HINDUISM TODAY wns founded on January 5, 1979; by Satguru Sivayn Subrumunl·
January, 1997 "$2.95
Affirming Sanatana Dharma and Recording the Modern History of a Billion-Strong Global Religion in Renaissance
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CORRESPONDENTS: Cowri Shankar & Anandhi Ramachandran, Madras: Chooda· PROMOTION/PRODUCTION: Tyngi Kathirswami
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Julie Raja n, Philadelphia. Web Masters: Dew Seyon: Sadhunathan Nadesan. SUMMER INTERN: Brahmachari Jothi Sendan
I JANUARY, 1997'
. '1 I .. "7 '.
~~""d'-
.. . ,
INTE.RN Nfl ON'AL
Politics: Muslims Are Politicking to
Get Heard in America 17
Special Report: Joint Families, a Venerable
Tradition in Jeopardy 22
Literature: A Survey of Books by
. Hindu Women
,'and about
Mpvemen'ts: Struggle Over a
28
Powerful Kerala Ashram 34
Liturgy: Women as Vedic Priests 40
Art: 'Crace Flows f~Hl His Fingertips 48
Refugees: Bhutan and Kashmir Camps 49
-Worship:'"A City of Ten Million Icons 52
tfFESTYLE
Insight: IDndus View Death Differently 30
Str,iving: 72-Hour Marathon Dance 36
.Astrology: Hagpy Roman New Year 36
People: Peace Pilgrim's Worthy Walk 47
. ( O;PINION
Publisher's Desk: My MOJ;lastic Order's
!Mission Is HINnUISM TODAY 6
Editorial: Great Drarture, Death '
Is Not the End 8
..
Q
My Turn: Being a Hnndu in Ireland 10
Letters ,- 14
.
~
0 Healing: Are Hospitals Healthy? 44
'" Minister's fIlessage: Personal Peace .,50
...'"
:sz . "
DIGESTS
'"
l-
Quotes &. Quips !g Evolutions 44
,.~.. Dlaspora 11 Digital Dharma 54
..
Q
Brlef!y 20
"
India .... .... Rs.50 Sri Lanka .. . Rs.BO . COVER: A father lifts his daughter to the heavens. This family of priests, with bttp:!' . . ..HlnlulamTtdQ.kauaLhLusl
Malaysia .... .. RM5 Trinidad . ... TDB.OO four generations under one roof, lives between Cochin and Kerala's capital, Jliru-
Mauritius .. .. .Rs.30 UK . . . . . . . £2.90 vananthapuram. Such large joint families are now threatened. See pages 22-26. • '
 .
PUBLISHER'S DESK

Chronicling Hinduism's
Modern Experience \

How 25 penniless monks living on the world's most

remote land mass are making history by forging the future
BY SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI
UST DAYS BEFORE WE WENT TO PRESS , THE ANCIENT RAJPUT Hindus in Durban had no idea what was

J
painting to the right was completed, greeting 1997 and preserv- happening with Hindus in Canada.
ing HINDUISM TODAY'S quantum leap far into the future of fu- Those in London had no connection
tures and beyond. The mathavasis in the painting are not from with their brothers and sisters in Kath-
some distant yuga; they are the stalwart sevaks that produce mandu. Hindus in India thought there I
this magazine each month. Many reader's queries have come on were none elsewhere. Thus, I was divine-
my e-mail, and even through what they call snai\ mail, asking how ly directed by inner orders from our Yo-
and why HINDUISM TODAYappears in so many nations. Here it is. gaswami Kailasa Parampara, by my
Everyone of my 25 monks is involved in its production, in ,ways Satguru in this life, to create a means to
small and large. Yes, they look and dress exactly like that, living interconnect Hindus worldwiae.
simply, meditating and serving with me here in a tropical jungle The editorial policies I have laid down
on our planet's most remote land mass, the Island of Kauai in the for the mathavasis are: to show both sides
Hawaiian Islands. And, yes, the giant banyan tree, sacred river and of every story; to put forward religious
natural waterfall are really here, too, along with par("ots and cows. leaders of all Hindu sects equally, ac-
When you visit some day, we hope not too long from now, you can knowledging their central role in the
meet and talk with some of my swamis, yogis and sadliakas. future of Dharma; to bring into the con-
A thousand years or more ago a great book was written, the sciousness bf Hindus and onlookers the
M.ahabharata, recording the history of Bharat. Now revered as a glories of this most ancient religion ~n the
religious scripture, it speaks of the glories as well as' the problems planet; to support tradition and its matu-
of that era and the wise solutions that dharma provides. Today in rity into contemporary times; to maintain
Bharat, India's official name in its constitution, this great religion a strict nonpolitical point of view, mean-
still flourishes and h~s recently moved explosively into. nearly ing not taking sides; to give a voice to
every country of the world with its temples, ministers, priests and cultural, artistic and spiritual leaders as
holy men and women. HINDUISM T\t>DAY has for the past 18 years well as to 'the common woman, man and
re€orded the history of this billion-strong religion in renaissance. It youth. In summary, our monastic order
has b~en acclaimed by some, perhaps generously, as a mod~rn-day has committed itself to foster Hindu soli-
Mahabharata, once again recording the Hindu experience in a darity as a "unity in. diversity" among all Satguru Sivaya Subramunlyaswaml at his Ha:*aii Ashram: to his right are Acharyas Veylanswami, Palaniswami, Ce yonswami, Kumarswami; t hen (clockwise ) Tyagis Kathirswal11i, S/Ian1~ uga-
new era. The small multi-national team pictured here have beEJn sects and lineages; to inform and inspire Hindus worldwide and 1Ia~lwswanu, Ska~clanatllQswa~nt,. DetJasw~l~t, ~atara)aswar/l1, ~1.unL~aswa.mt Arumugaswami and Muruganatlwsu;ami. Standing behind (left to right, in yellow) arc Yogis Rishinatlw, Tapodluma,
Vatraganat~la, Ekanatha and Kasina t/w . S'tting m front (left to n glIt, til w/"te~Sadhakos Yugan at/lO, Tyagan at/lO, T/lOndunatha, Hotranatha, Adinat/lO, Haranandinatha and Jothinatiia
the scribes and editors for a much larger group in the many na-
tions where live Indian Hindus, Sri Lankan Hindus, Malaysian
people interested in Hinduism; to dispel myths, illusions and mis-
information about Hinduism; to protect, preserve and promote the ,
Hindus, Mauritian Hindus, Singaporian Hindus, South African
Hindus, South American Hindus, Fijian Hindus and, yes, North
Hindu religion and to nUl;ture a truly spiritual Hindu renaissance.
It is the duty of my monastics to continue maintaining HINDUIS~ TraCing an Evolution with i'nnovative
Macintosh comput-
"empowerment
tools," flies team to
1989, August: Unique Yopa Journal as con-
franchise system tent-rich site viSited
American and European Hindus, too. The result is the living epic TODAY as our way of giving back an infinitesimal part of what this After 18 years as a newspaper, ers, tossing out o15so- Kauai to capture developed to print by thousands v.:eekly.
you hold in your hands. • profound heritage has given us, to be a reliable voice, to speak to we've reincarnated as a magazine lete photo-imaging first-ever pl1blica- paper in South
HINDUISM TODAY is just entering its 19th year of publication the ~any needs of all Hindus, to defend ahimsa, noninjury, to technology. tions network for a . Africa, Mauritius, 1995: HT acquires
since its founding on January 5, l B79. My three successors, the persist as a global presence, a resource of Indian spirituality, to 1979: HINDUISMTo- to new quarters; worldwide Apple UK, Holland, India blazing-fast 9500
acharyas seated just to my right in the painting, will carry it all on bring forth the ancient Vedic arts and sciences and. promote the DAY, a quarterly, is adopts newspaper 1987, July: ,,- Macintoshes. Every
training video. and Malaysia.
into the future of futures. Every Hindu order has its public ser- founded in Hawaii size, international - MacConnection monk has robes,japa
Vedas as the number-one scripture of Hinduism. By all this we
honors H.T for its 1987: HT goes 1992: Wow! Full mala and Power Mac.
vice, be it a hospital, eye clinic, orphanage, school, ashram, feeding
hall or priestly training center. This magazine is the primary pub-
may empower the next generation to come up strong in the rich-
ness of theiF heritage, with well-defined metaphysics applicable to
II \ as "a bridge between
East and West."
character.
'innovativ:e Desktop
1985, Sept: Spot col- Publishing. Big
monthly, adds new color explodes on
1996, Dec: Newspa-
lic .service desigr:tated by me for our order-along with teaching modern life, giving them security and faith in their work place, in , Monks trained in features, more color. the desktop.
per transforms into

I
or added, and we Bucks Award; well,
children's classes, building and supporting temples and giving away the corporate office, factory, field, or as a small businessman, en- typesetting and the 1988, Oct: Nine1ust- 1994: HT (and the magazine. New jour-
graphic arts. start publishing $500 was a lot back
money to worthy institutions. It was during a world tour years ago trepreneur, politidan or scientist. These are ambitious goals, but invented Mac lIs Vedas ) published nalists and photogra-
through Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, we have found and trained, as of 1997, over 100 skilled and articu-
every two motJ.ths. then. ~ple Comput-
1981, Oct: The in;;- added to enHance electronically on the phers appear. Lots of
er, impressed with
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Europe that I realized Sanatana late lay people around the globe to help make it all happen month house journal moves
1986, July: HT goes Hawaii's largest pub- Web, hailed by Pub- gain, so where's the
Dharma had no global voice and no network of communication. HT's use of Mac
after month. Jai Vasara Hindutva, jai, jai, jai. .. completelY digital lishing network. lisher's W eekly and pain?

I'
6 HINDUISM TODAY. JA UARY , 1997 JANUARY , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 7
 ,
EDITORIAL
Great:" Departure
.'
so
Exiting life, frequently fraught with fear
and,trembling, can be an ex~lted experience
BY THE EDITOR
ENERAL. GEOR_\?E PATTON OF WORLD WAR II FAME, NO
fi
stranger to personal reincarnational remembrances (he
claimed to recall previous battlefield experiepces as
Napoleon), once observed, "For Hindus deaclt is the most
exalted experience of life." This idea is naturally hard for
nOI1-Hindus to grasp-all the more so for atheists facing Eternal
Oblivion and those of Abrahamic faiths which define death as a
punishment for man's sinful disobedience. To them, death is the ul-
timate sign of man's spiritual failure, a belief which arouses in-
stincts of denial and injustice. One may feel penitent and guilty,
not to mention uncertain about the'destination ahead.
No such thoughts attend the dying days of a Hindu. Of course,
there is much sadness surrounding the passing of friends and fam-
ily, but that is honest acknowledgement of our loving attachments.
Inside we know death is OK, natural, that the soul, even if it was
less than perfect in this lift?, is continuing its appointed journey
across life's oceanic I1hep.omena toward Liberation and will, in
time and without fail, reach the other shore. The Hip.du's pre-
sumption of numerous births mitigates the tragedy of death,
whether the passage is his own or another's. So, Hind~ call death
by lofty names-,-Maha Samadhi, "Great Superconscious State" and
Maha Prasthana, "Great Departure."
To be near an awakened soul at the
time he or she gives up the body is
considered among the most blessed of
opportunities. While ordinary people
are remembered on ijleir day of birth,
Hindus honor enlightened souls on the
day of their departure, translated in'
English as "liberation day."
If we view death as the opposite of
life, life is good and death is bad. But :.:
death is the opposite of birth, not of life. ~
Seeing life and death as collaborative : physical one.
parts of a greater whole called samsara 0
(the cosmic evolutionary cycle of birth-
death-rebirth), life is good and death is
equally good, though the Vedas are
clear that certain deaths, especially premature ones, are grievous.
The pious Hindu approaches death' ~s a meditation and a spiritu-
al discipline. The body's impendmg demise compels him to prac-
tice detachment, which is difficult to achieve amid life's tumult.
Lord Yama's nearness compels new urgency to strive. No longer
can he put it off No more excuses. No more distractions. Death's
knock at the door reminds him of what is. transient and what is
etffi-nal, and he knows instinctive'ly which to embrace.
Impermanent though life is, we are getting more of it these days.
It is estimated that the average life span for prehistoric man was
only 18 years. In ancient Greece and Rome it was 20-22. Alexan-
der t~e Great, having conquered the world, died at the ripe 91d .
8 HINDUISM TODA); JA UARY 1997
age of 32. Sankara, having conquered the
mind, also died at 32. In Europe in the
Middle Ages, life expectancy increased to
36 by the 18th century. By 1841 it was 40
IIJOTES A IIJIPS I
for an Englishman, 42 for his wife. Today it
is 70 for men, 75 for women. Hindu tradi-
tion says a natural human life is 120 years;
"As you would not bark back at a dog, do not
waste your t~me arguing with foolis,h people."
some hold this was once the norm in India.
Death may seem st§ltic, but it is changing. '
In modern times life-and death have both Sage Yogaswami (1872-1964) to devotees in Sri Lanka
been extended. Life has gone from a few
decades of vitality to many decades ending still savages." Thoma~ A. Edison (1847-1931), American inventor
with diminished health; death has changed
from nature's swift reprieve to a man-made,
"I think it would be a good idea." Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
slow-motion decline which ever mo.re fre-
quently exhausts the em~tions and resources~f families. Death's when asked what he thought of Western civiliza~on '
victims have changed, ~o, going from the very young a few cen- .
turies back (when most died as children) to the elderly (over 80% Even the ignorant will be reckoned wise, if they refrain from
of deaths in the US occur over 65). speaking in the presence of the learned. Tirukural, Verse 403
Technological systems of life-support have introduced moral, le-
gal and medical questions about what constitutes death; and peo-
ple are struggling, literally at any cost, to stay alive. Our choice' for DID YOU KNOW?
Most Bizarre: Americans having their heads removed and frozen
/
(at great expense) in hopes future medical advances will conquer
presently incura,ble diseases. Psychedelic guru Timothy Leary
Check, Mate!
shocked many this summer by arranging after his death to have HE EARLY WAR GAME OF CHESS WAS INVENTED BY THE
his head surgically removed as part of a filln shown at the Cannes
Film Festival (some think it a hoax).
Where, how and with whom we die is also changing. Academic
Geoffrey Gorer describes how death, once a socially recognized
inevitability, has become an.embarrassing private trauma in which
1 Hindus of India. In the BlJaisya Purana (550 BCE ) it is
described as a four-handed dice game. Originally called
Chaturanga ("four parts" ), its strategies are based on the
four branches of the Indian army-elephant (now bishop),
horse (knight), chariot
"Mind absorbed in God, no place to go." Poondyswami when asked
almost all outside solace, except from intimates, is deemed an in- (rook) and infantry
trusion. Death, once the familys duty, has become the work 0'£ by a HINDUlSM TODAY staffer why he sat for 10 years at a roadside (pawns). Ponder the
paid strangers. Today in North America 75-80% of all ~eaths oc- shrine in South India without 17Wvingfrom his seat ' tactical minds of
cur in hospitals, and 80% of those are "negotiated," shortened or early India when
extended ffi1tificially. Many terminal patients are under sedation, so World-weary, a man took refuge at an ashram. The swami told your miniature
instead Of the conscious death Hindus him, "You can stay here, but you must observe a vow of mauna, . army prevails over
esteem, there is a dim and drugged in- the enemy and
sensibility at the end. silence. You will be allowed to speak two words every six months." you triumphantly
In response to the exorbitant and me- He practiced hatha asanas, pranayama, meditation and karma call "Mate."
chanical end-game played in hospitals, yoga for six months. Then, brought before the abbot and invited to
groups are organizing'to regain control. speak, he said, "Bed haid." After another six months, he spoke
People want to die at home, near na- again, "Food cold." Six more months w;mt by, and he informed the "In India from the beginning, in time of war, breastworks have
ture's soothing presence, with friends
having tea in the next room or listening swami, ''I'm leaving." The swami replied, ''I'm not surprised. been built of hQ!:el pillows. It was found that a cannon ball pould
to the bells from a nearby temple. They You've done nothing but complain since the day you arrived." , go thro' earth or sandbag, but when it hit a pillow it hit it with a
don't want to experience a social mini- dull thud and dropped to the ground." Mark Twain (1835-1910)
death first, followed years later by the "Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all commenting after his fou,r-month lecture tour and hotel stays
, evolution. Until we stop harming all other living:beings, we are in India and .Sri Lanka in 1896
Death is personified in most cultures.
THe Greeks called him Thanatos, and '
to the Romans he was Mors. In India TO BE MY PERFECT HE MUST NEVE!? &ET /w&RY, AND HE MIJ5T L.OV£ WHAT I WANT }S AN EQlJAL
I'V\STER> A P£R.50N MUST f)lfRYONE ALL THE SAME, O?PORTUNITY GURU·
he is Yama, riding on a black wafer FilL 1V\f() QUALIFICATIONS.
f
buffalo, dressed in red. The pigeoIY and owl are his messengers.
His weapon is a mace. He carries a noose, called kala-sutra, 0
J ! f
"black thread," with which he snares the life force,,prana, and
draws it from the body. He is also called Mrityu, "death," Kritanta, I I
"the finisher," Bhimasasana, "he of terrific decrees," Pretaraja,
"king of ghosts," Kala, "time" and Dharma Raja, ''king of justice."
Hindu insights on death (see pages 30 to 33) include the hopeful
message of awakened sage~ who conquered it by conquering life
and knew the bogy's dissoiution as liberation into the Light, as a
flowing of the finite into the Infinite.
, For those surfing the Web for death resources, here's a good
place to start: http://www.trinity.edul-mkearlldeath.html
JANUARY , 1997 HINDUISM T0DAY 9

It's Easier to be Hindu
in .Ireland than l'ndia
Years of self~depigration have created a
crisis of religious confidence for NRIs
BY JAY KESHAVAPPA SHANKAR
I
Loving Ganesa by Satguru
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami,
land have the freedom to ex-
at once simple, deep and
practical. teaches ever so many
ways that Ganesas grace can be
na and the like. Lately, vegetarianism is
attained by sincere devotion, song,
prayer and meditation to bring
greater harmony. contentment
and spirituality into ones daily life.
An BOO-page illustrated resource.
$ 19.95 plus shipping (US $2,
Foreign $4). Also in bookstores.
1-800-890-1008
http://www.HinduismToday.
kauai.hi.us/ashram/
. I was born in post-independen(India in
LOVING
GANESA
HIMAlAYAN ACADEMY PUBUCATIONS
I 07 KAHOIAlELE ROAD
KAPAA. HI 96746-9304 USA
BOOKS YOU CAN TAKE. SERIOUSLY
MY TURN
, •
T IS EASIER FOR ME TO BRING
up my children to be Hindus
in the West than it is in In-
dia. My children here in Ire-
press their Hindu values and
hJ~,ritage in a non-Hindu society
wllere people are tolerant and
eager to understand us. The
local Irish people take part in
programs of Bhajans. yoga, yaj-
becoming popular among them-while
Hindus arriving here are taking to meat
eating. yve are fortunate to have contact
with tIre present Avataras like Bhagavan
Sathya Sai Baba and Mata Ainritan'anda
Mayi and the many Hindu saints who
come to the West to propagate Sanatana
Dharma. Many of these saints are ridiculed
and laughed at in India by "rationalists,"
whereas in the West they receive enor-
mous respect.
I find the opposite situation in india in
the midst of Hindu society. Everyth~ng
there is colOI:ed by Western glamor.1>eople
belittle long-held sacred values which not .
only India need;;, but the whole world. In
the fast-moving Indian society it is very
difficult to bring up children as Hindus in
a Vedic way. It is "uncool" tp have a Hindu,
identity. Traditional culture is dying in -
many big cities. Even in villages, a Hindu
who openly displays his lifestyle or goes to
the temple is laughed at. . life and are fast succumbing to Western
a small village in Tumkur District of Kar-
nataka to ~ Virasaiva (Lingayat) family. My
parents never taught me abo~t our glorious
Sanatana Dharma and, despite the fact that
they did pujas and practiced rituals, they
had no idea of the significance of these
ancient practices. To them it was simply .a
custom handed down without explanation.
By the time it came to my generation,
these practices were no longer handed
I
down. We were never encour-
aged to read the holy books,
scriptures, Vedas, Puranas or to
perform pujas and rituals. The
occasion to visit the temple only
came on certain holy days. As a
boy, I was told that religion was
the affa1'r of old people. Nothing
was explained to us about our
glorious heritage. We were even
actively discouraged from Hin-
du observances. My love for Hindu her-
itage, if openly displayed, was ridiculed. I
had to study holy books and other scrip-
tures in secret because this attitude to
denigrate Hinduism in India is very
wide spread.,
Nehru and the Congress Party's idea of
pseudo-secularism allowed the education
system to give Muslims, and Christians free
voice to practice and teach their religions
freely even in state- fund~ schools. The
indigenous religions-Sanatana Dharma
and its branches-were prohibited from
teaching religion in state-funded ,schools. In
India, secularism became something for
Hindus, but not for Muslims and Chris-
tians. Hindu identity was scorned and
made a mockery. of
The waves of-Hindu shame of our owp.
h~ritage swept through even tiny villages.
These deep-planted seeds of self-shame ru;e
being reaped in present India, especjally
among our youth, who ·haye no direction in
influences. The indigenous and eternal
religious heritage of India was neglected
and misunderstood by its own practition- I
ers. The result is that it is easier today to
be a Hindu in the West than it is in India.
! hope and pray Hindu Indians wiH realize
their folly and regain their lost identity.
DR. JAY KESHAVAPPA SHANKAR, 47: is a
consultant anaesthetist living with his wife
and three children in Cork, Ireland.
DIASPORA I
VEGETAR, IA N ISM
Holy Goat
In Hawaii
N HAWAII, MY NEIGHBORS
Iraise goats for food. I once ate
goat, thirtx-five years ago. I've Can plants produce petrol?
long since become a vegetarian
and asked forgiveness. That MODERN ALCHE!vIY
conversion brought spiritual re-
newal. I wear a golden O(n Herbal Hoax?
around my neck, proud to nev-
er again eat animals. I feed the nAMAR PILLAI, CLAIMS TO
goats with leftovers. They love NJ.ave discovered a "petrol"
me now. I was stunned to find producing herb. In September
Dalai Lama at the Hindu Center: a blessed spiritual presence one female marked with a re- demonstrations in Tamil Nadu,
SOUTH AFRICA
verse white image of the same
Om I wear. In my source book
he produced and burned the
fuel for government officials.
/
of names I found -rMahesvari, Other hydro-carbon producing
Buddha, Most Merciful Great Lady, and Viveka and
named her Mahesvari Viveka.
plants have not yet been com-
mercially 'viable, so when Ra-
OUTH AFRICANS WERE BLESSED WHEN THE DALAI LAMA mar projected 10,000 litres a
S
MARY DEAL, HAWAlI
paid them a rare visit in August. Guest of the World Con- day at 5 rupees each, Indian of-
ference on Religion and Peace, the political head of the Ti- ficials prepared to fund a plant.
betan government in exile and spiritual head of millions of Bud- But, to their chagrin he failed to
dhists addressed capacity audiences in Durban, Cape Town, produce fuel under controlled
Pretoria and Johannesburg. Young Africans were enthused. One conditions in October. One ~x­
20-year-old Christian, David Pascolo, said, "I find Eastern in- periment revealed a rp.ass in-
fluences very interesting and am sure to be spiritually enriched crease from 1138 grams to 1422
by the Dalai Lamas talk." Representatives from the Hindu, grams as well as sulphur, lead
Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Parsee faiths jOined the Dalai and. oleofins in the final prod-
Lama at the University of Durban-Westville's Hindu Center. uct-proof, said some scientists,
He emphasized the nonviolence of the Gandhian philosophy that Ramar had surrepitiously
and voiced his aversion to conversion. "To me Buddhism is best, introduced petrochemicals.
but that does not mean that Buddhism is best for everyone. It is
better to follow your own religion rather than changing to a
new one. No one has the right to impose a religion on another." DANCE Malaysia:" Odissi dancer, Ajit
B. Dasa, and renowned new
REI N'C A RNA T ION
Sacred Paths Delhi-based vocalist and com-
Journal was designed by bgilvy poser O.S. Arun on a uniquely
and Mather, one of the world's INGAPORE' S MARCH DANCE Singaporean set designed as a
Riding a Jaguar six top advertising agencies, I
with annual,sales of over 7.6
S production, "Sacred Jour-
ney," hit a high-
HindulBuddhist mandala.
With English
\ V fRAT VALUE DOES WEST- billion dollars. Targeting the water mark in narration, even
W ern civilization place on a millions in America and others the new Hindu non-Hindus
Hindu theological concept? the world over who are aware classical dance were entranced
Well, on October 3, Jaguar Cor- • of reincarnation, their creative trend to "break by the portrayal
poration spent us$300,000 for a design team followed an old out of over- of a dance stu-
single day's advertisement with Hindu tradition. Gods and the- worked legends dent's fall from
this lead line: "Reincarnation ological concepts often "ride" and jaded rou- purity into the
occurs when an old soul enters symbolically on animals. In this tines" such as egoistic entangle- I
a new -- ~ • case, rebirth "rode" mans most Krishna and the ments of per-
body."
Their
,~ ...~ elegant piece of hot rod engi-
neering, the revolution-
cowherd girls.
Producer Mrs. Modern ; multilingual
forming arts and
back to the spiri-
eigh;'page ary new $70,000 Radhika Srini- tual path at the
pitch in the Wall Street Jaguar XK8 vasan brought together Singa- center of the mandala, "strong
J~- GU.Ar' JoguM'::~'I:g,
pore's talented Bharata enough to be humble and
Natyam dancer, Priya Arun, I wise enough to surrender."
CLOCk"WISE FROM TOP: RAJESH KANTILAL-HINDUISM TODAY, MARY DEAL,
THE HINDU, RADHlKA SRINIVASAN, J~CUAR CORPORATION. JANUARY , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY~1

ARTS
A Raj put Jewel
, IVING SHORT OF THE DIS-
Uinction he deserves, talent-
ed Rajput artist, Mah~veer Swa-
mi, perpetuates the precious,
fading tradition of Rajasthani
miniature painting. Several of
his exquisite works grace
Naveen Patnaik's (and Jackie
Onassis') delightful book on
Ayurvedic plants, The Garden
of Life. Since 1988 Mahaveer
has taught a handful of aspiring
artists at his 250-year-old
Bik;mer studio on the edge of
the Thar Desert. "I can't keep
my secret inside," he explains.
WRITE: JAMES J. WRITE, HUNT INSTIT.uTE,
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY, PITTS-
BURG , PENNSYLVANIA 15213-3890, USA
Mahaveer with student Harish
NEW AGE
Hot NewZine
"7\ 1996 ENTRY IN-TO THE
J=\.New Age scene is touted as , Khan and Paramahansa Yo-
'Jndias First Body-Mind-Spirit
Magazine." Life Positive, Your
Gtbi'de to Po.sitive Growth may
well take a lead over similar
magazines from the USA and
Europe. The new "zine" has it
all-outstanding design and a
rich mix of articles. Its power Rishi Prabhakar. Alongside
heralds India's burgeoning New
Age movement, deriving frotp a
local5,000-year-old meta-
physical culture.
Similar zines
often struggle with
unresolved editorial
conflicts of interest
between existen-
tialism, Asian roots
and attempts to
paste a New l\.ge
lifestyle onto a
Christian-Judeo
This 1987 Mumbai march did little to slow selective abortion
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
"Femicide"
"7\ SEPTEMBER ARTICLE IN
J=\.The Hindu by R.P Ravin-
dra explains the use of amnio-
centesis and ultrasound for sex-
selective abortion of gtrls.
Despite new laws regulating
prenatal diagnostics, he reports,
not one Indian medical associa-
tion stands against the practice.
The sex ratio in some Indian
states has dropped to 890 fe-
males per 1,000 males. Ravindra
philosophy. Secure in Indias
ancient wisdom and tolerance,
Life Positive bdngs together
Aurobindo, Rajnesh, Reiki, Silva
mind control, Hazbat Imayat
gananda. In an typical issue,
we find a one-page an article
on a Tamil tribal mid-wife fol-
lowed by a feature on a US
guru of positive thinking,
Wayne W. Dyer, and the "new
rishis on the block," like Guru
ever-popular cancer-cure sto-
ries, ads on how to quit smok-
ing and modern techniques on
contentment, one
finds selections
from ancient tradi-
tion. It is a life
positive indeed!
Subscribe at: S-487
Greater Kailash I,
New Delhi, 110
048, India.
, in this century. With narration by Ram Dass, the video also includes interviews with H.W L. Poonja,
June cover ,
warns, "China, leading India in
sex-selective abortions, faces a
catastrophe. By the year 2000,
70 million Chinese men will be
single. The result? Atrocities,
forced marriages, prostitution
and social turmoil." A deeper
tragedy is the psychic damage
to women and children. After
one mother aborted two of
their would-be sisters, three
daughters committed suicide in
despair when their "wanted"
brother was later born. Law en-
forcement is accruing a fore-
boding karma. Beware.
HEALTH
Mad Cow
Karma
HE "MAD COW DISEASE ,"
T wreakeCl. on the bovine
species who were fed ground
sheep and cattle carcasses, con-
tinues to provoke global con-
cern. In October the Swiss gov-
ernment declined the World
Hindu Federation's . Shipping: Add $3.75
offer to shelter in
Nepal 230,000
Swiss cows due to
be slaughtered.
The Swiss cited
the impossibility
of airlifting so
many cows and
the need to con-
tain the disease.
Also in October,
independent UK
scientists accused
their government Fifty meals per Englishman of mad-cow meat
CLOCl\""WISE FROM TOP: ASIA\VEEK, LAN O'KUN, SHARP ELECTRONICS,
COOL
Head South?
N JULY 27, DR. LARRY
O Payne, a California yoga
teacher, completed a twelve-
minute headstand at the North
Pole. 'J\.fter 5,000 years, yoga '
finall}"made it to the top of the
world," says Larry, who prayed
for world peace during his
Dr. Payne's headstand at the pole
asana. He had b"een invited by
the World President's Organi-
zation to teach yoga aboard the
Russian nuclear icebreaker, Ya-
mal. Because of the lurching
movements ofthe boat as it
crashed through heavy pack
ice, several new poses w~.e in-
vented for stability, such as the
"Walrus Wall Hang."
of concealing the figures for in-
fected animals entering the
food chain. Dr. Dealler, who
has been studying the disease
since 1988, says that on average
every British adult has eaten 50
meals made from infected cat- .
tle tissue. In the US an alert is
on, as the practice of feeding
dead cows and sheep to cows
continues. The USDA says 7,500
US shee~have scrapie, the,like-
ly source of mad cow disease.
pre-release
price
$24.95
(UnJiJIJecemher
30, 1996)
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The International Centre for Yoga Education and Research • Offices and stores also in Patna, Bangalore, Madras,
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13

Media Kinships
HINDUISM IS LIKE THE CENTER-OF-GRAVI-
ty..,doll which regains its equilibrium howso-
ever it be disturbed. Wave after wave, of
alien invasions have come and gone upon
this sacred tenet, but none of t hem has real-
ly succeeded in uprooting it. The Vedas, the
wisdom of.God, revealed to four rishis in the
beginning of re-creation, were fJJ.e basis of
cljrily life and culture. As a community, we
are facing problems everyday.' We continue
to grow large in number, but our people
continue to grow farther apart. If we did not
have ethnic media, we would probably be
cut off from each other. , "
RAMESH KALICHARAN
JAMAICA, NEW YORK, USA
/'
Is Sai Baba Beyond Hinduism?
YGlU MAY PROBABLY WELL RECEIVE OTH-
er, more eloquent and complete, responses
to the Sai Baba artide ("Sai: Hindu of Year,"
AWARDS, December '96), but I believe that
the article does a great disservice to the
community of Sai devotees. Sai Baba does
not guide a Hindu organization. He was
born and lives in South India, and must lead
and follow in t,he Hindu traditions of that
area, b1ft his teachings and organization are
beyond culture and religion. Indians find it
very difficult to avoid making foreign Sai
Centers into extensions of the Hindu reli-
gion, making it difficult for non-Indian,
non-Hindu followers of Sai Baba. The cen-
ters are not to' be extensions of Hindu cul-
ture. Sai Baba repeats over and over and
o er agai]l that,he does not preach one reli-
gion, and that he is not creating a religion.
He often exhorts his folfowers to' become
stronger in their own beliefs and practices.
He has told the Western centers to sing bha-
jans in their own languages. Many of us love
to sing bhajans in Indian dialects, but this
creates separation rather than inclusion
whe)J. it comes to encompassing new follow-
ers of Sai-as does this article telling Hindus
that Sai Baba leads a Hindu organization!
Sai Baba is the Avatar-flf our age for all peo-
ple of all religion.
TIM WRIGHT
\o,jwrignt@ball.com
V Hmmm! Let's see. Sai Baba was 'born to
Hindu parents, raised in a Hindu communi-
ty, took a Hindu name, wears the saffron-
colored ve,stments of a Hi1'(du sannyasin, and
when he leaves this Earth will be honored
by/Hindu funeni.l rites' He teaches the high-
est form of FJ.indu philosophy, quotes from
Hindu scriptures, urges mankind to follow
Sanatana Dharma and directs an ' Clver-
whelmingly Hindu follOWing to sing tradi-
tional Hindu devotional songs. You say lie is
an avatar, which is an exclUSively Hindu the-
~
14 HJNDUISM TODAY JANUARY , 1997
Ayurveda Holistic Center A Comprehensive Approach to Yoga.•.
LETTERS Books by Swami Shankar
... based on the teachings of
Purushottam Tirtha:
ological c~ncept found nowhere else. Other Quashing Conversion in Malaysia Paramhansa Yogananda
than that, I have to agree he is beyond Hin- CI}RISTIAN MISSIONARIES ARE LURING
Yoga Vani (author of Autobiography
duism entirely. Signed, the Editor: unsuspecting poor Malaysian Hindus into ofa Yogi) .
Instructions for the attainment
p hristianity. Alarming numbers of Hindus of Siddhayoga during sadhana.
Mr: Wright replies: are converted, and I·am (as a Hindu) so con- postpaid: US$13.50 (USA) • Yoga and Meditation
THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL RE- cerned. Unfortunately, there is nothing con- Retreat.
$16.50 (Canada)
sponse to my diatribe. How can I possibly crete that I can do. A small group of us here. • Yoga teacher training.
disagree with your points-they are all com- managed to save some families from being Guru Bani • Spiritual communities.
'pletely accurate. I suppose wKat I took converted. We go in and help these poor • Catalog of books,
100 ways to attain inner peace. music and videos.
(take) issue w~th is the fact that Sai Baba is families bX giving monthly rations of food How to live a spiritual life-for
all that you say in terms of Hindu culture and some money for their expenses. Even monks and families. • Anandas home-study
and religion, and yet much more beyond the Hindu Sangam of Malaysia is quite up.- course in yoga and
postpaid: US$9.50 (USA)
that. The Sarva Dharma symbol is placed able to check this erosion. Hlndus here woui{! meditation.
$12.50 (Canada)
conspicuously on entrance gates, buildings, spend any amount of money on ceremonial
publications, etc. that Sai Baba presides over. affairs, but normally tUrn a blind eye toward
,the poor, unfortUnate and helpless Hindus. Ayurvedic Products Distributors-wholesale or retail For a free cassette on Mystical Music and Talks
That Sarva Dharma symbol is a symbol of
the unity of faiths, showing symbols of Hin- catalog: $1.00 (~ree ~ia e-mail) • Consultations. I-year call or write:
K. THURUVAN Ayurveda CertIficatIOn Courses in person or by correspon-
duism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA Ananda
dence (US mail, or e-mail).
Zoroastrianism around its perimeter. This 14618 Tyler Foote Rd
may be an indication that Baba is-beyond In Equal Measure Ayurveda Holistic Center
Nevada City, CA 95959 USA
Hinduism alone. MY HEARTIEST CONGRATULA:rIONS ON THE
c/o Swami Narayan Tirtha Math
eme~gence of HINDUISM TODAY magazine. I Tel: 916-478-7560 Extension 7025
hope that it will attain even gFeater heights 82A-H Bayville Ave • Bayville, NY 11709 USA
Tel/fax: 1-516-628-8200
Shedding Light on a Light Festival and become a valuable resource to Hindus Ask for Swami Sada Shiva Tirtha Ananda Home Page: http://www.ananda.org
WHAT MAKES DEEPAVALI A UNIQUE NA- of all persuasions. Wliile I deeply respect· E-mail: Ananda@oro.net
E-mail: ayurvedahc@holistic.com
tional event and perhaps the greatest socio- . the bent of its founder toward Saivism, it is
religious festival of India? The popular in- critical that the new magazine maintain ap- '. Ananda, founded in 1968 by Swami Kriyananda a
Web: httpllwww.holistic.com!listings/11709acl.html direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, is not'
terpretation that it marks the tUJiIl of the propriate balance by devoting proper atten- Free interactive dosha self-test and articles.
season,.-the advent of winter and the begin- tion to Vaishnavism, Saktism and other affilIated with Self-Realization Fellowship.
ning ofa commercial year, etc., is far too su- facets of our great faith, as in fact, millions
perficial to justify the majestic solemnity of of rank and file Hindus do.
the Deepavali day. It is something far more - DR. MUKUNDA RAO
sublime and profound than just a day of BUCKHANNON, WEST VIRGINIA, USA
light. It is actually the story of the eternal
conflict between darkness (which stands for V Agreed. That is our policy, !o give a pro-
ignorance, hate: falsehood and confusion) portioned voice to every Hindu lineage.
Vedic
and light (which embotlies knowledge, love,
trt.Jth and clarity-more of a cleanliness of They Got it All Wrong . Astrology
heart than of house ). One of its many mes- RECENTLY WE BOUGHT A 26-ACRE PARCEL
sages is clearing away the cobwebs of confu- of land in Syracuse for our temple. We had in Paradise
sion and purging out the inward dross with a a big article in the local newspaper. One re-
rekindled light of ?ope and understanding. porter came to see me regarding our project. March 14-17, 1997
M OHAN LAL GUPTA I did some research from my big collection
CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO, CANADA of HINDUISM TODAY and Grolier Encyclope-
dia. I was not happy about the information ,
An Kiding Technology in the encyclopedia about our religion. They for more
, WORLDWIDE WEB SITE PROVIDES " start with caste system, women being inferi-
YOUR information
exciting and vital information about my 'or to men, sati practjce, etc. I want you to c.ontact:
identity as a, !:Iindu. Hindus are a very in- publish an article about these British authors'
timidated lot when it comes to verbal dia- distorted image of our religion. INSTITUTE Of
March 14-11, 1991
logue or protest with the Muslims and Chris- ANIL K. VERMA, MD
VEDIC
KEAUHOU BEACH HOTEL,
tians. Hindus can't match' the aggression of CAMILLUS, NEW YORK, USA ASTROLOGY
. these people while discussing facts about our \o,akverma@sprynet.com KaNA, HAWAII
(5 miles south of Kana P.O. BOX 2149,
precariOUs existence, or why these people
ought to at least apologize to us for their mis- Letters with writers n~e, address and daytime on the Big Island) SEDONA,
deeds'. B~t then, why would a winner con- phone number, should be sent to: ARIZONA 86339
cede to a loser who is ill-informed, mentally Letters, HINDUISM TDDAY (520) 282-6595
colonized and lacks the courage to talk 107 Kaholalele Road 9 SPEAKERS, INCLUDING: to register with Visa
about his identity ' with confid~nce and KAPAA, HI, 96746-9304 USA
CHAKRAPANI ULLAL, DAVID fRAWLEY, DENNIS HARNESS,
pride? Ironically, internet bodes well for or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 or Mastercard call
Hindus, if they are willing to organize and
or e-mailed to: CHRISTINA COLLINS, DENNIS flAHERTY, JAMES KELLEHER, 800-900-6595
letters@HinduismToday.ka.uai.hi.us
unitt; themselves. Letters may be emted for space and clarity and may EDITH HATHAWAY, LINDA JOHNSEN, AND WILLIAM LEVACY
VIKASMOHAN appear in electronic versions of HINDUISM TODAY. BEGINNING AND ADVANCED CLASSES
"'mohan@-;-re.com '" INDICATES LEITERS RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL
REGISTRATION fEES: (fOR MAIN SYMPOSIUM 3/14-3/16)
$145 BY JANUARY 10TH, 1997-$195 AfTER 1/10/97
Autobiography of a Yogi Superconsciousness
:

by Paramhansa Yogananda by J. Donald Walters lim extremists use it to mean ''holy

$14.95 (Swami Kriyananda) war." Kennedy used the word to de-
The verbatim reprinting of $10.99 scribe some Republicans as over-
Yogananda's original 1946 unedited A culmination of nearly 50 years of zealous and extremist.
edition, with all its inherent power, teaching the science of meditation to Even Warner Bros. will edit its
just as the great master of yoga first thousands of people worldwide, by a movie, "Executive Decision," hefore
presented it. A treasure for all leading exponent of yoga and medi- its release in some countries in the
truthseekers! tation. FUll of insight for advanced Middle East and the Far East after
seekers. the company met with Muslim and \
To order or for a free catalog, call To order or for a free catalog, call Arab organizations that complained
Crystal Clarity Publishers: Crystal Clarity Publishers the movie contained imagery offen-
1-800-424-1055 1-800-424-1055 sive to)slam.
Hooper said most political pro-
gress is made from the bottom' up,
however. So he's teaching Muslims ",
new to this country to shed their
fear of standing up for their rights
Yoga and Meditation Aids which could lead to persecution in
their native countries.
The hand-crafted He encourages Muslim!) to partic-

A~
Written by Pola Churchill.
Amazing new book! Records meditation and yoga aids ipate in local radio and TV talk
people's dreams, visions and encoun- offered by The Ananda shows to explain their relfgion to
ters with Babaji-known to millions Collection are designed, .Americans and dispel S0me of the /
through Paramahanasa Yogananda's crafted and distributed COLLECTION Taking a stand: Muslims'gather to publicly voice worldwide concerns in New York City
stereotypes and prejudices they
Autobiography of a Yogi. His message from Ananda Village, a face. He also encourages the com-
of Truth, simplicity, Love and spiritual community in munity to open up its mosques and

,n .
karma Yoga. 27 stunning photos of Northern California. POLITICS centers to the larger community.
Babaji. $13.91 (inel. tax, sIh) overseas, Our products include zafu and half moon pillows, zabutons, "When we get a call that a
$15.08. Checks to: Pola Churchill,
PO Box 1537 Beverly Hills, CA
. 90213 USA. Tel: 213-980-7927.
meditation mats, as well as padded benches.
Ctetting Heard · America mosque has' been firebombed, very
often we find that the community
was very isolated-which breeds
suspicion on the part of the larger
Hindus can learn from Muslims' political activism
, .
community," Hooper said.
American Muslims are a diverse
community-in addition to Afri-
((Where Ganges, Woods, Himalayan caves and can-Americans, they include immi-
By DONNA ABU-NASR, WASHINGT~N (AP ) emerge now because of the influx of immi- grants or descendants of immigrants from
BRAHIM HOOPER TRAVELS AROUND grants in the '6Ds that brought Muslims not Asia and the Middle East. They don't vote as
men dream God. I am
hallowed; my body
..
I the country to teach Muslims how to only from the Middle East but also from the a homogeneous block. But Khaled Saffuri of
rhake th~ir voices heard, ~erican style. Far East, said James Zogby, who heads the the American Muslim"'Council said Muslims
For example, writing a letter to the edi- Washington-based Arab-American Institute. tend to vote overwhelmingly Republican be-
tor to criticize a government policy won't U.S. Rep. Tom Davis, R-
land them in jaiL Long-winded rhetoric will Va. , said, "They're getting a
cause they support conserv-
ative stands on abortion, ho-
touched that sod!":!: not help get their message across. ¥en who little bit more organized and
appear on TV talk shows ~ill have to wear we're starting to pay atten-
mosexuality and the death
penalty.
make-up, and no, it's not a feminine thing. tion, and I think in America Yet, he expects a "big
Hoo!ier's work as national communica- that's the pathway to power shift" this year because the
Marking the 50th anniversary of tions director at the Council on American throughthe ballot box." Clinton administration has
a
Islamic Relations is part of nationwide In Ips speech at the Republi- shown "lots of respect" for .
India's Independence Day, drive by American Muslims to become more can convention, House Speak- the Muslim community, in-
assertive socially and politically as an ethnic er Newt Gingri<;h, at the re- cluding a visit by Vice-Pres-
A Day in the Life of India and religious group. "Muslim political ac- quest of MusliIns, added g ident Al Gore to a mosque in
is a photographic celebration tivism is still in its infancy. We have a lot of "mosque" when he mentioneci ~ Washington, D.G Davis said
work to do," Hooper said. "It's not something "churches and synagogues.'" ; if the Muslim population "is
of this ancient, honored ' thats going to happen overnight." Calling Islam the falitest-grow- ",< L -_ _ _=.c...._ _ _.!=:,;,oJ smart they're going to have
Yet, already, the efforts are paying off The ing religion"1n America, Hill- New York: Street prayers to play 'poth parties because
civilization. Photo directed by community, which American. Muslim groups ary ,Rodham Clinton held a during a demonstration you don1t want to get taken
world-renowned photographer say numbers about 6 million;'v.as gained vis- . celebration iI} February-the for gJ;anted by one party."
ibility and recognition from top leaders that first of its kind at the White House-to mark He said politicians will pay more atten-
Raghu Rai, this stunning . it didn't have just a few years ago. Building Eid el-Fitr, the Muslim feast that en~s the tion to Muslims in the future "the more they
on that progress will be a topic of discussion fasting month of Ramadan. ' become givers and become involved." •
pictorial captures the historic and as the Islamic Society of NQrth America And Rep. JoseRh Kennedy apologized to This article is reprinted with permission
holds its 33rd annual convention in Colum- the ~erican Muslim Council in February ofthe Associate Press and is included here to
the contemporary landscape of
~ Collins Publishers bus, Ohio, beginhing Friday under the ban- for his use of the word "jihad." This central inform and educate US Hindus on how they,
this, the most spiritual of countries. A Division of HarperCollinsP"blishers ner of "Muslims for peace and justice." Islamic conceRt means the personal struggle too, can work effectively in the American
The Muslim community i,s beginning to to make. oneself a better Muslim, but Mus- political arena.
-"Paramahansa Yogananda, from "My India," a poem
J ANUAR Y, 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 17
 Your Friendly Freight Forwarder
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G~APATI PUJA IS NEITHER misc0.9duct nor
grounds for discipline. So ruled a Kerala
court in the case of a government employee
who sought Lord Ganesha's blessings when
his office was shifted to a new building.
The court ruled that since the puja was
paid for by the devotee, and no op.e was re-
gpired to attend, the religious service did
not violate the Government's secular status.
"We have no doubt that secularism is not
an anti-religious doctrine," the Court ruled.
LONDON'S ARCHWAY Murugan Temple glowed ";
with devotion while six-flamed lamps were
waved by six chanting pujaris as the Jaffna
Tamil community observed the Nallur
Charlot Festival from half a world away. In
sympathy for Sri Lanka's ongoing blood-
shed, devotees observed a 25-day Vew of
strict vegetarianisrn..culminating with puja,
Devaram singing and parading the Deity
around the temple. "There was even a mo-
ment of madness that marks a potent Mu-
ruga festival, when an amma cried out in
anguish for the plight of Jaffna's people, and
Skanda's Vel di~solved her suffering. All was
holy thts night," writes devotee Easan Katir.
THIRTY SACRED SIMIAN
residents of Kathmandu's
Pashupatinath Temple
were buried with full
Vedic honors aJter btfing
electrocuted by a new
hjgh-voltage barrier.
Fifty-one chanting Brah-
mins lay the shroud-
wrapped monkeys, Nepal temple
revered as incarnations
of Hanuman, in a mass grave at Nepal's
holiest shrine. Temple devotees watched in
helpless horror as monkeys who rushed to
the fence to rescue those just electrocuted
were' themselves killed.
HINDU HUSBANDS seeking divorce in India
must go through the civil courts, and are
often ordered to pay alimony and child
support, but not Muslim men. India's high-
est court recently acceded to sharia, Islam-
ic law, ill matters of Muslim divorce, which . Godhead-par-
states that a man's obligation to his ex-wife don the! lUn-was
and children lasts only three months. Hin-
du wives daim many hus~ands are convert- Janmashtami at
ing to Islam to bypass divorce'court.
HUNDREDS OF MONASTERIES ill India are ill
turmoil. In response, leaders have formed
an ll-member board for the "control, 'main- chanting and
tenance and all-around development of
.
Hindu religious places," reports The Hindu.
)
20 tlINDU~SM TODAY JANUARY , 1997
The board is headed by Puri's Shankar-
acharya, Swami Adhoksbjanand, and only
dharmacharyas, Shankaracharyas and
saints can serve on it. "Of India's 50,000
monasteries, 30,00Q are reportedly finan-
cially sound, but 720 are involved in inter-
nal disputes. We intend to ask the~ to re-
solve their disputes within two months;
otherwise the board shall intervene and in-
stall the right person there," the Shankara-
charya resolved.
SPIRITUALITY ISN'T USUALLY part of a West-
ern doctor's curriculum, but North Caroli-
na's Wake Fores't University is now one of
six US medical schools to receive a $10,000·
grant to teach tomorrow's physicians how to
incorporate spirituality into patientc are.
"It's as important as good nutrition and ex-
ercise. Contemplative meditation IS like a
good drug; the body was made for prayer,"
said one instructor, an ordained minister.
MORE TEMPLES MAY MEAN fewer youth stray- . say rock art en-
ing from their· religion. That!> how Hindus
in Toronto are approaching the dil~mma of
kids' growing away from-not into-their
heritage. While the community supports
five temples, "there are not enough temples
in consonance with the growing number of 75,000 years old,
Hindus," said' Dr. Bhudendra Doobay, Pres-
ident of the Vishnu Hindu Temple. Ontario
recently granted $750,000 toward a new
$2.5-million Gujarati Community Centre.
MADRAS IS NO MORE-at. least not officially.
Following the lead of Mumbai, once Bom-
bay, the Tamil Nadu government obliterat-
ed 300 years of Christian colonial influ-
ence by renaming India's fourth-largest city advantages for indigenous Fijians may win
Chennai. The name is believed to be short
for Chennapatnam and traceable to the
16th-century regional ruler Chennappa
Naic'ker. Ironically, it was he who, in 1693,
sold the village to the British. The govern- .....cal dominance was adopted in 1990, result-
ment plans to establish Tamil as the official 'ing in the islands' exg,ulsion from the
language of ¢is southern state, all of which
was known as Madras until 1967.
. ,
A BACKROAD TO
inaugurated on
Bhaktivedanta
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Amid Vedic Bhaktivedanta Manor
' wire-service reports and edited by RAVI
with help from cinema star Rishi Kapoor,
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THE FEARED AND REVERED tiger is quickly ap-
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FIJI'S CONSIDERATION of a settlement abol-
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CLOCk'WISE FROM TOP : COLIN BEARD, {SKe ON, T.G. MAJUPURlA
 Fami,ly i
I
M M
Mar;ried Married

00 Mar;r[ed sons
and spouses
grandsons
and spouses
great-grandsons
and sp0uses

Matters I t§nmwried

R. PREM SARAl OF IOWA,
USA, is an authority on
the Hindu joint family.
His years of study were ' four generations
largely motivated by the desire
to keep his own family togeth-
er. Below, he succinctly sum-
marizes for HINDUISM TODAY
the basic structure and duties.
Membership: Father and moth-
er; sons and wives; daughters
until married; grandsons and
wives; granddaughters until
married; great grandsons and
wives; great grandda~hters
until married.
Head of the family: Father
with support of mother. In the
abs'ence of the father, the most
capable elder SOil with guid-
~~
Staying Together: ~ sons
Unmarried ~tl~ Um:: rried
grandsons gr
A fully developed grands0ns "
1 0int family com-
ft
~
Unmarried nmarried ft~ft Un.married
prises at least
Q daughters granddaughters Q 9 grreat
L -_ _ ~=-________ ! ~
granddaughters
ance of his mother and support educates them fer proper deci- 3. No one owns anything. Each.
of spouse. Ifi the absence of sion-making in her absence. is a trustee for-t he joint family, •
the elder brother, a competent extended-family, society and
Religious ceremonies: The el-
younger brother takes over. ' the nation.
dest son is to perform all these
Distribution of duties: The. duties. His spouse joins' him. 4. Everyone\; voice and opinion
head of the family assigns has value and importance.
Others share and cooperate as
ml(mbers according to their they are able. • 5. Everyone\; conduct is stIch
that intentions can never be
abilities and availability. The
mother is responsible for nurtu-
Basic principles: questioned. This includes hen- /
1. Every member sees that oring the traditions and fulfill-
rance, clothing, household ac-
others get the best and most of ing spoken and unspoken
tivities, gift giving and
resources. Each person himself expectations of'the extended
acceptance of gifts. She con-
asks for the least, and last. family, society at large and
sults her daughtersoin-law and
2. All are willing to endure to the venerable principles of
wives of younger brothers arid
relieve t.he oth~rs' burdens. Sana1ana Dharma.

publicly known more by family name than with each other and be prepared to sacri- miss those evenings after dinner when
individual identity. The socipl security, both fice- the essential principles of every lasting grandfather would collect all the "grandies,"
material and psychological, that a joint fami- commmunity. . tell us a story and show us the various con- '
Filial unity can bring prosperity: Four happy generations of Harilelas at their Hong Kong mansion; (inset ) George Harilela,family elder ly provides is unique and inestimable. Shared Failing families: I grew up in a joint fami- stellations in the sky. As I recall it now, it
- ./ responsibilities result in minimal \ seems like a bygone dream.
SPECIAL REPORT concern ever the basics of life- Our family disintegrated for all
money, food,.shelter and clothing. the reaso~s that a socjology text
, _SucE' concerns typically become would enumerate. It's s~d, but

Joint"Family 'at Risk all-consuming in a nuclear fami-

Individualism has brought In{lia's traditional f~ily to the brink of extinction
. ./
By CHOODIE SHIVARAM, BANGALORE
CURRENT TRENDS CONTINUE, THE
of the 21st century may witness
"A '.H~'_U"'Hof one of society's most
and influential establishments,
joint family. In India, the joint
family is a sacred institution deeply
rooted in Hindu h~itage. It has been
heralded as the cultural stronghold that has
berne Sanatana Dharma intact through In-
dia's inimical dominations. Lately, its pres-
tige has plummeted. Though extended fam-
ilies exist in most parts of rural India and
some cities, Joint families are harder and
harder to fhid. _ joint families are apprehensive, knowing that
A joint family consists of many relatives
living under: one roof and sharing one
kitchen and often a single bank account. Ex-
tended families include ·memMrs who live
in other dwellings or locales, near or far.
. With the nuclear age's nurturance of nuclear
families-;:most joint families have complete-
ly disintegrated. Many that have stayed to-
gether haye independent kitchens, check-
books and lifestyles, conditions contrary to
the oldest customs .•
Few people welcome this trend t6ward dis-
solution. But they don't lament, either. Most
simply call it inevitable. However, religious
lead~rs, elders and members of functioning
this family structure, better than any, pre-
,,-
serves Hindu values and attitudes.irrespec-
tive of the moral turbulence that may rage
outside the home's walls. To lose this safe
haven of Vedic culture, they feel, would be a
body blow to dharma.
The joint family f9Jms a veritable domestic
fortress, aptly symbolized in India by the gi~
ant banyan tree, .whose every branch grows
roots which in turn support and feed the
main trunk. Joint families insure not only the
biological continuity of the human race, but
also the cultural continuity of society. They
successfully transmit ideologies, customs,
traditions, beliefs and val1es from generation
tp generation. Individuals may come and go,
but the family stands as a unit. Members are
ly; a single husband, wife and
their children living together.
The Harilelas of Hong Kong
(left) are living proof of the joint .
family's value. Naroomal and De-
vibai Ijarilela came to China
breaking up was ine~itable.
Many joint families in cities
have fragmented. Even the
Pnibhat family, featured in
HINDUISM l'ODAY [May, 1995],
has decided to part. The rea-
from Sindh in the early part of
sons are many. Glaringly evi-
dent are disagreements over
this century. In the 1930s, their property and assets. After the -
family was penniless. The six
brothers sold newspapers on the
head of the j amily expires, the
brothers dispute their Shares.
street to make a living. Continu- ~ "This is because the elders have
ously encouraged by their mother ~ not inculcated the right values
to stick together, they advanced i in the family. Growing materi-
in their profession to eventually : alism drives them te crave for
join Hong Kong\; most successful " more. It is;.as if they were wait-
businessmen. Their Harilela g ing for the head of the family to
Group today owns hotels, res(au- "'" 1:.-.._= die. It's , disgusting when you
rants, travel agencies, real estate ', Helping hand: hear of such instan€es, which
. and stores. They have always are common now," laments Mr.
lived as a joint family- now numbering 50- ly in Karnataka, surrounded by 13 U'ncles, Raman, a retired engineer.
and have for many years occupied a palatial four aunts, grandparents and other live-in "Most joint families disintegrate when the
mansion in Hong Kong, defined by separate relatives. The joys and pleasures of'growing elders lose moral authorit~~' says Mr. A.V
quarters, and common dining, puja and up in suS;h environs are unbounded. I carry Subba Rao, an advocate. ''Also, there is a
gathering space's. Their mother taught them with me most wonderful memories of child- common tendency for the head of thefami-
to pool their resources, work ~ard, be patient hood, filled with fun, affection and care. I ly to be "partial to certain children and '

22 H'JNDUISM TODAY JANUARY , 1997

,, J AN UARY , 1997 H I'N DUISM TOD AY 23
grandchildrE)n. Often, a glaring favoritism is instances are common. two sons live separately with their wives, but her forehead. None of the elders objected to too individualisfic. You cannot impose your joint families," asserts Mr. Venkatesl"i Murthy,
shown towards the daughters and daughters- Geetha, a young lecturer, moved out of a visit their widowed mother frequently. my being employed. They took care of my views on them. You have to be broad-mind- a professor of mathematics. "But we cannot
in-law. Secondly, some children ar~ ellploit- small joint family simply because she could
ed, while others are coddle'd. This differen- not get along with her sister-tn-Iaw. "My
Even functional joint 'families are being
transformed. One distinct trend in liberal
children. I had no worries on the home front. a
ed and make lot of compromises." say we did not .want industrializatio]J.. People
They would even allow me to act in plays," Why won't you stay? As the sun of mod- are now more concerned with their rights
tial treatment breaks down the relationships mother-in-law favor,s her kids," she com- families is the mother's use of the joint fami- says go-year old Bhargavi. "I enjoyed living in ernization has risen, the inconveniences of a than auties. The personal self has become all
rather than bringing aQout unity." plained, while the' employed sister-in-law ly as a day-care center to look after her chil- this family immensely. It did call fm; a lot of I joint family now seem to eclipse its merits. imp,ortant. No wonder joint families are on
Often it is the eldest son who selflessly said, :'She would never lend a helping hand dren while she pursues studies or a career. adjustments, but the advantages outweighed The head of the family, with absolute power, their way out!"
supports a large family, scicrificing many of in the kitchen." These petty differences The Nanis are a well-known family of theatre the disadvantages," she affirmed. ' may disallow an individual the liberty to ex- Joint families all-too-often treat women as
his own ambitions. Sadly, however, his sov- event~ally led them to part. artists in Bangalore. After marriage, Bhargavi Today the Nanis continue to live as a joint press opinions or pursue creative desires. non-entities, relegating them to the four ,
ereigntY, may be rescinded by younger mem- "With education and employment, women jOined the Nani joirl:t family of four genera- family with their two sons, daughter-in-law Members with such aspirations can feel con- walls of the kitchen. My mother would rarely
bers once they settle down independently. . have become more independent, and grow- tions living together. "They were traditional, and their children, but a basic shifrhas oc- stricted. If their desires exceed the cQmmit- step out of the kitchen or socialize with fam-
They fail to acknowledge his service. My fa- ing individualism attracts them towards nu- and there was discipline we had to abide by. . currfjd in family protocol. "Those days we ment to family duty or the will to resolve dif- ily members apd relatives. My aunts, on the
ther suffered immensely, both emotionally clear families," opines Mrs. Sh~ karan, who For instance, a daughter-in-law had to wake , adjusted to our elders. Now we adjust to the ferences, their departure is assured. "Indus- other hand, had freedom to socialize. When
and monetarily, because of this trend. Such lives alone in ~er Bangalore bungalow. Her up early and dress in a sari with kumkum on youngsters," Bhargavi revealed. "They are trialization shattered the very foundation of my mother had an opportunity to talk, she

noon, only to begin again by

One Dynasty Thrives evening. They use no modern

Many helping hands make for light work
EFYING ALL NOTIONS
of disintegration, the
Narasinganavar family
demonstrated to the
world that the undivided fami-
ly is still viable. Abdut 25 km
from the city of Dharwad,
Karnataka" in the .small village
of Lokur, 170 kinfolk have lived
harmoniously for seven genera-
tions. They are bound together
by their Jain religion. "Why
. should we fight," exclaims 72-
year-old Lokappa, punctuating
his point with a perky fist.
"God has given us every thing,
and we are happy. ,Together-
ness is our strength, and coop-
eration is our support."
I Their mansion, Jaina Bhakta
Nivas, is the nerve center for .
all..activity" It is where the
women and children are
housed and where food for all
is prepared and served. They
have another house for mar-
ried couples, a granary and
their own Jaina temple.
This fantastic family's so- I
-'journ began when Narasingap-
pa migrated to Lokur from
Hathangalada, Maharashtra,
400 years ago, with hIS broth-
ers and children. There have
been no fights ~r disputes over
property in their history. Now,'
l'arasanna, Lokappa and Bhee-
manna, the three brothers, live
with their uncles, cousins, cliil-
dren and grandchildren. The
oldest is their maternal uncle,
gO-year-old Annappa. The
youngest is Bheemanna's year-
ling grandson.
Being educated, the respon-
sibilities of finance and deci-
sion-making were entrusted to
Bheemanna by his elders from
early on. Now, at age 68, all .
directives are issued by him.
The elders may collectively
decitle on issues, but Bhee-
manna's word is faithfully fol-
lowed by all, including elder
Annappa. This solemn disci-
pline and mutual respect is the
secret of their unity. "Mutual
Agrarian kindred: (Left and clockwise) 1,000 Tons are pre- .
pared daily in the Narasingavar kitchen; gathering in the
fields fo r: tomato harvest; family portrait in mid-October
love and affection is
. what has kept us
going," avers Bheemannp..
FUll control over the finances
remains in the hands of Bhee-
manna, who makes the neces-
sary' purchases and investments.
Clothes ~e bought for the en-
tire family at Diwali and new
year. "Money is a corrupting
force and the root cause of all
trouble," avowed Lokappa.
"Everyone in our family is con-
tent because all needs are pro-
vided for. No one has an
individual savings. No one is
rich or poor. All are equal.
There is.no greed, selfishness or
jealousy."
Agricult.ure is their occup,a-
tion and source of income. The
family owns 200 acres of cul- '
tivable land, a dairy of 69 cows
and buffalos, a flour mill and a
fertilizer and pesticide shop. All
requirements of food, grains;
vegetables, milk; edible oils,
etc., are produced from their /
own efforts. All that they pur-
chase from outside are clothes,
soap and tea. "We had a mere
60 acres 40 years ago," certifies
Lokappa. "Every year the prof-
its are invested on purchasing
land or equipment for our agri-
culture. We do not distribute
, knows his duties and abides by
Bheemana: Respected leader
the profit among ourselves or
buy fancy items. WhateveMve
buy benefits the entire family." . tions continue. Elders serve
Being Jaina, they are strictly
vegetarian. The women pre-
pare over 1,000 rotis a day,
with 40 ladies taking turns four Bheemanna veriRed, '1\11 that
to five at a tirn~ They begin at
5AM and continue till late after;
mixers, grinders, cookers or gas
stoves. This to me seemed like
the most strenuous aspect of
their chores, but they seemed
perfectly cheery. They sing
while working, chat when free
and share each others! saris
and jewelry. There is no boss-
ingaround.
In fact, fear and punishment
are not found in this family. .
"Mistakes are very rare. No one
oversteps their limits"each one
the codes of the house. If
someone errs, we stop talking
to him for a while and shun
him. With that, he realizes his
fault and makes amends," ex-
plains Thimmappa.
This family is an efficient
example of division of labor.
Each member is entrusted
with a definite responsibility,
such as operating the flour
mill, maintaining the edible oil
extracting unit, textile shQP,
fertilizer shop or repair of ve-
hicles and implements. The
family is totally seItreliant and
self~sufficient. Not once during
my visit did I come across
someone lazing around. All,the
women were continuously
engaged in household chores. I
could see that every member
contributes his or her might.
These are tireless wor](ers.
The Narasinganavars' life is
peaceful and simple~ Tradi-
the family selflessly and lead
an austere life, setting fine
standards for the others, as
we know is to worK hard, be
sincere and live an honest life." entered this huge house of 60
Another Breaks Up
How one-:congenial clan called it quits
Chandrasekar: "No ill f eelings"
.a family, but this family attrib-
I
HE REDDY FAMILY HAD
lived as one unit for four
generations in a. village
near Kaiwara, about 80KM
from Bangalore. The men
worked in the fields. Some
women assisted, but most han-
dled the household chores and
took turns in cooking-a sub-
stantial task at 50 kgs of rice .
and 100 ragi balls each day!
The family lived comfortab1y.
Why, then, did they divide?
Mr. Narayanaswamy Reddy\;
young daughter, Susheela, con-
fided: "Out of the 50 men, only
10 or 15 worked. The others
simply lazed around, taking life
for granted. This inequality led
to the breakup."
Distraught by the split is
. Narayanaswamy's mother, 70-
year-old Chok'kamma. She was
working in the fields when I
met her. She related that, at
barely eight years old, she
but it can never be the same."
/
members and grew fond of the
family. "I advised them not to
break up, but who listens now-
a-days? They have fought and
parted," she said dejectedly.
It w as gO-year-old Sonappa,
the eldest male, who had man-
aged all family affairs. 8radu-
ally, as he started losing hold
on the men, his responsibilities
were transferred to Chandra-
sekar and Narayanaswamy.
Womenfolk are commonly
blamed for the breaking up of
.,
utes c.ollapse of their dream to
the men's conscious decision
"to make lazy men responsi-
ble." "The women never
brought in differences. In fact,
they wanted the system to go
on. Even now they get along
famously," says Chandrasekar.
Upon break-up, their land
holdings of 80 acres fragment-
ed. Each got 9Ply 3/4 of an
acre. "But everyone is doing
very well now, even with this
small piece of land. Those
men who never worked are
now hard workers and are
reaping go09 harvests from
their fields," says Susheela.
"We had no differences, and
we wanted to continue as one
unit. Even to this day we feel
like one big family. There are
no ill feelings," maintains
Chandrasekar. But Susheela
laments, "We visi~ each other,

/
24 HINDUI S M TOD A.Y J ,\NUARY , 1997 J A NU A R Y, 1 997 HI N D U ISM TODAY 25

"
would do so ~hylY'from behind the door. Ed-
ucation and women's liberation have beck-
oned women to break free of such ~hackles.
As the rural class finds new avenues to ex-
plore, enticed toward urbanization, the urban
fan;J.ilies give way to grpwing individualism
and self-reliance. Want of privacy and con-
sumerism induce a cert~h selfishness that
leads towards a nuclear family syst~m. The
accelerated growth of metropolitan cities and
Wester~ influences fuel this trend. .
Reforming family: Ironically, the West
may be approaching the other end of that
materialistic road. Members of an "inten-
tional family" essentially adopt each other
and live together as a j<'lint or extended fiffil-
ily. They may have been to~al strangers be-
fore .their merger, but they instinctively
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ly knew each other was a risky proposition. keep a joint family, a spirit of selfless service, Baidnath, Sandu, Dabur, Thakur, Himalayas, Sevashram, "I love W omen of Power and
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aDERN STRESSES, CITY petty nlistakes. We turn a

H
strains-and nilTlpant
materialism conspire to
make urban joint fami-
lies irrelevant or even extinct.
Many city-dwellers feel that
the Narasinganavars (see page
24) have achieved their rare
" uccess only because fhey live
in a village, with agriculture as
their occupation. But the fami-
ly of M.M. Krishnamurthy has
been living jOintly for four
generations in the 'midst of
bustling Bangalore. They even
run a family business.
Krishnamurthys 40-member
fanrily is known as the "MM
Industries family," MM indus-
try being the family business.
Septuagenarian Krishna-
murthy, second. of four broth-
ers, is the head. He rejoices in
joint living, he told me, "I can-
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continues to err, I correct them
once and' recall ten nlistakes of
theirs in a row. There is no . '
scolding or punishment. Si-
lence is our secret agent. Soon,
tlJey realize their mistake and
fall in line," Krishnamurthy
explained. Talking back to
elders and disobedience are
absent here. 'The elders by
their exemplarx concluct have
paved the way for unity.
''All the earning members
contribute a portion of their
income to a common finance
Garden City: ,Where the MM Industries family blossomoo together pool. All family expenses are
I met by this account. A perfect
landmark. "We prosper only the RK swamis. recorq of all expenses is kept
~because of our unity. Everyone The family maintains aston- with .vouch~rs," says Krishna,
in the family is expected to do ishil)g harmony and together- murthy. Youngsters are not
their own job," Krishrramurthy ness. The ladies share given pocket money-Only the
told me. housework equally and get earning members handle .I

not explain the joys of living t
"'together. One has to live and
experience it. It requires so
much adjustment and patience.
It teaches you so many things."
KTishnamurthys father, Mu-
nivenkatappa, and uncle Mal-
lappa, who live.d together alon&,:
With their parents, started the
business in South Bangalore.
Their children still live together
and continue the family enter-
prise which today is a local
The men were educated at
Ramakrishna Vidyasala of the
Ramakrishna Mission in
Mysore, where their culture
and discipline have their roots:
At home, upon rising, every
member first goes to the puja
room and only after praying
comes for breakfast. They cele-
brate Ganesh Chaturthi and
Janmashtami on a grand scale,
and host a spiritual retreat at .
their house, preSided over by
along well. "No one is jealous of
the other. Everyone has what
they want,) find that the ladies
often exchange their saris' and
jewelry. They take a rare joy in
this," reveals Krishnamurthy.
Girls in the MM family are
allowed to study as much as
they want, but they are not
permitted to work. "It's agffinst
the family tradition," states
Krishnamurthy. The women
visit their relatives and attend
money. All requirements are
filet by the elders. '(outh can-
not go out without the permis-
sion of their parents or elders.
To me, Krishnamurthy di-
vulged two secrets of a suc-
cessful joint family, "To live
together like this, every~)lle
must contribute to the family,
not just money, but also shar-
ing the work equally. .lAnd
there must be a strong leader,
a kind of benevolent dictator."

26 HINDUISM TODA.Y J ,\NUARY , 1997

L I ·T ERA T U R E Publishers
white the controversial ideas of sexuality women's lives 'which evade stereotypes. I
MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, 41 U.A. BUNGA·
and revolution that are often forbidden. We not only observe the wife's feelings

Books pouy Up'Hindu Women

LOW ROAD, JAWAHAR NAGAR, llO 007 ,
NEW DELHI , INDIA
As a second generation Indian woman in against her cheating husb81).d, but we
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KALI FOR WOMEN PRESS, A 36 GULMO-
, raw collection of raunchy ideas echoing lit- , er females and males of her world. HAR PARK, NEW DELHI , llO 049 , INDIA
tle of my life or the lives of of my friends. These are the bonds that consti-
Delving into the domain of dharma's daring women, past and present The crude nature of these entries make this tute so significantly a part of
AUNT LUTE BOOKS, P.O. BOX 410687,
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, book strictly for adults. Just when the book the identity and soul. Qf the Hindu DOUBLEDAY (ANCHOR BOOKS), 1540
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seems to be street-smart, we are assailed by female's life. NEW ISSUES PRESS , COLL'EGE OF ARTS
By V G. JULIE !\AJAN, PHIL~ELPHIA To be frank, an analytical app1;oach such as the passions experienced by Christianitys long, cerebral essays equally out "9f sync Banerjee opens with challengeS-: & SCIENCES , WESTERN MICH. UNIV.,
KALAMAZOO, MI 49008 USA,
F A SUDDEN, A BURGEONING IN'.rEREST as Altekar's can be tedious reading. The an- Saint Ther@se Neuman, offering readers an . With/the common South Asian experience. faced by women, framed in ' the MA'NOHAR PUBLICATIONS, zl6 ANSARI
in the status of Hindu w'omen has pro- tidote for this pedantry is Timothy Conway's inspirational study into the lives of profound- . That being said, Ou.r Feet Walk the Sky will more traditional situations of In- ROAD, DARYAGANJ llO 002, NEW
duced a multiplicity of books. The re- Wonien of Power and Grace (351 pages, ly religious women. ' allow you a glimpse into what it is like to be dia, and towards the end depicts DELHI , INDIA
RAMAKRlSHNA VEDANTA CENTRE,
sultant field of study is vast, with works Wake Up Press, $16.95). With lucid and lilt- Should your concerns center. more on tl1:e a worldly-wise Hindu woman today. women struggling in the fantasies UNITY HOUSE , BLIND LANE , SL8 5LG
of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and prose by ing diction, Conway reveals the nature of political and economic forces that have af- Arranged Marriage by Chitra Banerjee of the modern and traditional BOURNE END, BUCKS, UK
both Hindus and non-Hindus. Fresh titles fo-/ the heroically spiri- fected the Hindu woman, try Recasting Divakaruni (307 pages, Anchor, $21.00) fo- makeup of their very soul. I like SOUT~ ASIA B9>OKS (BHARATIYA
VIDYA .BHAVAN), P.O. BOX 502, CO·
cus on the inspiring lives of women saints tual woman by de- ,Women: Essays in Colonial History, edited by cuses on the challenges of women in ar- this book. LUMBIA, MO 65205 USA
conveying the pinnacle of feminine po- tailing the ex- Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid (372 ranged marriages. These fictional stories for Buyers be Wary ~ Before you ADVAITA ASHRAMA, P.O. MAYAVATI
tential-to be the '1iving pages, Kali for Women Press, $14.00). This adults offer a glimpse into the relationships rush'out to buy your next book VIA LOHAGHAT, 262 524,
PITHORAGARH, U.P. INDIA
Goddess." Others garble study offers a rainbow of readable essays of Hindu women struggling to reconcile the on Hindu women, examine
Hinduness and Indian- covering the cultural, social, re- transposition of tradition into modern life. the wide-ranging options. Julie Rajan, a Madurai'-bom
ness, or leave religion out ligious and economic Although fiction, the images, characters You'll discover devotional of- Hindu living in Philadelphia, /
all together. But virtually challenges faced by Indi- and their reactions evoJr;e a strong chord of ferings and dane ~d sometimes strengthens the distaff staff at HT,
all present the traumas and an women during British reality. Rather than harp on the cliche topic egregiously irreligious renderings. joining Lavina, Archa~ Choodie,
triumphs of Hindu women Christian rule, when pa- of arranged marriage versus love marriage, But that, avid readers, is Hinduism Prabha and Madhu. She broke our Pat
in some fashion, whether triarchy strongly imposed the author has created elev~n plausible today. . ~ Robertson story in 1 ~93.
they be crises of the past or its precepts on all women in
advancements of the present. India. As each essay is writ- .5
To understan.d the struggles
and progress of the Hindu
woman, you need a feel for her
historical relationships with so-
ten by a different author, Re-
casting Women gives a com-
posite view of the struggles
and changes in status of fudian
Donnish Delights \
/
"Great Women of
India," by Swami
Madhavananda
ciety, religion, politics and eco- women during the Raj.
nomics. India's being a multi-reli- The essays range from broad
Winnowing the world of words on women and Ramesh Chan-
dra Majumdar,
gious, multi-lingual, multi-ethnic topics such as "Marginalization of editors (Advaita
.J
country, its women often share the Women's Popular Culture in Nine- Ashrama, Almora).
same concerns as her compatriots teenth Century Bengal" to the "Women and Reli- "Women's Struggle: A History from Hinduism, A scholarly and in-
of other religiOJils. Even in the Indo- more case/specific issues in "Rural gion in India," by of the All India Buddhism, .;!epth look .at
Pakistani region, Sri Lanka and Women in Oudh 1917-1947: Bab Nancy Auer Falk Women's Conference Jainism, women and their
Bangladesh the concerns -of women Ram Chandra and ' the Women's (New Issues Press, 1927-1990;"' by Aparna ChristiaNity, contributions to Indian cul-
are oftentimes the same, only slight-
ly altered by religion. Thus, readers
Question. " Such studies provide a de-
tailed accounting of actual confronta-
Michigan) . An
impressively com-
K. Basu and Bharati
Ray (Manohar Publi-
i
WOMEN'S Judaism and Sufism. ture, religion and history
i STRUGGLE This work is unique through essays written by
often must study the status of Hindu women tions of Hindu women who found their prehensive armotat- cations, New Delhi).
indirectly, through the "Indian" or «South rights and respeG:t repressed,. ed bibliograppy of This fact-filled book
i :~: so . . . , ,:n,,<..t .::~" in its discussion of
the position of
Indian female scholars. This
book is more expansive tpan
Asian" woman.
,
Fiction is an even richer world, discussing 1,015 English liter- details the instigation, women in each of Women Saints of East and
M;my nonfiction books delineate the gen- woman's emotional and thought processes, a -ary wprks from 1975-1992. development and the religions. West, being thoughtfully di-
eral 'C oncepts. However, A.S. Altekar's The level that carmot be plumbed by even the Approximately 650 are by achievements of tKe vided into large sections, such
Position of Women in Hindu'Civilizatil;m (378 ..-deepest historical or sociological study. Fic- long-term residents of India: AIWC and its efforts, "Women in the Vedic as "Women in Sanskrit Litera-
pages, Motilal13anarsiaass, Delhi) is a well- tional works disclose ~ocietys perceptions of Topics range from legal,provi- through 63 years of service, to Age," by Shakuntala Rao Shas- ture," "Wome!} in Buddhism .1
rounded text, targeted towards the relation- her, as well as her picture of herself, in some- sions of Hindu law codes, to make the voices and powe~s of tri (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and Jainism" and "Women'ln
ships between Hindu women and society. times blushing blatancy. ritual, to the transfor- women in India - Bombay). An intrigu- the Modern Peri-
This interesting and informative work spans A brazenly contemporary approach to lit- mative experiences known. Extensive ing and rev~aling study od." There is a
almost four-thousand years of experience. erature is voiced in Our Feet Walk the Sky that have inspired appendices make the of the status and obset- welcome reliance
Position of Women is superbly organized (372 pages, Aunt Lute Books, $12.95), offer- some women to re- book a rare reference vances of women as on the wealth of
according to the principle divisions of a ing South Asian wO!Jlen a release from mod- nounce all ties with on the subje6t, in- indicated, and in some Ij.indu scriptures.
woman's life, taking one through discussions periences of nine souls who gave up their ern social restricti'Ons, allowing them tc;> family and world. cluding short biogra- cases stipulated, in And chapters such
of issues such as "The P0Sition of the Wid-- lives to serve God through charity or mysti- forge spiritual qonnections within them- Subjects range from phies of 46 eminent Vedic literature. The as "Great Indian
ow," "Dress and Ornaments," "Marriage and cism.· Out of the nine, four are Hindu, and selves and with each other. This interna- wealthy women to the women . . relationship of wife to Women of the
Divorce" and "Proprietary Rights." Al- five are saints of Christianity and Islam. tional collection of short stories, poems and poorest poor, from . husband and the rites Nineteenth Centu-
though the author's study relies on surveys, The author not only contrasts ideas of saint- analytical studies from female authors at- women considered "Women Saints of bf family and ~arriage ry" provide ample
his own voice and opinions lie latent in the hood, but also compares the stature of tempts to blend both the conventional and living Goddesses to East and West" (Ra- constitute the primary focus, chronicles of women's lives
text. Not all women will share his viewpoint. woman saints of various faiths. ' individual experiences of all South Asian housewives, and young girls makrishna Vedarlta Centre, but you'll discover fascinating and balance out the historical
With this in mind, however, Position of C'onway is generous in his unbiased praise. women. The first collec?ion of its kind, the caught up in prost;itution. A " London). A collection of bi- detail and verses you are not themes. Buy the~ all
Women offers thorough, clear and thought- The love emanating from Hinduisms Amma editors and writers should be commended must-have in alllililraries. ographies of women saints likely to have heard before. and enjoy.
provoking infoI'mation. Mata Amritanandamayi is as carefully told for their boldness in printing in black and ! )

/
28 HJNDUISM TODAY JA NUARY, 1997 J ANUAR Y, 1997 HI'NDUISM TODAY 29
 INS LG H T
" .
:'Death'"and,',Dying"
QUI' faith .guid~s o~r transiti0n from this'world,. offerinK solace to
~he suffering and those facing th~ foreboding c-ertainty' of de.atl)
EAD .ME FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, FROM
death to ,immortality," This famed "vedic
prayer proclc;rims the hurrian urge to survive,
to conquer death and to know the joys of
........_ . illu'minated consch:>usness, People oftEin
pilgrimage to an isolated place in expectation of
a vision, be ita jungle of'faun,a .an<;l.foHage' or ce-.
m€nt and glass,. Every per$on is on a vision quest.
But for all 'souls, at the time of the great depar.-
ture, m.ahap~asthana, a vision comes' as a tunnel
of light at the 'en? of which: are beings .of aivine
nature. Many having had th€ near-death experience have sworn their
testimony of such transforming encounters. An American W0man
who "died" durip.g o~ildbirth, but wa~.bro1.lght ~aGk'to'life by quick
medical action, recounted: "It was.an incredible energy-a light y.ou
. wouldn't believe. I almost floated in it. It was feeding my conscious-
ness feelings of unconditional love, complete safety and complete, to-
tal perfection. And then, and then, a piece of knowledge came in-
it was that ·I was immortal, indestructible, I cannot be hurt, cannot
be lost, and that the worlei'is perfect." Hundreds of people'repor~
similar experiences, affirming what Hinduism has ·always taught-.
that death is a blissful, light-filled transition from one state to an-
other, as simple and natural as changing clothes, far from the mor- .
bid, even hellish alternatives some dread. A Vedic fvneral hymn
.intones: "Where eternallu'ster glows, the realm in which the light di;
vine is set, place ,me, Puritler; in that deathless, imperishable world.
Make me immortal in that realm where movement is accordant to
:vish, ih the third region, the third heaven of heavens, where the
worlds are resplendent" (Rig Veda, Aitareya Amnyaka 6-11). ,
. Most often, before our own death, we encounter its reality in the
passing of friend~ or- family. OUl: thoughts during the rites, termed an-
tyesti samskam in Sanskrit, rum to God. We witpess the end of an-
others life and ask, "What am I going to do with the remaining years
of my own life?" All that is said during thes~ timesTeminds ps that life
qn earth is temporary. All our possessions, power, ego and learni,ng
will end. Seeing this truth. we turn the mind toward God, toward lifes
ultimate goal, moksha, liberation, and toward the path Of dharma that
will take us tnere. We do this not in tn,!pidation, but in assurance,
faith and gratitude for the opportunity to progress spiritually in this
physicai incarnation. . Lord of Death, explaiI}$: "Death is a mere illusi~:m whi~h appears to
Death is defined differently according to wnat people believe '
• themselves to be. If they are only the body and brain (as with hu-
manists or atheists), then death is the end of sensory experience, of
self. If we live once, death ends our only ?ojourn on Earth and is
naturally dreaded. If we are born again and again, it loses its dread
in ,light of the souls pilgrimage to eternity. NO'matter how ill, how in.-
30 HINDUISM TODAY JANUARY, 1997
subtle body that the soul, if. needed, reincarnates, as described in fhe or' retire to' a seoluded place to practice japa'and yoga sddhanas, The
Shukla Yajur Vep,g., Brihadamnyaka Upanishad (4.4.5-6): "A man faJ:TIily takes c;rre not to disturb these efforts, !lor his retirement from
acts according to t4e-de,sires to which he clings. Aft~r death he goes t6 social obligation or interaction, realizing h,e has entered life's final
ilie riext world bearing in his mind the subtle impressions of his
de~ds; and after reaping there tilie harvest of his deeds; he fe.t urns.
again to this w@rld of ~otion, Thus, he.who' has tlesires continues sun--
ject to rebirth," Death"according to Hinduism, is not the contradic-
tion bf life. Death' and birth are two si~es 'of life's ,cosmic cycle. The
culmination of that cycle is liber:ation ..As the venerable S~tguru Yo-
stagej that of ilie renunciate, or sannyasin.
. Maldng, the Transitiun Conscious!y: Knowing -that a conscious
.
death is the ideal, the Hill(;\u avoids excessive drugs or mind-numbing
medical: measures. He- cultivates detachment as death aRProaches,
knowing that loss is not sufferea. wh~n something is given up volun-
tarily, only when it is'taken from us by force. He is grateful for life, but
gaswaII,li 0'£ Sri. Lanka taught: ":By getting rid @f desire, man cli? put
, an end to birth altogether." .
not angry with or fearf'ur of.death. Dyin~ is not u~like falling asleep.
We have all experienced death many tirpes in past lives. The astral
Resorvlng the Karmas: Many who have lHid a near-death experi-
ence-speak ofha~g com~,ba.ckto complete unfinished obligations to
body separates from the physical body, just a~ jn sleep. The differ-
ence is that the silver cord connecting the two breaks at the moment
children, parents or friends. It is a great blessing to know of one's im- 'Of transitio'n, signaling the pt>int of no re!urn~ _
Scriptures speak of leaving the bQ(;\y through one chakra or an-
other, departing in a level of c~:msciousness of a particular chakra,
which then determines where in the'inner worlds a person wiil find
himself after death. Those who depart full ofhatred·aiJ.d resentment
go to the world of those who also died in lower consciousness. Those
with lov.e ill their heart enter a world where abide others with sim-
ilar attainment. Therefore, during,transition a person must strive to
be in the highest pbssible state of consciousness, cO{l@entrating on
the t013 of th~ head and holding'to lofty thoughts as he succumbs. A
wt;lman in California narrated: "Shortly before my husband died, he
held my hands and asked me to recite the Lalitha Sahasranama and
to say, the mantra we were initiated into. He repeated after me in a
loud voice' when suddenly his face began to shine with a luster, and
. he became overjoyed and beaming. He started almost shouting in
joy that he was seeing the temple and the Deities-;-Siva, Ganesha
and- Muruga-smiling at him. In t4is glowing way he passed away
shortly thereafter whpe I recited the mantra in his ear."
Those who die suddenly, through accident or murder, have no
time to prepare. Tracl.itionally, full death rites are not performed af- .
ter such deaths, because rebirili is expected almost immediately. For •
the same reason, rites are not accorded children who die youn~, be-
fore adolescence.. In India, bodie's of accidental-death victims and
-children. are buried in ~ cpmmon grave or put in a river. Since nei-
ther is possible ,in Westernized countries, cremation is accepted.
-Funeral and Memorial Rites: Hindus traditionally cremate their
dead, for swift~r, more complete release of the soul. Burial, which
,Preserves the bond, is generally forbidden. Death's anni3iersary is
c'alled Liberation Day. For saints, if is celebrat'ed rather than the day
of birth. To some extent, the funeral rites serve to nofify the depart-
ed soul that he has, in fact, died. It is possible for a disoriented soul,
not understanding that he is on the other side, to linger close fo the
physical plane. Be can still see this material world, and even observe
;;: his own funeral. Some of ilie ritual ch~ts address the deceased, urg-
~ ing him to relinquish attachments ana. continue the journey. The
~ rites are also for the living, allowing the family to say a respectable
~ and dignined "farewe~," to express grief, loss and the mosaic of emo-
Z tions they 'J;laturally encounter. The d~epest significance of the fu-
~ neral rites lies in their yoKi.ng the inner and outer worlds, Bhuloka
~ and Devaloka, and their recognition that a family consists not just of
its living generations, but its anoestors as well, Often a group of souls
firm our condition, there is'a serene afld consoling center of our be- pending transition. A Hindu approaching deg.th works diligently to will sequentially incarnate into the same extended family, so that, for
ing to which we can adjourn, the SOHrce within, It is more us than finis):! all his "business" of this lifetime, the alloted portion of his total . example, a grandson may be the returned soul of the father. In this
our body, more us than our mind and emotion. It will not die: It does karma carried into this birth to face and ~s01ve. If death comes while , way collective karma and dharma are. worked through, Those in the
not hurt or fear. As physical debility and death draw near, we seek loose ends remain (misunderstandings unres@lved, misd.eeds una- inner worlds help relatives living in the outer world. When their
this center, whether we eall it Paramatnia, God, Self or Divin~ Con- ' toned for or ooligations U1lfulfilled), another lifetime may be reqUired turn comes in the outer world, they strive to attain spiritual progf~SS
sciousness. In the Krishna Yajur Veda, Katha Upanishad" Yama, .to expire that karma. Thus; an aging or ailing HiRdu will be seen go- that is only possible in physical incarnation. Ceremsnial uniting of
ing around' to' friends and enemies, .giving love, help and blessings, the deceased with his for~fathers and yearly honoring of.ancestGrs
those who cannot grasp Absolute Reality, The SOUllS immortal, self- working to resolve (:;onflicts and differences, offering apologies and keep open the inner communication which makes the family pros-
existent, self-luminous and never dies," • fulfllling all known obligations. Ideally, he executes his own will, dis- perous and preserves its longevity.
It is the soul's subtle bogy,.linga sharira., that stores the "thought- tI;ibuting his preperties and duties to heirs, charities and endow- The Vedas proclaim, "When ~ person comes to \Yeakness, be it
energy" experiential impressions oflife, called samskaras. When the ments, n.ot leaving such t~ks to oiliers. . through old age or disease, he frees himself frsm ~ese limbs just as
• body dies, this nonphysical sheath continues 'g.s a constellation of Th~t done, he turns to God, reads scriptures, attends temple and 'a mango, a fig or a berry releases itselffrom its stl!lk" (Sukla' Yajur
subtle elements-dispositions, memories,.desi'res, etc. It is within this. amplifies meditation and devotion . .He may pjJgrimage to sacre'd spots Veda, Brihadharanyaka Upanishad: 4.3.36), ..
 body to tJ:1e b~ck porch, remove . women did ear.lier, cover the te~ples, visit swamis, nor'take . 8. FIrst Mjlmorial next world. The pindas are fed

.R·ites of Transition
the clothes and drape it with.a body with wood and offer 'in- part in marriage arrangements. On the 3rd, 5th, 7th or 9th day, . to' the crows, -to a cow or ·thrp'wn
w~te clGth.. (If there is no potch, cense and ghee. With the clay Some observe this period up to. relatives gather for a meal of the in a river for the fish. Some per-
the hody can be sponge bathed ' , pot on his left shoulder; the . one year. For the death of deceaJied's favorite foods. A por- form't;his rite on the nth day af- '
and prepared where it is.) Each chief mOUFner'cirGles the pyre friel'lp's, teachers or students, ob- tiar/ is offered.beforehl.s photo ·ter cremation. Others perfo.rm it
applies sesame 'oil to the head, while holding a fire brand' be- servanc~s.are optional. While . : 'and htter.ceremonially left at an ·t wice: on the' 31st day or (11th,
INOU OE~IfH RITUALS . • lit near'his head and he is urged th~ big t0es. In a hospital, the and the bodY'is "bathed with wa- li,i.nd his back. At each turn mourning is neve~ supp'resseq. or , abaml.Qned pla~e-, alOI]g with 15th, etc.) and af~ei one year.
in all traditions f0110w a ' l0 conc.entr;:1te on his mantra. family has the death pertiTicate . ter £.rom the nine kutnbhas, aroU1)d the pyre, ~ relative ,detljea, scriptures admonish , some lit camphor. Customs fo]; Once the 'first sapindikarana is
uniform patter.n · Kindred keep vigil until the • signed immediately and trans- dressed, placed in a coffip (or knocl$s a hole in the pot with. a against excessive lamentation . this period are varied. Sdme of- 'completed, the ritual impurity
from theVeqas, great depwture. singing hymns: · po~fs the bady home. lJnder no on a pal~quin ) and carried to:. knife, letting water ('Jut, signify- . alxd encourage joyous·re- , fer pinpa (rice ~alls ) .daily for enps. Monthly repetition is"also
'Variations accord- praying and reading scripture. If circumstances shouIU the body . the homa shelter. The young . rng.lifes leaving its vessel. At the lease. The departed'soul ~=___ nine days. Otbers corribine all common for' one year.
ing to sect, regioP, caste ahd he 'calmot corne home: this hap- he embalmed or 0rgans re-' children, holding small lighted end of three turnS, the chief . ' is acut~ly conscious of these offerings with tfue fol- '
family traclitio~. Most. rit~s are , pens at the hospital, regardless move<;l for use by others. Reli- stick~, encirde the body, singing mourner drbPS fue pot. Then, ' emotional forces direct- lowing sapindikarana rituals 10. One-Year Memorial
fulfilled by the familY., all.of '. of institutional objections; ~ gious pictures are turnlfd·to the hymns. The women 'then walk without turning to·.f;:1ce the ' ed. at him. Prolonged for ·a few days or one qay At die yearly anniversary of the
whom participate, ipcluding·the wall, and in. some traditiops nllrr . rarouno the body and offer body, he lights the pyre and ' grieving can bold ' of ceremonies: , death (according to the moon
children, who need not be
•
2. The Moment of D'eath roES are covered. Relatiye:;'are puffed rice into the mouth to leaves the cremation grounds. hi~ in earthly con- ~ .. cruendar ), a' priest conducts the
shielded from the death. Oertain If the dying persop. is U:-nco.n- · beckoned to bid farewell and nourish the deceased for the The others folloW: At a gas-fu- . sciousness, inhibit- 9. 31st-Day Memorial shraddharites in' the home, of-
dies are traditionally performed scious at eiepartiUfe, a fariJily sing sacred sonw at the side' of journey ahead. A widow will . ele@ crematorium, sacreej. wood .. ' ing full transition On the JIst day, a , fering pi,{da to the' ancestors. '
.' by' a; priest but may also b~ per- . member chants the mantra sott- · the body plac'~ her tali (wedding pen- . and ghee are placed inside the to the heaven memorial service is This ceremony. is done. yearly as
formed by the family if no priest. ly in the right ear. If ll(me is dant) wound her husbands .' . coffin with the body. Where ' worlds. In Hindu helcl.. In some tradi- long as the sons of the deceased
• Bali,' it is sharne- ~
is available. Here is asimple out- known, '~um Nqrno Narayana" 3. The Homa Fire Ritual / • neck, signifying her enduring 1?ermittecl., the body is car.ried tions it is a repeti- are alive (or'fm a ~pecified peri- .
line of rites that CaJIJ be per- or '~um Nama Sivaya" is in- If available, a &'pecial funeral tie to him. The coffin is then ". around the 'chamber, and a ful to cry for ~ tion of the funeral od). It is now common in India
formed by Hindus.in any locali- toned. (This is 8lso done for sud- priest'is.calied. In a shelter- built closed. If u~able to bring the .small pre. is H.t in the coffin be- the dead. z, htes.'At.home·, all to observe shrail1J.ha for ances-
ty'Yariations are no.ted and den-death victims, suGh as on a by the.family, a fIre ritual (homa) 'body home, the family arranges ' fore it.i;:; consigned to the ~ thoroughly clean" tors just prior to the yearly
suggestions made for Hindus i,n battll'lfreld 9f. in a s:ar accident.) , is performed to bless nine brass to clean and dress 'it at the mor- flames. 'The cl,"emation switch 7,lIone-Gathjlr- ~ the house. A Navaratri festival. This time is
Western countries. Holy ash or sandal paste is ap- . 1Wonbhas (water- pots) and..onl'l tum;y rather than leave these then is engaged 'by the chief ing Ceremony " Yama: Lor~ of Doot.h · priest purifies . also appropriate for cases where
plied to the forehead, Vedic clay pot. Lacking the shelter, an duties to strangers. The ritual mourner. About 12 hours • '. the home, and . the day of death is unknown.
1. As Death Approaches verses are chanted, and a few· appropriate fire is<IDade-in 'the ~ homa fire·can be made at home . . . aft~r cremation, family men re- , performs the sapindikaranq;,
Tra<ditionally, a Itndu.dies at · drops o£ftnilk, Ganga or other home. The "Gruef mourner" , or kindled !it the crematorium. 6. Return Home; Ritual Impurity turn to colleft the remains. Wa- making on~ large pinna (repre- ffindu funeral rites. cap be sim;
home. Nowadays the dying are boly ~ater are' trickled irlto the leads fhe rites. He is the eldest Returning home, all bathe' and ter is sprinkled on the ash; t1].e senting the deceased) and three pIe or exceecli.ngly complex.
increasiRgly kept lin hospitals, mouth. After death, the body is son iLl the,case of the father's 5. Cremation share i~ cleaning the Muse. A remains,we collected on 'I- large small, representing the father, These ten steps, devotedly com-
even when recovery is dearly . laid in the homes entryway, death and the y~ungest son in Only men go to the cremation lamp and wat~(pot are set ~here tray. .At crematoriums the family grandfather and greatgrandfa- . pleted' according to the customs,
not p0ssible. Knowing the mer- with the head facing sOl}lh, on a the case of the mother's. In site, led by the chief mourI!-er. the body lay in state. TI,le water can arrange to personally gather. ther. The large ball is cut in means, and abi'lity of the family, '
it~ of <dying.at home among · 09t or the ground-:reflectihg a · some tradihlons, the eldest son T\,'Io pots are carried: the cl!l-y is changed. daily, and, pictures ' the l'emains: ashes and small tnr;ee'pieces and JOIned with' the will properly conclude one.
loved' ones, l;Iinqus bring the ill rElturn,to t~e lap of Mother; serves for_both, or .t he wife, SOLl- kumbha and another'containing remain turned to the wall. The pieces'of white bon~ «?iled small pimdas to ritually unite the earthly sojoum of any Hindu
home. When death is imminent, Earth. 1lle lamp is kept lit n~ar . in-law or near~st male relati..;-e. burning.embers from the homa. shrine room is closed, \:V1th "flowers." In crematoriums soul with the' ance.sfors in the soul.
, kindred are.notified. The per- the head and incense burned. A • The body is carried three times white cloth draping all icons. . these are ground to dust, and.
son is placed in his room or in doth is tied undeu the chin and .4. Preparing the Body counterclockwise around the ,During these days of ritual im- arrangements must be made to ·Rec,ommended.ResGurces·: Caring for Your o~n Dead, Lisa Carlson. Upper Access Publi~her.;,
the entrYWay of the house, with over the top of the head. The The chief mourner now per- pyre, then placecd upon it. All purity, family and close relatives preserve them. Ashes are car~. PO Box 457, Hinesburg. Vermont 05461. Dialogue with Death, Eknath !';aswaran. 1>Iilgiri Press, Box 477,
Petaluma, California 94953. Funeral and othe~ Sacramenis After Death, Jnana Prabodhiili. 510 Sadoshiv
ried or sent to India for deposi- . Petha.
do not visit othel's' homes,
.
the bead facing east. A lamp.'is . thun;lbs . are tied together,, as pre forms arati~ passing an oil lamp
over the remains, ·then offering
circumambulating, and some
arati, in the rites is counter- though neighbors and relatives, .- .tiOlJ.in fhe Ganges or placed,.
Pune 411.030; India. Qrihya Sutras, Sacred Books of the East Series. Motilal Ban=idilss. Bungalow
Road, Jawaharnagru; N,,,,. De!hi 7, India. Hindu Samskaras, pro Raj Bali Pandy,.Motilal Banarsidass. Life Af-
ter Life, Raymond A. Moody, B.mtam Books, 1540 Broadway. New York. New York 10036. Medl'tatlon and
Kasi, the Holiest Place to Die: A man awaits f1,is.gr..eat·deparliure; at . flowers. The male (or female, ' . clockwise. If a coffIn is 1!lsed, bring daily meals to relieve the them in an auspicious river or
. the Art of Dying, Pruidit Usharbudh Aryo. Himalayan Institute, Honesdale. Pennsylvan ia 18431. The Transi-
the moment of d:eath Ganga water is trickled into the mouth at the Clepending on the gender of the the cover is now removed. The . burdens during mourning. Nei- the ocean, along'with gm:lands t ion Caned Death, Charles Hampton, Theosophical Publishing House. 306 WesfGeneva Rd. Wheaton, illi·
Mukti Bhavan free hospice; oremamo1t grounds; women in mourning. deceas~d) relatives cm;rY,the men offer puffed rice as the 'ther.do they attend festivals ~d and flo"Yers.· nois 60187. Dilemmas of Life and Death, S. Crorn,well Crowley. SUNY Press, Albany; New York 12246.

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. of power is aPl?reciated by the
~~______~2-~~~____~~~~~
Sarada Temple: Mountaintop center of Sree Narayanct-Guro movement that changed all of India's Southwest state of Kerala
.,
MOVEMENTS
Kera~aControve~sy
Narayana Guru's ashram stabilizes after violent power transfer
By VRINDAVANAM S. GOPALAKRISHNAN
HE KERALA POLICE ANTICIPATED RE-
I sistence when they made their move to
enforce a court-ordered transfer of ad-
ministration at the Sree Narayana Guru
ashram at Sivagiri in SepteIllber, 1995. So
tRey came in plain clothes, surrounded the
main buildings and took the supporters of
Swami Saswatheekananda by surprise at the
six-acre ashram. But a handful of renegade
monks backed, iIJ.credibly enough, by 500
members of the radical Muslir'n People's De-
mocratic Party, refused to relinquish the
SB:arada Madam, the ashram's main temple,
and pelted officers with stones. The police
in turn charged with upraised 'canes. When
it was over an hour later, 66 police and 75
demonstrators, including some monks, were
injured, and windows of the temple broken.
34 HINDUISM TODA.Y J NUARY, 1997
. lice not intervened in time, Siva- creating in humans
...
Devotees of Sree Narayana Gur.u, virtual
patron saint of Kerala, were shocked. The
great swami had worked from 1870 to nis
mahasamadhi in 1928 to uplift the low-caste
Ezhavas, 50% of Kerala's people. The 52
monks of his ashram contr9lled dozens of
temples, schools, monasteries and".a hospital.
It was an outrage and contrary to expecta-
tions that some monastic descendants, in
whom he entrusted the movement, would,
in 1995, do pitched battle with police.
"A monk who held the reins of power for
two terms and became heavily involved in
politics and malpractice is responsible ,for
the predicament," stated Swami Prakasha-
nanda, the newly and' duly-elected presi-
dent of the governing trust. The monk in
question is Swami Saswatheekananda. Dur-
. They even enlisted the PQP (the
. . argues.
, giri ,,"ould have become a land of
ing his ten-year- term as pontiff, he wa~ ac-
clJ.sed of autocratic rule, misappropriation of
funds (leaving many of the trust's instit\{-
tions bankrupt) and unseemly involvement
in local politics, especially through exploita-
tion of caste prejudice, the very curse Nara-
. asylum"). Rather, he quietly installed a Siva-
yana Guru fought against. Swami Prakasha-
nanda told HINDUISM TOD;.\Y that fear of
exposure forced Saswatheekananda to op"-
pose a proper transfer of power when his
term ended.
• Complaints of mismanagement led to nu-
merous court cases in efforts to wrest con-
tro1 of the extensive spiritual institution
from Saswatheekananda. On repeated or-
ders from the court, Swami Prakashananda
climbed the flight of steps of Sivagiri thir-
teen times to take over the reigns of the Sree
Narayana Dharma Sangham
Trust. All these efforts were
thwarted by Saswatheekananda.
His followers claimed the coUrt
9rders did not apply to them .
Muslim People's Democratic Par-..
ty) on their side, whose cQ:air-
man, Abdul Nazar Madani, said,
"There should not be another
Ayodhya in Kerala, so the PDP in-
tervened in the Sivagiri issue."
The PDP was banned by the Ker-
ala government after the incident.
Swami Saswatheekananda de-
nies wrongdoing and complains,
"Even the British police re-
frained from attacking such pro-
testers during the independence ~ Narayana Guru [1856-1928]
str:uggles." He says the board ~ '--________________________________---'
cannot assemble, as such a meet- .
ing must be called by the out-go-
ing president, who is-himself
"The goal of qIl reli-
"They have come to power vio- gions is the same.
lating the bylaws and rules," he
- Once'riv.ers reach
Tile cominunity is generally
relieved. . The trust's oversight the ocean, is there
State Body is firm!>, in sUfPort of
the new administration. An difference like shal-
Ezhave elder said, "The change
low and deep? Reli-
people." Prof M.K. Sanu, a fol-
gion has the role of
lower of Narayana Guru, told
HINDUISM TODAY, "Had the po-
sin. It is the blessing of the Lord
the trend to ascend."
that they came in."
- SREE NARAYANA GURU
The great reformer: During
his lifetime, Sree Narayqna Guru
was responsible for the-social and religious man." Asked to explain what he meant by industry." He implemented these ideals
transformation of the Ezhava commvnity, one religion, he replied, "If this war 'ofreli- through establishing centers of education in
who today constitute 50% of Kerala's 20 mil- gions should end', with self control all have each of his temples. He reformed the mar-
lion Hindus. In his day, the "untouchable" to learn about afl religions. Then it will be- riage rituals to make them simpler and less
Ezhava -Caste was barred entry to the tem- c.ome clear that, as far as basic tenets are .costly, dictating, for example, a maximum of
ples, and could not approach the outer walls concerned, there qre no substantial differ- ten guests. In a famous incident, Narayana
closer than fourteen feet. Narayana Guru ences. The religion which thus evolves is the Guru arrived at a follower'S home just in time
plotted a strategic response. He chose not to 'one religion' that we advocate." He did not to summarily terminate an overly elaboratt;
agitate for temple' entry, given the area's believe in conversion and countered the ex-
abysmal caste relations (Swami Vivekanan- tensive Christian and Muslim influence in
da had characterized Kerala as a "lunatic the area by direct action and preaching.
Philosophically, Narayana Guru was an
linga at Arupuran and then at other places advaitan, but he denied the illl!sory nature
family celebration. Through his efforts, the
Ezhavas are today a respected community.
Swami Dharmatheerth, a direct discple,
summed up, "Narayana Guru created a rev-
olution before/ anybody knew its exact na-
around the state. The brahmin el"te chal- of the world as taught by Adi Shank!!ra. He ture or consequences, without antagonizing
lenged his right to encroach upon their pre- emphasized the presence of God every- anyone or demolishing any doetrine or at-
rogative. He merely responded, "What is the where: "What's known as this man or that, tacking any sect or creed. No other teacher
concern? I have only installed an Ezhava when probed, is in this world, a Primal Self ever accomplished his mission so peacefully."
Siva." He also saw to the training of an Form." He was a devotee of Siva (as are most Swami Saswatheekananda has virtually
Ezhav.a priesthood for the temples by estab- of Kerala's Hindus), influenced by Saiva Sid- exh'austed his legal options, and Swami
lishing a Brahma Vidyalayam at Sivagiri. He dhanta, but did not propound that philoso- Prakashananda anticipates no serious threat
eventually founded more than a hundred phy's intricacies. . to hisnew administration. Already several
Ezhava temples with non-brahmin priests- Later in life he stopped the construction of the monks who supported Saswatheeka-
bypassing upper-caste social controls. of new temples and focused on social action, nanda have rejoined the governing board.
Nararyana Guru frequently proclaimed, coining aphorisms such as, "Educate to be So, perhaps once again the mission of this
"One caste, one religion and one God for free; organize to be strong; thrive through great saint will proceed peacefully. _
JANUARY , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 35
 ,,1
r
Peace Ycijna in Puttaparthi, India
, ,) " \ t I,:. t\
I
(March) , was dedicated to Mars, the God of A Yajna will be held in Dr. Vasant Lad, Ayurvedic
~
war, also identified with the Hindu God,
~ i .. Puttaparthi from January Physician and Director of the

, ':.:!
)' . . f
\··1
1 .'. :.
~

\
/. I I ~ Muruga. The following m'onth, Aprilis, was in
celebration of the Goddess Venus, or Aphro-
dite, Goddess of love and beauty. Next was
Maius, from Maia, "the great one," Goddess
of spring. Then came Junius from the prin-
16 to Feb 2, 1997. The
focus is national integra-
tion and the general well-
being of the Indian
people through peaceful
Institute, with visiting faculty,
offer the Ayurvedic Studies
Program, seminars and pri-
vate consultations.

,., ; L,:'
I \' ,; , '
I
f" ) ) -1. . ! " ciple Goddess of the Pantheon, Juno, God-
dess of marriage and the well-being of
social change. 108 Pandits Yearly Curriculum:
). .. \ ," ' ( .' ~'. ,.1' will participate. We seek generous contributions for this • I: Introduction to philosophy,
:.. t, : 1' J women. The remaIhing months kept their worthy cause. Make checks payable to: Sri Shirdi Sai Baba theory and systems (Fall).
./ "
1
• I
J Latin numbers from the fifth to tenth: Quin-
tilis, Sextilis, Septembris, Octobris , Novem-
Temple, 1449 Abers Creek Rd., Monroeville, PA 15146-3603
USA. • Tel: 1-412-374-9244 • Fax: 1-412-374-0940.
• II: Introduction to Ayurvedic
assessment (Winter).
...
~
,' ."I
, J (
bris and Decembris. The count began with • III: Introduction to manage-
< the original first month: March. Hence De- ment of imbalances (Spring).
cembris means the tenth month. After Cae-
E
U
• • sar's assassination, tl1e fifth month was re- • Correspondence Course by
Z
< 'named Julius; the sixth month was renamed Dr. Robert Svoboda, Ayurvedic Physician
Roman calendar: Early breakthrough; pegs mark month (left), day (top ), year (right) after his grandnephew and heir, Augustus. Pooja International Gifts • Weekend and Intensive Seminars: Ayurvedic Cooking, Psychol-
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until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII de- items for havans • Religious Statues in all sizes • Religious oil massage, herbal steam, cleansing diet, herbal therapy, etc.

Happy Roman New Year
flail to Janus; the Cod of January!
ODAY'S WORLDWIDE CIVIL CALENDAR
was actualiy the making of 't he Roman
, Emperor, Julius Caesar, derived from
Egyptian, Greek and Roman culture
and calculations in 46 BCE. Under the ad-
vice of an Egyptian astronomer, Caesar
reengineered the calendar, instigated the
leap year and 'added 90 days to bring the
year back in step with the seasons. In addi-
tion, he ordered the New Year moved from
March to the first day of Januarius. The new
first month was named after the Roman
God Janus, whose t\'iO faces look both back-
ward and forward in-time. As God of begin-
nings, gates and doorways, He is strikingly
similar to Lord Ganesha. Just like Ganesha,
STRIVING
72-Hour Marathon Dance
HAT DRIVES A MARA-
thoner to go the extra
mile? When Vidya
Chandra Sekhar set a
new world record for dancing
in May, 1996, she was guided
by the strength of her late fa-
thers love. She danced 72
hours and 10 minutes of non-
stop Bharata Natyam for the
American Heart Association
and the Bharatiya Temple of
Troy, Michigan. The program
raised $25,000 in honor of her
36 HINDUISM TODAY JANUARY ,
Janus is listed first in prayers and invoked
when beginning new activities. His blessings
were sought at the beginning of every day,
month and year. The main temple of Janus
at the Forum in Rome has two doors, one
facing !he rising sun, the other the setting
sun. Inside, the statue of Janus has one face
looking out each door. Wlien the Sabines
captured Rome, they were kept out of the
Forum by fountains of boiling water that
miraculously gushed from the temple's stat-
ue of Janus.
The following month, Februarius, came
from Februa-the period of purification, and
a time to make offerings to the 'dead. The
original first month of the year, Martius
father, Sankarnarayan Chan-
dra Sekhar, who died of heart
disease in 1992. With blistered
feet and pure exhaustion set-
ting in, Sekhar, 27, held onto
that love to see her through
her three-day sadhana.
Approximately 600 people
watched this iron-willed
daughter perform the fmal
dance. She had injured her
left knee the previous Sunday
night and was finding it diffi-
cult even to stand between
1997
I year. This error had caused the calendar to
Fortitude: Sekhar, a danCing dynamo
dances. "Talk about stamina,"
said J.P. Cartmill, Sekhars co-
worker from Syntel, Inc, "I
can't believe she's standing, let little moments, that is all I ask"
alone dancing!"
clared it official and made a few minor ad-
justments in the leap-year calculations to
compensate for an error of 12 seconds per
gradually fall 10 days behirid the seasons
again, so Pope Gregory simply deleted the
extra days. Thereafter, the Julian Calendar
became known as the Gregorian. But apart
from that, the calendar was and is Roman-
Pagan, not Christiap.. While most of Europe
adopted the changes, Protestant nations re-
jected them and kept to March 25th as -their
New Year for some time. Great Britain and
her colonies held out until 1752. By then
they were II days behind the rest of Europe.
When the American colonies finally made
the switch from Julian to Gregorian, Ben .
Franklin wrote: "It i~ pleasant for an old
man to be able to go to bed on September 2,
and not have to get up ~til September 14."
It is interesting to reflect that since our
present civil calendar began with Caesar,
1997 is really the year 2041! 1 ..
The American
Heart Association
was "a great help" to
Sekhar during her
fathers illness. With
tears of joy running
down her face, ex-
hausted after the
event, she pleaded
with the audience,
"My tears are for my
father, I can't bring
him back But you
can love your fami-
lies. Stay close, love them and
please, exercise and watch
your health. Take time for the
BY JENNIFER M. FLAKER
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INVESTING IN THE FUTURE OF HINDUISM
Young people find friendship and spiritual answers at an ISKCON retreat.
Giving the Best to Our Kids
Fiery prayers: The late Shri Shan~arrao Thatte, who began training program in 1975 ost of us spare no means to provide the best want to know WHY.
LIT .URGY ,.
M for our kids. We shuttle them back and forth
endlessly to school, sports events, friends'
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada understood how important it is for
Women Priestesses homes and the mall. We work hard to buy them what
they need, and push them to gain entrance into the
finest universities.
young people to have a solid cultural and religious
foundation. That's why he translated and published
60 Vedic texts, like Bhagavad-GWi As-It-Is, making
A shortage of male!celebrants prompts the Preparing one's kids for the world has been im- the ancient wisdom available in 90 modern lan-
portant throughout history. The great sages of guages for people young and old.
training of women to pe.rform the priestly 'arts . India admonished us to fulfil our parental He opened temples, now numbering
duties, but they also challenged us with a 400, where young people can visit,
By VL. MA1"JUL, 'PUNE • Not unexpectedly, orthodox male priests
broader vision of the task. have darshan, eat sumptuous prasa-
CITY OF PUNE, IN WESTERN INdia, and s~stris of Pune have criticised and op-
I
HE
has not only been a prominent cultural posed the trend, claiming it is against Vedic "One should not become a father, da, have their philosophical ques-
~enter, but has also been swift to assim- ~aw. Ac~ord~?g t~ tQem, this is. the first time mother, teacher, or king;' the Vedas tions answered, and dance and
llate modern trends. It was here in Ma- m the VedIc Hmau religion that women
harashtra state, for example, that many_first have assumed the priesthood: say, "unless one can deliver his de- chant happily with their family
came forward and called for the education Dr. T. H. Dharmadhikari, a well-known pendants from the cycle of birth and peers.
of women and for widow remarriage. shrauta pandit, told HINDUISM TODAY and death." In London, for example, mem-
In 1975, one ranking harbinger of social there is no precise mention disallowing
change, Shri Shankarrao Thatte, began the women to recite Vedic mantras. There is In other words, we shouldn't just bers of ISKCON'S Manor Youth
training of ladies in priestly duties. At his certain evidence of womens pe;forming the give our kids the best that money can Forum hold regular weekend
r~si~ence he initially established two mar- thread ceremony, but there is no clear Vedic
nage,halls where he tutored a small group of sanctioI?- one way or the other. buy. We must offer them the best that get-togethers, spiritual retreats, and
1q to 20 ladies in various stotras and pujas. ,. These ladies are said to be more honest life has to offer. discussion sessions to help them bal-
He also trained them in the intricate and 'and pious than thejr male counterparts. Young people need a world view that ance the pressures of growing up-
mystical kno:.vledge of Sanskrit mantras, Sri While male priests today may oot under-
Rudram, Mahima, sacrificial tantra, mar- stand the meaning of the mantras they re- focuses not just on earthly success, but without forgetting God.
riage rituals and thread cere:monies. The cite, the ladies are trained to offer explana- spiritual fulfillment. Without a deeper under- Throughout 1996 people of many faiths
distaff priests began to perform yajnas 'to tions. Day. by day there is a growing standing of one's self, God, and the purpose oflife, it's and traditions will celebrate the centennial of Srtla
ing grac!'u ated 8 to 10 groups, Shri Thatte pIe are becoming wore and more religious. tough to avoid peer pressure and the allurements of Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of the International So-
arranged a trip for them to demonstrate Some have begun to "depend on modern drugs, casual sex, and selfish materialism. Today kids ciety for Krishna Consciousness. You are invited to
their liturgical prowess to Indian and Hindu technol~gy suc~ \is tape recordings of pujas·. don't just do things because their elders say so- they join in saluting the life and work of this great soul.
residents in England and Germany. The ladles are taking responsibility for these
Since his death .in 1987, his wife, Mrs. religious families, who express satisfaction
Pushpabai Thatte, has advanced"'-his work with their sacred duties.
under the name of Shankar Seva Samiti. It Communities outside India are also dis- Thanks to Srila Prabhupada ...
has:now spread to all parts of Maharashtra. qovering the value of competent priestesses.
The .idea of Hindu priestesses has been ac- In South Africa and Tri1idad, for example,
cepted by I?ost educated people, welcomed the Arya Samaj panditas are much in de-
Vedic culture is preserved for generations to come
as a revolutionary step in Indian society. mand for ceremonies and ministry. fI For more information please call ISKCON Communications at (301) 299-9707.
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HEALING
Hospital ,Hopes
And kJ8ZMds
Patients face inadequate insurance, hospital
diseases, poor food and excessive tests
BY DR. DEVANANDA: TANDAVAN, M.D.
ISTORICALLY THE HOS-
I pital has been an institu-
tion created as a central
place to give nursing care,
expert medical trea~ment and to
study and treat acute and chron-
ic illnesses. Today every hospital
also has a teaching and mon~tor­
ing responsibility for the health
aild wellness of its community.
The larger teac}ling hospitals
harbor specialists in various disease cate-
gories and are elaborate structures for
teaching every phase of the medical profes- cannot get a good vegetarian meal. Other
sion. Hospitals now 'range from the barely
adequate to the best there is to offer.
Commonly, the cost of running the hos-
pital continues whetlier or not there are
empty beds. Hospitals are the most con-
hp lled illdustry in the USA by federal}
state and local regulatory agencies. These
agencies, as well as the hospital commit- .
tees, put constraints upon the quality of
medical care, mortality, morbidity and
medical 'ethics. The most recent invasion is
by insurance companies, which pay most
of the patient's bills, but deny certain
ch~es, often without any good clinical
reason-all in order to keep their payouts
as low as possible. They dictate the maxi-
mum length of hospital stay, regardless of
the clinical condition of the patient.
The hospital's stated mission is the
preservation of life. This often means
that in spite of "living wills" (orders to
not resuscitate) the patient may be put on
. Reiki or even chiropractic adjustments.
life-support machines, contrary to his
wishes or those of the family. Once on the
machine, removal is alm~t impossible,
even though costs are mounting and no
benefit is derived by the patient.
The greatest hazard is nosocomial (hos-
pital acquired) infections from the many
germs, viruses, toxins and allergens that do
not exist at home. The patient is suscepti-
ble to massive new infections since he has
I
44 Bj NDUISM TODAY JANUARY , 1997
ffiN6UISM=-~ ~'="
EVOLUTIONS Dharma Graphics CD $199
BORN: Medicine Wheel, a silvery-white
buffalo calf on a South Dakota, USA,
ranch, May 9, 1996. Native American
Indians regard the ~500+imagesrenecDng
For the Mac. Reg. $249. Special offer for HT readers, only
Here it is-the Hindu art CD
one-in-ten million
birth as a good omen
equivalent to weep-
ing statues or Lord
India's rich traditions
of the decade. Trek into the
heart of mystic India with
this spectacular collection of
Ganeshas drinking
milk. Medicine men
and spiritual culture imagery drawn from the
treasurehouse of Hindu spiri-
say the white calf is tuality. This CD contains a
a sign "to begin to
wealth of clip art, Aums, pat-
mend life's sacred
hoop." terns, textures,sacredsym-
boIs, borders, fmished
DIVA TO DEVI: VIrtuoso European opera
no natural immunity. singer Astrid Van Heiden, initiated as graphics and some rare Raj-
Indiscriminate and often
unneccesary antibioticS'are
given-often with serious
consequences and without the
desired testing and matching of
Kaalikamaba Swami by Sri Ganapathi
Sachchidanan-
da, recorded an
audio-cassette of
healing Sanskrit
put scans. Great graphics for an ashram bulletin, a
yoga book, Web page or multimedia presentation.
~ums
the antibiotic and the offending
organism. Frequently this is
bhajans. She has
dedicated her
& Illustrations
without patient consent and life and prodi-
considered part of the blanket gious voice to
permit signed at admis;;ion. healing people
TheEutritionists do not understand Sop ranD with guru through song.
the concept of vegetarianism, and a patient
VINDICATED: The US Equal Employ-
food is also often inadequate, and it has ment Opportunity Commission ruled
been said that malnutrition is very com- that Bruce Anderson, a vegetarian bus
mon in the modern hospital without sup- driver fired in June for refusing to
plemental and very expensive feeding. hand out coupons for free hamburgers,
The current litigious nature of our soci- was discriminated against by his Cali-
ety encourages excessive testing-merely to fornia employer. He may return to his
satisfy medical and hospital protocols- job as well as receive attorney's fees
especially the latest and most expensive and back pay. Yea, dharma prevails.
techniques.
The patient can control many of these LIBERATED: Swami Bhashyanandiijl, 79, Patterns & Borders
"errors" by insisting that he be an active on October 4th, former head of the
participant in every decision that his physi- Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chi- othing lends a sense of Indian-ness to a design
cian makes and demanding that some
thin~s be treated on an outpatient or hos-
pice basis. He has the right of a second and
cago, of heart failure after a long ill-
ness. He was born in India in 1917 and
earned degrees in English and Sanskrit
N better than traditional borders and patterns.
There are hundreds to choose from on this creative
third opinion and to know his disease and before joining the Ramakrishna Mis- CD. Fall in love with the visual magic of Bharat and
th~ options of treatment. Most hospitals do sion Order at age 20. He served in any images are or-
not allow alternative methods of treatment various capacities at Indian RK centers enhance your personal or institutional image.
M ganized in
and deny to patients the options of allopa-
thy, homeopathy, ayurveda, hert)al medi-
cines, acupuncture, laying on of hands,
and was sent to the US in 1964. A
dynamic religious leader, he was in-
strumental in developing the Chicago
Society and the
.~~~~.f~ ~~~~~~~e
.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
... ... ., .......... ... ... ...... ... ...... ......... ... ... ...... ... ...
themes, like nature,
Deities, people, borders,
Many.....other issues are contrary to the Vivekan.a nda Monas-
symbols, etc. Use the
patient's interest in the modern hospital, tery and Retreat in Fetch browser to get a
but we must admit that we have the most Ganges, Michigan, as quick overview, then
sophisticated treatment in the world today. well as founding double clic on a page
many Vedanta
DR. TANDAVAN, 76, retired nuclea( <physi- groups in the US and for a detailed preview.
cian and hospital staff preSident, lives in Canada. We at HIN-
Clvi'cago, where he specializes in alternative DUISM TODAY fondly
healing arts. Visit his home page at the remember his visits
HINDUISM TODAY Website. with us in Hawaii. Bhashyananda
., Macintosh format only. No PC version available .
Pictured is our featured This extraordinary With this knowledge firmly in her heart
product-of-the-month from new book is and mind, she walked as a prayer and a
our assortment of aroma- authored by chance to inspire others to pray and work
therapy massage oils. These H.D. Swami for p~ace, averaging 25 miles a day. She
are rare Indian fragrances Prakashanand wore navy blue shirts and slacks, and a short
from ingredients carefully Saraswati, founder tunIc with pockets all around the bottom in
selected for their therapeutic of the International which she carried her only worldly posses-
value and for being natural Society of Divine sions: a comb, a folding toothbrush, a ball-
and non-animal in origin. Love, Barsana point pen, copies of her message and her
Dham and Shree current correspondence. She carried no
"Male Skin Toner" Raseshwari Radha money and would walk until offered lodging
A blend of hardy oils and Rani Temple. or food. At times she would miss a few
fragrances needed to meals, but generously complained, "My real
penetrate rough or dry skin. The Divine Vision of Radha Krishn is a Divine gift by Shree problem is everyone wants to overfeed me!"
Sesame seed oil, ashwagandha, Swamiji. It is a practical guide for all who sincerely desire to Her travel was not without danger. On --
turmeric, geranium and other experience the loving Bliss of Radha Krishn or any other one occasion a disturbed youth started to
natural flower essenses and essential oils. form of God as described in our scriptures. It fulfills the de- beat her. "I bathed ,his hatred with love even
votional quest of everyone, from a highly educated open- while he hit me," she said. 'l\s a result, the
This is but one from our over 225 Ayurvedic products minded aspirant to a simple-hearted devotee of God who is hitting stopped, and this boy was never vio-
imported directly from India. Buy directly from the USA's longing to receive His love and vision. • It incorporates the ·lent again." Another time she accepted a
largest bulk importers of Ayurvedic products. For the past philosophy and theme of more than 400 scriptures and gives ride from an unseemly character. She woke
25 years, our buyers have been traveling to India 3 or 4 times a crystal-clear view of the path to Supreme God. • For the after a short nap to find the man crying and
a year to insure our herbs are up to import regulatory standards. first time in hundreds of years, such a book in the English confessing he meant her harm, but simply
language has been published that reveals, in extensive detail, could not touch her. Such incidents were
Bazaar Of India Imports • Since 1971 the true Divine form of Radha, Radha Krishn, Divine Vrinda- rare. "No one walks so safely as those who
1810 University Ave ban and raganuga bhakti. • 464 pg. • $30 • Available from: walk humbly and harmlessly with great love
Berkeley, CA 94703-1516 USA and great faith," she said.' She did spend a
Tel: 800-261-7662 or 510-548-3332 The International Society of Divine Love, Barsana Dham, few nights in jail, but was always released
Fax: 510-548-1115 • E-mail: Tabla@ix.netcom.com 400 Barsana Rd., Austin, TX 78737 USA. when the police understood her mission.
Send for free, full 64-page catalog. Tel: 1-512-288-7180. After walking 25,000 miles, which took 11
years up to 1964, she stopped counting
miles, and speaking became her first priori-
ty, though she continued her daily trek. She
met with people on city streets and dusty
roads, in ghettos, suburbs, deserts and
trucks tops. She became a popular and
For centuries, the West has enjoyed beautiful translations of Perfect peace: Th1s self-proclaimed American renunciate lived like a Hindu sannyasini revered figure often interviewed by the TV,
the Upanishad, known as the Vedanta, "end:' or "oulmination" radio and press, invited to talk at schools
LIFESTYLE and churches across the country.
of the Vedas. But, alas, the other three major parts of the -J I Peace Pilgrim believed we hav~ entered a

Aotbology oftbc Vedas fo~ Modern Mall

aod COD temporary Celebration
as a rule, been pOQ)l'ly rendered.
world's oldest scripture have,
We at Himalayan Academy c0wld hardly lDelieve our eyes
when we stumbled on this thoughtful aPithology of tfie
'USA's "Peace Pilgrim" , crisis period in human history, "walking the
brink between a nuclear war of annihilation
and a golden age of peace." She felt it was
her calling to arouse people from apathy and
get them thinking and actively working fOr
Samhitas, Brahmanas, AranY<ilkas, Upanishads an61 01iher ma- Her life's march was both medium and message peace. She encouraged people to seek the
jor scriptures. This Vedic epiphany tells the :St0ry of the real source of peace within.
-- pure Veaanta, but her spiri- Once relentlessly ques-

I
rhythms of nature, history and man. Translation and com- ENUNCIATION IN INDIA IS ARDUOUS
enough, even though there it has been tual awakening was com- tioned by a reporter about .
mentary are the work of the brilliant renaissance thinker, Rai- the most esteemed spiritual path since pletely spontaneous, tied to her "tru~ identity," she re-
mon Panikkar. It is the fruit of twelve years of sadhana on the before recorded history. In America, no organized religion, East sponded, "This clay garment
it is even harder, where striving to live a or West. She was not a is one of a penniless pilgrim
banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, living in a Siva temJ5lle; I:le- homeless renunciate's life could well result Christian, never even en~ journeying in the name of
tween 1964 and 1976. Scholars consid€r it perhaps bis most in ridicule and arrest for vagrancy. Yet, from tered a Christian church un- peace. It is what you cannot
significant contribution to the liter-ary wor.ld. 1953 until her great departure in 1981, an til" she was 16, and then only see that is so very important.
extraordinary silver-haired American wo- to attend a friend's wedding. I am on,e who is propelled by
man lived this life to perfection. She gave "It came to me that God is the power of faith. I bathe in
Chapters on: 4. /rail and Decay herself the name "Peace "-Pilgrim" and . a creative force," she re- the light of eternal wisdom. I
SACRED 1. Dawn and Birth 5 . Death and Dissolution vowed: "I shall remain a wanderer until man- vealed, "a motivating power, am sustained by the unend-
2. Germination and Growth 6 . New Life and FreedoliYl . kind -has learned the way bf peace, walking an over-all intelligem:e, an ing energy of the universe.
ANTHOLOGY 3. Blossoming and Fullness 7, Twilight until I am given shelter, and fasting until I ever-present, all-pervading the Road: Her
am given food. " Walk she did, criss-crossing spirit-which binds every- ho1[W wandered with her
This is who I really am!"
Friends of Peace Pilgrim
the United States many times. She refused thing in the universe togeth- will send a free book on her
HIMALAYAN ACADEMY PUBLICATIONS Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1977, smythe sewn, e/oth bound, to reveal her preVious name, or be identified er and gives life to everything. That brought I life anywhere in the world.' Write to Peace
107 KAHOLAlELE ROAD
5 112" x 8 1/2", 1,.000 pages. US$35 .00 . + slh $3.50 in US; in any way other than "Peace Pilgrim." God close. I could not be where God is not. Pilgrim, 43480 Cedar Avenue, Hemet, Cali-
KAPAA HI 96746-9304 USA
$7 .00 outside US. Tel: 1-800-890-1008 ext. 238, Outside US: What she taught will strike the Hindu as You are within God. God is within you." fornia 92544 USA. __

BOOKS YOU CAN TAKE, SER I OUSLY 1-808-822-3012 ext. 238; Fax~ 1-808-822-4351 J ANUARY , 1997 HINDUISM TODAY 47
 ART

Dexterity .to the Max Will They Ever

One grown-up artist's take orr fingc;r painting
See the Valley? I

Pandits' persistent plight

"One God, One World" will be
chiseled in many languages into
the white granite ceiling of Ira ivan
Temple, Americas first all-stone
traditional Siva temple. In 1991
a small village was created
in Bangalore. India, for I 00
craftsmen and their families who
are hand-caNing the Iraivan temple
to be shipped to the Garden Island
Fing~rnail Creations: Tavkar in front of etche~ egrets and a dancing Ganesha
By LAVINA MELWANI, NEW YORK
F GANESHA IS EVERYWHERE - EVEN IN
. as "voluntary migrants," not refugees, and
nology, will eventually,continue in the fam-
ily tradition.
OF PANDITS RETURNED TO
Kashmir Valley in early October
from the bleak camps of Jammu in
which they have languished for six
years. It was a largely symbolic event in a
situation which, for the Hindu pandits, has
changed little since 1990 when 700,000 fled
the Valley in fear for their lives. This elite
group is.thought·to have lived in Kashmir for
the last 5,000 years. HINDUISM TODAY re-
ported on their plight in 1994, and staffers
took an opportunity in early 1996 to visit the
Purkhoo and Geologi<;al Survey of India
(GSI) camps a short distance from Jammu. Home sweet home: Boys play in front of a tailor shop refugee camp for Bhutan Nepalese
The situation at the camps is unchanged.
There are below minimal living facilities, no REFUGEES
schools and zero birthrate. Families live in
political limbo, classified by the government
ignored internationally. Each family re-
Booted O.u t of Bhutan
ceives US$42 a month plus a food ration of
rice and dal. A few are employed.
The Purkhoo camp of ragged army tents 100,000 flee Buddhist nation's ethnic cleansing
sits on a desolate open river bed; blazing hot
in summer and freezing cold in winter. A
single well serves 3,00d people. The GSI By DR. HARI BANSH JHA, NEPAL Nepalese people. One teen-age girl, Sita, said
group of.1,100 are better off, having com- ELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL PERSECU- the food provided the deportees was not ad-
mandeered the unfinished GSI building. is alleged to have forced 100,000 equate. Another lamented that the days
FamIlies partitioned off the multi-story con- Hindus from Bhutan, the tiny 18,147 were difficult for therh, and they were not

of Kauai. Call or visit our web

site for more details.
1-808-639-8886
http://www.HinduismToday.
Kauai.hi.us/ashram/lraivan.html
"ONE GOD,
ONE WORLD"
SAN MARGA IRAIVAN TEMPLE
107 KAHOlAlELE ROAD.
KAPAA. HI 96746-9304 USA
A TEMPLE BUILT TO LAST 1. 000 YEARS
I a grain of rice-He is surely in the tip of
the fingernail-especially Suhas Tavkars
fingernail. How else to explain the mag-
ic that this New York-based artist cern create
with his bar~ hands? Take away his paints,
paint brushes and pencils, and he can stin
give you exquisjte art. For many years, he
has been creating elaborate Lord Sivas,
Ganeshas and Hanumans, ballerinas and
Grecian sculptures. All he requires is a piece
of paper, a keen eye and his low-tech but
highly skillful fmgernails.
Tavkar, who hails from Gujarat in India,
is the third generation in his. family to prac-
tice this unusual art. He draws ~s inspira-
tion from ancient temple sculpture. He can
trace his family name back to the 14th cen-
tury, but doesn't know how this unusual art
came about. He recalls: "My father was an
engineer and did this for fun. I wanted to
turn this hobby into commercial art."
Currently, Tavkar works at the Grey .Ad-
vertising Agency in New York, and this
unique skI'll often come's in handy. He's hop-
ing his daughter, an art student at the pres-
tigious New York Fashion Institute of Tech-
A graduate ofBombay'~ J.J. School of Art,
he uses blind embossing even at work to
make mock-ups of clients' logos. Employing
the carefully filed nails of his right thumb
and index fingertip, he embosses a design
on paper or foil by painstakingly etching
the pattern into the paper to the appropri-
,ate depth. The r:esult is an intricate sculp-
tural rendering· made. without tools. Ju~t as
other artists keep their pencils sharpened
and paint brushes clean, he does the s~
with his nails.
Says Tavkar: "It's a demanding technique.
If a line or/impression fails to satisfy me, it
can't be undone." Recently his ballet-related
artwork was exhibited at the New York City
Ballet Gallery. He also uses his fingernail'
art to produce special braille cards which
are sold at the Lighthouse for the Blind.
Others may praise Ganesha with words and
song, but Suhas Tavkar does it through his
wOhderful fingernail ar.t. He etches not
only Hindu Gods, but images of other reli-
gions. He says art is universal, and, being a
Hindu, he is open to all faiths and sees the
good in all religions. ..'
crete structure with sacks and sheets into
makeshift living areas 12 by 20 feet.
Those who permanently leave the camps
for jobs are seen by those remaining as giv-
sq. km. Buddhist kingdom situated in
the eastern part of the Himalayas. Today the
refugees, most of Nepalese origin but claim-
ing Bhutanese citizenship, are settled in
ing up on any possibility of a return to their
nine camps in southeastern Nepal. Hindu
ancestral Valley home and, therefore, as Nepalese have migrated to Bhutan since the
abandop.ing the thousands-of-years-old pan- mid-nineteenth century, and by the 1980s
dit tradition. Certainly it appears more had conl'e to account for 25% of the nations
could be done to help the uprooted refugees, 1.2 million population. Fearing a threat to
their ethnic identity, Bhutan took measures
especially to see to the education of the chile
dren. Nevertheless, for now, no one is comingto limit the Nepalese presence, one of which
forward. ..'was to force the relatively recent arrivals to
return to Nepal. · ./
I had read that the conditions
at Goldhap camp were abom-
'1nable, but when I went to the
Sanischare camp on July 1, 1996,
\ I found a different story. I saw
food, good schools, houses, a
well, health facilities and small
variety stores. I noticed tnat the
children of the refugees were
well fed, though their' clothes
were unkempt. Overall, the con-
ditions of the Bhutanese refugees
Jammu: Pyare Lal (left) head of Purkhoo camp and residents seemed better than those of local
JANUAR Y,
allowed to seek employment. Nearby, men
were playing cards. Others sat by idly.
The Nepalese have greeted the newcom-
ers with mixed reactions. Some residents
near the camp told HINDUISM TopAY die
refugees were living "like pampered chil-
dren." Gayatri Devi said, "The refugees have
been given so much aid that even many of
the Nepalese have benefitted from this. .
Twenty-five percent of t.he nonnatives have
married locally and acquired Nepalese citi-
zenship. Quite a few are in service and busi-
ness. They are not going back to Bhutan."
Others expressed concern for the people.
Sunil Chaudhary reported, "Many refugees
have been converted t.9 Christianity. Luth-
eran World Service, noted for conversion, is
very active among tl}.e Bhutanese."
Talks between Nepal and Bhutan are at a
stalemate. India is suggested as an interme-
diary-refugees must pass through India to
get to Nepal. But internationalizing the
problem could lead to major complications
between Nepal and Chin~ over Tibetan
refugees who similarly passed through
Nepal on their way to India. WI
199 7 HI NDU ISM TODAY 49
 , I
MINISTER'S MESSAGE
Personal' Peace Leads
~ U~iversal ' Peace
Practice daily meditation, express love, find
peace within, then the world will change
BY K A RUN A MAY ( SRI V I,J AYE S WAR IDE V I -quality of forgiveness, forgiving others. '
, When we have only half-knowledge, with-
y WISH IS UNIVERSAL PEACE, TO BE ACHIEVED
N through the cultivation of individual peace. If each
person is at peace in his home, in his city, in his
country, there will be peace in the whole world. Why
is there discord and unrest in this world? It is selfish-
ness which perpetuates mortality and sensual life which
leads to hell. Wisdom, dimJa prema, divine'love qpd forgive-
ness all lead to immortality.
All religions should be honored. They all teach truth, and
they all seek to realize divinity. In following the teachings of
their own religIons, diose followers should lead a very simple
and very peaceful life. Whatever has been said in their scrip-
tures is what they must'practice in their daily lives. They
must cultivate universal love and self control. This will make their
lives peaceful and happy. . ceed on the path of constant meditation, bad qualities.such as
The lifestyle we see everywhere in the world now is--very color-
ful, but when we look closely and examine it carefully, it is com-
pletely empty. The emphasis on the material is why there is so
much frustration and tension in daily life, and why people cannot
find peace. To avoid such unnappiness is why a person must be-
come spiritual. Only then will he aohieve inner peace.
He who has intens~ desire for God, who has the inner vision,
only he understandN he universe. Your heart must be pure. When
you have inner vision, you can righ~ly understand the universe and peace. This meditation is a very simple process. You have to be
know what life is. This is the goal of life and to achieve that state
of ab~olute consciousness, that poorna pragna, the seeker s~eks.
ThaNs why holy people from all religions come down to the level
of ordinary human beings-to elevate them to that awareness. I
Body, mind and spirituality-these are three cages. A spiritual
seeker will go beyond all these cages. In his natural state, samadhi, meditation, God will be speaking to us,
the entire unive'r se is nothing but his Self. Whatever he enjoys in
this world is nothing but Self; time is Self only; wisdom is Self only. But in absolute silence is the connection with the entire universe .
He realizes he is not this body. In fact, when he achieves that
highest state of absolute conscjousness, he 'sees no differences at
all. He sees everyone the same, and he sees the whole world as his
own, knowing that the entire u~'verse belongs. to him: the rivers,
the mountains, the trees, the birds, everything belongs to him. He
sees nothing as separate from himself. He knows that he belongs t6
nature, and natur~ belongs to him.
We must love and serve nature. Nature teaches us so much and
giv.es every thing. But in return we do nothing for nature. So we
mbst not pollute. Not only physically. Pollution goes beyond the
visible and the material. It includes impme thoughts. Negative
thoughts will pollute nature, th'erefore our thoughts must always be
pure. When thoughts are pure, nature also will be pure. Nature
has to be saved and respected. One who loves nature and who
50 HINDUISM TOD AoY J <\NUARY , 1997
listens to the teachings of nature becomes a
wise pe~son.
We must love nature abd our fellow man,
Love is lacking in the world, and this is
what the holy ones are giving to the people.
By giving this love to the people, they are
elevating them to higher spiritual conscious- Through a combination of
ness. This is very 'important. The love
which the holy people give is very clear spiritual music mastery and
and full of pmity. It'is crystal clear. There is
no pollution at all in their love of mankind.
Knowledge without compassion is not musical intuition, Sri Ganap~
enough. Just speaking knowledgeably is not
enough. We must be very kind and very athi Sachchidananda Swamiji
simple. We must have .that pure and com-
passionate knowledge'which gives the great brings to an avid
out understanding, we will be very strict
listener the curative and
and intolerant. We will always be
commanding people. . inspirational power of
Many people come for spiritual solace.
They ask, "What must we do to overcome Indian spiritual music. /
all these miseries of life?" I tell them that
meditation is the only method which can
give us a balanced mental state. Start with
at least 15 to 20 minutes early in the morn-
ing. The brahma muhurta hour is ideal,
between 3:30 and 4:30AM. If you're not
able to do that, at least meditate before the
sun rises, not after s.unrise. Gradually in-
crease the meditation to one hour. Start the
day with meditation and end the day with meditation. As we..f>ro-
anger; jealousy and hatred will be reduced. External worship in-
volving man.y rituals and requiring ;many things may be a bit hard
for everyone. That doesn't mean that it is not important, but that it
is different from meditation which does not require externals.
Amma's blessing is meditation. The meditation I give is the
Saraswati Mantra meditation, which is so pow~rful. It is the bijak-
sharas ("seed syllables") which inspire and enric~ the mind. They
grant memory, the power of concentration and give the mind
like a baby iNfant who has no thoughts at all. The meditation state
is also without thought. Silently, closing one's eyes, one turns the His original
mind inward, concentrates and does the meditation by chanting
the Saraswati Mantra. There is a lot of difference between prayer Meditation and Healing music
and meditation. In prayer we are always, talking with God. But in
,
Liillguage is for sharing feelings with each other in this world. fuses ancient Indian instruments
without any disturbance. This is how, directly, soul to soul, goly with modern electronic synthesizer.
people transfer divine energy and elevated feelings without even
open,ing their mouths. They transmit their feelings in silence. The powerful result promotes
Silence is the language of Divinity. I like silence very much.
/ physical, mental and spiritual harmony.
In U. S.A., Call Toll Free
1-800-869-6616
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON ADDITIONAL AUDIO/VIDEO PRODUCTS, BOOKS OR ABOUT PIN CODE #90
THE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS OF SRI SWAMUI, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE: www.dattapeetham.(om
KARUNAMAYI SRI VIJAYESWARI DEVI , 38, considered an' embodi- lu~~::l EINDIA:1. J E U RQJ~ E_:
ment of the Divine Mother, lives at her forest ashram in Andhra
DATTA YOGA CENTER * SRI GANAPATHI SACHCHIDANANDA ASHRAM DATTA YOGA KREIS E.V.
. Pradesh. After years of tapas, she now travels and teaches globally.
139 (HINOUIPIN (OVE. RIDGELAND, MISSISSIPPI 39157 DATTA NAGAR. MVSORE 570004 OBERKASSELER STR. 99 • D·40545 DUSSELDORF
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"The DaHa Yoga (enler is a non·prolil organization registered in Ihe USA
 .
WORSHIP

City of Experience of aLife~__

10 Mil'lion
Icons
II If I were asked under what sky the human mind
••
A prodigious project
for world: peace fully developed and has found solutions to some of the
greatest problems of life, I would point to India ... 11
BY "CHOODIE SHIVARAM, BANGALORE
AMMASANDRA WAS JUST AN OBSCURE - Max Muller
I town 100 km from Bangalore until Sri
Samba Shivamurthy Swamiji decided
to propagate the greatness of Siva
through the consecration of many Sivalingas
dedicated to world peace and the welfare of
Bharat. When I visited the town, now called
Kotilingeswara, "City of Ten Million Icons," in India: Stone, pillar-shaped icons, 3.5 million so far, adorn every available nitch
all I Gould see were rows and rows of Siva-
lingas ranging in size from a few inches to a and a 12-foot-tall Vrishabeshwara, shrines So far, 3.5 million icons have been placed
108-foot Linga-shaped building. Over 500 fill the area for Sri Manjunatheshwara, Tri- here by devotees fulfilling a vow or seeking
devotees were present, many performing the murthi, Ashta-Lakshmi, Subramanya, the a beon. Pilgrims seeking the blessings of in-
ritual of prathishthapana, installation of a Navagrahas and many other Deities. The stalling an icon can do so for a fee. Acharyas
Sivalinga, with a priest's assistance. maiR attraction is the entrance from the and politicians alike (including late Prime
Sivalin ga means "mark or sign, of Siva." It highway to the central courtyard. The cylin- Minister Rajiv Gandhi) have done so.
is one of India's most prevalent and highly drical icons line the colonnade, perch upon Kammasandra is mentioned in the Ram-
revered temple' icons, a rounded, elliptical, rooftops and stand as sentrie s around every ayana as a yillage Rama's horse blessed as it
aniconic image usually set on a circular shrine and building. In some places they are wandered the land during the Ashwamedha
base, or pitha. It is the simplest and most packed so tightly that one cannot walk be- Yajna [horse sacrifice]' People believe the requirements of groups,
ancient symbol of Siva, especially of Parasi- tween them. Most are traditional in shape; oppulent Kolar gold fie}ds nearby are the re-
va, Reality beyond all forms and qualities. others have square bases. One is uniquely sult. The area is also cited in the Puranas as
The temple compl~x is situated on 20 acres five-sided with five spouts. a place where a fabulous ceremony was per- organizations, and
of land. Besides th~ 108-foot-tall Sivalinga "Koti" means 10 million. That;s the goal. formed by Dakshabrahma. ~
individuals. We work
METAPHYSICS The TV image,
closely with you to
left, was recorded
E-mails from Heaven? by Adolf Homes of
Germany. He says it
is Friedrich Juer-
ediums-persons able receiving messages through genson, a spirit re-
to go into a trance and telephones, answering ma- searcher who died
speak out messages chines, radios, computers and in 1987. At the mo-
from the Gods, devas TVs. The admittedly contro- ment the image was
or people "on the other side"- versial developments have a projected, a mes-
are common in Hinduism, in
both villages and big cities.
substantial following, especial-
ly in Europe and America.
sage from Juergen- satisfaction.
son appeared on
Few Hindus are probably The quietly growing field, The late Juergenson: From Homes' computer
aware that the West also has a called Instrumental Tran scom- beyond the grave; in life saying, in part, "We
long tradition of channelers, munication (ITC) currently are able to enter
who are now going hi-tech. In involves two dozen researchers Tesla). These beings are your structure in various ways.
a recent development, modern in eight countries who work, quickly mastering the art of I am sending you again a pro-
research laboratories in Eu- they say, with a team of more manipulating the energies of jection of myself" More mes-
rope are reporting extended, than 1,000 spirit beings (in- our modern technology-an sages and images are being re-
two-way communication with cluding ThoJIlas Edison, interaction giving direct physi- ceived on TVs and PCs at the
spirit colleagues almost daily, Madame Curie and Nikola cal evidence of life after death. research lab in Luxembourg.

52
718-291-Ll~"
HI N DUISM TODAY JANUARY , 1997
 JOB S
Electronic
Immigrants
I\NT A HIGH-TECH
W job in America but
can't get a green card?
No problem. Get an in-
ternet connection, and
you can work for any
company in the world.
Such electronic immi-
grants "will be able to
work as quickly and eas-
ily as if they were sitting
BeamwO'rk to your boss
in a cubicle 100 yards
, down the hall from the
boss," says one US news-
paper. We're not talking
about low-end data en-
try either. The same re-
port says, "Highly
trained engineers and
technicians in Banga-
lore, India, will pump
out computer software
code for a fraction-
sometimes one-tenth-of
the salaries of their
Western counterparts."
Fast software production
is beiIlg done by
matched teams in the
US and India who work
during each other's night
on the same project.
Tt-Iat intQ which, Qnce dead, they enter, is Brahman.
' MEDIA
India Press Online
NDOPHILES CAN AL-
Imost weekly find a new
Bharat magazine or
newspaper on line. One
ne.ed no longer spend
$50 and up for a "snail
mail" subscription-and '
get the news two weeks
late in the bargain. Up-
to-date links to electronic
editions of Indian Ex-
press, The Hindu and
Deccan Herald newspa-
pers, as well as Outlook
and The W eek magazine, One of the on-line media
can be found at http:// /
Four cartoon characters guide yol).r jou:mey ugweb.cs.ualberta.cal-srinivaslindial. The presenta-
CD - ROM tion is stylish at these sites. Articles are frequently
accompanied by color pictures. Back issues are
Let's Tour India! archived and provided with e8$y-to-use search func-
tions. Recently, the popular almanac, Kalnimay, was
ONGRATULATIONS TO PADMINI MULTI- added at http://www.indiaworld.com.
C media Ltd. for this wonderful interac-
tive CD tour of India. The quality of
graphics, sound and photos is first
class. Four animated guides are introduced by
Surya, the Sun, talking from your computer. Each
RELIGION
Parishes
from the pope and a
guided tour of Vatican
art. Most ambitious is a
scene is narrated and accompanied by sonorous plan to set up 19,500
Indian music. The digital sound effects are so Online AmericaQ Catholic
good, the lion's roar may cause the bravest among churches with their own
us a moments pause. The first character, Lalloo, ATHOLICS WORLD- Web home page. Hindus
tours you through India's major cities and all of
the states, introducing eleven domestic and wild
C wide are wasting no
time putting the Internet
would benefit from simi-
lar comprehensive plans
animals. Raj helps you meet different people and
attend diverse Hindu festivals. Bhim travels with
you from present-day Bharat back through histo-
ry to 2500 BCE. Lastly, Munni invites you to visit
monuments, listen to music, see works of art,
view vignettes of Indian dancers and clips from
Bollywood films. Along the way are games and
puzzles to play. Any member of the family from
four years old and up can learn much about the
vastness that is India. Available for Windows (no Take a net tour of MichelangelO's Sistine ceiling
Mac version) for US$29.95. Order: Multisync
Trends Inc., 540 Gotham Parkway, Carlstadt, to use for their faith. Al- to put every temple and
New Jersey 07072 USA. ready available are vast ashram on-line, plus en-
Catholic resources, in- gineer easy web access to
cluding weekly messages Hindu wisdom and art.
Tt-Iat frQm which beings are bQrn,
THat by which, Qnce bQrn, they live,
KRISHNA YAJUR YEO;1\., lAlTfIRIYA UPANISH;1\.O III, 1