Showing posts with label Global Dharma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Global Dharma. Show all posts

Global Dharma

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)







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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Global Dharma, Quotes and Quips, The Sacred Lotus Flower and A Hindu View of Evil

Posted by gopalakrishna













Global Dharma

USA
Yoga in Public Schools?
IN SEPTEMBER, 2012, CALIFORNIA’S Encinitas Union School District introduced a yoga program as part of its elementary schools’ physical education curriculum. As hoped, the yoga practices calmed the students, helped them focus and even reduced bullying. But nobody anticipated the school would land in a lengthy lawsuit.
The district is the first in the country to hire yoga teachers full time. There are twelve teachers in all, funded by a $533,000 grant from the Jois Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes Ashtanga Yoga. Students attend the 30-minute yoga classes twice a week.
Anticipating the program might become controversial, the district eliminated anything that might be considered religious, such as chanting of Aum. Even the Sanskrit names for the poses were changed. For example—and we are not making this up—padmasana, the “lotus” posture, became “crisscross applesauce,” while savasana, the corpse pose, became “pancake.”
The course was a hit with the kids. Eight-year-old Jacob Hagen likes it “because you get to stretch out. And it’s good to be the first class because it wakes you up.”
Even after the practices were diluted to little more than stretching, breathing and cute names, local church groups became concerned. Several parents came forth worried that this yoga was a form of religious indoctrination and therefore unconstitutional. With the help of attorney Dean Broyles, president of the conservative advocacy group, National Center for Law and Policy, the parents sued.
The non-jury trial began in February, 2013, under San Diego Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer—who began by announcing to the courtroom that he himself practiced yoga. After some discussion, both sides agreed that this was acceptable.
Broyles argued, “There is a transparent promotion of Hindu religious beliefs and practices in the public schools through this Ashtanga Yoga program.” He called Candy Brown, a professor of religious studies at Indiana University. She testified that yoga is Hindu and that “the purpose of ashtanga yoga is to become one with Brahma.”

Brown continued by stating her belief that a conspiracy is at work to trick students into a spiritual practice. Judge Meyer challenged her: “So, these Jois-trained instructors are just the foot soldiers? You think they have been planted in the district?” She replied, “I think that is the case, yeah.”
The court proceedings continued for weeks with testimonies from school district staff, school yoga teachers and others. Oddly, no actual Hindus were called to the stand.
On July 1 Judge Meyer ruled that although yoga is a religious practice, it is no longer so when stripped of all cultural references, and it may then be taught in public schools: “Yoga as it has developed in the last 20 years is rooted in American culture, not Indian culture. A reasonable student would not objectively perceive that Encinitas School District yoga advances or promotes religion.” Meyer concluded that the plaintiff’s case was culled from personal opinions and unreliable Internet sources. “It’s almost like a trial by Wikipedia, which isn’t what this court does,” said Meyer.


VIETNAM

Ponagar Temple Festival

EACH YEAR, FROM APRIL 30 TO MAY 2, the little-known Hindu Cham people of Vietnam celebrate the Nha Trang Ponagar Temple Festival in honor of the Goddess Bhagavati, known in Vietnamese as Yan Po Nagar. In 1100 ce the Champa Kingdom occupied most of southern Vietnam and adjacent areas. Later the kingdom declined, and many Cham in what is now Cambodia converted to Islam. The Hindu community in Vietnam numbers just 60,000.
The Ponagar temple festival is the largest cultural event held by the Cham each year, attracting tens of thousand of tourists. Beginning with the “Lions’ Dance,” the celebration continues with many other dances, songs and ceremonies welcoming and honoring the Goddess. The local provincial government has recognized the festival as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage” of the nation.

WASHINGTON, DC

Saraswati Lands in Capitol


ANEW AND LOVELY SIGHT GREETS people walking past the many embassies and dedicated statues along Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, DC. In front of the Indonesian Embassy, just one block from the Indian Embassy, stands a recently created 16-foot statue of Saraswati, Goddess of art, knowledge and wisdom, gifted to the US by the Indonesian Embassy.
The idea for the statue came from Ambassador Dr. Dino Patti Djalal as a statement of the harmonious coexistence of Hinduism and Islam in that Muslim-majority nation. To create the sculpture, craftsman Nyoman Sudarwa was flown in from Bali along with of six of his plaster masons. He and his team fabricated the concrete masterpiece in just three months. This is nothing new for them, as it is common in Indonesia to put Saraswati in front of universities and government buildings.
The sculpture, yet to be dedicated, includes at its base a statue of Barack Obama as a child, seen with two of his classmates while attending grade school in Indonesia. The plaque describes Saraswati: “The Goddess of knowledge and art, embodied as a beautiful woman, is a symbol that science is something beautiful and attractive.”


USA

Dharma Bee for Vivekananda

I N RECOGNITION OF THE 120th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s speech to the Parliament of World’s Religions, as well as his 150th birthday, over 3,000 children from near and far gathered in Chicago for the Dharma Bee, an international contest, which concluded on June 15. The event, comprising a speech contest, poster presentations, written tests and team projects, tested participants on their knowledge of the famous Hindu monk. The program aimed to provide an exciting education while offering youth insight into areas of community service and dharmic living.
Shreya Venkatesh (13), a contestant from Arizona, said she enjoyed the chance to learn more about Hindu culture. At the reward ceremony the head of the local Vedanta Society said, “According to Vivekananda, dharma is a process that makes a brute into a man, and man into God.”

VEGETARIANISM

A Meatless Menu for Kids

YOUNG STUDENTS ACROSS the United States have long been subject to the rather unpleasant school lunch, a salty, greasy, cardboard-like array of barely edible food-like substances. These lunches typically include the lowest quality: oily pizzas, salads made purely of iceberg lettuce and, of course, the appalling mystery-meat of the day.
One school in Flushing, New York, has had enough. The Active Learning Elementary School, founded just five years ago on the principle that strong academic achievement is bolstered by a healthy lifestyle, is the first public school in the US to go completely vegetarian. Roasted chickpeas, black bean quesadillas, vegetarian chili and curries, real vegetables, brown rice and falafel have replaced the standard public school menu. The school became 100% vegetarian in January, 2013, meeting all the state requirements for protein while staying within budget.
The kids love it. While eating her quesadilla, nine-year-old Marian Satti, told The New York Daily News, “This is so good! I’m enjoying that it doesn’t have a lot of salt in it.” School Chancellor Dennis Walcott stated, “I don’t eat fried foods. I don’t drink soda. I try not to have sweets too often, and that’s what we want for our students; to make sure they eat healthy both at home and school.”

INDIA

Kedarnath: Years to Restore

THE DISASTER STRUCK IN MID-JUNE. It began with a cloudburst above Charbari Lake in the mountains above Kedarnath. When the heavy monsoon rain clouds get trapped in the high elevations of the Himalayas, they can literally burst, dropping enormous quantities of water in a short time on a small area. This time the large Himalayan lake ruptured its banks, releasing a two-story-high flood of ice, boulders, mud and water into the Mandikini River, a major tributary of the Ganga.
The flood engulfed Kedarnath town and temple on its banks. At 11,755 feet, Kedarnath is the highest and most remote of the four Char Dham sites in this area of the Himalayas. These sites are visited by hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims at this time of year.
Eyewitnesses said huge rocks broke away from Kedar Dome, the third largest peak above the town. Some of the giant boulders stopped just before the Kedarnath shrine, diverting the flood around the temple and leaving it largely intact. Many adjacent buildings were damaged or destroyed, and thousands of residents and pilgrims drowned.
One rescued pilgrim, ­Sitaram Sukhatiahe, told the Press Trust of India, “It was shocking to watch a place bustling with people metamorphose in a matter of a few hours into an island of death and destruction.”
Following the destruction, the temple’s Bhog Murti (a Deity which can be moved) was taken from the shrine by Vageshling, a young temple priest who had survived the flooding. Traveling 61 kilometers, mostly on foot, he delivered the Deity to the temple in Ukhimath where the Deity normally resides during the winter months.
After devastating Kedarnath, the surging water flooded village after village as it coursed downward. Roads and bridges were washed out at thousands of points. Bodies washed up as far away as Haridwar. Birendra Singh, a former army officer, told the press,“There were 67 houses in our Chandrapuri village, out of which 63 were washed away by the Mandikini River. Not a single official has visited our village as yet. We have nothing to go back to.”
Indian military and paramilitary forces were called in from across the nation to search for survivors, transport food and supplies and rescue stranded people. State governments as well as NGOs jumped in to help.
But before serious efforts were started to help the local population, the relief effort focused on finding and evacuating the hundreds of thousands of far-from-home pilgrims.
Early estimates stated that 300,000 people have been affected by the cataclysm and over 100,000 have been evacuated. Roughly 10,000 people were injured, and 11,000 thought to be missing. An estimated 5,500 have died, though the actual number could be higher. Infrastructure repair and rebuilding will take years.
Briefly …

ACCORDING TO A STUDY
published in JAMA Internal Medicine, a Journal of the American Medical Association, vegetarians live longer than meat-eaters. The study tracked 73,308 people for nearly six years. Vegetarians in the study experienced 12 percent fewer deaths over the period. Dietary choices appeared to play a big role in protecting the participants from heart disease, from which vegetarians were 19 percent less likely to die than the carnivores.
MORE THAN 14,000 PEOPLE
joined together during the summer solstice in late June of 2013 for the world’s largest-ever Bikram Yoga class in New York’s Time Square. “The solstice is the celebration of the sun. As yogis, we worship the sun,” said class leader Rajashree Choudhury, a five-time winner of the All-India Yoga Championship. People spread out all over the square to stretch and breath. Some were even meditating and doing japa beside the busy New York streets.
RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY
of Glasgow have found that lower fitness levels in middle-aged men of South Asian origin are contributing to higher blood sugar levels and increased diabetes risk when compared with white men throughout the UK. Those of South Asian ethnicity have three to five times the risk of type 2 diabetes. The research suggests that physical activity guidelines may need to be changed to take ethnicity into account.
THE SRI VENKATESWARA TEMPLE
opened its doors in Detroit this May. The $10-million-dollar, 25,000-square-foot temple in Novi, just one of several Hindu temples being built in the Detroit area, reflects the success of Asian Indian Americans in Michigan. Ironically, in July, Detroit became the largest American city to declare itself bankrupt.
ON JUNE 24, 2013, THE
California State Senate passed a Resolution, establishing October as California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month. Hindu American Foundation member Vineet Sharma stated, “We are extremely grateful to the State Senate for unanimously passing the resolution, which will go a long way to raising awareness and understanding about the Hindu American community and our beliefs.”


Quotes and Quips

The real meaning of the scriptures can only be known in the silence of the mind.
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Kerala’s “hugging saint”
You are God. God sees through your eyes, hears through your ears, speaks through your mouth. Satguru Siva Yogaswami (1872-1964), Sri Lankan mystic

When you demand nothing of the world, nor of God, when you want nothing, seek nothing, expect nothing, then the Supreme State will come to you uninvited and unexpected. Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981), Indian teacher and philosopher

A person who has realized the principle of nonviolence has God-given strength for his weapon, and the world has not yet known anything that can match it. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

The touch of an infinite mystery passes over the trivial and the familiar, making it break out into ineffable music. The trees, the stars, and the blue hills ache with a meaning which can never be uttered in words. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), mystic poet

No individual can ultimately fail. The Divinity which descends into humanity is bound to regain its original state. Nilakanta Sri Ram (1889-1973), Freemason and theosophist

When you are offended at any man’s fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. Epictetus (55-135 CE), Greek sage and philosopher

By our stumbling, the world is perfected. Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950), Indian freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi and poet

All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is therefore the only law of life. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying. Therefore love for love’s sake, because it is the only law of life, just as you breathe to live. Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

The benevolent expect no return for their dutiful giving. How can the world ever repay the rain cloud? Tirukural 211

All fear of distress, grief, avarice, delusion and bewilderment exist only as long as one does not take refuge in the satguru. All wanderings in the ocean of births, called samsara, fraught with grief and impurity, last as long as one has no devotion to a holy Sivaguru. As the boon-giving guru gives the mantra in contentment and beatitude, try to please him with devotion, wealth, your very life. Kularvnava Tantra

You, Siva, are the earth, You are the sky, and You are the seven seas; You are the goal, You are the letters, and You are the meter; You are the eye, You are the pupil of the eye, You are the image that dances in the eye, the affable! Bestow Your grace so that I may approach Your sacred feet! Sivavakkiyar (10th century), Tamil poet

Give yourself up to the wave, and you will be absorbed by the current; having dived into the sea, you do not return anymore. Anandamayi Ma (1896-1982), Bengali mystic

When diksha is given to a competent disciple, the guru enters into his soul, establishes himself as the disciple’s inner Self and by means of his power, removes all the impurities that limit the essential nature of the disciple’s Self. Sarvajnananottara Agama

Live morality before you talk of it. Practice meditation before you preach it. Taste goodness before you recommend it. Gain bliss before you offer it to others. Swami Chinmayananda (1916-1993), founder of Chinmaya mission

Whatever world the man of purified mind desires, whatever desires he wishes to fulfill, all these he attains. Therefore, let whoever is desirous of prosperity worship the man of Self Realization. The man of Self Realization knows the supreme Brahman upon which the universe is based and shines radiantly. Atharva Veda, Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.10

Youth is not a time of life—it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions. It is freshness of the deep springs of life. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Swami Bua Ji Maharaj (1889-2010), centenarian yogi

It’s indescribable. That should be clear. Neti, neti. We’re not trying to describe it. Other experiences in meditation we describe. We say, “Okay let’s go from a moon-like glow inner light into a slightly more intense one.” But when it comes to the Self there’s no description except that awareness is missing. Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, publisher of Hinduism Today

Just as the memory of each detail of your yesterday has flowed through you, so does intellectual knowing eventually flow through the life of the person who contains it, as a thing of only temporary value. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today


D I D   Y O U   K N O W ?

The Sacred Lotus Flower


THE LOTUS FLOWER, NELUMBO NUCIFERA, possessing both medicinal and culinary uses, has long been significant and sacred to many cultures. Throughout history it has represented the inner depths of man, reflecting in its prepossessing petals the polychromatic patterns of our universe. Now, yet another of this flower’s wonders has been brought to light.
An international team of researchers from the University of Adelaide has sequenced and described the lotus genome in a paper published online at genomebiology.com. Their research delves into the evolution of this ancient plant, which has apparently been cultivated as an edible crop for more than 7,000 years. One of their most interesting findings is that the lotus flower has the astounding ability to regulate its body temperature, much like warm-blooded mammals.
It was found that over a two-to three-day period the lotus was able to keep a constant temperature of around 32-34 degrees by generating and controlling its own heat, while the surrounding environment varied by up to 30 degrees. A biochemical pathway was found which the plant uses for its temperature regulation. This pathway can be switched on or off, depending on whether more or less heat is needed. This generated heat, along with the flower’s aromas, apparently makes the lotus blossoms particularly attractive to pollinating insects.


B A S I C S

A Hindu View of Evil

 

EVIL IS OFTEN LOOKED UPON AS A force against God. But the Hindu knows that all forces are God’s forces, even the waywardness of adharma. This is sometimes difficult to understand when we see the pains and problems caused by men against men. Looking deeper, we see that what is called evil has its own mysterious purpose in life. Yes, bad things do happen. Still, the wise never blame God, for they know these to be the return of man’s self-created karmas, difficult but necessary experiences for his spiritual evolution.
Whenever we are injured or hurt, we understand that our suffering is but the fulfillment of a karma we once initiated, for which our injurer is but the instrument who, when his karma cycles around, will be the injured. Those who perform seemingly evil deeds are not yet in touch with the ever-present God consciousness of their immortal soul
When the outer, or lower, instinctive nature dominates, one is prone to anger, fear, greed, jealousy, hatred and backbiting. When the intellect is prominent, arrogance and analytical thinking preside. When the superconscious soul comes forth, the refined qualities are born—compassion, insight, modesty and the others.
The animal instincts of the young soul are strong. The intellect, yet to be developed, is nonexistent to control these strong instinctive impulses. When the intellect is developed, the instinctive nature subsides. When the soul unfolds and overshadows the well-developed intellect, this mental harness is loosened and removed. When we encounter wickedness in others, let us be compassionate, for truly there is no intrinsic evil.
 







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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