s' trust and a custodianship, there are many tax and non-tax factors to consider. A custodianship has fewer formalities and administrative costs than a trust, and more "'tax advantages, but the custodianship is not as flexible as the trust can be. Nitai H. Pathak, CPA,. MST, of Kling, Lee & Pathak, Artesia, California (888) 721-5370 and (562) 924-8610.

As a public service, HHE occasionally will offer the opinions of various financial p lanners. However, it endorses neither these advisors nor their counsel, and reco.mmends that all individuals seek prof, ssional advice from several sources before making important long-term decisions.

.... _------------------------------- .. .. ------------~== RI:CENT DONORS

Hindu Businessmen's Association 'frust Kriya Haran $141.00 Malaysian Hindu Youth Educational Trust

Vel Alahan $155.56 Edwin Hawk $1,405.35 Jeyasreedharan $40.00 Manogaran Mardemootoo $21.39 Diksha Kat ir $82.40 Total $40.00 Nathan Palani $31.20 Andrzej & Beatriz Kraja $50.00

Small gifts to fund $22.46 Sadhunathan Nadesan $308.00 Mathavasi Medical Fund

Total $230.61 Deva Natharaja $1,780.00 Anonymous $24.00

Umah Rani Palanisamy $71.35 Gowri Nadason $30.00

Hindu Orphanage Endowment Fund Kanthasamy Pillaiyar $110.00

Total $54.00 Anonymous $134.00 Raj & Sunita Kumar $101.00

Saiva Siddhanta Church $7,1 66.16 Mathavasi Travel Fund

Small gifts to fund $60.00 Padmini Samuthiran $3 18.26 Erasenthiran Poonjolai $75.00

Total $295.00 Hitesvara Saravan $413.90 Total $75.00 Loganatha Shivam $300.00 Sundari Peruman Memorial Fund

Hinduism Today Endowment Trust Palaka Shivam $300.00 Robert Sorrells $180.00 Yatrikadevi Shivam $200.00

Markandeya Peruman $25.00

Small gifts to fund $70.00 Peshala Varadan $235.75 Total $25.00

Total $250.00 Vayudeva Varadan $444.10 Thank You Gurudeva Fund

Hinduism Today Distribution Fund Small gifts to fund $36.47 Kailash Sivam Dhaksinamurthi $5 1.00

Hotranatha Ajaya $630.31 Total $13,973.81 Larry Gibson $50.00

Appamal Athimulam $37.93 Jyarappan Temple Trust Satya Palani $40.00

Jatinder Bhan $46.00 Alphonse Van Well $50.00 Markandeya Peruman $50.00

Ravindra Doorgiat $38.22 Total $50.00 Vayudeva Varadan $52.00

Kartikeyen Manick $30.39 Small gifts to fund $35.08

Logadasan Murugesu Kauai Aadheenam Annual Archana Fund Total $278.08

$45.00 Prasana Samugam $44.28

Logadassen Raday $40.73 Small gifts to fund _ $83.94

Trrunavakkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam Fund

P Rajagopalan $52.00 Small gifts to fund $72.20 Total $128.22

Guha Skanda $40.00 Total $72.20

Omkar Tiku $52.00 Kalakshetra Scholarship Fund Total of Small Funds $55.00

Bhamar & Kanta Trivedi $50.00 Manickam Shanmugam $20.00

Saravan Veylan $65.54 Total $20.00 Personal Income Endowment

Small gifts to fund $204.90 KauaiAadheenam Monastic Endowment HHE's Pooled Income Funds allows individu-

Total $1,333.02 Vinaya Alahan $300.00 als to maintain a personal income while giv-

Iraivan Temple Endowment Ramsamy Natarajan $16.09 ing generously to support the work of Hindu

Rathi Devi Batumallah $44.00 Ramsamy Pillay Samoo $138.47 Heritage Endowment.

Veerasamy Batumallah $44.00 Total $454.56 VeiAlahan $5,000.00

Kailash Sivam Dhaksinamurthi $221.67 Deva Rajan $5,000.00

Toshadeva Lynam Guhan Loving Ganesha Distribution Fund Total $10,000.00

$186.10 Eric Mitchell $10.00 Chitravelloo Gunasegaran $58.50 Manoharan Navaratnarajah $25.00 Total Recent Contrib. $27,369.50 Mohana Sundari Gunasegaran $56.80 Total $35.00 Total Endowments at Market Value

Our sincere gratitude goes out to each and every individual who has given to one of the endowment funds of Hindu Heritage Endowment, helping to strengthen Hinduims for generations yet to come. HHE's goal is $50,000 a month to really make a difference. All donations are income tax-deductible in the US.

As ofJuly 31, 1998 $2,513,997.53

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, interl1a­tional and domestic, and acc9unting, management and investment principles.

; I WANT TO PARTICIPATE. WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY DONATION? You can send your gift to an existing fund, create a new endowment or request information through the address below. Credit card gifts may be made directly bye-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, Hawaji, 96746-9304 USA

Tel: (800) 890-1008, Ext. 235 Outside US: (808) 822-3152, Ext. 235

Fax: (808) 822-4351 E-mail: hhe@.b.indu.org

www.hindu.org/hhe/

(

HEALING

How About a •

Diet to D 'ie 'I;or? Indiscriminate food habits lead to obesity, malnutrition, heart disease and arteriolsclerosis

BY DEVANANDA TAND~VAN, M.D.

S I HAVE MENTIONED IN the past, the traditional' South Indian vegetarian diet is an excellent bal­

ance of protein, fat and carbohy­drates with no emphasis op undesirable fats. However, the diet I have encountered on my many·Indian pilgrimages is something dif(erent. .What is served by the Tamil Nadu tourist facilities and many of the other restaurants throughout tpe south of India, as well as in many homes, is truly a sad example of a good, healthy diet.

The food served to the public, and in­creasingly cominon in homes, is slowly killing people by creating or fostering the problems of obesity, arteriosclerosis, coro­nary heart disease and other degenerative diseases. This modern makeshift diet con­tains too much fat a.qd sugar. There are too few vegetables, and what vegetables are served have been cooked to a mush of little nutritional value. The quality of fat used in frying is of the worst kind-the so-called tropical fats that are highly saturated­coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.

Restaurants and many private homes use and reuse these fats until they no longer remain liquid. Ii: is common knowledge throughout the world that whenever fat is heated, the fat breaks down to harmful unknown and unnatural prod\lcts. It is also common knowledge, even in India, that the use of saturated fats contributes fo cardio­vascular disease and other conditions.

A typical restaurant meal is fried dosai dripping with fat, vadai and deep fried potatoes or bananas. As near as could be calculated, the amount of calories from the fat far exceed the desirable '1ess than 30%." Main meals consist of polished rice, rasam, sambar and a small amount of salad or vegetables. The evening meal is, again, fried foods or several kinds of rice. Even

46 HINDUISM TODAY N VEMBER, 1998

upper class homes don't have a well-rounded vegetarian diet. When I asked why no one uses brown or unpolished rice for its added nutritional value, I was told, "That is feed for the ani­mals." Perhaps that is why some of the hogs and cattle seemed healthier than the people.

Desserts are almost totally sugar and eaten excessively.

Children are constantly bribed with sweets to behave. Some children eat practically nothing but sweets and rice; their teeth show t4e disfiguring horrors of cavities and decay. <0verall body stature of children in India is less than that of comparable chil­dren fed a more appropriate vegetarian diet: ls it any wonder that many residents of India are suffering from arteriosclerosis, heart disease, obesity and malnutrition?

I urge everyone to select fats that are predominantly monounsaturated-such as from olive oil, grape seed and flaX oil. Don't ever reuse fats, for even one heatinltcauses degeneratioI}. Reduce use of fats, as well as the amount of fried foods, and rarely deep . fry. If cast iron ~s used to cook, a few drops of oil spread over the bottom of the pan is sufficient even for frying dosai. I also urge use of raw vegetables and slightly cooked vegetables, with as much variety as possi­ble. One should consume some dark green leafy vegetables every day. The flavor of the unpolished rice is very good, and its nutritional value is much greater. There are also other grains that can be used as rice substitutes. Elders' and children will bene­fit greatly by the reduction of the amount of sugar and sugary products.

DR. TANDAVAN, 78, 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.

EVOLUTIONS DIED: Twelfth president of Ramakrish­na Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Bhuteshanandlijl Maharlij, in Calcutta, August 10, at age 97. Hundreds of thou­sands of devotees paid tribute as he was cremated at the Mission's glob­al headquarters in Belur Math on the banks of the Bhuteshanandaji River Hooghly. Popularly addressed as "President Ma­haraj" by disciples, Swami took charge of the Mission in 1989. Known for his wit, wisdom and strict adherence to discipline, he authored Thoughts on Spiritual Life. His successor was to be named by the Mission's board of trustees in early September.

PERISHED: Over two hundred Hindu pil­grims, their porters and local villagers

in the Himalayas August 18 when incessant rains caused a huge landslide and flash flood in the Kali River. The pil­grinls were head­ed across the Chi­nese border in Tibet toward the sacred Mount

Protima Bedi Kailas. On August 19 three other

landslides hit the area, killing 37 more. Struggling through rains and fog, res­cuers had recovered only 43 bodies and found 18 survivors by August 23. Among the bodies was that of famous Odissi dancer Protlma Gaurl Bedl, founder of the prestigious Nrityagram dance village outside Bangalore. She was on her way to Lake Manasarovar at the foot of Kailas. It is said that one of the most auspicious ways to die is while on pilgrimage to Kailas.

MURDERED: Swami Mahesh Anand of the Chinmayanand Ashram in Mumbai July 9· He was 65. Police suspect rob­bery may be the motive behind his be­ing stabbed in his room with a kitchen knife. It was apparent the ashram had been plundered as well. Located on a picturesque hillock abutting Powai lake, the lake area is often host to anti­social elements after nightfall.

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'" EUROeE CONTINUES ITS love affair with Hin­du culture. Among programs co_morat­ing India's 50th Independence anniversary of is a touring exhibition on Lord' Krishna, currently on view in Britain, organized by the Hayward Gallery for the Arts Council of England. It is the fIrst major exhibit in Europe exclusively devoted to a single Hin­du Deity. The objective, according to orga­nizers, is to "celebrate Krishna's enduring legend and the relevance of his message in an age so besotted with materialism."

IT WAS TIME TO FACE THE MUSIC for Buddhist monk Kung Bunchhoeun. He was expelled from a temple in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after being caught sneaking out at night to indulge in his secret passion-karaoke singing. He also went dancing and got ~n a punching fIght with a lay student. "We no longer accept this monk, because he has too much freedom. His conduct violates Buddhist discipline," the temple abbot said.

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE expressing inner forces through outer art. Celebrating this in July was "Mannin Marabu," a Tamil cultur-

.,' ~I al festival organized by ~ I PI ___ . India's government. A

[~ shop on kolams, rich • ' . ... mandala-like de-I'" , / signs for beautifying I . 1 . and protecting the Hin-

~ du home. A hundred ;:"-«", . . ::::J women shared their deft

Kolam design renderings of everything from tulips to yantras.

Lakshmi Venkataram, coordinator, said, «The aim was to revive traditional designs which have died out as well as to fmd new evolving kolam expressions."

,., THE AMERICAN HINDUS AGAINST Defamation announced a successful outcome in August of its efforts to negotiate with the Karma nightclub in Chicago. The club attracted numerous protests after opening in 1997, due to its decor of pictures, statues and oth­er depictions of Hindu deities. The owner, Shrinivas Reddy, has removed all Hindu deities from the club. For details, visit the Defamation website at www:hindunet. org! anti _ defamationlkarma _club.

WELCOME TO OUR BROTHERS' and sisters in the Ukraine Republic! The Odessa Center of Integral Yoga plans to hold a "World Spiritual Meditation" in August 2000-a meeting in Ukrallle (part of the former So­viet Union) of monks and teachers of all re-

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: COURTESY OUTRIGGER HOTEL, PHOTODISC, ~AHESH KOLAM BOOK

ligions to make a joint effort toward world peace. They ambitiously expect 150,000 participants. For details write: Odessa Cen­ter of Integral Yoga, PO Box 9, Odessa 270101, Ukraine. E-mail: jafep@farlep.net

HINDUISM TODAY'S staff, as they stroll€d through Kauais Outrigger Hotel lobby in August, were taken aback when a group of evangelical Christians shoved pam­phlets in their hands and loudlyex­tolled Jesus.

• Outrigger Hotel on Kauai .,.

It was a surprise because the setting was private property. HT promptly informed Gordon, a hotel manager, who was upset with the proselytizing and said the hotel has a policy of "no solicitation," assuring that "we never want our guests to face this."

A CENTER FOR THE STUDY of alternative medi­cine has been established at the" University of California in San Francisco. FUnded by $12.2 Illi.llion in grants, the Osher Center for Integrated Medicine will research how alternatives can be combined with conven­tional patient care to "address all aspects of health and wellness-biological, psychologi­cal, social and spiritual." The fIrst research focuses on areas such as how to treat coro­nary heart disease and breast cancer with approaches including hatha yoga, medita- , tion, dance, Chinese herbs and art therapy.

SPEAKING AT PORTLAND STATE University in June, US President Clinton exhorted Ameri­cans to welcome rather than shun new im­migrant~ saying they have brought benefIts in the economic, cultural and countless oth­er spheres. Clinton also called on immi­grant~ to do their part to be full citizens, and urged them to "embrace our culture, learn our language, know our history- and when the time comes, become citizens. Ethnic pride is a very good thing. But pride in one's ethnic and racial heritage must nev­er become an excuse to withdraw from the larger American community. This does not honor diversity, it breeds divisiveness."

IT'S A CRISIS THE OTHER. WAY around. Once regarded universally as a cherished gcial, low birth rates in the industrial world have become a cause for alarm. Driven hrrgely by prosperity and freedom, millions of women are having fewer children. Never before-

'" except in times of plague, war and deep ecopomic depression-have birth rates fall­en so low. Europe is the worst: there's no longer a single country where people are having enough children to replace them­selves when they die. illustrating the think­ing, Mia Hulton, 33, a Swedish working wife, says, "Women fInally have so many chances to have the life they want. To travel and work and learn. I fmd it hard to see where having children would fIt into it."

STRANDED AT DEATH? The United Arab Emi­rates has banned cremation since January. The only Hindu crematorium in Dubai was ·shut down by the government. This put the UAEs 500,000 Indians, of whom 300,000 are Hindus, in a tough spot. "If anybody dies now, we have to take the body to India, which is very expensive," said one Dubai resident. Hindus have appealed to the Indi­an ambassador's offIce, but to no avail. . D~SPITE MILITANT DISRUPTIONS, a record 140,000 pilgrims trekked to India's famous Amarnath cave'in July/August for darshan of the ice Lingam. An offIcial said numer­ous sadhus carrying the silver mace of Lord Siva entered the cave on August 8. About 15 pilgrims died this year along the arduous route, mostly due to heart failure.

A COLLEGE DORM KITCHEN should stock vege­tarian basics, says the University of Califor­nia at Los Angeles. Here is a sampling of their list, a good-and inexpensive-foun­dation for your own pantry: vegie burgers, whole wheat flower, pita bread, nuts, mixed veg­etables, sunflower seeds, garlic powder, chili pow­der, honey, blackstrap molasses, miso, yeast flakes, brown rice, quinoa, millet and asep­tically packaged tofu. Its .. good they have this list, since Chelsea Clinton, vege­tarian daughter of the US President, just entered the dorm at Stanford University.

LIFE FOR COMMUNISTS IN KERALA has come full circle. The God-defying, temple-wreck­ing breed of Lenin worshipers are tossing away Marxist ideology for Hinduism. Real­izing the power of India's new government and the appeal of Hindutva to the masses, they're energetically renovating temples and conducting annual temple festivals. "Faith in God doesn't hinder our party work," says activist Sukumar'an. "Besides, temple festivals are part of our social life."

NOVEMBER, 19 9 B HINDUISM TODAY 49

mayan~ Sites' project. In it I categOl;ically re­stated, 'Combined evidence from five sites excavated under the project shows there did exist a historical basis for the Ramayana. ",

To the allegation that he is withholding documents from the Archaeological Survey of India, Lal writes, "The SUl1vey is already the custodian of'all the documents, includ­ing the field diaries, plans, photos and the entire excavated material." To the third alle­gation, Lal gives a more detailed response, due to its importance to the whole country (thousands died in 1992 communal riots over demolition of the Babri Masjid).

Sitting strong: Lal doesn't give in to anti-Hindu bias; he just presents archaeological facts

Excavations in Ayodhya were originally .undertaken to comp~e Ayodhyas antiquity with other sites in the Ramayana story. But as work progressed, they took on deeper meaning. A trench dug next to the Masjid I

boundary revealed parallel rows of pillar­foundations lying near the mosque. Affixed to the piers of the Masjid were pillar-shafts

HISTORY carved with Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Ha's Re~Rightlng History' Deity-carvings on pillars used as foundation material in a mosque? Lal couldn't help but wonder if this meant a Hindu temple once stood on this same\ ite.

Atheists. scorn professors proof of Ayodhya Lal knew that real confirmation required excavation in the Masjid floor area, but oth­er historians resisted it. That obstacle fell

ERHAPS HE SAW IT COMING. IN JUNE The Indian Ministry for Human Re­source Development r~placed 18

Marxist historians of the Indian Council of Historical Research (whose terms were up) with scholars who support the existence of a Rama temple in Ayodhya. Councilman Professor B. B. Lal was attacked by those historians and their compatriots. Lal's term was also up, but he :.vas reappointed. A bit surprised, Lal was 'Still prepared to calmly and fully respond. Here is why, and how.

.Leftists in India are commonly Hindu­bash~ng and attempt to distort history. 'Fhey were. understandably upset at losing one of their greatest sources of government pa­tronage and academic power in India. After the ICHR chair-shuffling was over, Lal, for- . mer Director General of the Archaeological .... Survey of India (ASI), was condemned by leftists as "communal" because he supports the view that a Rama temple qnce existed at tfie site of Babri Masjid, Ayodhya, and that the Aryan invasion theory is a myth.

A negative editorial in The Hindu news­paper titled "Tampering with History" sug­gested a "disturbipg effort to undermine the scientific temper that must preempt histori­cal inquiry." The editor said La}. faltered> in tltree ways: 1) that Lal's earlier conclusion said there was no evidence to suggest "his­toricity" of the Ramayana; 2) that Lal refus­es to hand over field diaries to the ASI and open them to fellow archaeologists; and 3) Professor Lal claims to possess "clinching"

with the now famous and unfortunate evidence the Babri Masjid mosque stood on , . Masjid demolition in 1992. Within the walls the ruins of a Hindu temple, but doesn't sub< ' , torn down by the mob much archaeological stantiat~ this claim with excavation facts. material was found. Especially.crucial were

Withln ten days Lal issued a full rebuttal . three stone inscriptions, the largest (see letter. "To the first allegation," he Wrote, '1et . photo left) 9f which Professor Ajaya Mitra me make it absolutely clear that at no point Shastri of Nagpur University translated. His in time did I ever say there was no evidence ' report says, "The inscription was evidently

put up on the temple wall, the construction of which is recorded in the inscribed text. Line 15, for example, tells us that a Beautiful temple of Vishnu-Hari, 'built with heaps of stone' and 'beautified with a golden spire ~paralleled by any other temple built by ear­lier kings, was constructed. This templ~ was built in the city of Ay­odhya.''' This inscription SPi!aks for itself It's clear a twelfth-cen­tury temple was destroyed ana some of its parts incorporjited by Muslims in the mosque.

Rock-solid proof: stone inscripti0tl found at the Ayodhya Masjid site details former Vishnu temple

, So what happens next? Why is Lal's response to The Hindu's edi­torial crucial? Before the Majid was demolished, a debate raged as

about the 'historicity' of the Ramayana. In 1988 the ICHR organized a seminar in Del­hi at which I presented a 60-page paper en­titled Historicity of the Mahabharata and Ramayana: What Has Archaeology to Say? Finding in it something counter to their views, the (leftist) ICHR authorities at the time withheM publication. In 1993 came my first report of the 'Archaeology of Ra-

to whether the mosque was sitting on the ruins of a Rama temple. Now, with over­\vhelming evidence that it was, millions of HiRdus want to know when the temple will be re-constructed (a project already under way, sponsored by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad), and how it can be done without offending Muslims. FUrther violence must be avoided. .....I

50 HINDUISM TOD.AY N,OVEMBER , Igg8

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51

-------- 1'

MINISTER'S MESSAGE

Zero.Tolerance imposed on this boy physically. Maybe an affectionate gesture would have made the boy realize the pain he l/ad caused the younger boy!" Punishment with love at the most can be tolerated, but need not be en­couraged at all. The danger of corporal punishment lies in that it will produce an attitude of challenge, to defy and to oppose any kind of punishment, however beneficial it may be to the pllllished. Before resorting to pllllishment, especially corporal, one should think and act wisely.

for Chil.d Battering Corporal punishment as failure, not method SWAMIBHAVAHARANANDA

BY S W A M I B H A VA H A R,A NAN D A has a brutalizIDg influence on the ; perpetrator and the perpetrated

AND SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDA Iy KIND OF PH"YSICAL VIOLENCE

r, . against. A widespread occurrence upon defenseless children in most societies, I

it speaks of a highly uncivilized form of behavior. It is an expression of the brutish instinct of physical might. Provoked by a weaker person, sheer bodily strength gives vent to intolerance in the form of violence, such as in wife-beating, which is also wide-

, PERSONALLY FEEL THAT '

! pllllishment and fear are natural outcomes of the

J insufficiency and failures on the side of both parents and their wards. There should-not be any kind of oppressing domination, physical or other­wise, by either parents or chil­dren. Such dominatioh only proves that we are still at the instinctual level only-animal or human. It shows that we have not yet been able to rise above such reactions and situations.

Imaginative pro-action as well as creative planning fer a higher life through a cool and impassionate approach will bring out from within us more patience, sympathy, love and affection. All that is cruel, ugly and revengeful is best avoided while dealing with hu­man relationships. An aesthetic, objective approach will bring forth better results, no doubt.

Corporal pllllishment does not always bring the desired result. I personally experieneed this while once in charge of a school for boys. A strong well-built senior pushed a junior from a height, resulting in a head injury to the jllllior and profuse bleeding. There was no hostility between them. He just pushed playflllly, not realizing the .outcome. I, being witness to the suffering of the vic­tim, wanted to pllllish the wrongdoer (according to me) so that,he, too, would feel at least some of the pain which he had inflicted on a jllllior. I wanted to cane him twice or thrice and asked him to put out his hand to cane him on the palms. The boy, who had come from a stock which had seen much fight, blood and suffering refused to obey me despite my asking him three times. I just want­ed to make him understand tl}e pain and the consequent events he had inflicted on an innocent boy younger and weaker than him­self I even explained to him patj@ntly that only by suffering pain would he realize the consequence of his irresponsible act. But nothing worked, so in desperation I caned him twice on his thighs and once on his buttocks. Being a very fair complexioij.ed, chubby boy, the cane left angry red marks on his body. But, strangest of all, the boy neither cried in pain· nor requested me to excuse hiin. But I was in tears, since I felt det'eated in front of a child. Feeling sorry, I took him to my room, applied ointment on his welts and gave him some cool drinks which he took with the s'ame stoic atti­tude. Children are made of such stern stuff This made me thinI:<:, "Maybe I had a feeling of defeatism which I unconsciously

52 HINDUISM TODA.Y NOVEMBER , Igg 8

spread nearly 'everywhere. . Considering that most children are in­

clined to resist being disciplined as they grow up, it is understandable that parents become irritated, lose patience and, thus, take recourse to violence on the spur of the moment. But violence inevitably marks the psyche of a child, especially when it occurs

repeatedly. If children are sure of the security of the love of their parents, as adults they will forgive their ill-tempered violence, but if not, their' grudge will be perman~nt and unforgiving. In such a case, no parents could expect their children to respect the injunc­tion from our scriptures, the Vedas, matri clevo bhavah, pitri clevo bhavah, "May your mother be a Goddess, MaY., your father be a God." Awesome is the power of the parents over their children who are totally dependent on them and also to~ defenseless. Thus, it is morally imperative to all parents that such a power should net er be abused.

Nowhere iN any Hindu scripture is violence against chjldren enjoined. Ahimsa paramo dharmah, (nonviolence is a supreme religious injunction).is a basic teaching of Hinduism. Nonviolence is the first restraint (the first yama) in raja yoga. In the Hindu tradition, the mother smgs to her child the lullaby: shuddosi, bud­dhosi, niranjanosi (You are a pure one, -intelligent one, innocent:.are you.) All parents should learn from the Hindu scriptures how to raise their children: first of all, by personal example, with clear-cut guidance, with firmness and understanding, love and considera­tion, patience and tolerance, never failing to explain the reason why pf any discipline required. 'I1fey may complain, but if th~y know theit parents mean well, do not have double stapdards, and unselfishly love them, they will obey and grow up reasonably well.

SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDK

SWAMI BHAVAHARANANDA, 65 (left), is head librarian at the Ra­makrishna Mission in Mumbai and author (unclerpen name Anan­da) of spiritual works, most recently Myth, Symbol and Language.

SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDA, 72,f01"/'l1erprivate secretary to Swami Sivananda, taught Yoga-Vedanta in Rishikesh and now directs large centers in South America in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.

ASTROLOGY

It's All Here , V JONDERING WHERE W the stars are

tonight? How astrology is practiced in Iceland? When's the next confer­ence? Whether the stock market may be bullish two weeks from now? Or just what as­trology means? Well, no more long lines at search engines. 'Whats on the Net" website (http://

~

>

" ;;: This CD is a Divine Digital Dance

whatsonthe.netlastromks .htm) offers an astound­ing 1,500 links to every­thing under the sun. Hindu sites are well represented with pages like 'i\.strolog-ical Gemstones in Jyotish tradition," "Goravani Jyotish software" and 'ffilcient Hindu Astrology for the Modem Wesl3m As­trologer." Its time to face up to our planets.

Income Trap , V fHEN BABY'S OLD W enough for daycare,

mom often goes back to work, believing the fami­ly "needs the money." But the reality may well --...."

PHOTODISC

Add to your piggy bank with one-income savings.

HIND01S1'1 TODAY 107 KAHOlALELE ROAD KAPAA- HAWlI! 96'?,6-93Di

be that child-care costs, work-related expenses and lack of thriftiness actually add up to less spendable income and a lower Hving standard­not to mention that kids need full-time morns, and her own peace of mind. If you're not con­vinced, USA Weekend's

website invites you to tryout a calculator­

from the book Shat­tering the Two-In­come Myth-to see how much that sec-

ond paycheck really amounts to. Not

much considering the massive extra effort.

See www.usaweekend. comlg8 _issues /g8071g/g8071g income _ calculator.html)

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all performed on the same night. Rare phYSically, yes, but now you can watch these highest forms of devotional expression together on Rizvi Softwares stylish '1ndian Classical Dance" CD. The pictorial deluge leads you from origins of styles thousands of years ago, to numerous facial expressions and bodily gestures that culminate in a whirl of grace­ful beauty, shown by leading contemporary artists in sixty minutes of video. Great dance gurus like Padma Subrahmanyam and Birju Maharaj are honored. You'll see why "all motion begins in God and ends in God." Contact: .Rizvi Multimedia, 1st Floor, Hill Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400 050, India. Tel.: gl-22-649-g267. E-mail: rizvi@bom3. vsnl.net.in. Website: www.rizvi.com

SAINTS

THE SILENT ONE POSSESSED

me in Silence and poured into me a. speechless word that was the seed of wisdom. That word, 0 friend, had a magic effect on my life. It hushed up the mind and opened my heart to silent embrace of the Divine." The author of this passage is Saint Tayu­manavar, whose 1.440 songs first lilted 250 years ago. Aussie Pete Brown was smitten by the saint's poetic ren-dering of Saiva Siddhanta Hin-duism and labored to put his hymns on the Web, now available at http://magna. com. au! -prfbrown/thayu manavarl. Its the first time all the verses have been published in English, and there's a good biography of the saint there too!

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