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HINDUISM TOQ\Y \\115 founde<l January 5, 1919, by Saiguru Sivnya Subramuniynswami 10 strengthen all Hlndu linE·ages. Published monthly by Himalayan Academy, 101 XahoJalele Road, :Kapaa, Hawaii 96146-9304 USA. ~Iume 19, No. 9. Edilorial Office Ph: 1-8()8.822-7032. Subscriptions: 1-8Q8.822-3152 or 1-800-890-1008. Advertising: 1-8()8.823-9620 or 1-800-850-1008. All-department fax: 1-8Q8.822-4351. USA sub­scriptions: '"$3511 year, 56512 years, 59513 years, $5OOIlJfetime. Ebreign rales on re­quest 0 1997 HimaJaynn Academy. All rights reserved. lSSN# 0896-08OL

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PUBliSHER; Salguru Sivaya Subramuniynswami ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR: Paramacharya Bodhinatha EDITOR- IN-CHIEF: Acharya Palaniswami PUBliSHER'S ASSISTANT: Acbarya Ceyonswami DEPUTY EDITOR: Acharya Kumarswami MANAGING EDITOR: 'JYngi Arumugaswami GRAPHICS DIRECTOR: 'JYngi Natarajaswami MAURITIUS EDITOR: 1Yagi Murugaswami MAURITIUS STAFF WRITER: 'JYngi Devaswami PROD. MANAGER/STAFF WRITER: Tyagi Kathirswami DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR: Yogi Kasinatha MANAGING EDITOR'S AIDE: Yogi Rlshinatha ADVERTISINO MANAGER: Sadhaka Jothinatha SUBSCRiPTION MANAGER: Sadhaka Haranandinatha EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S ASSISTANT: Yogi Yuganatbn

.. . dCTOBEl\, 1997

.. : ~~~ ~~.:t. .- ,­~ ---07~ __ • O-v-I NTE ~NATIONAL Russia: Tough Religion Bill Vetoed 17 Cover Story: What a River! Pure and Pu-

trid, Lifeline for 1Il0th of Humanity 22 Youth: America's Hindu EJollege Students

Take Their Destiny in Hand 28 Interview: L.K. Advani Speaks on India 31 Goa: Struggling Bravely to Overcome

400 Years of Portuguese Rule 48

LIFESTYLE,....-Insight: 'I}J.e Yamas and Niyamas, 1\venty • Laws for Living a Good Life 3t

Astrology: Predicting the Stock Market 40 Mehndi: Hindu Body Painting is

Suddenly a Hot American Craze 46 , .. . OPINION

t Pub}lsher's Desk: Keeping Secrets, the First Step in Leaving Home 6

Editorial: It Can be fIard to be a Hindu Youth These Day~ 8

My Turn: Call Us "Hindu Americans" 9 Letters 14 Healing: Helping Prostrate ~roblems 44 Minister's Message: Invitation to Dialogue 52

DI C ESU' S " Quotes & Quips

;; ;.- Dlaspora 10 Evolutions 44 11 Digital Dharma ·54

'" ~ Brlefly .. . ..l ... '" " ..l

/

20

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COVER: A smiling Banaras boatman rows along the early-morning Ganges. Hindus bathe in and drink the river water here, most unaware the pollution level is now ten ~ousand times hi her than international standards. Movements hope to change that. •.

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PUBLISHER'S DESK

Keepi.ng Secrets: the First Step in Leaving Home Hindu Dharma values family togetherness as a central virtue. By growing together, we avoid drifting apart.

BY SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI

TO STRENGTHEN FAMILY

ties is a very important ques­tion these days. It is said that Jawaharlal Nehru was instru­mental in breaking up the

extended family structure in his at-. tempt to industrialize India. After that, once-tightly-knit families really suffered as age-old family ties be­came loosened. The wealth of ex­tended families dispersed in many directions as nuclear families formed and money was unnecessarily spent to maintain the ever-increasing needs of a multiplicity of households.

Let us explore what a family actually is. People seem to have forgotten. In America before the First World War there were won­derful, well-established, large joint families, with twenty, thirty or more people all living in one home. Everyone had chores. And they all knew their place within the family structure. They loved and cared for each other, and mother was always in the home. We may be a long time in rebuilding family togetherness to the point when the extended family is back in vogue, but meanwhile we are still faced with maintaining family lffiity. The Hindu Students' C0uncil, whom we feature in this issue, are working hard to redis­cover their roots and strengthen family values. Our staff had many inspiFing interviews with bright young Hindus in America who are working in their communities to make a difference and reestablish the old culture of caring for one another. We congratulate and welcome their efforts, for they are the leade s of the tomorrow:

I tell parents who seek my advice that one way to keep a family together is to show all members that you want to be with them, that you need them in your life. Not, "Get out of my life, you are bothering me. I have other thipgs to do. I have goals in life that don't include you." This hurtful attitude is based on the belief that when children reach age 18 they~hould leave home and support themselves. This pattern is the result of two world wars, when every able-bodied young man left home to join the army. This callousness on the part of parents leads to alienation from their children, who then begin leading independent lives. That leads to the fIrst step in leaving home: keeping secrets from the parents.

With each secret kept, a small distance is created. A large dis­tance is created when fIve or ten secrets accumulate and deception becomes a habit. When too many secrets mount up, parents and their children don't talk to each other much anymore. Why do secrets create a distance? Because every secret must be protected.

6 HINDUISM TODAY. OCTOBER, 1997

This requires cleverness, sneaking around to keep the matter hidden, even lying. Secrets give rise to angry outbursts to keep others away, such as 'Tm insulted that you would even suspect me of that!" Arguments erupt that go unresolved, and an impen­etrable barrier is established.

Mom and Dad are heard saying to one another, "They're so different now: I can't reach them anymore." Of course, the children have

been taught to be cautious, in a sense forced into keeping secrets, lest unloving parents curse them or beat them with­out mercy for transgressions large and small. Many are afraid of the wrath of mothers and fathers who rule their fam­ily by fear. In today's world it is so easy to leave home. It is so easy for the family to break up. It's even expected. Husbands' and wives' keeping secrets from each other creates a similar dis­tance. The fInal divorce decree started with the fIrst secret.

In an ideal family, children should be able to tell .their mother and father any" thing and everything. The parents should want to understand and realize that if they don't understand but misun­derstand, they participate in the break­up o( their own family. Of course, it might be hard for them to deal with certain experiences their children are having, but all they have to do is look back in their own life, ac- I

tions and private thoughts to know that their children are living out the same fantasies. The children repeat the still-active karmas of their parents. Children are born into families with karmic pat­terns that are compatible with their own. I can predict what young people are going to do in their future, and the temptations that will come up, if I know the karmic patterns of their parents. With this knowledge, it is easy to guide them through life, helping them avoid temptations and experiences that their parents lived through.

All of these experiences are set into motion by the individual himself, by his own past actions. Every experience, no matter how diffIcult or embarrassing, is a g06d experience, providing the les­son to be learned is extracted from it. Experiences that are unre­solvetl and repressed can be very burdensome for the individual. Living Hindu Dharma makes us our own psychologist, psychia­trist, counselor and problem-solver. This is because one slow!;' be­comes the watcher of his mind thinking, the watcher of his emotions feeling, acting and reacting.

r

Caught in the act: Father discovers son hiding a book on sex, an area 17Wst families don't talk about. Adolescents often resort to se­crecy, deception and cunning. If this father is wise, he will discuss the situation calmly, without callous words or condemnation . . ... ' .... ·ft .... ".,··· •• U.'tllt .. t ••• U .... ", •••• ,UUt •• " •• , .... . ....... ,tt,.,tt ............ ,u.uu ••••• nfUt •• ' .... 'n .. "t.

Holding the ~family together can be summed up in one word: love. Love is understanding. Love is acceptance. Love is making somebody feel good about his experience, whether the experience is a good one or not. Love is giving the assurance that there is no need to keep secrets, no matter what has happ'ened. Love is want­ing to be with members of the family. A father who wants to hold his family together rushes home from work. He doesn't think to himself, "Why should I go home to all their problems when I can continue working at the clinic for awhile longer." Loving parents, father or mother, want to be with their children, and they let them know this in so many ways. They face up to problems with love, trust and understanding. They know that problems are only prob­lems because of lack of understanding. They also know, through living Hindu Dharma, that love and trust bring understanding and acceptance of the lessons of the experiences, which are natural manifestations of individual birth karmas and collective family karmas. This approach keeps the family strong and cohesive. In a home where Hindu Dharma is lived, no one has a private life. No one has a secret life.

When harmony y>ersists in the home, harmony is in the commu­nity, and harmony is in the country. When love and trust is in the family, love and trust extend to the local community, and the coun­try becomes stronger and more secure. Making strong distinctions between good and bad does not help youths understand their de­sires and temptations. The only path through their lives is one experience after another. They evolve into better people through understanding their experiences.

Children and young adults who have been holding secrets and now feel that it is time to become close to their family again should tell their parents they want to be completely open and disclose what they have been hiding. Then give parents a few days to ad­just and prepare to listen. Once reconciliation takes place, hugging and talking will begin again, and the warm, loving feeling of fami­ly will take over the home. Something magical happens when se­crets are brought out in the open among loved ones. Many youths have told me their parents were surprisingly understanding. Se­crets are psychic burdens, and releasing them, youths tell me, gives a great sense'of upliftment, like a balloon dropping its counter­weight and soaring skyward. They feel instantly closer to their parents, free of guilt, happier, less stressful, no longer defensive and more interested in helping others.

One of the biggest areas of secrecy is sex. It is important that parents give their children an education in sexual behavior early on. This will also bring and keep the family togetherness. Many parents fmd it diffIcult to talk about sex, drugs and the various kinds of temptations that the world offers today. If this is the case, it is best to seek community or professional help. Not talking leaves children unprepared. Parents force their children into secre­cy by s~owing these are areas that caimot or will not be faced in the light of dgy. The home then becomes like an empty house. All begin wishing that conditions will improve, but they never do.

We can now see that the fIrst secret is the issue, for it leads to many, many more, be it on the part of the children keeping secrets from their parents, wives from husbands, husbands from wives, student from guru, and on 1md on. The solution is to follow the yamas and niyamas (see page 32-35), the do's and do not's of Hin­du Dharma. These are the natural laws of Sanatana Dharma. These are the human ethics that hold families together, marriages together, communities together, countries together. These eternal Vedic precepts are for everyone, no matter who they are.

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 7

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EDITORIAL questions, we need to give honest answers.

MakiDg it Relevant For Smart Young Souls

They may fmd some parts of Hinduism hard to believe. No probl~m. Let them ex­plore various beliefs, trusting they will come to the right conclusions. Solution: Study Sanatana Dharma yourself, then pass it along.

3. Lack of practice in the home. We of­ten want kids to have the best of the Hindu heritage without liVIng it ourselves. Kids won't learn from this. They learn from ex-

Lessons on how not to teach and promulgate our fait~, including blunders we still commit

ample in the home. «Do as I say, not as I do" never works. If you are deeply immersed, they will absorb it (not right away, but ultimately). If your home puja is half-hearted, don't expect the chil<ken to

BY THE EDITOR

EADERS OF THIS' MONTH'S ARTICLE ON THE HINDU students' council (HSC) will encounter a dynamic move­ment involving thousands of modern Hindu youth who just happen to be mostly American-born. There are other such institutions. A 6,000-member UK clone, the National

Hindu Students' Forum, is a potent. parallel. The college-age team at the University of Durban-Westville in South Africa is another. These groups are uplifting. But they ar.e also rare. More and more, the youth of the world are leaving their family's traditions behind. That goes for q hristians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, too.

Religions need a fresh approach if they harbor any hope of capturing the minds and h.earts of todays young ones. In most so­cieties-certainly rural India-kids no longer are protected from competing ideas or spiritual choices. They attend schools where they may be in the minority. They watch TV, with its undigestible buffet of values and visions. They hang out on streets or the Internet, where options are infinite and seldom high-minded. We shouldn't be surprised that kids drift from the culture. But we should be vigilant, and we must be creative in how we re­spond to their drifting. How are we failing? What are the problehls we have in conveying our heritage to children? I asked the experts, ki<ils, and assembled their perceptions. See if they coincide with your own:

1. Gultural.differences. When a child is going to school in a non-Hindu nation, her family reli­gious ways are viewed as odd. They compare mom's Hindu ways with friends' moms' Christ­ian or Muslim ways. The strong will survive the test, others will succumb to a force slightly greater than gravity near a neutron star-peer pressure. A child's need to fit i"nto her surround­figs, to be like and liked by her friends, should never be underestimated. Peers "an ask tough questions, some sincere, others intended to challenge or even insult-«Do you worship cows?" «Is it true you don't use toilet paper?" Solution: Teach kids at home, or in schools that honor your family's tradition. At the very least, be sure they are surrounded by understanding friends. Otherwise, there is little one can do all day when they are out there in the Big Wide World, struggling with their identity.

2. Parents' lack of knowledge. Kids sense instantly if we know what we are talking about. If we don't understand our pat'h, they will turn off the minute we talk about it. When they ask tough

8 HINDUISM TODAY OC OBER, 1997

be interested. If your temple visits are per­functory and not truly devotional or mean­ingful to you, they will seem shallow and

needless to your kids. Solution: Work on yourself Be a good prac­ticing Hindu. Preach less, do more.

4. Heros are too few. Kids love heros, someone they can look up to. In many nations there are just no good Hindu heros, so they turn to local athletes, musicians or movie stars. Solution: Tell them about the great Hindu women and men, how they lived, thought and acted. Read them stories. Better yet, bring them into contact with living Hindus who have made a difference. Invite Madhu Kishwar to your community or get your daughter to w.rite to Kirin Bede. Let them meet with inspired examples. Keep HINDUISM TODAY on the family coffee table and point out articles that show­case leaders who exemplify qualities your child should develop.

5. Parents need to be aware that their strictness, loving though it is and intended to guide and protect, can seem overbearing to a

child, especially after 12 or so. One I5-year-old boy confided to me, «Kids have problems with parents who enfQrce things too much. If they dictate, then you want to rebel." This is related to trust. If parents show they don't trust their offspring, if they hold the ryins too tight, they can create an unintended reaction, driving a child away, into the arms of the wOFld. Any dis­trust or disrespect we give kids just comes back at us. They know you value Hinduism. If they become alienated, they will dump dh!ll"ma just to strike back. Expressing your trust often and giving them a little freedom to walk on their own feet and discover the world for themselves can prevent this.

6. Befriend your children. Do things togetp.er, from ap. early age. Inspire them to do well, but also accept them as they are, not as you think they should be. Don't rule them, harass them or underestimate them. If you wait until the'y turn adolescent to do all this, it's too late. Kids tell me, «Parents think we're dumb, and we're not!" By treating kids maturely, you encourage com­

munication with them. Otherwise, distance is made, as seen in one' teen's complaint to me, «Parents pretty much don't know their kids, and kids don't want them to."

7. FUn. At a certain point in life, the number one priority is not survival, but having fun. Teens may want to be with friends or go surfing instead of to the temple. Make it possible to do both. Hin­duism needs to have an element of fun in it. In India this works because of the festivals and greater social order. Elsewhere it can mean being different, strange, an outsider. Solution: Find ways to

I

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make Hinduism more enjoyable.-Summer camps in America are a good example of this, as is the HSC for college-age HiI).dus. Such social encounters, intellectual friend­$hips and entertainments make it a joy to be a Idindu. .

Here are some sobering quotes ,from high school age boys and girls in 4ustralia. If we listen to their voices, we may learn how to connect to them again. We asked them sev­eral questions. Here is a sampling:

How has Hinduism failed you? «There are so many concepts that people can't comprehend; neither can we." «It has not provided all the answers, neither have I looked for any answers in Hinduism." «Par­ents do pujas blindly. They don't explain what all the things mean. We're just sup­posed tb shut-up and hold our hands in prayer. I don't understand that." «My family doesn't stress religion much. They tell me to study, study, rather than pray, pray." ''All those silly stories are, in my opinion, quite unnecessary. They confuse the young mind. Now, why do our Gods fight? Why does Muruga have two wives?" «It's just not being advertised. Compare the amount of crosses yeu see to the number of aums. Hindus are generally in the dark." «You say Hinduism is the world's oldest religion. Then it should have matured-by now. We still worship icons. We play with fire and do other things that people find weird."

Why don't you like or take an interest in your culture and heritage? "There are many things we ddn't understand. When­ever we ask our parents, they dismiss the question or don't know the answer. For ex­ample, when I asked my mother how many Gods in our religion, she said she doesn't know because there are so many." «Why do we go to temples? Why-do we waste time chanting old Sanskrit words over a fire? Why rdo we do pujas? How do we get bless­ing from. giving food to an idol?" «Well, the ideas or-karma, reincarnation and the wor­ship of one God are interesting. But all the rest I fmd quite boring and useless." «Why should I? My parents don't care. We have a shrine room and all, but we just hold our palms together and sing. I don't find that interesting." «Hindus are always fighting among themselves. They are toleIflllt to­ward others, but not among themselves." "What use is an old religion in the * w­modern, high tech-world? Can it help me get a job? We have to progress along with the rest of society."

All of that is Kid Reality, for which we need better responses. The words of Swami VivelCananda are no less compelling today, 100 years later, 'J\s long as the Hindu race does not forget th'e great inheritance of their forefathers, there is no power on Earth to destroy them."

MY TURN ,

Let Us Call Ourselves "'Hindu Americans" It is only logical as linguistic and state identities diminish over the generations

BY YASH PAL LAKRA

CCORDING TO THE LATEST census estimates, there are about one million people of

origin living in the USA. Some estimate there are more. The majority of these peo­ple are Hindus. Every person and group of persons has to have an identity. Identity is not just a name or appellation which other people can attach to you. Identity is based on who you are, what your beliefs are and how you relate to the world and other things around you. Indians, or some times «East Indians," is the name or identi­ty given to us or we choose to have. Of course, amongst us, we identify' ourselves with a language group or a state group, such as Gujaratis, Punjabis, Telugu. Not many people who are Hindus and are of Indian origin identify themselves as Hin­dus. This is not true of the Muslims of Indi­an origin. Their Muslim identity to them is more important than their Indian id~ntity.

The question to answer is: should we ... the Hindus living ~ this country, call ourselves 'Americans of Indian origin" or just «Indi­ans" or «Hindu Americans'? My answer is the latter. Most of us left India voluntarily ~thout compunction or by force. Many of us have taken up American citizenship. Our children, especially those who are born in this country, are defmitely Ameri­cans. Indians is a political term, that is a citizen of India, or a racial term for a peo­ple of South Asian origin. When we J.iave adopted this country as ours, we cannot go on saying we are Indians. Being Indians and being Americans is not contradictory, but it surely is confusing. To rationalize this, many Indians have been demanding rights to dual citizenship. This has many

MR. YASH PAL LAKRA is the current presi­dent ofVHp, 'USA. He is a general surgeon by profession and lives in Michigan, USA.

practical and logistical difficul­ties. That is why, in spite of genuine efforts, the govern­ment of India has not been able to grant the request of dual citizenship. Why «Hindu Americans'? Because we are Hindus and we are Americans. As time passes, our linguistic and state identity is going to diminish.

I am not saying we should forget India or not care about India. On the contrary, Hin­dus living in any part of the world should care about India. We should see that India becomes strong and prosperous, because India is the foup.tainhead or the source of the philosophy, religion and the way of life we call Hinduism or Hindutva. If India is weak and poor, Hindus in,the rest of the world will not get the respect they deserve. If Hinduism dies in India, H;,.induism will die in the rest of the world also.

Our children and their children may be identified as «Indians" or 'Americans of Indian origin." I'd rather we emphasize the -Hindu identity. We should want to be con­sidered Americans no less than any other American, and also as Hindus. There are Hindus in this country who migrated from, countries other than India. Therefore, call­ing ourselves Hindus will increase our bond and fraternity with Hindus of non­Indian origin. Being Hindus gives us an outlook of the 'world which is holistic, uni­versal, nondiscriminatory and more in tune with the thinking of the founding fathers of the American Republic. As Hindus, we have much more to offer to this country. Therefore, we, the Hindus living in the USA, should call ourselves Hindu Ameri­cans and live proudly by the Hindu ideals of Ekam satya vipra bahudha vadanti (Truth is one, sages called it in different names), and Vasudhaivya kutumbhakam (The whole world is a family ).

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUISM TOD AY 9

/

BANGLADESH

United Hindus

O NE GROUP IN DHAKA IS

applying Mahatma Ghan­dian zeal to create a united Hindu front in this 90 percent Hindu country of Bangladesh. Shibsan'kar Chakraborty­president of the National Asso­ciation of Hindus for Reforma­tion of Society-says, "We should accelerate ourselves un­

Nine. years of rugged training go into these Manipuri .drum dancers; a quartet twirls in Mauritius

der a single banner of universal Hinduism. In this way Hin­du society will step for­ward."To­ward this end, the society is working to abohsh the dowry sys­tem, the

MAURITIUS

Dazzling Drum DanCing

C OSMIC CREATION IS MARKED

by a drum on Siva Natara­ja-an infinity of forms arid forces rhythmed from a single vibration of consciousness. The Hindu drum dancers of Mani­puri strike comphcated, synco­pated patterns on drums they carry while dancing., often ex­plosively breaking into ballet­hke leaps and airborn spins,

sometimes playing one anoth­er's drums in a flurry of arms and hands crossing. And while they aren't beating out a uni­verse, they created white-tailed comets and solar flares of joy­ous wonder in the audiences of Mauritius.

It was Manipuri (in India near China) meets Mauritius­and the Manipuri Jagoi Marup

THE VEDAS

God's Word, Sages'Voices

Instill in us a wholesome, happy mind, with goodwill and understanding. Then shall we ever dehght in your friendship hke cows who gladly rejoice in meadows green. This is my joyful message.

RIG VEDA 10.25.1.

All this universe is in the glory of God, of Siva, the

God of love. The heads and faces of men are His own, and He is in the hearts of all.

KRISHNA YA]UR VEDA, SVETASVATARA UPANISHAD 3.li

He is the God of forms infInite, in whose glory all things are, smaller than the smallest atom, and yet the creator of all, ever hYing in the mystery of His creation. In the vision of this God of love there is everlasting peace.

KRlSHNA YAJUR VEDA, SVETASVATARA UPANISHAD 4.14

12 HINDUISM TODA'I' 0 G.,TOBER , 1997

troupe turned out to be the most popular dancers to ever tour there. The all-male troupe, founded in 1963, now with 2,500 international perfor­mances under i~ sash, also included a thrilhng martial arts dance with real swords and spears, and a solo drum dance of mystical devotion set to a large drum (pung) with a range from watery whisper to ear­crunching thunder. Mauritian culture enthusiasts are looking forward to a return visit.

caste system and divisive philosophies in Hinduism. They repair ashrams and mandirs, organize rehgious gatherings and teach unity among all the Hindus.

God is, in truth, the whole universe: what was, what is and what beyond shall ever be. He is the God of hfe immortal and of all hfe that hves by food. His hands and feet are everywhere. He has heads and mouths everywhere. He sees all, He hears all. He is in all, and He Is.

KRISHNA YAJUR VEDA, SVETASVATARA UPAN1SHAD 3.lS- 16

Girded by the wind, they have donned ocher mud for a garment. So soon as the Gods have entered within them, they follow the wings of the wind, these silent ascetics.

RIG VEDA 10.136.2

Let him approach with humility a guru who is learned in the scriptures and estabhshed in Brahman. To such a seek­er, whose mind is tranquil and senses controlled, and who has approached him in the proper manner, let the learned guru impart the science of Brahman, through which the true, Imperishable Being is reahzed.

ATHARVA VEDA, MUNDAKA UPAN1SHAD L2.12-13

Having transcended the desire for sons, the desire for wealth, the desire for worlds, they go about as mendicants. For the desire for sons is the desire for wealth, and the desire for wealth is the desire for worlds. All these are nothing but desires. He, the atman, is not this, not this.

SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD 4.4.22

Verses are drawn from various sources. 'Those taken from The Vedic Experience by Prof Raimon Panikkar are available at www. HinduismToday.kauaLhi. us/ashramIDir-New.html#VedExp.html

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13

p

A Dream Come True! IN TODAY'S ATMOSPHERE WHERE PEOPI!.E ar~ trading in the name of religion and some are forced and bribed to de;: so, I foupd your magazine very i.nteresting and encour­aging to the new generation to preserve and safeguard our culture, heritage and religion. It also motivates us to unite together to help our poor and downtrodden Hintlu families aJ} over the world. Many people will defi­nitely subscribe and also extehd their help in achieving "our" goal.

:LETTERS how many of us cared to know the real cause of division of the joint family system.

Malicious Media

R.L.SARIN WATERWO, IOWA, USA

I FEEL IT IS SO WRONG HOW THE MEDIA IS blaming Eastern religions, especially Hin­duism, for the Heaven's Gate ml1"ss suicide ["The Spaceship Suicide," CULT, July '97]. Hinduism is not to blame. The reason why people turn to cults are myriad-the lack of

HERMANT SHARMA love and compassion in our society, the HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA breakdown of the family, the loss of commu­

Cultivating Cult Culture I WAS SO SAD TO HEAR THAT HINDUISM TODAY'S cult status application has been so unjustly denied ["Cult Status Denied," EDI­TORIAL, July '97]. I had such high hopes to see it listed way up among the top twenty (just above the Vatican). Particularly upset­ting was the fact that TM has yet made no claims of being Hindu, and that scholars consider Osho as non-Hindu. This reminds me of a recent debate in HINDUISM TODAY regarding the "Beyond Hinduism" Sai Baba issue. What di<;l Rajneesh do to totally ex­clude himself that others have yet failed to discover? Many neo-Hindu organizations disclaim from time to time being Hindu, as the need arises. Is it to avoid being lumped­in with everyone else's cult(ure)? Even HIN­DUISM TODAY displays rather subtle (at best of times) leanings to~ard Saivism over oth­er "cults."

.. nity, the alienation felt by people in a tech­nological age devoid of a spiritual heart and focus. It is an einbarrassment for me as an American woman to see media display igno­rant and hurtful attitudes toward other faiths. The enemy is not some outside agericy. The enemy comes from within. It is our own in­humanity toward each other. I believe our nation can cure itself. But to do so takes awareness and emotional maturity. Blaming Hinduism for our problems is maintaining the same escapist mentality as those who believed Mr. Applegate was the next savior.

, NISTULADASA BRAMA'CHARI SRI PUNDARIK DRAM

CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH

V We're glad you saw the wit in our editor's satire on cults. Other readers took the piece seriously, believing the US government real­ly does have a cult licensing office. They don't. Our .. editor promises never again to jest like that. (No one here believes ~hat either.)

. , Let's Find the Real Cause AN ARTICLE "LET JOINT FAMILIES FORGE A Better FUture" was read with great astonish­ment [MY TURN, August '97]. Mr. Bharat J. Gajjar has blamed and is trying to convict Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru of breaking the joint family system in India by imposing more taxes on joint famil{es and giving in­centive to smaller families. <Nehru might have made some mistakes, but we cannot forget the sacrifices he had made for the na­tion and the common good., If India was not industrialized, we would not have been able to grow food ~d manufacture other things for the population we now have. I do agree that united we grow and divided we fall, but

14 H'INDUISM TODAY OCTOBER , 1997

Casteing Blame

.M'ENDy~SCHULJAN CORAM, NEW YORK, USA

I ENJOYED READING THE ARTICLE "50

Years of Freedom" (CELEBRATION, August '97). But I differ with you when you say, "these communal problems are inherited . from Britain's divide and rule policy." Good excuse to blame everything on Britain. C6mmunal problems were created by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and its successive governments by giving special privileges to minorities and promoting casteism by label­ing Hindus by schedule castes, backward castes, forward castes, tribal castes, and the latest one is mandai caste just to make sure that ).heir phony secularism rules Delhi by appeasing them, and in result disintegrating Hindu society. Unfortunately, they are very su~cessful due to ignorance and illiteracy.

KANTI B. PATEL ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA, USA

I

Not a Trivial Matter YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT KRISHNA'S BIRTH­place ~ the third or fourth article I've seen describing an anti-Muslim hate group with tittle or no criticism thereof ["Sights on Krishna's Birthplace," INDIA, August '97]. What disturbed me even more deeply was the last paragraph of your defenS'e of the Jain peoples' use of the swastika ["The Twist of Fate," MEDIA, August )97], where you claim that people in India "are not aware of the potent emotional associations of the swastika, nor of the Jews' collective

oath to 'never forget' ... but the Nazis are dead an~ gone." My father narrowly escaped exe­cution by a Nazi death squad in the Nether­lands at the age of five. I can find no polite ~ay to express how HINDUISM TODAY'S trivi­alization of fascism makes me feel.

Jains Say Jai!

RYAN AMPTMEYES­MONTICELW, INDIANA, USA

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE WELL done story on Swastika ["The Twist of Fate," MEDIA, August '97]. I faxed a copy of the ar­ticle to Time, but so far I have not heard from them. But the ·copy I sent to The :Toronto Star was republished. Also, there was an annual picnic of the Jain Society here and many Jains had gathered and this article was well received.

PRAKASH MODY NORTH YORK, ONTARIO, CANADA

".Prakash _ Mody@tvo.org

Kundalini: Let's Be Circumspect FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, AN INCREASING number of people seem to be interested in kundalini-a sacred and secret science of India. A casual browse through religious sites on the World Wide Web yields a morass of information which seems to be growing exponentially. I believe in addition to Hindus, the non-Hindus can also enrich their knowledge from such a database. On the other hand, it also has potential for bad implications. I think people who document such literature should observe some kind of self-imposed restrictions. The information should be comprehensive enough to evoke interest in the reader, but there must be some threshold beyond which it may prove to be counterproductive. If we keep on par­roting kundalini over and over again, it will only tend to lose an aura of mysteriousness at the end of the day. While writing books on kundalini, it would be logical to avoid specific details on its mechanism, which the

.. reader should be encouraged to work out With his guru. All autp.entic religious groups should jointly agree to some kind 6f restric­tion on what and how much to publish.

PAWAN KUMAR DRAR ESSEN,GERMANY

".pawan.kumar@uni-essen.

Letters with writers name, address and daytime phone number, should be sent to:

Letters, HINDUISM TODAY 107 Kaholalele Road KAPAA, HI, 96746-9304 USA or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 or e-mailed to: letters@HinduismToday.ka\lai.hi.us

Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may appear in electronic versions of HINDUISM TODAY. " INDICATES LETTERS RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL

National Code of Conduct

For the Citizens of India 1. Patriotism: Our Motherland should be our first and highest consideration. Welfare of the nation is our own

welfare. Therefore, let us willingly be ready to offer up even our own life for our country. Let us inculcate in our children and members of our family love for our country, the spirit of patriotism and service to our country and our fellow citizens.

2. Duty: Our first and foremost duty is to God and to Righteousness. Leading a righteous life is the best and most valuable service to our Nation.

3. Character: Character is the greatest wealth. A pure, incorruptible citizen is the greatest asset of our Nation. This is vital and indispensable. Therefore, good character is to be given top priority value; upon this de­pends our nation's welfare and its future stability.

4. Health: Health is the basis of success. Health is wealth. Next to character, it is the greatest national asset. As citizens, building up character and safeguarding health should be our primary duty to the Nation.

5. Virtue: Let us join hands and eradicate the evils of gambling, liquor-drinking, drug-taking, tobacco-smok­ing and betel-cheWing. Let us eradicate the evils of bribery, corruption, selfishness, immorality, dishonesty and misconduct. Disloyalty to our Nation is a crime and an unpardonable sin.

6. Public Property: 0 Citizen! We are custodians of public property. Let us not spoil, misuse, steal or destroy National property. Let us preserve it with love and care. Let us keep our country neat and clean. This is your sacred duty.

7. One Family: All our citizens are brethren. Let us feel this fraterriity. Let us all love each other and one another and be united because we are one family.

8. Religion: We must have equal reverence for all religions, creeds and faiths . Let us love as our own brothers the followers of other faiths. Let us treat others as we wish to be treated by them.

9. Non-violence: At all costs avoid every type of violence and hatred, for this is a blot on the fair name of the Nation. It is soul-killing and causes great harm to our country's welfare and development. It is totally op­posed to our Nation's ideal.

10. Economy: Let us adopt simple living and high thinking. Let us not be extravagant. Let us avoid waste. Let us practise frugality. Let us share what we have with our less fortunate fellow citizens. This is National virtue that our India needs today.

11. Law: Let us respect the rule of law and uphold social justice. In this lies the guarantee of our welfare and orderly progress towards a better India.

12. Ahimsa: Non-injury is our highest virtue (Ahirnsa Paramo Dharmah). Compassion is a divine quality. Protection of animals is our sacred duty. This is India's special teaching. Let us be compassionate towards all creatures. Thus be a Indian. Try to become an embodiment of kindness, compassion and goodness in your everyday life.

13. Ecology: Man and Nature are inseparable. Man and his natural environment are inter-related and mutually interdependent. Everything in Nature contributes to our protection and nourishment. Let us, therefore, pro­tect our natural environment. Helping in maintaining the ecological balance is our duty. It is indispensable for our safe living and highest welfare. Polluting of public places and polluting of air and water of the coun­try is a national crime. We must make amends for our past lapses.

14. Unity: The more united the people of a country, the greater is their ability to withstand all obstacles and dangers. United we stand, divided we fall. This is particularly true about today's India. Therefore, let us live in close harmony and loving goodwill with all our countrymen. Love of our country means love of our countrymen. This is the most invaluable service a Citizen of India can offer to our Motherland.

15. Education: The process of education should incorporate within it the imparting of the basic knowledge of India's great culture, its lofty ideals and noble values and principles of living. Our education has to be ori­ented for enriching and enhancing the quality of life of our youth and students.

Thus, shine as a true citizen and serve your country best by the very manner of your life and conduct.

LOU-e"F~ 01 t/z,e" COal(tF? Sponsored by the devotees of:

The Divine Life Society of Maryland, 6606 Hardwood Lane, Keedys~ille, MD 21756, USA. Web: http://www.rsl.ukans.edu/ -pkanagar / divine/ • Please copy and distribute this national code of conduct.

15

16

Ayurveda Holistic Center Books by Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha:

Yoga Vani Instructions for the attain­ment of Siddhayoga during sadhana. postpaid: US$13.50 (USA) $16.50 (Canada)

Guru Bani 100 ways to attain inner peace. How to live a spiritual life-for monks and families. postpaid: US$9.50 (USA) $12.50 (Canada)

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Shri Anandi Ma-Master of Kundalini Maha Yoga-will be offering public meditation programs in:

• Surat, Gujarat, India NovemberlDecember 1997 please contact: (0261)-668276 for more details. Shaktipat initiation will be offered at least one week­end during this time.

• USA programs will commence again in February 1998

"With Shaktipat, the student is saturated with Divine Ener­gy. After Shaktipat, the Kundalini is permanently awakened and, like a mother, constantly cares for and nourishes her infant. One may be of any religion, caste, or creed to benefit; for all persons, the field of inner joy is the same. After Shak­ti-pat, the Shakti will take the student to the ultimate goal, without doubt."

For general information about Shri Anandi Ma, Kundalini Maha Yoga or Shaktipat, contact:

Dhyanyoga Centers PO Box 3194 Antioch, CA 94531-3194 USA Tel: 510-757-9361 • http://www.dyc.org/

Printworld Services Pte. Ltd. Specialists in English-language books focussing (more than 1,000 titles) on Hinduism, Indian civilization and culture. • Pictorial story books for children and beginners. • Condensed and simplified books on Hinduism by saints and sages of various sampradayas. • Translations of philosophical works aimed at practitioners. • Ma, Who is a Hindu? By N.T. Nair. A nonacademic foun­

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Pressured to veto: Russian President Boris Yeltsin talks to press in Finland in early July

RUSSIA

other foreign preachers speak dy­namically and are translated into clear, modern Russian.

Various nationalist groups back the Church even though they don't support Christianity-85 to 90% of all Ru'ssians are atheists or indifferent to religion. But they view the foreign missionary activ­ity as a threat to Russian identity, and-after the Aum Shinrikyo nerve-gas attack in Tokyo-a threat to national security. Aum Shinrikyo had many Russian members and a weekly prime­time Moscow TV show. Locals dislike, too, the Jehovah's Witness­es, who refuse to salute the flag. The only group really opposed to the bill is the new class of Russian businessmen (instrumental in fi­nancing Yeltsin's election) who would suffer from international sanctions.

The bill (available in English by email from keston.institute@ keston.org) is a more reasonable document than Western media summaries of it might lead one to believe. Much of it does indeed guarantee, as its title states, "Freedom of Conscience and Re­

Yeltsin Axes Restrictive Act ligious Associations." Some provi­sions, such as restrictions on po­litical involvement of religious groups, are identical to US law. Its

But Russia's parliament, wary of foreign missionaries, may press for a modified bill

IN FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND ON

Religious Association" was the Russ­ian parliament's legislative response to the onslaught of missionary activity

by Christian and other religious groups in the heartland of the former Soviet Union. Under heavy international pressure, includ­ing a threat by the US Senate to cut off all US economic aid to Russia, President Yelstin partially vetoed the bill on July 22. The Russian Parliament originally passed the bill 337 to five. It can now either try to override the veto completely, or to revise the bill and accommodate Yeltsin's requested changes.

Only specific "traditional religions" of Rus­sia-the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism-would enjoy full re­ligious rights under the bill. Also recognized were "traditionally existing local beliefs" of various peoples which would appear to in­clude some pagan and shamanist religions, plus a few minor Christian sects such as the Pentacostals, Seventh Day Adventists and Baptists, who were in Russia since the time

of the Czars. All others-Roman Catholic, most Protestants, Moonies, Hindus, etc.­could register as a "religious group" and be allowed to meet, but not to hold property, publish books or exist as a legal corporate en­tity. Upon application and meeting of strict standards, such religious groups could be­come full-fledged "religious organizations"­but only after fifteen years. The legislation would effectively put out of business most foreign Christian missionary activity in the country, as well as curtail the functioning of several small Hindu groups such as ISKCON, the Brahma Kumaris and the Tantra Sangha.

The Russian Orthodox Church is the main force behind the bill. Their leaders were shocked a few years ago when American evangelist Billy Graham swept into Moscow and attracted hundreds of thousands of Rus­sians to his giant stadium rallies. They had never seen such religious fervor. Staid Or­thodox Church services are sermon-less and conducted in archaic Slovonik, incompre­hensible to modern Russians. Graham and

most objected-to provision is the restriction on forming a legal re­ligious body.

Article 14 spells out the in­fringements which could lead to dissolution of a religious organi­

zation (or nongranting of legal status in the first place). They include undermining the social order, threatening the security of the state, spreading propaganda of religious dis­sension or hatred, forcing a family to disin­tegrate, encouraging refusal of medical help, hindering receiving of compulsory educa­tion and forcing members to turn their prop­erty over to the organization. Russian critics of the bill fear the creation of a government office, a "Modern Inquisition," to continual­ly monitor all the groups for possible in­fringement.

Russia is not alone in wanting to impose some restraints on aggressive evangelists and spiritual groups. Other nations feel the same anguish over the loss of old cultures and are rightfully struggling to prevent what is a new kind of invasion from afar. Alexander Bulekov, a Russian Orthodox Church spokes­man said that after rewording the bill to mute some of the criticism, it will be resub­mitted and "we expect the parliament will overcome the presidents rejection." :~,

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUI SM TODAY 17

18

Gurani Anjali (Guruvi)

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The Ananda Course in Self-Realization is a Audio Book: Read by Swami Kriyananda, a c~mprehensive home-study course with instruc- close, direct disciple who lived and studied tion in beginning and advanced meditation, yoga with Paramhansa Yogananda. The original postttres for higher awareness, breathing exercises, 1946 edition of Autobiography of a Yogi yoga philosophy, diet, ntttrition and vegetarian- audio book is $29.95, includes six cassettes ism, deepening your spirituallifi and Kriya Yoga (approx. 10 hours) of selected chapters. To preparato n. For a brochure, order or for a free catalog,

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Pilgrimage to Lord Shiva's ice-lingam at ~arnath began in July with tne first 1,600 pilgrims outnumbered six to one by securi­ty troops. They also had unprecedented cooperation from the Jammu and Kashmir government. Chief Minister Farooq Abdul­lah stayed overnight at Pahalgam, base c9ffiP for the 29-mile pilgrimage to the sa­cred shrine. 242 pilgrims died last year in severe weather. The government had hoped to limit the pilgrims to 75,000, but 120,000 were expected to make the trek.

The "Vijay Yatra" of the Shankaracharyas of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham included a warm reception by Sikh clergy at the Gold­en Temple in Amritsar. Sri Jayendra Saraswati and Sri Vijayendra Sara­swathi began their tour of North In­dia in April, "to spread Adi Shan­kara's message of the 'spiritual uni­ty of all mankind,' Sikhs' Golden Temple or the propaga-tion of the tenets of Sanatana Dharma," re­ported The Hindu.

Buddhism is burgeoning in France. The Na­tional Catholic Register notes: 15% of French people are inlerested in Buddhism, and 2 million people list Buddhism as their favorite religion. France now has 200 Bud­dhist meditation centers. Europe's first Buddhist university is now in Paris; and Buddhist programming is even showing on government-run television.

Transcendental Meditation will be re­searched as a technique for preventing he~t attacks and strokes among African­Americans, under a $1.6 million dollar grant from USA's National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute. "It is the first time that funding for clinical research has been awarded to explore the unique technique as a preventive intervention for people at high risk for cardiovascular disease," said Robert Schneider, Dean of Vedic Medicine at Ma­harishi University of Management in Iowa.

Sotheby's, London's oldest auction house, will move all of its regular sales of antiqui­ties to New York, folloWing revelations it sold artifacts smuggled into Britain. Occa­sional sales will take place in London, but only if the items are "from collections of unquestionecf provenance." The move fol­lows increasing concern among archeolo-

gists that the international market for antiq­uities encourages looting and illicit excava­tion of religious sites, particularly in India, Russia, Egypt and Italy.

MacDonald's has prevailed in England's longest-ever court trial, but its "McLibel" lawsuit victory against vegefarians Dave Morris and Helen Steel was served with a side of humiliation. The veggies had dis­tributed pamphlets characterizing Mac­Donald's as the epitome of evil multination-

, al capitalism. While Justice Roger Bell agreed the company had been defamed, he also agreed that MacDonald's is sometimes cruel to animals, exploits children through . advertising and underpays its British work­ers. The leafleting resumed, and thif vege-tarians planned to appeal.

Corporal punishment is being expelled from India's National Policy on Education. To demonstrate dedication to education as a "unique investment," a phased plan known as "operation blackboard" says, "Physical punishment may p'romote confor-mity il} the short term, but research find­ings suggest that it tends to increase the probability of aggression and deviance."

Priceless pieces.of Angkor Wat continue to be stolen and sold, but now the Internation­al Council of Museums is responding to the plunder of the world's largest religious mon­ument. Both New York's Metropolitan Mu­seum of Art, and Honolulu's Academy of Arts recently decided to return stolen Cam­bodian sculptures. But as recently as a year ago a customer could enter an an­tique shop across the border in Bangkok, examine pictures of the temples and or­der pieces to be sawed off, said He-len Ibbitson Jessup, Head hunters curator of the Na-tional Gallery's exhibit. , The United Religions Initiative, a visionary project to create daily dialogue among reli­gions, is dedicated to peace among people of all faiths-and acts of peace are always acts of courage. Witness the apology of­fered by Iftekhar Hai, interfaith coordina­tor,of the United Muslims of Anierica, dur­ing closing ceremonies at the Second Annual URI Global Summit at Stanford

Uhlversity in June. Acknowledging history, he asked "forgiveness for any Muslim ag­wession ever done anywhere by any Mus­lim," and pledged to go anywhere in the world in support of healing by the URI. All rose in ovation. Attended by 200 people from dozens of faiths, including indigenous traditions, the week's work toward a URI charter for signing in the year 2000 result­ed in 21 research and development task groups in areas as varied as "Defending Re­ligious Rights" and "Scientific Academic Discourse." Contact: URI, 1055 Taylor • Street, San Francisco, CA, 94108, USA. Email: unitrelig@igc.org.

Smearing the reputation of Dr. Deepak Chopra cost the Rupert Murdocli-owned Weekly Standard a formal "correction and an apology" as settlement of a $35 million dollar libel suit. A ' 1996 article made false accusations about the best-selling author. "We regret any harm that may have been done .... We believe that Dr. Chopra is sincere and forthright in his Chopra still strong teachings ... " the magazine said.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Kerala, India, has given HINDUISM TODAY publisher Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami its "Hindu Voice of the Century" award. The award includes a statue of Subramuniyawami and a cash grant of Rs.5,00l, according to Kerala VHP vice president Dr. Chandrababu.

Catholic nuns are aging into a health care crisis. Of the sisters now in the USA, only 569 are under age 30, just 3% under 40,

"while 70% are over age 60. Buildings that . once housed novices .we being converted into nursing homes. Health care cOSts for se­niors are so high that orders are selling property, seeking government aid and merg­ing orders. Accounting firm Arthur Ander­sen Inc. found that religious orders last year were US$7.9 billion short of the funds need­ed to care for their 100,000 retired priests and nuns. The nups serve long past the time people usually retire, and they tend to live five years longer on average.

BRIEFLY is compiled from press, TV and wire-service reports and edited by RAVI

PERUMAN, award-Winning radio journalist at KGO in San Francisco.

20 H INDUISM TODAY OCTOBER, 1997 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: WORLD WIDE WEB , ANCIENT CAMBODIA, PERFECT HEALTH

I

~

Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Rath )'atra Celebrations

GRAND CHARIOT PROCESSION Sunday, October 19, 1997

Barsana Dham Austin, Texas U.S.A. Barsana Dham Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple 400 Barsana Rd., Austin, TX 78737 USA

Ph: (512) 288-7180

http://www.isdl.org

10:00 AM - 11 :30 AM

through Barsana Dham

11 :30 AM - Noon

Noon -12:30 PM

1 2:30 PM -2:00 PM

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Program Rath Yatra Hundreds of thou sands of flowers w ill shower the proceSSion as it follows a beaut iful pa th

Devotional bhajans by Pandit T iwari, Trinidad. Meera Devi, Ranjana Devi, Priya Dasi , Brajeshwa ri Devi

Speech and bleSSings of H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati Lu nch prasad Magnificent Cultural Program

Rampant, debilitating disease is already the result of Ganga pollution. Unchecked, its human health toll may reach catastrophic proportions in a few years.

UR CONSCIOUSNESS HAS GONE IN­

to a slumber. Our sensitivity has slipped into a strange coma,"

l'ruLUvU'" activist Rakesh Kumar

·t ·····.··· " . . : . of Kanpur, a city of one

400 kIn southeast of Del­«Reople need to be awakened

to the problem of Ganga pollution." His Eco­Friends organization is one of a handful try­ing desperately to awaken India and the world to the present pitiful plight of Ganga Mata, Mother Ganges. She is polluted by enormous quantities of human and industri­al waste. Disease-causing organisms and poi­sonous chemicals abound in Her ever-sacred waters. Rampant illness, disability and early death is the result, a tremendous drain upon India's human resources. Payal Sampat is a staff researcher at The Worldwatch Insti­tute, a renowned social and environmental think tank. This report is condensed from her original analysis published in World Watch magazine, July/August, 1996.

22 HINDUISM TODAY OCTOBER, 1997

SPECIAL REPORT By PAYAL SAMPAT

THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE

WASHINGTON, D.C. AccoJ ding to Hindu mythology, the Ganges river 'of India-the Goddess Ganga-came down to the Earth from the skies. As the riv­er 'rushed down, God Siva stood waiting on the peaks of the Himalayas to catch it in His matted locks. From His hair, it began its journey across the Indian subcontinent. Whatever one makes of this myth, the Gan­ga does, in fact, carry extraordinary powers of both &-eation and destruction in its long descent from the Himalayas. At its source, it springs as melted ice from an immense glacia1 cave lined with icicles that do look like long strands of hair. Today .the river symbolizes purification to millions of Hin­dus the world over, who believe that drink­ing'or bathing in its waters willl~ad to rrwk­sha, or salvation.

There may be a scientific as well as reli­gious basis for the beliefs that this river can

bring purification. According to environ­mental engineer D.S. Bhargava, the Ganga decomposes organic waste 15 to 25 times faster than other rivers. This fmding has never been fully explained. The Ganga has an extraordinarily high rate of reaeration (the process by which it absorbs atmospher­ic oxygen), and it can retain dissolved oxy­gen much longer than water from other rivers. This could explain why bottled water from the Ganga reportedly does not putrefy

.;even after many years of storage. Today the Ganga jiupports a staggering

400 million people along its 2,510 'kilometer (1,560 mile) course. If the delta it shares with the mouth of the Brahmaputra River is included, the number of people it supports rises to half a billion, or nearly one-tenth of all humanity, maki!lg it the most populous river basin in the world.

Over 29 cities, ;70 towns and thousands of villages extend along the Ganga's banks. Nearly all of their sewage-over 1.3 billion liters per day-goes directly into the river, along with thousands of animal carcasses, mainly cattle. Another 260 million liters of industrial waste are added to this by hun­dreds of factories along the river's banks.

The result is deeply ironic: this ancient

symbol of purity and cleansing has become, over much of its length, a great open sewer. The Itransformation began centuries ago, when the basin's rich cropland and abundant wildlife made it a perfect place for human settlement. For a long time, the river seemed impervious to damage; its enormous volume of water diluted or decomposed waste very rapidly, and the annual monsoons regularly flushed 't out. With 20th century pressures of burgeoning population and industrial growth, the Ganga is teetering under ' the burden placed on its cleansing capacities.

From the mountains to the sea: It is at Rishikesh that the defilement begins, as raw sewage is dumped into the river along with hydrochloric acid, acetone and other efflu­ents from large pharmaceutical companies, and heavy metals and chlorinated solvents from electronics plants. From Rishikesh on, the river is never able to rewn its balance before the next onslaught of unsought offer­ings eomes its way. Perhaps the worst as­saults occur at the city of Kanpur, where the hides of horses, goats and cattle are brought to factories for tanning. Some 80 tanneries operate here, ccihsuming and discharging large quantities of water as skins_go through an extensive chemieal treatment from the

time they are scoured with lime to when they are treated with chromium salts. The chromium lends a greenish hue to the drink­ing water the city draws from the river. Or~ ganic wastes-hair, flesh and other animal remains-are thrown into the river, giving it a fetid stench. As they sink into the water, they mingle with the effluents of some 70 other industrial plants-mainly sugar facto­ries that disgorge a thick molasses-like sub­stance, and textile companies that throw in various bleaches, dyes and acids. Kanpur also contributes to the river about 400 mil­lion liters of sew~ge each day.

Another dose of nitrates and phosphorus comes straight from the Indian ~Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative, a group of fertilizer factories just before the city of Allahabad. Thus laden~with mud, raw sewage, heavy metals, fertilizers and pesticides-the river heads east toward its junction with another great river, the Yamuna. Unfortunately, what might have been a fresh infusion of water here is not to be. The Yamuna, it turns out, has a sorry saga of its own. Flowing parallel to the ganga just a little to the west: the Ya­muna p'asses through New Dellii, picking up another massive quantity of sewage and oth­er pollutants. At Allahabad, the now volumi-

nous Ganga receives an additional load of 150 million liters of se3'age each day.

About 150 kilqmeters east of Allahabad, the Ganga reaches Varanasi (Banaras), the place most associated with the river by its devotees. Varanasi is one of India's oldest cities, and is considered to be its holiest. Its sewer system was built by the British in 1917, designed to serve one-tenth tJ:ie popu­lation of the city today. This antiquated sys­tem does little more than pipe raw sewage int~ the river.

Multitudes of pilgrims come to Varanasi to bathe in the Ganga and ili-ink its watef, con­vinced of its purifying qualities-and undis­suaded by the fact that coliform bacteria

. levels here far exceed the limits considered safe. The World Health Organization stan­dards for drinking wa~r stipulate coliform levels of no more than l{) per 100 milliliters of water. In Varanasi. coliform counts are as high as 100,000 per 100 ml. Elsewhere in the river, they range from 4,500 upstream to 120,000 downstream. Not surprisingly, wa­ter-related ailments like amoebic dysentery, gastro-enteritis, tape-worm infestations, ty­phoid, cholera and viral h~patitis are ex­tremely common in the Gangetic region. One person in the region dies of diarrhea

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 23

" every minute, and eight of every 10 people in Calcutta suffer from amoebic dysentery each year.

The river moves on to Bihar's capital, Pat­na, a major producer of agricultural chemi­cals, where the water undergoes still further alteration. Farther downstream, the large oil refinery at Barauni is notorious for piping huge amounts of oily sludge into the river. Ten years ago at this location, a two-kilome­ter stretch of the river caught fire and burned for 16 hours.

When the Ganga ~nters West Bengal, it branches into the Hooghly, which turns south toward Calcutta. About 150 large in­dustrial pl!lJ1.ts are lined up on the

a billion people in the next generation. This would mean 2.5 billion liters of sewage, or double today's quantity, and 2 billion liters of industrial effluents discharged into the riv­er each day by the year 2020.

In any life process, whether that of an in­dividual organism or a large ecosystem, gradually increasing stress does not result simply in gradually increasing impairment; at some point the whole process collapses­as is now happening in the Ganga. If this continues much longer, the Ganga will be­come incapable of serving its traditional waste-removal function, or of providing us­able water for industries or homes. Already,

I

40 million workdays and'tnillions of rupees in health services are lost each year due to diseases the river carries. With a collapse of basic freshwater services, those losses could explode.

The link between the river's health and that of the region it sustains has been given short shrift by policymakers. In 1985, the Indian government launched an Action Plan to clean the river, but it failed abjectly-due to pervasive corruption, mismanagement and technological bungling-and was duly abandoned. A fundamental reason for the failure was that most of those who have a stake in the river's ~ealth were never includ-

banks of the Hooghly at Calcutta. • GANGOTRI Together, these plants contribute 30 percent of the total industrial effluent reaching the mouths of the Ganga. Of this, half comes from pulp and paper industries whic;h discharge a dark brown, oxygen-craving slurry of bark and wood fiber, mercury and other ~ heavy metals which accumulate

A River of Purity and Poison

in fish tissues and chemical toxins like bleaches and dyes, which produce dioxin and other persis­tent compounds. In the United States, the Environmental Protec­tion Agency has set a standard for suspended solids at 100 particles G per liter of water, but the ~ount in ~ the Hooghly is over 6,000. ~

SEWAGE

Nearly every imaginable hazardous by-product of human activity is dumped in e Ganga from Rishikesh to the Bay of Bengal

KATHMANDU

Yamuna River • PRAYAG (ALLAHABAD)

~ i \;;;;J

TANNERIES CORPSES CARCASSES DISTILLERIES

L SHOE FACTORIES PHARMACEUTICAL FERTILIZERS

8 /

It

SHIPS

, ed in the planning. But as conditions have worsened, the prospect of having their life­support system incapacitated may spur con­cerned industrialists, farmers, public health officials and ecologists to succeed where the bureaucrats failed. The spiritual role of the river, too, could provide a powerful force for change. Dr. V.B. Mishra, a Hindu priest and professor of hydraulic engineering who leads the Clean Ganga Campaign in Vara­nasi, tells adherents that the river's sacred­ness is reason enough to preserve it.

To observers in" other parts of the world, the case of the Ganga may seem uniquely horrific; it may be hard to grasp how people ,

MAJOR ASHRAM A

MAJOR

TEMPLES

KUMBRA Mm SITES

Bay of Bengal

do ,

Toward a bleak futurll: Despite ~ the long history of the river's des- ~ ecration, what has happened to ~ date may pale beside what awaits ~ this region i( current practices ~ continue. The population of the ~ basinispr~ectedtoreachalmost ~~ ______________________________________________________________________________ -11--________ ~~~ .. __ .. ____ ~ ________ ..J

I

24 HINDUISM TODAY OCTOBER, 1997

Purity to Pollution: Bhagirathi and Alaknand flow together (jar left) at Devprayag to form Ganga. Varanasi bathers (left) taking a serious risk to their health. Thousands of turtles intended to consume fiver waste w ere immediately poached by local fish­ermen shortly after their release at Banaras (above).

could knowingly put raw sewage into the same water they bathe in or drink. Yet, what has happened here is fundamentally no dif­ferent f~om the continued abuse of ecosys­tems allover the world. Whether it is the contamination of groundwater by nuclear waste in fuIssia, the bioaccumulation of tox­ic chemicals in fish, or the killing of thou­sands of lakes by acid rain in Scandinavia, the long-range risks are no less alarming.

To the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia or the Ganga valley, there was possibly no greater crime than the desecration of a river. Despite all we know about the conse­quences of our polluting actions, we repudi­ate tl1is respectful relationship with the re­sources on which we depend. It is -a relationship that neither India nor the world can continue to ignore. ..."

WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE, 1776 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE , WASHINGTON, D C, 20036, USA

OF ORGANIZATIONS ARE

working to clean up the Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra,

M8tllalJ.q·1·," and his local Sankat iHIJCiidlJ Foundation and interna­tional support group, Friends of

the Ganges, concentrates on Banaras. Ac­cording to Mahantji, an expensive sewage system built under the Ganga Action Plan does not function as planned and has result­ed in sewage flooding into city streets. He advocates a new, passive system which will

. shunt all sewage downstream below the city into low~tech oxidation ponds. American Fran Peavey, president of Friends of the Ganges, told HINDUISM TODAY, "If we [ an fix pollution here in this holy city, it will be a model-for the rest of India." She is an exam­ple of how non-Indians can be inspired to help. "You don't have to be an Indian to love Ganga," she said. "I fell in love with the riv-

er when I first came here 16 years ago. Something happened to me that was not comprehensible in normal' thinking."

Jaiswal of Eco-Friends is concentrated on the Kanpur area. Jaiswal canvassed thou­sands of saints and sadhus at the 1995 Ardra Kumbha Mela at Allahabad, but found him­self in competition with other hot political issues such as Ramjanma Bhoomi and was only modestly successful in explaining the rivers plight to a few religious leaders.

What can you do? The pollution problems described in this article can be permanently solved only by the government. It will take decades and billions of dollars. So what should we do in the meantime~ People in Western countries have lived with seriously polluted waterways for centuries. They don't swim in a river unless they know for certain it is not dangerously polluted. No one in the United States would drink directly from die Mississippi, a river with half the water flow of Ganga. No Western nation is attempting to clean up a river or lake to the extent one cOl1ld drink from it; rather the focus has . been on supplying purif>.ed water by pipes. This too might be a better goal for 1ndia's cities than to completely depollute the rivers.

Because the rivers in India are cleaner at some times of the year than others, festivals and pilgrimages centered around the rivers could be adjusted accor>iingly. Those bathing at rivers where pollution is a significant haz­ard should be systernp.tically warned and ad­vised on how to protect themselves. The many temples and ashrams along the Ganga can take a role in this public education, and all Hindus can help Mahantji, Jaiswal, Meh­ta and others clean the Gan~es.

CONTACTS: SANKAT MOCHAN FOUNDATION, BIl45, VARANASI, 22 1 005 . INDIA. F RIEND S OF THE GANGE S, 318 1 M I SSION

STREET, #30 , SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94110, USA. ECO­FRIEND S, POST BOX 287, KANPUR, 208 001, INOlA.

OCTOBER, 1997 HfNDUISM TODAY 25

"\

· INTERVIEW

World's Most Effective Environmental Attorney Indian law allows for a unique form of activism

New Delhi attorney M.C. Mehta hlUJ successfully argued before India' Supreme Courtthatpollu­tion IUJ a hazarcho life is a viola­tion of every Indians constitu­tionally guaranteed "Right to Life."'l The court hm; consequent­ly intervened directly, issuing sweeping judgments closing in­dustries and demanding others meet exacting standards. Mehta talks about his plUJsion in inter­views with the Multinational Monitor and HINDUISM -TODAY Delhi correspondent, Rajiv Malik.

Why he got involved

participation of the people is not there.

The saints must help I

Ganga is the holiest of holy rivers, and every Hindu has a deep reverence for it and is ready to do his bit in a "Clean Gan­ga" project-provided there are the right kind of people wBo can inspire the people at large. Presently, religious organizations and spiritual people' are not working in an organized manner. The saints and spiritual

leaders who go and have a bath in Ganga must know that Gan­ga's water is totally unfit for washing, bathing, drinking and irrigation purposes. If we be­lieve that Ganga is our motheF, how can we let our mother not be clean? It is nothing less than a sacrilege the way the Ganga is today.

An all-India crisis India is suffering from an envi­ronmental crisis. Now is the time to save the country. We should learn lessons from the Western countries, and not re­peat their mistakes. We should control pollution at the source, so that problems dont emerge later on. Indian rivers and lakes are polluted, and groundwater sources in many places have become highly contaminated.

Beware the multinationals

In 1985, I learned that the Gan­ga caught fire near Haridwar, one of the ho~est pilgrim centers in India. The effluents from two factories were so toxic that in 1984 somebody put a lit match into the river by chance and a whole one-kilometer stretch caught fire. The fire went 20 feet high and could not be extin­guished for three hours. I learned that there )Vere many people who had become sick from the water. I filed a petition in Ithe Supreme Court of India in 1985 ,against these two polluting factOFies. The scope of the case

Award: Mehta (left) wOf! the 1996 Goldman Environment Prize

The multinationals which are now comin$ to this country are behaving atrociously. When they are in the United States, Germany or any other Western country, they observe the laws. But once they come over here, they pollute and ignore all laws. If these multinationals are pol­

has now been broadened to include all the industries and all the municipal towns in the river basin-from the beginning to the end , of the Ganga. The court has directed more than 5,000 factories to install air and water pollution control devices. In the last few years, the Court has even ordrred factories t6 close until they install pollution control devices and meet prescribed st1Uidards.

The "Right to Life" provision In India, we are fortunate that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution gives the "Right to Life." The Supreme Court has broadened th~ scope of this Right to Life to include the right to live in a healthy environment. If I am breathing unclean air, or drinking contaminated water, I cannot live a healthy life. Pollution is thus a threat to life. And if there is a threat to life, a citizen can go to

26 HINDUISM TOD A.Y O ~TOBER, 1997

court and file a petition. Many parts of the Ganga river are totally dead; the water is so polluted that it is unfit for drinking, wash­ing, bathing or irrigational purposes. Thir­ty percent of the Ganga pollution is being caused by industry. Seventy percent is caused by cities and towns which dis­charge domestic waste straiitht into the Ganga. The municipal bodies say. that they do not have money to treat the waste, and you can't close down a city.

The Ganga Action Plan Soon after the filing of the case, the Gov­ernment of India initiated a Ganga Action Plan to clean the Ganga river. The Plan has been a complete failure. It did not yield any results. Rs.500 crore (US$I42 million) has gone down the drain. No program of cleaning Ganga can be successful if the

luting in this country, the NGOs [non-gov­ernmental organizationsl-like Greenpeace and others-should pressure them in th~ir hQme countries. That is the only way that they wont pollute. Development should take place. But development should not take place at the cost of human suffering and human'life.

His Ganga Action Plan Two groups should be formed to carryon ' the work, one at the international level and the other at the national level. These two groups can be formed as nucleus groups comprising three to five people. But these few people should be people of great in­tegrity and commitment. If one model city is created, others can follow suit. If I can be of any help to anyone please contact me.

M.C. MEHTA, 5, ANANDLOK, KHELGAON MARC , NEW DELHI, 110 049, INDIA.

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YOUTH

Searchi~g fer University celebrates universality wherever the Hindu Students' Council asks, «Who are we?"

HEN I WAS 12 YEARS OLD, American kids would gang up

at the bus stop, yelling, 'Gandhi dot! Gandhi dot! ' to make fun of my bindi, and ask 'Why do peo­

ple in India worship cows and drink cow urine?' until I cried," remembers Falguni Trivedi, a freshman in Houston, Texas, now looking forward to her fIrst year of Hindu Students' Council activities. "It's pretty tough for young Hindus stuck be­tween two cultures. At HSC I can be with others, get support, learn to understand and teach my culture, so that when we face these things, we don't have to feel con­demned. One day I will have to pass this on to my own kids."

ly meetings on campus where students en­gage in a modern prasnottara satsang (ques­tion and answer truth-seeking gatherings) and svadyaya (self upliftment). Students delve into Hindu subjects and sometimes bring in swamis and leaders to speak on Hindu dharma and culture. Kanchan says, "The national HSC is sponsored by the VHP right now, but we hope to establish our own non-profIt organization this year. Each local chapter is a self-governing, independent en­tity registered as a student organization un­der the rules of its university."

Pride and Progress: Now a medical grad­uate student, Mihir Meghani, 25, started the HSC chapter at the University of Michigan

Miss Falguni is not alone. Ten years ago the need for young Hindus to frnd some way to ex­plore their identity and articu­late their culture gnawed at older students as well. Coordi­nator and founding member, Kanchan Banerjee, now 35 and working, says, "In 1~90 Gokul Kunnath, Ajah Shah 'and I envi­sioned a student organization whose goal was understanding Hindu culture and heritage. I was at Boston University at that time. We thought maybe the Indian Club would work. But when they would not allow a Deepavali puja because there was a Muslim member, we got the message. We contacted stu­dents across many campuse;; and with the help of the Vish­

Pick of the litter: A popular HSC service is Adopt a Highway

wa Hindu Parishad (VHP) he,!.d a small camp of 35 in New Jersey and settled on the name 'Hindu Students' Council.' "

"The fIrst chapter was started at the Uni­versity of Maryland, the second at North­eastern University in Boston and the third in 1991 at the University of Micliigan," Kan­chan said. "In the second year we had seven chapters. By 1996 we reached 50 chapters, with over 1,400 signed, paid members and over 7,000 participants in our programs." HSC's core activities are weekly or biweek-

28 HINDUISM TOD A<Y OCTOBER , 1997

in 1991. As a national media coor4inator, he proudly recounted HSC achievements. "Be­sides our numerous chapters, among all reli­gions we have the most active religious stu­dent group on campuses. Our Web site (rated in the top 1 percent by CNN), quar­terly magazine and on-line forum have cre­ated a strong national network. We feel like we are a family. We have a summer camp and a winfer conference. This year each of the 50 chapters celebrated India's freedom. Another achievement was the Global Vision

2000 conference in Washington, D.C., in 1993. So many students took that whole summer off We brought together 2,000 youths from allover ilie world."

HSC is an remarkable flowering of the diaspora of Indians and Sri Lankans, whose children, born far from ancestral lands, strugglf; for religious identity. Many blame parents "who work for fame, po\'{­er, prestige and money, while los­ing our rishis' heritage!" So, these fouth choose to slay the drageFl of

ignorance with their own hands. It's a dy­namic national and international movement of brilliant young people busy reestablishing · their roots in Hindu dharma for themselves and their children. , HINDUISM TODAY spoke with Dheeraj K. Singhal, 22, in Washington, D.C. , where he works in congressional offIces during the summer. After heading up the California chapter at UCLA, he heads for law school this year. "Our parents just practiced what­ever their parents had inculcated into them.

They were not able to pass -our tests. We asked, 'Who is Ganesha? Why is He a guy with an elephant head? Why do Indian women wear a bindi (forehead dot)? Why do we pray to weird Gods like Kali?' Nobody had answers! Parents don't know; they're lost. Th~y don't know where to look. Kids are really desperate to know who they are, the meaning of their customs. This giant voip of ignorance facing them is a great issue."

"The other issue is the one of identity," said Dheeraj, "Kids can't really call them­selves American. They look in the mirror and they realize they are not white. Some­how they don't exactly fIt. Their names are not like Mark, David, Joe or Marianne. Their culture, customs, religious festivals are not exactly mainstream Am:ericana. They ask, 'Are we Indo-Americans? Are we Indi­ans? Are we Hindu? These different labels, what exactly are they?' How do you recon­cile all these different beliefs and the stereo­typical images we get of like, 'Hey, India, that's the place Where all iliese poor people live who worship cows and do things with cow dung that Amer·icans would never do in

July '97 7th Annual HSC Camp: HSC memJjers from USA and abroad bond in New Hampshire and celebrate India's freedom

their life.' How does a young person face that? HSC is not about an organization. It's about discovering, 'Who am I?' Its a growth process. It's not about activities. It's the fo­rum, the open discussion with people who are learning together, that is the key."

RashI9i Gupta, 25, a third-year medical student in Ohio, shared the conflicts facing Hindus on campus. "I have been with HSC for se\.en years, from the beginning. HSC helps us understand and stand up for our culture. I am an octo-Iacto vegetarian, and just yesterday one of my professors/was lec­turing on a case where the person was veg­etarian. He made remarks that ridiculed vegetariani'sm, and some students joined in to laugh at it. Now, if I were a young vege­

. tarian Hindu and heard this in class, it would really bother me. But because of HSC I am strong. I learned about ahimsa (nonin­juriousness). Through HSC I have a'n in­credible support group. Other Indian stu­dents tend to reject everything Indian. For example, they might not want to attend a puja, because it's not 'in: not 'cool: and they fear rejection by their white peers, Ameri-

can professors and colleagues. This rejection gets pretty bizarre, like purposely mispro­nouncing their Indian names. They are fo­cused on a career, of course, but otherwise lost. They waste time at parties, get involved in heavy drinking, shallow relationships, dating two or three people at the same time, looking down on their parents as old-fash­ioned. But HSC members have friends with . similar commitments, ~ave kept more of their values, spend their time usefully, re­spect their families, have more direction and some spiritual grounding. Without HSC, I probably would have also just been assimilated into mainstream Western mate-rialist culture." ,.

Strengthened by Opposition: Universities have typically been )lot beds of ideological struggles. As a religious campus group, HSC faces Christian evangelists and cult-busters on one side and secular humanists on the other. They are also targets of the anti-Hin­du forces present in India.

Mihir Meghani, who has seen it all, says, "We face two forces of resistance. One is from within: Indians who are shy to identi-

OCTOBER, 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 29

\

I I

Hanging out in Houston: The power of HSC lies in its open forum study meetings where members inveslJigate issues together

fy themselves as Hindu. They feel that Hin­duism is backward with respect to modern scientific thinking, or they denigrate Hindu identity by associating it with some kind of fundamentalism. Christian missionaries and Islamic propagandists are working not only on campus, but everywhere. It almost seems that Hindus are always on the defensive in­tellectually, because we don't counter with the same kind of attack they throw at us. For people who don't have a deep understanding of-their own culture and beliefs, it affects them a lot and throws them into inner con­flict and opens them to conversion. But HSC goes forward. Our social service has shown that HSC members feel part of American society. The greatest achievement really is what is happening on the inside of us. At our last Deepavali puja, over 250 people came to worship. Fifty or sixty were non-Indians. We sat there for two hours, pr~ying and un­derstanding what was happening."

Jennifer Schulke is a white ~rican and president of HSC at Florida University in Miami. She had a struggle to make Hindus an official part of campus ministries. She told HINDUISM TODAY, "I feel 'I am a Hindu at heart. I haven't changed my name yet with a ceremony or anything, But I might like to do that one day. Here on campus we worked for eight months to get approval for Hindus to be a part of campus ministries. We faced obstacles all the way. Christians didn't want pictures of Hindu Gods in the of-

30 HINDUISM TODA.Y OCTOBER , 1997

fice and resisted any kind of Hindu prayer. But we won, and we can't get tagged as a cult anymore. When new students arrive on campus, campus ministries greets them as Hindus, by Hindus, and this is very impor­tant for them. Next we are tackling the anti­cult groups who spread anti-Hindu literature on campus, but ignore all Christian cults."

Kanchan Banerjee adds, 'i\nother unusu­al force comes from leftist student groups. Specifically MIT, Columbia and Stanford have traditionally been centers for Indian leftists who <;ame and stayed in the U S and have their own organizations. From the day. HSC started, then more so in 1991-92, they have tried to see that HSC does not grow in many ways. After the Ayodhya temple inci­dent in India by Hindus, there was a mas­sive attack on HSC. Now these leftists are few, but they influence a lot of media."

Last year HSC reached out to a younger group. Shanker Unnikrishnap., 18, born and raised in the US, explained how ~e started HSC's first high-school chapter in 1996. "My school was Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, a private, originally Christian mili­tary schooL I asked the school president for permission to start our chapter of HSC. I told him, 'This is really important. We are the defining generation here. Our Indian parents gave us S0me background. But when those of us who were born and raised in the US have kids, our kids are going to be pret­ty much lost!) think we all need to have the

opportunity to at least learn of our religion." Though the school principal had misgivings about ethnic clubs, Shanker told him, "It's not like that~ We are just doing this for edu­cation. Anyone can come. The president gave the go-ahead. A year later many mem­bers were non-Indian~ including a dozen white Americans, several African Ameri­cans and some Oriental Americans."

If the intense optimism of its members is any measure, the HSC phenomenon has just begun. Suddenly all the lights of their rich heritage are on for Hindu youth worldwide, and their path is, for the first time, clearly visible. The future of Sanatana Dharma is thus assured, as it always has been, by a new generation that has embraced it as t~eir own, not their parents', path. To experience the potency of such spiritual self-discover~ one has only to attend the animated ses­sions. Dheeraj Singhal says, "Other organi­zations are 'social or have political age1ildas. HSC is not like that. When people leave our camps, they have hundreds of best friends who share the same values, morals, princi-' pIes. They have finally found other Hindus who understand how they grew up. And that is such a unique thing and really hard to find. When you find that, it is one of the greatest joys in the world."

CONTACT: NATIONAL HINDU STUDENTS COUNCIL

46~3 IRVING STREET,

BOSTON, MA 0 2 114. U SA

WWW.HINDUORG.NET

., 4" ~., ••••• " •• ,., ••• ,. ~.,." ~ "., .,., .,.,.,.,.,., ••• ,., I' """1"""" ~ •• ,. "., X~Z~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~ INTERVIEW

'The 21st Century Will Be a Hindu Oentury' Post-India tour rUIl}inations by L.K. Advani ,.

On July 15, 70-year-old L.K Advhni, presi­dent of India's Bharatiya Janata Party, ended his grueling 15,000 kilometer, 59-day tour of India. His purpose was to increase the B JP's profile in anticipation of snap parliamentary elections. The soft-spoken politician (a strict vegetarian) said he will retire fr:em the preSidency soon. Following

which was never the concept of our consti­tution makers.

Cultural Nationalism We subscribe to the view that this country of India is one country, a one nation, whose basis is not just political or geographical but is essentially cultural. This is what we pro-

religion of every individual. We believe that India is a secular country because it is pre­dominantly a Hindu country- secular in the sense .that all religions should be respected, and tliat all roads lead to God, which is a dis­tinqt characteristic of Hinduism.

On government control of Hindu temples There can come a stage when degeneration of institutions makes it obligatory for the government to step in. The actual experi­ence of Vaishpo Devi Temple in Jammu State is that government intervention at that pilgrim spot has certainly helped the pil­grims. There are places in the South which ,. are very well maintained though the govern­ment has nothing .to do with it. I am not> however, of the view that whatever happens, the government must keep its hands off

The peoples' religiosity The average citizen draws his morality and ethical values from his religion. If you make him scoff at religion, oy that process itself you make him less and less concerned abOllt ethical values.

On his own religious life I ani a deeply religious person, but I am not ritualistic. Since my childhood, I have participated in whatever ritual was there, be it the RSS ritual or, in my own fam­ily and residence, the Sikh ritu­als. I do not practice any yoga, meditation or sadhanas regularly. Yes, we have a puja [shrine] room in my house. We have Hindu Gods and Goddesses there. When I do visit the temple, I feel elevated, humble and more com­mitted to the cause that I have undertaken.

L.K. Advani: Meeting in Delhi with. HINDUISM TODAY publisher Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

are his Cjomments on India, Hinduism and Hindu students made in an exclusive inter­view August 1 with HINDUISM TODAY'S. New Delhi correspondent, Rajiv Malik.

Fifty Years of Independence The people are not happy. It is distressing to fInd that 50 years after Independence, near­ly half the population is below the poverty line. More that 200,000 villages are without proper drinking water. Out of the total world population of lepers, perhaps. one-third are in India. Of the total number of people who are blind, one-third are in India. We have the largest number of illiterates in the world. The entire people are at fault, but it is the rulers who are more at fault. In the milne" 0f secularism we have tried to make people re­gard religion as something wrong, and virtu­ally to make the state an irreligious state,

ject as "cultural nationalism," called Bhar­tiyata, Indiarmess or Hindutva.

The trend of Indian consciousness We are imbibing the worst features of West­ern and Eastern society. In the last fifty years of independence, we· have not been able to acquire the energy and enthusiasm and initiative of the Westerner. But we are gradually 16sing the equanimity and the calm and the moral strength of the average Hindu. We are more and more avaricious, more and more ambitious, more and more inclined towards material goods.

On the BJP The BJP have been telling citizens, 'Your re­ligiosity is a help; it is not a disadvantage." The Western-oriented secularists in India to­day try to decry religion. But we respect the

The Hindu Students Council Politically they do not belong to this country, India, but it is the tie of culture between this cOlrntry and them, that would really make them a part of us. (I think HINDUISM TODAY is making a wonderful c~ntribution to'wards cementing these cultural bonds. A couple of years back I had the opportunity to meet the saintly persons who are behind this maga­zine.) My message is that the biggest asset a student in these growipg years can have is character. A Hindu will not be untruthful. If he has said somethipg, he will abide by it. Let them try to imbibe high ethical values from whOInsoever they come in contact. Let them be proud that they are Hindus.

The future This century belonged to Edrope while the 21st will belong to Asia, and it should be a Hindu century.

OCTOBER, 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 31

INSIGHT

In Hinduism's primary scripture we find the keys for living Hindu Dharma in contemporary times

OW OFTEN DO YOU SEE A PROFESSIONAL TEAM OF PEOPLE

misbehave on the job? You're on a flight from San Francisco to Singapore. Do the stewardesses bicker in the aisle? No way. In Singapore you visit a classy publishing firm. Does the re­ceptionist talk back to the sale representative? No. Are there

emotional undertones among the group you meet with? None. And you don't expect any. You know that people at this level of business have control of their minds and emotions. If they didn't, they would soon be replaced. When they are on the job, at least, they follow a code of con­duct spelled out in detail by the corporation. It's not unlike the moral code of any religion, outlining sound ethics for respect and harmony among humans. Those seeking to be successful in all avenues of life strive to fulfill a moral code whether "on the job" or off Does Hin­duism have such a code? Yes: twenty ethical guidelines called yaf/Ul.S and niyaf/Ul.S, "restraints and observances." They are found in the 6,000 to 8,000-year-old Vedas, mankind's oldest body of scripture.

The twenty "do's" and "don'ts" are a common-sense code recorded in the final section of the Vedas, called Upanishads, namely the Shandilya and the Varuha. They are also found in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Gorakshanatha, the Tiru­mantiram of Tirumular and in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The yamas and niya­mas have been preserved through the centuries as the foundation, the first and second stage, of the eight-staged practice of yoga. Yet, they are fundamental to all beings, expected aims of everyone in so­ciety, and assumed to be fully intact for anyone seeking lifes highest aim in the pursuit called yoga. Sage Patanjali (ca 200 BeE), raja yoga's foremost pro­pounder, told us, "These yamas are not limited by class, country, time (past, pre­sent or future) or situation. Hence they are called the universal great vows." Yog­ic scholar Swami Brahmananda Saraswati revealed the inner science of yama and niyama. They are the means, he said, to

32 HINDUISM TODAY OCTOBER , 1997

control the vitarkas, the cruel mental waves or thoughts, that when acted upon result in injury to others, untruthfulness, hoarding, discontent, indolence or selfish­ness. He stated, "For each vitarka you have, you can create its opposite through yama and niyama, and make your life successful." The following paragraphs, with accompanying illustrations by A. Manivel of Chennai, especially prepared in July in honor of the Hindu Student's Council and all similar youth movements, elucidate the yamas and niyamas. Pre­sented first are the ten yamas, the do nots, which harness the instinctive na­ture, with its governing impulses of fear, anger, jealousy, selfishness, greed and lust. Second are illustrated the ten ni­yamas, the do's, the religious observances that cultivate and bring forth the refined soul qualities, lifting awareness into the consciousness of the higher chakras of love, compassion, selflessness, intelli­gence and bliss.

Practice noninjury, not harming others by thought, word or deed, even in your dreams. Live a kindly life, revering all beings as ex­pressions of the One Divine energy. Let go of fear and insecurity, the sources of abuse. Knowing that harm caused to others unfail­ingly returns to oneself, live peacefully with God's creation. Never be a source of dread, pain or injury. Follow a vegetarian diet.

Adhere to truthfulness, refraining from ly­ing and betraying promises. Speak only that which is true, kind, helpful and necessary. Knowing that deception creates distance, don't keep secrets from family or loved ones. Be fair, accurate and frank in discussions, a stranger to deceit. Admit your failings. Do not engage in slander, gossip or backbiting. Do not bear false witness against another.

Uphold the virtue of nonstealing, neither thieving, coveting nor failing to repay debt. Control your desires and live within your means. Do not use borrowed resources for unintended purposes or keep them past due. Do not gamble or defraud others. Do not renege on promises. Do not use others' name, words, resources or rights without permission and acknowledgement.

Practice divine conduct, controlling lust by remaining celibate when single and faithful in marriage. Before marriage, use vital ener­gies in study, and after marriage in creating family success. Don't waste the sacred force by promiscuity in thought, word or deed. Be restrained with the opposite sex. Seek holy company. Dress and speak modestly. Shun pornography, sexual humor and violence.

Exercise patience, restraining intolerance with people and impatience with circum­stances. Be agreeable. Let others behave ac­cording to their nature, without adjusting to you. Don't argue, dominate conversations or interrupt others. Don't be in a hurry. Be pa­tient with children and the elderly. Mini­mize stress by keeping worries at bay. Re­main poised in good times and bad.

Foster steadfastness, overcoming nonperse­verance, fear, indecision and changeable­ness. Achieve your goals with a prayer, pur­pose, plan, persistence and push. Be firm in your decisions. Avoid sloth and procrastina­tion. Develop willpower, courage and indus­triousness. Overcome obstacles. Never carp or complain. Do not let opposition or fear of failure result in changing strategies.

Practice compassion, conquering callous, cruel and insensitive feelings toward all be­ings. See God everywhere. Be kind to peo­ple, animals, plants and the Earth itself For­give those who apologize and show true remorse. Foster sympathy for others' needs and suffering. Honor and assist those who are weak, impoverished, aged or in pain. Oppose family abuse and other cruelties.

Maintain honesty, renouncing deception and wrongdoing. Act honorably even in hard times. Obey the laws of your nation and lo­cale. Pay your taxes. Be straightforward in business. Do an honest day's work. Do not bribe or accept bribes. Do not cheat, de­ceive or circumvent to achieve an end. Be frank with yourself. Face and accept your faults without blaming them on others.

OC"I:OBER , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 33

Be moderate in appetite, neither eating too much nor consuming meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. Enjoy fresh, wholesome vege­tarian foods that vitalize the body. Avoid junk food. Drink in moderation. Eat at reg­ular times, only when hungry, at a moderate pace, never between meals, in a disturbed atmosphere or when upset. Follow a simple diet, avoiding rich or fancy fare.

Uphold the ethic of purity, avoiding impuri­ty in mind, body and speech. Maintain a clean, healthy body. Keep a pure, unclut­tered home and workplace. Act virtuously. Keep good company, never mixing with adulterers, thieves or other impure people. Keep away from pornography and violence. Never use harsh, angered or indecent lan­guage. Worship devoutly. Meditate daily.

34 HINDUISM TODAY OCTOBER , 1997

Allow yourself the expression of remorse, being modest and showing shame for mis­deeds. Recognize your errors, confess and make amends. Sincerely apologize to those hurt by your words or deeds. Resolve all contention before sleep. Seek out and cor­rect your faults and bad habits. Welcome correction as a means to bettering yourself Do not boast. Shun pride and pretension.

Nurture contentment, seeking joy and ser­enity in life. Be happy, smile and uplift oth­ers. Live in constant gratitude for your health, your friends and your belongings, Don't complain about what you don't possess. Identify with the eternal You, rather than mind, body or emotions. Keep the moun­taintop view that life is an opportunity for spiritual progress. Live in the eternal now.

Be generous to a fault, giving liberally with­out thought of reward. Tithe, offering one­tenth of your gross income (dMhamamsha ), as God's money, to temples, ashrams and spiritual organizations. Approach the temple with offerings. Visit guru with gifts in hand. Donate religious literature. Feed and give to those in need. Bestow your time and talents without seeking praise. Treat guests as God.

Cultivate an unshakable faith. Believe firm­ly in God, Gods, guru and your path to en­lightenment. Trust in the words of the mas­ters, the scriptures and traditions. Practice devotion and sadhana to inspire experiences that build advanced faith. Be loyal to your lineage, one with your satguru. Shun those who try to break your faith by argument and accusation. Avoid doubt and despair.

Cultivate devotion through daily worship and meditation. Set aside one room of your home as Gods shrine. Offer fruit, flowers or food daily. Learn a simple puja and the chants. Meditate after each puja. Visit your shrine before and after leaving the house. Worship in heartfelt devotion, clearing the inner channels to God, Gods and guru so their grace flows toward you and loved ones.

Eagerly hear the scriptures, study the teach­ings and listen to the wise of your lineage. Choose a guru, follow his path and don't waste time exploring other ways. Read, study and, above all, listen to readings and dissertations by which wisdom flows from knower to seeker. Avoid secondary texts that preach violence. Revere and study the re­vealed scriptures, the VedM and Agamas.

Develop a spiritual will and intellect with your satguru's guidance. Strive for knowl­edge of God, to awaken the light within. Discover the hidden lesson in each experi­ence to develop a profound understanding of life and yourself Through meditation, culti­vate intuition by listening to the still, small voice within, by understanding the subtle sciences, inner worlds and mystical texts.

Embrace religious vows, rules and obser­vances and never waver in fulfilling them. Honor vows as spiritual contracts with your soul, your community, with God, Gods and guru. Take vows to harness the instinctive nature. Fast periodically. Pilgrimage yearly. Uphold your vows strictly, be they marriage, monasticism, nonaddiction, t ithing, loyalty to a lineage, vegetarianism or nonsmoking.

Chant your holy mantra daily, reciting the sacred sound, word or phrase given by your guru. Bathe first, quiet the mind and con­centrate fully to let japa harmonize, purify and uplift you. Heed your instructions and chant the prescribed repetitions without fail. Live free of anger so that japa strength­ens your higher nature. Let japa quell emo­tions and quiet the rivers of thought.

Practice austerity, serious disciplines, pen­ance and sacrifice. Be ardent in worship, meditation and pilgrimage. Atone for mis­deeds through penance (prayashchitta) , such as 108 prostrations or fasting. Perform self-denial, giving up cherished possessions, money or time. FUlfill severe austerities at special times, under a satguru's guidance, to ignite the inner fires of self-transformation.

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 35

Where Than

MONKS' COOKBOOK

Vegetarian Recipes from Kauai's Hindu Mr\n."c;,+'~,,",,1 A couacnON OF JAlfFNA..sTYLE AND INDIAN DISHES FROM AROUND

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Ayurvedic Texts by Dr. Vinod Verma

1. Ayuroeda: A Way of Life An excellent, easy-to-under­stand guide to the fundamen­tals of Ayurveda-the science of life. Dr. Vinod Verma, an authoritative Indian pharma­cologist and neurobiologist, presents an integrated ap­proach to the concept and philosophy of Ayurveda. Verma provides detailed and specific methods and treat­ments for readers who wish to adopt this time-tested approach. A book that will enable you to know your body type, quality of mind and the seasonal foods, exercise and massage appro­priate for you-it also teaches you how to reduce stress and restore health. $14.95, paper.

2. Ayuroeda for Life: Nutrition, Sexuat Energy and Healing A practical guide for using Ayurvedic concepts to nourish and balance the body and mind for healing, Dr. Verma shows how nutrition, the body's life force, and healing are inextricably linked-a facet of Ayurveda largely ignored in the many other books on Ayurvedic nutrition. She shows us how to manage our mental, spiritual, and physical energies for optimum well­ness and healing. $14.95 Paper.

Samuel Weiser, Inc. • Tel: 800-423-7087 or 207-363-4393 Fax: 207-363-5799 (USA).

Superlative Tours to India-1997-98

• Tour 1: Celebrating D ivali in India and attending Miss India Worldwide Pageant at Mumbai (Bombay). October 24-November 11, '97. • Tour 2: Kumbha Mela at Haridwar and other inspiring destinations. April 10-24, '98, For more information, contact: Kali Travel· Ltd. • 169-12 Hillside Ave Jamaica, NY 11432-4498 USA

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Timeless Values

Leading thinkers such as Swami Chinmayananda and Thich Nhat Hanh offer their perspectives on the values that help us face the challenges of today ISBN 1-880687-11-9 US$1O plus $3.75 postage. Tel: 215-396-0390 or 888-269-7323 http://www.chinmaya.org/publications

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Making and Using Ghee-The Royal Oil "The purified soma juices have flowed forth, mixing with curd and milk."-Rig Veda IX 1.24 Ayurveda extols ghee as an incomparable tonic, as the wondrous food of countless virtues. "Ghee ... enhances wellbeing in almost every conceivable circumstance. It nourishes, detoxifies and car­ries healing herbs to our cells and tissues. No wonder it is seen as a gift from the Gods." Dr. D. Simon, Chopra Center for Well Being.

Purity Farms Organic Ghee Co. have been making the purest possible ghee for 15 years, using perfectly organic butter, from cows treated humanely from birth, with no chemical interference whatsoever, Having become experts in the art of preparing, appreciating and enjoying this precious, nourishing, healing, spiritualizing food, they share it all in:

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Classified ads are uS$25 for 20 words, $1/word for each additional word, payable in advance • Hinduism Today, 107 Kaholalele Rd, Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746-9304 USA. Tel: 800-850-1008 or 808-823-9620 • Fax: 808-822-4351. E-mail: ads@hinduismtoday.kauai.hi.us

Appeals

Swami Balagangadharanatha's blind school in Karnataka, India, needs your help (160 pupils). Volunteers have already sent 4,000 braille books, 6,000 audio tapes, and various braille items. Need US$5,000 for equipment to produce needed braille lessons on Hinduism. D. Shanmugan. Tel: 619-466-9497. Fax: 619-565-1547. E-mail: 0005112751@mcimail.com.

Ashrams

Ananda Ashram. Sanskrit, meditation, yoga, cultural programs, intensives, retreats. Wood­ed setting, one hour from New York City. Tel: 914-782-5575. Fax: 914-774-7368 (USA).

Ayurvedic/Health

Panchakarma retreat. Medically supervised one-week complete detoxification program with Scott Gerson, MD, recognized authority Authentic and economical. Tel: 212-505-8971 (USA). DrGerson@worldnet.att.net.

Unique health and business opportunity. Natural solutions to depressipn, addictions, ADD, allergies, chronic fatigue and other problems. We al:so offer the world's best water­filtration system using "Microwater technolo­gy." Ask for free literature. Let us make a difference in your life. Tel: 1-888-278-0268. Fax: 1-505-583-2509 (USA).

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Recipe of the Sages. Classical ayurvedic remedies prepared strictly, following ancient texts (Ashtanga Hydriya, Sahasrayoga, etc.). Just arrived from India: massage oils, head oils, ashwangadadi, lehyam, agasthyarasayanam, chavanaprash, dasamoolaristhan, draksharish­tam, and more. Call/write for catalog & price list. Tel: 800-455-0770. Tri-health Inc., PO Box 340, Anahola, HI 96703-0340 USA.

Ayurvedic tours in India. Panchakarma, massage, herb gardens, lectures, secrets. Also a:r:range Sanskrit-learning retreats. Beginners and advanced. Health Tours. Tel: 1-505-323-7233 (USA).

Free 36-page booklet on ayurvedic gems. Help overcome your negative karma. Personalized planetary gem analysis, US$20. Clear diamond crystals. $200+/carat. A.A. J., 1106 2nd St #101, Encinitas, CA 92024-5008 USA. Tel: 760-753-6071. Fax: 760-753-3355.

Computer

The best Windows software for Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Nepali, with diacritical marks. US$109.00 + $10.00 shipping. Also top quality incense and other items. MCIM.o. Tel: 416-315-3186. VB.L. PO Box 86065, Oakville, ON L6H 5V6, Canada. Email: dsharma@worldchat.com.

Devotional Supplies

Ganges clayfired statues for puja, meditation. Sixty beautiful handpainted images including hard-to-find Narasimha, Kalki, Jagannatha, Chaitanya, Shankaracharya, Dhanvantari. Color catalog, US$2. JBL, Box 163 H, Crozet, VA 22932-0163 USA.

High Quality Lingam Stones Superb Shivalingam stones in various sizes. Tel: 1-800-962-NOOR. Fax: 410-377-0109 (USA). E-mail: Noor@ix.netcom.com. We promise to make you happy.

Malas, malas, malas! Tulsi, rudraksha, lotus, sandalwood, rosewood and semiprecious. Sil­ver and gold capped in rudraksha, sandalwood and tulsi. Sacred images and more. Call 1-812-323-9768 or write for catalog. Sacred Woods, 1916 Arden Drive, Bloomington, Indiana, 47401-6731, USA.

Quality Incense from India. Golden Rose. Neel Kamal. Pure sandal­wood cones, and more. Tel: 970-949-6329 USA Email: vel@vailnet

Mantra recordings. Gayatri, Maha Mrityun­jaya, Saraswati Devi mantras Also meditation beads and copper yantras. Free catalog of products. Galaxy Publications & Recordings. Tel: 514-484-8090. Fax: 514-488-3822 (Canada) www.palmistry.com/Galaxy.html

Education

Excellent correspondence course on Vedic Astrology by Jyotish Krishnan, recipient of several awards including the recent award of Jyotish Vachaspathi by leas, India. His book entitled Ashtaka Varga Made Simple for the Western Astrologer is available for sale by the author. Tel/fax: 972-783-1242 or write PO Box 852892, Richardson TX 75085-2892 USA.

Palmistry: read about vedic palmistry on web­site: www.palmistry.com. Ask for our free palmistry newsletter. Info: tel: 800-307-2292 or 514-488-2292. Fax: 514-488-3822, Canada.

Rocky Mountain Institute of Yoga and Ayurve­da. Classes and seminars in Ayurveda, yoga therapy, yoga asana, pranayama and medita­tion. Ayurveda and yoga therapy clinic. Two-

year practitioner and teacher certification pro­grams. Boulder, Denver and Longmont. RMIYA. PO Box 1091, Boulder, Co 80306-1091 USA Tel: 303-443-6923

Free Products and Services

For inspiration, call 808-822-SIVAI7482 day or night for a recorded sermonette by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. A total of sixty different upadeshas are rotated and changed daily. Each one is from ten to eighteen minutes-covering topics such chakras, the story of the soul, handling karma, fear, worry and other states of externalized conscious­ness, affirmations, putting teachings into prac­tice, establishing oneself in sadhana, color meditations, and much more.

Find God. Please contact Dr. Aruna, 183 Jalan Besar, Bukit Tengah, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Penang, West Malaysia.

Free educational flow charts on all aspects of Hinduism. Write to Viswanath. Am I a Hindu? [ISBN 1-879904-06-3] Box 56697, New Orleans, LA 70156-6697 USA.

Jewelry

Affordable gems/jewelry for ayurveda, astrology, meditation. Satisfaction guaranteed. Mail order. King Enterprises, 1305 N. H St.lA-289-T, Lompoc, CA 93436 USA. 805-693-0911 (business hours.)

Music and Art

Heart-melting Deity miniature paintings from India at website: http://www.lakshmi. com. Catalog: Lakshmi International, 411 Madison St, Boonton, NJ 07005-2051 USA.

Devotional sculpture: Classic stone-cast murthies of Hindu deities for your home or temple. Ganesh, Shiva, Laxmi, Sarasvati, Durga. Ht: 2 ft. (61 cm) or 4-5 ft. (1.2-15 m). Com­missions available. Catalog, tel: 800-608-8632 , 515-472-8115. Vedic Sculpture Studio, 607 W Broadway #144, Fairfield, IA 52556-3200 USA.

Exquisite Vedic Paintings done to order. Art book, Windows to Spiritual World. For free fly­er: Pushkar, PO Box 1094, Alachua, FL 32615-1094 USA. Tel: 904-462-0144.

East Indian instruments and gift items. Giant selection of instruments: harmoniums, tabla, daggas, kirtan instruments, audio/video tapes. Also incense, spiritual books, etc. For a beau­tiful catalog, send US$l to Encinitas Imports, PO Box 230419-H, Encinitas, CA 92023-0419 USA. Tel: 619-436-9589.

Products/Stores

Yoga of Life. Highest quality ayurvedic prod­ucts and books on ayurveda, meditation and yoga. Bulk herbs, fragrances and incense. For free brochure: 505-856-6675 (USA).

Publications

Auromere: Sri Aurobindo books, classical spir­itual texts, ayurveda books, children's books from India, ayurvedic products, incense, and much more. Free catalog: 1-800-735-4691 (USA).

Sri Aurobindo books. Ayurveda. Reiki. Classi­cal spiritual texts. Homeopathy. Aromatherapy. Alternative health. Also over 7,000 health products including ayurveda, homeopathic remedies, herbal remedies, incense, essential oils, massage oils, etc. Wholesale-retail-mail order. Free catalog. Lotus Light, Box 1008HT, Silver Lake, WI 53170-1008 USA.

Behold the invisible power like a meteor from heaven. For the first time, you can explore The Secrets of Aum and Gayatri, a book by Pandit Tripathi that reveal:s the mystical principles be­hind the greatest of mantras. A must for Hin­du and non-Hindu homes. 184 pp. Hardcover. Published USA. US$19.98 p.paid. Panditji,7206 Burnway Dr., Orlando FL 32819-5051 USA.

Palani Panchang 1997. Trivedi's American Panchang available in English or Gujarati. US$9 + US$2 slh. 3 versions for NY, Chicago, San Francisco times. 510-490-1533. Devendra Trivedi, 4831 Piper St, Fremont, CA 94538 USA.

Ferment-monthly. Topic and inspiration: Goddess Kali. Discusses tantrik, devotional writings, relates Jung to Kali. To receive three

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The Major Distributor of books from India.

A sampling from oW' catalog: • The Broken Tusk: Stories of Ganesha. Krishnaswami. US$19.95 • Hindu Astrology Lessons: 36 Teachers Share Their Wisdom .. Ed. by Richard Houck. $16.95 • Lakshmi Puja, Dipavali Puja: Book with Cassette. $12.95 • Book of Daily Prayer for All: Meditations on Siva-Sakti. Das. $9.95 • Sacred Hindu Symbols. Chatterjee. $23.00 • Vishnu and His Incarnations. Gupta. $16.00 • Vedanta: What Can It Teach? Raina. $18.00

recent issues send US$5 to Colin Robinson, Ferment, PO Box K856, Haymarket NSW 1240, Australia. E-mail: crobinson@wr.com.au

Give the gift that lasts: For Divali and the holiday season, give a special gift that will bring news, information, insight and inspir­ation throughout the year. A subscription to Hinduism Today will reach friends and family in any country of the world. Mailed directly to any country outside of the USA and Canada: 1 year US$41, 2 years $77, lifetime, $500. Tel: 800-890-1008, ext. 238. or 808-822-3152, ext. 238. Fax: 808-822-4351. E-mail: subscriptions@HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us

Wanted: Nolini: Arjuna of our Age, Institute for Human Study, 1979. Hyderabad. Call/msg 718-523-4999. (USA).

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Vacation/Retreat

Brighton Beach Haus, a "to-rest inn" by the ocean-one hour north of San Francisco. Per­fect for retreat. Tel: 415-868-9778 (USA).

The Cave. Are you ready for the next step? Is your spirit "climbing the wall" to be free? Do you want to go deeper? Does true stillness evade you? Perhaps you are ready for Samad­hi Cave, (NM, USA). Available for sadhana on donation basis, March-November. Tel/fax: 505-473-3560. http://www.samadhihermitage.org E-mail: ananda@samadhihermitage.org

Videos

Acclaimed spiritual videos: Sadhana­India's holy men, see the Kumbha Mela. 60 min. US$33.95 pstpd (ck). Pal and Catalog available. Penny Price Media. 355C Lake Pleasant Dr. Staatsburg, NY 12580 USA. Tel: 914-876-0239, fax 914-876-0260

Yoga

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Self study courses: • Hindi in 2 months • Sanskrit in 6 months • Speak Hindi in 2 weeks Other Vedic University Publications: • How to befriend God • Win the battle of life • Happy Home • Valmiki Ramayana • Unknown facts revealed

Call or send us an e-mail for a free catalog: Vedic University of America, 10509 Caminito Basswood San Diego, CA 92131-1704 USA· Tel: 1-619-578-7790 Fax: 1-619-578-8293 • E-mail: VedicU@cris.com Visit us on the internet: http://www:cris.coml-vedicul

Sri Shirdi Sai Baba dayanti

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ENDOWMENTS

HINDU HERITAGE ENDOWMENT

I 07 KAHOlAlELE ROAD

KAPAA. HI 96746-9304 USA

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF HINDUISM

A surging market: U.S. stock exchange in 1997 swinging with Bahu to astronomical highs

ASTROLOGY

Making Money ·Go 'RQund Can astrology accurately predict world finance?

INCE THE LATE SEVE:t::TTIES 4-ND THE

early eighties,jyotisha has been recog­nized as a viable tool that can offer ac­

,curate and reliable insight into the movements of the world's fmancial markets. Many notable professional astrologers, both in the East and the West, have taken to ad­vising their clients in this domain. It has been recorded that many of these financial astrologers have outperformed their more c6nventional counterparts in the finance profession. ,

We can know swings of the market years in advance from calculating planetary move­ment. For example, when there is a major aspect between Jupiter and Saturn we have a depressed economy, and hence a de­pressed market as a whole. This occurs ap­proximately every sixty years. Mill(~r aspects between these two planets which occur ap­pr~ximately every twenty years also have a noticeable effect on the markets. Some ex­amples of aspects:

1. Jupiter/Saturn opp0sition l in Gemini/ Sagittarius 1930/32. The Great Depression.

2. Twenty years later, 1950/51, Jupiter/Sat­urn opPosition in Pisces/VIrgo. Post war dif­ficulties and their effect on the market.

3. Twenty years later we come to the ear­ly 70's, Jupiter/Saturn opposition in Scor­piolTaurus. These. were also testing and challenging times for the world ecbnomy.

4. Twenty years further down the road we arr--i.ve at the late eighties and ea}ly nineties. We 'had a repeat of the thirties opposition in Gemini/Sagittarius. This reminded us of the Great Depression to some extent. High un-

employment, high interest rates, etc. Many astrologers have observed, in partic­

ular L. Mc Whitters earlier this century, that movements of Rahu, the moon's north node, through the zodiac have a repeatable and conspicuous effect on the financial markets of the world. When Rahu transits through Leo, the markets will surge. Then from Leo to Aquarius, markets gradually become bearish (drop)- the lowest being at Aquar­ius. Once again fro~ Aquarius through Leo they become bullish (rise)-peaking at Leo. This particular effect has been more obvi­ous in the UK market than any other. Rahu entered Leo in July 1997 and will remain there until January 1999, thus promising a growing economy and more upbeat market in general during this period. There are oth­er such indicative factors which contribute

... reliably and recurringly towards knowing the direction and m~vements of the world economy and market factors. It <¥ould not be exaggerating to say that jyotisha can be used as a definitive tool by economists to better know market behavior, and much in advance.

Jyotisha is equall]". beneficial in corporate situations, answering many perplexing ques; ti"Ons. It can show. a company what direction it is heading, whether it should expand, if a merger proposition should be looked at fa­vorably or adversely, if the management structure should be altered, and more. IS

By DR. MAH~NDRA MISTRY, UK

ADDRESS: DR. MAHENDRA MISTRY,

14 SCRAPTOFT MEWS, OFF SCRAPTOFT LANE,

LE5 21lH LEICESTER, UK, PHONE: 44-116-276-307il

ASTROLOGY Vedic Astrology was developed by the ancient

sages of India over 5,000 years ago. Called Jyotisha, the Science of Light, it Is renowned for its spiritual depth and accuracy in predicting future events.

This Symposium wi ll Introduce Vedic Astrology to the general public and provide a forum for: * The education of the general public in the principles of Vedic Astrology

* The free exchange and discussion of ideas and techniques in Vedic Astrology

* The presentation of modern research findings validating ancient astrological principles * The promotion of professional standards in the trainIng and practice of Vedic Astrology

Substantial Savings for early registration! Registration fees for main symposium: $220 by Sept. l5, 1997 $245 after Sept. l5, 1997 ($25 Discount for ACVA Members)

Please mall this reglstraHon form with payment by check. money order or credit card to the Institute address below. Registrations paid by credit card may also be faxed or phoned in.

INSTITUTE Of VEDIC ASTROLOGY P.O. BOX 2149· SEDONA, AZ 86339

Phone (520) 282-6595 • FAX (520) 282-6097

The fifth International Symposium

Andrew Foss William Levacy Ann Muldoon Alex Nagel

Dr. David Frawley Hank Friedman Dennis M. Harness, PhD Edith Hathaway Richard Houck Linda Johnsen James Kelleher Sat Siri Kaur Khalsa Robert Koch R.G. Krishnan Drew Lawrence

T.R. Raghunath, PhD Barbara Roberts George Roman Dr. Dinesh Sharma Prince Hirindra Singh Atreya Smith Dr. B. Sureshwara Dr. Robert Svoboda Chakrapani Ullal

o Please register me for attendance at the International Symposium on Vedic Astrology, October 2- 7 , 1997, at the Del Mar Hilton Hotel, Del Mar, CA. Lndosed Is payment of $ __ for __ Registration fee(s)

o Send more Information on the Symposium and hotel accommodations * Optional pre-conference Introductory ciasses and post-conference Intensives will also be offered.

Name ______ _ _____________ _

Address ____________________ _

City. St.te, Zip, _________________ _

Telephone (day/night) _______________ _

VISA/MC' _ ______________ Exp.D.te--'_

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41

HEALING ,

Cures For BH P, the Older Man's "Curse" Potent herbs, antioxidants and continuIng abdominal exercises can relieve this afflictioI).

BY DEVANANDA TANDAVAN, M . D.

PH STANDS FOR BENIGN may be a dietary contribution Prostatic Hyperplasia, or of low levels of zinc, vitamin C, enlargement of the E and other antioxidan s. prostate, a small, walnut-Several suggested surgical

sized gland found ir1-men at the procedures should only be uti-base of the bladder. Encircling lized if the disease process has the urethra, it supplies the semi- become uncontrollable. Two nal fluid that transports sperm prescription medications also from the testes to the outside. In available-but not suggested-most men 40-50 years of age ~ . are Proscar and Hytrin. Both (sometimes be~nning as early as ""''-'--=-=-- ----'-------' may cause impotence, ejacula-30) there is evidence of hyperplasia (en- tory dXSfunction or possible' birth defects largement) of the gland's inner portion. The in male' offspring. They are not very effec-urethra is then encroached upon, causing tive tn reducing the swelling. difficulty with frequen9Y and urgency of Saw palmetto and pygeum are two effec-urination, distension of the bladder and tive herbs with no side effects. Dr. Julian discomfort such as backache due to the in- Whitaket says in his Sept., 1993, newsletter, creased intraurinary tract pressUre of the "The saw palmetto berry extract has been retained urine. The major symptom is an shown by scientific studies to be about inability to properly empty the bladder, a three times more effective than the Merck f~eling that there is always some retained diug Proscar for alleviating symptoms of urine. The sphincter, a muscle controlling prostate enlargement, such as poor urin.ary urinary retention, seems to be spastic and stream, urine retention and nighttime uri-does not relax enough to allow normal uri- nation." Pygeum has been used for cen-nation. In the condition's early stages, sit- turies in Africa for all kinds of urinary tract ting in a tub of hot water (Sit7; Bath) will problems in men. Combinations of saw pal-relax the sphincter somewhat, and urina- metto, pygeum, zinc and other natural sub-tion should be attempted while in the bath. stances are available and recommended for One'" of the complications of this condition, prevEmtion of disease in general as well as when untreated, is a backing up of urine treatment of this condition. Taking the into the kidney§, thus .f>reventing proper co'mbination starting at age 45 and continu-urine production and possible deterioration ing in controlled doses past age 70 is advis-of the kidney tissues. This leads to nonflow able. Dietary advice is to eat plenty of of urine and probable infection of the tract. tomatoes, tofu and other .soy pre ducts, nuts Much kidney damage may be the result of and grains, leafy green vegetables and yo-this condition, which may necessitate gurt. A good exercise program to keep ab-emergency surgery. Irreparable damage to dominaY'muscle integrity is essential. There the kidneys may lead to death. is no connection between this abnormality

Medical science is not entirely clear and malignant tumor of the prostate, the about this condition's cause . Many believe most 'Common cancer in men. it is due to a loss of testosterone level (and subsequent increase in estrogen level) that stimulates hyperplasia of the gland's central portion. Some also claim it may be due to sagging of the' abdominal organs due to in­activity of more mature mal~s. There also , )

44 HJ NDUISM TODAY OCTOBER , 1997

, DR. TANDAVAN, 77, retired nucleaf'physi­cian and hospital staff preSident, lives in Chicago, where he specializes in alternative heaZi[lg arts. Visit his home page at the HINDUISM TODAY Website.

EVOLUTIONS MADE IN HEAVEN: and consecrated in Kathmandu. Nepalese King Birendra's only daughter, 20-year-old arts gradu­ate Princess Shruti, wedded Mr. Gorakh Shumshere Rana, a bank em­ployee, at the royal palace in May, 1997. The traditional vivaha sa111r skara, Hindu Vedic marriage ceremony, was attended by over 2,000 guests, royal family mem- The holy covenant bers and celebrities from afar. Gorakh is a rela­tive of the Queen, who is of the Rana lineage that ruled before 1950.

EXPIRED: Ms. Pupul Jayakar, age 81, the "grand old lady of Indian culture," in Mumbai on March 28. Born in the for­mer United Provinces, she was chair­person of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, and person­al advisor to the prime minister on art and culture. "My mother lived a full and happy life," said Ms. Radhika Herzberger.

CELEBRATED: Sri Sri Jagatbandhu Sun­dar, founder of the Mahanam Sampra­daya, by the Prabhu Jagatbandhu Ma­haprakash Math in Bangladesh February 19-22. Gita discussions and kir­tan highlighted events. After meditat­ing nonstop for seven­teen years on behalf of world peace, Sri Sundar addressed dis­ciples in 1944 and left his body the same Jagatbandhu

"" day.

RELEASED: The first Hindi thesaurus, Sa17UUlntar Rosh, in Delhi this April, by Arvind Kumar and wife Kusum after toiling at it for 20 years. "Hindi has { many more synonyms than European languages, so it made the task of devis­ing and compiling the thesaurus diffi­cult," said Kumar. "For example, there are 695 synonyms in the thesaurus ~ for Shiva, though ~ actually there are ~ as many as 2,317 g names used," ~ added his wife. Presidential release

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BODY ART

Temporarily' Tatt~oed Mehndi body painting is the newest rage in New York and Los- Angeles

By ARCHANA DONGRE, Los AN GELES

UP IN INDIA, THE MONTH OF

Shravan, right in the robust heart of the monsoon season, brought a spe­cial treat we little girls were fond of.

As soon as the half-day school on Saturday was 'over, we would run to gather from the yards the fresh, tiny, emerald green leaves from lush mehndi bushes (henna, lawsonia inermis) that thrived in the monsoons, grind those leaves on the stone, add to it grandma's special color enhancing ingredients, and by night we neighborhood girls would draw de­signs on each other's palms with that pasty mixture. The event could be dubbed a friend­ship project of little girls' bonding together. As the mixture dried the next morning, we looked forward to showipg off the decorated hands to our peers at school on Monday.

The whole ritual just felt good. The cool touch of mehndi (pronounced ma-HEN-di) felt good on palms and fmgers. Something in that mehndi just soothed our psyche, over and above making our hands pretty. Little did we know at the time that mehndi has mystical and spiritual powers, as well as a conditioning effect on the skin. Applied to the nerve centers of the palms and feet, it has a soothing effect on the nervous system.

Who ever knew at the time that the cen­turies-old Indian household art of mehndi, sotimbued with mysticism and spirituality, and a, time-tested custom for weddings and special occasions, would one day decorate the arms and shoulders of motorcycle-riding machos, TV and movie stars and become the darling of Western tattoo lovers?

The trend is hottest today in Los Angeles, where epidermis accessorizing is a cultured (and profitable) art form, but began in New York City. Last year, the Bridges and Bodell Ghllery in New York's East Village orga­nized an exhibit of photograph of mehndi art. With the exhibit, the gallery offered mehndi designs to visitors willing to give it a try. "We thought we'd throw a couple of cushions on the floor and maybe a few peo­ple would have it done. But there were 300 people the first day," said meb.ndi artist Loretta Roome, curator of the show. She learned the art of drawing mehndi designs from Rani Patel, who also developed a suc­cessful, secret recipe of mehndi mixture. The art so caught on with New Yorkers that

46 HINDUISM TODA.Y OCTOBER , 1997

thousands from all walks of life got mehndi done on them in the follOwing months. Rani Patel has opened her own location, and Loretta Moore works out of a Moroccan store }lamed "Gates of Marakash." Accord­ing to Nishit Patel, Rani's husband;' mehndi is popular with Black Americans.

The mehndi trend spread fast~r tlian the speed of gossip from New York, east to Eu­rope and west to Los Angeles. Celebrities, housewives, men and women of :ill ages,

Five;" C.C.H. P; under of "ER" and Britany Powell of "Pacific Palisades."

American 'magazines and newspapers love the trend. The classy magazine InStyle sports Gwen Stephani of the band "No Doubt" with a bindi between her brows and mehndi designs on her forearms and wrists. Actress Liv Tyler displays full mehndi on her hands and feet in the May Vanity Fair. Vogue, Teen and Seventeen all have carried stories. Even Newsweek took note recently.

"Los Angeles magazine was the first to pick up on the West coast the uniqueness of mehndi as a fashion and devoted nine pages to this ancient art," Fabius said. USA Today and the Los Angeles'Times ran features, and then almost every newspaper and TV station in Southern California.

Rajasthan: A bride's hands decorated before wedding

Melindi offers a painless and temporary alternative to tattooing. "Parents have brought in teenagers who wanted real tattoos, iIi hopes that a temporary mehndi design will satisfy their urge instead," Fabius said. "Thirty-five percent of our clientele are men, who usu­ally get.it done on arms and shoul­ders in designs like pragons and snakes or somebody's names," she added. Her Galerie Lakaye has ten mehndi artists, and two or three are on hand at any given time. The prices start at $20 for a

"We threw down some pillows and thought a few people would have mehndi done, but there were 300 the first day."

simple palm or wrist design and then go up according to complexity and extent of design. Designs cho­sen are similar to traditional, from the Galerie file of graphic arts, floral and animal designs or Mexican and Haitian tribal art. Palms, arms and wrists are more common locations, but ladies have also done it around the navel or on their backs.

-GALLERY CURATOR LoRETTA ROOME .... The business sense that prompt­

~d Fabius to open her studio at Ga-

races and hues are flocking to the mehndi parlors. Some of the more than 100 tattoo parlors in Los Angeles are thinking of aug­menting their income with mehndi.

Carrine Fabius, 40, an artist from Haiti and owner of Galerie Lakaye in Los Ange­les, became fascinated with mehndi when she saw it in New York last year. "The mehn­di designs seemed so close to my heart be­cause we have a women's S-piritual, body decorating art like that in our native Haitian Voodoo religion where I grew up." A black woman, she owns the studio along with her artist husband Pascal Giacomini, a French­man. Her studio's celebrity client list in­cludes actress Allgela Bassett, star of the film "What's Love Got To Do with It;" tele­vision stars Neve Campbell from "Party of

lerie Lakaye propels her next pro­ject <?urrently in the works. She and a chemist are developing a henna formula with a longer shelf life. Henna paste has to be fresh to be effective. The new product will be sold under the label of "Eaith Hen­na" from September 1997. "The possibilities are limitless. Many parlors in Europe are asking for .... the paste. In Asia, Japanese women have taken the trend seriously. There are inquiries for franchise-like opera­tions from all over. We can sell the paste commercially and train the artists as well, or sell to individuals who want to do it them­selves at home," Fabius said. Who knows where"l:his henna mania will go? -..1

GALERIE LAXAYE, 1550 NORTH CURS ON AVENUE , LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 90046, USA;

TEMPTU, 26 WEST 17TH STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, 100 11 , USA (F OR A MEHNDHI-LIKE HOME- APPLIED PRODUCT)

Surrounding Iraivan Temple is an ex­

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l

By MARIO CABRAL E SA, GOA N 1567 THE CAPTAIN OF RACHaL

Fort in South Goa bragged to his Por­tuguese king back home, "For nights and nights went on the demolishing, demolishing, demolishil1g of 280 Hin­du temples. Not one remained in the

happy lands of our division." Jes1lJ.t historian Francisco de Souza jubilantly praised the feat, "It is incredible-the sentiment that the gentile were seized of when they saw their respective temple burning." The astonishing but true fact is that every temp-Ie was soon relocated and rebuilt by my countrymen; the murtis, and in some cases the sacred fire, were heroically rescued and reinstalled. Chandrakant Keni, a leading Goan poet, says that ,although Goa's Hindus were put to se­vere tests as conquerors marched over their

48 HINDUISM TODA.Y OCTOBER, 1997

I

lands, they had the resilience to convert "tem-porary setbacks into permanent victories,"

Goa is located on the southwest coast of India between Karnataka and Maharashtra states. It remained a Portuguese colony un­til forcibly taken by India in 1961. The "Christian presence in Goa"-;-an expression very much in vogue during the ~angelistic fury of the Portuguese rulers and padres (priests), particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries-is more visible than vital today, 35 years after liberation. For example, Rodale's Guide to Places of the World describes Goa as "predominantly Catholic," when in reality Hindus, 66% of the 1.2 million populace, far outnumber Christians of all denominations.

The first missIonaries realized early on that despite backing of the state ("conver­sions were made," wrote contemporary Por-

tuguese chroniclers, with "the cross in one hand, the sword in the other"), it I

was difficult to wean Goans from their primal Hindu beliefs and traditions. I will share a traumatic and rancorous twist of this Hindu stalwartness that involved the splitting up of my ances- " tral family. They took a calculated risk: half the family would convert, and the other would escape to Karnataka where other Goan Hin­dus had settled and been wel­comed by the Ikkeri king. The half that remained would safeguard the estate and assets of the migrating half. The calculation was that the Portuguese wouldn't stay in Goa for long-just trade, make money and go, That didn't happen. By the 1800s it was

-

Unique blend: A mixture of Porruguese and Hindu architecture, the ShantaDurga temple in Kavale, Ponda-Taluka, is properly maintained and frequented by world tourists ,

"When all are baptized, I order all temples of their false gods destroyed and idols broken into pieces. I can give you no idea of the joy I feel see­ing this done." Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552)

clear the Portuguese would remain. By then, too, the converted half of my family was forced to eat beef and pork and felt they could not return to their primal Hindu faith. They had by then appropriated the estate and assets of the migrated half, rather than lose it to the Inquisition, as the law then stipulated properties belonging to the "heathen" be confiscated.

Noted India cartoonist/illustrator /Mario De Miranda confirms his family's fidelity, "I am a Saraswati Brahmin, originally named Sardes­sai. My (IDcestors were forcibly con­verted to Christianity around 1600 and renamed Miranda. We still be­long to the Shanta Durga temple and yearly present prasad-oil and a bag of 11.ce-a tradition in my family all these years." • Early European travellers, like Venetian epicure Pietro Della Valle who visited Goa in the 1700s, de­nounced in their travelogues "un­

~ Christian" practices in ~atholic df o· o ;; <

--------------------------~~

Facade: Though media show­cases Goa's Christianity, Hin­duism reigns behind the scenes

I,

churches and shrines in Goa. Rather than create for themselves insurmountable trou­ble, the padres, particularly the Jesuits, re­luctantly rewrote Christian liturgy. For in­stance, they enthusiastically adopted the Hindu tradition of yatra-in the Goan sense of "procession." Neophytes, according to chroniclers, paraded to their new Catholic shrines, singing as they moved and showering their paths with leaves and flow­ers, just as they had done only a while earli­er.as Hindus. To this day kumbhas are used . for Catholic processions:,.At one stage, even the Vatican tersely censured those "{entilic practices" and proliferation of icons in churches. No where, lamented Della Valle, had he seen as much idolatry as in Goan churches. But evangelists, many of them for­eigners-the most sq.ccessful was Saint Francis Xavier-convincingly argued that without ethnic accopunodations they were doomed to failure.

Other concessions included retainment of social structures. In 1623 Pope Gregory gave sanction for converted Brahmins to continue wearing their sacred thread and caste marks, and Catholics to this day maintain the Hindu caste system. Till recently, inter­caste marriages among Catholics were

OCTOBER , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 49

,

frowned upon both by families and the religious establishment, and though love marriages are increasing, arranged marriage is stU! preferred. Only Catholics.­descending from brahmin fam­ilies were admitted to seminar-ies until the 17th century. •

Hindu influence is also evi­dent in Goa's Christian art. Icons of Christ have the angular and ' emaciated features of a Himala- ~ yan sadhu, and statues of Maty ~ contain the features of Parvati, ~ Lakshmi or other Hindu dei- ..I . z

tIes. Many angels and cherubs ~ sculpted on altars and pulpits of ::; Christian shrines resemble ap- ~ saras and gopikas.

At-times, the zeal lead to hu­morous situations. At village Meira, in north Goa, a Siva tem­ple was destroyed and replaced by a church dedicate.d to the Im­maculate Conception of Mary. Apparently, the builder had found the tripartite Sivalinga of the original temple and not knowing its symbolism but real­izing its artistic value, used it as a pedestal for the holy water basin. And there it was, from 1636 to 1946, when German in­dologist Gritle V Mitterwallner noticed it during a monument survey. He decided to move the Sivalinga to the Museum of the Archaelogical Survey of India in Old Goa, and paid for a masonry pedestal for the basin.

Obsessed with quick results, Portuguese evangelists brain- ~ washed with a singular lack of concern for substance and al­most psychotic emphasis on form. Numbers mattered, not qualjty. They force-fed Goan converts beef and pork declar- ..

Hindus are culturally strong, but understandably influenced by Christianity. Goans of both communities celebrate together socially at festivals like Divali and Christmas, though essential religious rituals are attended separately. Hindus do not attend Christian churches, though,. quite a few, particularly of lower castes, in a crisis or in gratitude for favors perceived as granted, propitiate Catholic "miraculous saints." Influence also occurs educationally. The majority of colleges are Catholic and in them Hindu students outnum­ber Catholic students. Unfortu­nately, Hindus attending these schools are often subtly weak­ened in their beliefs.

Having failed to change the Goan psyche, the Portuguese de­veloped a paranoia for appear­ance. In the 1100s Captain Alex­ander Hamilton counted eighty churches in'the capital alone, and 30,000 priests. "Each churchs bells," he wrote, "continually fang with a peculiar power to drive away all evil spirits except poverty in the laity and pride in the clergy." Today, there are 6-700 priests, many churches are closed except for festivals, and old chapels are in disuse.

ing- incorrectly-that the neo- Goan Hindu cutture: (top) Brahmin boys are trained in the--Vedas. phytes could never return to (above) Traditional lamp dance illumines temple festivals.

In contrast, Hindu temples are flourishing. The Bhahujan Samaj, disadvantaged until 1962, is socially and politically power­ful. They have established a non-brahmin prelate at the Haturli Mutt (monastery), and the temple under construction there may be worth Rs. ten mil­lion (US$290,000) by completion. Other thriving mutts are Parta­gal and Kavalem. Modern Hin­dus feel duty-bound to restore their herJtage, exemplified by Damodar Narcinva Naik who Hinduism. They also forced

converts to change their lifestyles, but never really thought of teaching the natives basic Christianity. So much so, in the early 1990s Goa Catholic leaders admitted that funda­mentalist Christian sects like the "Believers" (akin to Liberation theologians), then on the upswing, were infiltrating the mainstream Catholic community precisely because the community lacked adequate religious foun­dation. It was realized that only a few had actually ever read or studied the Bible. In fact, the Old Testament had never been translated intO" Konkani, the mother tongue of Goans and spoken by over 90% of them.

Perhaps this accounts for a current trend,

50 HINDUISM TODAY OCTOBER, 1997

since Goa's liberation, of Catholics' reverting to Hindu practices, seen in several arenas. Many offer prasad at Hindu temples like Fa­tarpa. Fisherfolk celebrate Nariel Purnima to begiIi. the fishing season and propitiate Samudra Gods with coconut offerings. New babies are given Hindu names, and some adults are now shedding their Catholic names to adopt Hindus ones. Some Catholics observe the 12th day samskara after birth and death. Many women now wear the man­ga~tra and forehead bindis, and. use mehn­di to embellish palms and soles. Indian dress is more fashionable (kurtas, saris, etc.) and rotis (flatbread) are a Catholic staple.

owns Goa's largest car dealership. Besides starting a movement to popularize Sanskrit, he had the Veling temple and Partagal)Jutt rebuilt according to old Hindu architectural norms. And Dattar)lj Salgaonkar, a young entrepreneur who recently helped restore the Margao Mutt. in South Goa says, "This mutt was demolished by invaders in order to exterminate the Saraswat community and eliminate its influence over many followers."

Curiously, when Goans part company with friends or relatives we say "Yetam," which means ''I'll come back," not as else­where, "Vetam," "I'm going." It's our way of expressing hope and optimism. ..,.,'

In honour & memory of M. Murlitharan, 16 years, who walt beyond on 5th OctobQo, 1996. He was Malaysia's talented and promising hockey pla~ But above all, his essence was his love & kindness fur all Truly, a spiritual soul.

aOur God gil1cs wisdom to the simple. »

-lUgVedR.

When I first saw thee I wondered who you may be: I fi:lt the pulse of your spirituality And heard the sound of "OM" in eternity. Blessed are the p:m:nts Who brought furth a child of

thy loveliness.

You did not me of your filme: Captain, captain ofPerak's under

fifteen. hockey team; The stadium roared your name, As you scored the goals with dare and flair And led your team to victory.

Silence is your inner glory.

Lilce one of the holy seers Your 1<M: fur God

became legend in your tender years. To be with you was joy, But to be with you in the Aminan

was bliss:

'The Gods came to bow to thee, For love calls fur Love, Love longs fur Love, Love binds Love.

Murli, the radiance of thy soul, lights the alter of my heart.

<<In perils unbound, His lllna betokens Pe/lrNut'~

And when I saw you next You made your body my reading text:

I sobbed like an Olphaned disciple. In thy silence thou declared: "Know that the body is but an

hour glass."

My First Hindu Lessons The Master Course, Level One By Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

An illustrated children's course in seven books (first two books now avail­able), teaching love and worship of God Siva. Based on the holy Vedas, and presented in the context of traditional Hindu philosophy, culture, family life and values. Excellent resource for parents and teachers. Subjects include God and Gods, our soul, the world, right conduct, karma, dharma and reincarnation, each presented in simple language. The course has been adopted by the Fiji school system, and it is used extensively in numerous other countries-Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius among others. Each book is presented in three or more languages. Prominent swamis, pundits, scholars and lay persons of all sects have given enthusiastic endorsements.

Paperback, beautifully illustrated, 8Y2" x 5%': Each book, approx. 150 pg. English-Hindi-Tamil version: US$15 (USA or Canada), $20 (world) ship­ping included. Available from:

Himalayan Academy Publications 107 Kaholalele Rd· Kapaa, Hawaii 96746-9304 USA Tel: 1-800-890-1008, ext. 238Fax: 1-808-822-4351

I saw your faith and courage Rise a pillar of light, For those of us, left behind in Earth's

perpetual Night I stood in awe of your sacrifice.

<<In the gloom of julr, his si»fold flue gleams.'"

You heard the pounding Of your mother's heart longing fur you, And sawyour fiuher in wilderness; Witnessed your mends' prayers, laments

and tears, And from your flames, your wisdom

soared: ' ... Separation from the infinite God., is the cause of all sorrow and sufICing, Fill your emptiness with God. And awaken in Him to find me ... "

5aivite Hinau (1{eligion 1 -lPaI mowoO ~fR:'*

AaiIlw&r-.tctr.ll*m. .. _ ..... 1hl1llw1lllld: woaWpelGod~ .. _*c:.tataE~ HWo~ __ .. -, ...

E-mail: books@HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us· Web: httpllwww.HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us/ashraml

Also available' English-Hindi-Tamil version: UK: Hinduism Today, tel: 0171 9379163, fax: 01714601819, e-mail: easanl@aol.com. Fiji: Then India Sanmarga Ikya Sangam, Mr. N. K. Naidu: tel: 679 660199, fax: 679 660 761' English­Malay-Tamil version: Malaysia: Uma Publications, tel: 603 4411617, fax: 603 4419395' Sanatana Dharma Publications, tel: 033319242' Singapore: Sanatana Dharma Publications, tel: 957 66 012 • English-French-Tamil version: Mauritius: Saiva Siddhanta Church, tel: 230 412-7682, fax: 230-412-7177 • Denmark: Abhirami Amman Temple c/o Mrs. V Sri Palan, tel/fax: (French or Tamil spoken) 45 9718 0192. '

51

"I"~I'IIII""""""I\ll"I~jjl"jl'III"'I"j""."'j'II"'ll'II ••• ,.~ •• I'j/l' g ~ ~ ~ g ,2:;;: g . ,~. g g g ~ z-s: ~-~i~' ~ g g g g =i~:=-" ~

MINISTER'S MESSAGE groups «an also invite scholars to discuss

Let Not the Conflict various topics in their gr9up meetings. HIN­DUISM TODAY can recommend, after care­ful examination, a set of books for study.

The Vaidika Dharma allows different forms of prayer and worship. The altar of worship is also personal. This freedom comes from the Vedic vision that all that is here is nonseparate from God. God is looked upon as botli the maker and the material for the creation of this world. Any created form cannot be separate from its material cause like the shirt is nonseparate from the fabric of which it is made. While God can be independent of the wQ.rld, the world, on the other hand, cannot be inde­pendent of God. So every phenomenon in­the world is the manifestation of God.

I

of Identity Haunt Us Hindu youths' travail toward self-identity must be bolstered by understanding and dialogue

BY SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATI

EING A TRADITION, NOT AN ORGANIZED RELIGION Hindu Dharma is imbibed by one as one grows in

where that tradition is alive at home and in community. Through the various forms of culture

which are not alienated from religion, one can gain a degree of appreciation of pne's religion. The religion itself is based upon its vision of human destiny, of the world and of God. Whatever one imbibes from parents and ones commu­nity f0rms a part of the core person. The absence of alterna­tive forms, which challenge one's own cultural and religious commitment, lends stability to this core person. The core person being stable, the adult can explore further and learn, in time, the meaning of every form in all its profundity. Even if one does not have the desire or opportunity to learn, yet one can command a degree of trust in oneself, the world and God. The core person being stable, the adult can continue with 'the religious beliefs and fonns of practice, with a sense of doing the right thing.

The child growing in an Indian home in America is not in the same situation. The home of the first-generation irrimigrants is more or less like one in India in terms of culture, religion, attitudes and values. But when this child is sent to a day-care center and then to kindergarten, it is bound to be confused by the inconsis­tency between the !'tome and outside. Of these two, which will be more real and acceptable to the child? With television programs contributing their might through cultural forms of language, dress, food" music and so on, what is outside the home will gain b~tter credibility. But the parents, on the other hand, are never dispens­able, for they are Gods for the child, and their language, food, dress, customs and manners cannot be wrong. It is logical that the core person now faces issues of self-identity. if these issues of self­identity are not addressed, they will haunt the person not only as a young adult, but until he or she is 90 years old. Without addressing them, unfortunately some turn away from this problem of identity confusion to totally conform tp the thinking and life-style of the majority. This will not help. The confusion of the core person still being there; it will control one's life. The meaning of life is bound to be found missing. Living becomes miserable. Psychotherapy is inevitable. While therapy can help one understand the core prob< lem, the conflict of self-identity remains to be addressed. This amounts to one's conscious attempt to understand the parents' cul­we, religion and the whole background. How?

:-\ program of study under the guidance of someone who is well informed would be an obvious course to gain a firm grasp of the Hindu dharma in general. In the absence of such guidance. a group study of certain selected books authored by recogclzed scholars of this vast dharma would be an ideal alternative. 'Fhe

52 HIF'DUISM TOD .... Y OCTOBER , 1997

For a Hindu, even space can be an altar of worship. In the temple of Chidambaram, space is worshiped as the Lord-so too, time and everything else that is in time and space. Therefore, any altar, as well as any form of worship, is valid for a Hindu. In the light of this vision of God, the question of many Gods does not arise, nor is God a matter of belief When all that is here is God, one has to understand God. I don't believe in the existence of the world. I know that I face, encounter a world. I am within this world. I don't believe, but know that there is a world. If that world, including my

body-mind-sense complex, is God, according to the Veda, then there is a challenge for me to understand how that can be.

When we say that all forms and altars of prayer are valid, we do not mean that all religions lead to tl;te same goal. Each world reli­gion has its own goal. Most of them promise a heaven. By one's own thinking, one can be away from the reality of God, even though God is everything. While any form of prayer is acceptable and valid, that itself is not the goal of a religious pursuit. It is a laudable quality to grant others the freedom to Rursue their own religion, qut it is important that we examine the ultimate end pro­fessed by given religions. They are definitely different. The section of the Vedas -dealing with realities of living is always in ~he form of a dialogue. Even an epic like the Mahabharata is a dialogue, in­cluding the Bhagavad Gita therein. This is so because the subject matter unfolded in these dialogues is one to be understood and assimilated and lived, not to be blindly believed. Questions are always enoouraged, so that the understanding and assimilation pf the .subject matter will take place. Even an unverifiable belief is to be understood as' such. The realities cannot be a matter of belief What is believed can be false. Reality is always to be under&tood, even though one may believe it to be true pending understanding. When this is the Hindu tradition, how can one resist its invitation to a dialogue? •

SWAMI DAYANANDA, 67, a sannyasi of the Adi Shankara and Veda Vyasa tradition,founder of Arsha Vidya centers in India, Canada and Au.stralia, has tau.ght throughout the world for over 30 years.

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O urVery Own \ V IE CANNOT CON­W tain ourselves any

longer. HINDUISM To­DAY feels compelled (blush) to acquaint read­ers with its popular "Electronic Ashram" on the Web (Hinduism Today.kauai.hi. usl­ashrarn/). Whether you're after snazzy tra­ditional graphics or loads of practical wis­dom, entering our

gument with a meat eater, read text that did not make it into the printed version of HIN­DUISM TODAY, study a massive anthology of the Vedas, a complete trans­lation of the mystical Tirumantiram, and oth­er publications, and learn more about our publisher and his lin­eage. Or, for the truly earnest, you can "Click Here to Become a Hin­du," and examine the step-by-step process of conversion. HT's own in­dex of past issues (ex­tending four years) is

~--------------------~

the most popu­lar destination, judged among the top twenty visited religious websites by the folks at Web­side Story (see HT July issue, pg. 54). To reach the links most commonly

j oin the band of global devotees!

ethereal realm is going to enrich your life. You can view and download quality designer Aums, learn how to win an ar-

UNEARTHLY

Yogi on Mars

HINDUS WERE DE­lighted to hear that

"Yogi" was the second rock-after "Barnacle Bill"-visited in July by Sojourner, a 22-pound, six-wheeled vehicle landed on Mars by the

surfed on a recent July, 1997 day, click on "Our Top Visited Pages" as you enter our electronic ashram.

Pathfinder Mission. A call to Mission Control revealed the large-bot­tomed rock was named after the 1950s cartoon character "Yogi the Bear," potentially eras­ing the Hindu connec­tion. Ah, but Yogi Bear was named after base­ball player Yogi Berra, famous for his wacky

"Inner Hinduism" zone of The Eternal Religion CD EDUTAINMENT

Eternally Encoded

UE ETERNAL RELIGION -HINDUISM BY

Visonosoft of Chennai, India, is the first CD we have seen focused exclusively on Hinduism. Vivid illustrations and photos,

music and 100 Vedic verses accompany mini-lec­tures under three headings: Inner, Popular and Cultural Hinduism. The CD is at secondary school level, though everyone will delight in the 32 video clips that propel you into Hindu life-e.g., watch a towering crane plunge a huge festival Ganesha icon into the ocean. Hundreds of San­skrit words are defined and pronounced. This CD is recommended for school religious curricu­lums. Windows. US$55.00. Contact: Visonosoft, 91-44-457-668, fax: 91-44-855-3586, email: creativeJolks@visono.wiprobt.ems.vsnl.netin

quips such as, "You can observe a lot by watch­ing," and "It ain't over

'til its over." A childhood friend nicknamed Berra after a movies Hindu snake charmer. Since snake charmers belong to the Natha lineage, our Mars friend must be a Natha Yogi! Yogi Berra's ~ advice to the Path- ~ finder's robot? "When ~ you come to a fork in the ~

CENSURESHIP

ActJudged Indecent

O N JUNE 25, 1997, the U.S. Supreme

Court struck down the Communications De­cency Act, concluding it endangers the FITst Amendment of free speech. The act went beyond its original aim of curbing Internet ac­cess of minors to porno­graphy to outlaw forms of legitimate communi­cation between adults, such as the sharing of in­formation on AIDS.

Website-blocking soft­ware is only a partial fix . Hindu wisdom suggests parents give children a thorough sex education on the traditional laws of brahmacharya. Lovingly encourage your kids to ask questions, especially in their teen years, and to keep everything in the open with you-no secrets. As a result, they will be proud of purity and likely choose to avoid indecent material. . -

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C-OMMUNIPATlONS <{~ DECENCY ACT .. _:,.~ ..

road, ... take it." Court rules for free speech

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