Standing with Hindus
The purpose of writing this piece is to inspire each one of you to do things for others – If you are not willing to stand up for others, why should anyone stand up for you?
In the following compilation, I will highlight some of the work I have done with and for Hindus and Hinduism. This excludes the work for my motherland India. However, there is a lot of work prior t0 2003 that I need to collect and put it together.
I am blessed to connect with Atheists to Zoroastrians and every one in between including Native Americans.
As an Indian it was embarrassing for me that most of the Indians have no clue about each other – a few Hindus know about Muslims, some of them don’t even know about Jainism or Buddhism let alone Sikhism. Same goes with Muslim and others. We live and work together, and yet we don’t know about the other.
What do we know? The cooked versions and bad things about others, shame on us.
So, I ventured out into public in 1993 to teach and to facilitate knowledge about each other. The Asian News Magazine offered glimpses of each religion and every week, we wrote about the essence of every festival. Then we continued the same on Asian News Radio from 1996-2001.
Since this chapter about Hindus, I will focus on Hinduism, as brief as I can.
Shri DD Maini wrote articles on Hinduism and his visits to every place of worship in India, and our Dallas Hindu Scholar Dr. Hasmukh Shah wrote about Hinduism besides others and our first Radio show on Religion started with Dr. Hasmukh Shaw’s interview about Hinduism. Then I did 100 hours of talk show Radio on Hinduism over a period of two years (and of course others) with Swami Nityananda Prabhu of Hare Krishna Temple, we learned the whole Bhagvad Gita and amazing principles of life.
We did two workshops on Hinduism as a part of learning about each other.
When I was called in by different Radio stations on Christmas day or other days to talk about Religion, I always talked about Hinduism (and others). I visited the Maya Temples in Mexico, there I prayed the Hindu (and other) prayers in the underground wells, and on the temple grounds. All of this is available on my different sites and blogs.
Check out Dallas Morning News’s Texas Faith column – of the 80+ articles I have written, 70 of them carry a note about Hinduism. You can visit www.TheGhousediary.com and plug Texas Faith in the search box, and you can see most of the articles. For 2010 and before it is on blogs of Islam and Pluralism.
For the first time in Dallas, I was able to bring all the Hindu Temple management teams together at the Program Shanti Shanti at Richardson Civic Center. Mihir Meghani, President of HAF was introduced to Dallas for the first time.
The second time (and a few times after that) was the first Unity Day event in 2005 pictures at www.UnitydayUSA.com
As an individual it is my duty to share whatever little good I can and counter the bad with good.
We have various religious leaders visiting from overseas, particularly Hindu and Muslims, most of them preach goodness of their religion and a handful of them preach hate from the temples and the Mosques. They come here to tell Hindus or Muslim to hate each other, their talk is loaded with hate in the place of worship and I always wonder how my Hindu and Muslim friends can listen to that. At least in Dallas, the Muslim Imams give sermons about co-existence, however once in a blue moon someone comes along and speaks ill of others, both in Hindu and Muslim communities.
If you are not comfortable in telling them that they are wrong, let me know, I will do that. I will not even spare the big mega church Pastor Jeffress who called Hinduism a cult.
I value free speech and the only way to combat evil is with goodness and love.
As I make the time, I will update this, there is a lot of work done prior to 2003, from when I kept records of my work in DallasIndians@yahoogroups.com and the blogs http://MikeGhouseforIndia.blogspot.com and two sites world Muslim Congress and Foundation for pluralism. There is a whole big story prior to 2003 that I need to put together…
Again, the purpose of compiling this piece is to inspire each one of you to do things for others. If you are not willing to stand up for others, why should anyone stand up for you?
Senator Williams' Remarks Offended Hindus
It is not only a Hindu issue, it is indeed an American issue. The speaking out shouldn't be just from Hindus, but Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pagans, Wiccans, Zoroastrians and others as well. Why should anyone stand up for you, if you are not willing to do the same for others?
As people of faith, we condemn the statement made by Kentucky State Senator David Williams, "Williams charged that the actions of Beshear were tantamount to "idolatry." He stated that as a Christian, he would not participate in Jewish, Muslim or Hindu prayers, and hoped Hindus would open their eyes and "receive Jesus Christ as their personal saviour." Williams made this comment about the ground breaking ceremony of a manufacturing plant in Elizabeth Town in Kentucky that Governor Steve Beshear attended.
As a moderate Republican I am embarrassed that almost all of the bigotry in our nation is flowing out of fellow Republicans. It is time for the good Republicans to speak up and stop this flow and at least lose gracefully in 2012. If the economy turns around a little bit even a useless Democrat will win against a Republican. It is time to wake up and speak out against the bigotry of Williams and all others including the Presidential candidates.
Williams also criticized the Governor for sitting cross-legged with a "dot on his forehead," and described the ceremony as "polytheistic."
I have condemned and talked about similar pronouncements from Pat Robertson, Robert Jeffress and a few Muslims and Jewish clerics for their take on idolatry with a primitive understanding. Idols or icons are representations of God for the Hindus, just as the holy books are God's words for the Jews, Christians, Muslims and others.
No one has a right to belittle other's faiths. If Senator Williams has a problem let it be his problem and one should not malign Christianity for his bigotry. Each faith is dear to the believer and no faith is superior to the other. Faith is about humility and not arrogance. All faiths are designed to bring solace to its followers. Religion is a mechanism that gives hopes and restores one's balance with what surrounds one; people and the environment,.
Indeed, we are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We are represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many and in every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and with innumerable names. Americans together are committed to preserve this pluralistic heritage of America.
No one should have a problem with other's belief, but it should become our problem when someone denigrates it. We must stand up for each one of the 312 Million Americans.
Bigotry against Hinduism in Russia
Incredible attack on the Holy Bhagvad Gita
You and I have allowed blatant bigotry to be preached on our land unquestioned and unchecked. The damned thing is contagious and spreading to Russia and other nations. Bigotry exists not because of bigots, but because we have not spoken out against it.
Six years ago in December of 2006, the Archbishop of Russia called Krishna a Satan, and five years ago, the city of Moscow made serious attempts to usurp the land belonging to Krishna Temple. Of course, a few of us wrote about it and now per the news reports, the “Bhagvad Gita, one of the holiest Hindu scriptures, is facing a legal ban and the prospect of being branded as "an extremist" literature across Russia. A court in Siberia's Tomsk city is set to deliver its final verdict Monday in a case filed by state prosecutors.”
I would have never thought this day would come, when Bhagvad Gita would be attacked, the sacred text of Hinduism, it is rather a dialogue on reflections of one's conscience. It is one of the best self help books to find answers to the eternal questions about righteousness and one's duty to the self and the world. Hinduism is not a proselyting religion and Bhagvad Gita should not threaten any one of those weak men of religion.
The Holy Qur'aan has been deliberately mistranslated by medieval European Kings to paint Islam in bad light so they can frighten their subjects and buy their loyalty, and of course a Muslim Hilali Khan matched those kings and injected words into the translations that were not in Quraan, he wanted to build up ill-will against Jews and Christians for his presumed gain to restore the Caliphate. He has mistranslated nearly 60 Verses of Quraan. Fortunately there are still 20+ translations that are good, and thank God for that, the Arabic text has remained intact, although a group of proselytizing Christians have made attempts to mis-write Arabic version of Quraan in late eighties and distribute it in Kuwait. The best available translation is by Muhammad Asad, even this needs updating, but a good guide.
The attacks on Quraan and Bhagvad Gita are not based on knowledge but based on selling hate and collecting cash from the gullible congregants who trust the fox that guards the hen, all in the name of the man who taught to tell the truth and love thy enemy.
The good news is this bigotry is controllable, it has afflicted less than a percent of the population, and all of us together have to work on keeping those cancer cells from multiplying and harming our civilization and our civility.
I urge Non-Hindus to pick up the phone and call the Russian Embassy, if you cannot stand up for others, why should anyone stand up for you? The least you can do is fax a few words to their embassy “This is not a good thing” or write your comments at www.facebook.com/speakermikeghouse or in the comment section of www.Theghousediary.com
Russian Embassy
2650 Wisconsin Ave, NW
Washington, CD 2007
Tel: 202-298-5700
Fax: 202-298-5735
Please remain polite and ask their government to take responsible action and not let a few among them dictate a national policy. We are a small world, interdependent, interconnected and one fragile unit. Let’s preserve it.
When Robert Jeffress, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, Herman Cain, Tom Tancredo, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and a bunch of talk show hosts spewed hate against fellow Americans, very few of us have spoken out against them in public medium, and they take that as an encouragement and spill out more. You and I are further responsible for remaining silent, when they make shameless comments against Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Wicca, GLBT, Hindus and other. This is not the America we want, nor is this world we like to see. We have to enter into a positive dialogue with a singular goal of building cohesive societies where none of us have to live in apprehension of the other.
We hope to resume the workshops on Religion, every religion to remove the myths about each religion. http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2007/04/understanding-hinduism-workshops-by.html
Surya Namaskar and Muslim response
The Surya Namaskar is a Hindu religious tradition, a beautiful act of bowing to the Sun and welcoming the first rays of dawn as an expression of gratitude to the energy it breathes in to life and everything about life.
India is a pluralistic society, where we have come to respect every which way one worships one, none or many representations of God. Even among Hinduism we have an amazing diversity of people who express their gratitude from no to an iconic to an abstract manifestation of that elusive creator.
The Chief Minister of the State of Madhya Pradesh, Mr. Shivraj Singh Chouhan called on the schools and the public to join him in the Surya Namaskar to beat the Guinness world record set by the Kazakhs who currently hold the world record in mass prayers. The intent of performing this act with a million people was not for spiritual need, but to get on the Guinness Book of World Records; a crazy passion of Indians.
At least Shivraj Singh Chouhan did better than Rick Perry, the governor of Texas who invited the evangelist exclusively to pray for the nation’s well being in a certain way to exclude all other Americans including Christians of different denominations. Indeed he duped the evangelicals in buying their support for his bid to the Presidency.
The Times of India reported that the city’s Chief Muslim cleric Qazi Abul Kalam Qasmi said, "Parents should take a call on sending kids to school, if there is apprehension that the child may be forced." The newly appointed Qazi maintained that Suryanamaskar, which involved 'bowing before the sun', was against Islamic tenets. "If a Muslim performs the 'suryanamaskar' the child and his parents would both be accountable in the act of felony." Qasmi maintained.
Indeed, the Qazi is right; it is not an Islamic practice to bow to any manifestation of God, but the God himself the non-visible energy. Everyone should have the freedom to pray or not pray in certain way and no one should compel or look down for not participating. That is our pluralistic ethos for over 5000 years and we need to be loyal to that heritage.
An alternate way to look at the opinion of the Qazi would have been to participate in the group act, but do it in a way that works from an Islamic point of view. This would have meant that we are all in this together for a better India and better place to live cohesively. However, no one should expect everyone to jump and do what they do. It would have been a good example of working together without compromising our faith.
Prophet Muhammad had led mass Prayers for rain and famine and for other goodness of the society. Two years ago, I was planning on going to Florida and witness a pastor burn the Quraan, if he was indeed burning, I was going to pray my two Rakat (unit) Nafeel Muslim prayers next door to his Church in an open space with prior permission from the City. We all would have prayed for his well being along with several fellow Muslims. Burning Quraan was not an act of bravery but stupidity and countering it with anger would have been greater stupidity. Unfortunately he postponed his act and I had a 9/11 Unity Day event the next day in Dallas as well.
There are examples set by Prophet Muhammad for situations like this. While he was travelling to Taif, a few miscreants pelted rocks at him causing him to bleed, his associates wanted to go get the boys, but Prophet stopped them and instead asked them and the Angel Gabriel to join him in prayers and pray for their well being. This is what Jesus meant when he said, turn the other cheek.
Prophet Muhammad was the ultimate peace maker, every act of his is a model for us to learn from, and he was the consummate conflict mitigater and goodwill nurturer.
When we attend weddings, some of us are strictly vegetarian and some eat variations of meat products from fish and poultry to beef. We wear different clothing’s and drink a variety of sodas to coffee with cream or black and same goes with the tea. Do we have a problem with that? Then we should not have the problem with this either as long as the Chief Minister is not getting his wish at the cost of public funds.
The right wingers among us need to honor Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs and Hindus for their choices and each minority should not take this as an imposition in a free society. Nor any one should be negative if one does not participate.
May Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s dreams to solidify his political stand come true and those who are opposed to him politically can also hold a Chandra Namaskar to get what they want, but together, let Madhya Pradesh go on the Guinness book of world records. Bengal or any other state has a choice to out do it as well.
Doniger’s book on Hindu history - Factual errors
Friday, March 5, 2010 at 3:04pm
The book: Hindus, an alternate history is out now. Wendy Donigers writes on Indian History laden with errors. It is our responsibility to hightlight the errors, and as civil socieites we cannot perpetuate the errors and pass on to the next generation as facts. Let the reader "beware clause" be added to the book that the facts are not verified.
The petition listed below points out the following mistakes and if you agree with the contents please sign; I have signed # 5935
As responsibile citizens we have an obligation to stop and chuck errrors from getting into circulation, she is a popular author and we are making her even more popular. Now the responsibility falls squarely on her shoulders to set the record right. The publishers need to add a note of caution; that it is her version of the history and not verified to be true.
A few clauses in the petition may not have any grounding, but overall, the book has errors and needs to be addressed.
The contents of the petition are posted below and this is the petition.
http://www.petitiononline.com/dharma10/petition.html
Signing the petition does make a difference, I recall driving the signatures for Diwali Stamp drive on my radio show and all my groups. We need a whole lot more signature for that, the last count was abour 120,000. Thanks to the Facebook, I will post it there as well as send it to my groups.
Mike Ghouse is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. He is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam and India. He His work is reflected at three websites and 22 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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PETITION FOR YOUR SIGNATURE:
http://www.petitiononline.com/dharma10/petition.html
The following errors are pointed in the petition:
“The Hindus: An Alternative History” is rife with numerous errors in its historical facts and Sanskrit translations. These errors and misrepresentations are bound and perhaps intended to mislead students of Indian and Hindu history.
Throughout the book, Doniger analyzes revered Hindu Gods and Goddess using her widely discredited psychosexual Freudian theories that modern, humanistic psychology has deemed limiting. These interpretations are presented as hard facts and not as speculations. Doniger makes various faulty assumptions about the tradition in order to arrive at her particular spin. In the process, the beliefs, traditions and interpretations of practicing Hindus are simply ignored or bypassed without the unsuspecting reader knowing this to be the case. This kind of Western scholarship has been criticized as Orientalism and Eurocentrism. The non Judeo-Christian faith gets used to dish out voyeurism and the tradition gets eroticized.
A. FACTUAL ERRORS
The following are a just a SMALL SAMPLING of examples of the factual errors that run rampant through this disgusting book. By due diligence that is badly overdue from your editors, you can either find for yourself, or we will be glad to direct you to, scholarly references so that you can verify these errors yourself and withdraw this obscenity.
[Page number precedes a reference to inaccurate statements in the book. This is followed by a comment citing verifiable facts.]
Maps in front pages: Maps titled ‘India’s Geographical Features’ and ‘India from 600 CE to 1600 CE’
COMMENT: In the first map, the Waziristan Hills area is marked erroneously as ‘Kirthar Range’. The Kirthar Range is at least 200 miles further south. In the third map, Janakpur, Nagarkot, Mandu and Haldighati are marked several hundred miles from their correct geographical location.
Pg. 67 - It is claimed that the entire Harappan culture had a population of 40,000!
COMMENT: This is estimated as the population of Mohenjo-Daro alone. The population of the entire culture is estimated around 500,000.
Pg 112 - Wheat is mentioned as a food item in the Rigvedic period.
COMMENT: Wheat is not mentioned in the Rigveda at all. It first occurs in the Maitrayani Samhita of the Yajurveda.
Pg 130 - The author claims that there are no Gods in the Vedas who are Shudras.
COMMENT: It is anachronistic to assign castes to Rigvedic deities, but nevertheless, Pushan, Vesmapati and others have been considered Shudra deities in later times.
Pg 194 fn.- Gandhi's commentary on the Gita (a sacred Hindu scripture) was titled 'Asakti Yoga' (translated as ‘the science of deep attachment’).
COMMENT: The title of Gandhi’s work is 'Anasakti Yoga' (trans. ‘Science of non-Attachment’).
Pg 206 - The book wrongly states that the Hindus had only a triad of passions.
COMMENT: Hindu scriptures list six main evils and the concept of shadripus (six internal enemies) is very well known.
Pg 441 - The book claims that Firoz Shah redeemed a number of Hindu slaves…
COMMENT: A misrepresentation of the fact that he employed (not ‘redeemed’) 12,000 of his 180,000 slaves forcibly in royal factories for producing articles of consumption by Muslim elites. No “manumission” was involved.
Pg 445 - Dates of Saint Kabir are given as 1450 – 1498.
COMMENT: His demise is believed to have occurred in 1518, and the traditional date of birth is 1398.
Pg 448 - In 713 Muhammad ibn Qasim invaded Sind.
COMMENT: Muhammad bin Qasim invaded Sind in 711.
Pg 450- It is claimed that Emperor Ala-ud-Din Khalji did not sack temples in Devagiri.
COMMENT: His contemporary Amir Khusro clearly mentions that the Emperor sacked numerous temples and raised mosques instead.
Pg 459 - King Ala-ud-din Husain of Bengal patronized Saint Chaitanya.
COMMENT: Saint Chaitanya never met the king, and left his kingdom to avoid persecution, as did his disciples. The king had destroyed Hindu temples in Orissa.
Pg 532 - Emperor Akbar moved his capital from Fatehpur Sikri to Delhi in 1586.
COMMENT: Emperor Akbar moved his capital to Lahore in 1587, and thereafter to Agra.
Pg 537-8 - The Sikh teacher Guru Govind Singh was assassinated in 1708, while 'attending Emperor Aurangzeb'. Emperor Aurangzeb died in 1707.
COMMENT: Guru Gobind Singh was assassinated in 1708 during the reign of Aurangzeb’s successor, Emperor Bahadur Shah I. It is insulting to say that the Guru was ‘attending’ on the Emperor.
Pg 550 - The book claims that Mirabai lived from 1498-1597, and then on p. 568, the author claims that Mirabai lived from 1450-1525!
COMMENT: Both dates are wrong and the commonly accepted dates are 1498-1547.
Pg 552 - The book claims that the Ramcharitmanas was written at Varanasi.
COMMENT: Both modern scholarship as well as tradition accept that the work (or at least most of it) was written in Ayodhya.
Section on Bibliography: “Shekhawat, V. “Origin and Structure of purushartha Theory: An attempt at Critical Appraisal.” Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research 7:1 (1900), 63-67.”
COMMENT:The correct issue and year of this Journal issue are actually 8:2 and 1991. The bibliography has dozens of errors. Some references cited by Doniger simply do not exist.
B. DEROGATORY, DEFAMATORY AND OFFENSIVE STATEMENTS
Clumsily written, each chapter is a shocking and appalling series of anecdotes which denigrate, distort and misrepresent Hinduism and the history of India and Hindus. Doniger uses selective quotations from obscure and non-original, peripheral and ignorant references with a bizarre emphasis on sexuality and eroticism. Cited below are only a handful of quotes along with our understanding and interpretation, with references from Hindu scripture.
[Page number precedes the quote from the book. This is followed by a rebuttal comment.]
Pg 40 – “If the motto of Watergate was ‘Follow the money’, the motto of the history of Hinduism could well be ‘Follow the monkey’ or, more often ‘Follow the horse’.”
COMMENT: Very derogatory and offensive. The motto of Hinduism is to follow the truth and unite with God.
Pg 112 - The author alleges that in Rigveda 10.62, it is implied that a woman may find her own brother in her bed!
COMMENT: The hymn has no such suggestion. It is offensive to suggest that the sacred text of Hindus has kinky sex in it.
Pg 128 - The book likens the Vedic devotee worshipping different Vedic deities to a lying and a philandering boyfriend cheating on his girlfriend(s).
COMMENT: This is offensive and ignores that fact that in the Rigveda, the gods are said to be all united, born of one another, and from the same source.
Pg 225 -“Dasharatha’s son is certainly ‘lustful’... Rama knows all too well what people said about Dasharatha; when Lakshmana learns that Rama has been exiled, he says, “The king is perverse, old, and addicted to sex, driven by lust (2.18.3)”
COMMENT: Sri Rama is revered and worshipped as a deity. The highly acclaimed and critical edition of Valmiki’s Ramayana records no such statement attributed to Lakshmana. An imagined phrase, 'kama-sakta' is mistranslated as 'addicted to sex' by the author whereas it normally means ‘filled with desires’. Valmiki uses a phrase 'samani-madhah' (trans. Possessed of passion).
Pg 467 - Harihara and Bukka (the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire that saved Hindu culture in S India) ‘double-crossed’ the Delhi Sultan when they reconverted to Hinduism.
COMMENT: The brothers committed apostasy as they had been imprisoned and forcibly converted to Islam, and immediately reverted to Hinduism when they were 1000 miles from the Sultan, under the influence of a Hindu ascetic.
Pg 468-469 -“…The mosque, whose serene calligraphic and geometric contrasts with the perpetual motion of the figures depicted on the temple, makes a stand against the chaos of India, creating enforced vacuums that India cannot rush into with all its monkeys and peoples and colors and the smells of the bazaar…”
COMMENT: It is simply unacceptable that a scholar can flippantly, pejoratively and derogatorily essentialize the Hindus as “monkeys and peoples, colors and smells.., and chaos” in most insulting manner with the aspersion thrown at the entire Hindu culture and community all over the world. Such generalization has no place in serious scholarly work.
Pg 509 - ”Shankara and the philosopher’s wife…This tale contrasts sex and renunciation in such a way that the renunciant philosopher is able to have his cake and eat it, to triumph not only in the world of the mind (in which, before this episode begins, he wins a series of debates against the nonrenouncing male Mimamsa philosopher) but in the world of the body, represented by the philosopher’s wife (not to mention the harem women who clearly prefer Shankara to the king in bed).” The author attributes the tale to Shankaradigvijaya of Madhava and to Ravichandra's commentary on Amarushataka.
COMMENT: The author concocts the story as a sexual orgy in which the Saint Adi Shankara and King Amruka take turns making love to the latter’s wives after he is tired. Both her sources however state that the King was already dead and the Saint transferred his soul into the dead King’s body through his yogic powers. There is no suggestion in the texts that the queens ‘prefer Shankara to the king in bed’.
Pg 571- It is alleged that in a hymn from Saint Kshetrayya’s poetry, ‘God rapes’ the women devotees.
COMMENT: The hymn merely presents devotion using spiritual metaphors and the hymns of the Saint seen collectively depict it as a passionate love affair between the God and the devotees. No rape is implied in this hymn at all.
Again, the above is simply a sampling of the scandalous and offensive statements in the book. By her own admission in the book, Doniger has no credentials as a historian and the title of the book is misleading as the book is not on the “History nor an Alternative History” of India. This shows that the author is not an authority on the subject as she is not able to understand the deep meaning of Sanskrit verses or Indian Concepts. These cast serious doubts about the author’s integrity as a researcher and ability to interpret accurately. Additional examples of the author’s shoddy scholarship will be made available upon request.
We emphasize that this defamatory book misinforms readers about the history of Hindu civilization, its cultures and traditions. The book promotes prejudices and biases against Hindus. Can Penguin’s editors really be incompetent enough to have allowed this to pass to publication? If this is not deliberate malice, Penguin must act now in good faith.
As concerned readers, we ask PENGUIN GROUP to:
1. WITHDRAW all the copies of this book immediately from the worldwide bookshops/markets/Universities/Libraries and refrain from printing any other edition.
2. APOLOGIZE for having published this book “The Hindus: An Alternative History”. This book seriously and grossly misrepresents the Hindu reality as known to the vast numbers of Hindus and to scholars of Hindu tradition. PENGUIN must apologize for failure to observe proper pre-publication scrutiny and scholarly review.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
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REFERENCES:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/239869/Online-campaign-seeks-ban-on-Doniger’s-book-on-Hindu-history.html
http://www.lokvani.com/lokvani/article.php?article_id=6329
LINK FOR THIS POSTING: http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2010/03/donigers-book-on-hindu-history.html
IF YOU WISH TO COMMENT: http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2010/03/donigers-book-on-hindu-history.html#comments
Swami Vivekananda gave a new meaning to the Hindu philosophy of tolerance.
As I was reading the article about Swami Vivekananda, several paragraphs struck me and I am inspired to write the following article.
When Swamiji talks about, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,” He was talking about religion is a pathway to spirituality. I had just responded to Mr. Yogi Sikand on an article about Dawah work in Islam by Maulana Wahiduddin, and Missionary work in Christianity.
In my note, I was hoping to read what the Dawah (an invitation to convert) was for? Is it to make one a Muslim or to guide the person to become the righteous one? Same question goes to Christianity, Sikh, Baha’i, Hindu and other traditions.
When Jesus said, “follow me”, Krishna said, “Surrender to me” and Allah says, “submit to my will”, the call was to follow God’s law of nature; to live cohesively and in harmony. It is about bringing a balance and equilibrium to everything we do. Balance is sustainable and extremity is not.
Personally I value every religion, and do not consider the need for any one to change his or her faith unless he or she finds solace in a different faith other than the one s/he is accustomed to. Every faith does what it is suppose to do to the believer; bring peace of mind. No one should compel one to convert or prevent one from converting, let one choose what one believes to bring tranquility to him and harmony with others. Let it be an individual’s choice. What difference does it make to you if I eat different food, wear different clothes and speak a different language?
Swamiji touches on diversity, indeed, because we are diverse we have survived if we were all one, we could have been wiped out with one single disease. Each one of us is endowed with a different thumb print, DNA, eye print etc, so let’s have a different faith as well. To repeat his words, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist,”
Conversion assumes a deficiency in the other faith and that is sheer arrogance. However, I would guide one to be a better Hindu, Jew, Christian, Muslim and ultimately a better human, which is the essence of every religion. Mahatma Gandhi had emphasized the same thought and Prophet Muhammad’s first model of education was to be truthful, trustworthy and caring and he was called Amin by the people around him. Jesus embraced every one without flinching, and accepted the otherness of other, in fact he said let’s condemn the sin but not sinner, that was the ultimate in inclusion or I call it Pluralism.
The other thought that really touched me was, “Swamiji was in favour of harmony among religious beliefs and against one religion for all.”
Indeed the Foundation for Pluralism is about that, and the Parliament of Worlds Religion has set the lofty but simple goals such as: harmony rather than unity, convergence of purpose rather than consensus of belief and facilitation rather than structuring.
Those of us who feel insecure about the interfaith movement and fear losing our identity or diluting it, please be assured that the goal of the Parliament is NOT to UNITE religions, but to facilitate a platform to learn about the others first hand and work together for the common good of mankind. 90% of religion is about doing common good; only 10% of it is rituals that give it its own uniqueness.
There is no proselytization element in any of the events the Parliament facilitates. You may love the theme in Melbourne, “hearing each other and healing the earth”. Indeed, that is the need of the day; hearing each other first hand.
The City of Chicago has honored the Swami by naming a street after him, and now get ready to honor the Swami again in 2014 at the Parliament of World’s religions in Brussels. Save the monies and get ready. Insha Allah, God willing, see you there with a topic on Swami Vivekananda.
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Mike Ghouse, President of America Together foundation is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day, and is available to speak at your place of worship, work or in seminars and conferences.
Through the Foundation for Pluralism, Mike champions the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, and is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. His work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
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Happy Ganesh Chaturthi
Among Hindus there is beautiful tradition of invoking that aspect of God which removes barriers and paves the way for a smoother life. The icon that represents this aspect of God is known as Ganesh, Ganesha, or Vinayak depending on the region, most Hindus around the world invoke Ganesh before they start any thing in life from starting their day, to opening a new business or wearing new clothes or starting a social ceremony.
I see the essence in a ritual, rather than the ritual itself. The act of invoking the creator sets oneself on a positive path. One starts out with a good feeling that God is with him or her and will remove the barriers for him. That is the power of positive thinking that Napoleon Hill has talked about; it is psyching oneself up to do the right thing and succeed.
Every faith finds value in rituals, indeed the rituals are pathways to spiritual attainment. From the moment we are born to the last rites of our life and every moment in between is loaded with rituals whether we admit or not. Whether we go to the gym, eat our food; go to sleep, wake up, wear our clothes, drive some place or in our intimate moments; we follow rituals.
The great Hindu sage Sri Ramakrishna shares this, "There can be as many spiritual paths as there are spiritual aspirants, and as many Gods as there are devotees." One of the hallmarks of Hindu spirituality is the worship of this infinite diversity of the One Unknowable God in a multiplicity of forms. To this I am pleased to add that as beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, faith is in the heart of the believer.
Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten day festival commencing on August 23rd and ending on September 3rd Every evening people gather around the Icon of Ganesh made out of clay and celebrate it with devotion, entertainment and community gatherings.
I grew up in Yelahanka my mother town, a suburb of Bangalore. Every year the Ganesha Chaturthi was celebrated for nearly ten days. A huge tent was set up on the main street across my home, and big clay Icon of Ganesha was placed in the tent. For ten nights different music bands came and sang the most popular Kannada and Bollywood songs, or a learned Hindu scholar would share the wisdom of Hinduism known as Hari Katha. I remember a Hari Krishn Pahwal, the Qawwali singer from North India who would sing Qawwali in Urdu in praise of Ganesh at least one of the 9 nights. It was quite a treat for us kids.
On the tenth day, the Ganesh Icon is carried on a chariot with pomp and gaiety to the lake and immersed in the water to dissolve.
On the culinary side it was a delightful time, as kids we looked forward to it every year. We visited many homes in that month; particularly my father’s buddy Bellur Muniyappa’s home. They fixed the “obbattu” the pancake like item with sweet and sour soup called “saaru” and the “Kanola’s” the dumpling made out of Jaggery, coconut and flour. I fondly remember my Grandmother making delicious Obbattu, Saar and Kanola’s. Heck, I long for it.
Ganesh Chaturthi has its origins at the beginning of Sanatana Dharma, usually known as Hinduism. However, the festival took its present form in 1893 when Lokmanya Tilak, the Hindu Social reformer initiated it.
Tilak wanted to build bridges between different Hindu communities and saw the commonality of worshiping Ganesh among different sects. “Tilak recognized the wide appeal of the deity Ganesh as "the god for everybody", and popularized Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival in order "to bridge the gap between Brahmins and 'non-Brahmins' and find a context in which to build a new grassroots unity between them", and generate nationalistic fervor among people in Maharashtra against the British colonial rule”.
Tilak encouraged installation of large public images of Ganesh in pavilions, and also established the practice of submerging in rivers, sea, or other pools of water all public images of the deity on the tenth day after Ganesh Chaturthi.
Under Tilak's encouragement, the festival facilitated community participation and involvement in the form of intellectual discourses, poetry recitals, performances of plays, musical concerts, and folk dances. It served as a meeting ground for people of all castes and communities in times when, in order to exercise control over the population, the British Rule discouraged social and political gatherings.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
TEXAS FAITH: Should Christians (and other non-Hindus) beware of yoga?
Oct 19, 2010 - Dallas Morning News
Sam Hodges/Reporter
Here's what we posed this week to the Texas Faith panel:
The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler, caused a stir with a recent column decrying the practice of yoga by Christians. He did a follow-up, not backing down, but noting the fierce reaction to his original piece.
Mohler wrote the column after reading Stefanie Syman's book The Subtle Body: The Story of Yoga in America, which describes how yoga has been adapted and secularized here.
Mohler concluded the column this way: "Christians who practice yoga are embracing, or at minimum flirting with, a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a `post-Christian, spiritually polyglot' reality. Should any Christian willingly risk that?"
If you agree with Mohler, why? If you don't, do you see anything objectionable about how a Hindu spiritual practice has morphed into something quite commercial and secular in this country - including "power yoga" and "hot yoga"? Are there cautions you would give to Westerners who want to borrow from non-Western religious traditions?
Or should everyone, including Al Mohler, just limber up and chill out?
After the jump, you'll find the panelists' responses:
MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas
Mohler seems to be threatened by the popularity of yoga, a beautiful practice to bring composure to oneself. He is obsessed with the idea that yoga is a bait to lure his congregation away into "a spiritual practice that threatens to transform their own spiritual lives into a `post-Christian, spiritually polyglot' reality", and then he asks, "Should any Christian willingly risk that?" How mistaken can one be? Yoga is not a mutually exclusive practice, nor is it a religion; it is indeed a catalyst in achieving the union of mind and body that is central to all spirituality.
A similar call was made in Malaysia a year ago. The Muslim clerics said yoga was Hinduizing their faith and wanted to ban the practice. Likewise, the radicals among Hindus routinely vandalize stores that sell Valentine cards, claiming that is an invasion of their culture.
The insecurity of self-proclaimed guardians of faith is exhibited by their desire to keep a tighter leash on their followers without realizing that humans are born to be free.
When you are scattered with too many things in a given moment, you take a break, have a cup of coffee, go for a walk, meditate or make a list. This act of refreshing oneself is called yoga, getting your act together, bringing your body and mind together to function well.
Yoga is neither Christian nor Hindu; it is a beautiful gift that originated in India for the benefit of mankind.
Other opinions at - http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/texas-faith-should-non-hindus.html
Happy Diwali - the essence of Diwali
Diwali is the Indian festival of lights and light symbolizes hope and positive energy, it indicates the victory of good over evil; a new beginning; seeing the light at the end of tunnel and light is also a symbol of knowledge as it is an internationally used.
People decorate their homes with lights and Rangoli (explained below). Their surroundings filled with colorful light to enliven the day, to mark the dawn of a new era in one's life.
Although Diwali is a Hindu tradition, people of all faiths in India participate in celebrations - Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and others.
My childhood is filled with good memories of Diwali; the sparklers, the food and everything joyous you can imagine.
Happy Diwali to you my friends, may this Diwali bring happiness, serenity and peace to you. Amen!
RANGOLI THEMES (Adapted from various sites)
Those who are experts in art, they can do Rangoli designs on the floor with free hand. Some draw the pattern in a paper and fill it with colors. There are some who draw the outline with chalk and fill it with papers. There are different Rangoli themes with symbols like Swastika, Om, Mangal kalash, Chakra, a lighted Deepak Images Flowers Trees Creepers Birds, Elephants, Dancing figures, Geometric patterns such as circles, semi-circles, triangles, squares and rectangles etc.
Ingredients used in Rangoli traditionally are rice powder and the colors derived from natural dyes from barks of trees, leaves, indigo, etc. were used. Today however, synthetic dyes are used in a range of different colors. Rangoli being mainly a floor art, varied ingredients are used like as follows: Powdered colors, finely grounded rice flour Turmeric Glitters Natural flowers etc. Rangoli can be given a three-dimensional art effect by applying cereals, pulses either in their natural coloring or tinted with natural dyes.
They are beautiful, wonderful creations of art indeed. You can take ideas from these designs and make a beautiful Rangoli this Diwali.
30 Pictures of Rangoli :
Texas Faith: Beyond King, which religious leader(s) has had an impact?
Beyond King, which religious leader has had a major impact on American Politics and culture. Ten Texas Faith Panelists share their thoughts, here is Mike’s perspective, to see them all including this, please go to Dallas Morning News:
Mike Ghouse, President, Foundation for Pluralism
I am pleased to share about a few Pluralist individuals who are making a difference in the religious landscape of Dallas Fort Worth.
Pluralism is an attitude of learning to respect the otherness of others, and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us. As we do that, conflicts fade and solutions emerge to create a cohesive America where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. In the context of religion, we define Religious pluralism as, learning to respect every which way one honors or worships the divine and accepts each path to be a valid one without denigrating any.
Pastor Bob Roberts of Northwood Baptist Church from Keller, Texas was clear when he opened up his church to a thousand Muslims for celebrating Ramadan. He said, you have your beliefs and your faith and I have mine, no matter how you view Jesus.
I take him as a son of God and my redeemer and the Muslims understood that and still talk about his eloquence. About a year and a half ago, when Pastor Jeffress said his famous line, Quraan is an evil book written by a false prophet; Bob Roberts wrote an op-ed in Dallas Morning News countering the poor understanding of the other Pastor, there were huge discussions on it honoring Bob Roberts for leading the way in accepting the otherness of other.
Pastor George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church has helped me understand and propagate the grace aspect of God, it is not just your actions and deeds that are enough, but God’s ultimate grace is needed for salvation. This is one of the differences in understanding between Muslims and Christians and his teachings have built some bridges of understanding.
The Pastor of the Unification Church, Rev. Sun Myung Moon who is making a genuine difference in the world of Pluralism by practicing respect for other faiths in his congregations and organizations throughout the world.
I am highlighting Pastors Roberts and Mason, because they are Baptists of big Churches. There is a bias against Baptists out there in the market that I hope to remove. Each religion has its own share of bigots and we need to see that clearly.
Indeed, our first Unity Day event’s Christian prayers were led by Late Rev. Roy Harrell another Baptist Minister. There are many more great pastors I admire for their work; Rev. Bill Matthews, Rev. Petra Weldes, Rev. Diane Baker, Rev. Eric Folkerth, Rev. Dennis Hamilton and several others who are making a difference in our area.
The open mindedness of Swami Nityananda Prabhu of Hare Krishna Hindu Temple; a panelist on this forum is admirable. Where ever I run, people love to talk about his teachings from Bhagvad Gita on my Radio Show, called Wisdom of Religion. He has indeed opened up minds of non-Hindus to see the wisdom of Hinduism.
Dr. Imam Zia Shaikh of Irving Islamic Center has broken many records of stereotyping Muslims; one of the situations was when he led the Pledge of Allegiance in one of the annual Unity day programs. I was rather surprised to hear from a few calling me up to tell that, they did not expect a Muslim Imam to lead the pledge of Allegiance and they said we will not stereotype Muslims any more.
He is active in interfaith and perhaps one devoted and a committed Muslim who has attended every interfaith program in the last five years and he has demonstrated in respecting the other otherness of other.
Same goes with Dr. Imam Yusuf Zia Kavakci of Richardson Mosque, who is considered one of the 100 recognized Muslims Scholars in the world. The Muslims in Dallas Fort worth hear and see the open mindedness of these two scholars towards other faiths. Both of them are nurturing the values of pluralism in their congregations; that is thousands of Muslims in our area who are influenced by their teachings.
Each one of them is all about affection for life, non-discriminatory caring. They do not favor one person over the other for the heck of it, instead, they look at the good deeds, which Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] described as the good you can do to other beings, the goodness you bring to God's creation.
Mike's note: There are many more individuals who have done tremendous work in the Dallas Forth Worth Metroplex, God willing, I hope to write about them as well.
Happy Janamashtami
One of my best inspirations comes from Bhagvad Gita, the following verse or shloka turned my life around " finding the truth is one's own responsibility" and all my work on Religion and Pluralism emantes from that. It is a very powerful statement.
The other Sholoka Sri DD Maini shares with me frequently is - do your work, and don't look for the fruit.. Indeed, you may want to think about the meaning in it. When you set out to do some good, don't fail yourselves with negative thoughts, if you fail yourselves why should any one want you to succeed? Let the invisible creator make that call. You just do it.
When I was a baby, I was dressed up as Krishna (baby) as on in the picture on the left, and a matka (vessel made of clay) with Makhan (butter) was placed infront me and apparently I did just like Sri Krishna did with the Makhan... my pictures were in many homes...I have to go find them... after 57 years!
I grew up with all the beautiful traditions of Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains and Zoroastrians in my town, never thinking it was their festival or ours, festival is every one's way of being with friends and family. My Dad was the Mayor the town of Yelahanka, a suburb of Bangalore. In fact my home is the home of Bangalore's founder - Kempe Gowda. When I was born, I was circulating in every one's hands in the town. I was donned as Bala (kid) Krishna and my pictures were in all his friends homes. I ask my brothers and sister to reach out to families of Gopal Gowda, Ramaswamy, Shankrappa and Bellur Muniyappa, they have the pictures of me as Krishna when I was a toddler. Those folks are all gone but their kids are still around.
When Najma and I were in Brindavan to visit the birth place of Sri Krishna, it was very inspiring to think about the man who changed so many lives, and I was privileged to see that place where he was born. Krishna is one my mentors and inspiration in life and hope to learn a lot from reading about him. Indeed, one of the best teachers in Bhagvad Gita is Swami Nityananda Prabhu at the Hare Krishna Temple in Dallas. He and I have spent over 100 hours talking about Hinduism and Bhagvad Gita on my Radio talk show "wisdom of religion, all the beautiful religions"He shares the Pluralistic vision of Sri Krishna.
We bought several song tapes out in Brindavan, ... . I was frustrated as I could not find the song by Rafi and Lata... Sonu had made so many copies of it that Rafi's original version had become rare. Finally we found it in a remote store and enjoy it very much.
Here is my favorite Janmasthami Song
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Sri Krishna is one of my mentors along with Prophet Muhammad, Gandhi, MLK, Jesus and a few others. These souls were committed to peace and co-existence, they wanted nothing but goodness for human beings.
I have quite extensively written about vasudeva Kutumbakam , it is the ultimate essence of all faiths. The idea of one God or oneness of God is another expression of Vasudava Kutumbakam - the whole world is one family....
Quraan mentions that God has sent 124,000 messengers to the world - meaning God did not leave out any one, 124000 is number to indicate reaching out to every one. God has not excluded any group. Sri Krishna says, whereever unrighteousness emerges, I will emerge and bring the righteousness (dharma) back. Both mean bringing sanity to people when they are not - most people get that messages and few don't.
Hare Krishna to ya'll.
108 NAMES OR EXPRESSIONS OF THE NAME KRISHNA
Acala-dharaka – He who lifted the Govardhana-hill
Acyuta –He who is infallible
Aghasura-vinasi – He who defeated Agha-demon
Barhavatamsaka – He who wears a peacock-feather
Bhakta-vatsala – He who is affectionate towars His devotees
Bhramaka – He who is a cheat
Bimbasya – He whose lips are like bimba-fruits
Caru-locana – He who has beautiful eyes
Caura-jara-sikha-mani – He who is the crest-jewel of thieves
Dama-baddhahvayi – He who was bound with a rope
Damodara – He who was bound around the belly
Danindra-candra – He who is the king of moonlike tax-collectors
Dhenukasura-sanghata – He is the killer of the ass-demon Dhenuka
Dina-bandhu – He who is the friend of the fallen
Ghana-syama – He who is of a darkish colour (ghana and syama both mean darkish, blackish)
Giridhari – He who is the lifter of Govardhan
Girivaradhari – He who is lifter of Govardhan, the greatest of mountains
Gokulananda – He who gives bliss to Gokula
Gokulananda-kari – He who is the cause of Gokula’s bliss
Gokula-bandhu – The friend of Gokula
Gokula-candra – He who is the moon of Gokula
Gokula-ranjana – He who delights Gokula
Gokula-vallabha – He who is dear to Gokula
Gokulendra – He who is the king of Gokula
Gopala – He who is a cowherd-boy
Gopala-kamini-jara – He who is the paramour lover of the passionate cowherd ladies
Gopala-ramani-bharta – He who is the master of the young wives of the cowherds
Gopali-citta-harta – He who stole the minds of the gopis
Gopanganavrta – He who is surrounded by beautiful-limbed cowherd ladies
Gopa-nari-priya – He who is dear to the wives of the cowherd men
Gopa-svami – He who is the lord of the cowherds
Gopa-vesa-dhara – He who is dressed like a cowherd
Go-patha – He who follows the path of cows
Gopati – He who is the master of cows
Gopati-nandana – He who is the prince of the cowherds
Gopendra-nandana – He who is the son of the king of cowherds
Gopika-priti-ranjana – He who delights the gopis with His love
Gopi-jana-vallabha – He who is dearmost for the gopis
Gopinatha – He who is the master of the gopis, or He whose master are the gopis
Gopika-nayanananda – He who delights the eyes of the gopis
Gopika-prana-vallabha – He who is lord of the lives of the gopis
Gopi-kanta – He who is the lover of the gopis
Gopi-prana-dhana – He who is wealth of the life of the gopis
Gopi-priya-jana – He who is the dearmost of the gopis
Gopi-raksana – He who protects the gopis
Gopi-vastra-haraka – He who stole the gopis’ clothes
Gopi-vimohana – He who enchants all the gopis
Gotra – He who is the protector of cows
Govardhana-dhari – He who held up Govardhan with His hand
Govinda – He who gives pleasure to cows, gopis, gopas and senses
Govinda-gopala – He who is the cowherd boy who gives pleasure to cows, gopis and gopas
Hari – He who steals
Indivara-dala-syama – He is dark like a blue lotus petal
Kama-kala-nidhi – He who is expert in amorous arts
Kamalabha – He who is like a lotus
Kamalaksa – He who has lotus-eyes
Kami – He who is passionate
Kana – An affectionate nickname of Krishna
Kanhaiya – An affectionate nickname of Krishna
Kala-nidhi – He who is a treasurehouse of artistic skils
Kalindi-prema-puraka – He who is a flood of love flowing in the Yamuna
Kaliya-damana – He who subdues the Kaliya serpent
Kamadeva – He who is the god of love
Kamala-locana – He who has lotus eyes
Kamala-mukha-lolaksa – He who looks at Radha’s face with eager eyes
Kamala-patraksa – He whose eyes are like the petals of lotus flowers
Kandarpa – He who is like Cupid
Kandarpa-dipanah – He who awakens amorous desires
Kandarpa-koti-lavanya – He who is equal to millions of Cupids
Karuna-sindhu – He who is an ocean of mercy
Kesava – He who has beautiful hair
Kesi-ha – He who killed the Kesi-demon
Kesi-vadha – He who killed the Kesi-demon
Kisora – He who is a youthful boy
Kokila-svara-bhusana – He who is ornamented with a voice like that of the cuckoo-birds
Krpa-kara – He who is merciful
Krsna-candra – The moonlike all-attractive one
Kunja-bihari – He who enjoys in the forest groves
Lavanya-lahari-sindhuh – He who is an ocean of waves of handsomeness
Lila-kamala-pujita – He who is worshiped with a pastime lotus
Lila-manusa-vigraha – He who enjoys pastimes in a human form
Madana-manohara – He who steals the mind of Cupid
Madana-mohana – He who enchants Cupid
Madana-gopala – He who is a Cupid-like cowherd boy
Madhava – He who is beautiful like the spring-season, who is intoxicating like honey-wine, and who …
Madhumardana – He who extracts honey
Madhusudana – He who defeated the Madhu-demon, or He who defeats honey in sweetness, and He is the husband (dhava) of all beauty (ma).
Mala-kara – He who makes garlands
Manohara – He who captures the mind
Mina-ketana – He who is like Cupid
Mukunda – He who is the giver of liberation
Murali-manohara – He who enchants with his fluteplaying
Murali-vadana – He who is the player of flute
Murari – He who is the enemy of Mura-demon
Nagara – He who is a lover
Nanda-dulala – He who is the dear son of Nanda
Nanda-gopala – He who is the cowherd boy of Nanda
Nanda-kumara – He who is the son of Nanda
Nanda-nandana – He who is the son of Nanda
Nanda-kisora – He who is the youthful son of Nanda
Nanda-suta – He who is the son of Nanda
Nanda-tanuja - He who is the son of Nanda
Navanitasana – He who enjoys fresh butter
Navanita-taskara – He who steals fresh butter
Nava-yauvana – He who is eternally youthful
Navina nirada – He who is like a fresh raincloud
Parama-karuna – He who is supremely merciful
Phullaravinda-nayana – He whose eyes are like blossoming lotuses
Pitambara – He who is dressed in yellow clothes
Prananatha – He who is the lord of life (of the Vrajavasis)
Prema-niketana – He who is a divine abode of prema
Priya-karaka – He who acts in a lovely way
Pundarika – He who is like a lotus flower
Pundarikaksa – He whose eyes are like lotuses
Putana-moksa-dayaka – He who liberated Putana
Radhalingana-sammoha – He who is bewildered by Radha’s embraces
Radharadhayita – He who worships Radha
Radha-citta-pramodaka – He who delights the mind of Radha
Radha-hrdayambhoja-satpada – He who is the bumblebee attracted to the lotus of Radha’s heart
Radha-kama-phala-prada – He who gives the fruit of Radha’s desires
Radha-kanta – He who is a lover of Radha
Radha-manmatha-vaibhava – He who is the Cupid who attracts Radha
Radha-mohana – He who enchants Radha
Radha-mukhabja-martanda – He who is the sun who makes the lotus of Radha’s face bloom
Radha-nartana-kautuka – He who is eager to dance with Radha
Radha-nayaka – He who is the lover of Radha
Radha-natha – He who is the lord of Radha
Radha-pati – He who is the master of Radha
Radha-prana-natha –He who is the lord of Radha’s life
Radha-prana-sama – He to whom Radha is as dear as His life
Radha-ramana – He who gives pleasure to Radha
Radha-rati-sukhopeta – He who enjoys amorous pastimes with Radha
Radha-sanjata-sampriti – He who is overjoyed because of Radha
Radha-vadanabja-madhuvrata – He who is a bee attracted to Radha’ lotus face
Radha-vallabha – He who is the beloved of Radha
Radha-vasi-kara – He who fascinates Radha
Radhikanandana – He who gives bliss to Radhika
Radhika-ranjana – He who delights Radhika
Radhika-ramana – He who gives pleasure to Radhika
Radhikanatha – He who is the lord of Radhika
Rajiva-locana – He whose eyes are like lotuses
Rama – He who gives pleasure, He who enjoys
Ranga – He who enjoys
Ranga-mahiruha – He who is a tree of enjoyment
Ranjaka – He who is charming
Ranjana – He who is charming
Rasavihari – He who is the enjoyer of rasa
Rasaraja – He who is the king of relishers
Rasa-rasayana – He who brings nectar of life to the rasa-dance
Rasika-sekhara – He who is the best among enjoyers of rasa
Rasikendra-sekhara – He who is the king among the best relishers of rasa
Rasikendra-cudamani – He who is the crown-jewel among the kings of rasa
Sankhacuda-vadhoddama – He who killed Sankhacuda-demon
Sarva-kama-pradayaka – He who is the fulfiller of all desires
Sikhanda-cudaya – He who wears a peacock-feather in His head
Sindura-tulitadharah – He whose lips are red like sindura
Srngara-murti – He who is the very form of amorous love
Subha-darsana – He who is beautiful to behold
Su-bhru-yugala – He whose two eyebrows are beautiful
Su-kapola-yuga – He whose two cheeks are beautiful
Su-lalataka – He whose forehead is beautiful
Sundara – He who is beautiful
Syama – He who has a darkish complexion
Syamasundara – The beautiful, bluish Krishna
Tribhangi – He whose form is bent from three places
Trnavartantaka – He who was the end of Trinavarta demon
Ujjvala-vigraha – He who is the very form of conjugal love
Ulukhali – He who was bound to a grinding mortar
Vanamali – He who wears a beautiful garland of forest flowers
Vamsi-dhari – He who carries a flute in with Him
Vamsi-vihari – He who rejoices in playing His flute
Vamsi-gopala – He who is the flute playing cowherdboy
Vamsivata-vihari – He who enjoys at Vamsivata
Venu-vadya-visarada – He who is an expert flute-player
Visalaksa – He who has large eyes
Vraja-jana-palana – He who protects the Vrajavasis
Vraja-mohana – He who bewilders Vraja
Vraja Uttamsa – The flower-crown of Vraja
Vrajendra-nandana – He who is the son of the king of Vraja
Vrajera rakhala – He who is the protector of Vraja
Vrndapati – He who is the master of Vrinda
Vrndavana-candra – He who is the moon of Vrindavana
Vrndavana-cara – He who roams in the forests of Vrindavana
Vrndavana-natavara – He who is the most expert dancer in Vrindavana
Vrsabhanusuta-pati – He who is the master of the daughter of Vrisabhanu
Vrsasura-vighataka – He who defeated the Vrisa (Arista) demon.
Yamalarjuna-mukti-da – He who liberated the Yamalarjuna-trees
Yamuna-tira-sacari – He who wanders on the banks of Yamuna
Yasoda-dulala – He who is the darling son of Yasoda
Yasoda-khani-mani – He who is a jewel from Yasoda’s womb
Yasoda-nandana – He who is Yasoda’s son
Yasoda-vatsala – He who loves Yasoda
Yasoda-yasa – He who is the fame of Yasoda
Yasomati-nandana – He who is Yasoda’s son.
........................................... these names are shared by Kavita
Pastor Robert Jeffress and his bigotry
I am surprised that the Israel Lobby has spared this man. He has not spared Mormons, Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus in his rants.
The intent of this piece is to understand Pastor Jeffress, unless more research is un-earthed, he seems to be another one of those Tiltons, Bakers et all duping his congregation with falsities in the name of Christ.
One listen to his sermon can unravel so much about this man.
I was in his Church on Sunday, September 12, 2010. He wanted 400 of his congregation members to sign up on the Pastors special committee; he would not proceed with the sermon unless he had the count. Their goal was to bring at least one potential convert to the church through the fall, spring and summer seasons.
He is an incredible mathematical genius – assuming he figured 2400 new converts at $ 1000 per head would give him in excess of $2million in revenues of which some will go to the expansion and the rest as a reward for his work. During his sermon he shared the story of one of the convert founders who had donated over a million dollars and continues to dole out the monies. The Pastor was seeing the rainfall of green bucks.
In his sermon he told that he would walk and put the fire out on a Jewish home, but on the 3rd day he said on Fox News that he refers to his sermon and because Muslim were listening to him, to look good, he falsified the statement and said that he would put the fire out on a Muslim Home. Both the videos should be available on FSB site and of course Fox news.
In the same sermon he said, “No other religions teaches purpose of life, except Christianity”. Later on in the lobby I had a conversation with him – that Baha’i, Hindu and Islam and other faiths teach the purpose of life – to serve God and his creation. I asked him if he had studied other religions to have made that claim. He simply ignored the question. By the way, most clergy in most religions make the very same false exclusive claims. Shame on them for faking in the name of religion.
What made me visit the church with a fellow Muslim and a non-Baptist Christian was his comment a week earlier, “Quraan is an evil book written by a false prophet" and amazingly his congregation clapped and gave a standing ovation for a hateful speech in the name of Christ. I implored him to tell the truth or at least find the truth and share it with his congregation; he refused even to find the truth for his own congregation. In that speech, he was berating Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. I am really surprised how the Jewish community let him get away with it, he may be the only one or they may look to him as a looney barking aimlessly. I am glad the African Americans and Jewish Americans will nail any one for one wrong word against them; Muslims need to learn from them and not take the crap from these men.
Pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress did not take up my challenge to host the Quraan debate on his own turf. I offered him copies of the Quraan translation by Muhammad Asad, giving him the benefit of doubt that he may have read two false translations out of 25 some translations. Steve Blow of Dallas Morning News framed my interview very well, “In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders. Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.” I asked the Pastor to invite all the Islamophobes and do a conference and put the falsities behind and look for better relations.
He had the biggest challenge of his life and he chickened out. “Pastor, I will present the right Quraan translation to you, you gather all the Islamophobes and let’s have a talk. If you find three evil things in the Quraan, I will abandon my religion Islam and join your Church, the Baptist Church.” On the other hand I asked him, not to become a Muslim but join me in creating cohesive socieities by respecting the otherness of other, which was a call from Jesus Christ to create heaven on the earth; blessed are the peace makers".
We did the most amazing conference on Quraan addressing difficult verses by Non-Muslims clergy bringing a graceful closure to Pastor Jeffress rants.
Myths are manufactured about others without any substantiation; it is an old business of maligning others to have a momentary gain. Quraan is challenged by Pastor Robert Jeffress, Pat Robertson, Terry Jones, Fred Phelps and others who have not made any effort to find the truth, let alone understand the book.
Ever since we declared our independence, we have been tested time and again by various political, economic and religious forces to divide us, however, at the end we have come out strong as one nation. The Civil War, the Great Depression, the World War, Pearl Harbor, Women’s rights, Abortion, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Budget Deficits, Unemployment, 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan War have all been difficult, but we will make it through and sanity will prevail. The Quraan conference, Understanding GLBT, Quraan, Anti-Semitism, race, gender and other issues are American issues and not Jewish, Muslim or African American issues. We understand that a few are committed to pitting one American against the other for their own gains.
We have to find sustainable solutions by
Links in the article:
1. The Quraan Conference Program http://quraanconference.blogspot.com/2010/12/quraan-conference-program-sequence.html
2. List of difficult Passages in Quraan
3. Graceful Closure to Robert Jeffress rants
4. Americans together
HINDUISM & AMERICAN PLURALISM
Mike Ghouse
What role does Hinduism play in the emerging pluralistic society? The author Jakob De Roover explores it well in the following article (after my comments)
It is critical that, we the theists and the atheists get involved in the interfaith activities to begin with. To create a harmonious society, we ought to take the initiative and not wait for things to happen. We got to be involved in attending weddings, funerals, social events, dinners, festivities, birthdays etc. The more we know each other, the fewer problems we will have. We should not wait for others to stretch the hand, we need to get up and be a part of the system.
The Foundation for Pluralism was created to bring semblance to co-existence. It has taken the initiative to present all religions in its programs. The goal is to bring people of different faiths together and provide a platform for them to share about their beliefs, their systems and rituals, while expanding the knowledge zone of each group. The more we co-exist harmoniously, the brighter the future would be, for all.
There is nothing in it for me friends, except the joy of the Mukti from prejudices. I have put in a whole lot of money out of my pocket and spend hours and hours on these programs. I have not sought any business nor has any one given any. This is purely what I feel, I should do. As they say, it is my calling.
The radio programs that I did for years, and the programs I have done one KRLD and the 1360 Business Radio, in my newspaper I published or any event I have done, I have always included every faith with the intention of building bridges. Even the letters that I have written to Dallas Morning News, I have included other faiths. (The above two paragraphs are in response to two extremists who think I am doing this to promote my business, which I have not done in any of my emails. Thanks God, no one can say that they have given business to me because of this). My personal faith teaches me to honor every human that God has created. I do take a strong stand against those who are exclusivist and fascists. I am open to talking with extremists from all groups, because, ultimately Satyemeva Jayate.
We have set up this program to promote understanding; there will be one for each faith, a month.
We hope at least 10% of the attendees would walk out with an open mind and an open heart towards their fellow beings. It is difficult to shed the prejudices, but once we do, there is genuine freedom (Mukti, Moksha, Salvation, Nirvana.) in it.
UNDERSTANDING HINDUISM: Sunday, Feb 25, 2007 @6 PM Everything you wanted to know about Hinduism, you can learn about it in this workshop.
As with all faiths, misunderstandings, myths and mis-information are part of Hinduism as well. Learn about it. Learn about the diversity within the faith. The event is at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 14315 Midway Road, Addison, TX 75001. You MUST RSVP to: ConfirmAttendance@gmail.com
We have received 4 essays on Hinduism so far, and looking forward to more.
Several topics have been suggested by our readers, and all of them are good, and are worth discussing and learning and will be taken up. By the way, every one thinks their topic is the one to be talked about and I agree with them. We just have to queue them.
Caste System is the one of the most misunderstood aspects of Hinduism. I hope you’d agree with it. All of us need to learn so we can truly understand its range and depth from the scholars in Hinduism. It is an open program.
When we put Sharia as the topic to learn about Islam – The same question was asked by Muslims around, Why Sharia? The answer remains the same.
No matter what topic you pick, the questions will be the same and answer would be the same. If you have 40 hours a week to listen to all the topics, we can do a weeklong seminar… no one has the time. We can only chew one item at a time and ... just a few people at a time can do that.
One of the things all of us need to work on is “Not to assume and ascribe ill-intent to any step that any one takes to understand an issue”.
Essay does not ask for anything in specific, it simply calls for every one’s understanding of Hinduism. During the program our scholars will be addressing any question including Caste system or other questions that may come up in the 30 minutes time we have as a part of the program.
To do full justice - we need a whole day. How many will come? We just have to learn to be precise.
Mike Ghouse
Paganism and American Pluralism
The India Forum has published an article by Jakob De Roover (a post-doc fellow at Ghent University) concerning the future of "pagans" from India (or NRIs Non-Resident Indians) within the context of American pluralism. De Roover points out that the American idea of pluralism (the affirmation and acceptance of diversity) is strongly rooted in Protestant Christianity and will not accept non-monotheistic "pagans" easily."...the American model of pluralism is unable to accommodate these pagan traditions.
This is the case, because its structure has emerged from a co-existence of Protestant denominations. Maximally, the resulting model could encompass other variants of the religions of the book: Catholicism, Judaism and Islam. Incorporating the pagan traditions of India, however, will require a fundamental rethinking of American pluralism.
"De Roover uses the California Hindu textbook controversy as an example of the problems facing the religious accommodation of Hindus in America, and shows how the American version of pluralism tries to make non-monotheistic religions reshape into a more recognizable Protestant form.
"The structure of American pluralism and the nature of the Hindu traditions give rise to two options. These options present themselves as routes that can be traveled by the NRI community in the coming years. On the one hand, the pagan traditions of India could renounce their true nature and transform themselves into variants of biblical religion. Then they will soon fit in as well in the American model of pluralism as the Jews and Muslims. On the other hand, these pagan traditions can remain true to their nature and explicitly represent themselves as completely different from the religions of the book. Then they will turn into a major challenge to American pluralism: the very structure of this model will require rethinking in order to accommodate the Hindu traditions.
"According to the article, the route taken by prominent American Hindu groups is one of transformation in order to make themselves less "pagan" seeming."
A limited number of foundations have been appointed (or have appointed themselves) as the representatives of the Hindu traditions in the U.S.: the Hindu American Foundation and the Vedic Foundation are most prominent. These foundations play according to the rules of the notions of church and religion that are intrinsic to American pluralism. They challenge the unfair portrayal of the Hindu traditions in the American educational system. But they do so in a manner which advances the transformation of these traditions into inferior variants of Christianity.
They intend to present the true doctrines of Hinduism and do so by making it look respectable to American Protestants. That is, the many devatas are transformed into different ways of worshiping the one true God. Hinduism becomes a proper monotheistic faith. A variety of pagan Indian traditions are excluded because they are embarrassing to the sanitized biblical model of American pluralism.
"This discussion is hugely important, not only for Hindus living in America, but for the variety of modern Pagan faiths and traditions. In fact this very discussion has been ongoing in our community in debates over Pagan participation in Unitarian-Universalism and other congregational models. Do we retain our essential "pagan-ness" or do we, over time, slowly mold into an more acceptable form so that we can reap the benefits of the more mainstream monotheistic faiths? If congregational models become the "mainstream" of modern Paganism, are they even "pagan" any longer?
Hindu Muslim Dialogue
An innovative approach to Hindu-Muslim dialogue
This reminds me of my College Professor Ramachandran and my weaver friend Fakhru Bhai; a Hindu and a Muslim respectively and I used to discuss and understand the wisdom of each aspect of religion.
As a Muslim I see great efforts on the part of Muslims to relate with Hindus, it is an effort; however, due to the complex plurality of Hindu belief system, it is much easier for a Hindu to relate with a Muslim than otherwise on a theological basis.
Muslims subtly condition themselves to relate with Hindus based on their reference to God, as one God. Although God is formless in both scriptures, subconsciously most humans give a form and insist on identifying with that One God, as though it is a physical being. Given that, the efforts of Syed Abdullah Tariq must be appreciated.
However, the common Hindus and Muslims, the ones who do not wear religious neon signs are comfortable with each other, just as they are with their own. The One God, No God or Many representations of God is not an issue to them and this is the grounding of an overwhelming majority of Muslims, Hindus or any one. Syed Abdullah Tariq will be more successful in getting the message to the majority and we need to encourage such efforts.
The idea of one God has become more of a political issue, where a few use that as the standard to judge one’s righteousness and mentally declare other practices as wrong or even sinful. We really need to review the intent or wisdom of the idea of one God. – It is a uniting element accepting the uniqueness of each creation, where we acknowledge the source of creation and cause of creation by one energy…. A conflict less system of co-existence for justice and peace.
In the long time interests of peace for every individual, each one of us has to put an effort. Any society that is built and sustained on justice takes out the fear and uncertainty from the minds of people and bring peace, facilitating them to be productive and contributing members of the society.
Due to the terminal health of my wife, I have not been able to write much… but this one caught my attention. (http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2008/05/gods-grace-for-najma-ghouse.html )
We just had our Monthly interfaith (http://carrolltondiary.blogspot.com/2008/04/may-14-carrollton-interfaith-luncheon.html ) meeting at the Mosque in Carrollton, and It was such a joy to see every one respond positively to the inspiration from Jainism. The whole gathering repeated “Michami Dukadam” after me. During Tsunami, we were able to have a Bhajan in the Mosque in Richardson, which is a rare thing. These are positive improvements. God should be invoked with every name and every which way and it is happening.
I commend the efforts of Syed Abdullah Tariq. May more people participate in such efforts.
Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net
Hindu-Muslim dialogue
An innovative approach to Hindu-Muslim dialogue
Posted May 16th, 2008 by Mudassir Rizwan
* Articles
* Indian Muslim
55 year-old Syed Abdullah Tariq runs an Islamic group
based in Rampur, a town in western Uttar Pradesh, that
focuses on dialogue with Hindus. An engineer by
training, he was one of the chief disciples of the
late Maulana Shams Naved Usmani, a noted Islamic
scholar who had also a deep knowledge of the Hindu
scriptures.
Tariq collected and published the thoughts and sayings
of Maulana Usmani in the form of several books in Urdu
and Hindi, the most well-known of these being 'Agar
Abhi Na Jagey To', later translated into English under
the title 'Now Or Never'. Maulana Usmani and Tariq
have been one of the pioneers of a particular Islamic
approach to dialogue with Hindus, one that is based on
the commonalities that they perceived in Islam and
Hinduism.
In a recent meeting in Rampur, Tariq related his own
story and his association with Maulana Usmani to
Yoginder Sikand, as follows:
Having finished my engineering degree from the Aligarh
Muslim University, I was not sure what I wanted to
take up as a career. In 1974, when I was in my early
twenties, I first met Maulana Shams Naved Usmani in
Rampur. I was really impressed by his teachings, his
enthusiasm for dialogue between Hindus and Muslims. I
decided to stay in his company and to take down
whatever he used to say to his disciples. Later, I had
these published in the form of several books.
Maulana Usmani, or Chacha Jan as I used to fondly call
him, was a very modest man, a Sufi. Originally from
Deoband, he was from the famous Usmani family which
had produced numerous well-known ulema, including
Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani and Maulana Atiq
ur-Rahman Usmani. He did his Master's degree from
Lucknow University, taught History and Geography in a
small semi-government school in Rampur. His lifestyle
was austere. He lived in a small, two-room rented
house. I remember that he constantly had tears in his
eyes. People would come to him to ask him to do dua
for them, which he always did. Even at the height of
summer, he would use a fan only if a guest visited his
house. If he bought a fruit, he would keep a small
part of it for the lady who would come to clean his
house every day. Once, there was a dispute between two
of his relatives over some family-owned property in
Deoband. He told them to stop quarrelling and said
that they could take his share of the property if that
would satisfy him. His wife got a little upset about
this, but he sought to comfort her by composing a
poem, one line of which said, 'Oh, my life companion!
Our house is not in this world!'.
Chacha Jan did not receive a traditional education in
a madrasa, but since he came from a family of noted
ulema he learnt about Islam at home itself as a child.
Later, he learnt Sanskrit on his own. He then began
studying the various Hindu scriptures, and was
surprised to learn, or so he believed, that some of
the original Hindu texts, when shorn of later
accretions, also talk, as the Quran does, of
monotheism, oppose idolatry and polytheism and caste
inequality. This he felt might be a reconfirmation of
the Quran's announcement that God has sent messengers
to every community, and that they have all taught the
same primal and eternal religion or deen of al-Islam,
the surrender to the one God. This means, obviously,
that God must have also sent prophets to India, and it
is quite possible that some figures whom the Hindus
revere might actually have been such prophets,
although later a large number of corruptions and
accretions crept in and people began worshipping these
prophets as deities.
This was Maulana Usmani's basic contention. He argued
that the Sanskrit term sanatan dharm or 'Eternal
Religion', if understood in this manner as submission
to the one God, was the same as the deen al-qaim,
which again means 'Eternal Religion', which is what
Islam is. It was on the basis of this core similarity
that Maulana Sahib wanted Hindus and Muslims to come
together. He also claimed that the Prophet Muhammad
had been prophesied about in some of the Hindu
scriptures. This meant, he argued, that the Hindus, in
accordance with the teachings of these scriptures,
should recognize the Prophet, in addition to other
prophets of God, including those who had been sent to
India. At the same, he wanted Muslims to recognize the
validity of these scriptures insofar as they were of
divine origin and not corrupted by human hands. In
other words, what he was trying to advocate was that
Hindus and Muslims must come closer together based on
precisely what he believed their religious scriptures
said about each other's prophets and on their common
stress on the worship of the one God. This was the
crux of almost all the writings that have been
attributed to him, most of which I have compiled.
After Chacha Jan's sad demise some years ago we have
been trying to carry on with the Maulana's unique work
of inter-faith dialogue. I am often invited to address
inter-faith and dawah meetings in different parts of
India, often even by Hindu organizations. When I am in
Rampur, I and some young colleagues of mine, many of
them students and self-employed youth, meet on Fridays
in the house of Chachi Jan, the wife of the late
Maulana, where we together study a selected portion of
the Quran. After that, I generally deliver a lecture
to the Juma congregation in a mosque nearby, where I
try to discuss issues of contemporary concern, say
violence, women's right, education, the importance of
dawah and inter-faith dialogue and so on. Then, we
divide ourselves into groups and go to nearby
villages, where we meet with Hindus and Muslims and
discuss with them about religion, focusing on the
concept of tauhid, or, as it is called in Hindi and
Sanskrit, ekishwarvad, which, we point out, is common
to both Islam and what we think were the original
Hindu texts. We also talk about the predictions about
the Prophet Muhammad in some Hindu texts that Maulana
Saheb said he had discovered, and also about the
possibility that some key Hindu personages were
actually prophets of God. In this way, we are trying,
in our own very modest way, to bring Hindus and
Muslims to understand their commonalities and thereby
to come closer to each other.
To our Hindu brethren we try and convey that Islam is
not a radically new or alien religion. Rather, it is
the same religion of monotheistic submission that was
taught by all the prophets, starting from the first of
these, Hazrat Adam, whom some have identified as Shiva
in the Hindu tradition. Hence, we tell them, to
recognize the teachings of the Prophet, the core of
which is monotheism, is to actually fulfill the
teachings of their own original scriptures rather than
constituting a departure from or betrayal of them.
Some Hindus will readily recognize other religions
that had their roots in India, such as Sikhism,
Buddhism and Jainism, although their teachings might
differ, on some counts, considerably with Hinduism,
but refuse to recognize religions that are thought to
have their origins outside India. So, we tell them
that true religion is universal. It is not meant for
any one country or race alone, and we say that some
Muslim traditions have it that the first prophet of
God according to the Islam, Hazrat Adam, was actually
sent down to Sri Lanka, which is part of the imagined
Greater India.
We tell them all this, and many people's minds have
been changed as a result, but still, I believe, that
in general people are impressed and influenced not so
much by speeches and sermons as by one's personal
example, and that is something that Chacha Jan used to
exemplify. So many Hindus who met him changed their
views about Islam and Muslims as a result of this
interaction. His approach was one of seeking to find
similarities, to point out our commonalities, rather
than play on and magnify our differences. I think this
is the right approach. I also believe that people who
go around condemning other religions or mocking them
in a bid to stress the claim of the superiority of
their religion actually do their own religion a
disservice because in this way others become alienated
from and hostile to them and their religion rather
than attracted to it. And I believe that Chacha Jan's
approach to dialogue with Hindus was quite in line
with what the Quran says when it advises us to address
others with good words, gently, with love.
In this regard, while talking about the need for
inter-faith dialogue between Muslims and Hindus, I
also want to stress that some ulema as well as radical
Islamists who insist that all non-Muslims are 'enemies
of Islam' and that we must not have any relations with
them or even that we should be stern towards them and
demean them are not just incorrect from the Quranic
point of view but are also insulting Islam. They take
one small verse in the Quran completely out of its
context to insist that Muslims must not befriend
people of other faiths. But this is wholly incorrect.
You must look at the particular context in which this
verse was revealed, who exactly the people referred to
here whom Muslims are told not to befriend were. You
must also examine all the verses in the Quran that
talk about people of other faiths. That would lead one
to the conclusion, which the Quran itself states
somewhere, that God does not forbid Muslims from
befriending those non-Muslims who have not persecuted
them on account of their faith. In other words, the
Quran insists we should relate to such people with
love and good intentions. That sort of relationship is
crucial for any meaningful inter-faith dialogue.
Islam is the religion taught by all the prophets, who
have been sent to all peoples in the world, as the
Quran itself says. It is, therefore, a truly universal
faith, not tied down to one particular ethnic or
cultural group. It is meant for all peoples, and so
when some Muslims erroneously conceive of it as
indelibly linked to a particular culture, dress,
cuisine or language I feel they are really negating
its universality. This naturally makes Islam appear
culturally alien to people who have a different sort
of culture. In turn, that makes our task of
inter-faith dialogue as well as telling others about
Islam particularly difficult.
In this regard I would like to cite a particular
Hadith report that has been attributed to the Prophet,
according to which he is reported as having said that
differences (ikhtilaf) were a blessing for his
community. Some ulema have wrongly interpreted this to
mean that the Prophet was here indicating intra-Muslim
sectarian differences. Not at all! Their petty
bickering on the basis of sectarian differences has
not proved to be a blessing at all, but, rather, a
curse. Perhaps one sort of difference that the Prophet
was referring to here was actually the diversity of
cultures, food styles, dress, languages and so on.
Unfortunately, some of our ulema think in quite the
opposite way. They want to stamp out this rich
cultural diversity, which is a real blessing actually,
and impose a single culture on everyone, at the same
time as they actively seek to promote sectarian
differences by incorrectly interpreting this Hadith
report.
Cultural diversity is a blessing ordained by God, and
without it the world would have been a very drab and
boring place indeed! So, in our inter-faith dialogue
work we must recognize the validity of those things in
others' cultures that do not transgress basic human
and Islamic norms. These things are actually quite
acceptable to Muslims, who can also adopt them without
fear of having diluted their faith thereby. Likewise
in the case of others adopting some aspects of the
culture associated with different Muslim groups.
If religion and culture are considered in this
expansive way, I am quite confident that we can
overcome numerous hurdles in the path to inter-faith
understanding. Further, this would also help is in our
task of telling others about our faith, which is
something that Chacha Jan devoted his life to.
For a detailed account of Maulana Usmani's views and approach to inter-faith dialogue, see my essay titled "An Islamic 'Hinduism'?: The Inter-Faith Dialogue Project of Acharya Maulana Shams Naved 'Usmani", available on
Discrimination: Public Prayers
Supreme Court Brief Filed on Behalf of Hindu Americans
The article follows my comments;
The majority of any group of people are inclusive or non-chalant; they go on living their lives with a cavalier attitude towards what others do or not do. They have no problems with how others worship or not worship the divine.
However, there is that 1/10th of 1% in each category of people who claim to be the guardians of the group, they assume that role without approval or support from the majority. It is time for majority to stand up and not let any one act in their behalf and work on creating inclusive societies through education and participation.
Thank God, the founding fathers had the vision to base our constitution on justice, equity and fairness. No one should be excluded because of their faith and belief in the public square or no one should have that privilege on an exclusive basis.
In behalf of the Foundation for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress, I support the case filed by the Hindu American Foundation and hope the Supreme Court decides in favor of opening the hearts and minds of all people to include every faith and tradition in public square.
Prayers are simply an acknowledgment of the creator (we don't have to call it God) of this life that we are a part of, it is appreciation of that myesterious being that manages the universe, gravity, the cosmos and every thing that we can imagine, feel and see.
We have been doing prayers to include every faith in the public square, here is an example; http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/Articles/PLuralism-Prayers-CityofCarrollton-030408.asp
Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer and a Moderator. He is president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism, politics, Islam, Religion and civic issues. He is the founding president of World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world. His comments, news analysis, opinions and columns can be found on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website http://www.mikeghouse.net/. Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home town. He can be reached at MikeGhouse@aol.com
# # #
New York
Supreme Court Brief Filed
on Behalf of Hindu Americans in Public Prayer Case
Less than a year after becoming the first Hindu American group to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief with the United States Supreme Court, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) continued its legal campaign with another brief in support of a petition for writ of certiorari. The case, Simpson v. Chesterfield County, involves legislative prayer. While the HAF’s first brief opposing a Ten Commandments display on public grounds in Texas was already scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court, a writ of certiorari is a request to the Court to review a case. The latest HAF brief was supported by numerous Hindu organizations and co-signed by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Association of American Indian Affairs as well as the Interfaith Alliance.
“References to Hinduism and Hindu Americans, written on behalf of practicing Hindus, finally appeared in the annals of Supreme Court jurisprudence with our brief last year,” said Suhag Shukla, Esq., legal counsel for HAF. “We believe the issues raised in this second brief are of even greater importance to not only Hindu Americans, but all Americans.”
The Board of Supervisors of Chesterfield County, Virginia has been opening its meetings with invocations given by local clergy who volunteer for the task. This practice began after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1980’s that legislative bodies could begin their sessions with non-sectarian prayer without violating the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution. Cynthia Simpson, a member of the Wiccan faith who wanted to lead prayer, was told that she could not pray at the meetings because she did not practice a religion "within the Judeo-Christian tradition." The Wiccan faith is based on a belief in unity with the earth and the idea that God is not separate from human.
Ms. Simpson filed suit and the lower court ruled in her favor ordering the County to change the policy to "include all faiths or to stop using the policy altogether." The county appealed and a very conservative panel of judges from the Fourth Circuit Court reversed the lower court holding that such discrimination was permissible under current laws.
“This is perhaps the most blatant affirmation of religious discrimination by any court to date,” stated Nikhil Joshi, Esq., member of the HAF Board of Directors. “If allowed to stand, the Fourth Circuit’s decision will allow Chesterfield County to continue to selectively dole out certain governmental privileges to members of majority religions over others.”
The HAF was represented by the Washington, D.C. law firm of Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw, LLP. A team of attorneys working with HAF argued in the brief that the Circuit Court’s ruling contradicts the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution by allowing the government to discriminate among religions. Further, the decision also opens the door to unnecessary entanglement of government and religion by allowing government officials to make theological conclusions about different traditions.
“Governments are extraordinarily poorly suited to be arbiters of theology, and when they arrogate that role, nothing good can come of it,” the HAF brief argues. “Not only are they certain to err, but they cannot help driving wedges between religions and between denominations of the same religion.”
The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case sometime this fall. Numerous civil rights law experts and advocacy groups are predicting Simpson v. Chesterfield County will definitely be accepted by the Supreme Court and placed on next year’s docket.
http://www.nripulse.com/CityNews_FL_SC.html
The full amicus curiae (friend of the court brief) may be viewed at http://www.hinduamericanfoundation.org/Simpson.pdf .
For further information, please contact Suhag Shukla, Esq., at suhag.shukla@hinduamericanfoundation.org or call 904-424-9886.
HAF is a non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
Ayodhya: Proud of my India
The court has finally made the decision and so far peace has prevailed. I was not able to sleep last night late until 3:00 AM and thank God, goodness has yet prevailed. If people don't agree, let it go to Supreme court, we have to prove to the world that we are a nation that respects rule of Law. Let other nations in the world look up to our model and never, every dream of becoming like the very ones we denigrate.
There are over 4000 articles to read, I have read a few and am sure you all have read as many. There are two that really are patriotic articles, where they wish the best outcomes for all Indians.
Every society is composed of Good, Bad and Ugly and each one reflects what he or she is loaded with. There is famous saying that you cannot expect clean water from a sewer and certainly we will find a lot of hateful material floating and I do not expect good coming out of the hard core hate boys, be it Muslims, Hindus or any one. The ratio of good to bad is 99:1. It is time for good people to speak up.
Lets show the world that we are a pluralistic democracy and that we honor the rule of law. No doubt a few on both sides will create trouble, I hope a good majority of us will not fall prey to the temptations and remain good. Let's take pride in being good citizens.
Jai Hind
Mike Ghouse
Ayodhya issue: 'This is ultimate test of Indian faith'
Published: Thursday, Sep 30, 2010, 8:42 IST
By Sumaa Takur | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_ayodhya-issue-this-is-ultimate-test-of-indian-faith_1445489
Even as the crucial verdict on the Ayodhya issue is going to be made public today, the city's intelligentsia is crossing its fingers. The city's influentials and bright minds are hoping that people demonstrate, when most needed, the main teachings of peace and harmony that the two religions of Hinduism and Islam stand for.
"In recent times for all the wrong reasons, India has been poorly portrayed and this is an opportunity to show the world that we are truly descendants of a great civilisation. As a nation, it will test our true self, and we should do nothing that makes our heritage covered with shame," says Subroto Bagchi, gardener and vice-chairman, MindTree, a global IT solution company. "We must maintain calm irrespective of the outcome of the verdict on Ayodhya. Any act against a fellow human being will be an act against God," he says.
Jnanpith award winning author, Prof UR Ananthamurthy, says the people should transcend the need for a physical space to practice religion. "Islam is a great religion. The greatness of Islam lies in the fact that Muslims do not even need a mosque to pray. I have seen this everywhere. When it is time to pray, Muslims do not go looking for a mosque. They turn west and surrender themselves to Almighty God. They can pray even on the pavement. This religion has built itself to sustain and survive without a symbolic building,"
he says.
"This is true for the Hindus as well. Ram should not be merely a historical figure born in any particular place. He is a figure of mythology more truly than historical truth. For, it is a perennial truth for devotees of Rama. Ram is everywhere. I recall a famous statement by a former chief minister of Kerala, EK Nayanar. He once said: 'I always thought Ram was born in Kerala'," adds Ananthamurthy.
He is of the opinion that both religions must have an understanding of the other religion. Members of each religion must also build the capacity to keep the religion alive beyond physical symbols. "A good example of communal harmony worth remembering now is in Bidar. During the Ganesha Chaturthi festival procession, the Hindus stop ringing the bells and the loud noises when they pass by mosques where Muslims are praying.
They are sensitive to the fact that the Muslims need silence when they pray. Each should respect the others' space," he says.
Lokayukta justice N Santosh Hegde appeals to the citizens of Bangalore to listen to their humane side. "We are humans, first and foremost. We belong to a religion by the chance of birth into a household or by fate. Let not the latter take away the human in us," he says.
Captain GR Gopinath, the man who 'simplified' flying in the country, asks people to beware of opportunists. "All parties and leaders must step back and respect the court verdict on Ayodhya. We have to focus on good governance to reduce corruption which has become so brazen and pervasive it is going to destroy the country," he says.
There are more urgent matters in the country that demand our focus, he says. "We must aim to provide affordable and quality rural education, healthcare for common people and pool all our resources to build a robust infrastructure. This will enable us to create jobs across India for the vast population which will have to migrate from agriculture," says Gopinath. He adds that the prerequisite for all this to happen is communal harmony.
"We must start by rejecting all self-serving fundamentalists and politicians who are dividing this country, and stand united for peace and communal harmony.
Swati Ramanathan, co-founder, Janagraha, says, "There is so much to fight for —- this is not one of them. There is no winning or losing in this. Of what value is a sentiment of hate and intolerance that corrodes society and our very souls? As humanity there is more that connects us than divides us. Mandira or Masjid, these are mere shells —- our God resides within us. Peace be with us.''
India of 2010 is different from that of 1992'
Published: Friday, Oct 1, 2010, 2:54 IST
By Team DNA | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Peace will prevail and we will be patient," was the most common sentiment prevalant in the city on Thursday. As the verdict was announced and televsion sets turned on, social organisations and activists were happy to note that the judgment was accepted gracefully by both the communities.
"It is heartening that the India of 2010 is vastly different from that of 1992. The common man is more aware of the need for peace and tolerance," said Jatin Desai, national secretary of Pakistan-India Forum for Peace and Demoracy.
Activists in communally sensitive areas went into an overdrive, going door-to-door urging people to accept the judgment gracefully, holding meetings with neighbours and talking to the youth about the importance of the judgement.
Some hurriedly put up banners to communicate themessage of peace. "It is important to respect the verdict and maintain peace and harmony," said Ibhrahim Tai, president of the Muslim Council Trust.
Activists observed that the mood in both the communities was that of acceptance though there was a bit of confusion and dissent over the three-way sharing of the land.
"Most of the people we have met have gracefully accepted the verdict as they have decided that they will not let anybody take advantage of their emotions," said advocate Mubin Solkar, president of Indian Mumbaikars for Peace and Community Togetherness (IMPACT).
Solkar said his organisation will conduct a 'peace programme' for Hindus and Muslims over the next few days so that vested interests don't misinterpret the judgment and instigate communal unrest. "We have submitted a memorandum of our programme to the deputy general of police, commissioner of police and other senior officers," he said.
A few voices of dissent in the Muslim community were drowned by the mostly relieved tone of the community at large. "If the matter is challenged in the Supreme Court, we will support it," said Sarfaraz Mohammed, a resident of Bharat Nagar.
Many felt the court had taken a "somewhat neutral stand". "All parties are getting an equal share. Religious and political leaders should not approach the Supreme Court and let the matter rest for everyone's good," said Altaf Patel, a shop owner from Bharat Nagar, Bandra.
Ayodhya on 18th Anniversary and democracy
The Babri Masjid controversy has been around since Mid Nineteenth century and after disputes, the right wing political parties demolished the 15th Centutry structure in Ayodhya on December 6th, 1992.
We need to research if this divisive issue was a ploy by the then British Government to keep the Indians divided so they can keep control of the colony. Now that we are free, we need to work on finding solutions and not pass the buck to next generation.
In a Radio talk show in August of 2003, I shared two particular incidences where the Viceroy of India writes to the King of England in 1854 that the Muslims and Hindus have gotten back together and have built the Ram Chabootra (stone bench) symbolizing their unity, if they work together the end of British Empire will come to an end. The Sepoy revolt in 1857 proved another difficulty for the Empire when the Hindus and Muslims demonstrated unity once again despite the attempts to divide them.
They hit us again in 1871 with the first census of India with the evil intent of showing to Hindus and Muslims about their demographics and frightening each of the other.
Who is wronger, the British for their divisive policies, or the Indians for buying into their ideas of division?
I am happy that finally Indians are waking up to divisive policies, the Indian public rejected the divisiveness of the right wing political parties in the last elections and told them that don’t use religion to your advantage, provide jobs, education, potable water and Sanitation. I hope they continue to do so.
The Allahabad court verdict was received calmly without violence by the right wingers on both sides of the issue. On the 18th Anniversary of the demolition of the 15th Century Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, today, relative peaceful protest took place, demonstrating once again the maturity of the Indians in absorbing democracy in their veins.
Jai Hind
Am I a Hindu?
I came across this excellent piece "Am I a Hindu" explaining religion in its simplest terms. I recommend every one to take a few minutes to read through this. It is the simplicity of talking with a young girl that makes this article beautiful. I have added a few comments and additional information below the article.
Mike Ghouse
Am I a Hindu?
Uday Pai
Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey, CA.
An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat.
It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly seven hours!
I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible - unusual of young Americans! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it seemed.) After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India.
Then suddenly the girl asked: “What’s your faith?”
“What?” I didn’t understand the question.
“I mean, what’s your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?”
“No!” I replied, “I am neither Christian nor Muslim”.
Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that.
“Then who are you…?”
“I am a Hindu”, I said.
She looked at me as if she is seeing a caged animal.
She could not understand what I was talking about.
A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today.
But a Hindu, what?
I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.
“Who is your prophet?” she asked.
“We don’t have a prophet,” I replied.
“What’s your Holy Book?”
“We don’t have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,” I replied.
“Oh, come on…at least tell me who is your God?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Like we have Yahweh and Muslims have Allah - don’t you have a God?”
I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.
According to her (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion need to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can’t compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.
I tried to explain to her: “You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What’s more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.”
This sounded very crazy to her.
She couldn’t imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.
“I don’t understand…but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?”
What can I tell to this American girl?
I said: “I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.”
“Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?”
“God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.”
She thought for a while and then asked: “Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?”
“Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning… I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.” I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority.
“So, you don’t believe in God?” she wanted everything in black and white.
“I didn’t say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.”
“Why can’t you believe in one personal God?”
"We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don’t think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.” I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.
“Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?”
“Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,”
“Funny,” she laughed, “What does it mean?”
“May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace, Peace.”
“Hmm…very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free…” she exclaimed.
“The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.”
“How does anybody convert to Hinduism?”
“Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.”
I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don’t look for it in religions; don’t go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.
For a real seeker, I told her, Bible itself gives guidelines when it says “Kingdom of God is within you.” I reminded her of Christ’s teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life.
Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. ‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That’s what Hinduism teaches you.
Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas. It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.
Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word “Hindu” and considered it as a religion.
I said: “Religions have become an MLM (multi-level-marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today’s world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception…”
I am a Hindu primarily because it professes Non-violence - “Ahimsa Paramo Dharma” - Non violence is the highest duty. I am a Hindu because it doesn’t conditions my mind with any faith system.
Uday
uday@udaypai.in
http://www.udaypai.in/?tag=hinduism
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Am I a Hindu?
Comments & additional information
by Mike Ghouse
“Who is your prophet?” she asked.
“We don’t have a prophet,” I replied.
“What’s your Holy Book?”
The point of reference is different for each person. When you utter the word “Vacation”, different images are conjured up in different people. Our kids in the US would think of Six Flags or Hawaii, where as our friends kids in India may have a different image. Even in the US, different levels of exposures produce a variety of images. From an interfaith perspective, the writer has hit upon a good point.
“Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.”
For your information, God in Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Bahai and Sikh faiths has no gender and no form; ultimately that is the case with all faiths. God is infinite, she is indefinable and it is unlimited. In Jain and Buddhist way of thinking God is not the central part of life, but goodness is, and it is your karma that is the central part of what kind of life you would lead. Zoroastrianism is right there closely with them.
All religions are expression of wisdom of humanity, and you’ll find similar tunes in every faith as in Qur’aan: 112:1 SAY: "He is the One God; 112:2 "God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of All Being; 112:3 "He begets not, and neither is He begotten; 112:4 "and there is nothing that could be compared with Him.” Interestingly Hinduism and Christianity also see God in a personal human form, where as the others see more in Abstract format. The Jews do not even want to contain God in words; hence they spell G-d. Indeed, God is not containable.
“According to her (or anybody who doesn’t know about Hinduism), a religion need to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable.”
Agree with the idea, but we need to develop ways to communicate, I think it is more of a handicap of the language. It is not that it is not acceptable; it is that, they have to figure out vacation means Hawaii as well as going to the big city in a bus for a child in India.
It is a good observation and it is the case with every one. The point of reference is different and leads to a different understanding. It is good to learn about other faiths, it simply enhances one’s own faith knowing that the truth is same, expressed in different forms, as the Jains say anekantvad; many views.
I said: “I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.”
The truth of the matter is, it is the case with most average people. Rituals are performed more as a social want than a religious need.
“Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?”
“It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order”
Knowledge enhancement: It is the same fear parents instill in their children, whether they live in a small tribe in a no man’s land or some in living in New York City. Kids are told that if they don’t do this, there will be a time out or get the spanking if they don’t follow certain rules. It is a behavior modification strategy that has been extended from childhood to adulthood. All religions teach God is loving, kind, merciful and caring. It is grounded purely in an idea that one must be afraid of God so they do no wrong to others, rather one must be afraid of themselves from doing wrong.
“We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don’t think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.” I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods.”
It is condescending towards ‘less educated”. The greatest saints of the world from yester years did not even go to school or had a degree, yet they imparted the greatest wisdom to us.
“The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.”
Indeed, that is the case with people of all faiths.
“The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita.
Excellent statement! It is the bottom line of all faiths. You do well in this life, meaning being good to yourselves and others with least amount of conflict, you will take birth in a higher life from next time around. If you become a perfect being, you may even get a Mukti (release) from the cycles of birth and death. Where as the same idea is carried little differently in the ‘Abrahamic faiths’, there is a belief of life after death and some day, each one will be reckoned. In both cases, you are individually responsible for your future. Not all, but the most prevalent thought in Christianity is to believe in Jesus as the savior, will save you, in reality the belief in Jesus hinges on being a good human being.
“Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real. ‘Isavasyam idam sarvam’ Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That’s what Hinduism teaches you.”
Qur’aan also puts forth the same idea – God is closer to you than your Jugular vein, meaning the all knowing God resides in every atom of the universe and you, and he, it or she, knows your thoughts before it materializes into action. Prophet Mohammed defines good deeds are those acts that one does for the sake of others, very similar to Jain and Zoroastrian idea of Good deeds. There was a narration where Prophets associates asked him which one of the two would be favored by the creator; the one who prays all day or the one who has a foul and is drunk, but before he goes to sleep he would knock on his neighbors and share whatever little food he has, so others don’t go to bed hungry, obviously God graces the one who takes care of others.
“Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity. Ancestors of today’s Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others.”
Ditto, except that the point of reference of “forms” is turned into “aspects”. God has no beginning and no end. The cosmic truths are expressed as revelations from God to the wise men like Zarthustra, Moses, Solomon, David, Krishna, Rama, Buddha, Mahavir, Jesus, Muhammad, Nanak and Bahaulla.
“Religions have become an MLM (multi-level-marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion.”
Indeed, religion has become a business for many. Any one who fights for Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or other faiths is sure to ask for money at the end of his game. Then it is not a religion, it is his business to make money from the suckers who are willing to give. God does not care which pigeon hole you live in, as long as you care about his creation, other than you. Religion, in its simplest form is bringing a balance in one’s life and balance with what surrounds him. (Or her).
Bangladeshi Hindus Harassed
Muslims outraged at the treatment of Bangladeshi Hindu Citizens.
Dallas, Texas : June 5, 2007.
The World Muslim Congress expresses outrage at the Municipal Council of Chakuli, in Mirpur, Bangladesh for evicting families from their ancestral Homes.
These homes belong to Hindu families of Bangladesh, and we appeal to the Government and the Municipal authorities of this Muslim Majority nation to heed the call of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who had set the model for treating people of other faiths and minorities with dignity and honor. In the treaty of Medina, prophet had assured every resident of the City full freedom to practice and live their life as they knew. A nations character is defined by the way it treats its people who believe and practice differently.
We appeal to the Government of Bangladesh and the United States Congress to take immediate action to halt the demolition of the homes, and urge people of conscience to call their Congressman, Senators and other representative to make the call to Embassy of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC
3510, International Drive NW
Washington, DC 20008, USA
Telephone : (202) - 244 - 0183
Fax :(202) - 244 - 7830/2771
Mike Ghouse, President
World Muslim Congress
___________________________________________
10,000 fear eviction
The Daily Star, June 6, 2006
10,000 fear eviction Special Correspondent
Over 10,000 Hindus in one of the largest Hindu enclaves in the city at Chakuli, in Mirpur-12 are living in gnawing fear of losing their ancestral homesteads and an age-old temple as the Cantonment Board authorities put a claim on the land.
Officials with bulldozers yesterday reached the place to demolish the village but called off the operation due to rain, locals said. Residents there said they could produce all documents to prove that they have inherited the land from their ancestors.
"We have lived here for generations, if there is a proper land acquisition by the government we shall definitely respect that decision, but what is happening here today [Tuesday] does not have any legal basis whatsoever," said Narayan Sarkar, a carpenter by profession, living on a small piece of land he said he inherited from his forefathers.
The crowd of worried men and women grew to over 150 as this correspondent talked to them. "When our parents learnt about the first acquisition back in the sixties, they went to the court and won the case against the government," said a visibly shaken Sudhir Chandra Sarkar, president of the Durga temple committee and a community leader, showing copies of relevant documents.
The entire process of acquiring the area for extending Dhaka Cantonment was started again in 1973 under "confidentiality", residents said. The community of Chakuli was kept completely in the dark as the Ministry of Land allocated twenty acres of land to the Ministry of Defence in 1992. The Deputy Commissioner's (DC) Office in Dhaka, based on the 1992 allocation, prepared a handover note and handed over the land to the cantonment board.
"There was no notice, no communication whatsoever from the DC office, we only learnt about the handover years later in 2000 when cantonment personnel put a claim on our homes," said Sarkar.
"At present, there is an injunction from the High Court and a status quo order on our village, but the army does not want to look at anything," said a local resident.
The Ministry of Land and the DC office's handling of the matter, as it shows on paper, has been so amateurish that the local people termed it "a story of gross corruption". None of the gazettes by the ministry specifically points out any plot number or size of the acquisition of the land, according to documents obtained by The Daily Star.
"Our suffering and feeling of uncertainty today [Tuesday] is the result of gross corruption at the Ministry of Land and the DC office, we want to know where the money for the land acquisition went," said Narayan Sarkar.
Condemn Temple desecration
Dallas, Texas. Sunday, August 5, 2007- "It is a shame that people stoop so low to desecrate a place of worship. We condemn this crime" reflects Mike Ghouse, head of the Foundation for Pluralism and the World Muslim Congress.
All places of worship must be treasured as national heritage. A place of worship is a public domain and as such, it is the responsibility and duty of every citizen to guard and protect the place as we do with the national flags, no matter who it belongs to. This code of honor gets broken down every now and then by someone or the other. I appeal to all the sane people to consider this an act of lunatics and not religiously motivated, even if it appears that way..
I believe religion is not the culprit, it is the greedy, crooked and insecure individuals who are responsible for this act. Please place the blame on individuals. I would wrong the bad guys and not their religion. Individuals must be held responsible, so we can account for it. When you hold religion responsible, it is like shooting in the darkness with no particular target in aim and no results achieved.
I had written to the Danish Embassy and the newspaper to bring to court those particular 8 individuals directly responsible for the destruction of their embassy in Syria. People will not defend criminals, but they will defend them if we label them with a religion. If we need results, we have to go after the criminals and not their families or nation or religion.
Similarly, I urge the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago to find the vandals and treat them as criminals, and end the issue at that point. As a society, we have to treat this cancer as cancer and not touch the whole body system. We have to close the loops.
On a societal level, I would urge people of all faiths to familiarize their faith to their neighbors and co-workers to reduce and demystify the myths. Let me put it this way, as my friend Dr. Cohen says "other persons prayer format looks weird" without thinking that ours would look weird to the others. We have to fall these barriers. Please feel free to browse the Web site www.FoundationforPluralism.com and hope there is some material that will help us open our hearts and minds.
Peace and balance in the society does not come from pointing fingers at others. If I am not peaceful, I should not expect others to be. Let each one of us take the pledge to be remove the hate for a week from our hearts, if we like it, we can renew it for another week. Let's emit peace and love.
Krishna Temple Lahore
Muslims condemn the demolition of Hindu Temple in Lahore
PRESS RELEASE JUNE 13, 2006
Dallas, Texas - The World Muslim Congress condemns the demolition of Hindu Temple in Lahore and urges the Government of Pakistan to restore the temple.
Muslims follow Islam, a monotheistic religion but not a monolithic religion. Muslims who have deeply imbibed the teaching of Islam condemn the act of demolition of the temple in Pakistan.
We do appreciate that several opposition members of the National Assembly of Pakistan from the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Pakistan Muslim League reportedly objected and moved a motion against the demolition, saying such an act could have a bearing on Pakistan's relations with neighboring countries.
We urge the people and the Federal government of Pakistan to join us in not only in condemnation but in restoration.
Allah through the holy Qur’an says: "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things) - al-Hujurat 49:13
"Prophet Mohammad emphasized Good deed is one that makes life better for others, as planting a tree would provide shade and fruit for all in the future
The second Caliph Umar set an example of respecting the sanctity of places of worship when he conquered Jerusalem. At the time of the evening prayer the Bishop of the Church of The Holy Sepulcher offered him a nice place to pray in the church but he refused, saying that he fears that generations after him may try to take over and convert the church to a Mosque. So he prayed outside the church.
The old truism is a valuable lesson and a golden rule preached by all religions "treat others as you wanted to be treated".
It is not about religion in the narrow sectarian terms, it is about respecting other people's right to have their own place of worship as Islam enjoins and is an important article of the Geneva Conventions.
We urge everyone who considers humanity a family to denounce such acts no matter where they take place.
Festivities soured by race
Evil persists not necessarily because of evil men, but because good men don't do anything about it. I hope the Muslims in Malaysia condemn these extremists who displayed the most disgusting, revolting act of belligerence towards their fellow countrymen; Hindus. I hope they did not have any connivance or permission from the majority of Malaysian Muslims.
This act should not be a reflection on the Nation of Malaysia or her Muslims. The idea is if I commit a crime, I should be the one to be thrown in the Jail, no one but me should be resonsible for my acts, not my family, not my parents, kids, nationality, race or religion.
This is how nations can check extremism by singling out bad guys and taking them out one at a time, in this case, we hope every Muslim in Malaysia will support the government for knocking these hoodlums out as criminals and nothing but criminals.
To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; that is indeed the purpose of religion, any religion. Mission statement
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Festivities soured by race
Malaysia's National Day celebrations this week have been soured by new racial troubles as minority ethnic Chinese and Indians fear Muslim Malay nationalists are gaining power. --PHOTO: AP
KUALA LUMPUR -MALAYSIA'S National Day celebrations this week have been soured by new racial troubles as minority ethnic Chinese and Indians fear Muslim Malay nationalists are gaining power.
In a rare overt display of the tensions, dozens of Muslims paraded on Friday with the bloodied head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, to protest the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood.
The intolerance cast a shadow over Malaysia's nation-building efforts as it celebrates 52 years of independence from British rule on Monday.
'Increasingly after 52 years, Malaysia is at a crossroad,' James Chin, a political science professor at Monash University in Kuala Lumpur, said Sunday. 'We are heading toward an intolerant society where fundamentalists and extremists are hijacking the national agenda to become a prosperous multiracial Malaysia.'
In a recent case, a Muslim woman was sentenced to caning by an Islamic court for drinking beer in public. Authorities last week agreed to review the penalty after many Malaysians said it damaged the country's reputation as a moderate Muslim-majority nation.
Also this month, officials curbed the retail sale of liquor in a central state and barred Muslims from a concert next month by the US group the Black Eyed Peas because it is sponsored by Irish beer giant Guinness.
Although these examples involve actions by Muslims toward other Muslims, many Malaysians worry they are a reflection of the growing clout of Islamic hard-liners that will eventually effect other minorities.
The inter-religious discord is a particular concern for Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is trying to promote racial equality.
Malaysia has carefully nurtured harmony among its three main ethnic groups - Malays, Chinese and Indians who are Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Sikh - since 1969, when the country suffered its worst racial riots. But racial tensions have increased in recent years amid complaints by minorities that their rights are being eroded as the influence of Islamic hard-liners grows.
Lim Kit Siang, an opposition leader, said the cow head protest in central Selangor was a slap to Mr Najib's racial equality campaign known as '1Malaysia.'
'The cow-head sacrilege must serve as an ominous warning that Mr Najib's first National Day celebration as prime minister will go down as a black National Day if the genies of racism and religious chicanery are allowed to get out of the bottle,' Mr Lim said.
Mr Najib hasn't made any public comment so far on the protest. Human Resource Minister S. Subramaniam said the incident infuriated the prime minister, who asked the national police chief to investigate. -- AP
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Protesters threaten bloodshed over Hindu temple
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
SHAH ALAM, Aug 28 — A group of Malay-Muslim protesters claiming to be residents of Section 23 have threatened bloodshed unless the state government stopped the construction of a Hindu Temple.
Amid chants of "Allahuakbar," the group also left the severed head of a cow at the entrance of the State Secretariat here as a warning to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
The "residents" said that the construction of a Hindu temple in a 90 per cent Malay- Muslim neighbourhood was insensitive because activities there would disrupt their lives.
They claimed that the "noise" from the temple would disturb their own praying, and that they would not be able to function properly as Muslims.
The group of 50 over protestors marched shortly after Friday prayers from the Shah Alam State mosque to the State Secretariat.
“I challenge YB Khalid, YB Rodziah and Xavier Jeyakumar to go on with the temple construction. I guarantee bloodshed and racial tension will happen if this goes on, and the state will be held responsible,” shouted Ibrahim Haji Sabri amid strong chants of “Allahu Akbar!”
Ibrahim identified himself as the Deputy Chairman of the Resident’s Committee against the building of the temple in S23 here, which is perceived by some as being a Muslim majority area.
He told the press that the state should move the temple to Section 22 as ‘originally planned’, and also labelled Khalid a “traitor to the Malay race and Islam”.
It is understood that the protest is an immediate reaction towards the Selangor MB’s visit to the Hindu temple site yesterday, an act seen by the "residents" as disrespectful to the Muslims of the community.
Mohd. Zurit Bin Ramli, who claims to be the secretary of the "Coalition of Malaysian NGOs" echoed Ibrahim’s stand on the matter, saying that it was irresponsible on the part of the state government to approve the construction as there was apparently a “90 per cent” majority Muslim population in Section 23.
“With a temple on our residential area, we cannot function properly as Muslims. The temple will disrupt our daily activities like prayers in the Surau. We cannot concentrate with the sounds coming from the temple,” stated Zurit.
When asked whether members of the protest were affiliated with any organisations or movements, Ibrahim claimed that the people present today were members of PAS, PKR as well as Umno who are “united in the name of Islam and the Malay spirit.”
The state government was also accused of lying to the people of Selangor.
The Chairman of the Residents Committee, Mahyuddin Manaf excitedly proclaimed that the committee would uncover “the lies” and find proof of the state’s misconduct.
“Khalid Ibrahim wears a mask of a Muslim, but in truth he is a liberal. PAS stands to lose out as a result. I voted for PAS as well as Khalid in the past elections,” Mahyuddin claimed.
The issue first cropped up when the Selangor government proposed that the Sri Mariamman temple be relocated from Section 19 to Section 23.
You may post your solutions by clicking this link: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/festivities-soured-by-race.html#comments
Protecting Pakistan's Hindus
Article follows my comments:
Let me begin with the oft quoted statement “all it takes for the evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing". I believe the majority of either a religion or a nation is good people. What is missing is action on the part of these good people. They do nothing until crises reaches to a point of destruction.
The only thing we need to do – is to stoke the good people to speak up against bigotry and take a stand against injustice. It is in every one’s interest in the long run.
Articles like the one by Ali Eteraz and the ones at World Muslim Congress aspire to evoke the goodness in us and get the majority to take action, not to control, but to serve justly and equitable to all. I cannot expect goodness and peace to surround me, when I am not; it has to start with me, the one who is reading.
I am sure there are flaws in the article, but unless we speak out and defend the rights of every neighbor and every human, we cannot look for peace. I hope more of the people speak out about the injustices to every human on every corner of the earth.
Let every Pakistani speak up and be a defender of other Pakistani, be it a Hindu, Ahmadiyya, Christian, Jew, Zoroastrian, Shia, Bohra, Ismaili or a Sunni. We need more voices to make this work. May God give us the passion to speak out and do the right thing. Amen!
Mike Ghouse
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Protecting Pakistan's Hindus
The cultural and institutional marginalisation of Hindus in Pakistan is a travesty of human dignity and freedom Hindus in Pakistan have suffered grievously since the founding of the nation in 1947. Recently, in the southern province of Sindh, a Hindu man was accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by his co-workers. This comes at the heels of the abduction and dismemberment of a Hindu engineer.
A little while earlier, the military removed 70 Hindu families from lands where they had been living since the 19th century. To this day the temples that Pakistanis destroyed in 1992 in response to the destruction of the Babri mosque in India have not been restored.
Pakistan, according to many accounts, was founded as a way to protect the rights and existence of the minority Muslim population of Colonial India in the face of the larger Hindu majority. Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is reported to have said in 1947: "In due course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims - not in a religious sense for that is the personal faith of an individual- but in a political sense as citizens of one state." It is therefore a travesty of Pakistan's own founding principles that its Hindus - and not to exclude Christians and Ahmadis - have suffered so grossly.
There are two levels of prejudice in Pakistan with respect to Hindus - the cultural and the legal.
While it is difficult to say which one is more pernicious, cultural prejudice is certainly more difficult to uproot because it is perpetuated by religious supremacism, nationalism, stories, myth, lies, families, media, schooling and bigotry.
Cultural prejudice has become part and parcel of language itself. Hindus are referred to as "na pak." Na means "un" and pak means "pure." So, Hindus are turned into the impure, or unclean. Given that the word "pak" is part of the word "Pakistan" - which means Land of the Pure - somebody's impurity suggests that they are not really Pakistani.
To make matters even worse, Pakistani mullahs teach a very supremacist version of the Islamic creed, the kalima. Usually, the kalima reads simply: "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His final messenger." The version that children are taught, however, reads as follows: "The first kalima is Tayyab; Tayyab means Pak (Pure); There is no god but God and Muhammad is His final Messenger."
Do you see how the word "Pak" - which denotes both purity and connects to citizenship in Pakistan - is smuggled into the Islamic creed? Since in Urdu this little ditty rhymes very effectively, this is the version of religiosity that most children repeat their entire lives. As a result, while they grow up, they psychologically equate Hindus with impurity, with uncleanliness, as not Pakistani, and therefore less than, both Islamically and as citizens. The only two parties that can begin to bring some change in this arena are the state and the liberal clerics.
Last year Pakistan's prime minister did greet Hindus during Diwali and a prominent Hindu nationalist leader - who had to quit his party because of his outreach - that was born in Karachi did come back and pay respects to his birth-city.
Cricket diplomacy, which began in 2004, helped a little (but not really, because the focus was on cricket and not on religion). Also, there are a few prominent Hindus here and there - one is a justice of the Supreme Court and one is the leading leg-spinner for the cricket team. Yet, as the Pakistani exile Tarek Fatah points out, Justice Bhagwandas had to take the oath on the Quran. Meanwhile, Kaneria is regularly excluded from the Pakistani cricket team's congregational Islamic prayer.
As bad as the cultural prejudice is, legal prejudice is the one that must be more urgently dealt with, because it is what allows cultural prejudice to acquire institutional power. Two laws in particular have been very problematic for the Hindu community.
The first one was promulgated under the 1973 constitution which made Islam the state religion of Pakistan and established a separate electorate for Muslims and non-Muslims so that Hindus could only vote for Hindu candidates. Musharraf abolished this in 2002. I think Muslims who support the idea of Islamic states around the world really need to stop and think about this for a second. It took an American-backed dictator in the year 2002 for a Muslim state to abolish unequal voting? As a wise man once said: are you kidding me? This is a deplorable commentary on the state of equality in today's Islam.
The second law is the infamous blasphemy law passed under Islamist dictator Zia ul Haq in the 1980s. Designed specifically to punish the Ahmadi minority, the blasphemy law now provides convenient protection to anyone who ever wants to kill, murder, maim, beat up, mug, abduct, or punish any religious minority. All you really have to do is carry out your brutality and then point at the victim and say that he was blasphemous.
This law needs to be repealed immediately: no reform, no fixing, no tweaking, but total abolishment. Efforts to repeal it under Musharraf failed in the Senate. The secular parliament in session now is probably not going to touch it unless it is told to do so by international groups (who frankly aren't really interested). The UN, EU, US, and International Council of Jurists must make some noise about repealing Pakistan's heinous blasphemy law.
There are little more than three million Hindus in Pakistan (a nation of 160 million). They are still part of Pakistani life and need to be treated with respect and dignity. According to some sources, at the founding of Pakistan, Hindus comprised nearly 15% of the country's population and now number barely 2%. Many have left, many have been killed, and many have converted to other religions to protect themselves. All in all, a travesty for a state that was created with the intended purpose of protecting minorities.
India - Ghazni & temple
India - Temple destruction
Article follows my comments
This issue has been a sore subject with the Indians. Ghazni did destroy the Somnath temple, and it has been believed as destruction of Hindu Places of Worship.
This is one of the most damaging issues in the Hindu-Muslim relationships. As a Muslim I condemn Ghazni for doing this, and state that he was another King, like many of the Kings of the time; be it Hindu, Muslim or Alexander, who had nothing else to do than go around robbing other nations and keep usurping the neighboring kingdoms, a strong king was shamelessly praised for this destructiveness.
For the Hindu community, I would urge them to see Ghazni in that light, it will release some of the tension. For Ghazni did not do it for Muslims, nor did he leave institutions for Muslims for their betterment, nor any Muslim in India has his inheritance. We should not be carrying his burden.
Finding the truth is one's own responsibility, given that the below book review by Yogi Sikand is welcome.
Mike Ghouse
Truth Behind Tales of Temple Destruction
Name of the Book: Temple Destruction and Muslim States in Medieval India
Author: Richard M. Eaton,
Year: 2004 Pages: 101 Price: Rs.225 ISBN: 81-7871-027-7
Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand
Central to the diverse memories of Hindus and Muslims in India about the history of Hindu-Muslim relations are incidents or claims of the destruction of Hindu temples by Muslim rulers. These memories are a defining element in the construction of contemporary communal identities. Some Muslims see medieval Muslims Sultans who are said to have destroyed temples as valiant heroes who struggled against Brahminism, idolatry and polytheism. For many Hindus, these very kings are the epitome of evil and godlessness.
The theme of the iconoclast Muslim Sultan is routinely put to use for political mobilization by communal forces, as so tragically illustrated in the case of the Babri Masjid controversy, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Not content with that, Hindutva forces are on record as declaring that they aim at destroying or capturing some 30,000 mosques and Muslim shrines, which, they claim, were built on the sites of Hindu temples allegedly destroyed by Muslim rulers. Hindutva literature is replete with exhortations to Hindus to avenge the misdeeds, both real and imaginary, of medieval Muslim kings, including destruction of temples. This propaganda and the communal mobilization that it has provoked have resulted in a sharp deterioration of inter-communal relations in recent years.
That some Muslim kings did indeed destroy certain Hindu temples is an undeniable fact, which even most Muslims familiar with medieval history would readily concede. However, as this remarkable book by the noted historian Richard Eaton points out, extreme caution needs to be exercised in accepting the claims of medieval historians as well as in interpreting past events in terms of today's categories. Failure to do this, he says, has resulted in the construction of the image of all Muslims as allegedly fired by an irrepressible hatred of Hindus, a gross distortion of actual history.
The notion of the Muslim Sultan as temple-breaker, Eaton says, derives essentially from history texts written by British colonial administrators, who, in turn, drew upon Persian chronicles by Muslim historians attached to the courts of various Indian Muslim rulers. Eaton argues that British colonial historians were at pains to project the image of Muslim rulers as wholly oppressive and anti-Hindu, in order to present British rule as enlightened and civilized and thereby enlist Hindu support. For this they carefully selected from the earlier Persian chronicles those reports that glorified various Muslim Sultans as destroyers of temples and presented these as proof that Hindus and Muslims could not possibly live peacefully with each other without the presence of the British to rule over them to prevent them from massacring each other. Although some of these reports quoted in British texts were true, many others were simply the figment of the imagination of court chroniclers anxious to present their royal patrons as great champions of Islamic orthodoxy even if in actual fact these rulers were lax Muslims.
Dealing with actual instances of temple-breaking by Muslim rulers, Eaton appeals for a more nuanced approach, arguing that in most cases these occurred not simply or mainly because of religious zeal. Thus, the raids on temples by the eleventh century Mahmud Ghaznavi must be seen as motivated, at least in part, by the desire for loot, since the temples he destroyed were richly endowed with gold and jewels, which he used to finance his plundering activities against other Muslim rulers in Afghanistan, Iran and elsewhere. Beginning in the early thirteenth century, the Delhi Sultans' policy of selective temple desecration aimed, not as in the earlier Ghaznavid period, to finance distant military operations on the Iranian plateau but to de-legitimize and extirpate defeated Indian ruling houses. The process of Indo-Muslim state building, Eaton says, entailed the sweeping away of all prior political authority in newly conquered territories. When such authority was vested in a ruler whose own legitimacy was associated with a royal temple, typically one that housed idol of ruling dynasty's state-deity, that temple was normally looted or destroyed or converted into a mosque, which succeeded in 'detaching the defeated raja from the most prominent manifestation of his former legitimacy'. Temples that were not so identified were normally left untouched. Hence, Eaton writes, it is wrong to explain this phenomenon by appealing to what he calls as an 'essentialized theology of iconoclasm felt to be intrinsic to Islam'.
Royal temple complexes were pre-eminently political institutions, Eaton says. The central icon, housed in a royal temple's garba griha or 'womb-chamber' and inhabited by the state-deity of the temple's royal patron, expressed the 'shared sovereignty of king and deity'. Therefore, Eaton stresses, temple-breaking, especially of temples associated with ruling houses, was essentially a political, rather than simply religious, act. As proof of this thesis he cites instances of the sacking of royal temples of Hindu rulers by rival Hindu kings as early as the sixth century C.E.. In AD 642 CE the Pallava king Narashimhavarman I looted the image of Ganesha from the Chalukyan capital of Vatapi.. In the eighth century, Bengali troops sought revenge on king Lalitaditya by destroying what they thought was the image of Vishnu Vaikuntha, the state deity of Lalitaditya's kingdom in Kashmir. In the early ninth century the Pandyan king Srimara Srivallabha also invaded Sri Lanka and took back to his capital a gold
Malaysia - Banggarma verdict 'religiously discriminatory'
Free Malaysia Today
Kaula Lumpur
We intend to write an op-ed about this, however as a Muslim at this time, I appeal to the judge to reverse his decision.
" ... Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error ..." [2:256]
This is Islam's unambiguous affirmation of freedom of faith, which also applies to changing of faith. The Qur'an illuminates before the humanity the two highways [90:10], one of which leads to salvation. Islam is an invitation to the highway toward salvation, but it is based on FREEDOM OF CHOICE.
The verdict amounts to forcing Ms. Bangarma to believe what she does not believe, that is not Islamic in any sense. The original intention of such ruling was to prevent treason against the state for switching loyalties to harm the state, sort of double agent. Bangarma is no harm to the state, her belief in Hinduism must be honored.
Mike Ghouse,
World Muslim Congress,
Dallas, Texas
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US-based HAF calls Banggarma verdict 'religiously discriminatory'
KUALA LUMPUR: US-based The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has condemned the Penang High Court decision to deny 28 year old Siti Hasnah Banggarma the right to change her religion back to Hinduism.
After a long, drawn out court battle, Banggarma was left with little hope as Justice Mohammed Yacoob Sam referred the case contesting her conversion to the Syariah Court.
Banggarma, born a Hindu, claimed that state authorities forcibly converted her to Islam at the age of seven while she was under the care of a government-run orphanage.
She later married a Hindu in a traditional Hindu ceremony, but could not officially register her marriage nor could she list her Hindu husband as the father of their children on birth certificates.
Malaysian law requires any non-Muslim marrying a Muslim to convert to Islam before a marriage is legally recognized.
“The right to religious freedom has continued to erode in Malaysia, and minorities continue to suffer,” said Professor Ramesh Rao, HAF’s Human Rights Coordinator.
“This case, which was covered in HAF’s 2009 human rights report, is yet another of example of officially sanctioned religious discrimination and coercion."
Although Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, minorities, particularly ethnic Indians and Hindus, have continued to face serious discrimination over the years.
HAF’s annual Hindu human rights report, 'Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights 2009', documented the discrimination, intimidation and persecution faced by Malaysia’s minority Hindu population.
The Foundation has also supported the work of Hindraf, a human rights organization that monitors, documents and publicly highlights human rights abuses faced by the country’s minority Hindu population.
“We hope that Banggarma will eventually be permitted to return to the faith of her birth,” added Rao.
“HAF will continue to monitor this case along with the litany of human rights abuses in Malaysia.“
The Hindu American Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization promoting the Hindu and American ideals of understanding, tolerance and pluralism.
Also read:
Muslims speak out against Harassment of Minorities
By Mike Ghouse
The Talibans have begun harassing Ismaili Muslims in Pakistan. They would not spare any one and will not be satisfied until the last person left obeys them. If this trend is not checked and criticized, they may think that they have the approval from the Muslims. They don't.
They need to know clearly and loudly that their ideology has no currency among Muslims and above all, their cruelty is not Islam, not one bit.
We must also acknowledge that only 1/10th of 1% of a group resorts to extremism, including Muslims. It has nothing to do with religion, it has everything to do with their insecurities, fears and inabilities to dialogue and co-exist.
A few thousand Talibans left in Afghanistan and Pakistan do not value a billion and a half Muslims who differ with them, you don’t mean a thing to them . When they usurp a little power, they take the steps in policing and compelling you to conformity. Please remember that God is about justice and he has not signed a deal with any one behind other people’s back. We have to find peace on our own, it is our individual and collective responsibility. We cannot have peace if we don't contribute any towards it.
Since the late 50's, minorities under Muslim labeled governments have not lived a life of freedom and peace. They are afraid of the majority and shamefully, we the members of the society are letting it happen. However, we have to acknowledge, what Islam says is one thing and what Bully Muslims (in our behalf) do is the other. Mind you, the bullyism is not exclusive to Muslims, you'll find them in every faith, culture, race and nations, Islam is no exception.
The Clerics in Malaysian government attempted to ban usage of the word "Allah" by Sikhs and Christians, how dumb can they be? No one has copy rights to any word of God, they belong to all mankind. Muslims don't own the Qur'aan either, it belongs to any one who seeks wisdom in it, just as other holy books. Did those clergymen know the verse “Alhamdu Lillahi Rabbul Aalameen?” God is the lord of all universes – they should know it, they recite it at least 50 times a day.
How many of us stood up to defend (Islam ) the rights of Minorities? The bully rule was in place in Pakistan with no major protest. The loud mouths (1/10ths of 1%) still defend the draconian, non-Islamic Zia ul Haq rules with the label of Islam on it. It is much like labeling the meat as the oxymoron phrase "Halal Pork". Have the Pakistani Muslims spoken against it? We are supposed to stand for justice, aren't we? Isn’t that what makes us Muslims?
Take it easy, we Americans are no different, we let Bush run all over us during the last six years, we did not even have the guts to speak out for the first four years, not even the rattish Senators and the congresspersons.
There is a request floating around asking the Ismaili Muslims to share their religious practices or have access to their place of worship. At one time I believed that it was a good idea to share it and put things to rest, but would that stop the inquisition? How do you expect the Minorities to share their practices, and why should they? To be persecuted while the majority shamelessly watches it?
Until you and I stand up for Justice, stand up for the rights of all human beings, including the minorities in either Sunni or Shia majority governments, we have not lived our religion nor have we contributed towards world peace, which is the purpose of Islam. The words used by the Prophet to describe one aspect of this stance was "Jihad" and the other is the inner struggle to be moral and to be righteous.
Those few among us, who who jump up and down pointing at the injustices done by the people of other faiths, nations and cultures, please know that our morality is not dependent on what others do or not do. We have to do our duty and leave it to God to give guidance to all.
Let the minorities among us have the freedom to share what they want and we should defend that right. Insha Allah, let's begin that with you and I. Will you stand up? Better yet, should others stand up for you when you are threatened?
Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims
Shia Muslims believe that the spiritual leadership of Islam was passed on to Hazrat Ali at Ghadir Qum, when the Prophet was returning to Medina from his last sermon. They also believe that the Prophet had assigned the spiritual leadership (Imamat) to Hazrat Ali pointing towards him when the verse “the Deen is complete now” was revealed. Furthermore, the Shia believe that the Prophet used the word “Aal” meaning family in his last sermon. The Shia Muslims beleive that the Prophet (pbuh) had said that he is leaving the book and his Aal for us to follow.
Ismaili tradition is a branch of the Shia tradition, where one believed the 12th Imam was taken by God, and the Ismaili's believe that the imamat continued down to Aga Khan, the current Imam.
Neither you nor they can judge who is a Muslim or not, that is the prerogative of Allah. However, most Muslims agree that on the Day of Judgment your ID will be simply Muslim and not any prefix or suffix, but more importantly, were you a good human being to God's creation?
The other important value of Islam is freedom. This may come as a rude shock to some Muslims that even the innocuous asking "that I am fasting are you?" "It's time for Salat" are subtle compulsions and Islam does not believe in compulsion. Prayer is between Allah and the individual and not the responsibility of a government or other being.
No one will come to your rescue on the Day of Judgment; neither your clergy nor the prophet would give you a free pass, it is your responsibility to earn it through good deeds.
It would be nice to be a part of the congregational prayer, it has its own beauty and the lord listens to the congregants who come together in peace to do the peaceful thing. There should be no compulsion or even suggestion. Let the individual do his or her duty, it is not you, not me that is going to have to respond to God, it is the follower. If you can recall that the Prophet even told his daughter Fatima that she ain't going to get a free pass to heaven, because she is his daughter, she had to earn it on her own. Prayers should remain one’s choice and no one should compel the other.
As Muslims, we do not have the time to do the Ijtihaad, the consultative decision making process on issues of the day. As a result we Muslims have been reduced to rituals, rather than the spirit. It is time to believe in the prime value of Islam; freedom.
