Dharma Summit:Report from Srinandanandan

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is 1 message in this issue.>>Topics in this digest:>> 1. The Recent Dharma

Summit, uniting the Hindu community>

srinandan (AT) aol (DOT) com>>>______________________>______________________>>Message:

1> Tue, 23 Aug 2005 22:50:50 EDT> srinandan (AT) aol (DOT) com>Subject:

The Recent Dharma Summit, uniting the Hindu community>>Namaste all,>>Recently

there was held a successful summit on Dharma to help unite the>Hindu community

in America. A review is below. After the Summit, the Vedic>Friends Association,

of which I am the president, had their annual meeting at the>serence setting of

the ashram of Swami Dayananda Sarasvati in Saylorsburg,>Pennsylvania. Swamiji

has always given great support for the Vedic Friends>Association and its

potential. The meeting was quite effective and focused, and>both the VFA

meeting and the Dharma summit was quite energizing. Many people>came up to me

to greet me and thank me for the books I have written, or buy>more, especially

my "Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence", or to meet me>for the first

time after having previously purchased my books. One person even>came up and

said, "We are telling every Hindu that they should read this>book". So this

was quite inspiring for me, since often a writer does not know>how he is

affecting an audience.>So please find a review of the Dharma Summit as

follows. I would have passed>this info along before now, except that my

apartment was recently>burglarized and my computer was stolen. So now I am

getting things back up and running>again.> Hari om and Hari bol,>

Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)>>>HINDUSTAN TIMES>>80 US Organisations

Launch Hindu Council Initiative>>Lalit K Jha>>New York, August 18, 2005>>In an

effort to present a united voice in an alien country and to>shape the "future

and destiny" of the Hindu community in coming>decades, leaders of as many as

80 important Hindu organizations and>temples in the U.S. have come forward to

constitute a Hindu Council>Initiative (HCI) of North America.>>A result of the

Dharma Summit-2005 that concluded early this week, the>Hindu Council Initiative

has mandate to create a network allowing all>Hindu religious organizations to

work together and provide necessary>resources on continuing basis to all

temples and other religious>organizations in the U.S.>>The conference general

secretary, Ved Chaudhary, told The>HindustanTimes.com: "The Hindu Council

Initiative would address only>issues of concern to the Hindu community in

North America.">>Prominent among them include promoting changes to enhance

the>participation of new generation, correcting biased and distorted views>of

the Hindu traditions in educational institutions and media,>improving temple

management, developing resources, enhancing the role>of temples, and helping

temples and religious organizations to reach>out to larger community with

voluntary services and education,>Chaudhary said referring to resolution

passed by the Dharma>Summit-2005.>>In fact, this was probably for the first

time that such a large number>of Hindu religious leaders and institutions had

come together on one>platform.>>This was also for the first time that

prominent American academicians,>intellectuals and believers in Hinduism also

joined mainstream Hindu>platform.>>Among these were the world renowned

Hindu-scholar, David Frawley;>Stephen Knapp, who has written more than a dozen

books on Hind and>Hinduism; Dr. Frank Morales, who is recognized as one of the

leading>authorities on Hindu philosophy, yoga and meditation in the

US;>Jeffrey Armstrong, a Vedic astrologer, and Beth Kulkarni, who is the>only

American Hindu on board of various Hindu temples in the US.>>The concern many

young generation Hindus in the U.S. are not learning>and maintaining Hindu

traditions was clearly evident throughout the>conference, which brought

together heads of trustees of temples,>spiritual institutions, and

organizations together with many>intellectuals and committed volunteer leaders

from throughout the USA.>>Prominent Hindu religious institutions to attend the

conference were>the Arsha Vidya-Vedanta Gurukul, PA; Arya Pratinidhi Sabha

America;>BAPS-Swaminarayan Temple; Barsana Dham, TX; Gayatri Pariwar;

Hindu>Monastery in Hawaii; Hindu University of America; Sadhu Vaswani>Center;

Sringeru Vidya Bharati Foundation; Sri Ganesh Temple in NY;>Sri Venkateshwara

Temples; Sri Meenakshi Temple, TX; Vraj Dham, PA and>ISKCON.>>Other Hindu

groups included, Educators Society for Heritage of India,>Gayatri Pariwar,

Hindu American Foundation, Hindu Intl. Council>against Defamation, Hindu

Society of NE Florida, Hindu Students>Council, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindu

University of America, Jain>Associations in North America, Swadhyay Pariwar,

US Hindu Alliance;>Vishwa Hindu Parishad-America., American Institute of Vedic

Studies,>Vedic Friends Associations and the Vedic Foundation.>>Chaudhary said,

the rich mix of swamis, intellectuals, temple trustees>and youth leaders

provided a unique opportunity to exchange different>viewpoints, thoughts and

ideas and share experiences on how to impart>spiritual and cultural education

to future generations.>>Theme of the summit was: "The Future of Dharmic

Traditions in North>America.">>Giving details of the conference, Chaudhary said

workshop was>organised by the Hindu University of America which is starting

a>program to train Hindu priests in the USA to meet the needs of temples>in

America for priests who can communicate with the younger generation>and with

the interfaith community.>>>==========================================>>NEWS

BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY, August 16, 2005: (HPI note: This report was>prepared

before the above press release arrived, so there is some overlap in

the>information.) After initially wondering if anyone would attend, Dr.

Ved>Chaudhary finally had to close enrollment in the Dharma Summit 2005 when

it>reached capacity at 400 (including representatives from 80 Hindu

institutions), in>the process turning away scores. Under the inspired and

personal direction of>one of today's most dynamic spiritual leaders. Sri Swami

Dayananda Saraswati,> who turned 75 on the final day of the New Jersey event,

Dr. Chaudhary>organized the Summit to "bring together heads of all Devalayas,

spiritual>institutions, and Dharmic intellectuals in North America to exchange

thoughts and>ideas, and share experiences on how to impart spiritual and

cultural education to>our next generation and remove misperceptions about our

faith traditions>from the society in order to maintain our Dharmic traditions

with dignity.">Quite an ambitious set of objectives. The conference included

Hindus, Jains and>Sikhs.>>Organizer Ved Chaudary told HPI, "The conference

exceeded my expectations in>the number of attendees and organizations that

participated, and the quality>of presentations from many speakers. The

conference met the highest>professional standards. What I consider the most

important outcome of the conference>is the spirit of unity that the conference

fostered among the attendees, the>awareness and acceptance of contemporary

issues facing the community and an>overwhelming desire to undertake a

collective initiative to shape the future>of Hindu Traditions in North

America.">>The days were long throughout the sessions: a 7:30am breakfast

gathering, 9>am starting of the formal session which went on to 9:30 or 10 pm,

with>breakfast, lunch and dinner (provided free by BAPS volunteers) served at

the>conference venue at the Student Center at Rutgers U niversity (one of the

oldest>colleges in America, founded by none other than Benjamin Franklin in

1766, a>red brick college near a river, in a 350-year-old town.)>>Major

spiritual leaders graced the conference, including Swami Dayananda>Saraswati

of Arsha Vidya Gurukul, PA; Swami Chidananda Saraswati (Muniji) of>Parmarth

Niketan, Rishikesh, India; Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher

of>Hinduism Today magazine and HPI; Gurudev Chitrabhanu of Jain Ashram, NY;

Dr.>Pranav Pandya of Gayatri Pariwar, Haridwar, India, Swami Jyotirmayananda

of>Vivekananda Center, Mangalore, Swamini Janeshwari Devi of Barsana Dham

and>others. Also many intellectuals spoke in various sessions including Dr.

Ved>Nanda, Prof. Bhudev Sharma, Dr. David Frawley, Dr. Piyush Agrawal, Sri

Kanchan>Banerji, Dr. Rakesh Shreedhar, and many others. At Bodhinatha's

request,>Parmacharya Palaniswami, editor of Hinduism Today, and Sannyasin

Arumugaswami,>managing editor, attended the entire event and fi led this

report.>>We could report on the contents of each speech, but it is more useful

to>outline the overall concerns and issues, many of which were touched on

by>several speakers. We should confess that we missed several speeches and

may>therefore not be reporting some of the important issues brought up by

speakers. We>also admit that our notes are not so complete as to include names

with every>idea and discussion.>>Of paramount concern, as mentioned, was the

transmission of Hinduism to the>second and third generation Hindus now growing

up (or grown up) in the US.>Generally speaking, there were few organizations

who felt they had adequate>programs for teaching the youth, though some, such

as the Swadhyaya Pariwar>found by Sri Athavale, did in fact have fully

developed programs of weekly>classes and summer youth programs. Several

temples directors and managers (and>there were dozens there) talked about the

need for effective programs. Bodhinatha>in his talk emphasized the need for the

temples to educate the parents in>Hinduism, along with the youth. He also

explained the importance of the>parents' setting the example in religiousness,

beginning with maintaining a strong>home shrine where the family worshipped

daily. Passing on the faith has its>strongest promise in the home, supplemented

by other programs such as temple>classes, summer camps and cultural

training.>>Youth education and guidance were foremost on most speakers' minds,

with a>secondary issue being the treatment Hinduism receives in the dozens

of>textbooks used in American schools and colleges. In was only in the 1980s

that any>religion at all was allowed to be taught in US schools. Prior to that

it was>forbidden, however a court case permitted that, if all religions were

taught>equally, then students could have classes in religion, or cover

religion in>their history or social studies courses. Textbooks were rapidly

prepared to>cover these new courses , which have been incorporated in most

schools. However,>the books have given shabby treatment to Hinduism. Different

speakers>explained how to approach the local school board at the time the books

were up for>adoption, how to influence the selection and even future editions of

the>books. There was, many noted, a lot of room for improvement! Rajiv

Malhotra>explained at length the way in which the American and European

academics had>thoroughly distorted the understanding of Hinduism and ways Hindu

communities and>leaders can correct this situation.>>A related issue was

treatment in the media, also addressed by several>speakers. The temples were

encouraged to learn how to deal with their local press>through press releases,

inviting the press to events and making themselves>available to respond to

questions and express opinions on subjects that arise.>Improving community

relations depends on the good understanding that the>public has, and this is

enhanced by thoughtfu l media communications.>>Many of the speakers associated

with temples touched on the subject of>integration with the majority community,

pointing to the need to be more actively>engaged in their neighborhoods and

communities. It was observed that a number>of Hindu communities are living a

rather insular life in America, unaware of>the religions of their neighbors

and not really trying to join into the>mainstream or be part of their town or

county. Various speakers encouraged the>temples to reach out more, to study

the philosophy, history and practices of>the faiths they are surrounded by,

get to know the leaders of other religious>communities, participate locally

through charitable programs, free clinics,>free feedings and the like.>>There

was a strong youth presence from the Hindu Students Council and the>Hindu

American Foundation. It can also be said, however, that the youth>presence was

not as strong as it should have been, nor was the participation of>women.>>On

the third day, a new series of presentations began with a smaller group>who

were focused only on the management and administration of Hindu temples

in>North America. Swami Dayananda Saraswati, whose presence was inspiring

to>all and who patiently sat through the entire conference, began the

day>proposing the formation of a Hindu Collective Initiative. Swamiji outlined

a basic>organizational structure for continued cooperation, envisioning a

steering>committee which would be formed to implement the goals of the Dharma

Summit,>supplemented by hired, not voluntary, full-time staff.>>On August

15th, which happened to be India's Independence Day (and Swamiji's>birthday),

talks and discussions turned to a constellation of Hindu temple>issues. One is

priest training. This came in two aspects. One, the specific>duties of priests

with regard to the temple ceremonies, and the duties with>regard to home

ceremonies, especially funerals. Traditionally i n India, these>are handled by

two different groups of priests. One performs the temple>ceremonies, the other

performs all the home ceremonies. In the absence of adequate>priests, many

temples have priests from either tradition performing both>tasks, one of which

they are not often trained for. The second is the recognition>of the need for

both teachers of Hinduism and counselors to deal with>personal problems of

devotees. Priests are trained to perform neither of these>functions, though

some priests have done both successfully. Participants debated>whether

community members should be trained to fulfill the role of

spiritual>counselor, or if the priests should be so trained, with the general

opinion>favoring the former. Some temple leaders recognized the "disconnect"

between>temple priests and youth, and recommended they be trained in American

cultural>ways and language, even while they are in India. It was reported there

are>50 massive temples in America and over 700 smaller ones.>>Media and

community relations were covered, as was participation in>interfaith groups.

Kathy Nanda of Denver spoke on the legal aspects of temple>management,

including financial and fiduciary responsibility, with a strong emphasis>on

liability, libel and defamation, even hate crimes. She urged temple

board>members to clearly understand their legal duties and responsibilities.

She>also urged the temples to stay out of courts and incorporate

arbitration>clauses in their by-laws. Paramacharya Palaniswami followed up on

her talk with an>explanation of the difference between a religious

organization and a>"church" under the 501© 3 rules of the American Internal

Revenue Service which>govern nonprofit organizations (click

_here_>(http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf) for those rules). He

stressed the legal and social reasons for>achieving the more difficult church

designation, which is not at all restricted to>Christians. There are Buddhist,

Musli m and Jewish "churches" under this>designation, as well as the Hindu

organizations of Saiva Siddhanta Church>(ours), Chinmaya Mission, Sringiri

Peetham of Pennsylvania, Barsana Dham of Texas>and Swami Satchitananda's IYI in

Virginia.>>Board composition was discussed, with the recommendation from

one>participant that all board members be required to actively work for the

temple. That>led to a discussion about what to do with wealthy donors who

wanted a seat on>the board for their donation, but weren't willing to do any

of the work. One>participant of a large temple said the issue of "selling"

seats on the board>always comes up, but directors and managers should resist

with knowledge that>money will flow abundantly in a temple that puts Ishwar

first. To assure a>future based on the founding principles, stress was given to

making sure the>constitution of every temple is strong, for that is the primary

guide for future> management boards. Constitutions are difficult to change, it

was noted,>while by-laws can be easily altered by a simple majority.>>The

Bridgewater Temple of New Jersey, which is just a 15-minute drive from>the

venue, outlined an interesting program called the "Traveling Mandir."

The>motivation here is to keep college-age children involved in Hinduism.

Their>parents organized a one-hour temporary temple at the local college,

Rutgers in>this case, on Sunday during the same time others are going to

Christian>services. The short program includes a puja, prayers-meditation and

scriptural>study. The youth reportedly appreciate this creative effort to give

them access>to religious observances, and it should be duplicated by other

temples to>help college students in their region. The importance of volunteer

help,>especially under the leadership of women, was acknowledged. In fact, it

was said>more than once that a strong contingent of selfless volunteers is

more>essential than abundant finance to the health and dynamism of a

temple.>>Future financial security was addressed in discussions about wills

and>endowments. Devotees should be encouraged to include a donation to the

temple in>their wills, "even if it's just 2%." The Salvation Army, America's

richest>nonprofit by far, receives a majority of its donations each year in

the form of>bequests from wills, the result of decades of effort on the

Salvation Army's>part to encourage people to include the Army in their

will.>>One director of the Bridgewater temple explained how they have created

an>endowment for their temple the capital of which cannot be touched. Only

the>revenue from investments can be spent. Other temples have set up similar

funds,>usually in the form of a "quasi-endowment." A quasi-endowment is one

set up>by a board with a decision to set aside money in a special account. A

better>arrangement, explained Paramacharya Palaniswami, is to set up a

formal>endowment under a separate corporate structure, the fun ds of which are

managed by>third-party professionals. The difference is that the quasi-endowment

can be>changed or even revoked altogether by any future board, while a true

endowment>cannot be changed.>>Bodhinatha had written up a presentation for the

temples encouraging them to>clearly define in their literature and on their

website six aspects of their>temple: mata (their sect or denomination--

Vaishnavite, Saivite, Shakta,>Smarta, etc.); murthi (the temple's main Deity);

archaka (the temple's formal>priestly lineage authorized to perform the

worship); agama (the scriptures used>for the worship); darshana (the philosophy

followed by the temple); and>anubhava (the vision or other divine inspiration

which sparked the temple's>founding). If more temples described themselves in

this careful manner, devotees>and the wider American public would have a

clearer picture of who they are and>what they represent.>>Overall, it was a

successful three days, as Hindus from many parts of the>country came together

to share their thoughts on issues of mutual concern. For>those who would like

to know about and participate in future plans, please>contact Dr. Ved

Chaudhary at ved.chaudhary . You can also find photos>of the event

and Bodhinatha's participation at our website, Today at

Kauai>Aadheenam,>http://www.himalayanacademy.com/taka/past/2005/August/August_15_2005/index.shtml,

starting part way down the page.>>>>>[This message contained

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