Will quake hinder Kashmir militants? Did God mete out retributive justice?

krsna · October 12, 2005

By Jill McGivering

BBC News, Delhi

Quake may have disrupted militant activities before the winter snow-fall

There is a debate going on in India on the likely impact of Saturday's earthquake on militants and their training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he has no detailed information on the number of militants who might have been killed in the recent earthquake.

Since the earthquake, several reports by Indian journalists have highlighted the impact on militant groups operating in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Quoting senior Indian sources, some say about half of the militant training camps which India believes to be based in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have been badly affected and many militants there killed.

When questioned by reporters on Tuesday, India's prime minister didn't dismiss the idea of militant deaths.

He merely said he had no detailed information about numbers.

'More information'

Disagreement between India and Pakistan about militants, and Pakistan's relationship with them, is a highly emotive area which the current peace process has so far failed to resolve.

India accuses Pakistan of hosting and actively supporting militant groups which carry out attacks in the Indian Kashmir and Afghanistan.

Pakistan's President Musharraf denies this. He insists he's trying to crack down on militancy, not condone it.

The questions being raised about the impact on militancy bring a new dimension to this terrible disaster

The training camps in question aren't easy to verify. Many are highly mobile, able to relocate quickly.

But if militant operations have indeed been disrupted, the timing could be crucial.

October is usually a month of increased activity, a final chance for militants to cross into the Indian-controlled Kashmir before the winter snows start.

Those who agree with India that Pakistan's security forces support militants say they won't be able to now.

Their focus is firmly on relief and rebuilding.

The sudden flood of foreign media teams to this sensitive area of the Pakistan-administered Kashmir may bring more information.

But in the meantime, the questions being raised about the impact on militancy bring a new dimension to this terrible disaster.

krsna · October 12, 2005

Retributive Justice is a matter of giving people their just deserts.

The central idea is that the offender has gained unfair advantages through his or her behavior, and that punishment will set this imbalance straight.

theist · October 12, 2005

Just as some claim the hurrican Katrina disaster in new Orleans was karma for Iraq others will want to claim earthquake is God striking back for 911 as it got those that harbor Bin Laden & Co. in their own neighborhood. It's all tempting. But what of the opinion of those that claim this earthquake is just more of the continental plate movement that created the Himalayas in the first place? These things all need to be harmonized in some way.

krsna · October 13, 2005

www.chinapost.com.tw

KASHMIR, INDIA, October 12, 2005: Kashmir's earthquake smashed a region dotted with centuries-old Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist monuments, but most survived without major damage, archaeological officials say. One famed Hindu temples is the 200 B.C. Shankaracharya temple. The stone temple, dedicated to Siva, suffered no damage. "There has been no major damage reported to monuments around the state," said a senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India. The bulk of Kashmir's cultural and religious heritage is the Indian held part, around the Srinagar Valley, which for centuries was the most populous and influential part of the region. There are relatively few monuments in the Pakistani side, and their fate was not immediately known because of lack of communications following widespread devastation there.

krsna · October 14, 2005

The world, saddened by the devastation brought about by the hurricane Katrina, is looking for hope and shelter. People’s hearts are seeking solutions from the seemingly unending deluge of sufferings. At this juncture, the 38th Prerana festival offered to more than 800 students, insights into the cause, effect and the treatment of the hurricanes that not only effect our external world, but also ravage the countryside of our internal consciousness.

Back after a long gap of six months, H.H. Radhanath Maharaj began the lecture by describing a telling picture of the miserable situation in New Orleans, the site of the hurricane. With the touch of a master storyteller, he then described the rescue attempts undertaken by ISKCON Dallas to save the devotees and the Deities trapped at the New Orleans center.

What is the cause of the three-fold miseries that are terribly ravaging the modern world? The cause is the unethical, selfish and egoistical action of man, which results in individual and collective karmic reaction. Until people recognize impurities in their heart and try to clean them, there can be no clear solutions.

Finding a brilliant analogy from the Bhagavad Gita, he described the original hurricane, the cause of all other hurricanes - the mind – that Arjuna describes as more powerful than the raging wind. Internal hurricanes of our passionate, selfish desires and ambitions, and storms of anger, envy, pride, illusion, lust and greed, that originate from the mind, strike at our consciousness and destroy the property of our intelligence. Devastating our power of discrimination, they cover our life in mass deluge of sewage of materialistic illusion. These raging winds sweep away the boat of our existence. Thus there is a Katrina in our lives daily.

Further illustrating the good and the bad nature of our self, he cited a native American example of a good dog- representing our virtuous, pious, devotional nature and the bad dog- representing our egoistical, lusty and selfish nature. Both the dogs fight for supremacy; the one which is fed most wins. We have the power to make choices of feeding them; just by saying ‘NO’ to the lower self, we ensure victory of the right self.

Harinaam

Lord Chaitanya said that the easiest way to keep the mind focused on Divinity is to chant the names of the Lord. Feeding Harinaam rather than the hurricane is the right choice we all have to make. Harinaam nourishes the mind and gives it the highest experiences of ecstasy of love of God, in absence of which, the mind rages to find materialistic pleasures.

Then he narrated the story of Lord Krishna conquering the whirlwind demon, Trinavrata. Quoting numerous scriptural references he established Harinaam

as the most powerful means of self-realization in this age of Kali. Thus by taking the shelter of Lord Krishna through His Holy names, one can easily conquer the material energy as promised by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad Gita.

The question answer was a mini-hurricane in itself. Lasting for more than 45 minutes, the questions depicted the raging hurricanes of doubts in the hearts of the audience, which Maharaja very compassionately and expertly settled. The topics ranged from spiritual master, discipline needed to get up early, poor suffering much more than the rich, social equality, different nature in different people, bad thoughts, humility, and cause of creation of material world. But the show-stealer was an honest and sincere confession by a person, who had recently obtained a business deal to distribute French wine all over India. After hearing Maharaja’s lecture he doubted the nobility of his action.

The boy asked: Will my action help humanity?

H.H. Radhanath Maharaj: What’s your opinion?

The boy: I don’t know.

The conversation went back and forth, with Maharaj imploring that boy to search his consciousness to arrive at the correct decision. Maharaj described the side effects of alcoholism on the individual, family and society at large and asked him if he wanted to participate in influencing these people to make the wrong choice in life.

“We are not here to judge you; but what is your choice?” Maharaj asked him.

The conclusion was a sweet Harinaam – whirlwind of spiritual frenzy and ecstasy, that completely subdued the hurricanes of kama, krodha, and their fellows. Harinaam indeed is the solution for solving both the internal and the external hurricanes that ravage the world. By purifying our hearts by chanting the Holy names of the Lord, we can develop love of God. Then, compassion for all the living entities will manifest, resulting in a humble, respectful, tolerant stage in which we will be empowered to do good for everyone in creation, making everyone blissful.

As Srila Prabhupada says, “Chant Hare Krishna and be happy.”

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

krsna · October 15, 2005

By Peter Foster in Battal

(Filed: 15/10/2005)

In pictures: 'our worst disaster'

Preaching from the ruins of his once beautiful mosque, the Mullah of Battal offered a simple answer to the question posed time and again since the Pakistan earthquake: why?

A Kashmiri earthquake survivor

''Allah has sent this great punishment on account of our misdeeds," he said, jabbing a finger at the open sky. "We must now end our rebellion against the orders of Allah and submit ourselves again to his ways."

As Mullah Abdul Hayee declaimed his Friday sermon, his voice soaring with wrath then sinking with emotion, a crowd of more than 1,500 reflected on a truly dreadful week.

''We should not dwell on our misfortunes," urged Mullah Hayee. "We should give thanks to almighty Allah that we were not so unfortunate as many others who suffered even greater agonies."

In this small town, perched on the mountain along the Silk Route to China, more than 100 children were killed when their school collapsed.

The destruction of schools where many buildings are still standing has exposed the racket of contractors who skimp on building materials to fatten their profits.

As the mullah's voice cracked, so did the expressions in the front row. Its mostly elderly faces shed tears at the mention of those who were gone.

It has been a week when Pakistanis have seen all too clearly the limitations of the military bureaucracy that runs their country, the army having largely failed to mobilise after the tragedy.

For all the manpower at the disposal of the army - the world's sixth largest - the lack of command and control has seriously hampered efforts to deliver aid where it is needed most. Doctors working at the main triage station in Muzaffarabad still have no generator to power proper lighting for surgery or beds on which to perform it.

While aid lorries are emptied at the roadside by so-called ''victims'', thousands of those in desperate need are still going without.

Mullah Hayee praised the foreigners who had brought aid to the town. ''I urge you not to chase after the aid lorries like dogs. Be lions, be the lions of Allah," he said.

"If you must beg, then beg from Allah. You must die with hunger instead of attacking relief convoys.''

For all the mullah's exhortations, the people of Battal are angry. "Nearly a week has passed now and only today has the army arrived in our town," said Tayyab Ur Rehman, a primary school teacher. "The snows are coming soon, then it will be freezing. Tell people we need help."

For others, such as Mushtaq Hussain, from the Jabr Valley, there was no time for prayers yesterday. ''The people up there [beyond the limits of the road] have not received anything," he said. "The children are injured. Some have died since last week because they have no shelter."