FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

FRIENDS GAZETTE
Your articles look at moral reasons for being
vegetarian or vegan which is a very
interesting mix and unique . . .
Tim Barford - founder VegFestUK

JUNE/JULY 2016 - ISSN 2053-4426

UK and FRANCE - e-mail: friendsgazette@gmail.com

FG GOES DUTCH
Northern European launch for online veggie magazine

Action over
volunteer
death draws
a step closer

And this year will be the fifth

time in Amsterdam.
The festival comes as plantbased food is booming in the
Netherlands and beyond.
Organizers say the event

LEGAL action over the

will be a great day out for

death of a volunteer after

flexitarians, vegetarians and

an incident at a UK spiritual

vegans. With lectures,

centre could be a step

workshops, food stalls and

closer after an in-house

much more!

legal team passed the file

Friends' Gazette is avidly

to appointed legal counsel,

read by veggie subscribers

Tucking into some delicious veggie fayre at a VLF food festival

the FG has learnt.

Amrik Blaggan, 57, died on
Sunday, April 6, 2014 at
Addenbrookes

Hospital,

following an incident at the

Radha Soami Satsang Centre
in Haynes Park, Beds

on

Friday, April 4, 2014.

Buying in mass e-mail lists is

YOUR popular vegan, veggie

and alternative living mag is

not on the cards.

set to boost its reputation

and others in Australia, the

United States and India.
It's European presence is

A spokesman said: "Our

currently focused in France.

and readers with a bold

readers are committed and

Publishers see the move as a

launch across the channel.

dedicated to the principal of

chance to spread the FG word in

ahimsa (non-violence).

northern Europe where English

For the online mag will be

signing up new readers and

"Many are active

is more commonly spoken.

generally putting it about at

campaigners in the battle to

An inquest on Friday, April

the Viva Las Vega's Food

save the planet and pioneers in

French with simultaneous

11, 2014 heard Mr Blaggan, a

Festival in Amsterdam this

the veggie/vegan world."

English translations.

father of two, from Kidbrooke,

month (July).

south

London

suffered

traumatic head injury.

Go to page 5

Viva Las Vegas Food

Vegan and veggie festivals are Festival is the largest

the main way Friends Gazette

vegetarian festival in the

signs up new readers.

Netherlands, organizers say.

Some articles are written in

According to Wikipedia,
vegetarianism is "fairly
common" in the Netherlands.
Continued on page 5

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

FoE welcomes
emissions curb
FLOODS and droughts dont care

The big

whether the UK is in the EC or not.

challenge is to

That was the stark message from

ensure stronger

environmentalists, Friends of the Earth, in

policies to

the wake of the Brexit win last month.

meet this

Since the shock vote followed by a new

Conservative prime minister, Teresa May,

carbon budget.
The

and turmoil in Labour ranks, ministers

committee on

have confirmed that they will endorse a

climate

proposal by the committee on climate

change has

change to cut UK emissions by 57 per

repeatedly

cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

warned that

The target is the fifth five-year carbon

we are not on Glenridding in Cumbria suffered torrential rain and flooding

(Pic: Press Assn.)

budget, which aims to ensure that the UK

track to meet our climate goals for the

negotiable part of how the UK deals with the

meets its legally-binding target to cut

2020s.

repercussions of Brexit.

emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels

in 2050.
Friends of the Earth senior climate
campaigner Simon Bullock said:
After the huge confusion following the
Brexit vote, we welcome the certainty this
decision gives. Investors will now know

Floods and droughts dont care

whether the UK is in the EU or not.
We must get on with the urgent

Last December storm Frank battered the

UK with heavy rain and high winds.
Thousands of homes in Scotland and

business of getting all the worlds

Northern Ireland were left without power as the

economies off the coal, oil and gas which

third storm of its kind in a month hit the country

are putting all our futures at risk.

causing widespread disruption overnight.

Protecting our homes, communities

And in January Glenridding in Cumbria

that the UK is a place where low carbon

and environment from the ever-growing

suffered torrential rain and flooding causing

investment can flourish.

dangers of climate change must be a non-

people to flea their homes.

SW

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Matador death will just support

the corrida - campaigner says

Fit for life

ATHLETES who have shunned

A BRITISH anti-bullfight

on equal terms with the bulls,

campaigner has said the

which is absolute crap. So it

meat, dairy, eggs and fish will

goring of a matador last

probably supports the pro-

be speaking on their chosen

Saturday, July 9, will do

corrida people.

sports and how they have

And Tim, a professional

nothing to help ban the sport

guitarist who hails originally from

but, instead, will support it.

Brighton, added: The animals

Victor Barrio, 29, died from his

injuries after the bull turned on

are prepared to put on a show

him goring him fatally in the

with the least harm possible to

stomach in Teruel, in the eastern

the [matadors].

have sacks of cement dropped

Tim Broadbent who recently

started a petition to ban

on their backs [to weaken them

bullfighting in the south of

beforehand].

with their veganism at the

inaugural Vegan Athletes
Summit at VegfestUK London

October.

Report food crime

THINK the makers of the item

Spaniard Barrio was gored by

France where he lives said:

managed to marry these up

to be held in Olympia in

They are tranquilised; they

Aragon region of Spain.

youre eating arent being

Everyone focusses on the death

his very first bull at Las Ventas

entirely honest when it comes

or injuries of a few guys who

bullring in Madrid in April 2012.

to describing content or origin?

His wife who was in the crowd

make a hell of a lot of money

Tim Broadbent

News in brief

from public funds. What it

in Aragon was said to be

actually does is make people say

devastated by her husbands

its a dangerous game, they are

death.

Alert the authorities

anonymously! Call 0207 276
8787 or just get emailing:
foodcrime@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Simplifying Happy Choices

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Vegan already? VeganAge offers ideas and solutions to help you simplify your life
Curious about trying vegan? VeganAge explores the basics of nutrition, debunks
myths and aims to simplify happy choices.

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4

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

FG GOES DUTCH - from page 1

FRACK OFF
Angry residents take fight to the High Court

population of almost 16.5 million increased

from 560,000 in 2004 to 720,000 in 2006.
It goes on to say that 4.5% of the Dutch

The prestigious event will provide an

Yorkshire

exciting showcase for FG which began in

residents have

April 2014 as a one-sheet newsletter. The

told their council

lead story was about a vegetarian feast

and a Barclays

celebrating the birthday of a reader.

owned subsidiary

Since then it has rapidly grown into a

to frack off after

regular full-blown I-mag with around ten

a controversial

issues a year and a worldwide circulation

plan was given

of thousands.

the thumbs up

objections.

that the number of vegetarians out of a

population dont eat meat.

ANGRY north

despite their

The site quotes a study which shows

Holland, where the number of part-time

Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) in The Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the
Marcellus Shale which spreads through New York and Pensylvania are just
two examples of millions of fracking areas in the USA. (source CNN)

And now they

are taking the council to the High Court in

County Councils decision to allow fracking

a last ditch bid to get justice.

near the North Yorks Moors National Park.

Their frank message comes as North

The key reasons for pursuing legal

Yorkshire County Council green lighted

action are the councils failure to properly

an application to carry out the fracking

assess climate change and its failure to

technique - where oil is reclaimed from

secure long term financial protection

shale - in Kirby Misperton, Ryedale.

against environmental damage, the

The site is near the beautiful untouched

area of North Yorks Moors National Park.
In a statement the residents, along with

vegetarians has grown rapidly - around 3.5

million Dutch citizens abstain from eating
meat a few days a week - will be fertile
territory for Friends Gazette, which
believes in an open-minded, non-rigid
approach to vegetarianism.
The magazine, which has close ties with
both the British Vegetarian and Vegan
Societies welcomes the fact that more and
more Dutch veggie products are labelled

residents claim.
Despite the clear rejection of fracking by
residents in North Yorkshire the council

protest group, Frack Free Ryedale, say:

voted on 23 May to allow Barclays-owned

We have applied today to the High Court

Third Energy to frack in Kirby Misperton,

for a judicial review of North Yorkshire

Ryedale, the group said.

with the international V-label, overseen

by the Dutch vegetarian association,
Vegetarisch Keurmerk.
Veganism, though, is uncommon in the
Netherlands: the Dutch Association for
Veganism estimates that there are
approximately 16,000 vegans in Holland or

News in Brief
Lost and found

and remembers where

Sunny outlook

you put it. But lets just

around 0.1% of the Dutch population.

STEP CLOSER from page 1

As reported in FG in March, Bedford

ALL bets may be off on the

council investigated the incident and

praying to St Anthony to

UK-EC relationship following

then passed their findings to the

help find lost things

the Brexit vote, but when it

councils own in-house legal team. Now

works. After all he is the

comes to the weather were

professional lawyers are taking a look.

patron saint of lost and

still in there - of course!

MANY of us know that

lose that theory, shall we?

stolen articles.

For Eurotunnel announced

A council spokesman told FG: The

investigation has concluded and the

this month (July) that it has

findings are with our appointed legal

chosen to receive rail

counsel awaiting a decision on whether

weather services from the

or not further legal action will be taken

just takes away the

UK Met Office in conjunction

and if so under what grounds.

pressure and your brain is

with Mto-France, for three

Now a blog sets out

exactly how to go about it.
Sceptics say the prayer

then able to think clearly

St Anthony of Padua

The inquest has been adjourned until

all legal investigations are concluded.

years.

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Mumbai turns vegan

as appetite changes
A VEGAN renaissance is blossoming in

For instance, the vegetarian Asian

a major Indian city with 2016 predicted

spread at Sid Hospitalitys Lemon Leaf in

to be 'the year of the vegans' by one

Bandra and Andheri, (two city areas just

local restaurateur.

nine minutes apart by car) and at Vashis in

For centuries the sub-continent has

sported lacto-vegetarianism.
Partly for reasons of religion and partly

Soy Street, makes for a large amount of

vegan-friendly options too.
We get a few requests every week; and

because of culture dairy products are

while earlier, they were mostly from ex-

everywhere.

pats, more locals are also asking for vegan

Krutika
Behrawala
(right)
reports
from
Mumbai

But now things are changing.

food now. The vegetarian fare constitutes

On the Mid-day.com website reporter

40-45% of the menu at the restaurants and

meal of salad, appetiser, a rice dish and

Krutika Behrawala writes: Mumbai

all those dishes are vegan, as we dont use

even a pasta that can be prepared by

restaurants are pulling all stops to meet the

any dairy products. Those with cottage

omitting the fresh bocconcini, she reports.

demands of the small but growing tribe of

cheese can be replaced with silken tofu,

vegans, by introducing special menus and

chef Mitesh Rangras tells Krutika.

tweaking existing dishes.

The vegan population in Mumbai is still

a very small one, so we havent found the

Others, like The Sassy Spoon, in

need to do vegan specific dishes on the

Nariman Point, stick to transforming

menu. Tweaking is easy, especially in a

vegan options on the menu, some, by

existing dishes on the menu into vegan-

commercial kitchen, considering its more a

default, considering theyre dairy-free.

friendly options. Here, vegans can enjoy a

Today, several city restaurants offer

Continued on page 17

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Dont myth out

Multi-faith protesters
pray for war victims

Fruit and vegetables among top items chucked out unnecessarily

MYTHS about how long food can be

Thirty per cent admit to throwing food

frozen before eating are preventing

away as they had bought too much and

people from correctly using their

didnt eat it, and over half (54%) say they

freezers and helping save the planet.

feel guilty when they throw food away.

According to research done by the

However, the reasons given can all be

government 43% of those interviewed

avoided by making better use of the freezer,

think that food should only be frozen on

the Food Standards Agency claims.

the day of purchase to be safe; and 36%

Steve Wearne, director of policy, said:

wrongly believe that food can become

Much of this waste is unnecessary. The

BUDDHISTS, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs

unsafe to eat while in the freezer.

freezer is like a pause button, so you can

joined forces recently to try and rid Britain of

freeze foods right up to the 'use by' date.

nuclear weapons.

Over two thirds (68%) of the people

surveyed have thrown food away in the

Defrost food as and when you need it

Christian peace groups from Put Down The

past month, with bread (36%), fruit

and eat it within 24 hours of it being

Sword and the London Catholic Worker lay in

(31%), vegetables (31%) and leftover

defrosted.

the road blocking the three entrances to AWE

meals (22%) topping the list.

The most common reason given for

Helen White, food waste expert at

Burghfield. Alongside the protesters people

Love Food Hate Waste, said: In the UK

from local Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Sikh

throwing food away is that it is past its

each household wastes the equivalent of

groups gathered to pray for the victims of war.

use by day, cited by over a third (36%)

about six meals a week, which is bad for

of respondents.

our pockets and the planet.

The 'No Faith In Trident' protest was part of a

month of action which ends in July.

For SPECIAL OFFERS on

nut butters click this ad
(and use code NW-FG16)

Nutural World
7

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

LOW IMPACT HOPE IN

SPIRITUAL CENTRE BID
Groups worried boss puts faith in nearby Hindu temple
THE HEAD of a meditation

Barry Ross, secretary of

low-key development. No one will

know its up, he said.

group is hoping no-one will

Defenders of the South East

notice his plan for a centre in

Green Wedge in which Carrum

the heart of the Melbourne

Downs falls, said the groups

terms of impact on the

green belt - because its near

development should be located

community, no one will notice us.

a Hindu temple.

in an urban area.

The somewhat bizarre claim

This extremely large

We are a low-key group. In

This is the second time this

Sikh groups Australian arm has

comes from Michael Cooke

complex would be a completely

had a crack at building on

chairman of Radha Soami

out-of-place intrusion into the

Melbournes green belt.

Satsang Beas Australia Pty Ltd.

rural countryside of the green

Group headquarters is based

in the Punjab in India.

wedge, he told the local press.

But Mr Cooke claims the site

It tried to create a similar centre

in Chirnside Park in 2014, but its
hopes were dashed by Yarra

at 2 Boundary Road and 724

Ranges councillors after local

uproar amongst Aussie citizens

Frankston Dandenong Road, is

residents freaked out and started

who are furious at the idea for a

entirely appropriate.

organising protest meetings and

The plan has already caused

large worship centre in Carrum

Downs, Melbourne.

The reality is we are next

door to a Hindu temple. Its a

mass anti-plan gatherings.

(See comment page 18).

The thriving Sri Shiva Vishnu Hindu temple next door

RELAX AND UNWIND WITH ROLLING RESTORATIVE YIN YOGA

89a Cronulla Street, Cronulla Beach, NSW, Australia. +61 409 700 511

A model strikes a
Yin Yoga pose

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

With a
little help
from our
FRIENDS

Magic touch to
boost FG profile
THE MAGIC of social media is being harnessed by the FG team as a
welcome boost to its presence on the net.
Friends Gazette currently goes out directly by email to readers all over
the UK with a burgeoning readership worldwide.
Now they will also get regular reminders of up-coming articles as well
as the latest product offers and competitions.
A spokesman said: We often have things to tell our readers, be it a
competition, breaking news story or special offer which is relevant to them
and we dont want to wait to bring it to their notice. Now we will be able to
keep them slap bang up-to-date using Facebook.
A marketing spokesman added: Readers can now get additional alerts
to breaking stories as well as partake in all the well-known Friends
Gazette competitions and offers.
Facebook users can also use the social media giant to share news
stories or competitions with their friends in addition to emailing them in the

FRIENDS GAZETTE is a free and independent on-line magazine-

normal way.

stroke-newspaper and we intend to keep it that way.

To do so we need the support of advertisers.
Our current advertisers include some of the top producers in the
vegan-vegetarian world from spring water to vegan marshmallows.

Friends Gazette is posted monthly on Scribd.com where more than

3,000 people regularly log-in to read present
and past issues and stories.
It is thought that a higher profile on social media will increase the
magazines availability to readers as well as attract new ones.

We dont believe in touting for testimonials, many of which end up

Distribution continues on the MailChimp inter-active system.

being paid for. However here are a few compliments which have
come our way, without asking, in the course of business.
Thanks everyone. SW

FRIENDS GAZETTE

I believe that the FG is of a very high standard and I would like my brand
to be associated with it.
Mordechai Chachamu - Nutural World
Perhaps I could offer a selection of our products to Friends Gazette for
you to review.
Julian Lucas Plamil Foods

Your market - our readers

Happy to see the result of our collaboration as a whole now!

Real journalism

It looks great.
Caroline de Filipis Bute Island Foods

News not propaganda

Exclusive stories

Love it!

Investigative reports

Ananda Ananda Foods

Human interest
Your articles look at moral reasons for being vegetarian or vegan which is

Selected advertisers

a very interesting mix and unique . . .

Tim Barford - founder VegFestUK

For our 2016 media pack simply email:

Have seen the advert. Looks good and I'm enjoying reading the articles.

friendsgazetteadvertising@gmail.com

I have given it to my dad to read. Thanks again.

Lady Hummingbird - vegan jewellery

THE VITAL

Thanks for the ad. It looks good. We are always happy to do business

ALTERNATIVE

with Friends Gazette.

Salique Khan - Diwanas Brick Lane

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

DRUG COMPANIES ARE BIGGEST

FUNDERS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH
DRUG companies are the largest

The database shows that in 2015,

investors in medical research in

drug companies invested a total of

the UK, a report shows.

340.3m on working with health

And exactly how much they give to

professionals and organisations of

each and every organisation,

which 229.3m (67%) was in research

including individual medical

and development activities.

practices, can be uncovered on a

They invested an estimated

new website.

average of

The

1,550 per

Association

healthcare

of the British

professional

Pharmaceuti-

and around

cal Industry

9,506 per

first time, details of transfers of

healthcare organisation.
Sharmila Nebrajani, director of

value payments or benefits in kind

external affairs at the Medical

made to individual doctors, nurses

Research Council said: Industry is by

and pharmacists, as well as other

far the largest funder of medical

health professionals and healthcare

research in this country.

organisations in the UK on a publicly

accessible database Disclosure UK.

Collaborations between scientists

and industry are crucial.

Got a book
locked away
inside your
head?
Nigel LesmoirGordon - author
and film-maker

Nigel can
help bring
it to life!

Serves four to six people. Youll see Im using

frozen fruits. So now you can make and enjoy
this delicious pudding all year round!
INGREDIENTS
900g frozen pack of either (Tesco) frozen
summer fruit or (Tesco) frozen Black Forest fruit;
2 tablesp water;
170g caster sugar;
6 9 slices stale white bread (Yours is fresh?
Leave out on work top awhile).
METHOD
GENTLY cook fruit in pan with water and sugar
till just soft.
Drain off most of the juice and reserve.
Dip bread slices into reserved juice and line a
half-litre basin (first, circle in the base then
tapering slices 1.5 inches top, 1 inch bottom,
and reserve enough to cover the top.)
While fruit is just warm, pour into the lined
basin. Cover with bread on top. Pour remaining
juice into a pan and reduce till syrupy, leave to
cool.
Stand the basin on a dish. Press a saucer or
plate onto pudding and put a 1 lb. weight on top.
Refrigerate overnight. Remove saucer and
weight.
Invert serving dish over bowl and turn both
over together. Shake sharply and remove bowl.
Spoon over reduced fruit syrup and serve with
lightly whipped double cream or make up a
sachet of Dream Topping.

For a FREE assessment

send a 200-word synopsis
and plot summary to
nigel@gordonfilms.tv
10

pic courtesy Andy Sewell

(ABPI) last month published, for the

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

News in Brief
An apple a day
A BOOK claiming for the first
time to set out which fruits and
vegetables help battle which
types of cancers, has been
published in Singapore. In
Anti-cancer Properties of
Fruits and Vegetables author

take on a part-time project

manager but only if the money
materialises.
A spokesman said: The
continuation of this role
depends on project funding
which has yet to be raised.

Buzz off!

Ajaikumar B Kunnumakka

THE GOVERNMENT has

writes The vast majority of the rejected a second application
general public has no
by the National Farmers Union
knowledge of the impact that
to allow farmers to use two
certain fruits and vegetables
banned bee-harming pesticides.
can have on preventing
Friends of the Earth
specific types of cancers.
campaigner Dave Timms said:

Eat, sleep, pray

The NFU risks damaging

A UK prayer group is putting

public trust in British farming

its hands together in a bid to

with its repeated attempts to get

find cash to boost growth.

these dangerous pesticides

Prayers on the Move hope to

back into our fields.

11

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Spiritual
flowering
PICTURE the scene. An upscale Indian

they were bought by rock stars like Lennon and

ashram (the dera) where hippies are

Harrison and the guys in the Hendrix band.

banned and drugs and alcohol are a

[The] jacket [was] by John Pearse and Nigel

complete no-no; when in saunters 60s

Waymouth. It was [William] Morriss Golden Lily

luvvie and confirmed fashionista Nigel

pattern and was made from thick curtain fabric

Lesmoir-Gordon - wearing one of the most

so it lasted and lasted and lasted...

iconic pieces of clothing of the era.

Here Nigel tells us more about how heads

[It was] sold at Granny Takes a Trip located

at the Worlds End on Kings Road.

turned as he strolled into Dera Baba Jaimal

[I] bought it with money earned working as

Singh in Beas in the Punjab, in 1968 in a

an editor at Cammell, (Chariots of Fire) Hudson

William Morris jacket and orange shoes.

and Brownjohn Productions in Shawfileld Street

He joined the group and now lives a strict

vegetarian, drug and alcohol-free life doing
daily meditation under the guidance of his late

off the Kings Road. I liked it. It spoke to me of

nature and LSD visions and felt just perfect.
[I wore it] to the dera in 68 where it turned a

guru, the charismatic and eternally powerful,

few heads (in the traditional use of the word!).

Charan Singh. I bought the jacket in 66.

I also arrived in green velvet trousers and

There were only ten made [at the most] and

Nigel
wearing the
Golden Lily
jacket

orange and yellow shoes.

Think you can

tell a feature

William

story from a

Morris

road crash?

MAN OF THE
PEOPLE
VEGGIE-FRIENDLY William Morris (24

After university he trained as an architect,

March 1834 3 October 1896) was an

and developed close friendships with the Pre-

English textile designer, poet, novelist,

Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones and

translator, and socialist activist.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti and with the neo-gothic

Associated with the British arts and crafts

movement, he was a major contributor to the
revival of traditional British textile arts and
methods of production.
His literary contributions helped establish

architect Philip Webb with whom he designed

Bernard Shaw, a pioneering vegetarian, was

Morris founded a decorative arts firm with

Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Webb, and others: the

significant role in Britain's socialist move-

Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.

the Hammersmith Socialist Society.

We pay well for

also a close friend and confidant.

the modern fantasy genre, while he played a

ment founding the Socialist League and later

A road crash

Red House in Bexley Heath, Kent.

Becoming highly fashionable and much in

tips and copy;

write in to us at:

demand, the firm profoundly influenced

Born in Walthamstow, Essex, to a wealthy

Victorian interior decoration, with Morris

middle-class family, Morris studied classics at

designing tapestries, wallpaper, fabrics,

Oxford, there joining the Birmingham set.

furniture, and stained glass windows. (Wikipedia)

12

friendsgazette@gmail.com

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

13

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Gugu put his head down

at the masters feet
Ishwar Puri speaks
with Stephen Ward

Ishwar Puri
ISHWAR PURI talks on meditation, spirit-

And did you start meditating straight away,

uality and the path to the divine within. He

that young [nine years old]?

lives in north America and heads up ISHA the

Institute for the Study of Human Awareness.

Here he reveals where his insight comes
from and lets drop some intimate details of
the Sant Mat masters of Dera Baba Jaimal
Singh where, for him, it all began - aged 9.

ome friends of my father came to see us.

And my father was very full of joy. Do

o. I used to hear the sound before I got

you know great master gave Ishwar full

initiated. The sound stopped after

initiation, [he said.] They said: Oh, we are

initiation. I lost everything that I had

very sorry to hear that.

[inner sound and light] before initiation.

Laughter. My father said: What? They said:

I tried to meditate but it didnt make sense to

This is what happens. When you give a small

Continued on next page

me. Then a strange incident happened.

and improve your francais

14

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FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

Ishwar Puri speaks (from previous page)

OVER: Ishwar

child initiation [when] he has had no chance to

Puri in the

look at it, [see] what it is, no chance to

library at ISHA

understand it; when he grows up hell go

in Wisconsin,

against it, when he finds out that he was

USA. RIGHT:

trapped by his parents into getting initiated.

Sawan Singh

verhearing this conversation I said:

known as the

Why would I wait till I grow up? I

great master

think this might have been a hoax,

relaxing in the

not a real thing. I reacted immediately after

countryside.

initiation. I didnt want to meditate any more.

BELOW: Ishwar

I began to look for other things [spiritual

Puri with some

paths] during my school days, my college days.

of his

I was searching for something else. I said [to

followers.

myself]: This was just a coincidence.

hat my father was following this path.

He got me initiated. I am just following

better do me a favour, come and tell me and

Bahadur Jagat Singh, I met him several times;

because my father was initiated. So

Ill also take [do] it.

also Maharaj Charan Singh.

for about eight years I was not interested in

Then I started taking meditation seriously.

he present master Baba Gurinder Singh,

when he was a little child I saw that he

mediation. I was looking at other things. I

Did you tell him that you heard the sound

joined yogis. I tried all kinds of yoga. I got

and that as soon as you started meditating

baptised [as a Christian]. I got into Islam. I did

the sound stopped? That happens quite often

all these things.

to people.

children at night his [Charan Singhs] sisters

es, I did. I said that when I was four

would send all the children and say: Go on. Go

years old I could hear it. I thought it

and say Goodnight to Baba Ji. And all the

was coming from outside.

children would like to run away except Gurinder

Then I found in all these things there is no

real description of going to our true home.
The yogas are all emphasising that you go

was a little different than the others.

When Baba Charan Singh used to call all the

I opened the window and when I didnt hear it

Singh who we called Gugu at that time, and Gugu

(meditational focus point between and slightly

there I went to the other side of the house and

would go, put his head down at his feet and not

above the physical eyes).

opened the window there.

get up. And he used to pick him up. So I noticed

into the energy centres below the eye centre

happening to him [they thought]?

all the people who were being initiated and

information that you have got in the last eight

there were about forty of us, and I repeat [it]

years will be very useful for you.

o ultimately I went back to the great

master and I said: I have done all these
things because you told me so.

Because at the time of initiation he said to

to you: Im telling you that this initiation I am

And my parents got worried. Whats

The master said this was a chance to

examine this path along with others. And this

And now, at the age of 89, I can tell you it

giving you is the same initiation I got from my

was useful for me.

master Baba Jaimal Singh.

It has worked for me. I hope it will work for

you. If it does not you can try anything else.
And he added: If you can find something

he was different from the other children. And

since I was much older than him all these children
would give me respect like an uncle.

o when Maharaj Charan Singh died my wife

and I were in Chicago. And when we went
to the dera all these children [including

Gugu] bowed to me in the normal way and I had

no idea that he was the new guru!

id you ever go back to the dera

Later I found that he was the new guru. We

[ashram] after Sawan Singh died?

didnt know about his nomination.

Yes. I went several times. I was very

And have you been to the dera (ashram) to see

close to all the masters after that; Sardar

Gurinder Singh recently at all?

Yes, many times.

hat do you think of Beas? Now that

its so expanded. Has it changed into
anything? A little city? What are your

views?

Its a big city now. It has some unique features of

a modern city. They have just installed solar
power panels on the big auditorium. Its the
largest solar power generating unit in the whole
world today.
And the government in India is taking that as an
example to go solar. In generating electricity the
dera is coming up as a model. (To be continued)
Views and opinions expressed by interviewees are
personal and do not in any way represent any positions
which may or may not be held by this publication.

15

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

UK Rabbi Lord
Jonathan Sachs

The hate that

begins with
Jews never
ends with Jews

ACROSS Europe, Jews are leaving. A

survey in 2013 by the European Union
Agency for Fundamental Rights showed
that almost a third of Europes Jews have
considered emigrating because of antiSemitism, with numbers as high as 46 per
cent in France and 48 per cent in Hungary.
Nor is this a problem in Europe alone. A
2015 survey of North American Jewish
college students by Brandeis University found
that three-quarters of respondents had been
exposed to anti-Semitic rhetoric.
One third had reported incidents of
harassment because they were Jewish.
Something is clearly happening, but what?
Many on the left argue that they are being
wrongly accused.
They are not against Jews, they say, only
opposed to the policies of the state of Israel.
Criticism of the Israeli government is not
anti-Semitic.
Nor is the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and

Jews identified openly with the liberal avant-garde in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s in the US.

Today they are hated because of their

nation state, Israel. Anti-Zionism is the new
anti-Semitism.
Today the argument goes like this.
After the Holocaust, every right-thinking
human being must be opposed to Nazism.
Palestinians are the new Jews. The Jews
are the new Nazis. Israel is the new crime

movement inherently anti-Semitic.

against humanity.

concern for human rights.

It is, though, a front for the new antiSemitism, an unholy alliance of radical
Islamism and the political left.
Anti-Semitism is a virus that survives by

Therefore every right thinking person must

Anti-Semitism has always been about the

inability of a group to make space for
difference. No group that adopts it will ever
create a free society.

with Jews. In a world awash with hate across

be opposed to the state of Israel, and since

religious divides, people of all faiths and none

every Jew is a Zionist, we must oppose the

must stand together, not just to defeat anti-

Jews.

Semitism but to ensure the rights of religious

This argument is wholly wrong.

It was Jews not Israelis who were murdered
in terrorist attacks in Toulouse, Paris,

hated because of their religion.

Brussels and Copenhagen.

hated because of their race.

Muslim presence in an Islamic Middle East.

The hate that begins with Jews never ends

mutating. In the Middle Ages, Jews were

In the 19th and 20th centuries they were

Christian Europe.
Today they are the most conspicuous non-

Sanctions) campaign against Israel

Many of its supporters have a genuine

non-Christian minority in pre-World War

Jews have been hated because they were

different. They were the most conspicuous

16

minorities are defended everywhere.

History will judge us by how we deal with
this challenge. We must not fail.
This article by Rabbi Jonathan Sachs first
appeared in Newsweek in June. This is an
edited version.

FG est Charlie et bien les autres - June/July 2016

FRIENDLY FEEDBACK
ON BREXIT VOTE
However, lets see
if we ever actually
leave.

Wary of sharing a
platform

UK veggie
businessman
BREXIT RULES

Now lets see

who wears les
pantalons

happens, will be bad for Britain

and bad for us [my business].
We buy a lot of our raw
materials in Europe. These will
become more expensive.
New import duties and taxes will

rue the
day

Double whammy
COMING out of the EU, if it ever

UK will

IT was very easy for the leave

campaign to make cheap
headlines that misled people.
Unfortunately, the arguments for
staying came across as very

Then Lib Dems and Labour took a

kicking in the general election for being
on the same stage as Tories (despised in
Scotland) campaigning to stay in the UK.
This time, none of the Remain
parties wanted to be on the same stage
as each other and risk tarnishing
themselves with their core voters.
Hopefully Lib Dems, who want to go

boring.
The Lib Dems ran a good

back in, can steal a lot of Labour voters

I READ your front page article in

campaign. All the party was

and win some more seats in 2020.

your last edition about Brexit (UK

together and united for Remain.

Stephen James, Somerset

ex-pats fear Brexit win; FG May).

Whereas Labour were

Im shocked at the actual result. I

leaderless and most of the Labour

too am applying for a French

voters went for Leave.

Proper England
FEELING ultra-British post Brexit. I
looked out of my bedroom window that

passport. The UK will rue the day

The problem for the Remain

it decided not to stay in the EU. I

parties was that they were wary of

Friday morning and the view, always

pity the poor Europeans stranded

sharing a platform with each

lovely, looked like Proper England

also hit us very badly. So it will be

in England. Theyre lumbered.

other. This is a lesson learnt from

again.

a double whammy for us.

Trevor Wilson, Gard, France

the Scottish referendum.

Name withheld

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17

FRIENDLY FEEDBACK
Write to friendsgazette@gmail.com

Anti-semitism is a

Anti-Zionism is the new antiSemitism. (see article by Jonathan

Say Scheese!
FG has teamed up with top Vegan food enterprise
Bute Island Foods to continue to offer two of their
promotional tee shirts as competition prizes.
Just answer this question.

virus UK rabbi

Sachs on page 16)

RE your article about criticism of

Victoria Webb, Herts

Firth of Clyde,

Israel not being anti-Semitic (Left

Sterling work, FG

the Firth of Forth,

isnt anti-Semitic author says FG

May) Id like to refer you to the

Thanks for your sterling work on

recent words of the UKs former

news and features about the veggie

chief rabbi, Jonathan Sachs.

and vegan world.

Anti-Semitism is a virus that

survives by mutating.
In the Middle Ages, Jews were
hated because of their religion.
In the 19th and 20th centuries

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Just dont stop as my world would
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I dont know where you dig them

they were hated because of their

Today they are hated because

Is the Isle of Bute on the

Anthony Bridgeman, Essex

For Brexit feedback go to page 17.

FRIENDLY COMMENT

The message is clear in black and white - caring for

animals means caring for your health!

We come from a

Planning permission

STOP PRESS STOP PRESS STOP PRESS

different place

not needed within

Tinned pasta danger

ALL real journals from time to time

ITS a real pity to see a spiritual

TINS of Sainsburys

who had bought the

get asked not to print things.

group throw away so much time,

ready-made macaroni

product do not eat it.

effort and money (tons of it) on a

cheese could be

lost or practically lost cause.

contaminated by pieces

store from where it was

of rubber, UK food

bought for a full refund.

Its the name of the game when

printing proper news.
As Alan Rusbridger, Guardian

For the second time Radha Soami

editor, writes: .... it's not the job of

Satsang Beas, Australia is bashing

journalists to run things: they are

its brains out trying to get planning

literally without responsibility.

permission for a massive

They don't have to respond to a

party whip, make the compromises
necessary in politics or answer to

worshipping hall. (See story p.8)

After a pitiful failure in one part of
Melbourne because they would be

watchdog the Food

Instead, contact the

The yellow cans carry

Standards Agency has

the name Sainsburys

warned.

Macaroni Cheese and

Now the 410g tins are

being pulled from store
shelves as a precautionary
measure, it revealed.
In an official statement

have a picture of the meal

on the label.
The affected tins have a
best before date of end of
January 2019 and were

shareholders They can write

desecrating the green belt, theyve

things about the economy, say,

slung in another application, guess

or the environment which may

where? On the green belt! It defies

need saying but which are

belief. A bid to get in under the

JOIN 3,000+

unsayable by politicians. They

skirts of a nearby Hindu temple

OTHERS AND

come from a different place."

looks like nothing if not desperation!

So rest assured FG readers: you

imported from Belgium.

CLICK THE SCRIBD

These guys used to put inner

wont be denied the truth because

worship in the form of meditation,

it may harm vested interests.

contemplation, repetition and

In fact the best way to get us to

the FSA warned anyone

ultimate spiritual realisation top of

print something is to ask us not to

their agenda. You dont need

print it!

planning permission for any of that!

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