Dubai's

Yogathon
Ethics

Culture

The Beatles
Let it Be in India

44

Philosophy

Meditation

Vastu

Religion

32

Panchang

Issue No. 61 June 2013 Price: 2.95 ISSN 2040-1825

Krishna and Shiva

Worship in

Ancient
China
4 Cover Story

Native
India

History

www.hindutoday.org

12
Hindus of
Guyana

27

Ethics
of Life

43

Editorial

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF :

ARJAN VEKARIA

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A CAVE PAINTING OF LORD SHIVA FROM
DANDAN-UILIQ, KHOTAN, C.500-527 BC
XINJIANG, CHINA
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Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the

author and do not necessarily represent those of Hindu Today
Group.
HINDU TODAY

Native India
I

n this edition of Hindu Today we are shining the light

upon both the past and present scenario of Hinduism
in India and around the world. Our cover story details
the presence of Hinduism in ancient China. Significant
discoveries have been made confirming the popularity
of many Vedic deities and Temples that once dotted the
Chinese landscape.
As the two giants of Asia and the world's largest and
ongoing civilizations, it is hoped that these ancient links
will complement the well-known Buddhist commonality between China and India. These two nations reprerd
sent one 3 of Humanity and many solutions to our
modern conundrums can be found within these
traditions and culture. Often seen as being separated by
the Himalayas, China and India are in fact joined
together by the Himalayas. This is self-evident when we
look at the vast cultural interplay that long flowed over
both the Himalayas and the Seas.
This edition also highlights the benefits of Tulsi or
Holy Basil, the value of India's Indigenous traditions and
the truth that millions of patriotic and humanitarian
Indians, steeped in the native ethos, are actively
resolving the ongoing social crisis confronting the
Mother Land. Other interesting topics include a recent
Yoga marathon in Dubai, Aikido- the Non-Violent
Martial Art, Hindus of Guyana, the Vastu science on
interiors, Meditation and Chanakaya on the role of the
leader. May this eternal Hindu wisdom add to the
upliftment of both the reader and our society at large.

Arjan Vekaria
Editor in Chief

2013

June

[1]

In This Edition

Content
From the Desk of the Editor..............................................................................................1
Letters to the Editor

To The Editor.....................................................................................................................3
Cover story

Lord Krishna and Shiva Worship in Ancient China............................................................4

Management

Chanakya the Eternal Management Guru .....................................................................11

Culture

Native India - A Resurgent India ....................................................................................12

Aikido: The Ahimsa Martial Art & Its Spirituality............................................................14
Astrology

Rahu and Ketu: The Journey Within ..............................................................................19

Numerology

Hindus Magic Numbers 18, 108, 1008..........................................................................21

Tradition

Do the Shruti Vedas Mention Krishna? ..........................................................................23

History

Hindus of Guyana ..........................................................................................................27

Philosophy

United Contributions of the Deities and Daemons........................................................30

Society

The Beatles Let it Be in India ..........................................................................................32

Wisdom Pharmacy

Tulsi (The Holy Basil) 15 Benefits ...................................................................................35

Introduction To Ayurveda ..............................................................................................37
Panchang

Panchang .......................................................................................................................40
Vastu

Creating a Healthy Character through Interiors.............................................................41

Ethics

Ethics of Life....................................................................................................................43
News

Dubai's Yogathon............................................................................................................44
A New Mandir Is Born ....................................................................................................47
The Sanatana Dharma Conference ................................................................................48
1000 Year Old Shiva Temple Under Threat.....................................................................48

[2]

June

2013

HINDU TODAY

Letters to the Editor

To The Editor
I would really like to appreciate the efforts of the
author of article Hinduism
a colourful orange. Pandit
Lakshmeeshacharya Ji has
shown his sincere efforts in
crafting such a beautiful
and wise piece of article on
Hinduism. It is very beautiful and rare to see how
different sects of Hinduism
perceive things around
them and in this article
through the example of
snake and rope pandit
L a k s h m e e s h a c h a r ya J i
have explained it beautifully.
He has also explained
that the Hinduism is a
special orange that has a
symbolic covering that
unites the followers but at
its core lays its beauty to
perceive things differently
but finding the same result
always.
There are many questions in life which even
Google cant answer, thats
why we believe in god and
its elements of life. There
are many interesting
bumps in life for which god
doesn t come down to
solve, thats why we have
few intellect people to
direct us in the path of
Faithfully yours. righteousness.
ThiThuy Nguyen,
I would like to take
Paris, France this opportunity to thank

Namaste,
Concerning one of your
authors, Bhakti Ananda
Goswami, who wrote an
article about Lord Jagannatha. This article has had
a very potent effect on my
life. In my line of work I
must fight against criminals and I often receive
implicit threats connected
to my work.
As a keen Dharmic
activist I also promote
veganism and vegetarianism through famous
actors on a vegan page
and I am beginning my
outreach efforts towards
those who publicly declare
themselves as Satanists in
the hopes to help them by
letting them know there is
another way.
S o, t h e a r t i c l e b y
Bhakti Ananda Goswami
has provided me with vital
information regarding the
history of God and has
allowed me to feel protected, relieves anxiety
and it has helped me to be
strong.
So, thank you
very much for helping us
via Hindu Today.

HINDU TODAY

Dr.Coralie F. Srivastava for

her vastu insight. Its a treat
to read your articles.
Thank you very much.

Shyam K. Mundra
Mumbai, India

Dear Editor,
Since childhood I have been
fascinated by American
Indian people and culture.
Some years ago I got into
Yoga and became more and
more immersed in Hindu
Culture. At the same time I
have always remained interested in American Indian
Culture. It is quite interesting
that both of those cultures are
referred to as Indian. Some
say that it is just a coincidence, I however do not
agree. After reading Charlie
Lame Deers article American
Indian Finds his Indian Heart
I am now convinced that it is
no accident that these two
peoples have shared the
same name for over 500 years
now. Clearly the Indians of
the East and the West are
One People. Just as in India
we see the same traditions
being represented in diverse
ways, the American Indians
are clearly expressing the
same culture as well.

Judy Janice Cotlliure

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2013

June

[3]

Cover Story

Lord Krishna and Shiva Worship

in Ancient China
Vrndavan Brannon Parker

he civilizations of China and

India have a long history of
interaction. The links between these two ancient civilizations
were numerous and were sustained
for thousands of years. The Chinese
tell of a tradition in "Schuking" in
which it is stated that the ancestors
of the Chinese people came to China
after crossing the high mountain
ranges to the South.
In his book The Aryans: A
Modern Myth Paramesha Caudhuri
writes, In my book Indian origin of
the Chinese Origin pt I & II, I have
spoke much of this topic trying to
prove that the original Chin race of
India dwelling in Kashmir, and
several parts of South India
colonized Shensi, a province of

[4]

June

2013

Central China and subsequently

subjugated all other petty kingdoms
and thus became the emperors of
perhaps the one of the largest
empires of the world.
The name China and the Chinese
were after the Chins of India and
hence the scholars are unanimous
about the Indian origin of the name of
China. What I have done novel is
highlight that the Indians did not only
name a great country but also created
the Chinese nation. While this
statement is based on the Indian
Origin Theory as the source of
Chinese civilization, it is important to
understand that regardless of the
origins of the Chinese, the evidence
reveals that ancient Chinese culture
was Vedic in nature. The Vedic

tradition has undoubtedly been best

preserved in India yet the universality of
Vedic culture is such that none can claim
to be the sole inheritors or originators of
the Vedic traditions. These traditions are
part of the basic fabric of nature and the
universe and can be accessed by anyone
anywhere at any time.
Yet just as Buddhism developed in
India and was spread throughout a large
apart of the globe by Indian missionaries,
there can thus be no doubt that India has
always been a primary source of Vedic
wisdom. As in the past, India is to this day
the primary source of recurrent revivals
of the Vedic traditions throughout the
world. The same eternal tradition
known as Santana Dharma is at the very
core of Chinese civilization. There are
many hints of this phenomenon

HINDU TODAY

throughout history. For instance,

the Imperial Tang dynasty (618907
AD) used the Hindu/Vedic calendar
alongside with the Chinese
calendar. Amongst the Gods, the
Lord of Death and the Underworld
known in Sanskrit as Yamaraj is
called Yanmo Wang within the
Chinese tradition.
Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang
(ruled 71256) called upon the
Indian monk Vajrabodhi (671741)
to perform Tantric rites to avert a
drought in the year 726 AD. In the
Fujiyan province, in the Xinmen
area of Quanzhou, there are the
remains of a Shiva Temple. It still has
a Shiva-linga over five meters tall.
An ancient stone that still stands
today; it has been widely identified
as a Shiva Linga. Chinese records
reveal that it was cut in half in the
year 1011 AD and then rebuilt in the
1400s. Even as late as 1950,
childless mothers would go to it to
invoke the blessings of the deity for
motherhood.
Likewise in Hsuan-wu, Lo-yang
district there is a pillar with Sanskrit
writings from top to bottom and
right to left. The scholar Henry
Rudolph Davies wrote that besides
Buddhism, Shaivism was also
popular in Yunan as is manifest from
the prevalence of the cult of
Mahakala there. This ancient Indian
colony in the south of China was a
strong link in the Sino-Indian
cultural relationship. The research

of the scholar M. Sushama presented

in her book Hindu Wisdom
highlights the many references to
China found within the Sanskrit texts.
Sushama writes, The Mahabharata
makes a reference to presents
brought by the Chinese to the
RajasuyaYajna of the Pandavas.
In the Vana-Parva of the Mahabharata it is stated that the Pandava
brothers crossed the country of the
Cinas (China) during their trek
through the Himalayan territory
north of Badri. They are said to have
reached the realm of the Kirata King
Subahu. Also in the Mahabharata the
Cinas (Chinese), with the Kiratas, are
found among the armies of King
Bhagadatta of Pragjyotisa, Indias
modern Assam region. In the SabhaParva this king is described as
surrounded by the Kiratas and the
Cinas.
In the Bhisma-Parva of the
Mahabharata, the corps of Bhagadatta, consisting of the Kiratas and
the Cinas of yellow color, are said to
look like a forest of Karnikaras. In the
Arthashashtra of Chanakya, China is
mentioned as well. It is theorized that
the name China is based upon the
name of the kingdom, Chin, which
was established by Shih Huang Ti in
the year 221 BC. However according
to the French art historian, RnGrousset, the name China comes
from an ancient Sanskrit name for
the regions to the East. The Chinese

Ancient Vaishnava
Carvings Discovered in
Quanzhou, China
From Top-Left Clockwise:
Vamshidhar Krishna Narasimha-Krishna and
the Yamal-Arjuna TreesKrishna-Vishnu Stealing
the Garments of the Gopis

HINDU TODAY

word for lion, Shih, used long before the

Chin dynasty, was derived from the
Sanskrit word, Simha.
Notably the African Swahili word for
lion Simba is virtually the same as the
Sanskrit Simha as well. The Greek word
for China, Tzinista, appears to be
derived from the Sanskrit Chinasthana.
M. de Guigues wrote in the Journal of
the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. v that,
Magadha was known to the Chinese by
the name Mo-kiato, and its capital was
recognized by both its Hindu name
Kusumpura, for which the Chinese wrote
Kia-so-mo-pon-lo and Pataliputra, out of
which they made Patoli-tse by translating putra, which means son in Sanskrit,
into their own corresponding word, tse.
Such translation of names has thrown a
veil of obscurity over many a name of
Hindu origin. Hindu geography has
suffered a great loss.
In other words the Chinese translated Sanskrit words into Chinese and
thus the original pronunciation was lost.
We see this clearly in the Chinese version
of the Indian city Patali-Putra. PataliPutra means Patalis Son. The Chinese
kept the Patali part of the name but
changed the Sanskrit word for son,
Putra to the Chinese word for son Tse.
Thus the name Pataliputra became
obscured as Patoli-tse. Thus even those
familiar with the city of Pataliputra, being
unfamiliar with the Chinese language,
could not discern the original name as it
was translated into the Chinese. We find
another clear example of the impact of
dialect upon a language in the Sanskrit
word Maala. In Japan it becomes
Mandara but in China it is Mntlu.
The Italian writer Gerolamo Emilio Gerini
(1860 -1913) stated: During the three or
four centuries, preceding the Christian
era, we find Hindu dynasties established
by adventurers, claiming descent from
the Kshatriya potentates of Northern
India, ruling in upper Burma, in Siam and
Laos, in Yunnan and Tonkin, and even in
most parts of Southeastern China.
A study entitled China and India
states, China was part of the Indian
Vedic Empire. This is explained by
2013

June

[5]

Professor G. Phillips on page 585 in

the 1965 edition of the Journal of
the Royal Asiatic Society. He
remarks, The maritime intercourse
of India and China dates from a
much earlier period, from about
680 B.C. when the sea traders of the
Indian Ocean whose chiefs were
Hindus founded a colony called
Lang-ga, after the Indian named
Lanka of Ceylon, about the present
gulf of Kias-Tehoa, where they
arrived in vessels having prows
shaped like the heads of birds or
animals after the pattern specified
in the YuktiKalpataru (an ancient
Sanskrit technological text) and
exemplified in the ships and boats of
old Indian arts.
YuagXianji, member of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, speaking at the C.
P. Ramas-wamyAiyar Foundation,
Madras on March 27, 1984 revealed
that, Recent discoveries of ruins of
Hindu temples in Southeast China
provided further evidence of
Hinduism in China. Both Buddhism
and Hinduism were patronized by
the rulers. In the 6th century A.D.
the Chinese royal family was Hindu
for two generations. The following
Tang dynasty (7th to the 9th century
A.D.) also patronized both Hinduism
and Buddhism because the latter
was but a branch of Hinduism.
Albert Etienne Terrien de
Lacouperie also highlighted the
maritime intercourse of India with
China dating it from about 680 B.C.
That was the year sea traders of the
Indian Ocean whose Chiefs were
Hindus founded a colony, called
Lang-ga. Named after the Indian
word Lanka it was located near the
present gulf of Kiaotchoa.
It is obvious that India and
China were connected far earlier
and this date only refers to founding
of the Indian colony of Lang-ga.
Since the incidents of the Mahabharata have been proven to have
occurred over 5100 years ago it is

[6]

June

2013

obvious that contacts between India

and China existed long before 680
B.C. Indeed India had interactions
China from very ancient times.
Cultural connectivity was maintained
through several methods and of
these there were three main routes.
The first was through Yunan and
Burma and the second was through
the Central Asian region. The third
was by the seas.
Currently Orissas coastline is
blocked in by massive sand bars but in
ancient times prior to 1000 AD, Orissa
was a major maritime power. Many
discoveries from the ancient civilizations of Babylon, Sumeria, China,
G r e e c e a n d Ro m e h a v e b e e n
discovered throughout Orissa. Along
with Orissa, ships from Indias
southern ports frequented the ports
of the China and Japan in the East and
Rome, Alexandria and Greece in the
West. It was through these routes
that Indias Vedic and Buddhist
cultures were spread throughout the
world.
Theories positing an invasion by
outsiders as the source of Vedic Indian
civilization are unsubstantiated yet they
are taught as fact by nearly every
school, college and university in the
world. On one hand we have a vast
tradition and culture that developed
over many millennia and which has the
Ramayana and Mahabharata at its very
basis. On the other hand we have
theories that were developed by
outsiders that completely contradict
the perspective of those who live and
breathe the culture. The native peoples
of the world are not allowed to own
their past. Their traditional perspectives
of themselves are discounted as
imagined myth or exaggerated legend.
It is thus imperative to develop
timelines and histories that actually
coincide, not only with the scientific
evidences, but with the living traditions
of the people as well. Using this
method we find that the Chinese
traditions have many correlations with
the Vedic.
According to the research of

Eberhard, the Chinese Creation Myth

involves a Boy of the White Crane'. He is
said to live in the palace of jade emptiness. This is believed to represent the
Primeval Ocean and Lord Brahma who
rides a white swan and is born from the
navel of Lord Vishnu as he rest in the
Primeval Ocean. Also the "Supreme God
in Chinese popular religion" is called Yhung[-d]-d, which translates as "JadeEmperor-Big-Supreme Being".
Thus we find that, like Quetza-lcoatl,
the Supreme Being of the Mayans and
Aztecs, and Rama-chandra, who is
Vishnu, the Supreme Being within the
Vedic tradition, the Chinese Supreme
Being Yu-Huang di is green as well. Since
this Jade-Green is considered to be seacolored green we see yet another
Supreme Being connected with the color
of water which iconically means the color
blue.
Chinas leading expert on connections between India and China, the late
Professor Huang Xinchuan of the
Department of Oriental Philosophy in
Beijing University stated that ancient
China once had many Vishnu and Shiva
Temples. During an interview with the
Professor he personally informed me of
the many evidences regarding Chinas
Vedic past. He also referred to himself as
The Last Chinese Hindu. According to
his research the location of these early
Chinese Vedic Temples can be traced by
following the ancient Incense trade
routes between India, Nepal, Tibet and
China. He also referred to himself in a
meeting I arranged between the
Professor and Ram Madhav (RSS Natinal
Executive) as The Last Chinese Hindu.
I n a p a p e r P r o fe s s o r H u a n g
Xinchuan wrote, Following the Buddhist
and Hindu religious activities, the Indian
orthodoxy philosophy---the Six
Darsanas, Vedanta in particular once
flourished in China. Vedanta had exerted
also some influences on Chinese
Buddhism and Taoism in its own way.In
China we have preserved abundant
historical records and relics of Hinduism
as well as Buddhism. Since the third
century AD, China has discovered
numerous Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit.

HINDU TODAY

There are records in Buddhist and

Hindu scriptures either systematic
or piecemeal. For example, the
Vedas and Upanishads as seen in
Chinese historical record were
translated freely into Chinese as
Ming-Lun (the Science of Knowledge), Zhi-Lun (the Science of
Intelligence) or transliterated into
Chinese as Feituo, Pituo, etc.
Besides, there are Chinese historical
sources of Vedangas Chinese
Taoism has something in common
with Saktismwe can find some
examples. One text in which the
Tung Hsuan Section of the Tao Tsung
(Taoist Canon) originated goes by
the name Lin PaoChing (Book of the
Marvelous Jewel).
In this text, we can find the
influence of Brahmanism and
Upanishad (Vedanta) in particular. It
has a portrait of Yuan Shih TienTsun
(the Highest God of Taoism) based
on the portrait of the Maha Brahma
of Brahmanism at the numerous
kalpas in the unlimited darkness of
Chaos. Thus, He transforms himself
into thirty-three devas, asuras, Ten
directions of the Universe etc.
Among many other rare insights
into Chinese Hinduism Professor
Huang Xinchuan stated that the
Monkey King, Sun Wukong, is
indeed Hanuman.

Fujian Province, southeastern China

is home to several Vedic/Hindu sites.
A striking series of Hindu carvings in
bas relief from a pillar of a Hindu
temple was later built-into the
Kaiyuan Buddhist monastery. Many
Vedic deities and carvings are now
located at the Quanzhou Maritime
Museum. The items are arranged by
religion into seven sectionsIslam,
Christianity, Manicheanism, Hinduism, Budd-hism, Daoism and Folk
Religion.
Historical remains of Chinas
ancient Vedic presence remain and
were a part of Quanzhous culture for
centuries. Much of these artifacts
were destroyed during Maos Cultural Revolution. Some artifacts
survived as its deities and carvings
were used as the dcor of other
structures and monuments.
Behind the main hall "the
Mahavira Hall of the famous Kaiyuan
Buddhist Temple there are some
columns decorated by Hindu/Vedic
cravings In the book The Emporium
of the World: Maritime Quanzhou,
1000-1400 Professor John Guy
reveals many details about the
presence of Vedic/Hindu culture in
China. It clearly indicates the indigenous Chinese participation in the
worship of Lord Shiva.
On the river (of Guangzhou) there were
merchantmen belonging to the Polomen
(Indians), the Po-ssen (Persians), the K'ounloeun (Malays), and others besides of which
it is difficult to determine the number...
There were also three monasteries of the
Polo-men where Brahmans were residing.
Kanshin, c. 750'

Chinese Most Ancient Known

Pictogram Ganshu,
China, 2200-1800 BC features
Vedic Swastika. Scoyen
The
city of Quanzhou
in coastal
Collection,
Ascona, Switzerland
HINDU TODAY

John Guy writes about an ancient

inscription that was discovered in
China. The inscription consists of six
lines in Tamil script, with the last line
in Chinese characters."
The Tamil letters are poorly formed
and often erroneous, indicating that
they were executed by a non-Tamil
speaker. The religious affiliation is
Hindu, the passage opening with is
homage to Siva:

Obeisance to Hara [Siva], Let there be

prosperity! On the day [having] Chitra
the month of Chittirai of the Saka year
1203, the Tavachcha-kkarvattigal alias
Sambandhaperumal caused, in accordance with firman of Chekachai Khan, to
be graciously installed the God Udaiyar
Tirukka-dalisvaram Udaiyanayinar, for
the welfare of the illustrious body of the
illustrious Chekachai Khan,
The dedication implies that the
inscription was commissioned for
installation in a new temple dedicated to
Siva, though it is possible that it was to
mark the installation of a new image of
Siva in an existing temple. The donor is a
Tamilian named Sambandh Perumal and,
according to H. Ray, may be linked
through the preface to his name,
Tavachchak katavarttigal, to the area of
Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District, Tamilnadu. A possible link with this important
temple city is supported by the subject
matter of at least two of the Quanzhou
sculptures, as will be illustrated shortly.
The dedication asserts that the image of
Siva was installed with the imperiaI
authority (firman) of Chekachai Khan,
possibly Kubilai Khan's son Chimkin.
Unlike the mainstream scholar's
view of the Tamils residing in China, they
did not act as an enclosed alien community. Thus we see a Shiva temple whose
'donor' was a Tamil was stated to have
been rebuilt for the wellbeing of the
Chinese emperor and the Shiva deity was
installed 'in accordance with the 'firman'
(imperial authority) of Chekachai Khan'
Genghis Khans descendant who ruled
China at the time. In other words the
Mongol ruler of China was intimately
involved with its dedication. In fact when
we look closely at the evidence the Shiva
temple connected to the Tamil appears
to have been commissioned by the
Imperial Chinese government. And as
noted by Professor Guy the Shiva Temple
may have already been in existence,
which is highly likely, and it is only the
Deity of Lord Shiva that was new.
Scholars have stated that the Shiva
temple had originally been built in 685 or
686 AD during the Tang Dynasty but was
rebuilt by the Tamil Hindu community in
the city in the late 13th century who
2013

June

[7]

dedicated it to Lord Shiva. There is

direct evidence of that there were
indeed Hindu temples in China as
early as the 6th century AD. In the
paper Rethinking Community
The Indic Carvings of Quanzhou,
Risha Lee writes, A Chinese source
states that in 720 AD the Pallava
King Narasimhavarman II constructed a temple (in Tamil Nadu,
India) on account of the empire of
China, and another text cites the
existence of three Hindu temples in
southern China where Brahmans
resided during the 8th century. As
noted the Tamil language was so
unfamiliar that the Tamil inscription

connected to this Shiva temple is such

that it is 'poorly formed and often
erroneous'. It had to be done by those
for whom Tamil was not a native
tongue thus it is quite possible and
highly likely that the Deity was
brought from India but the temple
carvings and the temple itself were
also crafted by Chinese. So rather
than a mere off-shoot of the Tamil
Hindu tradition, Chinese Vedic
culture was deeply integrated into
the socio-political framework of
Chinese society and civilization.
A brief look into the Cham
Vietnamese Hindu sculptures reveals
a highly evolved Native expression of
Hindu/Vedic art and sculpture. These
same non-Indian Vietnamese Hindus
are on record as having migrated in
masse to Chinas Hainan Island as
well. The details regarding the various
Vedic carvings of the Chinese Vedic

Ancient Chinese
Vedic Pillar carved
with God & Goddesses
Devas and Rishis.

Te m p l e s reveal the depth of

Chinas Vedicculture. Once again
referencing Prof John Guys The
Emporium of the World: Maritime
Quanzhou, 1000-1400.

Ancient Shaivite
Carvings Discovered in
Quanzhou, China
From Top-Left
Clockwise: Shiva
Bhairava-Shiva Linga
and Cow Beijing
Museum-Nandi Now
Lost-Shiva Nataraja from
Ancient Chinese Hindu
Temple Now Lost

[8]

June

2013

Vaisnavite themes:
The two pillars on the Kaiyuan
temple are decorated with twentyfour roundels, seven of which are
devoted to Vishnu, and one to Siva
as an ascetic; the remainders are
purely decorative. The subjects are
sta n d a rd p o p u l a r d evo t i o n a l
themes and many are concer-ned
with the exploits of Krishna:
Vishnu enthroned with Laksmi and
Bhudevi .
Vishnu on Garuda (Garudasana)
Vishnu in his man-lion aspect
(Narasimba).
Deliverance of the king of the
elephants (Gajendramoksa) .
Infant Krishna fells the Arjuna trees .
Krishna subduing the serpent Kaliya
(Kalia-damana) .
Krishna steals the milkmaids cloths.
The presence of carvings depicting
Krishnas activities as a child in Vrindavan is
quite remarkable. Despite theories that
present the evidence of Chinese Vedic
culture as a mere offshoot of the Tamil
merchant community, the presence of
carvings based on Krishnas Vrindavan
pastimes suggest much more. The fact is
just as Buddhism was adopted and
practiced by billions of non-Indians it is
highly probable that Vedic culture was just
as prevalent.
Thus the labeling of Chinas Vedic
presence as a mere by-product of South
Indian Tamil merchants alone does not fit
the evidence. Undoubtedly, Tamils were
intimately involved with the Hindu/Vedic
culture of China yet they were not alone.
Indians from other regions, as well as
Cambodian, Vietnamese and Indonesian
Hindus frequented the East China Seas.
These diverse groupings all provided their
own unique imprint upon the culture of
China. At this time in history, much of
South East Asia was Vedic/Hindu. No
Chinese 'Wall' was ever built to obstruct
this Vedic influence and no ancient wave of
Maos anti-Vedic iconoclasm is recorded.
Prof John Guy further writes
regarding the presence of Shaivism in
ancient China:

HINDU TODAY

Saivite themes:
Several reliefs depict devotees of the
Hindu god Siva venerating the deity,
and one relief (now lost) depicts
Nataraja, Siva as Lord of the Dance.'
This theme emerged in the early Chola
period.
Clearly Scholars do not attempt
to deny the ancient presence of
Vedic culture in China. However
they do attempt to portray this
presence as being foreign to China.
While agreeing that there were
indeed Hindu / Vedic Temples in
China many modern scholars present the culture as being practiced
solely by Indian merchants that
frequented the region. Using this
same reasoning one could also deny
that the Chinese ever practiced
Buddhism.

"Further isolated remains of Hindu

Temples have been made, most
notably a freestanding scultpture of
Vishnu over a meter in height,
recovered in the Nanjiaochang area
of Quanzhou in 1934."
Prof John Guy

However since Buddhism itself

grew from the Vedic tree it was
adopted by the Chinese. The same
synchronistic processes that led
Indians, Sri Lankans, Cambodians,
Laotians, Vietnamese, Thais,
Indonesians, Malaysians and others
to accept the teachings of Buddha

HINDU TODAY

from within the context of Vedic /

Hindu culture were present in China
as well. The fact is wherever you find a
strong Buddhist presence you will
h a v e a n e a r l i e r Ve d i c / H i n d u
presence. As it was in Cham Vietnam
or Indonesia, or Philippines it was in
China, Mongolia and Japan. They all
had a strong native indigenous
expression of Hindu art and culture.
The Buddhist missionaries from India
came not to convert but reveal the
latest expression of Dharma.
They did not work in a cultural
vacuum with a people unfamiliar with
Dharma or Sanskriti or culture.
Rather Buddhism was recognized as a
new wave of the same ocean and thus
it spread rapidly. The numerous
examples of native Vedic culture
throughout Mongolia and Japan are
conclusive. The Vedic based civilizations that spread and flourished
throughout these areas north and
east of China and in the region of
South Asia and South East Asia were
just as prevalent in ancient China.
We find a distinct native artistic
style being expressed in many
Chinese examples of Vedic architecture, sculptures, carvings and art. The
Vedic Chinese artifacts clearly reveal
a uniquely Chinese style regardless of
any external influence. We see this
phenomenon throughout Asia. A
massive Shiva Linga(known as the
Stone Bamboo Shoot or Shixun)
located in Xinmen area of Quanzhou,
China has been dismissed as a Shiva
Linga merely because it does not
exhibit a South Indian Chola artistic
style. However by recognizing that
Chinas Vedic culture predated the
arrival of Indian Chola merchants it
becomes obvious that the Quanzhou
Shiva Linga is a native Chinese
expression of devotion to Shiva. Vedic
does not necessarily always mean
Indian. As long as people see every
example of Vedic civilization as a sign
of an Indian presence the facts
regarding the history of religion will
always elude them. While India has

long sent out its cultural emissaries to

revive humanities ancient sacred
traditions it is erroneous to label these
traditions as being solely Indian. Vedic
culture is a universal phenomenon.
Todays India is still called Bharat but
i t o n l y re p re s e nt s a n ex t re m e l y
truncated Bharat. True Bharat is the
entire world and this Vedic culture is the
entire humanity's heritage. As we see in
India so many reflections of the same
culture, Krsna as Jagannath is the same
Rama is the same Tirupathi is the same
Nara-simha is the same Chaitanya is the
same Buddha is the same Vamana is the
same Varaha etc. This same phenomenon once extended globally. Now we
have a culture called 'Indian' based upon
the Greek name for the Indus River that
no longer remains within the boundaries
of India. Thus the term Bharatiya is used
yet according to the Vedic scriptures
Bharat was originally global. It is my
opinion that the region of modern India
was the epicenter and capital but
everyone, be they Yavanas, Kiratas,
Hunas, Shakas, Chinas etc. were all equal
members of Bharat. Thus they fought for
the same cause in the Mahabharat war.
All this Vedic culture is primal and
India preserved the ancient truths as the
rest forgot. Just as the whole world was
once Bharat, including the Sindh region
of Pakistan, yet today we see how Vedic
culture has been basically removed from
that formerly 'Indian' region. So this
same process that we see happening
today in Pakistan happened globally as
Kali Yuga progressed. God and the Devas
are universal realities. They have
authentic markers that trace their
presence whenever revealed or experienced. Thus Krsna is Krsna with the same
qualities and characteristics wherever he
has revealed himself. Though he
performed his Lila, along with Buddha in
India, he is not an Indian invention and
some have stated that he traveled far
beyond the borders of modern India as
well. The Pandavas surely did before the
RajasuyaYajna. The Rishis have faithfully
recorded Krishna's characteristics and
thus evidence of his worship and
2013

June

[9]

Prehistoric Chinese style Shiva Linga" Stone

Bamboo Shoot".

presence can be accurately traced

throughout history. Thus by using
that template we can trace out
evidence of Krsna and Shiva worship
throughout the entire world.
There is no minimizing the
impact and influence of India's great
Saints and culture. But rather than a
conversionary force India had a
reinforcing influence that repeatedly revived the world's ancient
Vedic heritage in all its expressions.
This is ongoing even today. During a
recent trip to India I personally met
with a large group of Chinese
Vaishnava pilgrims.
They represent just one example of the modern revival of
Chinas ancient Vedic heritage. We
thus have many non-indian Vaishnavas and Yogis in China and
elsewhere but still Indian Gurus,
books etc. will guide them. However
they do not guide them on how to
be Indians but on how to revive
their original traditions. These
indigenous expressions of the Vedic
traditions are the same universal

[10] June

2013

Left: This Ancient Chinese Kali-Durga was rediscovered buried in a wall in

the 1980s. The Local Chinese reinstated her worship as Kuanyin and a
small shrine has been built to house her. Right: Ancient Cave Painting of
Shiva left and Ganesh on right from Dunhuang, China, cave 285, from the
Western Wei Dynasty 6th cent. AD

truths that have been carefully

preserved and maintained within the
Vedic Sampradayas current in India.
And now by applying the template
and Siddhanta of these Sampradayas,
lo and behold, we can find ancient
and at times onging examples of
Vedic culture globally. This is not
because Indians traveled the world
promoting and converting people. Its
because Vedic culture and Worship
was once practiced throughout the
entire world. The ancient presence of
Vaishnavism and Shaivism (along
with related Devi Worship) can be
found at at the root of every ancient
cultural group on the planet.
The Indians that have traveled
the world as ambassadors of these
traditions represented the lineages
that maintained these traditions. Thus
they were able to revive the natural
Vedic culture that is inherent in all
Bharaters (Brothers) or People of
Bharata, this Blessed Planet Earth.The
universal appeal of Vedic culture is
obvious as millions of people from
around the world are now following in

the footsteps of their Vedic ancestors.

The fact is Vedic culture has never relied
upon exclusively one race or nationality.
India is fortunate to have retained the
essence of ancient Vedic culture and the
links to its past have remained strong.
Thus today Indias Hindu culture is at the
forefront of restoring the ancient worlds
Vedic Heritage. While it is only India that
is today called Bharat, this entire planet,
including China, was once known as
Bharat Varsha.

Vrndavan Brannon Parker

Vrndavan Brannon Parker
attended Vedic Gurukula
schools from the age of 4 to
14 years. He studied in the
USA, Canada and in
vrindavan, India.
His main focus has been on highlighting
the similarities between the ancient
cultures and civilizations around the world
and defining their Vedic roots and he has
been researching and publicly presenting
Vedic Historical and Cross-cultural
co n n e c t i o n s s i n c e 1 9 9 6 . B ra n n o n
dedicates his time to working with
organizations that promote Vedic Dharma.

HINDU TODAY

Management

Chanakya the Eternal

Management Guru
Radhakrishnan Pillai

uring one of my training

programmes, while discussing
the leadership qualities
described by Chanakya, a participant
observed, It would have sounded more
positive if the session was called What
a leader should do?I explained that
the title of the session which
emphasised what leaders should not do
was by design, rather not by fault. The
human mind works in certain pattern
and studies reveal that we become more
alert when we hear negative words.
Words such as danger, death and
destruction have the power to move a

person from lethargy to activity.

Reasons for dissatisfaction of the
subjects: By doing harm to principal men
and dishonouring those worthy of honour,
by opposing the elders, by partiality and
falsehood.
(7.5.19-26)
In the above verses, the emphasis is
on three key ideas respect for elders,
being impartial, not engaging in
falsehood.
Respect Elders And Principal Man
A society which does not respect elders
and men of knowledge cannot survive for
long. The Sanskrit word is vriddha. The
word elder here has two meanings: (i) A
person who is elder by age and (ii) A
person who is elder by wisdom.
It is natural to respect any person who is
elder to us by age. We find that Asian
cultures, respecting elders has been
considered a noble virtue. However, there
are young people with lot of knowledge or
wisdom who also command respect.
Even they are Vriddhas. One of the
reasons why young managers from top
business schools land on high salaries
and top positions is the knowledge they
bring in the company. Such young, but
senior, people should always be
respected and never dishonoured. Do not
oppose them. Listen to their views before
taking any decision.
Not Being Partial
In conflict management, the best thing to
do is to do what is correct. Do not favour
those who are wrong even if they are the
people closest to you. On the other hand,

HINDU TODAY

always support those who are right, even if

they are not known to you. P a r t i a l i t y
demoralises everyone in an organisation. So
be even-minded, and take an objective view
before making any more.
Not Indulging In Falsehood
SatyamevJayate, says the Indian national
emblem. But almost everyone thinks that this
cannot be practiced in todays world. This is
not true. The reality is that we do not have
the patience to wait. All the top companies
that practice good governance look for long
term benefits. Focusing on research and
development, people, strategy over tactics,
etc are key aspects of success for such
organizations. Therefore, you should not
support falsehood.
Radhakrishnan Pillai
Radhakrishnan Pillai from
the university of mumbai,
department of Philosophy
is the founder director of
Chanakya institute of Public
leadership (CiPl) a research
based organisation that is working to
promote indian concepts in management.
he has done an extensive research on
kautilyas Arthashastra, the well known
book on management written in 4th bC
from Chinmaya international foundation
(Cif), kerala under the guidance of dr
gangadharan nair, the dean of Adi
shankara samskrit university. he later
proceeded to do his mA in sanskrit and a
Phd. in the subject. he is a certified
management consultant from the
international institute of management
consultants. he is the director at sPm
foundation and founder director of Atma
darshan a spiritual tourism company. in
this article, part of a series, prof pillai
focuses on kautilya guide to leadership.

2013

June

[11]

Culture

Native India

- A Resurgent India

Vrndavan Brannon Parker

n this world where a smile is seen as a threat or a

predatory move; a world where a measure of
restraint and thoughtfulness is misperceive as
disinterest and unfriendliness the soft hearted being is
often dismayed. This dismay can approach hopelessness
when we consider the history of the many great Saints
and Avatars who have come to this world. Lord Jesus
Christ taught love and compassion and he also ejected
the Money-Changers from the Temple. In other words, he
cleared the Heart of the City, the Temple, a place meant
for Love, from the parasitic activities of the Heartless.
Yet this act of integrity led to his being crucified. E v e n
Lord Krishna was defamed within his own city by his own
people. This was a city he had built in order to save His
people from the repeated assaults (18 invasions) of
embittered human sacrificing Kings and their Allies. Yet
even Lord Krishna was slandered by his very own people
who owed him everything.
th
From the Srimad Bhagavatam 10 Canto Ch. 56
entitled 'How the Syamantaka jewel Brought Krishna
Jambavat and Satyabhama'
"Once Satrjits brother, Prasena, having hung the
brilliant jewel about his neck, mounted a horse and went
hunting in the forest...A lion killed Prasena and his horse
and took the jewel. But when the lion entered a mountain
cave he was killed by Jmbavn, the Bear King, who
wanted the jewel. Within the cave Jmbavn let his
young son have the Syamantaka jewel as a toy to play
with. Meanwhile Satrjit, not seeing his brother return,
became deeply troubled. He said, Krishna probably
killed my brother, who went to the forest wearing the
jewel on his neck. The general populace heard this
accusation and began whispering it in one anothers
ears. When Lord Krishna heard this rumor, He wanted to
remove the stain on His reputation.
So he took some of Dvarakas citizens with him and
set out to retrace Prasenas path." Full Story here www.
krsnabook.com/ch56.html. It is significant that Lord
Krishna did not ignore being defamed. Rather he took

[12] June

2013

Tapan Ghosh, the President of the Hindu Samhati, a Hindu Human

Rights Group, leads the Relief Efforts on the behalf of the many
Hindu victims of Religious Persecution in West Bengal, India

In this world the soft-hearted are frequently criticized and

defamed in a variety of ways. At times it can be heart rending as
one's positive intentions are misrepresented or seen as a threat
towards other's potential status. This happens at the individual
level and at the political level as well. Thus political parties
attempt to destroy the image of their rivals without any regard
of the facts.
Today the media is overwhelming us with stories of death, rape, murder
and mayhem. As they ignore the millions of righteous and compassionate
works of countless selfless individuals, society is being perceived as
decayed and barbaric. However we find that even in Lord Krishna's own
Dwarka city murder most heinous did indeed take place, as seen in the
chapter entitled The Killing of Satrajit and Satadhanva.
www.krsnabook.com/ch57.html
Thus there have always been a very small minority of people that
engage in wicked acts. Yet today the media is controlled by those of a
wicked nature and they intentionally try to impose their own ruthlessness
upon society at large. The narrative is false yet it is compelling and it is
skewing humanity's perception of reality. In today's India the media is
using the horrific acts of an absolute minority to traumatize the public
majority. It is of course important not to ignore such acts and they must
be responded to. Yet the narrative is artificial for there are in fact millions
of Indians who have long been addressing these very same issues of
injustice, corruption and inequality. Yet because they are addressing these
issues from within the Indigenous framework and applying solutions
based upon the Native ethos, they are completely ignored. Once again
the Colonial mindset is at play. By nurturing and stimulating the basest of
human emotions through an onslaught of degradation and the medias
HINDU TODAY

promotion of dehumanizing concepts of

sexuality and self-aggrandizement,
people are becoming disconnected from
their hearts. Then these same forces at
t h e f o re f ro n t o f t h e m e d i a s
debasement of humane values step in
to save the day and issue calls to
protect minorities and women.
The very facts are ignored and are
far from the public perception of what
is happening at the ground level. There
are indeed hundreds of Native
organizations who have developed
effective infrastructures that have
brought free education to millions of
Indias children, empowered millions of
Indian Women whether it be jobs,
education or support for marriages or
protection from unscrupulous demands
from dowry (which has been illegal in
India since Independence) or finding
husbands for rape victims and other
such important social programs. Native
India has long been addressing these
concerns.
And unlike the highly paid foreign
based Human Rights groups a vast
majority of the Indigenous efforts are
volunteer base. Without money they
rely upon the real wealth of a Nation, its
Human Resource potential. Why these
HINDU TODAY

efforts are never in the news is quite

telling. The Indian media and the World
Media ignore this fact and are having a
field day presenting India as The Rape
Nation filled with a Misogynistic Man
Culture. A few incidents of horror are
artificially being used to color the image
of an entire Nation. Meanwhile the untold
sacrifice of millions of dedicated Indians
who have volunteered their entire lives
for the betterment of Indias people at
the root level is the reality and that is the
true story regarding modern India. Never
in the history of the world has there been
such a massive response by so many to
help the helpless. Yet how many know
about this reality?
There is in fact an effective
operational Indigenous response in place
for every single one of Indias social
problems. The efforts to malign India and
its Indigenous response to its social
imbalance have a direct correlation with
the effectiveness of the Native efforts.
However Indias people are, in general, so
rooted in their traditional and cultural
values that the agents of defamation
have basically failed to convince the
masses of the alleged faults of authentic
Hindu society. Thus a new campaign

based upon the prominent display of horrific

rapes and murders is the latest weapon in the
arsenal of the Globalist Elite.
As long as India was a Third World
Backwater it was easy for foreign
organizations to operate as they flaunted
their financial and technological superiority.
Yet suddenly India is no longer the broken
society and the heartless caste-based
tyranny the West perceived. India is
prospering on her own. India does not require
the cynical support of these outsiders and
their Native pawns.
The millions of volunteers of India, both
men and women from every walk of life
regardless of caste, clan, religion or class,
have done more for Indias downtrodden than
the entire combine of these contemptuous
and opportunistic interlopers have, can or
ever will do for India.
Thus the real question here is not, why
are bad things happening and what must be
done about it? The real question is why are
so many good things happening and so many
positive solutions and effective responses
being overlooked and disregarded?
In short the answer can be given in one
word Bigotry. Bigotry combined with a
calculated effort to debase the Heart of
Civilization.
2013

June

[13]

Culture

Morihei UeshibaDeveloper/Father of Aikido

December 14,1883 - April
26, 1969. Incorporated
peaceful spirit of Oomoto
religious beliefs into
Daitoryu Aikijutsu to evolve
to Aikido.

Aikido: The Ahimsa

Martial Art & Its Spirituality

Mark DeFillo

hat?! How can a

martial art have
anything to do
with ahimsa, non-violence?
As we shall see, the martial art
Aikido, founded in the mid-20th
century by Morihei Ueshiba,
was refined out of older
martial arts to create
something new that not only
allows a skilled practitioner to
prevent oneself or others from
being harmed while doing as
little harm as possible to the

[14] June

2013

attacker, but is also, if the

student approaches it in the
right way, a non-sectarian
spiritual system. As such, it
should be ethically and morally
acceptable to most Hindus and
most other religions of this
world too.
One present-day expert,
Sensei James Neiman, DojoCho (head instructor) at the
Shugyo Aikido Dojo in Union
City, California, defines the art
in these words: "Aikido is a

complete self defence system that

protects you and your loved ones
while minimizing injury to your
attackers." Neiman Sensei
elaborates on how this is done:
"Aikido's effectiveness is in its
unique addition of joint locks, pins
and throws to basic strikes, kicks
and blocks: it instantly ends
violent conflicts, and is one of the
world's most respected arts
because of its philosophy of
peaceful security. The training is
combined with many other self

HINDU TODAY

defense skills to help you

develop into a complete
martial artist, giving you
peace in your mind and spirit
while developing your body.
Often the key to safety is
recognizing danger before it
becomes a reality. Aikido is
focused on how to maintain
peaceful relations with people
and eliminate physical and
interpersonal conflict. Peace,
honor, compas s ion, and
spiritual discipline are among
the chief values of Aikido
practitioners."
AHIMSA
Now, let us consider ahimsa,
so that we can explore how
Aikido relates to it. Ahimsa, a
Sanskrit word is usually
translated non-violence, but
another meaning is noninjury. There is a statement in
the Mahabharata that ahimsa
is the highest dharma.
How this word and
principle is applied can vary
according to a person's
specific dharma. For example,
the duty of a kshatriya (Hindu
warrior) includes combat
against invaders, bandits and
other unjust aggressors.
Hindu dharma is practical as
well as holding high ideals,
and in fact, particularly for
kshatriyas and others in
authority, preventing himsa
(violence or harm) is a
paramount form of ahimsa.
For example, protecting the
innocent by fighting, even
if it means killing, invaders
or robbers is ahimsa, not
himsa. Therefore, Indian
civilization includes a
wide variety of effective
HINDU TODAY

martial arts traditions, both

armed and unarmed. Indian
martial arts are not widely
known outside of India, though
a few books have mentioned
them. One reason is probably
because most Indian martial
arts are connected with
religious bodies.
For example, the wrestling
arts are especially known in
religious orders dedicated to
Hanuman; and the Sikh religion
has especially cultivated martial
skills, both in a traditional form,
ShastarVidya, and a ritualized,
somewhat sport-like form
called Gatka, of which the latter
is more widely known, with
demonstrations occurring at
Sikh festivals and during
parades. Reportedly, some
Indian martial art masters have
deliberately chose to not share

their knowledge more widely,

after seeing and objecting to the
commercialization of the various
Far Eastern martial arts in the 20th
century. Even taking the principle
of ahimsa including the violent
prevention of violence for granted,
certainly it is more truly ahimsa if
the aggression can be prevented
without harming the attacker or at
least doing the least possible
injury to him or her. Aikido was
designed to allow its students to
do just that.
AIKIDO HISTORY
Now let's have a brief look at its
roots and origins. As already
stated, it was found by
MoriheiUeshiba, a 20 th century
Japanese martial artist. In his
yo u t h , h e s t u d i e d S h i n g o n
Buddhism, which is Japan's form
of Vajrayana Buddhism, and which

2013

June

[15]

ultimate of Aikido. He was, it

should be noted, perfectly capable
of taking the sword from the
challenger; sword-taking (tachidori) is part of the Aikido
curriculum.

shares many things with

Hinduism. He also began
studying the martial arts of
Japan, starting with the sumo
wrestling and culminating in
his study of Daito-ryuAikijujutsu under Sokaku Takeda.
While he later also took up
study of some other arts to
augment his own training, it
was Daito-ryu that became
the linch-pin of his martial
arts.
After intensive study of
Daito-ryu, he became
qualified to teach it and then
over years of further training,
along with spiritual experience, he gradually refined it to
what we now know as Aikido.
Most martial arts, even
defensive ones, have as their
goal to defeat the enemy.
Aikido, by contrast, enables
the skilled practitioner to
avoid being defeated; and as
has been said before, to do so
doing as little injury as
possible to an attacker. In
training, students of Aikido
take it in turn to play the parts

[16] June

2013

of the attacker and the

d e fe n d e r. T h e r e fo r e , t h e
earliest things taught to the
student are how to safely
receive the techniques of the
defender, when one plays the
part of the attacker. Most
importantly, that means how to
fall safely and get back up again
quickly and smoothly. Another
important basic point is proper
footwork, allowing the practitioner to sidestep attacks and
move in close to the attacker.
One of the seminal episodes for
Founder Ueshiba happened
when a skilled swordsman
challenged him to a match.
Instead of taking up a sword
h i m s e l f, U e s h i b a s i m p l y
avoided each sword-stroke,
until the attacker grew tired
and conceded that Ueshiba was
superior in skill.
Immediately afterwards,
Ueshiba had one of his most
important spiritual experiences, but regardless of that, in
some ways, the technique he
used in that case was
simultaneously basic to, and an

A TASTE OF PRACTICAL
AIKIDO
Daito-ryu techniques were
originally designed for battlefield
use by samurai, the kshatriyas of
Japan. Although of course
students have to train safely,
Daito-ryu techniques are often
designed to be injurious or even
fatal in real fighting.
Ueshiba refined the art,
creating Aikido, in such a way that
an attacker is either deflected
away or captured and restrained
safely; many techniques even
include nuances that are designed
for the safety of the attacker.
For example, some methods
of throwing an attacker are done
so as to encourage the attacker to
put a hand on the ground prior to
being tipped over or thrown,
making it far less likely that the
head or neck would be injured. To
be fair, people who have not
trained in Aikido or similar arts
may not know how to fall safely,
and won't have the ingrained
reactions to being on the receiving
end of the techniques that help
making training safe, so it is
inherently more dangerous for a
real attacker than it is for a wellprepared training partner, but
even so, the Aikido-ist aims at
avoiding harm to his attacker as
far as possible.
Basic Aikido training first of all
includes falling safely, stable
posture and mobility. Then
students can begin the techniques. There is a common thread
HINDU TODAY

to everything done in Aikido,

which is aiki. This Japanese
word can be translated as
harmonizing energy, energy
being ki. Often this word is
considered hard to translate
or understand in English, but
it works quite well to simply
think of it as meaning
energy, in a wide sense
which does in fact exist in
English: it refers not only to
what scientists call energy,
but also breath and mental
energy.
For Hindus, an important
clue can be found in the fact
that the Founder occasionally
defined ki as prana, breath
energy. In a later section, we
will look briefly at inner
dimensions of aiki, but in
practical terms, it means that
the Aikido student learns to
harmonize his or her energy
rather than clashing with the

HINDU TODAY

energy of others. This includes

the energy of the earth, which
we see in the art of safe falling:
if you harmonize with it, you fall
smoothly and safely, if you
clash with the ground, and it
hurts and you may well be
injured; and it includes the
energy of the practice partner,
or the attacker. The Aikido
practitioner, by blending his or
her energy with the partner or
attacker is able to use that
person's own energy to control
and move them.
The Founder also said that
Aikido is not a catalog of
t e c h n i q u e s . Ye t , A i k i d o
practice includes practice of
many techniques, and typically
Aikido schools have a
curriculum of different techniques that one must learn in
order to progress in rank.
How might this be
reconciled? By remembering

that the key of everything in Aikido

is simply aiki; thus, although one
studies specific techniques, and
they can be productively used if
one is attacked, in the end they
are all really exercises in ai-ing
your ki. The Founder more or less
tells us so by defining the highest
standard of Aikido to be
TakemusuAiki, which can be
roughly translated as something
like spontaneously-generating
martial energy harmonization;
but rather than translating, it is
easier to understand through
description of what it is: TakemusuAiki is the ability to blend
with the attacker's energy so
perfectly as to automatically and
effortlessly control his or her
movements, neutralizing the
attack, free of constraint of any
learned techniques. In other
words, at this level, one simply
does naturally exactly what is
needed. Thus, all techniques are

2013

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[17]

really practice in harmonizing

ki in those particular
movements, with the aim of
leading to a level of sufficient
ability in this blending that it
simply happens when needed.
SPIRITUAL AIKIDO
The Founder and his
successors (son Kisshomaru
Ueshiba and grandson MoriteruUeshiba) have consistently maintained that Aikido
is not merely a self-defense
system, a sport, or a health
system. Instead, they, and
particularly the Founder, have
described Aikido as a spiritual
practice. Although he
generally used Japanese and
Shinto words and concepts,
he also sometimes used
Buddhist concepts, many of
which are of course shared
with Hindu dharma and other
Indian religions.
In broad principle, for
example, he said that Aiki also
includes bringing into
harmony the energy of
Heaven, Man and Earth, both
on the large scale and the
individual scale. Thus he
defined Aikido as the eternal
principle of the universe.
Probably a good way to
translate that into Sanskrit
would be none other than
Sanatana Dharma, not
referring to Hinduism as such,
but to the underlying nature of
reality which the wise see as
the real sanatana dharma of
all bona fide religions. In that
regard, Ueshiba belonged to a
particular tradition of Shinto
called Omoto-kyo, which does
recognize shared truth among
the world's religions. Based on

[18] June

2013

his teachings, it seems likely

that Ueshiba achieved
something like the samadarshinah state described in
Bhagavad-Gita: equal vision,
not seeing the material
circumstances of people and
other living things, but rather
seeing their true, spiritual
selves. From this, he denied
that anyone is a genuine
enemy: an attacker is simply in
illusion, and hence the Aikidoist should be compassionate in
preventing the attack. T h i s ,
then, appears to be the spiritual
root of the ahimsa in Aikido.
The Founder also said that all of
Aikido practice is misogi. This
Japanese word refers to ascetic
practices and rituals intended
for purification, and which have
the aim of chinkonkishin,
which means calming the spirit
and returning to the divine.
Misogi is thus close to Hindu
tapasya or penance, and
chinkonkishin is basically the
same thing as yogic meditation.
Another important spiritual
practice is kototama, which is
the chanting of sacred sounds.
Does that not sound like
mantra? In fact, the Founder
often makes reference to
AUN, which the Japanese
pronunciation of AUM or OM.
(The Japanese final N sound
is similar to the anusvara of
Sanskrit, so the transliteration
is really of the same sound.)

There are many Aikido-ists who

ignore or do not practice these
deeper aspects of Aikido, and that
is all right, since according to the
Founder's own descriptions of the
practice as misogi, even basic
practice itself has spiritual benefit.
For Hindus and other Dharmis,
though, many if not all of these
spiritual practices are already
familiar, except in so far as the
external cultural differences
between Japan and India.
In this way, a close look at the
various features of this martial art,
Aikido, show that it appears to be
quite suitable for Hindus, even
though coming from a different,
sometimes incompatible, culture.
In particular, its ethics and morals
place very high value on noninjury, ahimsa, and ultimately
does so on the basis of the
illusionary nature of hostility and
in the underlying truth that we are
all spiritual entities. Aikido teaches
its people to care about humanity
and the world and to seek to make
the world a better place.

Mark DeFillo
He has contributed to a
variety of Hindu
publications in North
America and India. He has
regularly volunteered since
the early-mid 1990s in the
Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra of New York City,
and participates in other festivals of the
H i n d u a n d S i k h co m m u n i t i e s . H i s
particular interests include language and
linguistics, including and especially Indias
own ancient field of Vyakarana and its
underestimated influence on the Western
science of linguistics; ancient history,
including the relationships and influences
between India and other peoples, both
related and unrelated; in the religious
sphere, bhakti, especially Nam-bhakti, as
found in several major parts of Hinduism.

HINDU TODAY

Astrology

Rahu & Ketu:

The Journey Within

Rahu and Ketu are known as shadow grahas or planets in Vedic Astrology and are a part of the
Navagrahas or the nine planets which form the basis and cornerstone of predictive astrology.
In fact neither is a planet in the astronomical sense of the word but are nodes or points where
the moons orbit intersects the suns solar path.
Richa Gupta

ccording to mythological reference, it is

said that once the Devtas (Gods) and the
Asuras (Demons) formed an alliance to
look for the immortality potion or Amrit. The
Samundra Manthan of the Ksheera Sagar or the
Ocean of Milk began with Mount Meru as the pivot
stone and Vasuki the King of Serpents as the
churning rope. Various objects emerged from the
ocean, one of which was the Amrit Kalasa
containing Amrit.
Seeing the Amrit fierce
fighting ensued between the
Asuras and the Devtas. The
Devtas appealed to Lord
Vishnu to come to their
aid and he appeared in
the Mohini avataar - the
ultimate seductress or
mayavi form and
enchanted the Asuras in
agreeing to wait for
their turn to drink the
Amrit and started
distributing it to the
Devtas. One of the Asuras,
Rahu was able to see through
Mohinis trick so he disguised
himself as a Devta and went and
quietly sat amongst the Devtas to partake his
portion of the Amrit.
The Sun and Moon gods who were seated
near him recognized his Asura qualities and
alerted Lord Vishnu .Lord Vishnu immediately
used the Sudarshan Chakra to severe Rahus

HINDU TODAY

head from his body- however it was not fast

enough for Rahu had already tasted the Amrit
.however the Amrit had not reached below his
neck ,so his head has immortality and is called
Rahu while the body to which the Amrit had not
reached is known as Ketu.
Rahu is referred in western astrology as the
Dragons Head while Ketu is known as the
Dragons Tail. Sun and Moon are their sworn
enemies and whenever the Solar or
Lunar eclipse occurs, it is said
that the luminaries are
swallowed by Rahu or Ketu,
thus mythologically
explaining the concept of
an eclipse.
In traditional
sculptures and paintings, Rahu is depicted
as a serpent with a
gaping mouth and no
body riding a chariot
drawn by eight black
horses. He is considered to
be the legendary master of
deception and signifies
cheaters, pleasure-seekers, drug
or poison dealers, immoral acts,
indulgence and obsession.
Rahu is said to be the giver while Ketu the
taker while in reality Rahu is a giver in the same
manner as an addiction which is designed to
addict us and become a need which leads to ones
self destruction. Snakes encountered in dreams

2013

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[19]

are said to be a manifestation

of Rahu. He rules the South
West direction and the age of
42 years is the time when
Rahu comes to full fruitation.
The colour black or smokeygrey is associated with Rahu.
Ketu on the other hand is
depicted headless but there
are a few renditions of him
both in art and sculpture
where he is shown with the
head of a snake and an Asuras
body. His vahana is the mighty
eagle. He is the karaka of
detachment, enlightenment
of the soul and salvation - the
ultimate moksha.
However this path of
moksha does not come easily,
to achieve it, a person is

[20] June

2013

tested with difficulties,

obstacles, mental agony,
hidden enemies, rifts and
tragedies in the family. Ketu is
said to be spiritually benefic
and materialistically malefic.
He tests in the material
world before leading man
towards God and spirituality.
Ketu gives proficiency in foreign
languages ,artificial languages
(computers) psychic abilities, a
pull towards occult and
religious practices and esoteric
learnings.
Rahu is the Karmic Enticer
giving us material opulence and
pulling us deeper and deeper
into the web of Karma and is
true to his name of being the
Ultimate Giver he gives us

excess karmic baggage taking us

further and further away from
Moksha while Ketu is the Karmic
Renunciator and throws in our life
path severe obstacles and testing
times and through this leads us
towards the path of Spirituality
and Moksha.
Richa Gupta
Jyotish Shastracharya Richa
Gupta is a 3rd generation
Astrologer and Occult
Spiritualist. She has spent
over 20 years in Vedic Study
and Spiritual Research . She has expertise
in Astrology, Pranic Healing, Space Healing
,Vedic Vastu ,Crystal Healing and Gem
Therapy. She has learnt under many gurus
in different parts of India especially
Rishikesh and is constantly striving to
amalgamate our ancient Vedic knowledge
to today's modern lifestyle.

HINDU TODAY

Numerology

Hindus Magic Numbers

18, 108, 1008
SnathamSwaminathan

n Hinduism numbers
have a lot of significance. In some places
it is used as a symbol or
metaphor. Vedas also have a
lot of numbers and their
meanings are still mysterious.
One example is the odd and
even numbers up to 33 and 44
respectively in the Chamakam
(a part of the Rudram in the

HINDU TODAY

KrsnaYajur Veda). But 108 and

1008 are used for all the Gods in
Ashtotharam (108) and
Sahasranamam (1008),
particularly in all the South
Indian Temples on day to day
basis.
Hindu epic Mahabharata is
associated with number 18 in
several ways. The Mahabharata
is divided in to 18 books

(parvas) and the Bhagavad Gita

also has 18 chapters. The original
name of the Mahabharata was
JAYA and according to Sanskrit
numerical system (Ka Ta Pa
Yathisankhya) Jaya is 18. The
architect of the war Sri Krishnas
Yadava caste - which had 18 clans.
The army number of divisions that
took part in the war were also 18
(11 divisions/Akshauni of
2013

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[21]

Kauravas and 7 Akshauni of

Pandavas).There is a beautiful
description about the number
1 8 i n t h e Ta m i l e p i c
Cilappatikaram: The war
between the Devas and
Asuras went for 18 Years. The
fight between Rama and
Rava n a w e n t o n fo r 1 8
Months. The war between the
Pandavas and Kauravas went
on for 18 Days, but the battle
between the King CheranSenguttuvan and Kanaka
Vijayan went on only for 18
Nazikas! (A day consists of 60
Nazika and one Nazika is 24
minutes).
CheranSenguttuvan was a
great Chera (Kerala) king who
went up to the Himalayas and
brought a stone from the holy
Himalayas to erect a statue for
the Tamil heroine Kannaki. He
washed the stone in the holy
Ganges and brought it on the
heads of Kanka and Vijayan who
were defeated by him in seven
hours.
The Number 10,008
The priests who did
havan/yagna erected the
yagakund (fire altar) with
10,008 bricks in the shape of
an eagle. The reason for this
may be the Deva year was
equivalent to (360 X 30)
10,800 days and Brahmas
kalpa was 40 times of this i.e.
432,000 years. If we add any
of these figures and bring it to
one digit it will always be 9.
Number 9 and its
multiples are in Sanskrit and
Tamil literature. Planets are
nine-Nava Grahas, Gems are
nine- Nava Ratnas and the
scholars in the assembly of
Vikramaditya were also called
Navaratnas. Another reason
for this is a man breathes

[22] June

2013

21,600 (half of 43,200) times a

day, on average. The book
written by Romarishi calculated
this on the basis of 15 breaths
for every minute. This is
reflected in the famous
Nataraja temple in
Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
where the Golden Roof of the
temple contains 21,600 gold
tiles. They used 72,000 nails to
fix them.
SathyaSai Babas
interpretation
Sri SathyaSai Baba went one
step ahead of others in
explaining the significance of
these numbers. A man breaths
21,600 time a day (at the rate
of 15 a minute and 900 times an
hour). During the day time he
breaths 10,800 times. During
this day time one must say the
mantra soham (sa=He,
aham=I; in other words God
and I are one) and to signify
this we have 108, 1,008 and
10,008. Baba added by saying
that number nine represents
Brahman and number 8
represents Maya (illusion).
He demonstrated that Nine
remains intact after multiplying
by any number (e.g.
9x12=108,8x9=72,3x9=27 if
we bring them down to one
digit it is always 9) Where as if

we multiply 8 with other numbers

it will go down when we bring
them down to single digit (e.g.
1x8= 8, 2 x 8 = 16, 3 x 8 = 24, 4 x 8
= 32, 5 x 8 = 40, 6 x 8 = 48 etc.
One digit numbers will be 8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3, 2, 1).
With each breath you are
positively affirming 'Soham (I am
He)'. Not only have you, every
being thus affirmed it. ... When
you watch your breath and
meditate on that grand truth,
slowly the 'I' and the 'He' will
merge; Soham will become
transformed into Om, the primal
sound, which the Vedas (ancient
scriptures) proclaim as the symbol
of the formless, all-knowing God."
SathyaSai Speaks X,
'Meditation'
The Devas spent 10,800 days (in
other words 29 years and 5
months) to churn the Ocean of
Milk to extract Amrit (ambrosia).
The planet Saturn, which plays a
significant role in our lives, also
takes the same time to complete
one circuit of the Solar System.
Tamils have divided their
2,000 year old Sangam Literature
in to 18 books (PathuPaattu &
EttuThokai) and the post-Sangam
ethical literature in to another 18
books! (PathinenKeezKanakku).
These numbers have also got
some significance in the Buddhist
and Greek literatures as well.
SnathamSwaminathan
Santanam Swaminathan
was born in Nagappattinam
i n Ta m i l N a d u . H e i s
working as a tutor at the
University of London and a
Health Advocate in a
London hospital.
He hails from a journalist family. His
father Santanam was the News Editor of
Dinamani in Madurai. He translated Anna
Karenina of Leo Tolstoy in 1940s which
runs to 1500 pages. It was considered a
great achievement at that time.

HINDU TODAY

Tradition

Do the Shruti Vedas

Mention Krishna?
Horacio Francisco Arganis Juarez

round 300 years ago,

when the field of
Indology began,
British scholars were very
much influenced by the
Judeo-Christian paradigm of
time. In their estimation, the
creation took place around
(approximately) 6000 years
ago. Having found testimony
in Vedic historical accounts
that the texts were over 5,000
years old, they fabricated
many academic devices to
obscure the traditional Vedic
dating method.
For example, John Bentley, feeling his own concept
of time being questioned,
HINDU TODAY

employed his knowledge of

astronomical science to discredit the Vedic dating formula.
Referring to a Scholar
supporting the Vedic time line
he stated, "By his attempt to
uphold the antiquity of Hindu
books against absolute facts,
he thereby supports all those
horrid abuses and impositions
found in them, under the
pretended sanction of antiquity,
... Nay, his aim goes still
deeper; for by same means he
endeavours to overturn the
Mosaic account, and sap the
very foundations of our
religion: for if we are believe in
the antiquity of Hindu books, as

he would wish us, then the Mosaic

account is all a fable, or a fiction."
(Bentley , John, 1825, Historical
View of the Hindu Astronomy ,
Osnabruck; BiblioVerlang, etd
1970 pp. xxvii) Another technique
was used by these learned men in
w h i c h t h e y fo r m u l a t e d t h e
'borrowing hypothesis'.
Such tentative speculation,
guised by so-called academicism,
stated that Lord Krishna was a
Hinduized Jesus Christ. The logical
consequence of this idea would
lead the intelligence to believe
that everything about Lord
Krishna, such as His religion,
hagiography like the Bhagavata,
Vishnu and the Harivamsha
2013

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[23]

Puranas, were also derived

from Christianity. Therefore,
all of these works would be
attributed to Anno Domino
(AD) making them postChristian. Dr. Thomas Hopkins
indicates this academic devise
to be systematically denigrating. (HK p. 111)
We w i l l m a ke a fe w
observations suggesting that
the above hypothesis [Lord
Krishna is not in the Veda
srutis] has never been proven.
We shall not attempt an
exhaustive treatment of the
many arguments presented
by scholars, since this would
require a voluminous book.
Rather, we shall make a few
points.
Epistemological problems
When we study a body of
empirical evidence, we always
evaluate it with our limiting
assumptions. In the end, the
conclusions we derive from
the evidence reflect our
paradigm. If the assumptions
change, even when we study
a body of empirical evidence,
we always evaluate it with our
limiting and limited assumptions. In the end, the
conclusions we derive from
such evidence reflect our own
paradigm.
If the assumptions
change, even though the evidence remained the same, the
results shall be different.
Consider what would happen if
the traditional history of the
Puranas were accepted as real
and accurate? Or lets consider
that they were the only
available evidence to be
studied regarding the history
of Indian literature. The result
would be a completely diff-

[24] June

2013

erent picture of the past,

contrary to the one presently
accepted by some Western
scholars. In other words, there
are ways to comprehend
historical processes through the
Vedic texts. That this is so can
be graphically observed if one
performs the mental experiment
of looking at the world from a
radically different perspective.
But it is necessary to point out
that now the epistemology of
science demands, as the first
step, the suspension of any
predisposition.
This is called an Epoj in
Spanish. In fact, to be
objective, it is necessary to
leave aside the entire preconception and observe the
phenomenon under scrutiny
without any prejudice, after
enumerating its qualities.
Only in this way, the
process can be objective and
realistic. It is important to note
that theistic, atheistic,
agnostic, sceptic, materialistic
speculation, academicism or
relativism (so-called rationalism) etc., are considered to
be subjective postures.
In other words, the
methodology of science is

realistic, quantitative and is

l i m i t e d t o o b s e r va t i o n a n d
describes the phenomena in an
inductive way in order to arrive at
a general theory. But the results of
the science are relative
approximations, probabilities and
never absolutes. Ultimately, there
is no absolute truth in science.
Nowadays words like laws and
axiom are already being eliminated in the objective fields of
science. All subjects can be
revised objectively. Science is selfcritical and constantly changes
through new realistic and
objective reviews.
Evidences from
the Upanishads:
Regarding the Upanisads, the
following eleven Upanishads are
considered to be the topmost:
Isha, Kena, Katha, Prasna,
Mundaka,Mandukya, Taittiriya,
Aitareya, Chandogya, Brhadaranyaka and Shvetasvatara.
However, in the Muktikopanisad,
verses 30-39, there is a description of 108 Upanisads.
Now let us see how the
Upnishads allude to Lord Krishna:
Chandogya III.17.6
Almost all scholars have assented
that Devakiputra Krishna is
described in the Chandogya
Upanishad as the disciple of Ghora
Angirasa. But the sceptics reject
this attribution because the
teachers of Krishna were
Gargamuni and Sandipani in the
Puranas. But the biggest problem
with this assumption is that the
original text does not say so.
It is Sankaracarya, who in his
commentary on the abovementioned Upanisad, said that
Krishna was the disciple of Ghora
Angirasa. The passage has to be
studied in reference to its context,
HINDU TODAY

which is given below.

The Chandogya describes
man's life in the form of somasacrifice; the natural function:
eating, drinking, procreating
and the cardinal virtues are
described as the rewards of
the sacrifice.
When Ghora Angirasa said
(Uktva) this, he also told
(uvacha) Krishna Devakiputra
- for he had become free from
desire: "In the final hour one
should take refuge in these
three thoughts: "You are the
Indestructible (asita); You are
the unshaken (acyuta); You
are the very essence of life
(prana)."
The teachings which Krishna
heard from Ghora Angirasa, is
more or less the same which
He taught to Arjuna in the Gita
[XVI 1-2]. Ghora too already
addressed Krishna as Acyuta,
the infallible.
In the Gita we find this
term being used thrice, and
each time Arjuna addresses
Krishna as Acyuta [Bg. 1.2,
11.42, 18.73.] Therefore, the
self-evident quality of the
quote demonstrates the
analogy. But there is not any
evidence in other texts of any
Krishna, as the son of Devaki,
besides our Krishna Yadava.
The same work has another
mention, 8.13.1: syama
cavalam prapadye savalac
s ya m a p r a p a d y e . H e r e ,
Krishna is mentioned by his
epithet Syama which means
blackish, used in the Puranic
literature for the Lord.
The Sanskrit word
prapadye-surrender appears
two times, in the same sense
as the Gita. The designation
bhagesam is found in the
Svetasvatara 6.6: bhagaHINDU TODAY

o p u l e n c e ; Is a - L o r d . T h i s
Sanskrit word is a synonymous
with Bhagavan, a title used for
Krishna in the Gita and in the
Puranas.
The Mundaka 1.3 reads:
kasmin bhagavo vijnate sarvam
idam vijnatam bhavati: "When
Bhagavan becomes known,
then everything knowable
becomes known." Here the
word Bhagavan is clearly used
in the same ontological sense
that the Puranas and Gita use
for Krishna.In the above quoted
list of Upanisads, there is the
Narayana, which says: atha

puruso ha vai narayano

'kamayata prajah srijeti - "The
Purusa Narayana, desired to
create the living beings." (1)
The same sruti text (4), says:
brahmanyo devakiputra - "The
Brahman absolute is the son of
Devaki (Krishna).
" Here the same Devakiputra epithet is ascribed to
Krishna as in the Chandogya
and smriti literature. Also the
Rig Veda's Purusa is identified
with Narayana and then with
Krishna. The same ontological
derivation is found in the Gita
and Puranas.Indications of

Devakiputra Krishna are in the

Vasudeva Upanisad: devakinandano 'khilam anadayat - "The
son of Devaki fills the entire world
with delights bliss". The words are
indicatives and the same name of
the text considers Krishna the
same as Vasudeva. By a direct
reading of these verses, a clear
a n a l o g y i s d ra w n b e t w e e n
Vasudeva-Krishna and Devaki's
son.
The Mahanarayana Upanisad
mentions Vasudeva Krishna,
recognized as Vishnu-Narayana:
narayanaya vidmahe vasudevaya
dhimahi tan no visnu pracodayat.
"We meditate on Narayana who is
the son of Vasudeva and on Him
we should contemplate. Because
He is Vishnu".
In the Purusabodhini Upanisad: eko devo nitya mukto bhakta
vyapi hrdy antarama - "The one
Godhead is eternally engaged in
many sports (pastimes) in relation
with His devotees". But how is this
eko devo who performed lilas?
The same book explains:
gokulasya mathura mandale...
dve parsve candravali radhika ca "His place is the land of Gokula in
the Mathura mandala.
On two sides he has Radha
and Candravali." The quote
alludes to the same geographical
area and the Gopi associates of
Krishna lila indicated in the
Puranic texts.
Gopala-tapany-upanisad, a
treatise of Krishnalogy, says that
the own theme of this work is
Krishna in the same way as in
Puranic texts: Sac-cid-anandarupaya/ krsnayaklista-karine/
namo vedanta-vedyaya/ Gurave
b u d h i - s a k s i n e : " I o ffe r my
respects unto Krishna, who has a
form of bliss, eternity and
knowledge. Understanding Him
means understand the end of
2013

June

[25]

Vedas and He is the supreme

Guru.
"(1.1) This Upanisad is
part of the Atharva-Veda.
Another interesting work from
the above list of Upanisads is
the Krsna-upanisad. This
Krishnaite text is part of RigVeda: Om Krsno vai saccidananda-ghana krsna adip u r u s a h
k r s n a
purusottamah...Kaly-upanisad or Kali-santarana.
In this text is record: hare
krsna hare krsna krsna krsna
hare hare, hare rama hare
rama rama rama hare hare iti
sodasakam namnam kalikalmasa-nasanam natha
parataropayah sarva-vedesu
drsyate: "These sixteen words
- Mahamantra Hare-KrishnaRama - are especially meant

[26] June

2013

Hari, which means "Oh Lord Hari!"

Another meaning is the vocative of
the word Hara, which means
Radha, the internal sakti of Hari.
However the word is used, the
direct reading of the text indicates
a relationship with Krishna
because the epithet 'Hari' is used
for Krishna. Therefore the literal
translation is, "Oh Lord Hari Krishna!" or "Oh the energy of
Lord Krishna!" (End of Part 1)

for counteracting the contamination of Kali. To save

oneself from the contamination
of Kali, there is no alternative
but the chanting of this
Mahamantra, even after
searching through all the
Vedas.
"Hare is the vocative of

Horacio Francisco Arganis Juarez

Horacio Francisco Arganis
Juarez Ph.D. Research
Professor of International
University Euroamericana
Mexico. BA in Spanish lyrics
by U of C. A Master of Art in Philosophy of
Religion at the CWI.

HINDU TODAY

History

Hindus of Guyana
A Personal History
Nanda Sahadeo

ay 5th 2013 marked 175 years since the

first Indian set foot on shores of Guyana.
396 Indian immigrants landed in British
Guyana(now Guyana) from Calcutta. Between 1838
and 1917 over 500 ship voyages with 238,909
indentured Indian immigrants came to Guyana; while
75,898 of them or their children returned to India.
The last shipment of immigrants consisting of
437 persons and originating from both Madras and
Calcutta arrived on April 18, 1917 aboard the S. S.
Ganges, formally terminating the Indian indentureship
system. Nevertheless, over 400 more immigrants were
brought on contracts to work on the sugar plantations
in 1921-1922 and several others also came as ordinary
settlers. Immigration from India ended in 1928 after
almost exactly 90 years.
They came on ships - Jahaj - and thus were called
Jahaji. These Jahajis brought their culture and way of
life. They brought their Ram, Krishna and Allah, their
Ramayana, Koran and kept up all their customs. They
had to face many adversities as Christian missionaries
tried to convertthem, but they persevered and today
Hinduism and Islam still thrive in Guyana. There were
many adjustments to be made; for example
ingredients like masalas were not available, and only
later a few merchants started to import what was
needed. The immigrants had to create their own
blends of spices to make their curries. Saris were not
available and so they started making their own by
dyeing white cotton.
Here is the story of one of the sons of a direct
immigrant as was told to me. Sri RamoutarJi was an
elder of our Mandir, the Triumph Mandir in
Georgetown, Guyana. His reminiscences give us a vivid
picture of some of our Guyanese Hindu customs.Sri
RamoutarJi was born on January 2,1915. His father, Sri
SomaiJi was from India.
Sri SomaiJi came to Guyana as a teenager. Sri
RamoutarJi was born at Mon Repos Estate and lived in

HINDU TODAY

Pandit MaheshwarSahadeo and Sri RamoutarJi at the Triumph Mandir

a small flat bush house as a little boy. He went to school

at what he referred to as the English Church School
(the Anglican School). He said the teachers, who were
mostly African Blacks, used to come around and
ensure that the small children attended school.
He stopped attending school at the age of 14 years,
when his Mother fell sick and he had to start helping his
father. He joined the Creole Gang (work crew) whose
job was to throw manure on the sugarcane plants.
When he was a little older, he joined the Weeding Gang
then later, he started to Cut and Drop. (cutting the cane
stalks and leaving them in heaps) then even
afterwards, Cut and Load (cutting and bundling the
stalks, and loading them onto the punts that took them
to the factories). Sri RamoutarJi worked and saved
until he was able to buy land (what was called beds
then) in nearby Triumph Village and started to plant
rice. At the age of 18 years, Sri RamoutarJi got married.
His wife was from Canal No 2, on the West Coast of
Demerara. He never saw or met his dulhan (bride) until
the wedding day. She was 12 years old. The match was
made by a Naau (matchmaker) The dulha(bridegroom)
wore a pink jorajama (pleated wedding coat) and
2013

June

[27]

maur(headdress). The dulhan

wore a jula (blouse) and gangri
(skirt) and white ordni(scarf).
She wore silver churiyas(thin
bracelets) with two silver bangles
on either side of the churiya and
silver foot rings. She was covered
with 5 yards of white cotton for
the marriage ceremony, and
stayed covered until she reached
his home.
The weddings lasted for four
days:
1st day - Mati core: Puja to
Mother Earth/ haldiceremony
(rubbing of tumeric paste on the
body of the couple about to be
married).
2nd day -Bhatwana: preparation of the food
3rd day Telwaan: the
wedding day.
4th day Kangan: day after
the ceremony.
In those days, all Hindu weddings
in Guyana were done in the
evenings. Sri Ramoutar's family
hired a bus to go with the Baraat
(Bridegroom's procession).
Because his Bride lived on the
other side of the DemeraraRiver a
launch(small boat) was hired to
take them across. It took them up
to just a few yards from the
home, and then the Baraat
walked the rest of the way. Karaila
Natak (dancers/ musicians) were
hired to accompany the Baraat.
Tassa drums (huge dholak/drums
similar to the ones used in
Bangra) were not used in those
days; only hand drums (regular
dholak) and all the dancers were
males.
The Baraatwas welcomed
(Milaap) and then taken to a
place to rest and relax (Janwaas),
which was next door to the
bride's home. The wedding then
took place and after all the
celebrations, Sri RamoutarJi and
the rest of the Baraat again

[28] June

2013

Shri SomaiJi who came from India....

father of RamoutarJi

Mrs. Sookandai
Wife of Ramoutar Ji

Shri Ramoutar Ji

returned to the Jamwaaswhere

they rested until dawn. Then along
with the bride the wedding
procession walked to where the
launch was moored, crossed the
Demerara River and boarded the
waiting bus which took them back
home to Triumph Village.
When they reached home, the
bride was welcomed by his mother
and other female relatives and
brought into the home. Then, one
by one, the female relatives went
up to her, lifted up the chadar /
sheet covering her, to see what she
looked like and gave her presents.
According to traditions of the time,
if the female relatives did not like
what they saw, they would not give
any presents to the bride. Like his
female relatives, Sri RamoutarJi
only saw his Patni's (wifes) face
after she came into his home.As
soon as I saw her, I liked her," he
smiled.
The bride was then given
three silver bari earrings (small
hoops) to wear, and because her
nose was not pierced his mother
had the bride's nose pierced
immediately, and gave her a silver
nose ring. Brides in those days did
not wear saris as they were not yet
available, as mentioned earlier.
On the Kangan day (the day

after the wedding), his mother took

the maur/ headdress worn by the
groom and the kangans (strings tied to
the wrists of the right hands of bride
and groom on the Maticore night by
the Pandits for protection.
These strings were basically strips
of cotton dyed yellow and with small
pen-knives attached then mantras
were chanted while tied on). With five
married ladies, whose husbands were
still alive, they went into the
trench/canal near the home and place
the headdress and strings into the
water and squeezed them down into
the mud.
"My mother put her foot and
press it into the mud, he said. Then
she gave her sister, her mother in law
and her husband's sister saris and
jula(blouse) made out of white cotton
dyed yellow.Sri RamoutarJi said that
the bride went back to her parents'
home on the day after the kangan and
then returned on the following
Sunday.
"She felt afraid," he said, "cried,
cried and want to go back to her
parents' home. So they came and took
her back and she stay there for 4-5
weeks then she came back. "She spent
1 week with me and 4 weeks with
them.That is how we lived because
she did not like it here and missed her
home there." Sri Ramoutar Ji's wife
had her first child at 15. In those days,
t h e N a n a a n d N a n i ( m ate r n a l
grandparents) brought all the clothes
for the baby and the mother. Sri
RamoutarJi and his wife had 4 children
and then 5 days after delivering her
last baby, she passed away. "I ran to
get the doctor.He lived about 1/4 mile
away but doctor said he can't come
because his driver had already gone.
Then I ran over to the Post Office next
door and begged them to telephone
another doctor who lived two miles
away. Before this doctor could start
out the news came that she already
died."After so many years, Sri
RamoutarJi still was upset when he
HINDU TODAY

Indentured Indian Laborers in Guyana

spoke about the passing of his

wife.In those days, when a wife
died and there were young
children to raise, the custom was
that the husband then must
marry the younger sister of his
late wife. This tradition came
about because it was believed
that this is the only way of
ensuring that the children will be
loved and be taken care of.
Accordingly, Sri RamoutarJi then
married his younger sister in law,
and they had 7 more children.
Sri RamoutarJi was an elder
at our Mandir and took special
interest in our family after the
passing of our Dad. He was very
attached to Dad and on the day of
Dad's funeral, he fainted. He
postponed the wedding of his
grandkids that had been
scheduled for a few weeks after
Dad's passing, saying, "How can
we celebrate when we have lost
our Sabhapati? " For several
years, on his birthday I would
make a cake for Sri RamoutarJi.
He was now a vegetarian so he
was happy for my vegetarian
cake. In 2009, a few weeks after
the passing of our younger
brother Pandit Maheshwar, I
went to visit Sri RamoutarJi. I was
unable to go for his birthday and
was unable to make him a cake
HINDU TODAY

this time. Sri RamoutarJi hugged

me and wept. He was very shaky
now. "I know how much you are
suffering, I am suffering too
because I lost my Pandit. I lost my
Junior." he wept. "Why did Krishna
not take me? Why he had to take
this good, good boy, this little, little
boy? he asked as he wept. He
thanked me for remembering him
and for going to see him."I know
how hard it is for you to come and
yet you came to see me." He held
my face between the palms of his
hands and wept even more.
On May 5th, I went alone this
time to visit Sri Ramoutar Ji. The
house was dark and only his wife
was sitting under the house. She
came out and said that he had
fallen sick since morning and that
his son had taken him to the
hospital. He spent 2 days there and
then came home. When I went to
see him, he was semi conscious
and had been like that all day
according to his daughter-in-law.
Kneeling next to his bed, I saw that
his eyes were half closed and he
was breathing laboriously. I asked
him if he wanted me to pray and he
mouthed "yes" between halfbreaths. I looked at his daughterin-law and she nodded her head,
so I began to chant some mantras
to his Ishta Lord Krishna. When I

was finished, I held his hands and

spoke to him, telling him to just focus
on his Lord Krishna and leave
everything to the will of his Lord. He
again mouthed "yes". That was the
last time I saw Sri Ramoutar Ji. That
night, he went to be with his Lord
Krishna. A pious soul, an elder, a first
generation Jahaji left this world at the
age of 94 years. I counted myself very
fortunate that he shared a little of his
life with me. He will be missed.
Nanda Sahadeo
Daughter of Pandit
Mohanlal Sahadeo, who
was a founding member of
the Guyana Hindu Dharmic
Sabha and President of the
Triumph Mandir. She and
her siblings grew up in the Sabha and
Mandir. She was given Diksha when she
was 5 years old and received Diksha again
from a direct shishya of Swami
Chinmayananda Ji Maharaja and Swami
Dayanananda Ji Maharaja.
She is trained in Indian Classical Vocal
Music, Dance, Yoga, Hindi and Sanskrit
from the Indian Cultural Center in
Georgetown and studied Vedanta. She is a
qualified Writer and Journalist and also
paints. Nanda became the Pujari of the
Triumph Mandir, Triumph Village, after the
passing of her youngest Brother Pandit
Maheshwar Sahadeo. Nanda was the first
woman in Guyana to serve as a Mandir
Pujari; after injury prevented her from
sitting down, her younger sister is now
serving as the Pujari.

2013

June

[29]

Philosophy

United Contributions of the Deities and Daemons

Samundra Manthan: Ocean Churning
Manoj Mishra

amundra Manthan (Ocean churning) is

one of the eminent events mentioned in
Puranas. During the churning process
both Deity (Devta) and Demons (Daityas) united
to make their contribution in the process. It is also
mentioned that all the beings came to contribute
as per their capabilities. Similar happens today as
well, to achieve something people with different
views unite and stand together. For us meditation
is the churning of our heart. During meditation all
type of our energies and powers unite together.
During ocean churning first came the
deadly venom, similarly when we do meditation,
our disorders in the form of venom comes out,
which is nothing but our anger, desires, greed,
endearment, arrogance. When the venom came
out of the ocean, whole universe came under
turmoil and then Lord Shiva drank it to bring
peace in the universe. Similarly when venom
from our heart comes out we have to bring our
mind and heart in peace by sprinkling knowledge

[30] June

2013

(Shiva) onto it. Next to come out of ocean was

nectar. Similar to oceans churning, when our
disorders vanish from our heart, we also recieve
nectar in the form of peace and satisfaction. Then
Goddess Lakshmi came out and she served the
liquor to demons and they became intoxicated. It
is same as when we earn money we also get
influenced by the intoxication of money and we
dont realize what we are doing and ultimately
loose what we earn, same as demons didnt get
Goddess Lakshmi.
And finally Lakshmi went to Lord Vishnu.
Now the question arises Why others didnt get
her?, Why she didnt go to Lord Shiva? It is very
simple because he is very innocent and any
demon can take from him,therefore,Lakshmi
cant reside with innocent people. Lord Brahma
didnt get her because in the creation of Brahma
there is a disparity, so she didnt go to him, hence
Lakshmi doesnt remain with people who have
disparity in their deeds. She didnt go to other
HINDU TODAY

deities like Indraetc. because

these deities are the owners
of good deeds by which you
can get heaven but not
Goddess Lakshmi. We have to
understand here Lakshmi is
not only money but it is of 8
types like peace, truth etc.
Hence Lord Vishnu got
Lakshmi as he is the only one
who can properly use Lakshmi
for nurturing the universe
c o r r e c t l y. H e c a n o n l y
preserve and protect Lakshmi.
Thats why we should always
pray that if Lakshmi comes to
our house it should come with
Lord Vishnu then only she can
stay with us, else it can come

HINDU TODAY

but it will go away soon. If it

does not come with Lord Vishnu
then we become arrogant. Also
Lakshmi needs its diversity
hence we should use Lakshmi
for good causes. It is like this if
we have our boat full of
valuable things then sometimes
it starts sinking and then we
have to throw few things to
survive our boat.
We should use things
thoughtfully, intelligently and
through sacrifice then only you
can donate time and money by
which our 8 Lakshmis, good
health, money, obedient son,
faithful wife, valuable job, good
administrative arrangement,

fruitful knowledge and tilt towards

God will prosper.
Manoj Mishra
He is an Engineering
graduate who has done his
engineering in Electronics
and Communication. In his
professional career he has
been working for last 20
years with top notch Multinationals like
Siemens, Infineon, Aricent and Hughes.
Currently he is working as an Assistant Vice
President with Hughes .
In his early 30s he was enlightened with
a fact that Hinduism is for mankind and we
need to demystify the sheer knowledge
that our Rishis wanted to spread to the
world. He is a great follower of people like
Sudhashuji, Avdheshanad ji, Gaurav
Krishna who contribution to the society is
inestimable.

2013

June

[31]

Society

The Beatles Let it Be in India

The Retreat That Still Reverberates, Within You, Without You, Across the Universe
Forty five years ago, The Beatles were settling into the ashram of their new
guru,Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, in Rishikesh, India.
Philip Goldberg

he NEWS coverage was non-stop and

global, as it had been six months earlier
when the lads first met Maharishi and
became public advocates for his Transcendental
Meditation (TM) technique. It would have been
easy at the time to dismiss the media frenzy as
just another pop culture craze, but reporters
knew this was different.
Why would four young, bright, fun-loving
youngsters, wealthy beyond imagining, able to
go anywhere and do anything, choose to hunker
down in an austere, vegetarian, non-airconditioned compound in the Himalayan foot hills
and spend large chunks of time each day with
their eyes closed?

[32] June

2013

What is meditation?
What could a backward, impoverished country,
only two decades removed from imperial rule,
have to offer people who seemed to have
everything a human being could want?
Questions like those turned what might have
been a brief media burst into a watershed
moment in cultural history. I opened American
Veda, my book about the impact of Indian
spirituality on the U.S., by calling the Beatles
expedition the most momentous spiritual retreat
since Jesus spent those forty days in the wilderness. Since publication, not one person has
argued with that assertion.When, in 1965,
college students began to take up TM, word

HINDU TODAY

spread quickly and meditation

clubs popped up on campuses. By August of 1967,
when Maharishi lectured at
the London Hilton, it was only
natural that Pattie Boyd
Harrison would hear about it
and lead her husband and his
mates to the jam-packed
hotel ballroom.
It was as though the earth
tilted on its axis in February,
1968, making ancient Eastern
teachings flow more easily
and quickly to the West; the
result would impact healthcare, psychology, neuroscience and especially the way
we understand and engage
our spirituality. In retrospect,
the meeting of the Fab Four
and the teacher who will
probably always be known as
The Beatles Guru, seems as
karmically destined as that of
Bill and Hillary or Lewis and
Clark.
Like many in the counterculture of which they had
become de facto leaders, the
band members had come to
see that psychedelic drugs,
like LSD, could open the door
to higher consciousness but
they did not let you stay there,
and, in the bargain, came with
serious risks.
The search was on for
safe, natural ways to expand
the mind and attain inner
peace and unified awareness;
the East seemed to have
answers, and all signs pointed
to yoga and meditation.
George Harrison, having
spent time in India studying
sitar with Ravi Shankar and
reading spiritual literature,
was among the ripest
candidates.
For his part,
Maharishi had been circling
HINDU TODAY

Ringo Star in Hrishikesh

the globe for nearly a decade,
slowly attracting students,
mostly among respectable
middle-aged people, with a
metaphysical bent. His laserlike focus on meditation, and
his skill in presenting a systematic, universal practice that
was suitable for both secular
self-improvement and spiritual
enlightenment, were ideally
suited for the rational,
pragmatic West.
The Beatles took to meditation like they had taken to
Chuck Berry and Little Richard;
John and George were
especially enthusiastic (hear
David Frosts interview with
them). Young people everywhere, always eager to
emulate their musical heroes,
flooded TM centers. The press
coverage was remarkable for its
shortage of cynicism; it
featured parents and respected
cultural leaders who were
impressed by the life changes
they observed in the meditating
youth. As a result, scientists,
prodded by Maharishi, who had
majored in physics, started
doing rigorous research on the

effects of the practice. Before

long, physicians and therapists
were recommending meditation
to stressed-out grownups. To
meet the burgeoning demand,
Maharishi trained a cadre of
teachers, essentially democratizing what had long been an
esoteric practice available only to
an elite few, much as Henry Ford
had democratized automobiles.
Now, hundreds of studies
later, meditation and yoga are as
mainstream as aerobics and
vitamins. Would this have happened if the Beatles had never
gone to India? Would there be
yoga studios on every street
corner? Would HMOs recommend
meditation? May be, maybe not,
but certainly not as quickly. Thats
not just my assessment. Life
magazine at the time dubbed
1968 The Year of the Guru, and
when Newsweek commemorated
that seminal year four decades
later, one article was titled What
the Beatles Gave Science. The
author, Sharon Begley, chose the
topic because the lads trip to
India popularized the notion that
the spiritual East has something to
teach the rational West. Thats
2013

June

[33]

Beatles in Rishikesh, India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1968

reason enough to commemorate the anniversary of that
eventful journey; if you need
another one, go listen to The
White Albumalmost all the
songs on that double record
were written or conceived in
the ashram on the Ganges.
Postscript: Whenever I
write or speak about this
subject, people bring up the
Beatles sudden departure
from the ashram and Johns
angry cynicism afterward
(Sexy Sadie was originally
M a h a r i s h i ) . U s u a l l y, t h e
comments contain erroneous
information understandable,
g i v e n t h e m e d i a
sensationalism and the
passage of time so here are
the facts. Ringo left after only
ten days, complaining that the
ashram food upset his tummy.
Paul spent two months, then

[34] June

2013

left because, he said, he had

things to attend to in London.
Two weeks later, George
and John took off, abruptly and
angrily, because theyd heard
stories of hanky panky on the
part of the guru. The rumors
about Maharishi and Mia
Farrow were later put to rest;
other rumors persist to this day.
George, famously, remained an
avid spiritual practitioner the
rest of his life, maintaining an
active link to at least three
spiritual lineages: TM, the Hare
Krishnas and Yoganandas
organization. Ringo and Paul
apparently continued to
meditate; in 2009, they
performed at a Radio City Music
Hall concert to benefit the
David Lynch Foundations
efforts to bring TM to students
and veterans. As for John, like
most people Id assumed that

he washed his hands of the whole

thing back in 1968. But, just last
year, Yoko Ono told an interviewer
that her late husband valued
meditation and looked back
favorably on his time in India.
What I find most striking is that,
45 years later, were still talking
about all of it.
Philip Goldberg
Philip Goldberg is the
author or coauthor of
nineteen books, including
The Intuitive Edge,"
Roadsigns: On the
Spiritual Path, and his
latest work, "American Veda: From
Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and
Meditation, How Indian Spirituality
Changed the West.
Based in Los Angeles, he is an
ordained interfaith minister, a public
speaker and seminar leader, and the
founder of Spiritual Wellness and Healing
Associates. He also blogs regularly on the
Huffington Post. Visit philipgoldberg. com
or americanveda.com for more
information.

HINDU TODAY

Wisdom Pharmacy

Tulsi (The Holy Basil)

15 Benefits
MP Bhattathiry
(Retd. Chief Technical Examiner to the Govt. of Kerala, India

he tulsi or holy basil is an important

symbol in the Hindu religious
tradition and is worshiped in the
morning and evening by Hindus at large.
The holy basil is also a herbal remedy for a
lot of common ailments. Here're top fifteen
medicinal uses of tulsi.
1. Healing Power: The tulsi plant has
many medicinal properties. The leaves are
a nerve tonic and also sharpen memory.
They promote the removal of the catarrhal
matter and phlegm from the bronchial
tube. The leaves strengthen the stomach
and induce copious perspiration. The seed
of the plant are mucilaginous.
2. Fever & Common Cold: The leaves of
basil are specific for many fevers. During
the rainy season, when malaria and dengue
fever are widely prevalent, tender leaves,
boiled with tea, act as preventive against
theses diseases. In case of acute fevers, a
decoction of the leaves boiled with
powdered cardamom in half a liter of water
and mixed with sugar and milk brings down
the temperature.
The juice of tulsi leaves can be used to
bring down fever. Extract of tulsi leaves in
fresh water should be given every 2 to 3
hours. In between one can keep giving sips
of cold water. In children, it is every
effective in bringing down the temperature.
3. Coughs: Tulsi is an important
constituent of many Ayurvedic cough
syrups and expectorants. It helps to
mobilize mucus in bronchitis and asthma.
Chewing tulsi leaves relieves cold and flu.

HINDU TODAY

Basil or Sweet Basil, is a common name for the

culinary herb Ocimum basilicum, of the family
Lamiaceae. Basil originally from India. Basil is
originally native to India and other tropical
regions of Asia, having been cultivated there
for more than 5500 years.There are many
varieties of Ocimum basilicum, as well as
several related species or species hybrids also
called basil.
4. Sore Throat: Water boiled with basil leaves can be
taken as drink in case of sore throat. This water can also
be used as a gargle.
5. Respiratory Disorder: The herb is useful in the
treatment of respiratory system disorder. A decoction of
the leaves, with honey and ginger is an effective remedy
for bronchitis, asthma, influenza, cough and cold. A
decoction of the leaves, cloves and common salt also
gives immediate relief in case of influenza. They should
be boiled in half a liter of water till only half the water is
left and then taken.
6. Kidney Stone: Basil has strengthening effect on the
kidney. In case of renal stone the juice of basil leaves
and honey, if taken regularly for 6 months it will expel
them via the urinary tract.
7. Heart Disorder: Basil has a beneficial effect in
cardiac disease and the weakness resulting from them.
It reduces the level of blood cholesterol.
2013

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[35]

8. Children's Ailments:
Common pediatric
problems like cough cold,
f e v e r, d i a r r h e a a n d
vomiting respond favorably
to the juice of basil leaves.
If pustules of chicken pox
delay their appearance,
basil leaves taken with
saffron will hasten them.
9. Stress: Basil leaves are
regarded as an 'adaptogen'
or anti-stress agent.
Recent studies have shown
that the leaves afford
significant protection
against stress. Even
healthy persons can chew
12 leaves of basil, twice a
day, to prevent stress. It
purifies blood and helps
prevent several common
elements.
10. Mouth Infections:
The leaves are quit
effective for the ulcer and
infections in the mouth. A
few leaves chewed will cure
these conditions.
11. Insect Bites: The
herb is a prophylactic or
preventive and curative for
insect stings or bites. A
teaspoonful of the juice of
the leaves is taken and is
repeated after a few hours.
Fresh juice must also be
applied to the affected
parts. A paste of fresh roots
is also effective in case of
bites of insects and
leeches.
12. Skin Disorders:
Applied locally, basil juice is
beneficial in the treatment
of ringworm and other skin
diseases. It has also been

[36] June

2013

tried successfully by some

naturopaths in the treatment of leucoderma.
13. Teeth Disorder: The
herb is useful in teeth
disorders. Its leaves, dried
in the sun and powdered,
can be used for brushing
teeth. It can also be mixed
with mustered oil to make a
paste and used as
toothpaste. This is very
good for maintaining
dental health, counteracting bad breath and for
massaging the gums. It is
also useful in pyorrhea and
other teeth disorders.
14. Headaches: Basil
makes a good medicine for
headache. A decoction of
the leaves can be given for
this disorder. Pounded
leaves mixed with sandalwood paste can also be
applied on the forehead for
getting relief from heat,
headache, and for
p r ov i d i n g c o o l n e s s i n
general.
15. Eye Disorders: Basil
juice is an effective remedy
for sore eyes and nightblindness, which is
generally caused by
deficiency of Vitamin A.
Two drops of black basil
juice are put into the eyes
daily at bedtime.
DISCLAIMER: These are
only general guidelines as a
first aid. It is always better
to see a doctor depending
upon the intensity of the
case. The views expressed
above are entirely those of
the author.

Tulsi's Botanical Identity

Tulsi is identified by botanists primarily as
Ocimum sanctum (Rama and Krishna Tulsi
varieties) or more recently Ocimum tenuiflorum,
and Ocimum gratissimum (Vana Tulsi variety).
Belonging to the Lamiaceae/Labiatae mint family,
these and other closely related species and
varieties (e.g., Ocimum canum) are cousins of the
familiar sweet basil cooking herb Ocimum
basilicum. In parts of India, all of the basils are
honoured as Tulsi.
Basils are native to tropical Asia, likely having
originated in India. Robust Tulsi varieties readily
grow wild in many areas of Asia and Africa. Tulsi is
a bushy perennial shrub, usually cultivated
annually from seed, although it can also be
propagated from tip or root cuttings.
Tulsi's Chemistry
The chemical composition of Tulsi is highly
complex, containing many nutrients and other
biologically active compounds, the proportions of
which may vary considerably between strains and
even among plants within the same field.
The nutritional and pharmacological properties of
the whole herb in its natural form, as it has been
traditionally used, result from synergistic
interactions of many different active
phytochemicals. Consequently, the overall effects
of Tulsi cannot be fully duplicated with isolated
compounds or extracts. Because of its inherent
botanical and biochemical complexity, Tulsi
standardization has, so far, eluded modern
science. Perhaps best known of the many active
compounds that have been identified and
extracted are eugenol (an essential oil) and ursolic
acid. Although Tulsi is known as a general vitalizer
and increases physical endurance, it contains no
caffeine or other stimulants.

HINDU TODAY

Wisdom Pharmacy

Introduction To Ayurveda
Radhika Priya Prassannatma

n recent years the ancient

Vedic medical system known
a s Ay u r v e d a h a s ga i n e d
worldwide popularity. However its
complexity can be at times bewildering for both the serious student
and the casual observer. In a series
of articles specifically written for
Hindu Today, I will elucidate on the
science of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda can be broken down
into 2 words, Ayuh + Veda;
Ayuh, meaning life, and Veda,
m e a n i n g S c i e n c e ; l i te ra l l y
translating into The Science of
Life. Life can be a very broad
term, and we can virtually travel
unfathomable depths into just this
seemingly small word.
There has been countless study
and discussion of this very life all
over the world in each and every
era. But in this article, we will only
cover a simple fraction of this topic,
by which we can begin to have some
understanding.
Ya t B ra h m a n
tatpindah. In ancient
Indian texts, it has
been stated, that what
can be observed in
the universe, or nature,
can also be observed
in smaller objects. So
whatever is seen in the
macro is also present exactly in the
micro, and as
such, our bodies
can also be
compa

HINDU TODAY

red to small universes. Understanding

this point, lets take a quick look at the
universe, in order to gain a better
understanding of our bodies, because
seeing a bigger object is often more
comprehendible, than looking at the
same exact object in a microscope.
The universe is maintained by 3
energies, namely the air, sun, and
moon or watery element. The air
causes movement in our atmosphere,
and although we cannot see it, we can
understand its presence by the sense
of touch, sound, as well as see it move
other objects.
For example, we can feel air as it
blows against our hair and skin, hear
it howling when there is a gust of
wind, and perceive its presence as the
wind blows the leaves of the trees.
The Sun gives its heat, light, regulates
day and night and the seasons, can be
compared to the universal clock, and
causes metabolism amongst plants
and other living creatures.
The Moon, or water element
causes coolness, nourishment,
moisture, growth, and binds substances. For example, all beings,
including the earth itself, require
water for growth and nourishment. This Air, Sun, and Moon
i n

the universe is represented by Vata,

Pitta, and Kapha in our body.
Qualities of Vata, Pitta, And Kapha
Now lets go further and examine
the qualities of these energies in our
body, which are the minute representations of Air, Sun, and Moon/Water in the
universe. We cant really see Vata, Pitta,
and Kapha as specific objects or at
particular places, but can understand
their presence through the qualities that
they exhibit. According to VagbhattaAcharya, the author of the ancient
Ayurvedic compilation, AshtangaSangraha,
tatraruksolagusheetah
kharahsukshmashcalonilah
Vata is dry, light, cold, rough, minute, and
is always moving. So any quality and
disturbance in the body with these
qualities is said to be dominated by Vata.
For example, shifting pain or Alzheimers
disease which has the predominate
moving feature of Vata.
He further states,
pittamsasnehateekshnoshna
laghuvisramsravamdravam
Pitta is slightly unctuous, penetrating,
hot, has a putrid smell, free flowing or
oozing, and liquid. So anything with
these properties are said to be dominated by pitta.
A fever or an infection would be an
example of this.
In addition, Vagbhatta explains,
snigdhahsheetogururmandah
shlakshnomritsnahsthirahkaphah
Kapha is unctuous, cold, heavy, slow,
smooth, slimy or shiny, and stable/static; these qualities are
present when Kapha is dominant.

2013

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[37]

Vata, Pitta and Kapha or the

doshas, are divided into all phases
and aspects of our life.
Though present all over the
body, the doshas are divided into 3
sections. Pitta is predominately
situated in the area between the
chest and the navel; Kapha is
located from the chest up to the top
of the head; from the navel
downwards is Vatas main seat.
From this you can see that Pitta is
situated in the middle of the body,
where metabolism, digestion, etc.
takes place, and where heat is
required. Vata is situated where
there is a lot of movement needed,
a n d Ka p h a , w h e r e s t a b i l i t y,
lubrication, moisture, etc. areessential.
Similarly, the day, night,
digestion, and stages of life can be
divided as beginning, middle, and
end, with doshas of Kapha, Pitta,
and Vata, predominating them
respectively. For example, there are
3 stages of life: childhood, youth
and middle age, and old age.
Childhood (from birth to
puberty) has predominance of
Kapha. For example, at this time
people are more prone to have
baby fat, colds, etc.
Youth and middle age (from
puberty to 60), has predominance
of Pitta; this is the time for an
increase of occurrences such as
acne, heat, passion, aggression, etc.
Old age (from 60 years old
and above) is more dominated by
Vata and usually at this time, people
complain of problems like
constipation, insomnia, lightness,
etc. which all include Vata qualities.
The day and night also have
predominance of the doshas in the
beginning , middle, and end,
respectively.
Kapha: Just after the sunrise
and sunset.
Pitta: Midday (noon) and
midnight.
Vata: End of night 2-(3 hours
before sunrise till sunrise) and
evening (2-3 hours before sunset till

[38] June

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sunset. In addition, the digestion is

also divided into the Kapha phase,
where the food is not digested yet,
where we still feel heavy; the Pitta
phase, where the food is still
digestion; and the Vata phase, which
is the end of the digestion process,
where we feel light and soon feel
hungry again.
Balancing the doshas and staying
healthy
According to Vagbhatta,
vriddhihsamanehsarveshaam
vipareetairviparyayah
Increase of these doshas in the body
is caused by using substances of
similar qualities, and decrease by
anything of opposite quality. For
example, if someone is losing weight
and/or sleep, get extra sensitive to
the cold, start to have constipation,
which is due to dryness, we know that
these are the symptoms of increased
Vata. So, for reduction, we must give
opposite measures to decrease it.
To remove cold, we must give
warmth like warm drinks and keep the
person warm. To reduce the dryness,
the individual should be given
lubrication like intake of more oil, or
external application or massage with
oil. To reduce the lightness, heavy
substances like dairy, wheat, etc. can
be given. In the different stages of life,
there are various precautions and
safety measures to prevent and help
us through our journey of life. In our
childhood, which is usually
predominated by Kapha, we should
protect our children from aggravated

Kapha.Remember, Kapha is cold,

stagnant, heavy, slow, smooth, slimy, etc.
Therefore, children should always be
protected from the cold and kept warm,
they should have plenty of exercise, and
their food should be light.
In our youth and middle age, Pitta is
prevailing. Consequently, this is the time
where we may be prone to infections,
blood impurities, acne, digestive
ailments, fever, hormonal changes,
anger, and emotions. During this stage,
it is important to remain cool, practice
meditation, and use purifying herbs. As
we get older, after 60, we start going into
the Vata phase of our life.
We are more prone to lightness or
degeneration of the tissues and bones,
excess movement of the mind and
thoughts, which prevent us from getting
enough sleep, excess movement and
shakiness like Parkinsons disease, and
constipation, just to name a few. So it is
essential to take a lot of care during this
time, especially with lubrication,
massage, proper nourishment, and to
take it more easy than when we were in
the previous stages.
For Kapha, herbs like black pepper,
ginger, piper longum, sitopaladichurna,
and honey, are very good, as they are
strong and penetrating herbs which cut
the stickiness of Kapha. Plenty of
exercise and a light diet is also recommended.
For Pitta, herbs like aloe vera,
turmeric, amalaki (Indian gooseberry),
sugar cane, and ghee, are great
alleviators, along with activities such as
meditation, yoga, pranayama, and
listening to calming music, which helps
to bring the mind and body balance.
For Vata aggravations, herbs like
ashwaganda (withania somniferous),
brahmi (bacopa), haritaki (terminaliachebula), and oils like sesame oil,
are especially good. Daily abhyanga, or
oil massage is especially good to relieve
the dryness, pain, numbness, or loss of
function produced by Vata.
In Ayurveda, the 6 tastes of food also
play an important role in balancing our
body. These include sweet, sour, salty,
pungent (spicy), bitter, and astringent. In
school, most of us learn that a balanced

HINDU TODAY

Radhika Priya Prassannatma

diet consists of certain food groups
such as carbohydrates, protein, etc.
However the ancient Acharyas have
written that a balanced meal should
include all these 6 tastes; this is
because each taste help to balance
the doshas:
Sweet, sour, salty:
Increase Kapha, Decrease Vata
Pungent, bitter, astringent:
Increase Vata, Decrease Kapha
Sour, salty, pungent:
Increase Pitta
Sweet, bitter, astringent:
Decrease Pitta
Examples of the 6 tastes:
Sweet:
Anything that tastes sweet, sugar,
rice, milk, sweet fruits.
Sour:
Anything that tastes sour, tamarind,
lemon, sour oranges
Salty:
Anything that tastes salty, salt
Pungent:
Anything that tastes spicy, chilies,
ginger, black pepper
Bitter:

HINDU TODAY

Anything that tastes bitter, neem,

bitter melon, endives
Astringent:
Anything that tastes astringent, paan
leaves, betal nut, most lentils,
spinach, pomegranate So just by
understanding the 3 doshas, the 6
tastes, added with a little exercise, we
can create balance in our lifestyle,
body and mind, maintain our health,
and prevent disease. According to
the Ayurvedic literature,
swasthasyaswaastarakshana
aturasyavikaraprashamanamca
The goal of Ayurveda is to maintain
health by prevention, as well as cure
the disease which has already arisen.
This philosophy of the 3 doshas, or
the tridoshasiddhanta, is a very
simple and practical understanding,
and we just have to be aware and
sensitive to what is going on in our
bodies and in nature. Just by
observing, we can see that nature and
the universe is in constant change,
but everything works together, and it
is this change that makes it so
beautiful.

RadhikaPriyaPrassannatma
was born in 1981into a very
spiritual family who raised
her within the Vaishnava
tradition. Her childhood
was spent in Mumbai,
Dallas, San Diego, and Vrindavan, India
where she grew up hearing and studying
the Bhagavad Gita, SrimadBhagavatam,
Mahabharata and other various Vedic
literatures. She is trained in classical
Indian Bharatnatyam dance and in several
other Indian arts such as cooking, rangoli
and music.
She attended City College of San
Francisco from 2002-2005, and also
attended the Muniyal Institute for
Ayurveda Medical Sciences in Manipal,
India. There she received her B.A.M.S
(Bachelors of Ayurvedic Medicine and
Surgery) in 2011.
Radhika is a practicing Ayurvedic doctor
and she, along with her husband,is an
official Priest at the Sri Sri Radha
Bankebihari Idaho Temple. Her husband is
the 10th generation descendent of the
Pujaris who serve the Sri SriBalarama and
Revati deities inBarahatti, West Bengal,
thus they return to India annually to
continue the familys traditional service at
that temple.Radhika and her husband
currently reside in Boise, Idaho, USA

2013

June

[39]

Panchang

[40] June

2013

HINDU TODAY

Vastu

Creating a Healthy Character

through Interiors
B.B. Puri

ven the basics of

Interior Design are
capable of creating a
character. The main source of
design for man and his
creations is NATURE. From
nature various aspects has
been picked up, for various
designs.To communicate
these thoughts, there is a
need to develop a design
language. Broadly we can
divide them into two groups.
The Elements
These are basically visual
components used in creating
an object or a composition.
These are the basics of
design. They can be classified
into: Line, Form, Texture,
Colour, Pattern, Light.
HINDU TODAY

The Principles
These principles help us in
determining an object, whether
it is good or bad in appearance.
They are considered before
designing. They can be
classified into:

Balance

Emphasis

Rhythm

Proportion

Unity or Harmony
Let us discuss the Elements in
detail:

the walls etc. Lines should be

restricted to the minimum. Equal
height in the furniture brings in the
impression of the unity in the
space. Vertical lines create the
impression of height and similarly
horizontal lines create an
impression of more length.
Vertical lines of doorways,
draperies, and windows built-in
cupboards give strength and
height to a room. Similarly tables,
chairs, bookcases etc obtain
horizontal lines.

Line
It is the basic design element.
Too many lines of different
nature in a room create an
Impression of visual chaos like
too many beams, paneling on

Form
It is also referred as shape, area or
mass. Forms are closely related to
lines. Forms unite with lines to
achieve over all design of a given
space. A long rectangular table or
2013

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[41]

sofa helps in creating a line of

unity in the room, but at the
same time too many shapes or
forms of furniture create the
impression of chaos.
Texture
Surface characteristics of any
object are known as texture
textural surface range from
smooth to rough.
A rough texture absorbs
light and smooth surface
reflects light. Small and dark
rooms should have smooth
texture and large rooms can
have rough texture, if needed.
Textures can be used for wall
furnish, wood work, furniture
etc.
Color
We react emotionally to
different colors in different
ways. Our national flags and
political party flags are good
example of our attachment to
various colors. We all know
that colors are an integral part
of our religion and culture, so
the choice of color is very
important in relative to the
functional use of space.
Light is intimately linked
with color because light is the
source of all colors in nature.
Bright colors should be used in
dark areas and dark colors can
be used in lighted areas there
are wide variety of colors for
interior surfaces. A careful and
thoughtful use of colors is very
essential for attractive
interiors.
Pattern
Pattern is a kind of surface
enrichment. Any room will
look dull without any pattern.
In interior design there are
three types of motifs or units

[42] June

2013

of design.
1. Naturalistic motives, which
look like pictures of flowers,
fruits, animals, or scenes.
2. Stylized motifs, which
depend upon the material.
Ferns and leaves are the most
commonly used pattern models
for fabrics and other decorative
articles.
3. Geometrical motifs, which
are based on forms of circle,
rectangle, triangle etc. Stripes,
dot and checks are the most
commonly seen geometrical
motifs in interiors.
Light
Light is an art and a main
element. Light is closely related
to color and texture. Day light is
very important in the overall
appearance of a room. Artificial
lighting has become common in
interior design today due to
lack of natural light in the
interiors.There are many
reasons for this. Many designers prefer artificial light for
dramatic effects of interiors.
How ever a good combination
of natural and artificial lighting
will save energy consumption.
Artistic placement of lights
can bring out important areas
and keep subordinate areas in
shadow. There are several
types of artificial lighting
appliances available today for
interior designers.
Balance
Balance is equalization of
attraction on both sides of the
center. There are two types of
balance
1. Formal balance- when
articles of equal weight are
placed on each side of the
center and at equal distance
from the center it is called

formal balance.
2. Informal balance- if each side of
balancing point is different and
there is no center line which
divides the composition into two
equal parts, then it is called
informal balance.
Emphasis
Emphasis helps to center the
interest to the most important
thing in any arrangement. It
should be called as focal point. If
there is one main emphasized
point in a room then others will
become subdued.Placing a
window, an arch, a painting or a
furniture piece the point of
emphasis should be decided by
the interior designer.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the movement of the
eye across a design it is kind of
organized movement in continuity
rhythm is a calculated movement,
which is capable of channelising
and stabilizing other principles.
Rhythm develops through
repetition of shapes, lines or
colors.
Proportion
Proportion is the consideration of
weight, shape and division of an
object. It demands that all space
divisions should be pleasingly
related to each other.
Harmony
Harmony is when all the elements
of design are nicely related, for
example if all items have same
color or similar type of wood or
similar fabric design. All forms,
lines, textures and colors should
be harmonious. The colors need
not be the same always but they
can be complementary or
matching one another.

HINDU TODAY

Ethics

Ethics of Life
edited by Coralie F Srivastava

thics is a branch of
philosophy also know
as moral philosophy
and norms for conduct that
distinguishes between
acceptable and unacceptable
behavior. Something is ethical
if it is in accordance with what
it is morally right to do. Then
comes the question of what is
morally right to do, and that
depends on your belief system
and also wether you believe in
absolute morality or not?
Ethics is not just knowing
right from wrong, but
understanding the factors
behind choices we make every
day, especially when right vs.
wrong is less clear.
Consistent Ethics of Life
In one constant the right of
every fetus to be born should
be protected by civil law and
supported by civil consensus.
Our moral, political and
economical responsibility do
not stop at this stage. A wide
spectrum of issue touches on
the protection of human life
and the promotion of human
dignity. Every sentient being
has a right to their life. No
being can end the life of
another.
As a responsible citizen it
is our moral duty to create a
healthy society, and heal your
relationship with your family,
society and Nation with all the
different religions of the
HINDU TODAY

world, through the ultimate

power of love. Nature, man and
product are within an evolutionary network guided by
performance standards. Vedic
Culture is to be seen, felt,
perceived, conceived and
experienced from inside as well
as from outside. It has to have a
fourth dimension. However, it is
essential to go into a very deep
and careful study to understand
its implications. When we talk
about Vedas, we are talking
about knowledge.
Vedas mean knowledge.
The mind possesses knowledge; therefore, the mind is
the main author of all our
actions and behavior. Human
Beings take birth on this planet
based on the composition of
the five elements of nature. We
take birth with five senses, but
it is essential to develop these

five senses through proper

knowledge (sanskar), knowledge
comes from the Vedas and
Development comes from the
mind. We may possess the best
knowledge, but the use of this
knowledge is not through karmas
(action). It is our mind which
assimilates this knowledge and
puts it to the proper constructive
use. We are a multi religious
society and that is our strength. In
this 21st Century we are too busy
in looking after only the garden of
materialistic gains. We have
neglected the garden of spirituality which is the store house of
peace, love, inner power and
happiness, and this should be
developed through the proper use
of Vedic Knowledge.
Dr. B. B. Puri
Prof. Dr. B. B. Puri is a
multifaceted personality
and he is a Senior Practicing
Architect, Research
Scholar, Author and Vastu
Advisor. He is associated
with numerous professional organizations.
His achievements highlight his versatile
character. He has added a new research
dimension and scientific approach to Vedic
Culture making it a modern concept. His
m i s s i o n i s t o p ro p a ga t e t h e n e w
dimensions in the Vedic Philosophy and
get due recognition for it.
He has been honoured with The
Millennium Award and a Gold Medal at the
Millennium World Congress (2000) for his
lifetime achievements. He has travelled
widely and has participated in and headed
m a ny N a t i o n a l a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Conferences and Seminars. He is the
recipient of numerous awards and notes of
appreciation from renowned personalities.

2013

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[43]

News

Dubai's Yogathon
Punitha Prabhakaran Pillai

oday, despite all of our technological

advancements no one can deny that real
happiness lies in the simple state called
wellbeing. Everyone is conscious about their
health and quality of life. This is especially true
when it comes to our individual pursuit of health
and wellbeing.
Many people are now looking out for
something more than just the mere physical
exercises available at any gym. Fortunately an
ancient tradition from the East has come to the
rescue! The Yoga phenomenon has swept the
world. Beyond the physical exercises Yoga itself
means the conscious union of mind, body and

[44] June

2013

soul. The goal is to reach a state of being aware

or awareness. Though the ultimate goal of
practicing Yoga is self-awareness/realization, in
the process you will definitely enjoy all the good
side effects of Yoga such as good health and a
clear, open, receptive and vibrant mind. The
impact of regret, lamentation and anxiety about
the future will all dissipate.
When you unite with the flow of your breath,
you slowly learn to be in the present, see yourself
in others and develop empathy for others.
Negative emotions and tendencies such as
jealousy, greed, hatred and wrath are washed
away. A smile will decorate your face adding to

HINDU TODAY

your natural beauty and

appeal. Lord Sri Krishna in
Bhagavad Gita says, A true
yogi observes me in all beings,
and also sees every being in
me. Indeed, the self-realized
man (person) sees me
everywhere. For one who sees
me everywhere and sees
everything in me, I am never
lost, nor is he ever lost to me.
The Yogi who knows that I
and the Supersoul within all
creatures are one worships
me and remains always in me
in all circumstances. He is a
perfect Yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees
the true equality of all beings,
both in their happiness and
distress, O Arjuna! (BG 6.2932) Yoga practice is now a
worldwide phenomenon.
Recently a Yoga event
took place in Dubai. It was a
bright Sunny day. The climate
was pleasant as the event
began in the evening. The
event was organized by "The
Art of Living Foundation.
These courses have been
conducted in various centers
of UAE on a regular basis. This
event was a Marathon called
the Yogathon. Participants
took up the challenge of a 12
step "Suryanamaskar" or Sun
Salutation Yoga-Asana to be
performed 108 times.
One may ask as to why,
among all the Yoga positions,
is Suryanamaskar so popular
among Yoga practitioners?
Suryanamaskar is an allaround beneficial series of
movements that involves a
twelve step Asana/Position
and it is called the King of the
all Yoga- Asanas. It is also
stated that not only does it
HINDU TODAY

Hindu Today Reporter Punitha interviews Vinay Kapoor of AOL

keep your body and mind

healthy but it can actually take
you to the stage of Self
Realization!
The event took place at
Zabeel Park. I met Jaya a senior
volunteer and member of "The
Art of Living" and introduced
myself to her. After some light
conversation the event began
with some children guided by a
teacher and disciple of Sri Sri
Ravi Shankar initiating the
event from the stage.
There were 500 participants on the ground following
along. As the Yoga event
began, an energetic and
e n t h u s i a s t i c e nv i ro n m e n t
emerged. I joined in as well and
performed a few rounds of
Suryanamaskar, enjoying the
atmosphere and capturing
some of the moments on
camera as well.
The energy generated by
over 500 people all engaging in
Suryanamaskar in unison was
tremendous. Heads bowing
and rising, cobra-like, hands
folded rising skyward and the

breathing of hundreds, inhaling

and exhaling; indeed it was Yoga
in action with bodies, minds,
hearts and spirit moving in
harmony.
Time went by quickly. The
series was over and now an
energized group sat charged with
breath and prayer. Then it was the
time for honoring the participants
with certificates and a formal
appreciation for their having taken
up and completed theYogathon
challenge. I was happy as well as
amazed to see the little brave
hearts of a mere five, six years old
completing the 108 rounds of
Suryanamaskar and being
recognized for their achievement.
It was cherished moment for all
involved. After the program I met
w i t h V i n ay Ka p o o r, a B o a r d
Member of The Art of Living "
Foundation. In a brief interview
session, he shared some cogent
perspectives on Yoga.
Q. Why Yoga?
Answer: Yoga is for the wellbeing
of not only the body but also of the
mind.
2013

June

[45]

Q: How can we reach out

to other communities and
people of different religions through Yoga?
A: We need to develop an
understanding and awareness
t h a t Yo g a i s n o t a b o u t
spreading religion but it is
about the overall state of wellbeing that is required by
everyone. This is what we are
offering regardless of religion
or nationality.
Q. How was it possible for
The Art of living to
conduct such an event in
an open space like a park
here in Dubai? Did the
Government resist
thinking Yoga to be an
integral part of Hindu
Dharma?
A. The government is in fact
very supportive and they
understand what we are doing
and recognize the benefits of
these Yoga events.

[46] June

2013

Q. How many years have

the Art of Living programs
been held in UAE?
A. Art of Living has been
active in the UAE for Fifteen
years. With the support of the
government we are even
conducting "Art of Living"
workshops in jails for the
criminals. The authorities are
quite impressed by the positive
impact upon the behavior of the
inmates who attend our Yoga
courses. Overall this Yogathon
was a beautiful experience.
It was inspiring to see 500
participants practicing Yoga in
an open park in a country like
Dubai. Generally people barely
have the energy to go the gym
or even take a walk what to
speak of doing Yoga.
This event was indeed a
special experience for me, for
the city of Dubai and especially
fo r e ve r yo n e p r e s e n t . I t
reaffirmed our awareness
regarding the importance of
Yoga in our everyday life.

Participating in this event I was

able to gain a firsthand experience
of the value of Yoga. These events
spread the message of Yoga to the
world. Yoga allows us to grow
beautifully.
It revitalizes our spirit and
maintains a healthy body and mind
and expands an innocent heart. It
inspires people towards love thus
breaking the barriers of so called
religion, community, nationality,
race and gender. Yoga provides
that environment that allows us to
live harmoniously on this planet as
One Family. Through Yoga we can
collectively fulfill the message of
One Planet One Family represented in that Vedic ideal of
"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakkam".
Punitha Prabhakaran Pillai
Punita Prabhakaran Pillai
originally from Mumbai,
India currently lives in
Dubai and writes on Hindu
re l ate d to p i c s . S h e i s
dedicated to the love of her
'Ladoo Gopal' the promotion of Dharma
and the Vedic traditions in all its forms.

HINDU TODAY

News

A New Mandir Is Born

Nanda Sahadeo

n Vasant Nav Ratri, 2013 a new Mandir was

inaugurated in Queens, New York, after
outgrowing its original home as a small
basement temple. We were blessed to be there on
the first night, and now we can share with you scenes
of the celebration. Pandit Phagoo and his wife first
started a temple in the basement of his real estate
business premises on Jamaica Ave, Queens, New York
City, at Diwali in 2007. His was a family-like temple
and thus they named it Parivar Vidya Mandir.
In October 2012, Pandit Ji was asked, in his
capacity as a realtor, to view a building and put it on
the market. As soon as he saw it, he felt that it would
make a perfect place for a temple. He went home and
spoke with his wife and they made an offer on the
property. They closed the deal in February, 2013 and
the rest is now history. With the help of several other

HINDU TODAY

members of the Hindu community, they were able to

open the doors of the new temple on the first day of
Vasant Nav Ratri, the Hindu New Year. They
celebrated with a Puja to the Divine Mother. As part
of their opening celebrations, they are having a 108night Yagna (Fire Sacrifice Ritual) that started
immediately after Ram Navami, with various Pandits
from Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and New York City
doing the Katha.
Pandit Rooplal Phagoo has announced that the
temple will be open every day during the performance of the 108 Yagnas. The Puja starts at 7pm
and the Pravachangoes from 8-9pm. The new
Temple's name is Sundar Gopal Mandir. All the Deities
representative of all Guyanese and Trinidadian Hindu
temples are also represented and worshiped at this
new temple.

2013

June

[47]

News

The Sanatana Dharma Conference

Dharma Rakshati
August 17th18th, 2013

Dharma Rakshati Rakshitaha "As

we preserve Dharma, we are
likewise protected by Dharma."
(Mahabharata) The Sanatana
Dharma Conference will be a
historic gathering of dedicated
devotees of the Sanatana Dharma
religious tradition with the
purpose of laying out the future of
the Vedic spiritual tradition for the
21st century and beyond.
This conference is designed to
greatly further our understanding of
the Vedic path, to deepen our own
personal spiritual experience, and
to share with the entire world the
life- changing teachings of Vedic
spirituality. This unique Vedic
conference will bring together the
spiritual, aesthetic, health, socialpolitical and sadhana (practice)
aspects of Dharmic culture in a very

ISDS (International Sanatana Dharma Society)

Ashram Omaha, Nebraska, USA

practical and immediate manner.

Join us for two days of profound
spiritual practice and experience,
inspiring discourses by advanced
Dharma teachers, meditation and
Yoga sessions, puja and yajna (sacred
fire ritual) ceremonies, an initiation
(diksha) ceremony, as well as spiritual
workshops and activities designed to
help bring about the new Golden Age.

This is not an academic gathering with

boring theoretical talks. It is a dynamic
experiential retreat offering an opportunity for life-changing spiritual and
philosophical growth, spiced with
inspiring talks and workshops designed
to usher in a global Vedic restoration. The
keynote speaker will be Sri Dharma
Pravartaka Acharya - Vedic Philosopher,
Dharma Acharya, and prolific author.
Seating is very limited. Please
register as soon as possible to reserve
your seat. Lunches and dinner will be
provided. A $10 registration processing
fee (non-refundable), along with a fully
filled out registration form, are required
to submit your registration.
Register Here:
For The Sanatana Dharma Conference
http://dharmacentral.com/conference.html

1000 Year Old

Shiva Temple Under Threat
Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India:
The National Highways Authority of
India (NHAI) expansion plans are
threatening the 1,000-year-old
Naganathaswamy temple built by
Rajendra Chola at Manambadi
village, near Kumbakonam in Tamil
Nadu State.
Though the State government's
Archaeology Department declared
it a protected monument 30 years
ago they neglected to protect it. The
temples vimana is in a dilapidated
co n d i t i o n a n d e nve l o p e d b y
creepers. The stone structure below
the vimana, with intricate
sculptures, and the inner altar with
a Siva lingam are intact. Worship

[48] June

2013

continues at the temple as well as a

single 'kala' pooja is conducted at the
temple daily.
In a memorandum to the Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa and NHAI,
Kudavayil Balasubramanian pleaded
for the protection of the temple. The
irony is that the 1,000th year
celebration of the coronation of
Rajendra Chola, son of Raja Raja
Chola, will take place in 2014. The
demolition of a temple constructed
by him will be shameful for the entire
Tamil community."
According to Mr. Balasubramanian,
epigraphist and historian, this temple
was constructed by Rajendra Chola
(1012-1044 AD). During Chola rule, the

village was called Elaichikudi, and

Veeranarayanapuram. The temples name
was Sri Kailasam.
This temple possesses more than
ten inscriptions of the Chola period.
Some of the sculptures on the walls of
the main structure are those of Nataraja,
which is an outstanding one. Another
sculpture depicting Rajendra Chola
worshipping the Lord with his wives is
seen. Other sculptures depict Ganapathi,
Dakshinamurthy, Ligotpava, Vishnu,
Brahma, Gangadharamurthy, Durga and
Arthanari. Among Chola sculptures, they
are the unique ones, Balasubramanian
said.
For more information please visit:
www.thehindutoday.com/en-us

HINDU TODAY