Category: Articles

Dear All,

  I attach the entire Hindu concept of time reckoning for your convenience.

  Thanks,

  Dr R Brahmachari,

   Jun 25, 2011

PLEASE VISIT: www.indianresurgence.com

Yuga and māhāyuga in Hindu time-reckoning

 

Yuga is used in three contexts and achieving three levels of precision in Hindu calendrical or astronomical computations:

 

1. Yuga:  Reckoning real (or, elapsed) time: yuga refers to a duration of 12,000 years
2. Pānkta yuga: Reckoning auspicious time for performance of yajña: Pānkta yuga refers to a duration of five years
3. Māhāyuga: Reckoning astronomical computational time: māhāyuga refers to a duration of 4,320,000 years.

 

Yuga (in the Mahābhārata and the Mānava Dharma śāstra) has a total duration of 12,000 years. Yuga is divided into four parts: Kṛta,Treta, Dvāpara, and Kali, with lengths of duration in the ratio 4:3:2:1

 

A second definition of yuga is related to five years (pānkta), of which samvatsara (year) is of 360 days (Rgveda). For purposes of determining the timing of yajña, taittirīya brāhmaṇa (TB 3.4.11 and TB 3.10.4 ) give the names of all the five years of yuga as: samvatsara, parivatsara, idāvatsara, idvatasara, and vatsara.  The five-year yuga of vedānga jyotiṣa (VJ) consists of 62 cāndramāsa (synodic months, i.e. description of the moon’s phases), 1830 days and 1860 tithis (1/30th part of a synodic month) and was taken to commence at the winter solstice. At the time of VJ, winter solstice occurred at the beginning of the first tithi of the śukla pakṣa of the month of māgha…This five-year grouping of yuga is to bring into reckoning the two adhimāsa (intercalary months) in a yuga.  The sun and the moon are supposed to occupy the same position at the beginning of each subsequent  yuga and all the happenings would be repeated in the subsequent  yugas in the same way. The five-year group has the associated scheme of two adhimāsas. It occurs in texts such as Mahābhārata (pañcame-pañcame varṣe dvau māsāvupajāyate; MBh 4-47), and kauṭilya’s arthaśāstra  (pañca samvatsaram yugam iti; atharva jyotiṣa 2.20.69.71). (Achar, N., 1997, A Note on The five-year Yuga of the vedānga jyotiṣa, http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0304/ejvs0304.txt)  kālajñānam pravakṣyāmi …yajñārthakālasiddhaye, “I shall describe [systematically] the science of time for the purpose of determining the appropriate time for [different] yajñas .” (Rgjyotiṣa 2.3)

 

A third definition is Māhāyuga = 360 samvatsara X 12,000 years = 4,320,000 years; Kalpa = 1000 Māhāyuga (Brahma’s day). Names of 30 Kalpas are found in the Matsya Purāṇa (290.3-12)

 

In an encyclopaedic work, which is recommended reading for any scholar interested in the study of history of mathematics and astronomy, Kaushal Vepa recounts the antiquity and precision achieved in Hindu astronomical studies, and cites Sūrya Siddhānta to explain the technical time-reckoning terms used in Hindu civilization tradition (Vepa, Kaushal, 2010,  The origins of astronomy, the calendar and time: a critique of the conventional western narrative, McGraw-Hill Open-publishing, p.184):

 

lokānām antakṛt kālah kālonyah kalanātmakah

sa dvidhā sthūlasūkṣmatvān mūrtaścāmṛta ucyate

 

The time which lapses is the real time, and other kind of time is for the purpose of computations. They are of two kinds, the gross one is used for real or elapsed time use and the firm one for the purpose of computations. (Sūrya Siddhānta 1.10) [Note: Sūrya Siddhānta uses the least count of kala or minute of the arc in a circle of 21,600 kala to arrive at precision in astronomical computations.]

 

With this elucidation of real or elapsed (sthūla) time distinquished from computational precision  (sūkṣma) time, many misconceptions and textual misinterpretations which have arisen in arriving at chronologies of Hindu civilization events related to yuga stand resolved.

 

Yuga is elapsed time of 12,000 years and is used to reckon historical time [as in the itihāsa (historical) text of Mahābhārata]. Māhāyuga is used for astronomical computations related to the movement and location of celestial objects.

 

I am grateful to Narahari Achar and Kaushal Vepa for their insightful observations on ancient Hindu astronomical texts.

 

Kalyanaraman

June 24, 2011

 

 

Indians And Europeans -Divided Or United By DNA
By Rakesh Krishnan Simha , June 2012 [ rakeshmail@gmail.com]

Source: http://www.esamskriti.com/essay-chapters/Indians-and-Europeans-~divided-or-united-by-DNA-1.aspx

Chapter : 1

A new study from Kerala looks at the uncanny genetic similarity between Ezhavas of Kerala and the Jat Sikhs of Punjab. The connection is yet another pointer to the broader genetic weave that has shaped modern Europeans and Indians. In this backdrop should we persist with the divisive Aryan vs. Dravidian theory?

Among Britain’s colonial contributions in India, the Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT) ranks as the most enduring. While the idea has been discredited in serious academic circles, it continues to survive, like a persistent cold virus, in fringe groups. It also appeals – even if only as a Pavlovian reflex – to some Indians and Europeans for no fault of theirs other than decades of misinformed repetition.

AIT was created for one singular purpose – to facilitate the British conquest of India. If Indians were made to believe that they and the British belonged to the same ‘Aryan’ stock, then they would welcome the ‘civilising’ British instead of opposing them.

There was a secondary motive. When Britain’s contact with India grew, they were simply blown away by the country’s achievements in science, philosophy and spirituality among others. AIT enabled the colonisers to appropriate all this.

War as a crucible

In the 1700s when the British drew up their imperial strategy they faced few major battles in India; most encounters were barely skirmishes. This was also the period when India was recovering from the deleterious effects of over 600 years of Muslim rule. By the middle of this century the Hindu kingdoms had re-conquered vast swathes of the country. The Mughal emperor became a vassal of the resurgent Maratha rulers of western India who liberated Punjab after more than 800 years of Muslim rule. The conquest of the north-west region and Afghanistan was next on the agenda of the Maratha chiefs.

However, the British ran a coach and four through those plans.

In places such as Bengal that had not been liberated by the Marathas, the British won easily. One reason was Bengal’s effete Muslim rulers – demoralised by their emperor becoming a protectee of the Hindus – had no will to fight. Without a battle, the British had India’s richest state.

The 1800s, however, were a different ball game. The Hindu kingdoms, especially the Marathas, launched a counter offensive against the British. When the British lost seemingly decisive battles, they sued for peace only to use the interregnum to divide the Hindus. This culminated in the First War of Independence in 1857, during which the British managed to hold on to their possessions in India only by their fingernails.

The colonialists realised there was no way they could conquer such a massive country of warlike people without conquering their minds. First, the British sent in shiploads of fundamentalist and racist missionaries, who had been arguing for decades to be allowed to “save the heathen Hindus”. However, they could not make any headway as Indians stubbornly refused to be “saved”.

That is when the British commissioned an ambitious – and unscrupulous – German scholar to come up with the most outrageous lies about Hindu religion. Max Muller in fact exceeded their expectations – he cooked up AIT.

AIT and racism

Few realise how divisive and dangerous AIT is and how this idea played a catalytic role in the rise of racial exclusiveness among Europeans, especially the British and Germans. Until AIT arrived on the scene, nations did not look at themselves as belonging to one race or the other. Muller’s notion changed all that. Ultimately, Germany’s Adolf Hitler used it to advocate his concept of the supremacy of the ‘Aryan’ race and the inferiority of non-Aryans. Over 50 million people died in World War II and six million Jews were sent to the gas chambers – needless deaths that can be traced directly to Britain’s racial policies in India.

“We British European are Aryans, and far more pure and genuine Aryans than the Hindus, and no talk of the Hindus can alter our race, or make us any less or any different from what we are,” said A.C.L Carlleyle, a 19th century employee of the Archaeological Survey of India. “It is the Hindus who have altered and deteriorated, and not we. The Hindus have become the coffee dregs, while we have remained the cream of the Aryan race. The Hindus are like the monkey who pretend (sic) to treat some men with contempt because they had the bare white skins without any fur! The Hindus have become a sooty, dingy-coloured earthen pot, by rubbing against black aborigines rather too freely; and he consequently pretends to despise the white porcelain bowl.”

Clearly, the British were adamant about not moving the European homeland too far from their Biblical origins to India. “There were those among the British, in particular, whose colonial sensibilities made them reluctant to acknowledge any potential cultural indebtedness to the forefathers of the rickshaw pullers of Calcutta, and who preferred to hang on to the Biblical Adam far more than their European contemporaries,” says American Indologist, Edwin Bryant.

When Muller publicly announced in England that the Scots were closer to Bengalis than they were to the Celts, it barely caused a ripple in Britain. Because by then the bitterness of the 1857 war had poisoned the minds of common English people who could not even tolerate the newfound language relationship.

Rift in India

AIT has, of course, created a deep rift in Indian society – not only among scholars but also between people, between the north and the south. This is because when Indians kicked out the British in 1947, they unwisely retained the school curriculum of the colonialists.

Now the entire Aryan vs. Dravidian idea revolves around skin colour. The people of northern India are light skinned and are in many instances white; they are supposedly the Aryans. On the other hand, the people of India below the Tropic of Cancer – or more specifically the south and east – have comparatively darker and sometimes black skin; they are presumably the Dravidians.

The problem, however, is that there are millions of dark people in the north and there are similar multitudes of light skinned or white skinned Indians in Dravidian areas. In fact, green and brown eyed people are not uncommon in southern India. Bear in mind that despite 190 years of British rule, the Europeans could not make a splash in India’s gene pool.

Unlikely cousins: Ezhava and Jat Sikh

The basis of AIT has been tested by several genetic diversity studies. DNA samples taken from thousands of Indians have been compared with population groups from other parts of the world, particularly Europe and Central Asia.

The latest one is from Kerala, which is my home state on India’s south-western coast. According to the study, two entirely different castes – Ezhava, also known as Thiyya in northern Kerala, and Jat Sikh of Punjab – show remarkable genetic similarity.

In fact, Ezhavas showed more genotypic resemblance to the Jat Sikh population of Punjab, Turks and Germans than to East Asians, says the study by the Department of Biotechnology & Biochemical Engineering at the Sree Budha College of Engineering in Pattoor, Kerala. It was conducted by department head Dr Seema Nair, Aswathy Geetha and Chippy Jagannath under the aegis of Dr K. Sasikumar, the chairman of the institute. It has also been published in the Croatian Medical Journal.

Before we jump into the study, let me explain genetics in brief. For various reasons, DNA material undergoes slight alterations or mutations in the course of time. The mutations then become characteristic of the line of descendants. These mutations, or genetic markers, are organised into categories called haplotypes. Basically, your haplotype is your genetic fingerprint.

The Sree Budha study examined DNA from the Y chromosome, which is also known as the male chromosome because it is found only in males. More specifically, it examined Y Short Tandem Repeat (Y STR) DNA present in the Y chromosome. As these DNA sequences are passed from father to son, it is also useful in forensics and paternity testing.

The Ezhava population was compared with other Indian populations and with selected world populations in order to investigate the pattern of paternal contributions. Nair’s team examined 104 haplotypes among the Ezhavas. Ten were found identical to the Jat Sikhs, which is the highest number among Indian populations, and four to the Turkish population, which is the highest among European populations.

“The comparison suggests a genetic link between the populations,” says Nair. Ezhavas, she argues, are genetically more similar to Europeans (60 percent) than to East Asians (40 percent).

My interaction with Nair, who comes across as witty and erudite, was primarily fuelled by my search for my own roots. I belong to the same Ezhava community, which is at the centre of this research. Recently, an Ezhava friend got his DNA tested by the National Geographic’s genomic project and according to that report, his DNA travelled to India from Africa via the landmasses in between, and not via Europe, as some experts are claiming.

The Ezhavas have an interesting history. The most persistent belief is that they are the original people of Kerala – the soldiers of the Villavar (archer) community which founded the Chera kingdom. It is a measure of their martial traditions that among the Ezhavas are the Chekavar – the only kamikaze group of fighters known in Indian history.

What is intriguing about the study is that the Ezhavas, a Dravidian group, are now being described as closer to Jat Sikhs, Europeans and Central Asians.

In terms of physical appearance, the Ezhavas are brown Caucasians. However, typical of many Indian communities, there are plenty of very dark and very fair people among them.

On the other hand, the Jat Sikhs who live 3000 km up north are a lot fairer. Plus, Jat Sikh surnames such Mann, Bader, Brar, Dhillon and Virk have an uncanny Germanic resonance.

Indeed, it is worth mentioning the during the early part of the 20th century Sikh immigrants to the US convinced the Immigration & Naturalization Service to grant them white status. Those days only white Europeans were allowed to enter the United States as immigrants. However, later the INS wised up to the fact that the Sikhs “weren’t that white” and again categorised them as Asian.

So there you have it. One group of Indians, the Ezhavas, and another group, the Jat Sikhs. The only thing they have in common is a martial tradition. And yet you have this study asserting that the two communities – that have never mixed and live thousands of miles away – are closer genetically than to communities that live close by.

Background to the Kerala study

So what was the purpose of the study? “Though such studies have been conducted in many populations in India as well as abroad, the genetic profile of the Kerala population based on Y STR has not been documented so far,” says Nair. “Also the origin of Kerala’s non-tribal population has been a matter of contention for centuries. While some claim that Negritos were the first inhabitants, some historians suggest a Dravidian origin for all people of Kerala. Others say the Dravidians originated from the Mediterranean and so on.”

When I argued that Indians overall are genetically similar, Nair was vehement they are not. “If you look at the historical or genotypic data, Indian communities are highly diverse and of varied origin,” she says.

However, as we will see, that is not the conclusion of more extensive studies of Indian DNA samples.

So Nair’s conclusion is? “Ezhavas have European paternal lineage, which is not surprising considering that Aryanisation has led to genetic mixing between Aryans and Indian populations in the north as well as the south,” she says. “Through Y STR we cannot determine whether Ezhavas originated from European populations or Europeans originated from Kerala/Indian populations. Historical data suggest gene flow from Europe to India not vice versa.”

Aryanisation. For many Indians it is a four-letter word. Clearly, Nair and I are on opposite sides of this fault line.

The mitochondrial evidence

So is there a way out of this bind, I asked the scientist. “Studying maternal mitochondrial DNA may give a clear picture as far as I understand,” she answered.

Bingo!

Mitochondrial DNA is like those cool ultraviolet torches they use in CSI Miami to look for otherwise invisible evidence. If the mitochondrial DNA of two humans, however distant geographically, exhibit the same mutation, they necessarily share a common ancestor in the maternal line. More than any literary, linguistic or archaeological evidence, it is this clue – locked away in the recesses of our cells and obviously tamperproof – that has sent AIT purveyors looking for alternative careers.

In an article in Archaeology Online titled Genetics and the Aryan Debate, author Michel Danino says as many nine such studies have been conducted on Indian populations.

The first such study dates back to 1999 and was conducted by the Estonian biologist Toomas Kivisild with 14 co-authors from various nationalities. It relied on 550 samples of mitochondrial DNA and revealed there was no recent population movement towards India; rather the subcontinent served as a pathway for eastward migration of modern humans from Africa, some 40,000 years ago.

Danino continues that a year later, 13 Indian scientists led by Susanta Roychoudhury studied 644 samples of mitochondrial DNA from some 10 Indian ethnic groups, especially from the east and south. They found a “fundamental genomic unity of ethnic India”. Basically, it says Indians, whether white or black, have similar genes.

M17 – white gene or brown?

If haplotypes are categories of genetic markers, then sequences of haplotypes are called haplogroups. Haplogroup M17 is regarded as the Aryan stamp on Indian populations. An extensive 2003 study conducted on 1000 Indians stressed that M17, which is found frequently in Central Asia, is present in two Indian aboriginal tribes.
Now that’s interesting. Caste Indians are said to be descendants of the Aryans. But here we have two tribes (or ST as some would classify them) who have the Caucasian gene.

The study also found that Bengalis and Gujaratis (mostly brown) are closer to Central Asians than Punjabis (fair to white). Also, the Lambadi tribe of Rajasthan is closest among Indians to Western Europeans while Konkani Brahmins and Punjabis are the furthest.

Another study in 2006 headed by Indian biologist Sanghamitra Sengupta concluded there is no evidence whatsoever to conclude that Central Asia is the donor rather than the receptor of M17.

Out of the India theory

First, separate groups of scientists demolishes the racial basis of defining Indian DNA. Then Sengupta’s study says Caucasian DNA may have moved out of India or into India.

Finally, a study headed by biologist Sanghamitra Sahoo concludes: “The sharing of some Y-chromosomal haplogroups between Indian and Central Asian populations is most parsimoniously explained by a deep, common ancestry between the two regions, with diffusion of some Indian- specific lineages northward.”

Yes, Indian DNA is now moving north.

Oppenheimer goes “Out of India”

In his book The Real Eve, archaeologist Stephen Oppenheimer, says, “South Asia is logically the ultimate origin of M17 and his ancestors; and sure enough we find the highest rates and greatest diversity of the M17 line in Pakistan, India, and eastern Iran, and low rates in the Caucasus. M17 is not only more diverse in South Asia than in Central Asia, but diversity characterises its presence in isolated tribal groups in the south, thus undermining any theory of M17 as a marker of a ‘male Aryan invasion’ of India. One average estimate for the origin of this line in India is as much as 51,000 years. All this suggests M17 could have found his way initially from India or Pakistan, through Kashmir, then via Central Asia and Russia, before finally coming into Europe.”

Kivisild and his team agree with that argument in the American Journal of Human Genetics and the Aryan Debate. India acted “as an incubator of early genetic differentiation of modern humans moving out of Africa”, they conclude.

That is, the early humans moved out of Africa, hugged the coast and arrived in India and spent thousands of years there. And then moved to Europe.

What do these studies suggest?

There is fundamental unity among humans. Africans, Indians and Europeans are the same people but they developed different skin colours because of climate and environment. Indeed, blinded by the race wars, the pro-Aryans will not admit that warm blooded animals undergo de-pigmentation in the absence of light and warmth.

As American economist and anthropologist William Z. Ripley wrote in 1899 in the influential book Races of Europe, “There can be little doubt that the primitive type of European was brunette, probably with black eyes and hair and a swarthy skin.

Teutonic blondness is certainly an acquired trait, not very recent, to be sure, judged by historic standards, but certainly not old, as measured by evolutionary time.”

And finally, let’s hear what Muller himself said as he neared death and repented for his earlier lies: “There is no Aryan race in blood. An ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is a great sinner. It is worse than a Babylonian confusion of tongues— it is downright theft.”

Like Muller, several pro-Aryan academics have jumped off the AIT bandwagon; but others hang on hoping for some miracle that will revive their fortunes. That won’t happen as genetics is ensuring their early retirement.

Danino says genetics is joining other disciplines in helping to clean the cobwebs of colonial historiography. “If some have a vested interest in patching together the said cobwebs so they may keep cluttering our history textbooks, they are only delaying the inevitable,” he says.

Meanwhile, down south Nair and Sasikumar say the first report on the Y-STR profile in Kerala population is just the beginning.

Whatever they come up with, you can expect the unexpected.
This article was earlier published at http://www.indrus.in.

About the author:
Rakesh Krishnan is a New Zealand-based writer and a columnist with Russia Beyond the Headlines. His articles have been used as reference at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; the Centre for Research on Globalization, Canada; Wikipedia; and as part of the curriculum at the Anthropology Department of the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

—

The problem for the Vedics are the anti-Vedic religions and ideologies. More and more people understand the universal Vedic religion and live per it the better for world peace. – skanda987

 

 

A Sindhi Saga:

The Abduction of Our Daughters

 

Hindus have remained a minority in Pakistan since the creation of the country in 1947 when India was partitioned into two separate countries: a new India and Pakistan. Since its inception Pakistan has struggled with supporting a democratic government from being overtaken by a military dictatorship, sectarian violence, and harsh treatment of its minorities including Hindus, Shias, Christians, Sikhs, and several other communities.

 

In particular Hindus in Pakistan have experienced harsh and severely inhumane living conditions. Kidnappings, physical and psychological torture, rapes, forced conversions to Islam, forced marriages of young Hindu girls to Muslim men, lack of police protection, bonded labor, and religious-based discrimination have become the norm for Hindus who involuntarily became citizens of the newly created Islamic Republic in 1947. Of late the rise in Islamic fundamentalism throughout Pakistan has created a viciously hostile environment, choking Hindus and other minorities of their basic rights to live in the land of their forefathers.

 

A quintessential case of this scenario is that of Rinkel Kumari, a 17-year old Sindhi Hindu girl from the town of Mirpur Mathelo who was kidnapped at gunpoint on February 24, 2012. Rinkel’s case has gained tremendous media attention in Pakistan and around the world – not because it is shockingly rare – but because it is one of several recent cases in which young Hindu girls were kidnapped, tortured, forcibly converted to Islam under the mandate of a Mullah (a religious cleric), and immediately forced to marry a Muslim man. While cases like this are common in Pakistan, their intensified frequency and the subsequent reactions elicited by the Hindu community are now unparalleled to similar events in the past.

 

Notably, the man behind Rinkel’s abduction, Mian Abdul Haq, is a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Her abduction by a MNA of the ruling political party in Pakistan clearly highlights a case of state-sponsored terrorism. That too, by another Sindhi. The difference is that Mian Abdul Haq is a Muslim Sindhi not a Hindu Sindhi.

 

Moreover, the same week Rinkel was kidnapped three other Hindu girls were kidnapped and underwent the same harassment, conversion, and forced marriage including a physician who worked at a prestigious hospital in Karachi. Since Rinkel was kidnapped four months ago over one hundred other Hindu girls in Sindh have been either kidnapped and converted or are reported missing.

 

Rinkel Kumari was kidnapped from her home at approximately 4:00 AM on February 24, 2012 by some neighbors and brought to the Dargah Alia Qadria Bharchundi Sharif, an Islamic seminary. After Rinkel was kidnapped she was held by her abductors at the Bharchundi Sharif Darghah and the following day she was brought to a provincial court in Ghotki, the district of Sindh where she lived. Her abductors stated that she willingly converted to Islam and married a Muslim man by choice. She, on the other hand, stated that she was kidnapped and wished to return back to her family. After delivering her statement to the judge she was slapped in the face by one of her abductors and the court was adjourned until two days later. During this time she remained in the legal custody of the police, but her abductors had easy access to her while her family did not. While in police custody Rinkel was threatened and abused into changing her testimony which she eventually did.

 

Two days later when the court reconvened Rinkel stated she willingly converted to Islam and married her neighbor Naveed Shah by choice. She left the court in tears and her conversion to Islam was immediately celebrated by several hundred to a thousand armed men outside the court who aggressively surrounded her and her new husband. Many of the men were armed with kalashnikovs and violently fired bullets in the air during the boisterous parade that followed. The actual video footage of this apocalyptic circus and the celebration of an Islamic victory over the Hindu minority can be found on YouTube.

 

Notably Rinkel’s family was never allowed inside the court building and was deliberately misguided by the local police force. Ironically the police had blocked off the main roads that lead to the provincial court the day of Rinkel’s hearing. Only those who were aware of the complicated detour were able to make it to the court. Somehow Mian Abdul Haq and his followers were aware of this esoteric information.

 

Likewise the timing of Rinkel’s second hearing in the provincial court in Ghotki was moved up by over two hours to intentionally avoid her family’s presence. By the time her family showed up to the court the hearing was complete and she had already been declared a married woman. While her actual age on this date was 17, the marriage certificate stated 22 to avoid the involvement of her parents given that she was still a minor and needed their permission to legally marry according to Pakistani law.

 

Rinkel’s family subsequently petitioned the Sindh High Court in Karachi at which time she was brought before the judge and sent to Dar-ul-Aman, a women’s shelter in Islamabad until the case would be further examined in the Supreme Court a few weeks later.

 

Since the day Rinkel was kidnapped she has not been allowed to interact with her family. However, her abductors including Mian Abdul Haq alias Mian Mitho, her husband Naveed Shah, and other men of their family have been allowed to sexually abuse her and subject her to violent physical and psychological torture at the Bharchundi Sharif Dargah. Even after her family filed a formal case with the police and she was taken into police custody and then to a women’s shelter her abuse continued. Throughout all previous court hearings and those that followed Rinkel was even accompanied by Mian Abdul Haq and his followers, but she was never allowed to meet with or speak to her family.

 

On March 26, 2012 Rinkel’s case was heard by the Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for the first time. Rinkel stated verbally and in writing that she was kidnapped and wanted to return to her parents. Her outcry and wish that she would rather be killed than return to a shelter was recorded by numerous media sources who were present. However, given the mounting pressure of Mian Abdul Haq’s armed supporters outside the courtroom Rinkel was forcefully sent to a government-run women’s shelter in Karachi where Mian Abdul Haq and his supporters are known to openly exert their influence. Additionally, the security guard assigned to monitor the shelter during this time was specifically transferred from Ghotki, the local district that is represented by Mian Abdul Haq in parliament. Rinkel stayed here for three more weeks before the case was re-examined by the Supreme Court in Islamabad.

 

During her time at the women’s shelter in Karachi Rinkel was routinely visited by armed police officers, her so-called husband, and family members and devout followers of Mian Abdul Haq. Here she was further tortured and intimidated to state in court that she willingly accepted Islam, married Naveed Shah by choice, and does not want to return back to her parents. Mian Abdul Haq had even made public statements during this three week period that Rinkel’s maternal uncle, Mr. Raj Kumar Wanjara should be violently tortured and killed for filing a case against a Muslim cleric who speaks the word of God.

 

Three weeks later Rinkel was transferred from the shelter in Karachi back to Islamabad for the second Supreme Court hearing. In Islamabad she was allowed to meet Comrade Amar Lal, a community activist who worked with her counsel. Comrade Amar Lal is also a former Federal Minister and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and is currently the Chairman of the Minority Commission of Pakistan, a non-governmental organization. Rinkel discussed with him in detail how she was repeatedly raped, beaten, and humiliated by her so called husband as well as close family members of Mian Abdul Haq. She was openly told that if she spoke the truth in court she would be killed along with her entire family and 2,000 other Hindus residing in Ghotki, the district where she lived. She was specifically told that her family would be butchered and fed to dogs. Rinkel’s grandfather was even shot at, but luckily survived. As a result Rinkel’s family fled their town in Ghotki for the Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Lahore, Punjab that provided a safe haven for them.

 

On the date of her second Supreme Court hearing in Islamabad Rinkel required the need to hold on to a female police officer due to a fractured leg she suffered from being tortured at the women’s shelter. She was never asked why she required someone’s assistance to walk when she previously walked independently. Other evidence of physical torture was concealed under the head-to-toe burqa that she has been forced to wear since her abduction. Moreover, she was never deposed or asked about her treatment by her abductors, the police force, or at the women’s shelters where she stayed. Neither was she allowed to make any statement directly to the court. Rather, Rinkel and the two other girls who were also tried in the same case gave a written statement to the registrar of the court after the case was adjourned, a process that is considered illegal and unconstitutional in Pakistan and is being appealed by her attorneys.

 

All three girls were kidnapped by followers of Mian Abdul Haq and, immediately after, were forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim men. The girls’ statements were written for them by their abductors and all three girls walked into the courtroom with these written statements. Rinkel clearly stated that she was even under the influence of sedatives and behavior-controlling drugs on the day of her Supreme Court hearing. Due to the death threats they received from Mian Abdul Haq and his supporters all three girls provided written statements to the court registrar of choosing to live with their new husbands.

 

Moreover, the family of Asha, one of the other two girls in this case, had received several requests for ransom from the police after a case of kidnapping was registered with them. The amount of ransom increased each time the family desperately asked the police to help locate their daughter until it reached an amount that her family could not afford to pay. Asha is only 15, yet the age listed on her marriage certificate was several years older.

 

The case of Rinkel, Asha, and Dr. Lata has gained a significant amount of media attention because it highlights the colossal problem of abduction, torture, and conversion of Hindu and other minority girls in Pakistan. Young girls like Rinkel are regularly kidnapped and made to work in brothels as sex slaves. Usually these girls disappear within months of their abduction because they are sold, sometimes several times over, or killed.

 

Recent reports by Comrade Amar Lal, her family, and others who are familiar with Rinkel’s case have highlighted further torture including forceful removal of her finger nails and an abdominal injury requiring hospitalization. Rinkel’s family is still frantically requesting a meeting with her and has involved other politicians including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. They have also appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Commission and Amnesty International. So far, there has been no sign of hope that Rinkel will be allowed to meet them and be free of torture and death threats.

 

Throughout the hearings of Rinkel’s case two US-based organizations, the Hindu American Foundation and the Pakistan Hindu Post, petitioned Mrs. Hillary Clinton and the United States Department of State to exert necessary and appropriate pressure on the Pakistani government with respect to this case. The petition has received support from over 7,000 people so far. Unmistakably this case is not over and the appeals process is still under way. Your signature will lend support to the subdued voices of Sindhi ‘nyanis’ (young girls) and amplify the details of their vicious torture. Below is a link to this petition:

 

http://www.change.org/petitions/honorable-secretary-of-state-ms-clinton-our-life-is-a-living-hell

 

Protests have been organized around the world to voice concern and anger over Rinkel’s case and the harsh treatment of minorities in Pakistan. These were held in Washington, D.C., London, Italy, India, and in several cities in Pakistan including Sukkhur, Hyderabad, Karachi, and Islamabad. Several of the protests in Pakistan were also accompanied by press conferences. Dozens of noteworthy articles have also been published on this issue and several mainstream Pakistani talk shows have discussed this issue at length. (The author can be contacted for a detailed list of links to these articles and videos).

 

While most Hindu Sindhis in the world do not still live in Sindh it may surprise many to know that as of several years ago there were more Sindhi Hindus living in Pakistan than in India. Those Hindus who left Sindh after partition indeed suffered a set of challenges that threatened their survival, yet most of them overcame those difficulties and triumphed. Sindhis today own a significant amount of property in India and run successful businesses that are more than proportional to their size as a percentage of the entire population of India. Sindhis have become famous bankers, actors, film producers, merchants, scholars, models, doctors, lawyers, and even politicians. Sindhis among the international diaspora have also prospered significantly and have enriched the entrepreneurial spirit that is characteristic of our community.

 

Yet as much as Sindhis in India and the rest of the world have progressed they have also become increasingly disconnected and alienated from their brothers and sisters in Sindh. Hindus in Sindh are quickly becoming an endangered species on the verge of extinction as a result of radical elements of Pakistani society and the government’s unwillingness to intervene. Our fellow Hindus in Sindh lack the comforts of personal safety, religious freedom, police protection, an unbiased education, balanced legislation, and a fair judicial process. As a result they are dying a slow, painful death without much help from India or other Sindhis around the world.

 

The sad account of Rinkel Kumari and thousands of other young girls is only the tip of the iceberg. Volumes of books can be written on the cruelty and genocide committed against Hindus who chose to live in Sindh even when many Hindus decided to leave. Be us in various parts of the globe let us all realize that our fragmented community is but a set of puzzle pieces that amount to nothing unless connected with our counterparts all over the world. It is imperative that we all do our part to engender this unity and strength among all Sindhis we know. Our motherland Sindh is pleading for help and our daughters are crying for it.

Viju Sidhwani

From: Arjun arjunshakti@yahoo.co.uk

The Genesis of Racism in the Church

http://www.hinduhumanrights.info/the-genesis-of-racism-in-the-church/

 

The Church has harmed many Hindu families and is still willing to do so

 

From: Navaratna Rajaram rajaramnavaratna@gmail.com

 

[Moderator Note: A bold and detailed interview that touches upon Indian Govt’s going out of the way to “be nice” to the Catholic Pope. Many of the themes dealt with in-depth in the Breaking India (BI) & Being Different (BD) books are touched upon here. From the interview during the Pope’s famous 1999 India visit to start a new “Evangelization of Asia”:

 

“India is one of the few countries that recognises the Pope as a head of state. The United States and most Western countries recognise the Pope only as a religious leader. Clearly the Pope is not coming to India as the political leader of a secular state but as a religious leader.”]

 

“The Church has harmed many Hindu families and is still willing to do so,” says Dr. David Frawley

 

Dr. David Frawley, director of the American Institute of Vedic studies <http://www.vedanet.com/, believes Christians should accept and understand religious pluralism. The former Catholic maintains he has nothing against Christ or Christians, but agrees with the VHP’s demand for an apology from the Pope over the historical excesses suffered by Hindus at the hands of the Church. In an e-mailed interview made on 5 Nov. 1999, the day Pope John Paul II<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_IIarrived in India <http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers%5Cpaper91.htmlas a state guest, the Vedic scholar spoke his mind to Archana Masih of Rediff.com<http://web.archive.org/web/20090522141023/http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/nov/04pope1.htm.

 

– Could you explain your stance on Pope John Paul II’s visit to India [November 5-8, 1999]? Since there is a convergence many a time on his role as the religious head of the Catholic Church and the symbolic leader of the Vatican, in your view, in what capacity is he really coming to India?

 

– China, Taiwan and Sri Lanka refused the Pope’s request to visit and launch his new activities that aim at the evangelisation of Asia. Hindu majority India, though not a Christian country, has allowed him to do so. Therefore the Pope should feel grateful to the tolerant people of India. Clearly no Western country would give a state welcome to a Hindu religious leader seeking to promote Hindu conversion activities in the West. –

 

– [image: Pope John Paul II, K R Narayanan, Usha Narayanan, Atal Behari Vajpayee]<http://bharatabharati.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/pope-john-paul-ii-k-r-narayanan-usha-narayanan-atal-behari-vajpayee.jpgIndia is one of the few countries that recognises the Pope as a head of state. The United States and most Western countries recognise the Pope only as a religious leader. Clearly the Pope is not coming to India as the political leader of a secular state but as a religious leader. He is conducting a religious mass in Delhi, not organising a trade mission. –

 

– The Catholic Church has a long and self-proclaimed policy of evangelisation or conversion and a special Asia synod to convert Asia. The Pope is coming to India to promote the cause of Catholicism, which means the conversion of Hindus. Naturally he will be friendly in this capacity, but his purpose has an obvious ulterior motive. He is not coming here because he wants to make a pilgrimage to honour the great yogis and swamis of India or to visit her great temples and tirthas. –

 

– Today the Catholic Church is losing power in the West. Most Catholics are only nominal in their beliefs. For example, most American Catholics practise birth control that the Church does not approve of and don’t attend church on a regular basis. The average age of priests and nuns is nearing the age of sixty and few younger people are coming in. The Church can still get a fair amount of money from rich Western economies but is clearly an institution in decline. Without replenishing its population base it is facing a severe crisis. India offers perhaps the best possibility for doing this with a large population with a history of religious devotion and monastic activity that could readily become priests and nuns. –

 

– [image: Tribals protest against missionaries]<http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=201438Why do you believe it is important for him to apologise to the Hindus for the forced conversions in India? –

 

– The bloody history of the Church in America, Africa and Asia is an open book and well known. The Native Americans where I live in the United States still tell stories about how the feet of their people were cut off for refusing to walk to church or their tongues cut off for refusing to recite prayers. The Church has claimed that its intolerance is a thing of the past. Yet even if one accepts that it has stopped today, which is debatable, it certainly went on well into this century. That the Church was prominent in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and never really opposed Hitler or Mussolini, should not be forgotten.

 

– The point is that if you don’t apologise how can other groups believe that you have really given up the attitudes that caused such behaviour? Such conversion efforts are hurtful to the communities they target, even if no overt violence is involved. The Church has harmed many Hindu families and communities and is still willing to do so, by turning people against their native beliefs and customs. –

 

– Christians have made some apologies to the Native Americans and the black Africans for their oppression of them. Why don’t Hindus count in this? Aren’t they also human beings? –

 

– There have been many deeds in history and at present that have gone by without apologies and accountability. Is it worthwhile to resurrect such issues in the present context? What purpose does this serve? –

 

– The problem is that the same attitudes and behaviour that resulted in such violence in the past still go on today. The official policy of the Catholic Church today is still that Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and other Indian religions are not valid or true. This promotes division, misunderstanding and can still lead to violence. –

 

– [image: Francis Xavier]<http://apostlethomasindia.wordpress.com/the-myth-of-saint-thomas-and-the-mylapore-shiva-temple-2010-ishwar-sharan/pirates-in-priests-clothing-francis-xavier-robert-de-nobili-sita-ram-goel/Today we have given up the doctrine of racial superiority that the White Europeans used to justify their colonial rule. But the attitude of religious superiority — that only Christianity is true and the other religions are false — still goes on. Such religious exclusivism like racism is backward and prejudicial. If I believe, as the Church teaches, that my non-Catholic neighbours will go to hell, it doesn’t do much for communal harmony. And new converts take these beliefs much more seriously. –

 

– What are the atrocities perpetrated against Hindus by the Christians that you would like to see the Pope apologise about? Can you name some of these crimes? –

 

– The Goa Inquisition was probably the worst and involved torture and murder of thousands of Hindus and the destruction of many Hindu temples over a period of several decades. It was done by the same groups that promoted the genocide of Native Americans. But Church policy all along has been that Hinduism is bad and unless Hindus convert they cannot be saved. This easily gives rise to excesses. After all if I believe that if you don’t join my religion you will suffer in eternal hell, for your benefit I must do everything possible [to convert you], which easily leads to excesses. –

 

– What are the reasons for the sudden anger against the Christians? –

 

– The anger is not so much sudden as that today we have a more aware Hindu populace and a larger media forum for airing such grievances. Oppressed religious and social groups of all types are now making such protests. Christians will more quickly protest against Hindus if they feel that Hindus are not treating them fairly. Hindus have actually protested a lot less than other groups, though they have more commonly been the target of denigration. Such a Hindu awakening was inevitable. The real question is why it took so long. –

 

– Another issue is that the Hindu reconversion movement has started, which Christians find threatening and which highlights this issue. –

 

– Why have Christians replaced Muslims as the hate objects for Hindus? Is it true that the VHP’s campaign is driven because Sonia Gandhi is a Christian? –

 

– I don’t think that Hindus hate Christians. They are not targeting Christians for conversion or calling them devil worshippers as the Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant sect in America to which both Bill Clinton and Al Gore belong, are calling Hindus. Rather Hindus are challenging Christian prejudices against Hindus that cause mistrust and hatred of Hindus by Christians. You will find a picture of Christ in many Hindu homes, but you won’t find any picture of Krishna in any Christian homes. –

 

– Nor do Hindus hate Muslims. It is the general Muslim view that Hindus are idolaters, polytheists and kafirs and doomed in the eyes of Allah. Hindus have no such doctrines about Islam. Hindu dislike of Christianity and Islam is largely a backlash against the centuries long efforts to convert them which are still going on. –

 

– [image: Sonia Gandhi & Pope John Paul II]<http://bharatabharati.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/sonia-gandhi-john-paul-ii.jpgI don’t think the VHP campaign would stop if Sonia Gandhi left politics either. That Sonia Gandhi is a Christian may be a matter of concern for Hindus because of the Christian seeking to convert Hindus. Clearly most Christians in America would not be happy if a Hindu became the head of a major American political party, particularly if Hindus were actively trying to convert Christians in America. –

 

– The greater issue is caused by the increasing Christian evangelisation activities in India. Look throughout the country, particularly in the South and you will find them expanding almost everywhere. –

 

– Why should there be an evangelisation of Asia at all? Don’t we live in a global society in which we must recognise pluralism in religion just as we do in culture or language? Are not the great religions of Asia good enough and a great legacy for the entire world? Why do Westerners come to India? It is mainly to find spiritual teachings that they didn’t find in their own Western Christian backgrounds. –

 

– Others argue that since only about three per cent of India has become Christian why should one care? But the areas that have become Christian, like the north-east, are getting progressively alienated from the rest of India and seeking to secede from the country. And the possibility of dramatically more conversions in the future cannot be ruled out. That someone has fired a gun against you and missed is no reason not to take it seriously, particularly if he is loading a better gun for further shots. The point is that it is unkind to begin with. –

 

– As[image: Cross on India] <http://ishwarsharan.wordpress.coma former Catholic, why are you suspicious of the Pope’s campaign? What is it about Pope John Paul II that makes you suspicious of him? –

 

– As a former Catholic, I am well aware that most Catholics have no real respect for Hinduism. My uncle became a missionary to convert Native Americans and save them from hell, and Hindus are placed in the same category. The current Pope is a well-known conservative promoting evangelical activity throughout the world, but he covers his actions with a veneer of social liberalism. –

 

– Today no major Catholic leaders in the West are saying that Hinduism is a great and spiritual religion that is worthy of respect like Christianity. Should they succeed in converting Hindu India to Catholicism they would happily put an end to the great Yogic and Vedantic traditions that are perhaps the soul of this country, which would be a great loss to humanity. We have enough Christian countries in the world today, but there is only one India and it is not Christianity which has made the civilisation of India unique and great. –

 

– Catholicism has a long history of co-opting other beliefs. It is willing to give an apparent honour and regard to something, as long as it is placed under the supremacy of Christianity. For example, the Church subordinated the old pagan Greek philosophies of Aristotle and Plato, which it made the basis of Christian theology. It hopes to do the same thing with Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, which it hopes to fashion as a prelude to the message of Christ. –

 

– [image: Robert de Nobili]<http://apostlethomasindia.wordpress.com/the-myth-of-saint-thomas-and-the-mylapore-shiva-temple-2010-ishwar-sharan/pirates-in-priests-clothing-francis-xavier-robert-de-nobili-sita-ram-goel/In South India Catholic priests dress up like Hindu swamis and call their organisations ashrams but are still actively engaged in conversion. Their Hindu dress is not don to honour Hindu traditions but to make Christianity more acceptable to the local population, like McDonalds offering vegetarian burgers in India for Hindus who won’t eat the usual hamburger. –

 

– Similarly, the Pope will probably speak of the greatness of India and the need for brotherhood and human rights but he will certainly not say that Hindus don’t need to convert to Christianity. He will portray Christianity as a religion of compassion, equality and democracy to appeal to the poor in India, though historically Christianity has commonly been aligned with monarchies, colonial armies, fascist states and ruling juntas. –

 

– Hindus may confuse such statements of general human regard with real religious tolerance or even with an acceptance of Hinduism. They may confuse a co-opting of their religion with a real regard for it. The new Catholic strategy is that Hinduism is all right as far as it goes but will only reach its real fulfilment when it accepts Christ. This is the same old conversion ploy, only done in a more covert way. The American Protestants, who still portray Hinduism as a religion of the devil, are at least more honest about their views and their intentions. –

 

– The Pope is a State guest, invited by the Government of India, so won’t the stance of the VHP undermine India’s secular tradition and embarrass A. B. Vajpayee — even his alliance partners do not agree with such protests. –

 

– Not at all. In America visits of foreign heads of states are often marked by protests. When the Chinese president was here recently many Americans mainly of Chinese ancestry protested the visit, including some who were Democrats. Such protests are part of democracy. Islamic groups in America have protested the visit of Israeli leaders as well. The Pope cannot be made immune to such protests. They are part of secular traditions which don’t require the people in any country to bow down to a foreign leader, whether he is a religious figure or not. –

 

– [image: Chief Rabbi of Israel & Pope John Paul II]If in spite of the pressure applied for the apology, and the Pope does not apologise, will it be a loss of face for the VHP and other organisations demanding for the same? –

 

– I don’t think anyone expects the current Pope to make such an apology, though a future Pope might do so. But the case has to be brought out anyway for the sake of truth and for posterity. The fact that it is coming out is beneficial for Hindus. Hindus have long been too quiet about the attacks against them. Hindus tend to bow down to any religious leader as a holy man, even one who does not respect their traditions or honour their gods and sages. It is actually more important that Hindus change than that the pope changes. –

 

– The Pope doesn’t want to apologise to Hindus because he doesn’t want to recognise Hinduism as a valid religion. He won’t even mention the word Hinduism. He will call Diwali an Indian cultural festival, not a Hindu religious event. –

 

– [image: Arise Arjuna]<http://www.vedanet.com/our-online-books-topmenu-12/14-online-books-by-david-frawley-pandit-vamadevaWhat impact do you think the Pope’s visit is going to have on the socio-religious culture of India? –

 

– Hopefully it will make Hindus savvier about what is going on in the world. Current missionary plans to convert India, both by Catholics and Protestants, are the greatest in history in terms of financial backing, media manipulation and manpower support. An entire new attack is being launched. China is also emerging as a new target. Religious tolerance is not a one way street. We cannot ask Hindus to honour Christianity when Christians, starting with the pope, don’t honour Hinduism, however much they may talk of God, humanity or peace. –

 

– Why can’t the Pope say that Christianity is not the only way and that Hinduism by itself can be enough? That would be an expression of tolerance and open-mindedness. Why are Hindus who accept the validity of many paths called “hardliners” while a Pope who refuses to do so is honoured as a holy man? Is not pluralism a sign of tolerance and exclusivism the hallmark of intolerance? –

 

– Catholicism today is not a pluralistic tradition honouring different religious and spiritual paths as valid. It is an exclusivist tradition dominated by a leader who will not accept a Buddha, Krishna, Rama or Guru Nanak as a Son of God but only Jesus. What does that say about how he views India and the kinds of plans he intends to promote here? –

 

– Hopefully the Pope’s visit will get people to really think about these matters. – Rediff Interview<http://web.archive.org/web/20090522141023/http://www.rediff.com/news/1999/nov/04pope1.htm, 4 Nov. 1999 –

 

From: Sudhir-Architect ar_sudhirkumar@yahoo.com

What is a Pagan? Are we Pagans?

 

A Pagan is a person who believes that everything has a soul or spirit. This is called Animism, and all Pagan religions share this belief. Rivers, animals, rocks, trees, land are all filled with there own unique spirits for people who are Pagans. Christians believe that only humans have souls or spirits, Pagans see the divine spirit in all life.

Is there more than One Pagan Religion?
There are hundreds of different Pagan Religions. Some of the best known Pagan religions are Buddhism, Shintoism, Native American Religions, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, Druidism, Asatru, Shamanism, Neo- Paganism and Eclectic Paganism.

 

Is Paganism a Cult?
No, Paganism is a major World Religion, with many branches. More people on Earth are Pagans than any other faith. Some Pagan groups may be classified as cults, just like some Christian groups are cults.

 

The Christian groups headed by Jim Jones at Jonestown, who committed mass suicide, and the followers of David Koresh at Waco, Texas are both considered cults, but they were once considered Christian denominations. Any religious or spiritual tradition can have cults in its midst, that does not mean that the entire tradition is a cult. Wackos and religious charlatans come in all religions, denominations, and races.

 

The word Cult is often used as a slur word to disparage someone else’s religious beliefs. It is frequently used derisively toward non-white or indigenous folk cultures and their beliefs.

 

Are Pagans Devil Worshippers?
No, Pagans do not worship the Devil or Satan. Pagans do not believe in the Devil, he is part of the Judeo-Christian Religions and mythology. Most Devil worshipping groups are not Pagan, because they are centered on a Judeo-Christian supernatural being, namely Satan. These Devil Worshippers are a sect of Christianity, even though Christianity does not want to claim them.

 

Their focus is on opposing the mainstream Christian God and honoring the Devil, neither of these beings are part of Paganism. There is a tradition that calls itself Satanist. Satanists are not devil worshippers. They do not believe in god or the devil or any force outside themselves and other living creatures. They believe they can control their lives without the need to place responsibility on a higher power of any kind. Devil worshippers on the other hand sometimes do claim to be Satanists. This leads to lots of confusion.

 

People often confuse the Occult with Pagan Religion, this is a mistake, and they are very different things. Many religions, including; Pagan, Non-Pagan, Christianity and Judaism have occult aspects, many do not.

Are Pagans Witches?
Some Pagans are Witches, some are not. Many Pagan groups do not practice Witchcraft. Wiccans are a type of Pagan Witches; there are also Dianic Witches, Green Witches, and other types of Pagan Witches. There are also Christian Witches, many of these people are practicing Christian, but also practice Witchcraft. Santeria is a South American religion that is a blend of Voodoo, Witchcraft and Christianity.

What do I need to be a Pagan?
A love of Nature, and a commitment to live in harmony with the Earth and Her creatures. You need to feel in your heart that it is where your own spirituality is leading you. Paganism is for Pagans, only you know if you are a Pagan in your heart.

What is a Pagan Ritual?
A Religious or Pagan Ritual is anything that focuses your spiritual energy. A church service is a ritual, so is a wedding, or a funeral, or a Hopi Sun Dance. Humans have created rituals since the beginning of time. Ritual is the way humans express their connection with divinity and each other.

 

There are many kinds of Pagan Ritual, personal rituals you do by yourself, full moon rituals, by yourself or with a group. There are blessing rituals for a new home, or for children, or for healing, or cleansing. There are protection ritual, and banishing rituals, to name a few. Your Grandmother may have placed a horseshoe over the door; this is a popular form of simple protection ritual that is rooted in Pagan tradition. Or throwing salt over your shoulder if it is spilled, so as not to attract bad luck.

 

For Wiccans and Neo-Pagans there are some basic Ritual Traditions that you may have heard about. Many Pagan Ritual begin by honoring the Earth and the 4 directions, as well as the elements the directions represent, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. A circle is cast and blessed with water, smoke, salt and light in honor of these elements. Rituals often include, singing, chanting, dancing, drumming, poetry and hymns to the Goddess or Gods. Some Rituals are very complex and are almost like a play; other rituals are very simple and flow with the energy of the group.

Who is the Pagan God?
There is no single Pagan God. Some Pagan faiths, like Hinduism and Eclectic Paganism have many Gods and Goddesses. Some Pagan Traditions like Taoism have no Gods or Goddesses. Some popular deities with contemporary American Pagans are Artemis-Diana, Inanna, the GreenMan, Isis, Brigid, Rhiannon, Apollo, Kore, and Demeter.

What is a Goddess?
The first deities humans worshipped were Goddesses. A Goddess is the female creative and life giving forces of the Universe and much more.

Do Pagans Pray?
Yes, many Pagans pray and many connect with the divine in other ways. Many meditate as a form of prayer, other drum as a form of prayer; others chant, sing or dance. Some dedicate each task they perform during the day, to the Goddess. Throughout human history people have spoken to their Gods or Goddesses through many different kinds of “prayer”.

 

When a Muslim prays, they bow toward Mecca, when a Christian prays they cross themselves, when a Buddhist prays they chant or make a sand Mandela, when a Pagan prays, they may be chanting, doing ritual, hugging a tree or picking up litter on a beach, as a way of connecting with their Goddesses or Gods.

How do you become a Pagan?
You look into your heart and ask if it is the right path for you. Some people are born Pagans, even though they do not even know the word, others are born into Pagan cultures, and many others become Pagan when they search their hearts for a connection with their Spirits.

 

To become a practicing Pagan, you must learn to look at Nature and begin to honor her ways and cycles. Many new Pagans begin by celebrating the phases of the Moon. This can be as simple as taking the time each evening to gaze at the Moon and sing softly to yourself. Make up the words as you go along, you will be amazed at how easy it is. Really look at plants, and your cat, sit quietly and see if you can feel their energy. The first steps to becoming a Pagan are becoming aware of the magic of the natural world around you. The second step is do a small personal ritual and self-blessing that celebrates your entering the Pagan Path.

What do Pagans do?
Pagans try to live in harmony with the Earth and raise their children to honor the ways of Nature. Pagans strive to strengthen their understanding of this miracle called Life. Pagans go to school, go to work, pay taxes, clean house, garden, raise kids, make art, watch TV, do not watch TV, eat at McDonalds, do not eat at McDonalds and love or hate computers, just like everyone else. Pagans are just folks who have a different religion, a Nature Religion that teaches them to honor all life. Pagans honor their Goddesses and Gods with the same faith that non-pagans have their own religions.

Where are the Pagan Churches?
There are thousands of Pagan Temples around the world. Most Eclectic Pagans, Wiccans and Native American Religions do not worship in churches. Because they are Nature Religions. Religious Rituals are often held outside, in parks, fields, wooded groves, at a beach or lake, anywhere that promotes a connection with Nature. Large public rituals are often held in auditoriums, small rituals are often held in people’s homes. There are also Virtual Temples and Altars online.

Why do people say bad things about Pagans?
People often ridicule what they do not understand. Fundamental Christianity seems especially threatened by Pagans, although I do not know why. Many hateful, ridiculous, and untrue things about Paganism have been said by Fundamentalist preachers, who obviously were not paying any attention to Jesus message. Hate and prejudice were never a part of Jesus teachings. Hollywood has also created many damaging and untrue stereotypes to sell movie tickets. Funny, no one believes Robo-Cop is real, but people seem anxious to believe any absurd thing said about Pagans or Witches. (NO “The Craft” was not realistic or true at all!!!).

Can a Christian be a Pagan too?
Many cultures have a blend of Christian and Pagan beliefs within their Christian Religions. Irish Catholicism, Mexican, Italian and South American Catholicism all have incorporated many Pagan beliefs and customs into their Christian faith. I am sure there are many others, but these are the ones I am most familiar with. The crowning of Mary on May Day is from the older Pagan custom of “Crowning the May Queen” as a representative of the Goddess.
Religious belief is a very personal thing; it is the most personal thing about you. How you express your spirituality is no ones business but your own and what you believe is between you and your higher power. Your truth is in your own heart, honor it and do not let anyone limit it.

How do I start learning about being a Pagan?
You look into your heart and begin asking yourself questions about what is sacred. The essence of Paganism is within you, many of the answers are there. Hopefully, this group will enable you to learn more about Paganism. Start with remembering to be grateful to the earth for sustaining your life and giving you food.

What can I do if my family or friends think it is bad to be a Pagan?
You can try to educate them. If this does not work, quietly develop a Pagan heart.
You can begin by trusting your own perceptions. Then honor Nature and learn her ways. You may not be able to buy books or go to public rituals, but you can watch a small patch of grass for 10 minutes and really see it, all true power comes through understanding.
You can gaze at the night sky and feel the power of the Moon, and get to know Her phases.
You can learn about herbs, and the environment.
You can practice sewing, so when you can have ritual clothes, you will be able to create beautiful ones.
You can look at National Geographic’s at the Library and learn about Pagan societies and beliefs around the world.
You can go to museums and see ancient Goddess & God figures.
You can study about Native American customs.
You can pick up litter as a way to be a Pagan honoring Mother Earth.
You can meditate.
You can collect pictures of Nature.
You can soak in a tub and do a private ritual in your mind, as you bless the water for its life giving essence.
You can notice if the plants or animals around you need food or water.
You can thank the Earth for each bit of food you eat.
You can learn to recognize what Nature is saying by listening.

Regardless of what your friends or family believe, you can practice your faith in small, simple, healing ways that will create a powerful spiritual energy within you and strengthen your connection with the Earths Wisdom and Spirituality.

Thanks & Regards,

Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, MSc.CPM, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM
| Architect |

 

THE WISDOM OF HINDU THOUGHT: A PARADIGM FOR OUR TIME

Dr. BABU SUSEELAN

When I was a college student, I used to chant Mantra, practice yoga and Meditation and used to attend religious ceremonies. I was ridiculed by my fellow students for not being a rationalist, and not able to admire the marvels of science, and western technology. I adored abstraction, reason, humanity and modern technology. I was told by fellow Marxist students and pseudo secular professors that religion hampers freethinking and is the only reason for foreign colonial rule in India. Since then, I have read Carl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Nietzsche, Malraux, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hobbes, Descartes and Stare. These western intellectuals predicted that religious fervor will decline. Carl Marx, of course maintained that religion is the opium of the people because it alienated man from himself and the world. Moreover, said Marx, religion did not possess its own consistency. Because of our educational system was western oriented and the influence of western thinkers, many Hindus were far from enthusiastic in learning our Vedic system or practicing Hindu Dharma…

But, since then I have lived. I have traveled all over the Arab world, Europe, Africa, Asia and America. I have studied the past history of Christianity and Islam. I have seen misery, distress, discrimination and agony in Islamic and Christian societies dominated by exclusive religions. Living in the western high-tech society, I have discovered that religion cannot be sloughed off. It sticks to our heart. Faith in God has not disappeared, nor has man’s mystical impulse vanished. I have found that all exclusive religions have lost its vitality and spirituality.

How do we find meaning in today’s unstable world where Jihad terrorism, drug trade and violence in the name of desert dogma? The world is changing rapidly beyond the comprehension of common man. What if the old paradigms do not work anymore? What we do if the traditional, rigid, closed, mechanical, dualistic and dogmatic thought systems work to repress the transcendental quest of man?

PEOPLE IN CRISIS

In the West, I saw the marvels of modern technology. I know now, that life can be prolonged with transplants, and behavior can be modified through genetic engineering. Attitudes, feelings, states of consciousness and belief system can be altered by modern psychological and neurological techniques. Criminals can be apprehended through criminal profiles and crime scene forensic analysis. Modern computers, cell phone, face book, and modern communication system has enabled us to communicate very fast. Modern technology can use very sophisticated means of manipulation. Mass media manipulates the public into receptive, passive consumer of unwanted ideas and gadgets.

Yet, the high-tech society is in crisis. Today, man is confronted by a number of psycho-social-ecological problems. These problems appear in different forms. Alienation, mental and physical disorder, stress, divorce, teen age pregnancy, child abuse, crime, violence, suicide, alcoholism, drug abuse, and terrorism affect everybody. Statistics and simple observation inform us that there is hardly an individual, family, group, or community that is untouched by the impersonal technological society.

The purpose of science, technology and life sciences is to enhance our lives to help us for the fullest experience we have. We cannot claim that modern knowledge explosion, communication system and computers always results in happiness.

In this high-society, spiritual vitality and cultural life is stagnated. Art is replaced with commercials. Religious ideology becomes propaganda and a dogma. People spend more time not for introspection but for seeking pleasure and indulgence in their personal desires. Love, requiring personal commitment is replaced by momentary pleasures of sex. Happiness is a marketed commodity based on “having fun”. In general, the individual is left without a sense of internal worth or self-identity. As a result, people are alienated from the high-tech society they have created. As Albert Camus has depicted, man is “the stranger” not alone to his universe and society, but to himself”. When people turn their gaze inward, they find incredulity, aimlessness, rootless, dehumanization, insecurity, irrationality, resentment and aloneness. Modern high-tech society and organized religions and dualistic dogmas have promised that life will be unremittingly blissful is not persuasive enough for the common man.

How do we cope with the ideas impermanence, novelty, constant transition, frequent change and terrorism? We need a new thought system that could transform us from passive bystanders to passionate architects of our future.

DIFFERENT PARADIGMS

Religion, sociology, life and physical sciences offer different assumptions, theories, paradigms and models to understand human nature, our problems and solutions. These theories, models, concepts, assumptions, practices and methods of understanding humans are characterized by various intellectual tendencies. All these exclusive dogmas, theories and models offer explanations that are different and inconsistent with one another.

THE REDUCTIONIST PARADIGM

The mechanical, reductionist models of modern science view human being as an object apart from his or her eco-systems. The reductionist paradigms regard the universe as a giant machine where operational laws could be discovered by rational analysis of its parts. As a result, human beings are separated from nature and fragmented. Many theories and Models are developed to understand the minute details of human being. But these mechanical models are not always well integrated in a way that allows us to fully comprehend human nature. They offer multiple explanations, approaches, methods and means in understanding human problems and practical solutions. In such reductionist models, cause is forgotten for function. Humane philosophy and spirituality are replaced for planning, skills building and mass propaganda. Truth seeking, harmony, peace and spiritual salvation, and ecological perspective are replaced with pragmatism, utility, profit making and mass marketing.

THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL PARADIGMS

The humanistic, existential and phenomenological paradigms view humans as forward moving and concerned with existential choices. They value feelings and other qualities that are unique to man. Phenomenologist stresses the importance of the individual’s immediate conscious experience in determining reality. Objective reality of the world, faith in God, and religious experiences are not important determinant of man’s actions, so claims phenomenologist. There is no sure path to a true reality or definite spiritual values to live. Human beings do not know their potential and they are in a state of “Being and Becoming”. Individuals are not offered any direct action for self-realization, or direct guidance for spiritual life. Existential practitioners consider that a non-judgmental attitude and no-directive therapy will solve all human problems. Individuals are left alone to choose their own life style without any guidance or direction. There is ambiguity in purpose, confusion in knowledge and conflicting values in all phenomenological paradigms.

THE MARXIST MODEL

The Communist Manifesto States that the “the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.” Class conflict, terror, mass agitation is the major means for the Marxist dogmatic to gain political power and survive. The atheists’ propaganda aims to make people believe that there is no GOD and no karmic retribution so that people would no longer be restrained by their conscience. Instead, they would focus on class struggle and acquiring material wealth by all means. Under Marxism, the individual has no freedom and they can be controlled by force, manipulated, intimidated and threatened with harm. The morally bankrupt, Godless Marxism can bring only enormous fear and suffering to the world. The Marxists believe in violence, conflict, war, tyranny, massacre and terror. Marxists were successful in disintegrating tradition culture, belief system and life principles. The concepts of empathy, harmony, peaceful existence, religious tolerance have been replaced with class struggle, conflict and hatred. The result has been a total collapse of social, moral, religious and ecological systems and a profound crisis for human beings. The Marxists believe in killing people like a serial killer. Through killing, the Marxists satisfy their perverted sense of the ultimate power of deciding people’s life and death.

The question is: Can we have healthy persons in an unhealthy Marxist paradigm- a system based on essentially unhealthy model? Marxist Model based on violence, terror and intimidation cannot heal us or solve common human problems.

THE DUALISTIC PRADIGM

The Dualistic paradigms view man continually in conflict between God and Devil, Allah and Jin. Without doubt, the closed, dogmatic, addictive paradigms often create conflict between believers and non-believers. These rigid dogmas view Good and Evil, God and Devil (Allah and JIN) as antithetical to one another. Faith in their GOD or Allah is the only way for salvation. The non-believer, the outsiders are called the Kafir or pagan and they are condemned for ever.

HINDUTVA: THE SYSTEMIC, ALL INCLUSIVE PARADIGM

These closed, rigid, dogmatic paradigms create conflict, hatred, and violence cannot solve our problems. In other words, there is no solution for our personal-social ills short of fundamental whole-system change. The first step is to face our taboos and toxic patterns with honesty and integrity. Hindutva offers a powerful paradigm to solve common human problems. Our Snathana Dharma can expose the deep roots of the present day crisis-from personal to international-and provides the philosophical catalyst for individual, social and global change. Individuals, families and nations cannot be fully healthy and harmonious in a world filled with rigid, dysfunctional paradigms and systems. Our Vedic theories and models can successfully help individuals, families and communities to change and live in peace and harmony. Vedic models can be applied to reshape unhealthy social structures too.

Hinduism is open- ended, systemic, broader and all inclusive. Hinduism teaches that all human beings, nature, and the eco- systems are part and parcel of the ultimate reality. Consequently, all human beings enjoy equal possibilities of coming with each other, with God and nature. It is life affirming, tolerant, pluralistic, and all inclusive. In our Vedic system, all elements, events and processes are interwoven, mutually influencing, and endlessly moving in a dynamic flow. Human beings are not viewed as ascendant over nature, but each is part of the other (Purusha-Prakrthi). Hindu thought is not a rigid, closed system or a blind faith. It is science, philosophy, and a prescription for daily living with positive values, peace, and harmony. IT gives spiritual guidelines (Atma-Bodha) for GOD realization (Brahma-Jnana). It provides, clear, correct and comprehensive guidelines for man to transform himself from the limits of the present materialistic existence. A spiritual life can be attained within the limits of the present life. Hinduism offer different ways to reach a harmonious life co-exist with different people, and perfection. The Vedas, Upanishads, the Puranas, and the Bhagavat Gita identify various paths (Margas) for peaceful, harmonious and happy life for GOD realization. Karma Marga, Jnana Marga, and Bhakthi Marga have its own distinctiveness and each one can be practiced.

Hinduism also prescribes means for practicing, promoting and protecting DHARMA. Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Understanding and practicing these concepts will unite the conflicting man in the ever changing society. In this high-tech society, Hinduism can be put into application by all people without restrictions. Under our Vedic system, all human beings enjoy equal possibilities of coming into contact with each other, with GOD and Nature. The eternal Vedic system is universal, all inclusive, tolerant, non-discriminatory, and pluralistic. Practice of Hinduism will affect the choices one makes in the ever changing, transient High-Tech society, the individual, groups and the community is raised to the highest level. The anxiety, self-doubt, stress and alienation can be overcome because of technological manipulation, and consumerism no longer influences one’s behavior. The individual, groups, family and community gains the courage to act which will help him/her to transcend modern maladies. They gain inner strength not only to participate in the high-tech society but also to reach the higher spiritual level. As a result, ethical, economic, and psychological decisions can be made for personal-social-family life with peace, freedom and harmony. Apathetic conformism and “emotional crowd behavior” will disappear. Then we will not become victims of violence, conversion, and psychological manipulation. We will become masters of our own destiny. We will enjoy freedom, and we can provide the vitality and spiritual force without fear to unify the whole world.

To gain Hindi (Hindu) wisdom, Hindus must choose appropriate Hindu Dharma and expand the individual resources based on Hindu thought, The, all Hindus will grow in wisdom, and Hindu wisdom can grow into services for others or of causes. Hindu art, culture, philosophy, literature, science, psychology and music can refine human vision, which further develops the individual, family and the world. Human beings can understand the world and move into the future with a compelling Hindu perspective and vision.

It requires all Hindus around the world to move forward with self-esteem, assertiveness, discipline and unity. If Hindus are united with Hindu dharma, we can achieve the humanizing mission of the world.

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