suchandra

Maoists as final cause of recent Orissa crisis.

The fascinating case of religious Maoists in Orissa

http://dikgaj.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/the-fascinating-case-of-religious-maoists-in-orissa-especially-maoists-who-find-only-one-religion-evil-and-all-others-worth-protecting/ Posted on September 4, 2008. Filed under: Christians, Communist, Hindu, India, Politics, terrorism |

As I had proposed in my earlier post on the Kandhmal incident in Orissa, India, after long speculation in the media about the stunning silence of the Maoists about their “role in the assassination of Laxmananda Saraswati”, one week after the assassination suddenly a statement has appeared out of thin air - supposedly coming from the Maoists : The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (?) declares “The Sangh Parivar leaders like Praveen Togadia have been trying to divert the people by uttering lies that it is not the Maoists but Christian organizations that had carried out the attack on the VHP leader…Saraswati was a rabid anti-Christian ideologue and persecutor of innocent Christians who was responsible for the burning

down of over 400 churches in Kandhamal district alone.” This “Maoist” statement warned the VHP of “more such punishments if it continued violence against religious minorities in the country” and called for a ban on groups linked to the Sangh Parivar, such as the VHP, its youth wing Bajrang Dal, right-wing Hindu political party Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This is a most unusual Maoist group indeed! A Maoist group that finds only one particular religion as the “persecutor”, finds all “Christians” innocent, deplores “rabid anti-Christianism”, and most significantly is absolutely against “burning down Churches” - and still calls itself “Maoist” - unbelievable!

The statement which uncannily resembles standard Marxist harangue from the Left leaning section of the Thaparite School of Indian History, and those that daily shout about the “danger of Hindu Right Wing” in mainstream Indian politics, became necessary as the involvement of “real” Maoists became suspect, and the Government was probably quite desperate. A section of the “well-wisher”s of the Christian leadership might also have thought that it was important to reinforce the arrow of suspicion towards the Maoists. This only shows that the statement originated from people who have never seriously studied or observed Maoist strategic thinking and their ideological framework. Even if local “Maoists” were involved, it is now more obvious that it was far from actual Maoism. For most authentic Maoist groups in India and abroad, their ideology requires them to treat all religions as “opiates of the people” - the Indian Maoists have traditionally been in fact more “Maoist” than Mao himself. In certain parts of the world, there have been attempts from within the Christian groups to align with radical movements - the radical Liberation Theology in the Latin American nations for example. But Church authorities have moved quickly enough to expel these elements whom they thought were getting too close to Communism.

What could have really happened? There are three possible scenarios :

(1) The major Maoist recruits could have initially come from the minority Panas group from which also a large number of conversions into Christianity took place. But the clan ties were stronger than both Maoism or Christianity and hence when it became crucial for the Panas community to try and regain their Scheduled status to get various State benefits [which they lost under the Indian constitution as in general just like the Majority caste Hindus or Muslims, for Christians too, reservation is not available based on religion, and these religions are not considered to be so "backward" as to need reservation] the entire community pitched in and the “Maoist” clan brothers helped their non-Maoist brothers out.

(2) The Maoists have had a deal with suppliers of arms and ammunition, either from the Jihadi networks or from other foreign religious movements which have promised or delivered sophisticated arms and ammunition, in return for collaboration in elimination of their common threat - the Hindu organizations in the state. The dense forest cover allows the real identity of these “Maoists” and their alliances to be hidden.

(3) Or what could be most dangerous, that those who are operating in the guise of Maoists are no Maoists at all but simply an extension of various foreign interests. If a section of the Church has played into this, it will be most unfortunate, as I don’t think they realize the real processes of change in the “Hindu” attitude in India.

Suppose now a serious military campaign is unleashed against the Maoists whose main strategy has always been to use “inaccessibility of terrain” to “live like fish among the water of people” and expand fluid “base areas”, and have always failed in the face of determined “encirclement campaigns”, so that the Maoists face extinction in the state. My prediction is that there will be an immediate huge media campaign to denounce the “persecution of Christians in the name of tackling Maoist extremists”. But having started this game now, whoever wished well for the Christians did a great disservice to Christianity - first it has associated Christians with Maoist Communists, and second, they in reality will have no defence in case a strong Indian government at the centre decides to liquidate the Maoist threat forever, thereby also eliminating those the well-wishers are lobbying for.

On August 30 the Delhi based private news channel NDTV 24X7 quoted “unnamed government sources” as saying that their assessment was that Christians had no role in the killing of Saraswati, and that the probe was leading to Maoist culprits. I find it highly amusing that both bloggers as well as Indian media usually reports this statement from NDTV, and the Christian organizations reports of an “estimated 50,000 Christians” living in the jungles abandoning their homes in fear of attacks, while they remain completely silent that this same channel also showed a documentary, where they also showed violent attacks on “Hindu” tribals, destruction of their villages, and their women and children hiding out in open jungle to escape from fear of attacks by “Christians”. The documentary makers tried their best not to appear “pro-Hindu”, which implies that the evidence of attacks on Hindu villagers were too numerous to ignore completely and liable to show up NDTV as completely biased later on if not at least partially represented.

Wherever I have gone in India, I have almost always observed genuine respect and tolerance for Christians by Hindus - but I do not think that Christians in the West would show the same tolerance towards the Hindus if the Hindus practised items of their culture that the Christian West thought obnoxious [the issue of public slaughter of cows for festivals and eating beef nad hence also the related issue of illegal beef trade- which is not favoured by the Hindu tribals] or react most favourably to disparagement of Christian practices and beliefs by the Hindus. The role of Christian missionaries in education and healthcare in India is acknowledged by the Hindus with great warmth and genuine gratitude. But I think the modern Christian missions in India have to think carefully before they get involved in the fractures of Indian society. Many Hindus celebrate Christmas as their own festival, and many of the Bhakti sects of Hinduism in India have no problem in displaying Jesus as a manifestation of their “supreme lord”. The stereotypical portrayal of the Christian Missionary as a “benevolent father” was and continues to be common in popular movies. I have never seen a similar religious accommodation of the “Hindu” within Christianity - where typically the best representation of the Hindu is that of a “poor ignorant bewildered fallen soul” “mired in darkness” and needing “salvation”.

This is a misunderstanding between Hindus and Christians, and is being exploited by forces that have their own designs on controlling India. A strong government that was determined in liquidating Maoism could actually ultimately prove beneficial for the image of Christianity in India, as otherwise these sort of media campaigns will only ultimately consolidate the so much “feared” “Hindu Right”.

Semi-vegetarian what is that? You have vegans, lacto vegetarians, lacto ovo vegetarians. But semi-vegetarians? LOL You are either a vegetarian, or you are not. His case is good, animal rights and stuff. But his claims that animal fat is unhealthy is crap. Scientific research has proven that animal fat has no effect on cholestrol and that it is actually healthy. In the Charak Samhita it says, ghritaat ashta gunam tailam, mardane na tu bhakshane. Oil is eight times better than ghee, for massage, but not for eating. Transfat is vegetable oil. Even consumption of olive oil disturbes the omega-3-6 balance. Thirdly, he is blaming cow dung to cause polution. Cow dung is a sacred item. The title of this topic is "do not encourage cow slaughter," but this man admits he is never going to stop eating meat. He is only concerned about the environment, not the cows really.

Actually everything right and well said, this video is not very helpful. Yet it shows how despaired people are about what the Vaishnava institutions accomplished the last 30 years of preaching in US and everywhere else. Instead of people understanding the message animal slaughter trippled to alone in US meanwhile 10 bn animals every year.

1972 September 7 : “Lord Caitanya wanted this, so by the parampara system through my Guru Maharaja and my humble self, the matter is handed over to you. Now it is up to you American boys and girls to do the needful.”

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Analysis of failure of secularism in West Bengal

Take one: Taslima hurricane on Indian secularism

At no point of Indian history, a person from other country occupied such a central stage in Indian politics and media as Taslima did in last few days. Her saga emerged as litmus test for ‘secularism’ in India . While Indian constitution provides for censorship of religiously sensitive material, it does not approve any kind of vandalism or intimidation to anybody. Over last few days we have seen so called leftists have miserably buckled before Islamic fundamentalists and exposed their ideological bankruptcy. At the same time, Narendra Modi is making ‘Taslima’ as his prime and prized campaign against Congress. Congress, at last, has been able to show some secular character by a tough statement from Prime Minister vowing full security for Taslima and action against Islamic extremists. I would try to shed some lights on how WB leftists become completely bankrupt in the matter of secularism.

Take two: Legacy of Muzaffar Ahamed and CPI

CP(I)M was founded by Muzaffar Ahamed. The Communist party of India was first set up at Taskhent on 17 October 1920. Comrade Muzaffar established contact with the International Communist Movement and began collecting papers and journals in large numbers from abroad. The Vanguard of the Indian Independence , the first publication of the party, came out on 15 May 1922. Muzaffar met Comrade Abdul Halim towards the end of 1922 and jointly took up the task of building the Communist Party of India.

Between 1938-40, the Communist Party had spread to all 28 districts of undivided Bengal and party members began to be enrolled in thousands. Trade Unions and Kisan Sabhas developed in large numbers. The task of re-organizing the party continued throughout the fifties. The party began to emerge as a national party both inside and outside the legislature. Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed was at the centre of all these activities. He was the Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Committee of the party from 1940 to 1943. Throughout his life Comrade Muzaffar Ahmed remained in the leadership of the party.

Several features of Muzaffar Ahmed's life attracted everyone's attention. His deep devotion to working class internationalism, firm conviction in democracy, and tremendous enthusiasm for equal rights of women combined to make him a great revolutionary.

Ahmed believed that freedom of press and speech is essential for expansion of mind and that the exchange of ideas is essential to encourage thought. He used to protect and nurture press, paper and bookshops with loving care. The National Book Agency and Ganashakti Press are his contributions. His articles on many different subjects are to be found scattered in many journals and magazines. His writings on peasant problems, his Communist Party of India : Years of Formation 1921-1933 and his Myself and the Communist Party of India throw valuable light on contemporary politics.

Every Bengali comrade who took to street for undivided CPI in '70s was disciple of comrade Muzaffar-you name it-be it Jyoti Bose or Biman or Buddha or Promad Dasgupta. In the seventies, three distinct characters made communism popular in West Bengal —their struggle for working mass, liberation of women and protecting democracy against Congress goons. This was the legacy of comrade Muzaffar, popularly known as KakaBabu. Every CP(I)M member lived by these principles till they captured power in 1977.

Take three: 1977-to present: sordid history of decline of CPM party ideology

Before that, we look for how CP(I)M succumbed to religious right wing and lost its secular values. Before 1977, party workers had nothing to gain-except to embrace misery at the hand of Congress and Naxal goons. They worked purely for their dedication to ideology. Who were they? Mostly a group of educated people who struggled in their personal life to realize class struggle. Post 1977, saw emergence of a different set of leadership devoid of their commitment to secularism. It is extremely important we analyze the class and character of this new leadership. First I will start with Muslim leadership in CPM. One has to understand, communism in India mostly started with Muslims as they have seen and been subjected to oppression more than educated Hindus.

Muslims leaders of CPM used to be better secular minded than their Hindu counterparts in '70s and '80s--but they have been gradually removed from the party power because they could not gather much support among Muslim community as Congress did wide-spread propaganda that communists do not approve Allah. I have witnessed this gradual deterioration sadly. I have seen how Abdul Bari established CP(I)M in Murshidabad since 1970s. He was a close friend of my father and both once worked for leftist cause in Muslim dominated areas of Murshidabad. By 1982-84, Bari uncle was a frustrated man--he frequently complained how fundamentalist Muslims are rising on CPM ranks-and finally he was removed. He died broken heart. Today leaders like Muhammad Selim, Abu Sufian are the face of minority in CPM--who are at best Islamic leftists --a garden variety of Sonar Pathar Bati. There are exception like CPM MP Moinul Hossain, a young comrade who took ardent task to secularize Muslim community in village area by writing book and criticizing Islamic texts. But look what happened! Last time he lost his seat because Congress capitalized his criticism and he was portrayed as Murtad. This is true secular character of Congress. Bottom line-CPM Muslim leaders already succumbed to religious rights to garner vote by 1987.

Now, let focus on Hindu leadership in CP(I)M. CP(I)M allowed sublime castism in its intra-party power. I lived in a locality where Mahishya cast were majority. Their vote bank matters the most. So even if, there were more charismatic Brahmin leader of CP(I)M, all the top party positions were filled with the people from Mahishya cast. Even I can not blame Congress with this kind of cast bias. What better you can expect from this kind of leadership that was elected based on cast politics? Leftists? I have quite a high number of relatives in CP(I)M rank and file-they have not abandoned their cast and religious bias completely.

Take Four: Rise of Islamic fundamentalism in WB

Muslims in WB comprises mostly working class peasants in rural areas. There are two kinds of Muslims in West Bengal—Urdu speaking in Calcutta , called Bihari Muslims and Bengali speaking Muslims in the village area. Religion of Bengali speaking Muslim is a inheritance of mixed culture drawn from Baul, Fakir-Sahajia tradition of Bengal . Very little influence of orthodox Islam could be found among them till ‘80S. When I was a kid, I have not found a single Bengali Muslim offering five time prayer in village area-they were exception. Gradually they become a norm. How? Arab Petrodollars fueled billions of dollars in these area and Madrasas after Madrasas, Masjids after Masjids were mushroomed during ‘80s-2000 as value of gasoline took a meteoric rise in international market. Arab money provided free food to the poor kids and converted them into orthodox Islam. In the past, spiritual need of the Muslims was mostly drawn from soil—musical tune of the Bauls praising the love for Allah—cult of devotion was the source for their spiritual inspiration. Gradually Imams took their place with their hate mongering teaching—so the cult of love was shifted to the cult of hatred.

Was CP(I)M watching? Of course. Mr Bari wanted to stop mushrooming of Madrasa and reported to leadership but in vein. As the Muslim fundamentalists gained power, they kicked out CP(I)M. CP(I)M is weak in two districts-Murshidab ad and Maldah—in both the districts, Muslims are majority. Congress enjoyed power here thanks to Islamic fundamentalists in their ranks. So Islamic fundamentalists are boon to Congress but a threat to CP(I)M. But then why CP(I)M is buckling before the Muslim fundamentalists? To understand this, we need to analyze Bengali Hindu Nationalism and failure of BJP as political force in WB.

Take Five: Why buckling before Muslim fundamentalists?

Rise of BJP posed a threat to Bangladeshi refugee vote banks of CP(I)M during ’91-96. But it failed. BJP never gained any ground in WB because Hinduism in Bengal is quite different than Hinduism promoted by BJP. Most of the Bengalis follow reformed Hinduism-either from the tradition of Chaitanya for poor mass or Ramakrishna order for educated elites. Both the orders promote ritual free spiritual Hinduism. This image of Hinduism does not fit with cast infested Hinduism of cow belt championed by BJP. So it is difficult for Bengali Hindus to accept the ideology of Hinduvta which appears to them as imperialism of the North India . However, it will be wrong to assume that Bengali Hindus are secular-indeed they are soft towards Hinduvta but not enough inclined to bring them into the power. It is because of this problem of separate Bengali Hindu nationalism, CPM knows that their Hindu vote bank is secured. It will not switch to Congress either because its image has already been tarnished as party of Islamic fundamentalists and servitude of Delhi high commands. So CPM emerged as the only champion of Bengali Hindu Nationalism!

So question is, when there is no threat of losing Hindu votes, how they can win back their lost ground to Muslim fundamentalists? CPM is choosing easiest option. Recruit the fundamentalists in their leadership. Lot of Imams are party leaders in the district of Murshidabad and Maldah. They are the latest comrades of CPM. Which ideology do you expect from them?

Take six: The future?

Bengali Hindu nationalism is the most prevailing sentiment of WB yet it is not represented by any political force. Bengali Hindu nationalism is characterized by reformed Hinduism, Bengali music " culture, defiance of power management from Delhi and rejection of or apathy towards Islamic culture. Except for element of hatred towards Muslims, it has nothing in common with Hindu nationalism. And the very reason, it has not evolved into a political force despite a dominance of sentiment, has to do with its element of hatred towards the Muslims. This is a tragedy and let me explain this point further.

Bengali Muslims in general are highly respectful of spiritual tradition of Chaitanya and RamaKrishna. However, they are opposed to ritualistic Hinduism of cow belt. So is Bengali Hindu Nationalism. Al Amin Mission started following the footsteps of RamaKrishna Mission and not any Arabic NGO. So far Al Amin Mission is the most successful reform movement among Bengali Muslims producing hundreds of doctors and engineers by adopting poor Muslims to their schools. Bengali Hindus have failed to recognize fellow Muslims and isolated them from Bengali nationalism.

Therefore, need of the hour is to convert Bengali Hindu nationalism into Bengali nationalism by rejecting the element of hatred and apathy towards the Bengali Muslims. Bengali nationalism is the only political force that can unite Hindus and Muslims of Bengal against confused and fallen leftists of Bengal . Order of Chaitanya, Ramakrishna and Sufism represent liberal spiritual tradition of Bengal . Neither of the order is in conflict with Marxism or any scientific thinking as they are the product of reformed movement that acknowledges dynamic nature of an evolving religion and opposed to any class exploitation. Rich tradition of Bengali culture and literature can serve as basic ground of political motivation. Bengali secularism can not be devoid of spiritualism—it is impossible given the spiritual inclination of the mass and our tradition. Instead we can assimilate tradition of Sufism, Chaitanya, Ramakrishna, Rabindranath and Nazrul to promote secular spiritualism of Bengal .

Basic hindrance for evolution of such political force in WB is the pathetic attitude of Bengali Hindus towards the Muslims. Sooner, they would be able to assimilate them into Bengali nationalistic force better. Or else Bengali Muslims will be hijacked by Arab nationalism (Jamat) and Hindus will be dominated by North Indian imperialism as a result of collapsing ideology of CPM.

[The article is not copyrighted- and meant for free circulation]

Looks this lady writes books but not actually learning Vedanta from the right person: "the Cosmic Self manifests as the individual Self or Atman."

What says, the living entities are God? Seems nobody is checking all these new book releases under the name of Vedic siddhanta.

Biblio File: Advocate of Hindu Vedanta to sign books in Chico

<!--subtitle--><!--byline-->By DAN BARNETT - The Buzz

http://www.chicoer.com/entertainment/ci_10378039

<!--date-->Article Launched: 09/04/2008 12:22:51 AM PDT

Anna Hourihan, publisher of Redding-based Vedantic Shores Press (www.VedanticShoresPress. com), has edited a series of lectures on the Hindu philosophical school of Vedanta which serve as a good introduction to the teachings of Hindu mysticism.

Delivered by her late husband at the University of Guelph, School of Continuing Studies, in Ontario, Canada, the lectures are presented in "Children of Immortal Bliss: A New Perspective on Our True Identity Based on the Ancient Vedanta Philosophy of India" ($16.50 in paperback), by Paul Hourihan.

Anna Hourihan will be speaking and signing copies at Lyon Books in Chico at 7 p.m. Sept. 10.

The book begins with the claims of Vedanta, that "nothing exists except the Divine Being, or Brahman. ... Truth is One; sages call it by different names. ... The very nature of the Soul is divine: the Cosmic Self manifests as the individual Self or Atman. ... The primary goal in life is to realize, through direct personal experience, the divine nature within our own self."

For the author, the ancient Hindu teachings of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita are "the most sophisticated of all religious writings" and "represent the seedbed of everything that is deep, universal and mystical in the world." Thus the mystical traditions of Islam (the Sufis), Christianity (especially Meister Eckhart), Buddhism (Zen) and Taoism are all "confirmations" of Vedanta teachings.

Though Vedanta accepts "all religions as valid," what Hourihan means is "not the truth in them but the truth in us"; that is, a religion is inspired to the extent that it helps convince the person that his or her Self is identical to Brahman. The path to such realization, the author says, is through meditation, the experience through which even ordinary persons gain "the awakening of our true self." The ego-power of individuality, including a fascination with "occult techniques," must be eliminated; "we are not sinners seeking somehow to be saved but rather we are an unknown purity seeking to merge with the Unknown Purity."

Buddhists, Christians and Muslims may well be uneasy at Hourihan's reinterpretation of their doctrines, but read with discernment the book is a clear exposition of the claim that "The Self is all, and you are the Self."

Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. To submit review copies of published books, please send e-mail to dbarnett@maxinet.com. Columns are archived at http://dielbee.blogspot.com.

People who want to kill will find the means to kill. The largest acts of solo mass murder on record were acts of poison and arson, so should we now ban plants and matches ?

Look at the recent outbreak of edged weapon attacks in England, should they now limit all kitchens to sporks ?

 

Even bringing up any type of weapon is a shell game that trys to take attention away from the true issue which is some peoples desire to kill.

People in general argue that God created nature like that, one species killing another species, many species even cannibalistic, chimpanzee apes killing other species of apes. This is of course true when human beings are kept on the level of animals without understanding what is the soul, they always will have the same desire to kill like all the animals. But how to elevate present human society from the animal platform to real human beings who understand things naturally not by enforcement I am rather a follower of Gaurakisor das Babaji who concluded that people of this age cannot be changed. May be some rare exception, but so rare that it is rather insignificant, of no relevance.

How does Stephen Knapp know Srila Prabhupada is a Manjari?

 

Srila Prabhupada never said "I am a Manjari" or "I am a Gopi" did he?

 

Mental speculation... That is what Prabhupada calls this sort of thing.

Prabhupada's point was always that such things will be revealed within the heart and not that one has to try to understand all this with one's mind.

"Disunity between individual souls is so strong within this material world that even in a society of Krsna consciousness; members sometimes appear disunited due to their having different opinions and leaning toward material things. Actually, in Krsna consciousness there cannot be two opinions. There is only one goal: to serve Krsna to one's best ability. If there is some disagreement over service, such disagreement is to be taken as spiritual. Those who are actually engaged in the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be disunited in any circumstance." SB 4.30.8

I am sure there are lots of buildings like that since they are all copies of St. Peter dome. Why would you copy it exactly if Prabhupada approved a different design?

Could be that most people don't care because they consider other things presently as more important. After all, such a huge building has a symbolic power of having achieved a global accomplishment - something like uniting Vaishnavas.

When people find out that they have actually started to build it the problems will start not till then. Even ISKCONites are sceptical of how things will further develop especially in Europe and North America. For example once the greatest place of distributing Vaishnava literature, Switzerland, ISKCON sold the only temple which was actually the property of Gaura-Nitai. The Swiss government even granting Vaishnavism the status of recognized religion but still - no more harinam, no more bookdistribution and temple sold. Same in Germany, Austria, France, Italy.

But building a huge victory monument in Mayapur?

Doesnt make sense for 500 mio people all over Europe.

Already it is reported that only Russians and Hindus come for the big festivals.

The motive to build TVP is rather to attract local pilgrims who come and donate.

But this is not what people expect from a global Sankirtan movement in the mood Prabhupada used to preach.

Finally when you come there you'll find a place filled up with price tags everywhere.

A Disneyland in the Holy Dham.

With security personal at all the entrances because whenever people consider that something is nothing but a huge business there're getting envious and the temple residents living in permanent fear of assaults.

Jai Ganesh!

 

Who remembers that day when Ganesh Murti was drinking milk when placing a spoon of milk next to its trunk, amazing!

Lord Ganesha Aarti

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So what point are you trying tp make. You seem to be posted on both sides of the issue. Do you have a personal point of view or am I missing something?

 

We have more than 30,000 ( a figure I am not sure of on the gun issue as I don't take anything coming from China very seriously) dying in automobile accidents every year. Over 100,000 are killed by mistakes by practioners of allopathic medicine in the US alone every year.

 

You can quote all these articles over and over but what is the point you are trying to make suchandra?

Not that people should feel brainwashed but rather feel like receiving brain.

I would therefore say - on that basis - people who cannot follow the four regs and are hooked to sinful activity are a safety risk in that sense, that they might abuse a firearm just to feed in their own sinful reactions.

A handgun becoming the outlet of their sinful reactions.

On the other hand could be that material nature considers this as convenient to execute karmic reactions in this way and not having to install other tools for additionally killing all these sinful people every year.

September 3, 2008...12:08 am

Sri Ganesha’s Appearance

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Prabhupada’s original books online

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by daschan

I just visited PrabhupadaBooks.com for the first time, and I’m impressed! Scarcely could pry myself away from it, but I wanted to come here and report it as a HOT LINK. Here you can find the original, unrevised books of Srila Prabhupada: books, lectures, conversations, letters, diaries, legal documents, essays & articles, Back To Godhead magazine. Just like VedaBase, except that these are the pre-1978 books. The site has been put up by Madhudvisa das (KrishnaStore.com), and he is still working on it. So far you can access the material by browsing through the table of contents. An index is in the works. Content loads rapidly, at least over my DSL connection, and navigation is straightforward, not at all confusing. I really had fun looking up key words in the search. Very fast performance. This website is a very valuable and magnanimous offering from a devotee who has dedicated his life to distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books!

Madhudvisa has been a longtime supporter of preserving Srila Prabhupada’s original books, and has documented many of the changes that have been made over the years over at Hare Krishna News Network. He is selling Srila Prabhupada’s original, pre-1978 books at Krishna Store. If you’re shopping there, keep an eye out for the words “original” or “first edition”. He does also sell some of the revised editions, so in case of doubt, do use the contact form to verify with Madhudvisa whether the book is the original or revised edition.

That said, I’m going back to PrabhupadaBooks.com. See you there!

<table class="lan18" width="97%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="hei22" valign="bottom" height="25"> About 30,000 people die from gun wounds every year in U.S.

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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table width="97%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="48%">www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-13 10:37:20

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/13/content_7779858.htm

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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table class="lt14" width="97%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="lt14"> BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Information Office of China's State Council issued "The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2007" on Thursday, revealing about 30,000 people die from gun wounds every year in the United States.

The United States has an estimated 250 million privately-owned firearms, the largest number in the world, according to the Chinese report.

"Frequent gun violence poses a serious threat to people's life and property security," said the report.

On April 16, 2007, the Virginia Tech University witnessed the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history with 33 killed and more than 30 others injured.

The report also cited an Associated Press story on January 29,2007 as saying that about 410,000 Floridians were licensed to carry hidden guns, including 1,400 who had pleaded guilty or no contest to felonies, thanks to loopholes, errors and miscommunication of authorities.

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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Editor: Bi Mingxin

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Photo source: marcolmsted.com</td> </tr> </tbody></table>The concepts of time and reincarnation seem at first to have very little to do with UFOs and Aliens. But readers will find as I delve deeper into these concepts, they constitute important building blocks in the explanation of these mysteries.

Taking time first, it is viewed very differently in the East as compared to the West. The West has always viewed time as linear, whereas in Hinduism and Buddhism it is considered cyclical. The religions that emanated from the Middle East, rely heavily on their respective holy texts to peer into the unknown, whereas these religions, though they have holy texts of their own, have always relied on personal inquiry - aided by tools like meditation, to fathom the unknown. The forest seers of Hinduism, who lived over five thousand years ago, earned their name by retiring to the forests to contemplate on concepts like time and the purpose of life. As time went by, the findings of these seers were collated to give a semblance of order to the universe. The religions of the East maintain that the power of intuition, which is developed through long and deep meditation, provides the ultimate answers to all of the conundrums that we see around us. It is from these findings that the ancients from the East maintain that time is never linear, but always cyclic. We will now touch lightly on what these sages found about time.

Very briefly, these sages discovered that time can be divided into ages or yugas. A complete cycle consists of 24,000 earth years (which is also one complete zodiac cycle), and is made up of four descending ages and four ascending ages. The time distribution for these ages however, are not equal as will be shown below. The four ages (yugas) are the Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and the Kali yuga. The Satya yuga is where mankind will be the most highly developed, both spiritually and materially. This age is commonly termed as the Golden age. Readers will realize, that since there is a descending and ascending period consisting of these four ages, both the Satya and Kali yugas in the descending phase will be back to back to a corresponding like yuga of the ascending phase.

Following the Satya yuga is the Treta yuga, or the silver age. Here, the knowledge and power of mankind will be less than that of Satya yuga, but formidable nonetheless. In the descending phase, one can term the Treta yuga as a decline from the Satya yuga, and in the ascending phase, the Treta yuga can be termed as moving from a lower age (Treta) to a higher age (Satya).

The Treta yuga is then followed by the Dwapara (bronze) and Kali (iron) ages. In a complete cycle of 24,000 years, the Satya ages ( ascending and descending ) make up 9,600 years, the Kali yugas (ascending and descending) make up 2,400 years while Treta and Dwapara ages make up respectively 3,600 years and 2,400 years in each of the descending and ascending phases.

One school of thought in India has determined that mankind had moved into a better time around A.D. 499 - corresponding to the Pisces/ Virgo sector of the zodiac (although this is hotly contested by some other schools which maintain that we are still in the dark ages), where mankind will be receptive to spiritual ideas, and will then move into another higher level of understanding around A.D. 2499 - corresponding to Aquarius/Leo sector of the zodiac.

The above pattern of ages is unique to planet earth, which is often termed as a school where souls are trained for higher realms. It tends to reason then, that there will be other planets which are more or less developed than earth, each having its unique time cycles, in the myriad of planets that can support some form of life in the universe. It would appear that all of the zillions of planets that make up the universe are inextricably linked to one another, and are all within the realm of the Divine or the Super Soul.

With the above in mind, it is therefore easy to conceive that Aliens and UFOs could be:

" Visitors from more developed planets visiting earth on various missions.

" Visitors from higher ages of planet earth (say the Satya yuga ) travelling back in time for particular missions.

" Beings from different planets who had been living on planet earth long before man arrived here, and who possess more advanced technology than us, or.

" A combination of all of the above.

Whatever it is they are, it would appear that the aliens are under directive not to directly interfere in the affairs of humans, as has been said above, earth is a school where humans are put in to develop their spirituality sufficiently to move to higher realms. But since humans are so talented in trying to find ways and means of trying to destroy themselves, some of these Aliens must have been given the task of ensuring that this does not happen. Further, as creation is only possible if there is light and dark, and each of these realms is populated by its own beings, there must be Aliens who are basically malevolent to mankind. Although these beings may cause temporary disruption, they will never be able to upset the apple cart.

These advanced beings, be they of the light or dark sector, will therefore have scientific and other knowledge light years ahead of us. Thus the UFOs we are now seeing, could be either friendly or hostile to us. It is my belief and experience, that any human who is committed to developing his spirituality, and living a life which is beneficial to his fellow human beings, will have little to fear from hostile Aliens - they will simply have no power to touch him.

In their research, the Hindu sages discovered that at the end of the ascending and descending periods of a complete cycle, there is a complete change - both externally in the material world, and internally in the intellectual world. Hence there is a huge change once in 12,000 years. Could this be the reason that in all ancient cultures there are stories of a great flood which destroyed everything except for a few, who would then go on to be the founding stock of a new race ? This change could of course also be brought about by volcanic and tectonic activity.

In the ancient epics of the Hindus, namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are found all kinds of curious tales. There are tales about flying machines which flew at incredible speeds and were sometimes several storeys high. In the Ramayana, there is a detailed description of the fabulous UFO possessed by the villain Ravana. This machine consisted of several storeys, with one storey being entirely dedicated to a swimming pool! It was so advanced ( being constructed by a very advanced Alien; from whom Ravana stole the craft ), that it obeyed the wishes of its owner. There was warfare where weapons that could control the weather were employed, or where a person could disappear from one location and reappear in several others (holographs?). Then there is the famous passage in the Mahabharata which describes in detail a nuclear fallout. Before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent horrors the world had to witness caused by nuclear fallout, many dismissed this passage in the Mahabharata as mere fanciful story telling. So were these Hindu epics depicting actual events that took place during a higher age? It is most likely the case.

When the first atom bomb was detonated in a desert in the U.S., a reporter asked one of the atomic scientists, Oppenheim, if he was not proud to be witnessing the highest development of the human mind till then. Oppenheim, who was well versed in Hindu thought, smiled and replied that it was the highest development for the present age. The reporter was of course under the influence of the current thinking that time was linear, and that mankind on earth had evolved from the apes. The concept that higher civilizations existed before on earth was simply preposterous to people like him.

It was just as well that the ancient Hindu scriptures were completely memorized by the priests and handed down to their sons, who in turn memorized them. Also, many deep truths were disguised as innocuous stories in texts that were written down. These strategies prevented their destruction during the dark (Kali) age, where anything spiritual was viewed with suspicion. In many other parts of the world, extremely valuable books which threw light on the higher ages of man were destroyed. The destruction of the library in Alexandria, which was said to have contained books of immense value and could have thrown light on the higher ages, is a case in point.

We now come to the second concept - that of reincarnation. As mentioned above, the religions in the East depend very little on texts, although there are plenty of them, but pursue Self Realization through the science of meditation. This has the decided advantage that truth can be readily experienced without the interference of corrupted texts and faulty interpretation of religious texts by the clergy.

The schism that now exists between the religions from the West and that those from the East with regard to reincarnation, did not exist before. Early Christians believed in the concept of reincarnation, until it was surgically removed from the scriptures in the Second Council of Constantinople, and then declared to be anathema. Why this council carried out this act is anybody's guess, and why the Protestant movement did not correct this is not known. Perhaps there are other passages in the Christian scriptures which give more credence to the concept on non-reincarnation. It is this writer's contention, that parts of the scriptures that seem to directly refute the idea of reincarnation are either later add-ons by the clergy, or are wrongly interpreted by the clergy to date.

The Sleeping Prophet of America, Edgar Cayce, was a staunch Christian, who true to Christian beliefs, did not believe in reincarnation. Yet time and again in his readings, reference was made to the previous incarnations of the subjects to whom he was giving the reading. This eventually made Edgar Cayce to accept the concept of reincarnation. Also, evidence is mounting by the day, from the reincarnation stories of individuals from all over the world that reincarnation is a fact from which we cannot run away from any longer.

So how is this connected to UFOs and Aliens? Fear that contact will destroy all forms of organized religion as we now know. The Aliens, who are generally more advanced than us, would already know that reincarnation is a fact. Governments, by admitting that contact has already been made with the Aliens, are likely to quicken the day when Aliens will officially interact with us. This will of course throw a spanner in the works of present organized Western religion in more ways than one. Among the multitude of religious questions that would be raised by such a contact, the concept of reincarnation would be one. This would be hugely damaging to the religions of the West. The religions from the East would however have no fear from this contact; as it is an integral part of their religions that earth is just a school for developing souls, and that there are other planets whose inhabitants are far more advanced both spiritually and materially than us, and that such a contact could only be for our own benefit. But as stated above, it appears that the Aliens are under the directive from the Great Spirit, not to interfere in our spiritual development. We may therefore have to work out this one out for ourselves; and the religions from the East are ever ready to help in this task.

Reincarnation is part and parcel of the older races of earth. The Aborigines and the Red Indians have always believed in reincarnation as have the Hindus. There is a curious passage in Hindu scriptures that deal with reincarnation and Aliens. It would appear that for some of the Aliens at least, emancipation is not possible until they are reincarnated back into the human form. Thus these Aliens, complete in their UFOs, try their level best to interrupt the meditations of humans. They become green with envy that these spiritually minded persons might complete the race (i.e. be absorbed back into the Great Spirit ), ahead of them. So in a way, though the Aliens may be light years ahead of us in technology, we may still hold the trump card!

This article is written not to criticize any existing religion, but to open up the mind to the greater truths that exist just beyond our reach, which with some honest endeavor can be incorporated into our psyche, and hasten the day when the brotherhood of man will be a reality.

Good to know that there's something transcendental to Hinduism - bhagavat-dharma, the eternal constitution of the soul.

"The British strategy, during the time of the East India Company was two-fold: one, to project the superiority of the British race and the other to magnify the shortcomings of Hinduism to debase it. Kulkarni tells the story as it is, without sitting on judgement on tormentors of Hinduism which provides the text its credibility. "

September 02, 2008

Hinduism: Triumphs and Tribulations S.K. Kulkarni, Indus Source Books, pp 319, Rs 299.00

The most ancient religion in the world unlike Judaism, Christianity and Islam, just grew on its own, based not on any prophet, priest or king, but on dharma—that which upholds—and hence was for a long time known as Sanatana Dharma, that which has kept a people together from ancient times. Dharma provided for a stable society because it was acceptable as a way to lead a meaningful life. Dharma was not something imposed: its validity was self-evident. Sri Aurobindo, that great savant, described Hinduism as “Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion, which has been perfected by countless rishis and avatars to uplift humanity.”

Though Manu, in his own way, attempted to systematise Hinduism, the strength of Sanatana Dharma was its flexibility; it grew with the times, constantly adjusting itself to changing circumstances which, one suspects, in why no other religion has been able to crush it, despite heavy attempts by alien forces, notably Islam and Christianity.

As S.K. Kulkarni notes in his excellent study of the triumphs and tribulations that Hinduism has undergone in course of time, the survival of any civilisation depends on two major factors: the first is whether its basic philosophy is sound in all aspects and the second is whether that philosophy has given its people the moral and spiritual strength to sustain and push forward against all odds. On both counts Hinduism comes through as the ultimate winner despite over five thousand years of internal dissidence and external attacks. How did Hinduism manage to survive and grow?

Kulkarni divides his study of Hinduism into five parts: Origin and Evolution, Casteism and Untouchability, Idol Worship, Religious Conversions and Secularism. In regard to Evolution, attention has to be paid to the birth and subsequent growth of Jainism and Buddhism which, in their way, gave fresh meaning to dharma. Kulkarni reminds us that Jainism represents a continuation of the Vedic stream from which Buddha also sprang. But even more significant is his statement that regardless of controversial or debatable points on the relation between Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, one thing is certain: all three were born and evolved of the fertile spiritual soil of India and share a common bond. There is really no need to fight over whether Jainism and Buddhism are merely a form of protestant Hinduism or are independent philosophic entities.

According to AL Basham, whom Kulkarni quotes, the average Hindu during the medieval period looked on Buddha as the ninth of Vishnu’s ten incarnations, Buddhism itself losing its individuality to become “a special and rather unorthodox Hindus sect, which like many others, did not survive”. As Kulkarni puts it, “in the ultimate analysis, it is the people’s perception that matters.” Kulkarni may not be aware of it but Gauri Vishwanathan, writing in the Blackwell Companion to Hinduism refers to a statement by Dr. BR Ambedkar to the effect that untounchability was a result of the refusal of Buddhists to reconvert to Hinduism and has nothing to do with their social inequality, an interesting evaluation that calls for further elucidation.

Kulkarni’s own assessment is that “untouchability is like a disease which is difficult though not impossible to cure”. Kulkarni quotes Swami Vivekananda whom he described as “an orthodox Hindu” as saying that untouchability is a “superstitious accretion”, that it is not Hinduism, nor is it mentioned in any of Hinduism’s sacred texts and is “a form of mental disease”! The chapter on Idol Worship is a short but excellent study of how it came about, considering, as Kulkarni holds, that “there is no religious compulsion to practice idol worship nor is such practice essential to be a true Hindu”. It is a point well made. There have been critics of idol worship from among Hindus themselves, considering that according to Hinduism, God is nirguna and niraakaara.

So, Kulkarni argues, since the objective for the Hindus is to realise God, He can be addressed in no form at all or in any form one chooses, an idol being nothing more than an ideal personified. Kulkarni points out that the Vedas make no mention of idol worship while also making it clear that identification of God with many Gods does not make him manifold since He remains One. For those who make fun of idol worship, a reading of this chapter may be enlightening.

Kulkarni neatly sums up the essence of idol worship. The idol, only personified the devotee’s Ishta (concept) and helped him to concentrate. What is important is that Hindus enjoy full freedom in the matter of belief and non-belief in idol worship. Idol worship is but only a step towards ultimate realisation. The chapter on Religious Conversion lays bare the atrocities committed by Muslim and Christian zealots or missionaries down the centuries. Practically all the more vicious atrocities, especially those committed by the Portuguese, are documented. Muslim atrocities, brutal in the extreme, have been recorded by Muslim historians themselves.

Starting with Mohammad of Ghazni and right up to the reign of Aurangzeb, it is a gory story of mass murder, mass conversion and demolition of temples, all of them not the figment of anyone’s imagination but recorded proudly by contemporary Muslim writers. Of all the Muslim barbarians who invaded India, Timur was perhaps the worst of the lot. There were many reasons for conversions and Kulkarni does not lay all the blame on Muslim zealots. But that does not mitigate or can one excuse the animosity shown by Islamic rulers towards Hindu infidels or kafirs. British missionaries did not take recourse to killing Hindus or destroying temples.

The British strategy, during the time of the East India Company was two-fold: one, to project the superiority of the British race and the other to magnify the shortcomings of Hinduism to debase it. Kulkarni tells the story as it is, without sitting on judgement on tormentors of Hinduism which provides the text its credibility.

The book must be recommended reading for our sophisticated liberals who are ever ready to forget history, in defence of secularism, a subject, incidentally, to which Kulkarni devotes a fiery chapter. His suggestion to minorities is that they should join the mainstream and shed their misconception of Hinduism to become equal partners in making India developed, modern and prosperous. Our liberals fed on Marxist opium surely will benefit by a perusal of this objective study of Hinduism as it has emerged over the centuries.

(Indus Source Books, PO Box 6194, Malabar Hill PO, Mumbai-400 006)

You're surely right, there're lots of insane people. they have now a broadcast series at our local tv, "when women kill", examining background, childhood etc of female prison inmates who serve lifelong jail sentence. Of course the tv basically wants high viewer levels and not necessarily to present real knowledge. But it's true, there're lots of people now who can be called naturally born killers. They presented a case in Zurich, Switzerland, Caroline H., 19 years, she was found guilty of killing two women, a third survived only just and malicious arson in 40 cases. Police was in the dark cause they were looking for a male perpetrator. However, basically present psychology is helpless. They talk about a spiral of violence which increases when using violence as remedy to subdue violence, but ultimately we have to abide what the Vedas say, all this madness developes out of sinful activity. To counteract the symptom but not uprooting the cause will create even more chaos. Like parents who buy a gun, it lies there for years and nobody even thinks of the unused firearm anymore. Then the children find it and you read in the newspaper, 5 year old boy shot his 2 year old sister.

Next - statistics, judge for yourself, let's say you have a war and it is reported 30.000 soldiers have died every year. People would go on street to protest, bring our men back! But this is the figure of people killed by firearms each and every year alone in US, 30.000 gun deaths.

<nobr>FIREARM FACTS

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/04/21/weekinreview/20070422_MARSH_GRAPHIC.html

</nobr> <nobr>Guns in the United States - Easy Access to Deadly Weapons</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>There are approximately 192 million privately owned firearms in the U.S. - 65 million of</nobr>

<nobr>which are handguns.[1]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>Currently, an estimated 39% of households have a gun, while 24% have a handgun.[2]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 1998 alone, licensed firearms dealers sold an estimated 4.4 million guns, 1.7 million of</nobr>

<nobr>which were handguns.[3] Additionally, it is estimated that 1 to 3 million guns change</nobr>

<nobr>hands in the secondary market each year, and many of these sales are not regulated.[4]</nobr>

<nobr>Gun Deaths and Injury - The United States Leads the World in Firearm Violence</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2004, 29,569 people in the United States died from firearm-related deaths – 11,624</nobr>

<nobr>(39%) of those were murdered; 16,750 (57%) were suicides; 649 (2.2%) were accidents;</nobr>

<nobr>and in 235 (.8%) the intent was unknown. [5] In comparison, 33,651 Americans were</nobr>

<nobr>killed in the Korean War and 58,193 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War.[6]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>For every firearm fatality in the United States in 2005, there were estimated to be more</nobr>

<nobr>than two non-fatal firearm injuries.[7]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2004, firearms were used to murder 56 people in Australia, 184 people in Canada, 73</nobr>

<nobr>people in England and Wales, 5 people in New Zealand, and 37 people in Sweden.[8] In</nobr>

<nobr>comparison, firearms were used tomurder 11,344 people in the United States.[9]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2005, there were only 143 justifiable homicides by private citizens using handguns in</nobr>

<nobr>the United States.[10]</nobr>

<nobr>Gun Violence - Young Lives Cut Short</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2004, nearly 8 children and teenagers, ages 19 and under, were killed with guns</nobr>

<nobr>everyday.[11]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2004, firearm homicide was the second leading cause of injury death for men and</nobr>

<nobr>women 10-24 years of age - second only to motor vehicle crashes.[12]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>In 2004, firearm homicide was the leading cause of death for black males ages 15-34.[13]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>From 1999 through 2004, an average of 916 children and teenagers took their own lives</nobr>

<nobr>with guns each year.[14]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>Each year during 1993 through 1997, an average of 1,621 murderers who had not</nobr>

<nobr>reached their 18th birthdays took someone's life with a gun.[15]</nobr>

<nobr>Guns in the Home - A Greater Risk to Family and Friends</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>For every time a gun is used in a home in a legally-justifiable shooting there are 22</nobr>

<nobr>criminal, unintentional, and suicide-related shootings.[16]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of homicide in the home.[17]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide fivefold.[18]</nobr>

<nobr>The Economic Costs of Gun Violence - All Americans Pay a High Price</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>A study of all direct and indirect costs of gun violence including medical, lost wages, and</nobr>

<nobr>security costs estimates that gun violence costs the nation $100 billion a year.[19]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>The average total cost of one gun crime can be as high as $1.79 million, including</nobr>

<nobr>medical treatment and the prosecution and imprisonment of the shooter.[20]</nobr>

<nobr>•</nobr>

<nobr>At least 80 percent of the economic costs of treating firearm injuries are paid for by</nobr>

<nobr>taxpayer dollars.[21,22]</nobr>

I am reading the Krsna book for the first time at the moment. Decided it is time to look at Krsna lila tenth canto. What a wonderful book is this Krsna book. The big cave mouthed serpent laying on the road with lips like the rising and setting sun, and adventurous boys....and sticky yogurt rice balls and lunch boxes..stuck in my mind the past few days:). Jaya Srila Prabhupada!

 

 

Yes, Hare Krsna dasi got to the point. Good idea I'll also start to read Krsna book!

Prabhupada mentioned that the citizens should be allowed to keep firearms and should also be trained in how to use them.

 

"Of punishments I am the rod of chastisement".-Gita

"Citizens" - there're surely different types of citizens and before allowing all kind of citizens to keep firearms one could ask, who actually is a citizen?

First of all a citizens is someone who lives in peace with all kind of other citizens, including animals. Animals are also citizens. Can I say that I'm a citizen when for example, I'm killing animal citizens? But demanding to keep firearms for my safety? People claim they're citizens because they're first of all born at this place. But animals are also born there, why they are not citizens?

Somehow by killing citizens who're animals like cows, the human citizens lose their status of being recognized as true citizens. First of all human citizens should qualify to be called citizens and respect other citizens like all those poor animals who have the same impulse to live like we humans have, but are mercilessly butchered.

Let's say a meat eating human society has accumulated huge amounts of sinful reactions due all this killing of animals. Some of them start to have a presentiment that bad luck could befall them. Thinking in vedic term, it is true, there will some bad reactions become manifest, but in which form?

Could be that these firearms lying in the kitchen drawers are being used.

In this case wouldn't it be better not to allow firearms?

Guns for school's teachers, see below, could be that when students know that their teachers are carrying firearms with them, they also upgrade and exhibit even more yet unknown destructiveness. Like four students subdue a teacher and kill him with his own weapon?

Guns for Texas School's Teachers

BBC World News (UK) on 16 Aug 2008

<!--paging_filter-->Teachers in one part of the US state of Texas are to be allowed to carry concealed firearms when the new school term opens this month.

The school superintendent in Harrold district said the move was intended to protect staff and pupils should there be any gun attacks on its sole campus.

Teachers would have to undertake crisis management training first, the superintendent, David Thweatt, said.

In recent years the US has seen a number of fatal school shootings.

Trustees had approved the policy and parents had not objected, Mr Thweatt said.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started," he wrote on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's web site.

Mr Thweatt said he believed the school's proximity to a large, busy motorway could make it a target.

"If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Mr Thweatt said.

Texas outlaws the presence of firearms at schools unless individual institutions allow them.

can someone help me out. explain what is Ekadasis, and also i read somthing about avoiding grain on that day????

First you download the zip file of your town in order to have the right Ekadasi day at your place: http://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/csvfiles/

There should be two Ekadasis each month. There're also other places like http://welcome.to/vcal to get an Ekadasi calendar.

At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekadashi there's an explanation to fast from grains and beans. It is also good to eat less and chant more on Ekadasi since it is an auspicious day to easily make spiritual advancement.

Nice article by Nandanandana das about Ekadasi: http://www.stephen-knapp.com/ekadasi.htm

“Of all the senses, the tongue is the most difficult to control,” says the Prasäda-sevayä, a song composed by Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, one of the spiritual predecessors of Çréla Prabhupäda, “but Kåñëa has kindly given us this nice prasäda to help us control the tongue.”

The Vegetarianism Debate, by Vinod Sastry

http://www.hinduyuva.org/tattva-blog/2008/09/the-vegetarianism-debate-by-vinod-sastry/

posted September 1 2008

The question as to whether or not it is the duty of a Hindu to be vegetarian has long been a source of debate in our society. Some are strong proponents of vegetarianism, while others feel it is okay for Hindus to eat meat. Usually those who promote vegetarianism quote concepts like ahimsa, health bene-fits, and environmental benefits. Those who eat meat give the argument of the right of an individual to choose, or that in the past, kshatriyas and other sects within Hinduism did eat meat. For example, many people in coastal areas of Kerala make a livelihood selling and eating fish. Even during Shri Rama’s vanvaas, there is the story of him eating meat offered by Guha, his childhood friend. So what is the right answer? There seem to be convincing arguments both ways. The truth is that we must establish a paradigm, a way of thinking before approaching this question. The paradigm in Hinduism has always been one of Dharma, of promoting harmony. First we shall establish the tenets of this paradigm, and then apply it to our question regarding vegetarianism.

Hinduism focuses primarily on creating harmony within oneself. It talks more of peace of mind (manah shanti) than of external peace. As Hindus, it is important that we see divinity, or Brahman, in all existence. We are indeed one with all of life, connected by a life force that pervades every inch of this universe. In some sense, once we have this mindset, whether or not we are vegetarian has no relevance. This is the mental state of a Rishi, and therefore all our actions will also be Dharmic once we attain this state.

There is a story of a great samurai warrior that illustrates this idea. Long ago a samurai was studying the martial arts under a great master. The master was murdered one night, and the samurai was able to figure out who the murderer was. With great rage and fury he rushed after the murderer and was about to kill him with his sword. Suddenly he became aware of the intensity of his anger and fled the scene without killing the murderer. He waited until his mind was peaceful and then went back and killed the murderer gracefully with his sword. From the outside, whether or not the samurai killed the murderer out of rage or not would not have made any difference. Yet, he realized that even punishing wrongdoers must be done out of compassion and peace. Thus it was the state of mind from which his action was done that was primary, not the action itself. Another example is of Native Americans, who would first pray to the Gods asking for forgiveness prior to killing buffalos for their nourishment. It is this feeling of gratitude and humility that is essential even in our concept of Dharma.

Now that we have understood our paradigm, we are ready to tackle the question of vegetarianism. First we must mention a few facts about the meat industry. Eating meat today (particularly in America) is different from eating meat thousands of years ago or even from fishermen in Kerala eating fish. Today the meat industry is a pure profit-making industry, born out of complete disrespect and irreverence for nature. It contributes tremendously to the destruction of the environment. For example, factory farms pack as many animals on their farm as possible, generating immense amounts of waste, in billions of pounds, each year, polluting our environment. Overgrazing by animals, such as cows, has led to much soil erosion in the United States. These issues barely scratch the surface of the issue of how the meat industry today is destroying our environment. (For precise figures and more information, go to www.meatrix.com.)

There are also plenty of facts about the health benefits of being vegetarian, which one can find online. From the reduction of the risk of heart disease, to longer lives, to better flow of pranic energy, the list is endless. The fact is that there was probably no time before today when becoming vegetarian meant such a significant reduction of stress on Mother Earth that we humans are causing. If we were to adopt the Dharmic paradigm described above, the least we could do on a practical level is to be vegetarian.

So does this mean that from now on it is our duty to convert everyone into vegetarianism? No. Simply making people vegetarian would not solve our problems, for that also could become a new dogma. We cannot expect the fishermen in Kerala to stop eating meat. In fact that would create more discord than harmony. Ultimately it is the adoption of the Dharmic mindset, the view that all creation is divine, the feeling of connection between all beings that needs to be spread to every corner of this planet. It is the loss of this mindset that has led to all the problems we face in today’s society. It is our duty to spread this idea across the world, and take the world to the pinnacle of peace and prosperity, param vaibhavam.

Vinod Sastry is a Ph.D student at University of California, Irvine. He can be contacted at vgrss1925@gmail.com.

Probably a topic which is always of interest - how to get rid of present western "culture" of cats and dogs and have vedic culture, see below, instead.

« Indian Bride Best Wedding Dress Sari

Hindu Religion Wedding in Temple

posted September 1 2008

India is biggest population country, in India you get many types of different religion and community person lives. You can see different tradition and rituals Indian shaadi functions. You get also different style wedding trend in Hindu wedding functions. Most of the Hindu gets married in the temple because it is a holy place and this modern year people like to wedding on different places like beach wedding, hotel and more places. There are different types of wedding popular in Hindu religion such as Mandap wedding, garden wedding and more. But some Hindu wedding couple still likes to get married in temple.

Most of people think that if you get married in front of god, he protects wedding couple from unexpected troubles and bless for happy and long life. India other places cities like south India and other get married in temple in today’s modern era too. Temple wedding is the best Hindu wedding because it seen Hindu religion.

thanks.

 

But there is this one thing....Like ajamila...He had a DREAM,a REVELATION,that he was being snatched by Yamadutas...But it was an awakening....For he went to a holy place after that and did bhakti for a year....

I dont doubt the spiritual omnipotence of the Holy names but is chanting the names enough? I mean it's done by one of the senses...Not by the mind....Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu has said,"Manera smaran praan."

Is the superexcellent potency of the Holy names realised by the material senses? I mean how can we cry while chanting? Is smaran not a requisite?

Do we not need actually to engage the mind? Like."Sri Krsna is right here,in my mind.He's noting down everything i think,do,etc.I'm His eternal servant..."

How can we be krsna conscious with simply chanting [no offense of course for it is a query]? Don't we need to be actually CONSCIOUS Of Him?

Therefore Krsna sends His representative to explain in detail how to chant.

Unfortunately we have been brainwashed that Krsna's representative can be any conditioned soul and there's nothing special about it. However when reading books like Bhaktirasamrita-sindhu we find actual knowledge, a genuine spiritual master has to be a fully liberated soul, someone we can realy follow.

14 July, 1975

Philadelphia

My Dear Gopala Krishna das:

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letters dated July 4, 6, & 8th, 1975 and have noted the contents.

Yes, everybody says like that, that I am incarnation of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Actually Krishna and Krishna’s representative are not different. Anything that is Krishna’s is not different from Krishna. Therefore it is said saksadharitvena ’samasta sastrair. The spiritual master is accepted by all advanced devotees as Hari.

Famous American band produces groundbreaking album on Vedas and presents to Hindu leader Zed

August 31, 2008 by Earthpages.org

The only Sanskrit rock band of the world, “Shanti Shanti”, has come up with a groundbreaking new album on the oldest scripture of the world Vedas, and they presented the first copy to the acclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed in Nevada (USA) today.

This CD titled “Veda”, produced by Ganesha Publishing BMI, contains shlokas (hymns) from all four Vedas-Rig-veda, Sama-veda, Atharva-veda, and Yajur-veda, some as old as 1,500 BCE. With extensive research and selection process, it took one year to complete this CD, which is their sixth album.

“Shanti Shanti” consists of American sisters Andrea Devi Forman and Sara Anjuli Forman, their younger brother Micah Mahdev Forman and father Robert Henry Forman. The Formans have never been to India, never had a Sanskrit teacher, and still Andrea and Sara can spontaneously chant, read, write, and translate Sanskrit since they were nine and seven years old respectively.

Devoted Catholics, Andrea and Sara have also translated and chanted Ave Maria, a traditional Christian prayer, in Sanskrit. They have toured various countries and various states of USA giving packed Sanskrit musical performances. They have been in various television shows, mentioned in various publications, and extensively written about.

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Details of the picture attached: Andrea (left) and Sara Forman (right), lead singers of Shanti Shanti rock band, presenting the first copy of their new album “Veda” to acclaimed Hindu leader Rajan Zed (center) in Nevada (USA).

Picture by: Roger Bowen Weld

ISKCON holds Janmasthami celebration

By Dipal Khatri, Special to The China Post

Sunday, August 31, 2008

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/int%27l%20%20community/2008/08/31/172561/ISKCON-holds.htm

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Visitors to the Taipei City Council Hall last Saturday, Aug. 23 witnessed a kaleidoscope of color and activity at the Sri Krishna Janmasthami Celebration, an annual gathering marking the birth of Lord Krishna, one of the most widely worshipped Hindu deities.

The event, organized by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and co-sponsored by Trinity Indian Store, celebrated the birth of Krishna, a beloved blue-skinned Hindu god depicted often as a mischievous boy or a youthful prince giving guidance in the Bhagavad Gita, a text of pivotal importance to the Hindu view of life.

Despite the rainy weather, people of many nationalities attended the celebration and enjoyed non-stop attractions, including performances and Indian vegetarian snacks.

A key part of celebrations was Kirtan, or devotional music, which consists of bhajans or songs about Krishna that are accompanied by traditional drums, hand cymbals, and accordion.

An audience of members from the Indian community in Taipei and their local friends gather at the Taipei City Council Hall to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna, one of the most widely worshipped Hindu deities.(Akie Ang, The China Post)

One bhajan, titled "Jaya Radha Madhava," depicted Krishna's early years in Vrindavan, while another related a story from Krishna's playful childhood, in which Krishna revealed the entire cosmic creation in his mouth to his mother Yashoda.

The audience was also treated to a yoga demonstration and a variety of dances, ranging from a Bollywood number performed by children, to the captivating classical Indian dances of Bharatanatyam and Kathak.

Members of the Taipei-based dance troupe Shen Ling Wu Ku portrayed the eternal love between Radha and Krishna with several dances.

Two meaningful dramas written, produced and acted by ISKCON devotees depicted various aspects of Krishna's life, such as his relationship with childhood friend Sudama.

In addition to enjoying performances, festival attendees browsed books about Krishna, bought Indian groceries, and had decorative tattoos painted on their hands by henna artists.

People were also invited to participate in a Pushpa-abhisheka ceremony involving the showering of flower petals on statues of deities including Krishna, after which the Hare Krishna mantra was chanted 108 times using prayer beads.

Event host Dayal Nitai Das, temple president of ISKCON in Taipei, ensured the smooth running of the celebrations, while ISKCON member Rajalaxmi provided Chinese translations for the many Taiwanese attendees and ISKCON devotees.

India-Taipei Association Director General T.P. Seetharam, a guest at the celebrations, described the event as representing, "the essence of Indian culture and spirituality. Hindus worship many gods, among which the most human is Krishna. We know more about Krishna than any other god. He is everyone's child, the lover of every woman, and teacher and philosopher for everyone. He represents all aspects of life."

ISKCON, also known as the Hare Krishna movement, has more than 350 centers worldwide.

Founded in 1966, ISKCON carries on an ancient tradition rooted in the Bhagavad Gita, the teachings Lord Krishna spoke five millenniums ago.

Today, ISKCON members continue the movement by distributing the teachings of Krishna and the Hare Krishna mantra all over the world.

The Taiwan ISKCON center is located at 4F, No.192 Tingzhou Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei. Tel: (02) 2365-8641.

After his recent opening a new temple in France the Dalai Lama went all the way to Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai after he complained of “abdominal discomfort”. India's medical facilities seem to be held in high regard.

Dalai Lama to leave Mumbai hospital Monday

August 31st, 2008 - 9:43 pm ICT by IANS -

Dharamsala, Aug 31 (IANS) The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will leave Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital Monday after undergoing tests for abdominal discomfort, his aide said Sunday.”He is now well. He has undergone some tests…will be discharged Monday,” Chhime Chhoekyapa, a senior aide to the spiritual leader, told IANS from Mumbai.

He, however, refused to comment on the outcome of the medical tests.

The Dalai Lama, 73, flew to Mumbai Thursday and was admitted to Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre after he complained of “abdominal discomfort”.

He recently returned to India from a 12-day visit to France.

The Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959. His government-in-exile, which is not recognised by any country, is based in this Himachal Pradesh town.

 

But now in a feel that vaishnavism is aryans (vishnu is supreme) and shaivism is Dravidians(shiva is Supreme).But fact that is vaishnavism ,shakthism are branches of shaivism . Aryan 's culture is to show aryans kings as gods(sri Rama =Vishnu) and he is supreme.

 

 

 

 

Can you accept my view as Real?

But what does sastra say, after all isn't India's culture to quote from sastra?