Global Dharma

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(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)







Global Dharma

INDIA

Nataraja’s Priests Persevere

 

ON THE MORNING OF JANUARY 6, 2014, India’s Supreme Court handed down its ruling for the management of the ancient Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. A 2009 Madras High Court decision had put the management in State hands. On appeal, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Podu Dikshitars, the hereditary priesthood who have managed the temple for over 2,000 years. The verdict was widely celebrated, as state control of temples—particularly one so revered—is a disputed issue.
Back in 1951, India passed a revised Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act (HR&CE) which permits state governments to assume control over any Hindu temple deemed by them to be in need of such oversight. It allows management of just about everything, from finances and priests to properties and pujas. Tamil Nadu’s HR&CE department currently manages more than 36,000 temples throughout the state.
In the 2009 court case, which had removed the Podu Dikshitars from their long-standing position, the HR&CE department contended that the temple was being mismanaged—an unproven charge. The State also claimed that the Dikshitars were not a legitimate religious organization, an official classification that had protected their authority under India’s constitution ever since a 1952 Supreme Court ruling. The 2009 decision, by the lower court, favored the State, which then took management of the temple, installed donation boxes and attempted to regulate the temple finances. An appeal of the 2009 decision would reach India’s Supreme Court just a few years later.
Late last year, that court’s justices accepted the appeal filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on behalf of the Podu Dikshitars against the 2009 Madras High Court verdict. Dr. Subramanian Swamy argued that the right of the Dikshitars to manage the temple could not be taken away by the government. He said any claims of financial impropriety could be dealt with under existing law without taking over the temple’s management.

 

The justices agreed, and ruled that the case, regarding the Dikshitars’ right to manage the temple affairs, recognized by the Supreme Court in 1952, should not have been reopened—let alone repealed—by the lower Madras Court.
Unlike the US, India’s constitution does not rigidly separate church and state. In theory, the idea is equal state treatment of all religions; but in practice, only Hindu institutions are subject to government control. In some cases, wealthy state-run temples receive only a part of their donations, with the rest going to secular government coffers. Such a situation might put some devotees on edge, not knowing if their donations to the temple will go to the Deity or to the state.
This landmark case could pave the way for reversing HR&CE-enacted control over other temples.

USA

Ticket, Bags, Security... Yoga?

ANEW AMENITY IS EMERGING at airports across the US—the yoga and meditation room. It started in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International, an apt point of origin, given yoga’s popularity in the Bay Area. The idea is to give stressed travellers an oasis in which to relax and find their inner quiet.
Passengers can now take a break from the rush of travel at similar rooms across the country. They’ve opened already in the international airports at Burlington, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, Raleigh-Durham and Chicago O’Hare, with others in the planning stages.
According to an article in today.com, O’Hare’s Terminal 3 yoga room is relatively small and features a bamboo wood floor, tall mirrors on one wall and exercise mats.
Debby McElroy of Airports Council International-North America told the New York Daily News in 2012, “I expect other airports will be looking at whether a yoga room at their airport makes sense.” So next time you fly, keep a lookout for a chance to look in.

NORWAY

Meatless Mondays

 

ACCORDING TO A NOVEMBER article by Agence France Presse, the Norwegian military has announced “Meatless Mondays” in an attempt to lessen the environmental impact of meat consumption. As the name suggests, the military will observe a completely vegetarian menu one day a week, though not necessarily on Mondays.

The program has already been introduced to one of Norway’s main bases and is to be implemented throughout the Norwegian army over the next year. Estimates are that the program will cut some 330,000 pounds of meat from the army’s annual diet. The plan is being praised by a local environmental organization which hopes once-a-week veggies will spread nationwide. Local army spokesman Eystein Kvarving told AFP, “It’s not about saving money, it’s about being more concerned for our climate, more ecologically friendly and also healthier.”
Pal Stenberg, a nutritionist and navy commander who heads up the army’s catering division—in charge of feeding 10,000 Norwegian troops 35,000 meals per day—said the soldiers have generally responded well.


BALI

Technology Helping Tradition



D ECEMBER 12 THROUGH 15, 2013, saw the first observance of a new IT festival in Bali. According to The Jakarta Post, the Denpasar Technology, Information and Communication Festival included seminars, workshops, entertainment and competitions for blogging and animation.
Among the many innovators were more than a few university students who had created culturally-based video games and applications. Many of their ideas were aimed at preserving Balinese culture through an evolving technological age. Their creations include games about Balinese classic masks, folklore and the making of temple offerings.
For one free, Android-based game, visit: bit.ly/dkala. You can also check out another student’s tutorial to learn Balinese at BasaBali.org. What a fun way to keep culture alive!

CAMBODIA

Repatriating Stolen Statues


IN AN AGREEMENT SIGNED DECEMBER, 2013, an ancient statue of a Hindu warrior looted from a temple in Cambodia will be returned to the country. The 10th-century carving is valued at over $2 million.
According to The New York Times, Sotheby’s auction house had come into possession of the statue, but denied any knowledge of its having been stolen.
During the 1970 civil war, many of Cambodia’s precious artifacts disappeared, particularly those from the Koh Ker Hindu temple complex in the North. Many of these artifacts eventually found their way to American museums. Just last year the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York returned two similar sandstone statues known as the Kneeling Attendants, pieces clearly related to the Hindu warrior in style.
US attorney Preet Bharara has affirmed, “The United States is not a market for antiquities stolen from other nations, and we will continue to track down and return any that are brought here illegally.” US officials are presently assisting Cambodia in the search for its many missing artifacts.


SCIENCE

Hinduism’s Biological Benefits


SEVERAL RECENT SCIENTIFIC studies have delved into some of the meditative and worshipful practices found in Hinduism. The studies have produced fascinating medical findings about the rewards of these practices when regularly performed, adding to the long list of benefits of living a religious life.
Lord Ganesha is always a good place to start. A recent study conducted by Yale neurobiologist Dr. Eugenius Ang shows that an age-old greeting to Ganesha, thoppukaranam, as it is known in Tamil, has been proven to synchronize the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Ang used EEG readings to measure the brain’s neuron firings, which were found to become fully lateralized after five minutes of the practice.
This ancient Hindu technique (touted now as “new”) involves squeezing your right earlobe with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand, then crossing your right hand over to grasp the other. You then bob your body up and down before Ganesha, breathing in as you go down and out as you rise. This is commonly prescribed by teachers in India for unruly behavior in classrooms, and scientific studies have now shown it effectively creates mental balance. Children with autism, attention deficit disorder and other behavioral problems have been shown to benefit from the practice.
A recent yalescientific.org article reports another study, led by Dr. Judson Brewer of the Yale School of Medicine, which found undeniable functional changes in the brains of experienced meditators. Brewer used fMRI scanning to measure levels of concentrated oxygen in the brain—correlating to brain activity. The study showed that compared with non-meditators, those who meditated regularly had altered neural connections. The most prominently noted was an unexpected bridging of two different brain regions, both crucial for cognitive control. To Brewer’s surprise, this co-activation persisted during non-meditative periods, showing that with regular practice, the brain reforms itself deeper and deeper into a constant meditative state.
A 2012 study by Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and other scientists at the University of California found that just twelve minutes of daily meditation over a period of eight weeks increased telomerase activity by 43 percent. Responsible for chromosomal upkeep, the telomerase enzyme is crucial for a cell’s longevity, and therefore that of your body.
These are just a few of the many intriguing studies creating a strong bridge between the scientific community and the wisdom of the ancient past.


Briefly …

A FIVE-DAY WORKSHOP FOR HINDU

priests was held in Nadi, Fiji, in December, 2013. According to the Fiji Times, the classes, open to Nadi priests and the public, helped to improve and standardize their ritual knowledge. Dr. Meenakshi and Dr. Acharya Sharma, founders of the Sydney Sanskrit School, came to teach the workshop, which was organized by Yaadein Vision Australia.

THE CITY COUNCIL OF ADEJE

on Tenerife in the Canary Islands has recently approved the transfer of several acres of government land to the Hindu Cultural Center, free of charge. The Cultural Center’s plan is to use the land for the building of a temple and, according to one community leader, “to give a place for our children to meet and make sure they don’t lose their culture.”

NEW RULES HAVE BEEN

implemented at Batu Caves, the famous Malaysian pilgrimage site. Kavadi, the penance offered to Lord Murugan, is often accompanied by body piercings with small silver spears or hooks. In recent years many devotees have strayed from traditional standards, some flouting advertizing on their spears or hanging unconventional items from their piercings. Under the new rules, devotees cannot carry fancy kavadis bearing logos of their associations, favorite soccer clubs, movie stars and uncommon fruits and other non-traditional items. Visitors must refrain from wearing short pants or skirts, running at the premises, bringing pets, smoking and spitting. Those who do not follow the standards will not be allowed inside the temple.
ACCORDING NEW ZEALAND’S 2013

census, the Indian population has risen 48 percent since 2006, to 155,000 today, making it the second largest Asian ethnic group in the country. Census General Manager Sarah Minson stated, “It’s interesting to note that there are more ethnicities in New Zealand than there are countries in the world.”
IN THE INDIAN STATE OF JAMMU

and Kashmir, 550,000 trees have been planted at Trikuta Hills. The area houses the cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi, a popular pilgrimage site. The planting, which has continued over the last four years, is an effort to preserve the environment and make the area greener, especially along the heavily traveled route to the shrine.













Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 


(My humble salutations to Sadguru Sri Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ji, Satguru Bodhianatha Velayanswami ji, Hinduism Today and Articles writers for the collection)


(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)

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For Sustainability, Look to India and Quotes and Quips

Posted by gopalakrishna














(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)





For Sustainability, Look to India



Wealthy nations can learn from her frugal, vegetarian-friendly lifestyle



BY PANKAJ JAIN


WHEN I FIRST ARRIVED AT NEW YORK’S JFK airport in 1996, I was immediately struck by the hundreds of cars plying the airport’s many encircling highways. I was born in the small town of Pali in Rajasthan and had lived most of my life in India. I had prepared myself for a cultural shock, and the first one was environmental. I asked my friend Ajay who had come to pick me up, how so many cars could be sustained through the world’s current fuel crisis. Having arrived in the US just months before me, Ajay proudly declared, “Oh, this is America! They can run their cars on water if they have to, don’t worry!”
Such was the faith of many in America, whose daily lives rely on modern science and technological aids such as cars or cell phones. With impending environmental issues looming large over humankind, I wonder if this faith is weakening now, just 18 years after my first American encounter. Last month, after my latest visit to New York, I posted this on my Facebook: “First thought whenever I reach New York City: ‘How will all this sustain itself?’ First thought whenever I reach India: ‘How has all this sustained itself?’ ”
Immediately, my comment was challenged, and what ensued was my defense of India and its long-standing sustainability, versus the United States’, which towers at the other extreme. I started by comparing India’s meat consumption to the US, UK, China, Brazil and others. India remains the foremost vegetarian country in the world. Even after the globalization of modern Western ways, Indians have successfully preserved the vegetarian habits that were laid down by their dharmic traditions several millennia ago. The typical Indian diet still consists mainly of rice, wheat, beans and vegetables. Even most nonvegetarians depend on vegetarian food as the chief components of their diet, consuming egg, meat and fish only occasionally.
In a ground-breaking 2006 report, the United Nations said that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. Senior UN Food and Agriculture Organization official Henning Steinfeld reported that the meat industry is “one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.” But even after Western media reported this connection of meat eating with global warming, many of the issue’s leading politicians failed to take any action to change the habits of meat consumption in Western society.
Such clear evidence has seemingly been ignored by Western society in general. For example, in April, 2007, a leading New York Times columnist rejected any changes needed in the Western lifestyle, while demanding “greener” initiatives from the US government.
This Western dichotomy—expecting environmental initiatives from government and businesses while failing to acknowledge a need for change in our personal lifestyles—was the concluding subject of Ramachandra Guha’s book, How Much Should a Person Consume? Guha observes that Western society comprises only 20 percent of the world’s population but consumes about 80 percent of global production. The other 80 percent of humanity gets the remaining 20 percent.
Guha agrees with conservationist Ashish Kothari and criticizes the hypocrisy of the developed world. He explains that it is the allegedly civilized who have decimated forests and the wildlife which had previously sustained both tiger and tribal. With rifles and a quest for trophies, they have hunted wild species to extinction; now they disguise themselves as conservationists and complain that tribal groups are getting in the way. The real population problem is in America, where the birth of one child has the same impact on the global environment as the birth of about 70 Indonesian children.
Due to the dharmic traditions inspired by history’s gurus and sages, Indian society successfully moved away from the animal sacrifices and killings prevalent in its ancient past, adopting lifestyles based largely on vegetarianism. But most scholars ignore vegetarianism, though it is one of the most important dharmic lessons inspired by Indic tradition and one that could positively impact an array of threatening global issues.
In the 1990s India began to embrace the Western capitalist economic model, and today India is fast transcending its once slow rate of economic growth. Until this Western market invasion, the so-called “Hindu rate of growth” might have been both the result and the reason for limited Indian spending for consumer goods. A 2001 article by Professor Ann Gold of Syracuse University, NY, shows that consumption is severely constrained and morally limited by the traditional Hindu ideals of self-restraint such as fasting, detachment from material goods, eating only what is appropriate, etc.
Four consecutive Greendex Sustainability Surveys, conducted by National Geographic magazine in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012 (bit.ly/natgeoenv), show India continuing to rank first in sustainability, with the US hovering near the bottom. The survey compares major parameters of a country’s housing, transportation and food. In all these areas, Indian habits were the most sustainable. Many Indian houses continue to avoid or lack air-conditioning, heating and 24/7 hot water, and the dwelling sizes are much smaller. India’s average use of personal cars continues to be less than in other major countries, and Indians still prefer public transport for their daily commutes to work or school. Indian consumption of locally produced food remains high, while consumption of bottled water, meat and seafood continues to be less than in other countries.
Westerners who are sincerely interested in sustainable living would do well to follow India’s ageless example.

(PANKAJ JAIN, PH.D, is Assistant Professor of Hinduism, Jainism and Ecology at the University of North Texas.)







Quotes and Quips


Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), celebrated Bengali writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
It is not the knowledge of words that makes a man wise, but purity of heart and steadiness of the mind. Yogasri Svami Yogananda Giri, founder of Svami Gitananda Ashram, Italy

Those who cannot live in harmony with the world, though they have learned many things, are still ignorant. Tirukural 140

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Rumi (1207-1273), Sufimystic and poet

There is no death. Only a change of worlds. Chief Seattle (1780-1866), leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish Native American tribes

Common men talk bagfuls of religion but do not practice even a grain of it. The wise man speaks a little, even though his whole life is religion expressed in action. Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), famed guru of Swami Vivekananda

Our life is only worth while if we do good deeds and walk the path towards God. Pramukh Swami Maharaj, guru of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs. Farrah Gray, American businessman, philanthropist and motivational speaker

No one knows what’s next, but everybody does it. George Carlin (1937-2008), American comedian, writer and actor

If you are constantly absorbed in the soul, then only love and goodness is reflected back. You see the good in everything. Paramhansa Hariharananda (1907-2002), Indian yogi and guru

Man possesses unlimited strength, infinite capacity for work and boundless perseverance. It is because they cannot always realize it that most men are so miserably inert. Swami Pranavananda (1896-1941), founder of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha

Never forget that the universe is a single living organism possessed of one substance and one soul, holding all things suspended in a single consciousness and creating all things with a single purpose that they might work together spinning, weaving and knotting whatever comes to pass. Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), Roman emperor and philosopher

In a moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. Nigerian proverb

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying. Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), South African president, revolutionary and philanthropist

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author, poet and philosopher

Perfection is the willingness to be imperfect. Lao Tzu (604-531 BCE), founder of Taoism


Just as the rays of light share and diffuse the radiance of the sun, so you too share and reflect the golden glories of Indra, the cosmic soul. Let us meditate on the divine presence and for our share, enjoy the ecstasy of bliss vibrating in the world of past and future creations, by virtue of Indra’s omnipresent majesty. Rig Veda 8.99.3

In India, “cold weather” is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy. Mark Twain (1835-1910), American writer


God Siva’s all-knowingness is always inside of us. We don’t have to do anything for it to be there; that’s the important thing. We just have to look in the right place at the right time. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of HINDUISM TODAY


We must also have desirelessness even for the realization of the Self itself in order to freely proceed and attain the goal. The realization of the Self must never be to us a need to get away from something, an avoidance, a departure from or a means to become better than others. Now we can see that desire is the barrier to freedom, physically, mentally and emotionally. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)



D I D   Y O U   K N O W ?

Restorative Roots



K NOWN AS HARIDRA IN SANSKRIT AND CURCUMA LONGA BOTANICALLY, turmeric is a small plant closely related to ginger. Found in a variety of cuisines, its bright yellow roots are commonly ground into paste or powder. Sacred to Hindus and indigenous to India, turmeric is an essential part of Indian society. In temples, turmeric water is used daily in ritual ablution of the Deities, and the powder, mixed with unpolished rice, is an important offering during puja.
Western researchers have been rediscovering properties in this root already familiar to ayurveda, such as being anti-swelling, anti-cancerous, an age-abating antioxidant, a digestive enhancer, liver protector, blood purifier, antiseptic, cholesterol buster and skin toner. More uses are being discovered as researchers experiment with curcuminoids, turmeric’s active chemical ingredients.
According to a 2013 greenmedinfo.com article by Sayer Ji, an advisory board member of the National Health Federation, turmeric’s medicinal properties have been the subject of over 5,600 peer-reviewed and published biomedical studies. Sayer Ji mentions his own five-year research project on the sacred plant, which revealed evidence of over 600 potential preventive and therapeutic uses, as well as 175 distinct beneficial physiological effects.
Given the sheer density of research performed on this remarkable spice, it is no wonder that a growing number of studies have concluded that it compares favorably to a variety of conventional medications. These include steroids, antidepressants, blood thinners, and drugs for inflammation, chemotherapy, diabetes and high cholesterol.












Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 


(My humble salutations to Sadguru Sri Sivaya Subramuniyaswami ji, Satguru Bodhianatha Velayanswami ji, Hinduism Today and Articles writers for the collection)


(The Blog  is reverently for all the seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom and   to share the Hindu Dharma with others on the spiritual path and also this is purely  a non-commercial blog)

  )

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