suchandra

double post

While travelling on Superstar Virgo see above, Swami Ramdev seems to preach strongly, like about polticians he says, "corrupt and self-seeking and little drive and energy for the betterment of the society" Swami Ramdev attacks the political system Publication Date 4/6/2008 8:01:24 PM(IST) http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=5731 Swami Ramdev, the iconic yoga guru with a phenomenal mass fallowing, on Wednesday firmly denied that he had plans to enter politics but asserted that he was "promise-bound" to cleanse Indian political system bedevilled with corruption and criminality. "I have taken a Bhsima Pratigya (unflinching promise) not to enter politics, but have also taken a pledge to stop commercialisation, industrialisation and criminalisation of the political system of the country," Swami Ramdev told news agency UNI in an exclusive interview. Launching a strong diatribe against the current crop of leaders across the entire political spectrum, the swami said most of them were corrupt and self-seeking and had little drive and energy for the betterment of the society. "There are some good political leaders also, but the fact is that most of them lack vision and are steeped in corruption. Commercialisation and criminalisation of Indian politics is an insult to the freedom and democracy of the country," he said. The famous guru, whose pursuit of yoga has fired the imagination of the people across the world, asserted that India''s aspiration to become a superpower would become a reality only if efforts were made to stop politics from degenerating into an industry. "Politics is not my goal or mission, but if there is an insult to my country anywhere in the world, I treat is as my personal humiliation," he said, adding that yoga could be a surefire method for the upliftment of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s political leaders. While showing his disgust with the "corrupt" political system in the country, Swami Ramdev also suggested some measures to overcome the problem. "There is an imperative need to make voting compulsory. Given the fact that the literacy level in the country is not very high, the popular mandate is not genuinely reflected during balloting. It is then important that everyone votes," he reasoned out. Elaborating, he said the corrupt political system can be made clean and transparent by making it mandatory for everyone to vote. "I firmly believe that young people should enter politics. They are full of energy, drive and verve. They can exert pressure on the leadership to become accountable and transparent. If everyone votes, good people will find an opportunity to enter politics," he said. Pointing out that voting is compulsory in as many as 32 countries, he said cent per cent voting in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> has become an inevitable political necessity, and this should be ensured through a parliamentary legislation. "Corruption is eating into the vitals of Indian political system, and efforts have to be made in right earnest to clean it up. The onus for it lies on the young people," he suggested. The two other measures he suggested for making <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> strong were population control and a vigorous pursuit of the 'swadeshi' ideology. "Rising population growth is a major stumbling block in the development of the country. This has to be checked. By pursuing 'swadeshi' ideology, the country's creative energies can be given a full dimension," he said, adding that through these measures the "dream of a clean, corruption-free and transparent administration can be realised." The swami said he dreamt of an Indian political system that was not only vibrant, efficient and accountable, but also humble, people-friendly and transparent. "Yoga has the potential to realise this goal,"' he added. Courtesy UNI

The actual victims are the humble non-initiating Prabhupada disciples who did all the pioneer work and in thank where kicked out in the name of "clearing the way for new disciples". In fact, these hard working devotees who distributed millions of books and surrendered their whole lives where labeled as fallen because they didn't aspire to become diksa-gurus. When approaching the GM these Prabhupada disciples more or less have to leave behind that they were initiated by Prabhupada and reorientate themselves what is like leaving Prabhupada's shelter.

Could be that here lies the answer why there're hardly anymore Westerners accepting this kind of initiation system. As soon an initiation system is pure, bonafide and efficient, people line up to receive their ticket for returning back home to the eternal kingdom of God. ISKCON's answer to the "nobody is joining anymore" debacle is, only rare souls after many births will surrender. This however stands there like a duck in a thunder with what Lord Caitanya Himself is stating, "My Holy Name will be chanted globally in every town and village". Time to clear the way for Lord Caitanya Mahaprabh's prediction!

At least they don't force the king into the almshouse like they did with many Indian monarchies. Nepal grants deposed king summer palace home http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ga5WjjjXlXf_vRqDUaNe-fQXoqvAD9135JM80 By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA – 4 June 2008 KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's government said Wednesday it will allow the deposed king to live in a summer palace northwest of the capital after the Himalayan nation abolished the centuries-old monarchy last week. The Cabinet decided to allow former King Gyanendra to move to Nagarjung palace — situated on a forested hill on the edge of Katmandu — after he was ordered to leave the main palace by next week, Peace Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said. The summer palace — previously used for vacations by the king — is surrounded by walls and has remained off-limits to the public. It has been nationalized by the government along with most of the royal assets. Gyanendra was dethroned last week by the Constituent Assembly, which abolished the monarchy and declared Nepal a republic. The assembly was elected in April to rewrite the constitution, decide the future political system and govern the nation. The monarchy's end was the culmination of a two-year peace process that saw communist insurgents give up their armed struggle, join mainstream politics and win the most seats in April elections. Officials met with Gyanendra on Monday and he asked the government to assist him in finding alternative accommodation. Gyanendra said he could not move back to his house where he lived before becoming king in 2001 because his son and his family were already living there.

Looks like there's no end to enterprising monks who will never run out of ideas how to sell special tickets. Paid Darshan at Vaishno Devi Shrine for the Impatient posted 5 June 2008 http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/06/paid-darshan-at-vaishno-devi-shrine-for.html Got the money, then skip the long queue at Vaishno Devi Shrine in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Jammu</st1:place></st1:city>. The Vaishno Devi Shrine board has come up with paid darshan or VIP darshan for all those who have the money to buy the special tickets. The paid darshan move hurts millions of poor Hindu devotees who barely manage the travel expenses needed to reach the shrine. The poor devotees are at the shrine to seek the blessings of Vaishno Devi to have a better life. But even at the shrine money rules and poor devotees are pushed back. The shrine board refers to paid darshan as a tatkal system and is limited to 1000 devotees per day. A traditional ‘mata ki aarti’ can be organized inside the sanctum sanctorum at Rs 1000 in the morning Skip the long queue and have a darshan of the deity from the Bathing Gate (gate No 2) for Rs 500 per person, For darshan through gate no 5 it is Rs 200. The paid darshan is also available to pilgrim groups Several organizations have protested against the paid darshan stating that it will only help the rich. The shrine board has defended the paid system by saying that it will help those people who have a hectic schedule and want to finish of the darshan in a hurry. No idea, why such people who are in a hurry visit shrines. Such shortcuts, bought using money power, disturb millions of poor Hindus who stand in long winding queues. Some might suggest to ignore it, by saying that Vaishno Devi lives in the heart of the people. Or quote Vedanta saying that everything is Brahman and visiting or not visiting a shrine is a non-issue. All these excuses cannot satisfy a poor villager who spends all his fortune to have a personal conversation with Vaishno Devi. He is not demanding any special treatment, all that he wants is at least not to discriminate him at the abode of Vasihno Devi in the name of money. Posted by abhilash on 4.6.08 For more related posts: Hindu Issues, Hindu Temples

Appology, sorry, you're so right. May be this post should be deleted. There're lots of my posts deleted, so I have no problem if this one is also deleted. Again, great appology for posting this.

Quite lots of videos to that topic on youtube.com. <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ynU6aTzac&hl=en&color1=0xe1600f&color2=0xfebd01" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="344" width="425">

Depends. If you read a book written by a different Vaishnava like a puffed up rascal then no, probably as you say, nothing will happen when reading a book by "a different Vaishnava". However, a rare soul, reading a book by "a different Vaishnava" in submissive and humble mood will surely find out that this "book written by a different Vaishnava", has changed his life. Some kind of change for what many ISKCONITES obviously seem to still be waiting for. "Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that all envious persons may undergo a change of heart and think of the welfare of others. If the Krishna consciousness movement spreads all over the world, and if by the grace of Krishna everyone accepts it, the thinking of envious people will change. Everyone will think of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays, śivaṁ mitho dhiyā. In material activities, everyone is envious of others, but in Krishna consciousness, no one is envious of anyone else; everyone thinks of the welfare of others. Therefore Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that everyone’s mind may become gentle by being fixed at the lotus feet of Krishna (bhajatād adhokṣaje). As indicated elsewhere in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ) and as advised by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-gītā (18.65), man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, one should constantly think of the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Then one’s mind will certainly be cleansed (ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam [Cc. Antya 20.12]). Materialists always think of sense gratification, but Prahlāda Mahārāja prays that the Lord’s mercy will change their minds and they will stop thinking of sense gratification. If they think of Krishna always, everything will be all right. SB 5.18.10"

While Vaishnava projects for saving the fallen conditioned souls are always in need to find a sponsor, the Catholic Church behaves rather choosy and rejects a 19 million dollar donation by Frank Stronach. Looking a $19-million gift horse in the mouth The Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto has refused a new church and land being offered by auto magnate Frank Stronach MICHAEL VALPY From Tuesday's Globe and Mail June 3, 2008 at 4:10 AM EDT There is a poignant moment in the story of auto-parts billionaire Frank Stronach's struggle to give the gift of a church to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto - a church and seven acres of prime land in total valued at $19-million. It takes place a few months ago. The 75-year-old founder of Magna International is discussing the project with his long-time confidant Dennis Mills, a senior executive in the Magna corporate group. Mr. Mills says to him, "Frank, maybe we should just walk from this." Mr. Stronach shakes his head and replies, "Dennis, I'm not doing this for the archdiocese. I'm doing it for this guy." And with an index finger he gestures heavenward. He means God. But God would appear to be either not paying attention - so far, at any rate - or seriously conflicted. Or acting in mysterious ways. Enlarge Image Stephen McCasey, Magna’s director of architecture, shows off a model of the church that Frank Stronach offered to build in Aurora. <cite class="source">(Tibor Kolley/The Globe and Mail)</cite> Because after two years' work on a design for a new church of Our Lady of Grace in the wealthy bedroom suburb of Aurora - with Mr. Stronach, who is not a churchgoer, spontaneously raising his proffered donation from $500,000 to $1-million to writing a cheque for the entire cost in addition to providing the land - Archbishop Thomas Collins murmurs thanks but no thanks, and the parish priest, Rev. Tim Hanley, is instructed to write to church members telling them the Stronach offer is unacceptable. Which has left bad feelings in both the parish church and Magna's nearby corporate headquarters. Our Lady of Grace is a wealthy parish on Yonge Street about 50 kilometres north of downtown Toronto. The church is bursting at the seams. There's no room on the site to increase the church size. One of the parishioners who lives close to Mr. Stronach in Aurora approached him one evening at the Magna Golf Club and asked if he had land he might sell. Mr. Stronach became instantly - and increasingly - interested in the project, even getting his own architect to design the building. Mr. Mills suggested it had become a part of the auto-parts magnate's inner journey. He formed a close personal bond and partnership on the project with the parish's then-pastor, Rev. Don MacLean. Everything was bouncing along on track until Father MacLean retired about 18 months ago. Archbishop Collins was named by the Pope to take over the archdiocese - the largest in Canada with 225 parishes - and Father Hanley was appointed the new pastor at Our Lady of Grace. There was a lunch attended by Mr. Stronach, Mr. Mills, the archbishop and Father Hanley and other Magna and archdiocesan officials. And according to Mr. Mills, "things got a little edgy." They've been edgy ever since. Diocesan spokesperson Neil McCarthy has scotched one rumour - that the gift was turned down because Mr. Stronach's daughter Belinda, the Liberal MP for Newmarket-Aurora, holds views on abortion and same-sex marriage that are opposed to church teaching. "Absolutely not," Mr. McCarthy said. He has thrown cold water on hints from some parishioners that Father Hanley vetoed the gift out of some personal animosity toward the businessman and his company. Mr. McCarthy said the final decision was made at the archdiocesan level. The reasons given by Father Hanley and the archdiocese state variously that Mr. Stronach insisted on exterior architectural control and having a major say on what the inside would look like, proposed a building that was too grand, refused to give the parishioners sufficient input, and rejected a proposal from the archdiocese that he only provide funds matching whatever the congregation raised and not pay for the whole thing. John McGrath, the archdiocesan chancellor of temporal affairs, said the archdiocese was uneasy with Mr. Stronach putting up all the money for the project and leaving the parishioners with no sense of ownership of the new church on Stronach-donated land about two kilometres from the current church. Mr. Mills say all those reasons are inaccurate. "We were servants to the pastor, the parishioners and the guidelines [on building new churches]," he said. "The only direction Frank gave was let's do something that inspires and isn't an army barracks. This was the most pure moment of giving of all the various gifts I've participated in with Frank." It has to a degree fractured the parish, some of whose members have rejected the actions of their priest and the archdiocese and are meeting tonight with Magna director of architecture Stephen McCasey to continue discussing the Stronach church plan. Mr. Mills says Mr. Stronach is still open-minded to any proposal. The archdiocese says he's not. Only God likely knows where the truth is.

Since the meaning of "di" from diksha is divyam jnanam, would you at least agree that there's spiritual knowledge in those books? And if spiritual knowledge is actually there, wouldn't it also destroy sin, "ksha"? 'Ksha' stands for sankshayam, to dissipate.

Well, it is somewhat shocking that all what you learned from Prabhupada's books makes you conclude, it is, "just reading a book". Reminds of seeing the Holy Dham as a dirty place, the Deitie as a stone and the guru as ordinairy person. Rather expected to hear from a resident of Prabhupada Village that when opening Prabhupada's books it is like entering Vaikuntha, the eternal spiritual kingdom of Lord Sri Krsna and experiencing the unending transcendental nectar and joy of pure devotional service. Now this all became "reading a book"?

To jump over all the members of the disciplic succession right to Srila Vyasadeva and using him to explain that an acarya is deceased and gone is rather ambivalent, too extreme and not the way Vaishnavas would explain things. To consider Prabhupada as current acarya because so far no one really believable has emerged is rather the more natural approach for the camp of sincere Vaishnavas. Like when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja left and all the sane devotees knew that the only thing absurd is to install questionable people who turned the GM into a fiasco that hardly pressed down on the development of Gaudiya Vaishnavaism and the global spreading of the Holy Name. In fact without Srila Prabhupada having taken such rigorous steps and leaving the GM and starting his own movement, would there be any Vaishnavas in US or the Western world? No! This we can say with 100% certainty.

The person bhagavat is Prabhupada, agreed. When people read Prabhupada's books their natural inclination is to find out people who have also read Prabhupada's books, have the books internalized and develop a friendship with such devotees. However, when finding out that these devotees have another guru and Prabhupada is for them something like dead and gone makes them dissappointed - they usually leave and don't sincerely take up spiritual live. The present situation that Hindus assemble in Western temples and develop congragations is rather a changing the function from Vaishnava temple towards social services department for emigrated Hindus. Could be however that this is all Krsna's plan to spread the sankirtan movement in this way gradually things will develop and nice Vaishnavas are trained.

This is of course the same like personally getting the maha-mantra directly from Srila Prabhupada.

I just presented it that way to get off the sectarian platform and come to a spiritual understanding acceptable by all kind of theists. Not that I wanted to bring in Christianity, they same can be said about Islam. Lord Caitanya never said Islam is a bogus religion. No great Vaishnava acarya would ever say that Jesus is a bogus man and Christianity a nonsense. However, this is clearly the mood of present ISKCON, to unneccessarily bad-mouth other religions and at the same time not accomplishing their own homework of explaining what is the differences between a fallible priest and a genuine maha-bhagavat diksa-guru. They say it is all one.

It is of course clear that without following one cannot become an initiated disciple. Guest (3): Well, his Commandments are…. We believe that Christ gave them to Moses as a… Prabhupāda: So what are the Commandments? You simply say, “It was given to him, it was given to him, it was given…” Guest (3): The Ten Commandments? Prabhupāda: Yes. Guest (3): Those Commandments we follow? We believe Commandments of living the Sabbath Day, law of chastity… Prabhupāda: So whether they are being followed? Guest (3): Yes. Prabhupāda: Chastity is being followed? Guest (3): Yes. The church teaches it, and people who do not obey it are bringing condemnation upon themselves. Prabhupāda: Yes, that is my injunct…, that if…. The commandment is that women should be chaste. Guest (3): Exactly. Prabhupāda: And you should not kill. But all the Christians are killing. Guest (3): Well… Prabhupāda: And it is very hard to find out a woman chaste. Guest (3): That’s true. Prabhupāda: Then where is Christian? Guest (3): Well, see, this is the great thing of the atonement. See, when Christ suffered the sins of the world on Gethsemane… Prabhupāda: So why for your sin Christ should suffer? Guest (3): Christ suffered for my sins. Prabhupāda: Yes, why? Guest (3): Well, because he loved us and he was the only begotten son of God. Prabhupāda: That means you’ll go on committing sins and Christ will suffer? Guest (3): No, see Christ only forgives when you repent. See what I mean? See, this is the thing I want to say… Prabhupāda: But this has become a business, that I commit sin and repent. “We believe, I repent, and again I commit sin.” Do you think it is very good business? Guest (3): Well, see this is the thing. Christianity has made it a business. So what we’re saying is we… Prabhupāda: That means they are not Christians. Guest (3): That’s right. Prabhupāda: So then where is Christian? Guest (3): Well, the Christian world that the majority of the people think is… Prabhupāda: Majority is not the calculation. Minority. If one person carries out the order of Christ, then he is Christian. Guest (3): Exactly. Prabhupāda: Otherwise they are not Christians. Room Conversation with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda April 23, 1976, Melbourne

Somehow if we don't accept that Jesus is giving diksa to a follower who sincerely abides by his teachings we're in the bogus camp of heathens and pagans.

Front Page <!-- prneml ctrl begins --> <!-- prneml ctrl ends --> Nepal as a secular state, a negative development: BJP Neena Vyas http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/03/stories/2008060350020100.htm posted 03 June 2008 NEW DELHI: The declaration of Nepal as a secular state is a “negative development,” but the end of monarchy in what was till recently the world’s only Hindu kingdom is the result of the “wishes of the people,” says the Bharatiya Janata Party. Releasing the party’s seven-page foreign policy resolution here on Monday, the former External Affairs, Minister Jaswant Singh, clarified its views in response to questions. Clearly, the BJP did not think that the recent election gave the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoists) any mandate, although it expressed its “satisfaction” with the poll. It said the CPN(M) needed to be restrained in its conduct and utterances “as they had only about a third of the popular vote, and that too, obtained through intimidation.” Asked why the BJP was claiming popular mandate in Karnataka though it had polled just over 33 per cent of the popular vote, which was one per cent short of the Congress vote, Mr. Singh said, “I am talking about Nepal.” The BJP did not think that the CPN(M) was right in demanding the posts of President and Prime Minister for the party. As for abolition of monarchy, he said, “It is for the people of Nepal to decide not to have a monarchy.” Was the BJP happy about Nepal becoming a secular state? Mr. Singh said: “As an Indian and a believer in ‘sanatan dharma’ [Hinduism], I feel diminished. … There are four ‘dhams’ [pilgrimage centres] in India and the fifth, Pashupati Nath, is in Nepal. There is nothing more secular than ‘sanatan dharma’. … This is a negative development [in Nepal].” Asked whether he and the BJP were also unhappy about India being a secular state, Mr. Singh said that in India, “There was no alternative and no option to secularism.” The BJP was concerned that relations between Maoists in Nepal and those in India would have “serious consequences” and would be “very dangerous for India.”

Yes, it is a widely spread opinion in Vaishnavism that a living diksa-guru is required. In Christianity diksa is given by Jesus who is a very powerful son of God. Although preaching for only 3 years, he's being worshiped since 2000 years and he's still giving diksa. Vaishnavas have to be alive to give diksa, they're not as powerful like Jesus. At least that's what people in general believe.

Good news - we have the first and only Buddhist Cemetery of Europe in our city. <hr>

Presently we find many global Vaishnava institutions rejecting A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami's strategy of introducing varnasrama. These Vaishnava leaders basically argue - cow protection, vedic farming, vedic trading is nothing but becoming contaminated by the modes of material nature. However, this was never Srila Prabhupada's teaching that Vaishnavas should become influenced by misra-bhakti. Prabhupada clearly says, it is for showing mercy and to uplift human society, do the groundwork so that things develop further - to teach varnasrama-dharma, but not to step down. Since Prabhupada's formular was rejected we find now that within the temples Vaishnavas being faced with missing infrastrucure to properly worship the deities. Whenever the order of a current Vaishnava acarya is neglected we soon realize that things fall apart. Prabhupada: I have already explained. We are all devotees. Past condition, we are all devotees. We are not, we do not belong to this varṇasrama. I have already told you. Suppose I am mopping. So that does not mean I am mopper. But I am teaching how to mop. This is our position. Parivrajakacarya: So the students, also, they must all be devotees. Prabhupada: Yes. Devotees are… That is our life and soul. Satsvarupa: And the idea is that after they’ve finished their schooling, they would take part in ISKCON, preaching in some way as vaiśya or… Prabhupada: Yes. This preaching is also required, to make the groundwork. Because nobody’s taking care. Just like some of the devotees, great devotees, they took the profession of becoming thief. They, in South India, it was done so. They took the profession of becoming thief. So a devotee is a thief? But he took. They took it. Because nobody was paying. So they organized a plundering party. “Plunder all these big men.” Just like the politicians do. There is history. Yes. So even up to the point to become a thief, devotees took it. Yes. And the gopis, even up to the point of becoming prostitute—for Krsna. So for Krsna’s sake we have to accept any nonsense type of business. Or on the highest grade. Anything. But for Krsna we have to do that. Hṛdayananda: So, Prabhupada, in our temples, we have so many devotees. Should the devotees…? Prabhupada: They should be engaged. Hṛdayananda: Should they be trained in a particular…? Prabhupada: Yes. Those who are not able to preach or to do other things, they must go to the plough department, agriculture. Hṛdayananda: Those who cannot preach. Prabhupada: Yes. Those who are less educated, not very much expert in preaching, they must be acting as ksatriya or vaisya, or as sudra. Hṛdayananda: And sometimes… Prabhupada: Not he’s sudra. Always remember that. But he has to act to fulfill the, fill up the gap. Proxy. Morning Walk “Varnasrama College” by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada March 14, 1974, Vrndavana full conversation: http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/740314mw.vrn.htm

Hard to say what kind of character Emperor Aurangzeb realy was? Prabhupada, Los Angeles, May 21, 1972: You have seen, those who have gone to India, you have seen the Taj Mahal building. That building was constructed in the memory of that Mumtaz by Shah Jahan. He spent all his money for constructing that building. So it is one of the seven wonders of the world. So that Shah Jahan lost his wife at an early age. He was very fond of his wife. And because, affectionate father, he did not very much chastise his sons, and he spent all his money in constructing the memory of his wife, so when the sons grew up, the third son, Aurangzeb, came out very crooked. And he made a plan how to usurp the empire. He killed his elder brother and other brothers. He arrested his father, Shah Jahan. So this is the book subject matter, Shah Jahan. So whole activities. But the author says that “Aurangzeb is not the hero; hero is Shah Jahan.” THE NEW NATION - BANGLADESH'S INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE Emperor Aurangzeb: Bad ruler or bad history? Dr. Habib Siddiqui posted 03 June 2008 Of all the Muslim rulers who ruled vast territories of India from 712 to 1857 CE, probably no one has received as much condemnation from Western and Hindu writers as Aurangzeb. He has been castigated as a religious Muslim who was anti-Hindu, who taxed them, who tried to convert them, who discriminated against them in awarding high administrative positions, and who interfered in their religious matters. This view has been heavily promoted in the government approved textbooks in schools and colleges across post-partition India (i.e., after 1947). These are fabrications against one of the best rulers of India who was pious, scholarly, saintly, unbiased, liberal, magnanimous, tolerant, competent, and far-sighted. Fortunately, in recent years quite a few Hindu historians have come out in the open disputing those allegations. For example, historian Babu Nagendranath Banerjee rejected the accusation of forced conversion of Hindus by Muslim rulers by stating that if that was their intention then in India today there would not be nearly four times as many Hindus compared to Muslims, despite the fact that Muslims had ruled for nearly a thousand years. Banerjee challenged the Hindu hypothesis that Aurangzeb was anti-Hindu by reasoning that if the latter were truly guilty of such bigotry, how could he appoint a Hindu as his military commander-in-chief? Surely, he could have afforded to appoint a competent Muslim general in that position. Banerjee further stated: "No one should accuse Aurangzeb of being communal minded. In his administration, the state policy was formulated by Hindus. Two Hindus held the highest position in the State Treasury. Some prejudiced Muslims even questioned the merit of his decision to appoint non-Muslims to such high offices. The Emperor refuted that by stating that he had been following the dictates of the Shariah (Islamic Law) which demands appointing right persons in right positions." During Aurangzeb's long reign of fifty years, many Hindus, notably Jaswant Singh, Raja Rajrup, Kabir Singh, Arghanath Singh, Prem Dev Singh, Dilip Roy, and Rasik Lal Crory, held very high administrative positions. Two of the highest ranked generals in Aurangzeb's administration, Jaswant Singh and Jaya Singh, were Hindus. Other notable Hindu generals who commanded a garrison of two to five thousand soldiers were Raja Vim Singh of Udaypur, Indra Singh, Achalaji and Arjuji. One wonders if Aurangzeb was hostile to Hindus, why would he position all these Hindus to high positions of authority, especially in the military, who could have mutinied against him and removed him from his throne? Most Hindus like Akbar over Aurangzeb for his multi-ethnic court where Hindus were favored. Historian Shri Sharma states that while Emperor Akbar had fourteen Hindu Mansabdars (high officials) in his court, Aurangzeb actually had 148 Hindu high officials in his court. (Ref: Mughal Government) But this fact is somewhat less known. Some of the Hindu historians have accused Aurangzeb of demolishing Hindu Temples. How factual is this accusation against a man, who has been known to be a saintly man, a strict adherent of Islam? The Qur'an prohibits any Muslim to impose his will on a non-Muslim by stating that "There is no compulsion in religion." (surah al-Baqarah 2:256). The surah al-Kafirun clearly states: "To you is your religion and to me is mine." It would be totally unbecoming of a learned scholar of Islam of his caliber, as Aurangzeb was known to be, to do things that are contrary to the dictates of the Qur'an. Interestingly, the 1946 edition of the history textbook Etihash Parichaya (Introduction to History) used in Bengal for the 5th and 6th graders states: "If Aurangzeb had the intention of demolishing temples to make way for mosques, there would not have been a single temple standing erect in India. On the contrary, Aurangzeb donated huge estates for use as Temple sites and support thereof in Benares, Kashmir and elsewhere. The official documentations for these land grants are still extant." A stone inscription in the historic Balaji or Vishnu Temple, located north of Chitrakut Balaghat, still shows that it was commissioned by the Emperor himself. The proof of Aurangzeb's land grant for famous Hindu religious sites in Kasi, Varanasi can easily be verified from the deed records extant at those sites. The same textbook reads: "During the fifty year reign of Aurangzeb, not a single Hindu was forced to embrace Islam. He did not interfere with any Hindu religious activities." (p. 138) Alexander Hamilton, a British historian, toured India towards the end of Aurangzeb's fifty year reign and observed that every one was free to serve and worship God in his own way. Now let us deal with Aurangzeb's imposition of the jizya tax which had drawn severe criticism from many Hindu historians. It is true that jizya was lifted during the reign of Akbar and Jahangir and that Aurangzeb later reinstated this. Before I delve into the subject of Aurangzeb's jizya tax, or taxing the non-Muslims, it is worthwhile to point out that jizya is nothing more than a war tax which was collected only from able-bodied young non-Muslim male citizens living in a Muslim country who did not want to volunteer for the defense of the country. That is, no such tax was collected from non-Muslims who volunteered to defend the country. This tax was not collected from women, and neither from immature males nor from disabled or old male citizens. For payment of such taxes, it became incumbent upon the Muslim government to protect the life, property and wealth of its non-Muslim citizens. If for any reason the government failed to protect its citizens, especially during a war, the taxable amount was returned. It should be pointed out here that zakat (2.5% of savings) and 'ushr (10% of agricultural products) were collected from all Muslims, who owned some wealth (beyond a certain minimum, called nisab). They also paid sadaqah, fitrah, and khums. None of these were collected from any non-Muslim. As a matter of fact, the per capita collection from Muslims was several fold that of non-Muslims. Further to Auranzeb's credit is his abolition of a lot of taxes, although this fact is not usually mentioned. In his book Mughal Administration, Sir Jadunath Sarkar, foremost historian on the Mughal dynasty, mentions that during Aurangzeb's reign in power, nearly sixty-five types of taxes were abolished, which resulted in a yearly revenue loss of fifty million rupees from the state treasury. While some Hindu historians are retracting the lies, the textbooks and historic accounts in Western countries have yet to admit their error and set the record straight. (Taken from al-Balagh)

This is of the same size but in mp3 format. Srila Prabhupada chanting japa, for download right click and "save target as".

Nice gesture from Aussie Province. International - India & World <!-- prneml ctrl begins --> <!-- prneml ctrl ends --> Australian province contributes $600,000 for Hindu temple http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/02/stories/2008060255010900.htm posted 02 June 2008 Melbourne: A provincial government in Australia has contributed $600,000 for the construction of a Royal Tower in a new Hindu temple in Perth. Western Australia (WA) Premier Alan Carpenter donned traditional Hindu garb at the consecration of the temple in Canning Vale on Sunday. The province is home to 8000-strong Hindu community from India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The Premier said the temple’s architecture reflected the richness and vibrancy of the province’s multicultural society. “This temple is a truly impressive testament to the hard work, devotion and faith of WA’s Hindu community,” he was quoted as saying by local media. Significant moment WA Hindu Association president Mukesh Mani said the temple’s consecration was a significant moment in the Hindu community’s 23-year history in the province. “Apart from being a place of worship, the temple and the cultural centre will free for community programs, including a voluntary migrant assistance service, cultural and language classes and two radio programs in Hindi and Tamil.” — PTI