Men and women are different. No one out there argues that they are the same. However, both males and females need to treated with the most importance. This English translation I believe does a good justice on the way Hinduism treats these two sexes.

She is Language, he is Thought
She is Prudence, he is Law
He is Reason; she is Sense
She is Duty; he is Right
He is Will; she is Wish
He is Pity; she is Gift
He is Song; she is Note
She is Fuel; he is Fire
She is Glory; he is Sun
She is Motion; he is Wind
He is Owner; she is Wealth
He is Battle ; she is Might
He is Lamp; she is Light
He is Day; she is Night
He is Justice; she is Pity
He is Channel; she is River
She is Beauty; he is Strength
She is Body; he is Soul

- The Wisdom of The Vishnu Purana (English version

Tags: dharma, female, Hinduism, krishna, male, vishnu purana

Hindu Philosophy

Hindus take tremendous pride in the fact that their religion encourage true pluralism. According to Hinduism, all religions are true and they all lead to the same God. This leads to confusing conclusion leading some people to loose the significance of Hinduism itself. They wonder what makes Hinduism stand out. They question why can’t Krishna be called Allah or Jehovah.

I do believe the way you name your God or the spiritual path you follow is very important to your realization of the lord. When people say they are above all religions or representation of the God, I get very confused. To me this conclusion has no basis. Then we would have no multiple spiritual path to the God but only one. Greatest seers or religious leaders were not even above all religions.

It’s important for you to stick to your spiritual path and identify yourself with it. It will make sense if we think of spirituality as a materialistic goal. Let’s say our goal is to make 1 million $. There are multiple ways of acquiring that goal but all ways are not successful for everyone. If you find your way, then stick to it and identify yourself with it. If you keep saying that all paths to million $ are the same then you are deceiving yourself as they are not.

Then after you get that million $, you recognize your path, not discard it. Don’t say, now that you got million dollars your path is not anymore important to you. That’s why the people that have truly achieved moksha (i.e. Vivekananda) they continued to recognize their path to their spiritual goal.

The belief of different paths leading to the same God is strictly a belief of Sanatan Dharma. If you believe in that philosophy, then you are a Hindu. If Hindu philosophy is not your thing then move on to a different spiritual philosophy. However, if you ascribe to a non-sanatan philosophy, remember then you are actually giving up this belief of all paths being equally valued.

Even though it sounds very promising, one cannot pick and choose different spiritual philosophies or follow his heart to constitute his own philosophy. That’s because he is not the God. One cannot be lawyer, doctor, teacher, accountant at the same time to be successful in his materialistic life. 1 has to ascribe to one path only and become the best at it. Spiritual goal is like that.

Tags: god, Hinduism, philosophy, Religion

The Hindus of Bangladesh are a tormented lot. They are targets of atrocities committed by extremist Muslims. Hindus are murdered  , their wives and daughters raped and killed , their children butchered and their properties seized. The Hindus have long been the shining beacon of Bengali intelligentsia and today, their plight is extremely disturbing. The world knows about it but chooses to remain mum.

The Sikhs, during Mughal rule , faced a scenario very similar to the Hindus of Bangladesh. They were mercilessly tortured, killed and harassed by Mughal soldiers. They had two options; either to sit   back and watch the annihilation of their race or to fight back. They chose the latter. Under Guru Gobind Singh, they transformed into a martial race. And history is witness to the success of the Sikhs. They are less than 2% of India’s population but are influential in every field. India is today ruled by a Sikh.

Bangladeshi Hindus must take inspiration from Sikhs. It is the need of the hour; Hindus must , in the midst of oppression, turn into a martial race. Not in the sense that they pick up weapons and fight   people but rather using weapons provided by civil society and democracy. So, every time someone is killed for being a Hindu, call a ‘Bandh’ ; whenever our women are molested, ‘gherao’  the police station and civic buildings, jam the roads, block rail tracks and when our properties are seized, do not hesitate to pour black paint on government buildings. In such non-violent actions, the aim must not be to create fear in the minds of non-Hindus but rather to emphasize that Hindus will not take injustice lying down.

Hindus must consolidate. Various Hindu organizations of Bangladesh must come under a common umbrella organization. The plight of Hindus has long been talked and much has been written about it. But the world is not listening. It is time for answers, it is time for solutions. And these must come from within the community. This is our struggle and we must take it to the end alone

Tags: Bangladesh, Hinduism, Politics, solution

আপনারা কি জানেন কিভাবে একজন হিন্দু হিন্দু হয়ে ওঠে? আপনারা কি জানেন কিভাবে একটা হিন্দু ছেলে শেষ পর্যন্ত হিন্দু হয়ে যায়?? হয়তো জানেন কিন্ত ভুলে গেছেন।

আমরা বেশীরভাগই বংশগত অথবা পরিবারগতভাবেই হিন্দু বা মুসলিম বা খ্রীষ্টান। সাধারণভাবে কেন একজন মুসলিম ছেলে হিন্দু হয় না অথবা হিন্দু ছেলে মুসলিম হয় না? উত্তরটা খুবই সোজা। সবাই যার যার পরিবারের নিকটতম সান্নিধ্যে থাকতে চায়, নিজের পরিচিত গন্ডী ভেঙ্গে বের হয়ে আসার মত সাহসের অভাব, ছোটবেলা থেকে গড়া অভ্যাসের প্রতি নির্ভরশীলতা এবং পরিবার ও পারিপার্শ্বিকতা থেকে পাওয়া ধর্মভীরুতা।

কিন্তু এত কিছুর পরও একটা হিন্দু ছেলে তার পরিচিত গন্ডী থেকে বের হয়ে আসতে পারে। সেই পরিমান সাহস ও বুদ্ধি সে স্বয়ংক্রিয়ভাবেই অর্জন করে। সে একজন নাস্তিক্যবাদী মানুষে পরিণত হতে চায়। ধর্মের কফিন ভেঙ্গে সে বেরিয়ে আসার মত সক্ষমতা অর্জন করে চারপাশের নিদারুণ মস্তিষ্ক ধর্ষণ সত্ত্বেও। কিন্তু সে শেষ পর্যন্ত বের হয়ে আসতে পারে না। তার কফিনে শেষ পেরেকটা খুব শক্তভাবেই মেরে দেয় আমাদের সমাজ সংসার। আশ্চর্যের বিষয় হল এই পেরেক মারার মিস্ত্রিটা কিন্তু কোন হিন্দু নয় বরং মুসলিম। হ্যাঁ আমাদের চারপাশের মুসলিমরাই তাদের আরো বেশী হিন্দু করে তোলে আরো বেশী গোঁড়া ও রক্ষণশীল করে তোলে।

একটা হিন্দু ছেলে আমাদের এই দেশে ছোট থাকতেই তার চারপাশের সমাজে নিজেকে আলাদা ভাবতে শুরু করে। সে বুঝতে পারে সে হিন্দু, তাকে প্রতি পদে পদে স্মরণ করিয়ে দেওয়া হয় যে সে হিন্দু। তাকে কানের কাছে মুখ এনে বলা হয়, “তুমি হিন্দু! তুমি হিন্দু!! তুমি হিন্দু!!!” ফলে খুব ছোট থাকতেই তার চারপাশের পরিচিত গাছপালা তার কাছে অপরিচিত হয়ে যায়। একজন মুসলিম ছেলেকে কেউ বলে না তুমি মুসলিম, তুমি একটু ভিন্ন ধর্মের, তোমার ধর্ম আলাদা, ধর্ম বলে একটা জিনিস আছে, তুমি পুরোপুরি আমাদের সমাজের নও, তুমি একটু ভিন্ন। একজন মুসলিম ছেলে কখনো চিন্তা করে না, সে একটা ভিন্ন সমাজে আছে, সে একটা ভিন্ন ভাবধারায় আছে। সকালবেলার প্রাতকৃত্যের মতনই তার সমাজটা তার কাছে পরিচিত। সেখানে সে নিজ ধর্ম নিয়ে খুব কমই চিন্তা করে, বরং স্বতঃসিদ্ধ হিসেবে সে ধর্মকে মেনে নিয়ে জীবনের উপপাদ্যগুলো তৈরী করতে থাকে। তাকে কখনো ভাবতে হয় না, আমি কোন সমাজের, কোথায় গেলে আমি নিঃসঙ্কোচভাবে চলতে পারব। Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bangladesh, bengali, Hinduism

Hindus worldwide have applauded Singapore for issuing a special Airmail Aerogramme marking Deepavali (Diwali), the most popular Hindu festival also known as “festival of lights”.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Singapore coming out with Deepavali Aerogramme was a great honor for Hindus in Singapore and worldwide. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged other countries of the world also to issue stamps and other postal materials about symbols and concepts of Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world with rich philosophical thought whose ultimate goal was moksha (liberation).

This Aerogramme shows a girl and a boy with folded hands and some lighted lamps, etc. Singapore Post, which issued this Aerogramme, has a heritage dating back to 1819. Lim Ho Kee is the chairman of its Board.

City-State Republic of Singapore, with flourishing port and glittering skyscrapers, is one of the world’s most affluent places. It is a multi-religious country with Buddhists (about 43%) leading others in numbers. Tamil is one of the official languages along with English, Malay, and Chinese.

Tags: diwali, Hinduism, singapore

BY: ANIMITRA CHAKRABORTY

Where are we heading to? This sentence at the very outset may astound you a good deal. Well, before going to any further, let’s check out some readily available facts.

Ever since Islam stepped into the realm of Bengal, forceful conversion of Hindus has been one of the most preferred ploys of the Muslim zealots to make the whole community kowtow. Throughout the Muslim hegemony and 19th century, it was in full swing and gained new momentum with the onset of the 20th century backed by several doctrines. It has been unabated in both erstwhile East Pakistan and contemporary Bangladesh but the same malicious campaign is being witnessed in the Indian state of Bengal too, thanks to the tacit understanding between the pseudo-secular sections and Islamic fundamentalist forces and certainly the uncanny silence of the culpable democratic society.

What is more striking, even the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court, considered as the highest form of judiciary in the state, is corroborating the same spiteful intents. What else can be said if we look at the strange development of the case of Ms Anita Ray?

Ms Anita Ray (aged 15) and Shahidul got married only after she was misled by him. Anita, at the behest of Shahidul, ran from her paternal residence, got converted into Islam and married the venomous guy. Mr. Suvendu Ray (Anita’s father) got infuriated and with the help of police got hold of the estranged daughter only on 20th October, six days after the couple took flight. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bangladesh, conversion, fascism, Hinduism, Islam, islamic

Hindus and Jews have strongly urged newly elected mayor of Sofia (Bulgaria) Yordanka Fandakova to improve the plight of Roma people residing in Sofia, who were reportedly facing apartheid like conditions.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a joint statement in Nevada today, said that mayor Fandakova should make Roma upliftment her first priority as their maltreatment was a dark stain on the face of Sofia and Bulgaria.

Zed, who is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich stressed that it was simply immoral to continue staying apathetic and silent spectator ignoring Roma plight, who reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, etc.

Commissioner for Human Rights of Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg, who recently concluded a three-day visit to Sofia, visited a Roma settlement in the Republika district of Sofia where he assessed the living conditions as inhumane. “No one should live in these conditions in today’s Europe” he declared.

Capital and largest city of Bulgaria, Sofia is the second oldest city in Europe whose roots can be traced back to about 7000 years. Lonely Planet has described Sofia as “city waking up after decades of slumber”.

Tags: Hinduism, human, jews, plight, Religion, rights

Reincarnation in Hinduism

Yes, Hindus believe that the soul is immortal and from our birth to our death, we learn lesson throughout our life and evolve spiritually. Then finally we could be out of physical birth. Carnate means of flesh and reincarnate means to “reenter the flesh”. Life and death are only realities for all of us and the soul always remains in life, without death. Physical death is the most natural transition or transformation which survives and is guided by karma. Every person has had been through many lives and they will continue until all the lessons that are to be learned are learned. This is when the person will attain moksha and will be taken out of physical body. You will no longer be born or die. Reincarnation is believed by Jains, Sikhs and Indians of Americas, Pagans, and many other faiths of religion.

At death, the soul leaves the physical body, as stated above. It lives in on a subtle body called astral body. The astral body exists in nonphysical dimension and this is the world that we see in dreams at night when we sleep. Here is where we continue to have other experiences until we are reborn again. Each of these reincarnating soul chooses a home and a family which can fulfill it’s learning and maturing life. After each of the life are matured, it follows love, wisdom and knowledge of God. At this situation, there is no longer a need for physical birth and then the soul gets off the liberated and out of the cycle of life which includes birth, death and rebirth. This evolution continues as you don’t have to go back to it any more just as if you are going from elementary school to high school.

So, life’s unlimate goal are not anything that are materlialistic but transendental. This changes every fear of death from you when you know that your soul is not going to be destroyed. Every reincarnation in the life are for you to same spiritual destiny of God realization.

Previously posted in my blog

Tags: death, Hinduism, Physical body, reincarnation, Religion and Spirituality, Sikh, Soul

Hindu Gods

Back in the Spring of 1990, six college students sent 9 questions to Hinduism Today. But to make the explanation better, Hinduism Today had included another question to make it 10 questions that they answered. First remember that if the person is trying to convince you to their thoughts, then do not answer. Smile at them and show them that it is nothing to make you conviced by making you change your thought and you belief. Also remember not to answer a question about religon as if you are sure or fast because you had not thought about it at all. Offer a prolouge first to introduce the problem. This way, you have the time to think and start your conversation. Ask the questioner what his religion is and knowing that you can keep it in his understanding knowledge. Don’t be afraid to answer these questions, even meaningful answers would be taken into great consideration.

The Hinduism Today had included these prologues in their article and they are pasted here too.

1. I am really pleased that you are interested in my religion. You may not know that one out of six people in the world are Hindu.
2. Many people have asked me about my tradition. I don’t know everything but I will try to answer your question.
3. First, you should know that in Hinduism, it is not only belief and intellectual understanding that is important. Hindus place the greatest value of experiencing each of those truths personally.
4. You can also say the question back to see if the person has questioned you correctly.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: god, Hinduism, india, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Shakti, Shiva, Vishnu

Why cannot the Hindus in Bangladesh get the same benefit that the Muslims are getting in India? Is it all because we are Hindus, a minor group with little amount of population? Hindus in the world are 650-900 million and that is not a huge number on the population of the world which is about 1.57% and decreasing day by day from the last two decades. Is this number decreasing because of racism or many other factors?

For only the Indian Muslims, there are the The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937 which gives the Muslims in the right to marriage, dower, divorce, maintenance, gift, waqf and inheritance. But for the Hindus in Bangladesh, which is a country right next to India and have a majority or Muslims do not have any law supporting the Hindus and the minorities but have against it.

One of that is the Vested Property Act which was actually made by the leader or the Father of the Country, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who made the law that if any person, a Hindu left the country to India, then the governement had the right to take over the property that was owned by that Hindu. The pronounced that if you go to India, you are the country’s enemy but if you go to Pakistan or any other country, you are not considered to be enemy of the country.

So, still why do the Muslims in India consider themselves minority and still want more benefit? Did they get the same hardships that the Hindus are getting in Bangladesh and many other Middle East countries like Pakistan and Afganistan? They do not even have the same factors that they are watching. But still why do they want more and more freedom? Do they want to stop their worship that the Hindus are doing and people like me who had seen all those know about it all. Yeah it might have changed a little bit now with the new government, but why was it even stopped at the first place? What if the Muslims in India were not able to celebrate their Eid like us who can’t celebrate our Durga Puja?

Tags: Bangladesh, hindu, Hinduism, minority, rights

Bhagavad Gita

Reincarnation is the significant portion of Hindu thoughts and belief system. It’s the core reason of our existence. No philosophy in this world explains the essence of life and death better than Karma.

vāsāḿsi jīrṇāni yathā vihāya
navāni gṛhṇāti naro ‘parāṇi
tathā śarīrāṇi vihāya jīrṇāny
anyāni saḿyāti navāni dehī

Translation: As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.

Tags: gita, Hinduism, karma, Life, reincarnation, Religion

Why are the Hindus being demolished in Bangladesh? There are a lot of reasons to that. The Muslims, the radical ones for sure and one that everyone suggests. But isn’t there anything else than that? Isn’t there problem with the Hindus themselves? Aren’t we giving up our land that every Hindu calls their land, India in the hands of Muslims? From the period of Akabar, we have not taken care of where we are currently staying but only caring about how we can manage our property.

Let’s look at that time period. Akbar had married Haraka Bai, a Hindu. She was Raja Bharmal’s daughter. Akbar persuaded both Bharmal and Rajput to take her. This was the turning point that everyone thinks is responsible for what happened afterwards. Now there was not much difference between the Hindus and the Muslims. She even changed her name to Mariam-uz-zamani to make herself look much more like a Muslim.

Now we could see that everything that ever happened in history has to have a beginning. Now where did this have the beginning of racial discrimination in South Asia? For me, I think that this started from here because she was never let to visit her father’s property and she had to stay in a outcast area, sometimes not even with her husband so that she could not make another problem in Akbar’s kingdom.

Post previously published here.

Tags: akbar, Hinduism, muslims, race

Hindus have applauded surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, for performing together Saturday at New York to raise money for promoting meditation.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that other celebrities, who had benefited from Hindu practices, should also come out in support of charities promoting Hinduism concepts.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, invited all entertainment celebrities to explore meditation to combat stress that their challenging jobs bring and to increase the powers of their minds.

If any celebrity needed assistance in his/her exploration in meditation arena, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly provide, Rajan Zed added.

Tags: Hinduism, mediation, rajan, yoga, zed

Hindu Baccalaureate Service (Dikshant Utsav), held for the first time in Western USA at prestigious University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) in May last, will be held again on April eleven next.

Organized by acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed in collaboration with Indian Student Organization of UNR, it will bless graduating class in the traditional Hindu style according to ancient scriptures, complete with applying tilak (religious mark) on the foreheads of graduates.

Besides keynote address by Swami Vedananda, a well-known Hindu monk from California, it will also include blessing prayers by Christian (various denominations), Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Baha’i, and Native American religious leaders. Shanti-Shanti, the only Sanskrit rock band of the world, will deliver shlokas (hymns) from Rig-Veda (oldest scripture of the world composed around 1,500 BCE) on the occasion.. A “benediction through the medium of dance” by renowned dancer Martina Young will also be organized at this Service.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: america, Hinduism, university

Hindu-Jewish Collaboration

Hindus and Jews have asked the United Kingdom to re-evaluate the matrix of opening prayers in its Parliament, which probably date back from 17th century.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a joint statement, stressed that either these prayers should be more universal in nature encompassing various religions or leaders of various faiths should take turns to read their prayers.

Zed and Freirich said that Parliament was the representative body of all people of United Kingdom, who besides various denominations of Christianity, now included substantial number of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Neopagans, Buddhists, Bahais, etc., in addition to a considerable number of non-believers and Jedi Knights. Prayers in Parliament should also reflect and respect these demographics.

The practice of prayers, which “follow the Christian faith”, started in about 1558 and the present form of prayers probably dates from the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). Members of the public are not allowed into the public galleries during prayers.

In the House of Commons, Speaker’s Chaplain usually reads the prayers, which talk of “…laying aside all private interests and prejudices keep in mind their responsibility to seek to improve the condition of all mankind…”

In the House of Lords, a senior Bishop (Lord Spiritual) who sits in the Lords usually reads the prayers. The text of the Prayers includes the words  “…laying aside all private interests, prejudices, and partial affections…”. MPs and Peers stand for prayers facing the wall behind them, “due to the difficulty Members would historically have faced of kneeling to pray while wearing a sword”.

Rajan Zed and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich argued that although they prayed regularly to “improve the condition of all mankind” and “laying aside all…prejudices”, yet their prayers reflected only a section of the public and not the society in its entirety.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that presence of different religions was an evident symbol of God’s generosity and munificence. We should quest for a unity that hailed diversity,

The origins of Parliament, which now has 1,388 members and is located in London, goes back to 12th century. Its main roles include examining/challenging the work of the government, debating/ passing laws, and enabling the government to raise taxes. Baroness Hayman is Speaker of House of Lords, while Michael Martin is Speaker of House of Commons.

Tags: hindu, Hinduism, jewish, judaism, prayers

Temple in Dinajpur

The local Government is inactive in protecting the Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh.

By William Gomes

“Terokota Mondir” is a famous religious place for the Hindus all over sub continent. “Terokota Mondir” is located at Birgonj,Dinajpur in Bangladesh . It was donated as a deity property by King Jogodis Chandra Roy in the name of “Shri Shir KantiJew Thakur” Total 16 acer 23 Sotok land was donated by the kind king .

On 16th January 2009 a group of Islamic fascist came in the “Mondir (Temple) and start building the house for ” Al Hera Nurani Talimul Quran Madrasa” the local Hindu devotee protested on that communal attitude. And in 17th Januray 2009 Shri Moti Lal das filed a general diary (GD No:590) in Birgonj ploice station on behalf of the local Hindu devotee narrating the illegal activity of Islamic fascist and demanding to stop the illegal activates of Islamic fascist.

The chairman of local OP (Unity council) of Brigonj Shri Arun Chandra das said to the source that although they informed the illegal activities to Oc Mujammel Huq of Birgonj police station he did not take any necessary steps.

The Human rights organization ” Christain development Alternative (CDA) highly protested on this illegal activities of Islamic fascist and demand to Mr. Sitangshu Guha of OP US and visiting delegate of OP US Dr. Thomas Dulu to bring this fact to the national and international community and take urgent actions as soon as possible. We also want to request to Dr.Thomas Dulu of OP to visti the Temple immediately and talk to Her Excellency Prime Minster S Hasina to make it clear about her governments policy regarding securing the rights of the minorities of Bangladesh.We also demand to suspend the OC BirGonj.

Tags: Bangladesh, Hinduism, muslim, terrorism

ADDRESSES AT THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS

RESPONSE TO WELCOME
Chicago, September 11, 1893

World famous Speech by SWAMI VIVEKANAND at america

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Tags: america, Hinduism, vivekananda

I was inspired to write this when I came face to face with a question about the rights of Hindu women. It was started due to the controversy that women of Muslim religion are not given that much rights. Here I am not going to criticize that religion but I am going to say what our religion says about this. It is based on my research on the Vedas.

If we look in the Rig Veda, then we can see in Samhita, part 1, sukta 79, sloka 872 that-
“The wife should do agnihotra (yagna), sandhya (puja) and all other daily religious rituals. If, for some reason, her husband is not present, the woman alone has full rights to do yagna.”. So this means that the women has the same right has the men to worship the God. They are allowed to go to the Mandirs or Temples whenever they want to. Even in some religions we cannot find that happen.

Most importantly, in Hinduism, the women has the right that they deserve. I will not say that it is the best because anything in this world can be better, but I can say that it is definitely one of the most thoughtful work done by the past ancestors of this religion. We can see that all of our God has a female version creating a join between these two. It is due to this that we currently have something where the females of Hinduism can worship them and anyone they like and the male can worship anyone they like.

They are also given the title of Mother who has all the love that a mother provides for their child and that is why they are looked differently in Hinduism and given the right to do anything they think that is good because if there was none of them, then there might have not been this men here in this world. Hinduism has reformed the age with the rules that isolated women in the religion. It said that when a man dies, the woman or the wife has to sacrifce herself with the man. King Ram Mohon Roy has transformend this believe to something that we now all know as the theme that it is not due to them that the man died. So why should the other get punished for that. Ishwar Chandra Vidwashagar has also transformend the fact that anyone who is a women and doesn’t have the husband can’t marry after the death of the Husband. This has been changed to something that we all know now that they can beacuse Hinduism is a religion of transformation and change. It is not by the man of 700 B.C. where there was no technolongy of anything. So now after the change from that we can see how the man and woman have the same amount of rights in the social places and not like before where after the man had their wife dead could go and marry another woman.

The world has changed and the religion has changed and that is needed or else nothing would to allowed to happen to the society of Hinduism. God Vishnu has mentioned in the Vishnupuran after creating Laxmi that like a lotus is not the lotus without its scent, the same way a man is not full without the woman. So they come hand in hand creating something that is as dynamic as the World.

Tags: goddess, Hinduism, laxmi, women

 

Dr. Richard Benkin

On November 1, 2008, I delivered the Arvind Ghosh Memorial Lecture to the Human Empowerment Convention in suburban Chicago. The address was interrupted more than a half dozen times with applause and received a standing ovation at its conclusion. The following are excerpts from that address.

“Some years back, my mother, wife, and daughter were sitting in a Jerusalem restaurant enjoying a meal. Not many weeks later, a Palestinian terrorist entered the restaurant and blew himself up, [and] I realized that had my mother, my wife, and my daughter been there that day, the murderers would have considered their deaths something glorious…. Anyone who could glory in the deaths of my mother, my wife, and my daughter is an enemy so vile that…there can be no quarter, no negotiation, no compromise; and in the fight against it there can be no rest….

“Why is there any question about the need to fight them unrelentingly and to destroy them utterly….Our enemy’s expressed goals are to destroy our faiths, our values, our ways of life….Fuzzy thinking about this can destroy us, and…no matter [who] tries to convince us otherwise, [we] must remain focused on what we have to do to defeat them….This enemy has a name, and we need to use it: radical Islam. Not terrorism, which is only a tactic; or unspecified radicals, militants, or whatever politically correct word is in fashion but Islamist radicals….If we are engaged in a war on ‘terror,’ we are [merely] reacting to a tactic [and] not engaged in a comprehensive effort to defeat the terrorists and those who send them. If our enemies are merely “the extremists,” we have [abandoned] the search for any ideology…that unites those extremists and motivates them. [That] dilutes our struggle, weakens us, and strengthens our enemies…radical Islamists.

“An alliance of Israel, India, and the United States…can [easily] dispose of the terrorists and the national leaders that support them…Look at what each nation has done by itself. Ever since its 1948 birth, Israel has been bedeviled by nation-states and terrorist groups determined to destroy it. It is the only nation on earth that has never known a day of peace….Invaded by multiple Arab militaries in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973…Israel beat them all back so thoroughly, that they had to change tactics and send terror proxies to do their work…. But the terrorists have failed, too. Suicide bombings [and rocket strikes from Gaza] have been virtually eliminated….In a 2007 conversation with an Israeli insider, I noted how the number of terror attacks dropped significantly, even though the terrorists keep trying….‘Let me tell you a secret,’ he whispered, smiling. ‘We stop most of them in their beds.’ Israel has survived; more than that, it has thrived to become one of the world’s technological giants….

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Tags: Bangladesh, Hinduism, india, israel, Politics