September 1st, 2010
If there has been a word which can cause a lot of discomfort among many Indians, irrespective of their religious affiliations, it is the word Hindu. What an irony that many Hindus wriggle in discomfort when they hear or have to speak that word. When I became part of a student chapter whose name had the “discomforting” word, one of my room mates asked “Why Hindu? Why not Indian? As people may not feel comfortable with ‘Hindu’ and moreover the term ‘Indian’ attracts more people.”
This made me think of what deserves more importance - is it either being Hindu or Indian? Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
As people watch the BP oil spill get bigger and bigger, the marine life continues to be threatened by the invasive spread. In light of all the media coverage that the spill receives, the coverage that the findings of a certain report received seem trivial. What recieves even less coverage are the events that transpired 25 years ago at the end of 1984, and the hundreds of thousands lives that it’s affected. Be warned, this post contains disturbing content. Read at your own discretion.
Sunil, one of the many victims of the Bhopal tragedy, sits back and reminesces.
Dec. 2, 1984 is coming to a close, routine checks are being done at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The personnel are hardly qualified to carry out the checks, products of cost-cutting moves by the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) based in the United States. The plant uses the gas methyl-isocyanate (MIC) as part of the production process, this gas is highly toxic and reacts strongly to liquid water. The MIC is supposed to be stored in drums, but it is instead stored in large tanks. The tanks have alarms that warn of any leaking or other failures, these alarms had not worked since 1980.
There are several pipe leaks on the facility, something which is ignored by the higher up when it’s reported. Several key safeguards are offline. At about 10:00 PM, water enters one of these tanks. The reaction is immediate, the poisonous chemicals begin to escape from the tanks and into the surrounding air. The scrubbers, that were supposed to remove some of these harmful chemicals, have not been functioning for several months. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
While the Tantric system has often been viewed as a later development within the greater field of Hinduism, a deeper study reveals that the roots to Tantric teachings exists within the Vedas themselves. Tantric teachings are based in and as old as the Vedas itself, representing another side of the Vedic approach. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872-1950) was a multifaceted personality-a great scholar, litterateur, philosopher, patriot, social reformer and above all a visionary. His 138th birth anniversary was celebrated on the 15th of August, which coincided with India’s Independence Day. India attained independence on the same day 75 years after his birth in 1872. In a message on the Independent Day, he said: “I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but as the sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides my steps on the work with which I began life, the beginning of its full fruition.” Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
The following is an excerpt from the book Glimpses of Hindu Genius, by Ravi Kumar.
An interesting development is taking place these days: Many foreigners have taken inspirations from Bhagwad Gita and they are putting their efforts to promote it. Once upon a time we were fighting our battles all alone. But now with these educated and resourceful persons joining Hindu forces, our strength has increased. Every time someone utters uncharitable remarks on India or Hinduism, Francois Gautier (the French journalist based in India) gives a fitting reply. Some of our people have been sold out to the foreign media. But Francois Gautier is there. Koenraad Elst and Michel Danino are there. They are a special breed of people who have been inspired by Hindu philosophy and Hindu way of life. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
DasaMahavidhya 3 - Shri Lalitha Tripurasundari, as her name says is one of extreme beauty not only in form but of our own perception. Read the rest of this entry »
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September 1st, 2010
(While performing Pradakshina Namaskara)
यानि कानि च पापानि जन्मान्तर कृतानि च |
तानि तानि विनश्यन्ति प्रदक्षिण पदे पदे ॥
yani kani ca papani janmantara krtani ca
tani tani vinashyanti pradakshina pade pade
Sanskrit to English Word Meaning:
yani kani ca- whatever; papani- sins; janmantara- all my lives; krtani ca- committed; tani tani- those; vinassyanti- destroy; pradakshina- circumambulation; pade pade- with every step
Translation:
O Bhagawan! Whatever sins I have committed all my lives (including previous lives), please destroy them at every step I take around you.
Brief Explanation:
Pradakshina, meaning circumambulation, consists of walking around in a clockwise ‘circle’ around the deity, as a form of worship in Hindu ceremonies. We see people doing this at our temples where they go around in circles either chanting some shlokas or just walking with pure devotion. In that context, this shloka can be sung where in, one asks the lord for forgiveness from the sins that he/she has committed with every step taken during the Pradakshina.
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September 1st, 2010
The University of Washingon, Seattle chapter of Hindu YUVA volunteered with WACAP (the World Association for Children and Parents), an international adoption agency whose goal is to provide a home and a family for every orphan. WACAP works in many countries, particularly Russia, China and Ethiopia. They try to find families for orphans in their own home countries, but if this is not possible, they bring them to families in the US who want to adopt kids from outside. Over the years, a fairly large number of orphans have been adopted by families in the greater Seattle area. The WACAP annual kids day aims to bring together all these kids and their families for a picnic, giving them a chance to have fun together, get to know each other, and help the families connect to other families facing similar challenges of raising a foreign child.
August 1st, 2010
Guru Purnima is the annual occasion for expressing gratitude towards the Guru or the Divine Teacher. It is observed in memory of the great Sage Veda Vyasa who is considered to be the supreme preceptor of mankind. The word Guru means “the remover of darkness.” Hence, Guru Purnima, celebrated on a full-moon day, is the day for eradicating ignorance and illuminating our lives with knowledge. There are 12-13 full moons in a year. While the Vaishakha full moon is dedicated to Lord Buddha and the Jyeshtha full moon is dedicated to Mother Earth, the Ashada full moon is dedicated to the memory of masters. This is an auspicious day to review how far one has progressed in life and to turn back to the spiritual path. And it is especially significant for students who desire to get their teachers’ blessings. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 1st, 2010
How much do I love you
Oh mother what am I without you?
Blessed are we to be born
In your blessed soil never felt forlorn
You are of civilization the cradle
Your purity and perfection are to others a riddle
Beautiful forests, mountains and streams are all over
Why go to heaven, You are of happiness the bestower Read the rest of this entry »
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