Thursday, August 27, 2009

HINDU POPE, HINDU BISHOPS, HINDU CARDINALS FOR HINDU CHURCH


"Christian Sadhus and Shastris: shameless conversion games
B R Haran
28 August 2009"

Courtesy: Vijayvaani.com
http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=778

"Conversion as motive

"It is an open secret that the foremost aim of the Church is to spread Christianity throughout the world and establish its rule. Yet an Indian government led by a ‘Hindu’ party welcomed Pope John Paul II as a State Guest and allowed him to give a clarion call for evangelization of India on this sacred Hindu Bhumi.

"With the advent of Republican Party rule, the US government under George Bush allotted millions of dollars for this purpose through the Joshua Projects. Simultaneously, with the advent of the Congress-led UPA government with Sonia Gandhi as Chairperson, conversions have become rampant, as evidenced by an alarming increase in the planting of churches across the country totally disproportionate to the population of Christians, and the brazen implementation of ‘inculturation’ techniques.

"Conversion activities have increased manifold in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the former ruled by the Congress and led by a Christian Chief Minister, and the later ruled by an atheist (read anti-Hindu) Dravidian-racist party. The deficient growth of Hindu organizations and lack of public awareness of the danger of conversions has helped the growth of churches in these states.

"Christian missionaries, who were concentrating on the poor and downtrodden sections, have now started focusing on the upper echelons of society. The employees in media houses, workers in cinema and small-screen industries, and Hindus working in Christian institutions have become vulnerable to conversion attempts. Of late, special attention is being shown to the Brahmin community.

"Planting a Church near an ancient Temple and focus on Brahmins

"Thiruvanmiyur is a beautiful place in Chennai, on the East Coast Road leading up to the southern tip of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvanmiyur is historically significant as the place where Vanmiki Maharishi (the Valmiki of Ramayana fame) did penance and worshipped Bhagwan Shiva; hence the name Thiruvanmikiyur (Thiru-Sri; Vanmiki, Oor-place), which later became Thiruvanmiyur. Shiva, worshipped by Valmiki, blesses the people from his magnificent and ancient Sri Marundeeswarar Temple . There is also a small temple for Maharishi Vanmiki opposite (slightly diagonal) to the Shiva Temple ; both stand as testimonies to the ancient history of this sacred place.

"Now, within hundred yards of the Shiva Temple , stands a huge ‘ Advent Church ’ which was started as a small prayer house just three years ago. On 5 August 2009, two digital banners, placed just above the compound wall of the Church, attracted the attention of passers by. They read, “Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti - First Year Anniversary” and announced, “Kathaakaalakshebam (Religious discourse) by Pujya Sri Bhagavathar Vedanayaga Saastrigal on Saturday 8 August evening by 5 pm – Entry free.”

"Though churches claim they don’t practice casteism, the reality is exactly the opposite, as evidenced by conflicts between various castes within Christianity in various places. In fact, when evangelists convert gullible Hindus, especially Scheduled Castes, they always deceive them saying, “All are equal in the eyes of Jesus.” But once the conversion is over, the evangelists close their eyes and the converted group finds no change except in the god and the pattern of worship. Still, the “Christian-Brahmin” Samiti was a real shocker as Brahmins converting is a rare phenomenon.

"Brahmins were, are and will always be a “Prize Catch” for Christian evangelists. For them, converting even a single Brahmin is a great achievement. A converted Brahmin becomes a great asset, for with one Brahmin convert they would be able to easily convert a hundred non-Brahmins. Of late, Christian missionaries have started targeting the Brahmin community, and in the last four or five years, they have been able to achieve some gains.

"Although the ‘Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti’ seems to be new, the man behind this dubious organization, ‘Sadhu Chellappaa’ is a notorious figure, whose modus operandi is distortion of Hindu scriptures to advance Christianity. Before going into the happenings in Thiruvanmiyur, it would be better to have a complete picture about this imposter who masquerades as a sadhu, wearing saffron robes.

"Saffron attired evangelist masquerading as Sadhu

"Born in a Hindu family and raised in and around a temple, Chellappaa claims to have complete knowledge of the Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas and Puranas. As the temple priests and other scholars could not clarify his doubts on some questions, one day (15 May 1967) he decided to commit suicide by jumping from a running train. As he was about to do so, he claims to have heard holy verses of the Bible; he got down at the next station and went straight to the Church, where he claims to have seen Jesus and received answers for all his doubts through divine blessing.

"As per orders of Jesus, he became a Christian and travelled throughout the state converting thousands of Hindus to Christianity. He became a full time evangelist in 1974 and founded the Agni Ministries. Since 1982, he has been running a Tamil monthly magazine, “Agni,” for Tamil people worldwide. As per orders of Jesus, he has been planting new churches since 1995, and has so far planted 27 churches and appointed 27 pastors for effective harvests. He has appointed four full-time evangelists and established a full fledged office with four faculty and other staff.

"Sadhu Chellappaa has written over 28 books in Tamil and two in English. He claims his book "IS CHRISTIANITY A NECESSITY?" is always in demand and is likely to go into reprint for the fifth time. Another book, BIBLE AND BAGAVAT GITA, VARANASHRA DHARMA sells like hot cakes! He has travelled widely abroad, meeting evangelists and church leaders in pursuit of name and fame.

"Chellappaa is believed to have met Dr. Billy Graham at the itinerant Evangelists Conference at Amsterdam in 1983; his life story appeared in "Challenge" magazine published by Campus Crusade, USA . But his ‘Sri Lankan connection’ is telling! A regular speaker at the Impetus Conference in Colombo for Third World Pastors and Evangelists, Sadhu is a close friend of Dr. Colton Wickramaratne, Senior Pastor of People’s Church, Colombo and his ministry has ‘saved’ numerous Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka .

"Most Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus who are scattered as refugees through out the world have been converted to Christianity through his ministries. Rev. Colin Dye, Senior Pastor of Kensington Temple , London , the largest church in England , interviewed Chellappaa and his story appeared in "The Edge," a leading British Christian magazine, in its May 1996 issue.
(http://www.agniministries.org/ and http://www.agniministries.org/Testimony.aspx).

"Sadhu Chellappa’s ‘Agni Ministries’ (AM) are governed by “Evangelical Action Team of India” (EATI), founded by him in 1980 in Coimbatore , with 20 persons in the Board of Directors; he is the ‘Managing Director’. EATI concentrates on conversion activities in the guise of services in Education and Health. The main objective of EATI and AM is to Plant Churches and Harvest Souls, for which purpose they recruit Pastors and Evangelists and conduct training courses for them. They teach distorted versions of Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh scriptures and other books relevant to those Indigenous religions and train recruits how to use those scriptures (by comparing with Christian concepts and Bible stories) for converting the gullible sections from those faiths. They send trained recruits to set up ‘Prayer Cells’ to facilitate planting of new Churches in predominantly Hindu areas. The recruits also teach at Bible schools and colleges. EATI and AM have tie-ups with international missionaries, mainly for fund raising, which makes harvesting easier.
(http://www.agniministries.org/AboutUs.aspx and
http://www.agniministries.org/EATI.aspx)

"Sadhu Chellappaa audaciously claims, “Diwali, the festival of lights, is a Christian Festival; Animal Sacrifice is a Christian culture adopted by Hindus and Gayatri Mantra actually glorifies Jesus. The Vedas, the ancient Indian sacred writings had anticipated the coming of Christ to take away the sins of man. They call Him Purusha Prajapati the creator God who would come as a man to offer himself as a sacrifice. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Vedic quest of the Indian people, because the Vedhas are incomplete without Him, just as the Old Testament was fulfilled at the coming of the Messiah”. He waxes eloquent on ‘You Tube’ on “Hinduism came from Bible”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBSPQvIqYs)

"Thiruvanmiyur episode

"It is said Sadhu Chellappaa has a few Brahmin families in his kitty since the launching of this Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti. He uses the services of another convert Vedanayagam, who brazenly calls himself ‘Bhagavathar’ and ‘Sastrigal’ with a title of ‘Pujya Sri’. Both of them organize evangelical sessions in the guise of “Kathaakaalakshebam” and hoodwink gullible Hindus. They focus on poor and lower middle class Brahmins, who are ignorant and have poor knowledge of their religious scriptures. Most have personal and financial problems, which make them vulnerable to the Chellappaas and Vedanayagams.

"As the two were making preparations for a huge show on 8 August, the news spread and some concerned citizens called up senior police officials to ban the proposed event; there was absolutely no response. Details about the proposed event were sent to the only Brahmin MLA of the Dravidian Assembly, who took up the issue with higher authorities, but didn’t get the desired results, possibly because he neither belonged to the ruling coalition nor to the opposition ranks, having been recently dismissed by AIADMK. Other leaders of Hindu organizations were busy with bi-elections and Ganesh Chaturthi arrangements. The so-called Brahmin Association (TAMBRAS) was nowhere to be seen!

"It was left to a few individuals (some cadres of Hindu organizations and freelance writers, editors and journalists numbering around ten) who went to Thiruvanmiyur Police Station on 6 August and complained to the Inspector, who immediately got the banners removed and warned the Church not to host the event. The banners sprang up again on 8 August morning, without the title ‘Christian Brahmin Seva Samiti’, which portion was covered with a cloth. A ‘panthal’ (shamiana) was set up at the entrance to the Church and two plantain trees and a bunch of fresh tender coconuts tied on both sides of the entrance to give the Church a typical Hindu look!

"Though the title was covered by a cloth, other terms such as ‘Pujya Sri’, ‘Bhagavathar’ and ‘Sastrigal’ were not removed from the banner; despite repeated phone calls and personal calls the local police didn’t take further actions and the “Kathaakaalakshebam” of “Vedanayagam Sastrigal” went as planned, with police protection! If the police thought they acted neutrally they were wrong; what happened in the church was a blatant violation of law.

"The organizers deserve stringent punishment

"How can a Christian evangelical session be named Kathaakaalakshebam (religious discourse)? How can evangelists call themselves Sadhus, Bhagavatars, Sastrigals and keep the title ‘Pujya Sri’? Claiming to be a casteless religion and a society sans caste discrimination, how could they start an organization exclusively for Brahmins? What have Brahmins to do with Christianity? From when is Christianity having a separate Brahmin sect?

"The Vedas, Upanishads, Ithihasas and Puranas are religious treasures of the Hindus. No other religionists have the right to touch them. Distorting and using them to market Jesus and Christianity is shameless and clearly establishes that there is nothing of value in Christianity since its god and bible need Hindu scriptures to succeed. By thus misusing the Hindu scriptures, the Chellappaas, Vedanayagams and other imposters should be booked under Sections 153A, 295A, 298 and other sections of the IPC and punished.

"In Thiruvanmiyur Church , the so-called Sastrigal marketed the Christian god as “Purusha Prajapati” of the Rig Veda! Evangelists are like sales representatives and they cannot be allowed to use Hindu scriptures to sell their religion and god; one company’s sales rep cannot use other company’s merchandise to sell his product. This can only create conflict in society and law and order problems, with disastrous consequences.

"The subterfuge, also called inculturation, has grown to dangerous proportions. The deep slumber of Hindu organizations (social, cultural, religious, spiritual, etc.) is disturbing and it is high time they woke up and put an end to this ugly business by the church and the missionaries. "

"The author is a senior journalist; he lives in Chennai. Copyright "vijayvaani.com"

Editor's Comments: The above quoted article has internal consistency with verification of facts embedded in it by giving references to other Internet articles that point to the activities of the so-called Christian (Christist) Sadhus and Shastris.

If this is not an example of conversion by deceit, what is? If this is not conversion by allurement, what is? If this is not a fraud, what is? These are natural questions.

However, the defense is: "This is a flattery of the host culture." Look, didn't Swami Vivekananda start a "mission" imitating the Christian concept of service to humanity? Isn't imitation the best form of flattery?

So, what gets your goat? Is the word Santa (pronounced Sunta) (for a spiritual holy person) not derived from Saint? Is the word Agni not derived from Agnus? Is the word Shastri not a distortion of the word "shyster"? Do you mean to say good Christians can never be shysters? Why do we have to limit shysters to belong to any particular ethnic or religious group? Did not word Krish(na) come from Chris originally? Look at the story of his birth, "at midnight." Does that not prove that it is stolen from the Bible, the New Testament?

Imposters are not criminals. They are not stealing your identity. You have no intellectual property rights to the titles like "Sadhu, Shastri, Pundit, Pundita,
Mahodayaa," or words like Ashrama, Sangeet, Mahotsava, or any other Sanskrit words. Sanskrit itself is an imported language that was brought to India by the Eurasians, "not too long ago," is a well known fact by now. It is not a belief but verified fact accepted by Harvard, Oxford, Emory, University of Chicago, and many other Departments of Relgious Studies, Departments of Sanskrit and Indian Studies and many academically respected historians in modern India. We from Europe and America claim that Sanskrit is originally ours and we can claim any Sanskrit word for our titles and names. There is nothing illegal about it.

Wise up guys, don't whine. It is time to be "grown up" as a "society," and recognize that money can buy anything and come to terms with this fact.

Swami Vivekananda gave his call to all Hindus more than a hundred years ago, "Awake and arise!!" but you are still asleep. Whose fault is it? When there are rifts in the family it is quite likely that some outsiders will take advantage of the situation. How long are you going to keep blaming all the outsiders and not put your own house in order? (Not too long from now it will be owned or controlled by outsiders and it may be too late to reverse the process of conversion.)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

JINNAH VIRUS AND FUMBLING BJP & RSS BRASS

"JINNAH VIRUS DISTRACTS AND DEBILITATES BJP
by
R.K. Ohri, IPS (Retd)
Wages of Poor Scholarship

For a second time during the last four years Jinnah virus has struck the Bharatiya Janta Party. Greatly impressed by the success of Mohammed Ali Jinnah in carving out the Islamic State of Pakistan by ensuring division of India, almost single-handedly, some BJP leaders are bending backwards in praising Jinnah as a great 'secular' leader. Overwhelmed by 'Jinnah virus' and trying to outdo his senior colleague, L K Advani, in his latest book Jaswant Singh (a prominent BJP leader and former Foreign Affairs Minister in NDA government), has showered encomiums on Jinnah, while criticizing the murky role of Nehru and Gandhi in accepting partition of the country as a fait accompli. While this belated claim to wisdom by Jaswant Singh about greatness of the founder of Pakistan further bewildred the average middle class Hindu, the BJP was left with no option but to expel Jaswant Singh from the party due to his deliberate deviation from the ideology of BJP. In June 2005 the then President of BJP, L.K. Advani, had praised Mohammed Ali Jinnah, as a secular leader during his visit to Pakistan, without verifying the facts. That controversial statement bestowing the halo of a "secular leader" on Jinnah was greatly resented by the Hindu masses. Ultimately it led to large scale criticism of Advani's wrong perception and he had to step down from the office of BJP President. Advani's misadventure about Jinnah's secular status was based on Pakistan's Qaid-e Azam's address to the Constituent Assembly on August11, 1947, in which he had declared that, "you are free to go to your mosques, or any other place of worship .. you may belong to any religion, caste or creed, that has nothing to do with the business of the state. You will find that in the course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense ... but in the political sense as citizens of the State". Apparently that statement was enough to make Advani conclude that Jinnah was indeed a secular democrat. The veteran leader did not care to check up the reasons which could have prompted Jinnah to make that most-unlike-Jinnah statement in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947. Perhaps he relied too much on the advice and assessment of his aide, Sudheendra Kulkarni, yet another admirer of Jinnah, who had accompanied him. Advani just could not figure out that what Jinnah had pronounced on August 11, 1947, was nothing but mere posturing done on the advice of Lord Ismay who was the Chief of Staff of the then Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten. The inside story of Jinnah's August 11, 1947, statement has been narrated by a distinguished Punjabi scholar, Dr. Kripal Singh, on page 740 of his book, "Select Documents on Partition of India -1947" (India andPakistan), published in 1990. As revealed by Dr. Kripal Singh, the advice to make such a statement was given by Lord Ismay to Jinnah, under specific instructions of Lord Mountbatten in order to douse the raging fire of communal violence across Pakistan at that time. It was a belated attempt to assure the Hindus and the Sikhs living in Pakistan about their safety, expressly made on the suggestion of Lord Mountbatten, the then Governor General of India. The sole aim of the August 11, 1947, statement was to check the spiralling communal violence in Pakistan which had already generated a violent reaction in East Punjab (India).

The fact that Jinnah had been prevailed upon to make such a statement was told to Dr. Kripal Singh by Lord Ismay himself. His aforesaid book contains interviews with Lord Attlee, the Prime Minister of U.K. in 1947, Sir Francis Mudie, the then Governor of Punjab and Sir Cyril Radcliffe, Chairman of the Boundary Commission who drew the final lines of the partitioned sub-continent. In an exclusive interview to TNS (Tribune News Service) Dr. Kripal Singh had disclosed that he had interviewed Lord Ismay on August 17, 1964, at his residence in U.K. Dr. Kripal Singh is a former Head of the Department of Historical Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, and an euridite scholar and author of several books. Every Indian, except perhaps Jaswant Singh, knows that Jinnah had repeatedly said that the Hindus and the Muslims cannot live together in India and had pompously declared in August 1946, "We shall have India divided or we shall have India destroyed". He was a fundamentalist who was squarely responsible for organizing the great Calcutta killings on August 16, 1947, by giving a call for Direct Action to achieve the goal of Pakistan. Apparently the fast ageing BJP leaders like JaswantSingh and Advani have forgotten that on July 27, 1946, while giving a call to Muslims for observing August 16, 1946, as Direct Action Day for achieving the goal of Pakistan, Jinnah spoke thus :"The Muslims of India would not rest contented with anything less than the immediate establishment of independent and fully sovereign State of Pakistan. ... Now the time has come for the Muslim Nation to resort to Direct Action. ....We have taken a most historic decision. Never before in the whole history of the Muslim League did we do anything except by constitutional methods.Today we have said good-bye to constitutional methods. Throughout the painful negotiations the two parties with whom we bargain held a pistolat us - one with power and machine-guns behind it and the other with non-cooperation and the threat to launch mass civil disobedience. The situation must be met. We also have a pistol".

That open declaration to defy the law had prompted Muslim League's Mayor of Calcutta, Mohammed Usman, to give a call for jihad on August16, 1946, by issuing an inflammatory leaflet titled "Munajat for Jihad". On the Direct Action Day the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata)went through a grisly bloodbath which continued for several days a brief account of which has been given by Justice G.D. Khosla in his famous narrative, 'The Stern Reckoning'. The total number of innocent citizens killed during the jihad unleashed by Muslim League on the Direct Action Day was estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000. Subseqeuntly communal riots broke out in many parts of the country.

Thus Jinnah was never never 'secular' in his outlook, much less in deed. Both, Advani and Jaswant Singh, appear to be suffering from age-related amnesia. How else could they forget that barely 10 weeks after Jinnah's statement of August 11, 1946, Pakistan had invaded Jammu & Kashmir and let loose a horrendous campaign of murder, rape and pillage against unsuspecting hapless people? At that time Jinnah was very much alive (he died only in September 1948) and no one can deny that the Kashmir invasion was launched with his approval as Governor General of Pakistan. Apparently the two BJP leaders never ever cared to ascertain the truth behind Jinnah's deceptive statement made in Pakistan's Constituent Assembly on 11th August 1947. What made Jinnah issue the so-called "secular statement" on August 11, 1947, has been clarified by Dr. Kripal Singh, as stated above. In essence that statement of Jinnah was nothing but recourse to 'Taqiyah', a convenient Islamic tool for befooling the so-called 'kaffirs'. Going far beyond what Advani had stated in June 2005, in a TV interview Jaswant Singh claimed that the widespread opinion in India that Jinnah was anti-Hindu was mistaken, and that he was unfairly demonized. The tall leader failed to explain why Jinnah did not try to prevent the massive ethnic cleansing of Hindus from Pakistan, why did he not raise even a small finger to save the lives and properties of lakhs of Hindus trapped in Pakistan? Giving further twist to his love for Jinnah, during a TV interview by Karan Thapar, Jaswant Singh bemoaned, "Look into the eyes of the Muslims who live in India and if you truly see their pain with which they live, to which land do they belong? We treat them as aliens ... without doubt Muslims have paid the price of partition". It is difficult, nay impossible, to comprehend why Jaswant Singh does not realize that the real price of partition was paid by crores of Hindus and Sikhs who were killed, converted or driven out from Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly known as East Pakistan). How can he be so insensitive to the ethnic cleansing of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan, Bangladesh and even from Kashmir, an important part of our bogus secular political dispensation? Surely he cannot be oblivious of the fact that Hindu population in Pakistan has come down from 23% in 1947 to less than 2%now, and in Bangladesh it has dwindled from 27% in 1947 to a meagre 8%. And in Kashmir valley there are hardly any Hindus left now, except government servants ! Yet Jaswant Singh's heart bleeds only for Muslims - nary a tear did he shed for millions of ethnically cleansed out Hindus and Sikhs amounting to veritable genocide. What hypocrisy, what poor scholarship?

It is extraordinary that Jaswant Singh does not know that in four globally recognized human development indices, namely, the Infant Mortality, Child Mortality, Degree of Urbanisation and Life Expectancy at Birth the Muslims of India are better placed than the Hindus, and that according to a survey conducted in 2005 by the Centre for Studies of Developing Countries, New Delhi, at the all India level the proportion of "very poor" people is higher among Hindus than among Muslims. The untruthful book of Jaswant Singh and his interviews to the media are indeed classic examples of poor scholarship. No wonder, Jaswant Singh has been expelled from the BJP. The lesson is that book writing isa serious academic pursuit. It should not be taken as a casual exercise, even by the tallest politicians."

Editor's Comment: The politicians' psychology is as interesting as the political events are.

The above quoted is a very well written account by R K Ohri. Most importantly Ohri's masterful emphasis, in not losing the sight of the forest while getting lost in the trees and to always interpret the historical facts by understanding the larger context, is well taken.

In the current psycho-politics of India the defeat of BJP in the elections may be leading to unconscious identification with the aggressor, namely the Congress. BJP should have its own way of reconciling with the Muslims and not imitate the Congress. In desperation the two great leaders of BJP are trying to show how kind and broad minded they are as regards their assessment of Jinnah and also their empathy for the Muslims. This is the stance of the hapless debilitated BJP to "become" (like a teenager imitating his heroes) a "Cogress Party with a Safron Tinge."

There is no need to be anti-muslim to be focused on Hindutva, nor is there a need to placate and appease the Muslims to be recognized as being secular in one's attitude. BJP or Congress leaders can empathise with all who are suffering and all who have suffered, thus establishing sincere rapport with them. No human suffering needs to be seen as less important.

The whole saga of BJP is a confusion of identity seen in an adolescent. It is sad that Jaswant Singh and Varun Gandhi are exhibiting the same adolescent zeal but are opposite polarities. There must be a more balanced, homogeneous, and self-assured way to remain loyal to the agenda of Hindutva. Simply idolizing and/or demonizing past heroes is indicative of not finding appropriate living ego-ideals. Such vacuum with non-availability of stalwarts like Atal Bihariji breeds self-made leaders without mentors who are vying for power and indeed as is evident there is no democracy within BJP. Weakening or breakdown of the "high command" will necessitate implementing democracy within BJP and careful selection of tall leaders to be appointed, respected, and consulted for guidance. The tragedy for both BJP and Congress is that there are no true wise seasoned elders that are respected by the majority within the party. BJP is further handicapped by leanness in the number of politically savvy, charismatic, bright and popular, articulate, young leaders. The leaders infected by Jinnah Virus are not going to win the Muslim sympathies or their following, if BJP wants to outdo Cogress in the vote-bank politics. This is all interesting, but BJP also seems to be running short on strategies to succeed in the next elections already. Jaswant Singh saga is a symptom of this ailment described above.

Banning Jaswant Singh's book in Gujrat also will further complicate the perception of Modi ji as anti-Muslim and may have far reaching consequences for BJP. Splitting leaders or parent figures as all good and all bad (good cop- bad cop, for example) is a reflection of deep-seated conflicts in any party. This may augur the undoing of BJP and let us not hear that Jaswant Singh has converted to Islam and joined the Muslim League!! One should not be surprized at all, if he is promptly befriended by the politically savvy Muslims. -Shree Vinekar

Sunday, August 16, 2009

BRAND NAME & GENERIC HINDUS ON THE RISE


We Are All Hindus
by
Lisa Miller

Courtesy NEWSWEEK Aug 31, 2009

http://www.newsweek.com/id/212155
--------------------------------------A Forwarded Message------------------------------------
America is not a Christian nation. We are, it is true, a nation founded by Christians, and according to a 2008 survey, 76 percent of us continue to identify as Christian (still, that's the lowest percentage in American history). Of course, we are not a Hindu-or-Muslim, or Jewish, or Wiccan-nation, either. A million-plus Hindus live in the UnitedStates, a fraction of the billion who live on Earth. But recent poll data show that conceptually, at least, we are slowly becoming more like Hindus and less like traditional Christians in the ways we think about God, ourselves, each other, and eternity. The Rig Veda, the most ancient Hindu scripture, says this: "Truth is One, but the sages speak of it by many names." A Hindu believes there are many paths to God. Jesus is one way, the Qur'an is another, yoga practice is a third. None is better than any other; all are equal. The most traditional, conservative Christians have not been taught to think like this. They learn in Sunday school that their religion is true, and others are false. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the father except through me."Americans are no longer buying it. According to a 2008 Pew Forum survey, 65 percent of us believe that "many religions can lead to eternal life"-including 37 percent of white evangelicals, the group most likely to believe that salvation is theirs alone. Also, the number of people who seek spiritual truth outside church is growing. Thirty percent of Americans call themselves "spiritual, not religious," according to a 2009 NEWSWEEK Poll, up from 24 percent in 2005. Stephen Prothero, religion professor at Boston University, has long framed the American propensity for "the divine-deli-cafeteria religion" as "very much in the spirit of Hinduism. You're not picking and choosing from different religions, because they're all the same," he says. "It isn't about orthodoxy. It's about whatever works. If going to yoga works, great-and if going to Catholic mass works, great. And if going to Catholic mass plus the yoga plus the Buddhist retreat works, that's great, too." Then there's the question of what happens when you die. Christians traditionally believe that bodies and souls are sacred, that together they comprise the "self," and that at the end of time they will be reunited in the Resurrection. You need both, in other words, and you need them forever. Hindus believe no such thing. At death, the body burns on a pyre, while the spirit-where identity resides-escapes. Inreincarnation, central to Hinduism, selves come back to earth again and again in different bodies. So here is another way in which Americans are becoming more Hindu: 24 percent of Americans say they believe inreincarnation, according to a 2008 Harris poll. So agnostic are we about the ultimate fates of our bodies that we're burning them-likeHindus-after death. More than a third of Americans now choose cremation, according to the Cremation Association of North America, up from 6 percent in 1975. "I do think the more spiritual role of religion tends to deemphasize some of the more starkly literal interpretations of the Resurrection," agrees Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard.

So let us all say "om."

Saturday, August 15, 2009

FREEDOM OF THINKING: ESSENCE OF HINDUNESS (PART II)

DHEE : The Essence of Hinduness (Part II)
(Vedic Roots of Equality)
by
Achintyachintaka

To open Part I of this article please click on the link below
http://sookta-sumana.blogspot.com/2009/08/freedom-of-thinking-essence-of.html

The question raised at the end of Part I of the article on “DHEE” (on http://www.swaveda.com/) was, “What is Dhee?” The cognitive science of the Vedas views Dhee as a faculty of the mind, which in its highest accomplishment enables one to comprehend the Ultimate in this Universe. The Ultimate in the Universe is Brahman in Vedic science and Vedantic literature. Dhee is not only vested in an individual but has a collective existence. It nurtures the entire cognate creation. The “Mahad” or “Mahadhee” of Saankhya Darshana refers to the Universal Intelligence. (Please see “Demystifying Shri Ganesha” on www.swaveda.com ). The basic eternal law (or laws) of nature is termed "Ritam" in Sanskrit. It can be intuitively comprehended by the human mind through the agency of Dhee. With proper tuning in of individual Dhee, Ritam can be directly perceived through a sub-faculty or a component of Dhee termed “Prajnya.” In a fully “realized” individual, who has experienced and comprehended the nature of Brahman, Dhee is privileged to enjoy prajnya that is filled with a deep unconscious and sometimes conscious knowledge of all the laws of nature, as intended in a statement, “ritambhara tatra prajnya.” (This expression is used by Patanjali in his “Yoga Sutras.” It means: “In that state the prajnya is filled with all the “rita’s” or truths.) Buddha or a “Sthitaprajnya” would have reached that state of consciousness or evolved to attain that state of being. Sthitaprajnya is an adjective used to describe such fully realized individual. There are other equivalent terms which convey the same state of being of a fully evolved human being. The classic quotation is from the second chapter of Bhagvadgeeta: "Sthitaprajnyasya kaa bhaashaa, Samaadhisthasya Keshava, Sthitadhee kim prabhaasheta kimaaseeta vrajeta kim?" Arjuna asks this question to Shri Krishna. Here it is obvious that the terms Sthitaprajnya, Samaadhistha, and Sthitadhee are nearly equivalent synonyms. (Approximate literal translation could be as follows: Keshava, what is the definition of the Sthitaprajnya who is also a Samaadhistha? Or, what does a Samaadhistha Sthitaprajnya express verbally? How does Sthitadhee exhort, how does he express himself non-verbally – how does he sit, and how does he conduct himself or how does he behave? In essence, in this quote Arjuna wants Shri Krishna also known as Keshava to explain to him the characteristics specific to an individual who deserves to be recognized as Sthitaprajnya, Samaadhistha, and Sthitadhee. These terms refer then to individuals enjoying experiential and existential states of consciousness and/or states of being. The clinical signs and symptoms of this highest potential condition of human life are yet to be defined and criteria for diagnosing this condition, if you may, are to be offered for the first time in this special Yogashaastra of the Vedaantic literature, Bhagavadgeetaa, to be offered by Vyaasa, its author, through the character of Shri Krishna)

Dhee is Universal Intelligence when recognized as “Mahadhee.” Mahadhee operates at a subconscious or supra-conscious level while individual Dhee has more conscious recognition by those who can begin to experience it. Sub-faculties of Dhee operating at uncoscious and conscious levels are the Neurolinguistic faculty (vaac), represented by Vaageshwari, the artistic poetic inspiration and talent (pratibhaa), represented by Saraswati, the faculty that gives deeper understanding of the un-manifest world (vidyaa) represented by Prajnya, (“prajnyaa” is an ability viewed as a composite of pratibhaa, vidyaa, inspiration, intuition or a superior talent that enables one to comprehend abstract concepts or the tatva’s including ritas), and finally it is Dhee that is the container (aayatawaan – or a receptacle) of Jnyaana. The highest level of Jnyaana is expected to have knowledge of Brahman when Dhee becomes the container to receive it and it begins to perceive the process by which Brahman evolves into manifest world (The knowledge of this process is called Brahmavidyaa). This highest knowledge is described as Brahmajnyaana. Mahadhee and Dhee are, in a manner of speaking, the highest and the subtlest information storage and cognitive systems in Prakriti to say the least. Since the tatvas described as Brahman, Prakriti, and Mahadhee (or Mahad) are all-pervasive subtle entities (tatvas) present in the entire manifest and un-manifest universe, there is no locale for these entities. On the other hand, the individual Dhee is dependent on the brain, the most evolved and complex organ in the Human organism. Dhee and Mahadhee are qualitatively similar or same. However, the complexity and capacity of Mahadhee is beyond the grasp of ordinary individual Dhee. Mahadhee is magnificent in its magnitude. It is quite possible that the intuitive appreciation of such similarity could have led to statements like “man being created in the image if his creator (Western concept)” or “Nara and NaaraayaNa” being conceived as similar in nature in their noblest forms (Eastern concept). It is the individual Dhee that has the potential to experience the presence and nature of Mahadhee, Prakriti or Purusha (or Brahman). It must be mentioned and clarified at the outset that in Saankhya the entities identified as Purusha, Prakriti and Mahad have not been given any status of deities. Saankhya is an ancient natural science, and therefore, Saankhya does not bother to deify these entities or tatvas. Saankhya is not a theology but only a cosmogony. Saankhya can be conceived as the philosophy of natural science or metaphysics elaborating upon the tatvas underlying the nature of physico-chemical universe and the biosphere. The awe and sacredness attached to these concepts (Purusha, Prakriti and Mahad) would make them Paramaatman, Shakti, Ganesha in a different context where the divine qualities are attributed to these simple “physical” concepts, principles or tatvas described in Saankhya. Basically the sentient and non-sentient universe is de-constructed in Saankhya without contaminating Saankhya as a “spiritual,” “religious” literature addressing gods or god like concepts. Therefore, Saankhya philosophy could easily be misrepresented or misinterpreted as “atheistic”. Like science it is neither theistic not atheistic. Unlike science it attempts to reconcile and integrate cognate, sentient, and the non-sentient aspsects of the
Universe in a single frame of reference. At its sublime level Saankhya view of the entire Universe, or all existing universes if there are many, in any form, as entirely contained in the radiating sentient energy or Purusha. This frame of reference makes Saankhya look reductionistic yet the jury is not out to confirm or disprove its thesis. The question as to how the mass appears in the Universe and how energy is converted into mass are questions physicists are still grappling with although they have convincingly demonstrated how mass can be converted into energy. This said, one has to wait for scientific developments in the Quantum physics or Elementary Particle physics to arrive at the appropriate appreciation of the basic concepts of Saankhya. In the true Indian philospophical or Vedic tradition there is room for corrections or revisions of theory and the truth will prevail as there is no conflict between Vedic philosophy and science. Vedas are a pursuit of knowledge in the same scientific spirit and rests on "facts" as they exist and not on imaginary non-exitant entities (Sat and Asat). Asat is to be discarded.
The following discusstion regarding the etymology and different aspects of Dhee may be skipped at first reading, yet it would be of value to read it for the second reading of this article by a serious student.
_____________________________________________________________________
What is missing in the usual expositions on the Vedic Philosophy is emphasis on “Dhee (Dheehi).” It is important to understand the etymology of the words that have “Dhi” or “Dhee” in them to get a full picture of what is implied by this concept of Dhee. The words ending in “dhi” are sometimes viewed as not related to “Dhee.” Many Sanskrit scholars may not fully agree with this writer’s breakdown of the Sanskrit words to illustrate the pivotal presence of the concept of Dhee in the Vedic and Buddhist spiritual literature. It may be the initial criticism of the Part I of this article on http://www.swaveda.com/ by some Sanskrit scholars that some of the words (in Part I of this article) this writer has chosen to illustrate ubiquitous references to “Dhee” as drawing attention to this concept of “Dhee” do not have “dhee” in them in the strict grammatical sense except as a homonym. For example, the root “Dha” (“Dhri” or “Dhru”) stands for “holding,” and therefore, “Bud” in the word “Buddha” (Bodhati- Bodhate) refers to “to understand, to know” and “Buddhah” (one who holds the knowledge) in the sense of “enlightened” has no relation, it may be argued, to the word “Dhee.” Likewise, “Buddhih” is a term used for intellect as a faculty of the mind. The fact that the Dhi in this word is a rhasva (i) and not a deergha (ee) “dhee” makes it a word not related to “Dhee.” Also, the word “Vidhi” has a rhasva (“i”) “dhi” and as such only stands for “a method” “a rite” or a ritual. “Vidhee,” with deergha (“ee”) “dhee,” may stand for fate, “destiny or luck,” and neither is it related toDhee” as proposed by this writer. So, such somewhat legitimate scholastic arguments could lead to linguistic objections pointing to the fact that it seems the Rhasva dhi is more (dhiyati) related to “Dha” meaning simply to hold or to possess. For example, “a receptacle,” “dhi,” as in “jaladhi” (jala means water and jaladhi means a pond or a lake, literally a water reservoir) has nothing to do with “Dhee.” Such derivations and variations of the meanings of rhasvadhi” and deerghadhee have lead to probable disconnection of “Dhee” from “dhi.” Such considerations in the scholastic semantic interpretations of “Dhi” and “Dhee” tend to offer these two homonyms as two separate concepts.
______________________________________________________________________

The effort of this author in this article is to tie in the two concepts (Dhi and Dhee) with focus on the quote from “Kaamandaka’s Neetisaara or Kaamandakineetisaara.” The reader is asked to focus on the words “grahanam” and “dhaaranam.” “Grahanam,” meaning “incorporation”, and “dhaaranam” meaning “holding” (Dhi- as related to dhaaranam – also note the closeness and connection of this concept to the concept of Dharma) as the necessary qualities of “Dhee” in the following authoritative definition of “Dhee” in “Kaamandakineetisaara.” (“shushrooshaa shravanam chaiva grahanam dhaaranam tathaa, uhaapohaartha-vidnyaanam tatvajnaana cha dheegunaah”). Approximate translation of this definition could mean something as follows: The qualities or characteristics of Dhee are nurturance, auditory comprehension, as also internalization and incorporation (grahanam) too, and in addition, retention (or holding in) (dhaaranam), scientific or logical reality based analysis or critical thinking (uhaapoha), and cognition or understanding of Tatvas (“Tatva jnyana” – For more detailed discussion about the nature of Tatva and Tatvajnyana see this author’s previous article on “Demystifying Shri Hanuman Part II” on http://www.swaveda.com/). This quote from Kaamandakineetisaara defining Dhee, if understood properly, will not only get one closer to understanding what “Dhee” stands for but also it will illustrate the closeness of the concept of dhi (holding faculty) to the comprehending internalizing faculty (dhee) and it beautifully illustrates how “dhi” as holding faculty is connected with the much larger concept of comprehensively viewed plenary faculties (tatvas), “Dhee” and “Mahadhee.” A cognitive framework as formulated here for understanding Dhee is considered absolutely essential to gain insight into the philosophical, metaphysical, and psychological underpinnings of “Saankhya” and "Yoga.” “Thinking out of the box” is essential to understand the drift of this article and many other previous articles on “www.swaveda.com” by this author.
So let us take on the giants among the Indian and Western translators of Vedic and Vedantic concepts first. They have been extensively preoccupied with Atman and Purusha as the perceiving and comprehending agencies of the mind and also have been attributing an active role to them. The illustration below is to demystify the terms “Self” and “Person” used by these giants of English versions of Vedas and Vedanta and see these “tatvas” as merely nodes of consciousness. These individual (Purusha) nodes of consciousness or fields, by definition are passive until their “nirguna” nature becomes "saguna." That is to say, the individual as well as the Cosmic consciousness is devoid of any qualities that would be differentiating IT from anything else. It is only when IT begins to differentiate that the qualities or gunaas become discernible. (See the article on “Demystifying Shri Ganesha” and “Hinduness for World Peace and Harmony” on http://www.swaveda.com/ ) The active faculty of the mind for the practice of Yoga is “DHEE” (not Atman or Purusha). Yoga as a discipline to achieve integration of the personality is focused on Dhee, a faculty uniquely evolved in human beings. Buddhi (vyavasaayaatmikaa buddhi or pragmatic intellect, for example) refers to problem solving cognitive abilities with mechanical, mathematical, verbal, performance, social, musical, and other synthetic creative functions of the intellect as well as visuao-spatial and visuo-motor perceptions and abilities (coordination) and the organizing and executive functions of the brain. Buddhi is, of course, essential for Dhee to evolve. In fact Shri Krishna advises Arjuna to start with this very first step, by saying, “vyavasaatmikaa buddhi eka-iva kuru Nandana.” (Bring together all the faculties of your pragmatic intelligence as if they are all one and concentrate). Dharma usually refers to refined moral development of the mind through incorporation of “good” samskaaras and use of a Viveka Buddhi. Viveka is the faculty of Buddhi or Dhee that enables one to be sensible, just, and appropriate in personal, family, social and global context responsible for what may be considered “judgment.” Saara-asaara Viveka Buddhi (This is the faculty that distinguishes relevant from irrelevant, essential from non-essential and recognizes the context and relationship of the background to the foreground, or the figure focused upon) or sad-asad Viveka (distinguishing real from unreal) is a sub-faculty of Dhee. Viveka can thus intuitively distinguish “Sadaachaara from Duraachaara (good conduct from bad conduct).” "Manas" in Yoga refers to the “emotional mind” and is considered lower in hierarchy, with its being assigned the status of an "indriya" (rough translation- “sense organ”) of Dhee along with five other indriyas. It is only proper considering that “manas” is, since infancy, an elaboration of the interoceptor derived information and memories that form the substratum for emotions which discolor current and past perceptions, cognition, memories, actions, and relationships and even the nature of reality as perceived by an individual. Manas has its language of the heart and often is not logical. It is not the intelligence by itself and it is Dhee that raises Manas derived input by processing it to render an emotional maturity to an individual. Yoga has special techniques to tame, modulate, and regulate manas and one of those techniques is Pranaayama. Dhee regulates the buddhi (intellect), manas (emotional intelligence), and the moral compass (Viveka and Dharma) to navigate oneself in one’s life (in the microcosm). Every child has a deeply seated sense of fairness and justice, compassion and love, and sensibility in its rudimentary form which emanates from this faculty of Dhee which develops and matures into the Dharmic tendencies of Dhee. Just intelligence alone does not make a mature human being. Refined Buddhi, Manas, and Viveka are the minimum three components of Dhee for a human being to be considered civilized and mature human being. These three components then sharpened by vaac, pratibhaa, prajnya, etc., blossom into fully evolved Dhee that attains the potential for comprehending Brahman, Atman or Purusha.

If one does not understand the reasons for this deviation from the traditional English translations by any of the giant scholars of the past, one will go back to spinning one’s wheels on the cultural miseducation (for understanding the implication of this term see “Antiquity of Cultural Miseducation” on http://www.swaveda.com/ ) that has inadvertently crept into the voluminous literature on Hindu or Vedic (Yoga philosophy and Yoga psychology) precisely because of the translational flaws. In this area it is next to impossible to determine who followed whom in this translational conundrum. Was it that the Indian scholars, who were limited in their usage of the English language, that mistranslated the key words initially while communicating with their Western students and scholars, or is it the Western scholars who were struggling to find the right words for Vedic Sanskrit concepts which they had not quite fully comprehended yet, while they were using their Western software to find the English equivalents? Is it too late to admit that there were no real equivalents for many Sanskrit words in English language? The translational flaws have, therefore, persisted in the English translations. The current English usage and verbiage have distorted the basic views of the English dominated “Vedic culture which is unfortunately learned and discussed in English language by many who do not understand Sanskrit and also by those who understand Sanskrit. This is because one inadvertently gets caught up in the translational ruts that for some tends to provide an internally consistent body of knowledge based on consensual agreement and unquestioning acceptance. This leads to the perpetuation of original translational flaws in the literature.

There is so much (legitimate) emphasis on “Brahman” and “Purusha” in the Indian philosophy that a reader loses track of the fact as to which “faculty” of the “mind” is trying to describe these concepts and/or perceive them. The translation of the word “Purusha” as “person” or “self” has also caused enormous confusion. The words “person” and “self” are used in voluminous Western scientific and psychological literature with entirely different connotations and meanings than those implied by the Vedic scholars. The psychological phenomenon or a theoretical construct described as “self” evolves when the infant interacts with its social and inanimate environment as well as his own body to begin to form its internal image as a continuing stable separate entity, separate from its mother or primary love object. The Vedic “Self,” on the other hand, stands for the imagined, hypothetical, theoretical or postulated “experiencer” in each individual and is ordinarily equated with the English word “soul.” This “experiencer” is said to have an eternal existence separate from the body and the brain. So the “Self” in Vedic context is a philosophical entity or tatva (aatma-tatva) whereas in contradistinction the “self” in psychology is a mental construct every infant will develop to visualize or comprehend itself as a separate person(asmita and ahankara are necessary for this "self" whereas the Vedic "Self" and "SELF" are beyond the realm of Asmita and Ahankara). One finds many Indian as well as Western authors expounding Vedic Philosophy going back and forth with these two entirely different disciplines (Indian Philosophy and Western Psychology) using these same words as if they are interchangeable or by attempting to separate these two by capitalizing self as Self and person as Person to denote “aatman” or “purusharespectively, (the terms, aatman of Vedanta, and purusha of Saankhya, are considered here as equivalent synomyms) yet discuss the attributes of Aatman or Purusha as if it is a person or self as denoted in the parlance of Western Psychology. In actuality there is no English equivalent for the word purusha as used in Sankhya and later in Yoga. Similar translational flaws seem to occur in translating the word “Aatman.” Once the words “person” and “self” are used, with or without capitalizing the first letter, they create problem with the words “Purushottama or Paramaatmaa.” What then can be the equivalents for these? “Super-person or Supreme Self”? Or “Super-self”? Once such translations occur there is an illusion created by translational flaws which generates spurious logical arguments and discussions dragging the readers or audience into a conundrum of circular, convoluted, logic which superficially sounds so profound that serious students spend years trying to disentangle knots therein. Is person inactive and inert? Or, how can person be inactive and inert when those who understand the word “person” will normally view it to be an active agent? Then one would go looking for evidence to show that Purusha is active in some other Vedantic discipline that differs from Saankhya. Such treatises and discussions are mostly word plays (play on semantics) and are mostly generated by the semantic confusion caused by the translational flaws. Besides creating a cognitive confusion and lack of clarity these kinds of translations have made Indian philosophy appear either too profound or a veritable inconsistent gobble de goop in its English or Western “trans-presentation.” When such translations fall into the hands of some basically insincere mischievous Western Indologists, or so called “scholars” of religious studies, etc., they provide for them the grist for the mill for their “monkey business” as described in the articles on “Demystifying Shri Hanuman.” (See three articles on http://www.swaveda.com/ )

Another look at Dhee will help one understand why the concept of Dhee is essential for scientific humanism. The very comforting preschool concept that all human beings are the children of God have not had any impact on the human race especially as reflected by the atrocious practices of the two major monotheistic religions that have inflicted untold miseries on the children of God that they believed or still believe not to be the favored children of God as they themselves were or are. There is another concept, that could, when assimilated by human civilization and comprehended by all educated and uneducated global citizens of the world, put a stop to Man’s inhumanity to man. That alternative paradigm, which is likely to be more scientific and plausible, needs to be fully explored. In this respect the connectedness of all human beings attains a paramount importance. “Dhiyah samagraah saa guneirudaaraadheeh” is definition of Dhee in Raghuvamsha of Kaalidaasa. An approximate translation of this quote is as follows: “Collectively all ‘dhees’ form Dhee (Mahadhee) which by its very nature is generous or noble.” This definition, therefore, clearly indicates that Dhee has singular (individual) as well as a plural (collective) connotation, for example, as one would understand by the word “faculty” of a university. “Guneirudaaraa” means: By nature it is noble or generous. The nobility of Dhee is in its highest potential to perceive and comprehend Brahman and/or Purusha. Dhee is by definition noble and “high-minded” (and therefore broad-minded). Dhee that has been illuminated or guided by Brahman (Tat Savitruh) will see no reason to condemn anyone to hell. Therein lays the secret strength of the Eastern “religions,” including Buddhism and Jainism (that use “Namaste” as a greeting). These religions or cultures have fully comprehended the human mind as endowed with Dhee. There is no need to elaborate on Hinduness here for those readers who have read this writer's article on “Hinduness for World Peace and Harmony.” (http://www.swaveda.com/). How then, Dhee is the essence of Hinduness?


As stated in the article referred to above, the word “Namaste” carries in it this very essence. It is a gesture with hands, with eyes, with mind and Dhee, with a smile, with all acceptance and warmth with all noble feelings and emotions towards the other human being as equal, radiating love (Agape) through body language and expression, sincerely accepting all human beings and all people regardless of their religious, racial, socioeconomic or national background, with no consideration for caste, creed, or color. (A living example today of this may be in individuals like Sri Sri Ravisankar and many like him). This gesture of “Namaste” communicates in a very simple manner a “connectedness” of two individuals as equal (samaana). The ability to recognize the “Aatman” in one individual as the same as or similar to the “Aatman” in another is also a function of Dhee. Dhee recognizes its collective existence when it invents and puts into practice a simple social “gesture” for greeting that expounds a profound philosophical truth. That gesture is “Namaste” with joined hands to illustrate the “samaanata” or “equality” of two individuals.
It would be corrupt to translate the Namaste or Vande as a mere greeting or a salute. There is utmost respect and affinity expressed in this gesture. The fact is that it is directed towards the human beings, mothers, fathers and even strangers leave alone the mother land and God that sustains the very existence of the individual. The concrete minded goons take objection to the use of the word "Vande" when addressing the mother land without comprehending how much love there is in a patriot when he/she appreciates what mother land has provided, the very nurturance to sustain life. These goons have not been silenced by explaining the humility involved therein rather than posing the mother land as being in competition with their God as they would want to corruptly interpret it. So, they take something traditional and simple and make it objectionable and offensive to themselves, and furthermore, irrationalyy bully others by imposing their will on others. Of course, goons will always find rationalization to bully others and impose their ways on others and explain away their antisocial behaviors. Sensible people with self respect must put a stop to it and ask them to leave the premises if they have objection to such reverence for the mother land. It is not and never is an insult to them or their God for one to say Vande or Namaste to their mothers or mother land.
Imagine Mahadhee as the equivalent of the Internet with each individual Dhee manifesting the potential to be a “search engine,” if you can accept such analogy of IT or “Information Technology.” There is, however, a vast difference between information storehouse and knowledge or wisdom. Purusha, Brahman, Atman are all-comprehending (not necessarily in the sense of information storehouse but a different type of knowledge that is called “jnyaanam” in contradistinction from “vijnyaanam”) or their nature itself is Jnyaanam. Therefore, when Dhee acquires this jnyaanam with its sub-faculty Prajnyaa leading Dhee to it, Dhee comes to a fulfillment of its designed, destined, or designated function and becomes the Dhee of a “Sthitadhee.” The individual who attains such a state of mind or state of Dhee is also called “Sthitadhee.” This function in the evolution of human beings may be conceived as the ability or potential for the highest possible cognition and maturation of Dhee to attain Brahmajnyaana according to the Vedic or Sanaatana dharma. The Vedic and Yogic science then is primarily devoted to refinement, evolution, and culmination of Dhee into a state of Samaadhee (state of consciousness or a state of being) where Dhee comes to rest in a state of balance and fulfillment of the individual Dhee as “Sthitadhee,” an adjective based upon the functional status of Dhee. Thus the samaadhistha by nature eventually becomes Sthitadhee. Likewise, the fulfillment or culmination of the sub-faculty of Dhee, Prajnyaa, in the most “spiritually evolved” individual leads to his/her becoming a “Sthitaprajnya or a Sthitaprajnyaa (as applied to a female)” This is also a similar adjective based upon the functional status of prajnyaa. The “sanskaaras” or impressions (or memories) imprinted on the individual dhee in this state of samaadhi are so very profound, strong and dominant that the other frames of reference in comprehending reality predicated upon previously ingrained sanskaaras begin to weaken naturally (tanjanya sanskaraa anyasanskaara pratibandhee – per Patanjali’s Yogasutras.) Samaadhi is a transcendental state, but repeated experience of samaadhi is consequential in leading to the state of being which itself deserves to be termed “samaadhi.” This is a slightly confusing aspect of Yogashaastra. This confusion can be relieved by understanding the fact that the highest integrative process (sanyama) in the evolution of Dhee is termed Samaadhi and the state of consciousness attained through this process of samaadhi is also termed “Samaadhi.” An individual who is consistently and perpetually in a state of samaadhi in the “usual wakeful” state is experiencing samaadhi as a state of being. This is termed the Sahajavastha (Natural State). Samaadhee is, thus a process of transformation through evolving higher states of consciousness. The (transcendental) states of consciousness finally lead to transformation of the aspirant’s maturation into a persistent highest evolved “state of being.” The individual who has attained that state of being is also called “sthitaprajnya.” The Buddhists call him a “Buddha” who has attained the “Bodhihi” (enlightenment). Bodhisatva, a practicing aspirant, has a potential to become a Buddha. So also, an aspiring Yogi who becomes samaadhistha experiences the transcendental state of samaadhi and attains a potential to become a sthitadhee or a sthitaprajnya through his “saadhanaa” (practice of yoga). Science of yoga is considered central to all Hinduness related spectrum (or groups) of “religions” or Sanaatana Dharmic traditions. Focus on Dhee is central for the practice of yoga. Therefore, “Dhee is the essence of Hinduness.”
Dhee is usually highly evolved in all highly talented artists, musicians, mathematicians, philosophers, and individuals who have contemplative nature. However, its tuning itself with Mahadhee is what leads to its fulfillment. There is disproportionate importance given to the faculty of “intelligence” in the Western culture at the expense of emotional maturity and Dharmic, superior moral or spiritual development. It is needless to say that it is lopsided and sometimes leads to disasters in social and occupational spheres as exemplified by the recent event in the finance market. There is an enormous emphasis on the all round development of Dhee in the Eastern culture. This leads to some de-emphasis of individualism. It leads to Sanskritization or civility or civilization of an individual as contemplated by Freud (see “Hinduness for World Peace and Harmony” in http://www.swaveda.com/ ). It is always implied that there is Dharma in Dhee but there may not be Dharma in Intellect or Buddhi. Science and mathematics as well as the highest technological advances of the human civilizations applied in real life while not guided by Dhee can lead to disharmony and destruction, whereas the advances of the civilization guided by Dhee lead to peace and harmony. This is the master mystery of the Vedas transmitted through the secret Gayatree Mantra which contemplates on the individual dhee to be guided and inspired by Dheemahee (more on this word later) or Mahadhee originating in the (tat savitru) Brahman the source of all wisdom and knowledge.(see Part I of this article on http://www.swaveda.com/ ). This is a legacy of all Bhaarateeyas.

Finally, “Dhriti Shamaa Damo Asteyam Shoucham Indriyanigraha Dheehi Vidyaa Satyam Akrodho Dahshakam Dharmalakshanam” (Manusmriti VI-92) “Dhruti (fortitude); shamaa (patience); dama (self-restraint); asteyam (non-stealing, not taking anything that belongs to others by deceit or force, or through unfair trade); shaucham (cleanliness of mind, body and environment); indriyaanigraha (restraints of sense organs and greed); dhee (well defined exahustively in this article); vidyaa (knowledge); satyam (truth); akrodha (non-anger) are the ten characteristics of Dharma.” (Courtesy Dr. Srinivas Kalyanaraman). This quote amply illustrates the pride of place Dhee occupies as one of the ten essentials for Dharma. The cultures devoid of Dhee destroy one another as they lack an important component of Dharma which holds the human society or earthlings together.

Your feedback is encouraged and will be highly appreciated. Congratulations for struggling through a complex subject that ended up becoming so very simple. That is typical of Hinduness. This knowledge about Dhee belongs to all Bhaarateeyaas and it should be the hope of all Bhaarateeyas to strive to bring all knowledge to all Bhaarateeyas. The ideal goal of BHAA-RATA (Rata - Engrossed in Bhaa-Light-Knowledge) is to make all knowledge available to all deserving Bhaarateeya students on the basis of merit and “samaanataa” regardless of caste or class. Losing sight of this meaning of Bhaarata and the Vedic roots of equality or Samaanata over the millennia and the emergence of corrupt class and caste based social system in the Hindu society (one should understand that historically all Western and Eastern societies except perhaps the ancient Buddhist society in China have been guilty of encouraging education for certain privileged classes and this trait is not at all unique to Indian history nor for Hindu society as is being promulgated by some “secularist” media) have led to a cultural mis-education and misrepresentation that samaaanata in education is a Buddhist invention though Buddhism rediscovered the old Vedic principle that was not practiced in reality by the Hindus at the time of Gautama the Buddha. It is time for Bhaarat to rediscover its roots and eliminate asamaanata in Bhaarata in its educational systems, in both private and public sector, without the politicians’ vote-bank motivated divisiveness that will tear asunder the Bhaatateeya Society or Bhaarateeya Janam. Vedic knowledge is the inheritance of the entire human race and needs to be shared freely but it is the duty of Bharateeyas to own and protect it as they have done it for more than five thousand years.

ll Vande Maataram ll

P.S.: The author acknowledges the superb editorial contribution by Seshachalam Dutta, Ph. D.

0-----0-----0-----0----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0--