Monday, August 31, 2009

WHO WAS MOTHER TERESA?

agrasen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who Really Was Mother Teresa??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vijay Ashar Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 5:19 PM
To: bilahari@gmail.com, kmacherla@gmail.com, atrimacherla@gmail.com, Hom , sppasher@nus.edu.sg, agrasen@gmail.com
Cc: Viji
Have you heard of a more outrageous story about taking God for a ride? And this woman is awarded Bharat Ratna and the Nobel Peace Prize and made a Saint by the Pope! (Maybe for bringing so much riches to the treasury of the Vatican) What does this say about the intelligence of the gullible Indians, especially the educated middle-class Hindus, who still adore aqnd worship her like a Goddess?
vijay
==========================================================


Mother Teresa: Where are her millions
Posted by: "viji" viji123@yahoo.com
Sat Aug 29, 2009 5:58 pm (PDT)


The Following Feature Appeared in Germany's STERN magazine on 10 September 1998 on occasion on Mother Teresa's 1st death anniversary.Â

It is worth pointing out here that STERN, one of Europe's highest selling magazines, is a conservative organ, not known for its anti-Catholic bias.Â

MOTHER TERESA : WHERE ARE HER MILLIONS?Â

by Walter Wuellenweber The Angel of the poor died a year ago. Donations still flow in to her Missionaries of Charity like to no other cause. But the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize vowed to live in poverty. What then, happened to so much money?Â

If there is a heaven, then she is surely there: Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu from Skopje in Macedonia, better known as Mother Teresa. She came to Calcutta on the 6th of Januray 1929 as an 18 year old sister of the Order of Loreto. 68 years later luminaries from all over the world assembled in Calcutta in order to honour her with a state funeral. In these 68 years she had founded the most successful order in the history of the Catholic church, received the Nobel Peace Prize and became the most famous Catholic of our time.

Are doubts permitted, regarding this "monument"?Â

In Calcutta, one meets many doubters.Â

For example, Samity, a man of around 30 with no teeth, who lives in the slums. He is one of the "poorest of the poor" to whom Mother Teresa was supposed to have dedicated her life. With a plastic bag in hand, he stands in a kilometre long queue in Calcutta's Park Street. The poor wait patiently, until the helpers shovel some rice and lentils into their bags. But Samity does not get his grub from Mother Teresa's institution, but instead from the Assembly of God, an American charity, that serves 18000 meals here daily.Â

"Mother Teresa?"says Samity, "We have not received anything from her here. Ask in the slums -- who has received anything from the sisters here -- you will find hardly anybody."Â

Pannalal Manik also has doubts. "I don't understand why you educated people in the West have made this woman into such a goddess!" Manik was born some 56 years ago in the Rambagan slum, which at about 300 years of age, is Calcutta's oldest. What Manik has achieved, can well be called a "miracle". He has built 16 apartment buildings in the midst of the slum -- living space for 4000 people. Money for the building materials -- equivalent to DM 10000 per apartment building -- was begged for by Manik from the Ramakrishna Mission [a Indian/Hindu charity], the largest assistance-organisa tion in India. The slum-dwellers built the buildings themselves. It has become a model for the whole of India. But what about Mother Teresa? "I went to her place 3 times," said Manik. "She did not even listen to what I had to say. Everyone on earth knows that the sisters have a lot of money. But no one knows what they do with it!"Â

In Calcutta there are about 200 charitable organisations helping the poor. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity are not amongst the biggest helpers: that contradicts the image of the organisation. The name "Mother Teresa" was and is tied to the city of Calcutta. All over the world admirers and supporters of the Nobel Prize winner believe that it must be there that her organisation is particularly active in the fight against poverty. "All lies," says Aroup Chatterjee . The doctor who lives in London was born and brought up in Calcutta. Chatterjee who has been working for years on a book on the myth of Mother Teresa, speaks to the poor in the slums of Calcutta, or combs through the speeches of the Nobel Prize winner. "No matter where I search, I only find lies. For example the lies about schools. Mother T has often stated that she runs a school in Calcutta for more than 5000 children. 5000 children! -- that would have to be a huge school, one of the
biggest in all of India. But where is this school? I have never found it, nor do I know anybody who has seen it!" says Chatterjee.Â

Compared to other charitable organisations in Calcutta, the nuns with the 3 blue stripes are ahead in two respects: they are world famous, and, they have the most money. But how much exactly, has always been a closely guarded secret of the organisation. Indian law requires charitable organisations to publish their accounts. Mother Teresa's organisation ignores this prescription! It is not known if the Finance Ministry in Delhi who would be responsible for charities' accounts, have the actual figures. Upon STERN's inquiry, the Ministry informed us that this particular query was listed as "classified information" .Â

The organisation has 6 branches in Germany. Here too financial matters are a strict secret. "It's nobody's business how much money we have, I mean to say how little we have," says Sr Pauline, head of the German operations. Maria Tingelhoff had had handled the organisation' s book-keeping on a voluntary basis until 1981. "We did see 3 million a year," she remembers. But Mother Teresa never quite trusted the worldly helpers completely. So the sisters took over the financial management themselves in 1981. "Of course I don't know how much money went in, in the years after that, but it must be many multiples of 3 million," estimates Mrs Tingelhoff. "Mother was always very pleased with the Germans."Â

Perhaps the most lucrative branch of the organisation is the "Holy Ghost" House in New York's Bronx. Susan Shields served the order there for a total of nine and a half years as Sister Virgin. "We spent a large part of each day writing thank you letters and processing cheques," she says. "Every night around 25 sisters had to spend many hours preparing receipts for donations. It was a conveyor belt process: some sisters typed, others made lists of the amounts, stuffed letters into envelopes, or sorted the cheques. Values were between $5 and $100.000. Donors often dropped their envelopes filled with money at the door. Before Christmas the flow of donations was often totally out of control. The postman brought sackfuls of letters -- cheques for $50000 were no rarity." Sister Virgin remebers that one year there was about $50 million in a New York bank account. $50 million in one year! -- in a predominantly non-Catholic country. How much then, were they
collecting in Europe or the world? It is estimated that worldwide they collected at least $100 million per year -- and that has been going on for many many years.Â

While the income is utter secret, the expenditures are equally mysterious. The order is hardly able to spend large amounts. The establishments supported by the nuns are so tiny (inconspicuous) that even the locals have difficulty tracing them. Often "Mother Teresa's Home" means just a living accomodation for the sisters, with no charitable funstion. Conspicuous or useful assistance cannot be provided there. The order often receives huge donations in kind, in addition to the monetary munificence. Boxes of medicines land at Indian airports. Donated foograins and powdered milk arrive in containers at Calcutta port. Clothing donations from Europe and the US arrive in unimaginable quantities. On Calcutta's pavement stalls, traders can be seen sellin used western labels for 25 rupees (DM1) apiece. Numerous traders call out, "Shirts from Mother, trousers from Mother."Â

Unlike with other charities, the Missionaries of Charity spend very little on their own management, since the organisation is run at practically no cost. The approximately 4000 sisters in 150 countries form the most treasured workforce of all global multi-million dollar operations. Having taken vows of poverty and obedience, they work for no pay, supported by 300,000 good citizen helpers.Â

By their own admission, Mother Teresa's organisation has about 500 locations worldwide. But for purchase or rent of property, the sisters do not need to touch their bank accounts. "Mother always said, we don't spend for that," remembers Sunita Kumar, one the richest women in Calcutta and supposedly Mother T's closest associate outside the order. "If Mother needed a house, she went straight to the owner, whether it was the State or a private person, and worked on him for so long that she eventually got it free."Â

Her method was also successful in Germany.In March the "Bethlehem House" was dedicated in Hamburg, a shelter for homeless women. Four sisters work there. The archtecturally conspicuous building cost DM2.5 million. The fortunes of the order have not spent a penny toward the amount. The money was collected by a Christian association in Hamburg. With Mother T as figure head it was naturally short work to collect the millions.Â

Mother Teresa saw it as as her God given right never to have to pay anyone for anything. Once she bought food for her nuns in London for GB£500. When she was told she'd have to pay at the till, the diminutive seemingly harmless nun showed her Balkan temper and shouted, "This is for the work of God!" She raged so loud and so long that eventually a businessman waiting in the queue paid up on her behalf.Â

England is one of the few countries where the sisters allow the authorities at least a quick glance at their accounts. Here the order took in DM5.3 million in 1991. And expenses (including charitable expenses)? -- around DM360,000 or less than 7%. Whatever happened to the rest of the money? Sister Teresina, the head for England, defensively states, "Sorry we can't tell you that." Every year, according to the returns filed with the British authorities, a portion of the fortune is sent to accounts of the order in other countries. How much to which countries is not declared. One of the recipients is however, always Rome. The fortune of this famous charitable organistaion is controlled from Rome, -- from an account at the Vatican bank. And what happens with monies at the Vatican Bank is so secret that even God is not allowed to know about it. One thing is sure however -- Mother's outlets in poor countries do not benefit from largesse of the rich countries.
The official biographer of Mother Teresa, Kathryn Spink, writes, "As soon as the sisters became established in a certain country, Mother normally withdrew all financial support." Branches in very needy countries therefore only receive start-up assistance. Most of the money remains in the Vatican Bank.Â

STERN asked the Missionaries of Charity numerous times for information about location of the donations, both in writing as well in person during a visit to Mother Teresa's house in Calcutta. The order has never answered.Â

"You should visit the House in New York, then you'll understand what happens to donations," sayssays Eva Kolodziej. The Polish lady was a Missionary of Charity for 5 years. "In the cellar of the homeless shelter there are valuable books, jewellery and gold. What happens to them? -- The sisters receive them with smiles, and keep them. Most of these lie around uselessly forever."Â

The millions that are donated to the order have a similar fate. Susan Shields (formerly Sr Virgin) says, "The money was not misused, but the largest part of it wasn't used at all. When there was a famine in Ethiopia, many cheques arrived marked 'for the hungry in Ethiopia'. Once I asked the sister who was in charge of accounts if I should add up all those very many cheques and send the total to Ethiopia. The sister answered, 'No, we don't send money to Africa.' But I continued to make receipts to the donors, 'For Ethiopia'."Â

By the accounts of former sisters, the finances are a one way street. "We were always told, the fact that we receive more than other orders, shows that God loves Mother Teresa more. ," says Susan Shields. Donations and hefty bank balances are a measure of God's love. Taking is holier than giving.Â

The sufferers are the ones for whom the donations were originally intended. The nuns run a soup kitchen in New York's Bronx. Or, to put in straight, they have it run for them, since volunteer helpers organise everything, including food. The sisters might distribute it. Once, Shields remembers, the helpers made an organisational mistake, so they could not deliver bread with their meals. The sisters asked their superior if they could buy the bread. "Out of the question -- we are a poor organisation. " came the reply. "In the end, the poor did not get their bread," says Shields. Shields has experienced countless such incidents. One girl from communion class did not appear for her first communion because her mothet could not buy her a white communion dress. So she had to wait another year; but as that particular Sunday approached, she had the same problem again. Shields (Sr Virgin) asked the superior if the order could buy the girl a white dress. Again, she
was turned down -- gruffly. The girl never had her first communion.Â

Because of the tightfistedness of the rich order, the "poorest of the poor" -- orphans in India -- suffer the most. The nuns run a home in Delhi, in which the orphans wait to be adopted by, in many cases, by foreigners. As usual, the costs of running the home are borne not by the order, but by the future adoptive parents. In Germany the organisation called Pro Infante has the monopoly of mediation role for these children. The head, Carla Wiedeking, a personal friend of Mother Teresa's, wrote a letter to Donors, Supporters and Friends which ran:Â

"On my September vist I had to witness 2 or 3 children lying in the same cot, in totally overcrowded rooms with not a square inch of playing space. The behavioural problems arising as a result cannot be overlooked." Mrs Wiedeking appeals to the generosity of supporters in view of her powerlessness in the face of the children's great needs. Powerlessness? ! In an organisation with a billion-fortune, which has 3 times as much money available to it as UNICEF is able to spend in all of India? The Missionaries of Charity has have the means to buy cots and build orphanages, -- with playgrounds. And they have enoungh money not only for a handful orphans in Delhi but for many thousand orphans who struggle for survival in the streets of Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta.Â

Saving, in Mother Teresa's philosophy, was a central value in itself. All very well, but as her poor organisation quickly grew into a rich one, what did she do with her pictures, jewels, inherited houses, cheques or suitcases full of money? If she wished to she could now cater to people not by obsessively indulging in saving, but instead through well thought-out spending. But the Nobel Prize winner did not want an efficient organisation that helped people efficiently. Full of pride, she called the Missionaries of Charity the "most disorganised organisation in the world". Computers, typewriters, photocopiers are not allowed. Even when they are donated, they are not allowed to be installed. For book-keeping the sisters use school notebooks, in which they write in cramped pencilled figures. Until they are full. Then everything is erased and the notebook used again. All in order to save.Â

For a sustainable charitable system, it would have been sensible to train the nuns to become nurses, teachers or managers. But a Missionary of Charity nun is never trained for anything further.Â

Fueklled by her desire for un-professionalism, Mother Teresa decisions from year to year became even more bizarre. Once, says Susan Shields, the order bought am empty building from the City of New York in order to look after AIDS patients. Purchase price: 1 dollar. But since handicapped people would also be using the house, NY City management insisted on the installation of a lift (elevator). The offer of the lift was declined: to Mother they were a sign of wealth. Finally the nuns gave the building back to the City of New York.Â

While the Missionaries of Charity have already witheld help from the starving in Ethiopia or the orphans in India -- despite having received donations in their names -- there are others who are being actively harmed by the organisation' s ideology of disorganisation. In 1994, Robin Fox, editor of the prestigious medical journal Lancet, in a commentary on the catastrophic conditions prevailing in Mother Teresa's homes, shocked the professional world by saying that any systematic operation was foreign to the running of the homes in India: TB patients were not isolated, and syringes were washed in lukewarm water before being used again. Even patients in unbearable pain were refused strong painkillers, not because the order did not have them, but on principle. "The most beautiful gift for a person is that he can participate in the suffering of Christ," said Mother Teresa. Once she had tried to comfort a screaming sufferer, "You are suffering, that means Jesus
is kissing you." The sufferer screamed back, furious, "Then tell your Jesus to stop kissing me."Â

The English doctor Jack Preger once worked in the home for the dying. He says, "If one wants to give love, understanding and care, one uses sterile needles. This is probably the richest order in the world. Many of the dying there do not have to be dying in a strictly medical sense." The British newspaper Guardian described the hospice as an "organised form of neglectful assistance".Â

It seems that the medical care of the orphans is hardly any better. In 1991 the head of Pro Infante in Germany sent a newsletter to adoptive parents:"Please check the validity of the vaccinations of your children. We assume that in some case they have been vaccinated with expired vaccines, or with vaccines that had been rendered useless by improper strotage conditions." All this points to one thing, something that Mother Teresa reiterated very frequently in her speeches and addresses -- that she far more concerened with life after death than the mortal life.Â

Mother Teresa's business was : Money for a good conscience. The donors benefitted the most from this. The poor hardly. Whosoever believed that Mother Teresa wanted to cahnge the world, eliminate suffering or fight poverty, simply wanted to believe it for their own sakes. Such people did not listen to her. To be poor, to suffer was a goal, almost an ambition or an achievement for her and she imposed this goal upon those under her wings; her actual ordained goal was the hereafter.Â

With growing fame, the founder of the order became somewhat conscious of the misconceptioons on which the Mother Teresa phenomenon was based. She wrote a few words and hung them outside Mother House:Â

"Tell them we are not here for work, we are here for Jesus. We are religious above all else. We are not social workers, not teachers, not doctors. We are nuns."Â

One question then remains: For what, in that case, do nuns need so much money?





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neeraj ji Rahul ji ke dwara

agrasen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[seattle-hindi] Neeraj ji - नीरज जी का दृष्टिकोण

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rahul Upadhyaya Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 3:33 PM
To: seattle-hindi@yahoogroups.com

मैंने कभी सपने में भी नहीं सोचा था, कि एक दिन ऐसा आएगा जब मैं नीरज जी को पत्र लिखूँगा। मेरा बचपन उनके फ़िल्मी गीतों को सुनकर गुज़रा - उनमें से कुछ गीत आज भी मेरी ज़ुबां पर और मेरे जहन में तरो-ताज़ा है। जैसे कि - शोखियों में घोला जाए फूलों का शबाब, दिल आज शायर है ग़म आज नगमा है, कैसे कहें हम प्यार ने हमको क्या-क्या खेल दिखाएँ, खिलते हैं फूल यहाँ आदि।



पिछले दो साल से हम अमेरिका के सिएटल शहर में हर महीने के चौथे शनिवार की शाम को एक गोष्ठी आयोजित करते हैं, जिसमे स्थानीय कवि अपनी रचनाएँ सुनाते हैं। इस माह से हमने एक नई श्रंखला शुरू की है, जिसमें श्रोताओं का हिंदी साहित्य के प्रसिद्ध एवं जनप्रिय कवियों की रचनाओं से परिचय कराने का प्रयास किया जाएगा।



हमने इस श्रंखला की शुरूआत, 22 अगस्त 2009 को, नीरज जी की रचनाओं से की - जिसमें उनके गीत भी सुनवाए गए। लेकिन उनकी रचना - कारवां गुज़र गया, गुबार देखते रहें - इस शाम की उपलब्धि रही। इस रचना के आगे सारी रचनाएँ फीकी रहीं।



एक कार्ड पर सभा में उपस्थित सदस्यों के हस्ताक्षर एवं संदेश लिए गए, और उसे उनके अलीगढ़ वाले पते पर भेज दिया गया।

मैं उनकी रचनाओं से बहुत प्रभावित हूँ और खासकर के इस दोहे से:



तन से भारी सांस है, भेद समझ ले खूब
मुर्दा जल में तैरता, जिंदा जाता डूब



बिल्कुल कबीर का अंदाज़। मैं भी छुटपुट कविताएँ लिखता हूँ। जिनमें से ये पंक्तियाँ मुझे प्रिय हैं:



जब तक देखा नहीं आईना
अपनी खामियाँ नज़र आई ना



मेहमां हैं हम पल दो पल के
खुश रहे जब तक खुली हैं पलकें



लगे जगह जगह वो गमलें
जो खुशियाँ दे और गम ले



इंसा जोड़ते जोड़ते चार पाई
अक्सर पकड़ लेता है चारपाई



मेरे मन की वेदना
समझे कोई वेदना



इंसां हैं दोनों काज़ी या काफ़िर
फ़र्क आखिर किस बात का फिर



प्रेम प्यार के किस्से
कहें भी तो किस से?



जब मैं नीरज जी के जीवन और उनकी रचनाओं की खोजबीन कर रहा था तो यह जानकर निराशा हुई कि उनके जीवन पर ज्यादा सामग्री उपलब्ध नहीं है। तुलसीदास जी सदियों पहले हुए थे, लेकिन उनके जीवन की कई घटनाओं का विवरण पूरे विस्तार से मिल जाता है - जैसे कि कब कौन किसे तिलक लगा रहा था। लेकिन जो आज हमारे बीच मौजूद हैं, उनके जीवन की जानकारी बहुत ही कम है।



बहरहाल, एक वेबसाईट पर नीरज जी की पुस्तक - प्राण गीत - का अंश मिला, जिससे नीरज जी के सृजन के पीछे की सोच का पता चलता है। मेरे विचार में यह एक पठनीय और उपयोगी लेख है।



मैं वह अंश यहाँ दे रहा हूँ। वैसे तो सिर्फ़ लिंक ही पर्याप्त होती, लेकिन क्या भरोसा कब वेबसाईट विलुप्त हो जाए।



सद्भाव सहित,
राहुल


दृष्टिकोण
नीरज

मेरे कुछ मित्रों का आग्रह है कि मैं अपनी कविता की व्याख्या करूँ। जब मुझसे आग्रह किया गया तब मैंने स्वीकार कर लिया, पर अब जब व्याख्या करने बैठा तो पाता हूँ कि असमर्थ हूँ। मेरे विचार से कविता की और विशेष रूप से गीत की व्याख्या नहीं हो सकती। वह क्षण जो कण्ठ को स्वर और अधरों को वाणी दे जाता है, कुछ ऐसा अचिन्त्य, अनुपम और अनमोल है कि पकड़ में ही नहीं आता। उसे पकड़ने के लिए तो स्वयं खो जाना पड़ता है और जहाँ खोकर पाना हो वहाँ व्याख्या कैसे की जाय ?

गद्य जहाँ असमर्थ है, वहाँ कविता जन्म लेती है और जहाँ कविता भी लाचार है, वहाँ गीत आता है, लिखे जाने का अर्थ गद्य है और गाये जाने का अर्थ गीत है। फिर से लिखे जाने से गाये जाने की व्याख्या कैसे की जाय ?

जीवन जहाँ तक एक है, वहाँ तक वह काव्य है। जहाँ एक न होकर वह अनेक है वहाँ विज्ञान है। अनेकत्व से एकत्व की ओर जाना कविता करना है। और एकत्व से अनेकत्व की ओर आना तर्क करना है। व्याख्या तर्क ही है।

तर्क का अर्थ है काटना—टुकड़े करना। किन्तु कविता काटती नहीं, तोड़ती नहीं, जोड़ती है। अभेद में भेद के ज्ञान की शर्त है तर्क, भेद में अभेद की सृष्टि का भाव है काव्य। तर्क द्वारा जो सत्य प्राप्त होता है, वह सत्य तो हो सकता है किन्तु सुन्दर नहीं और जो सुन्दर नहीं है, वह आनन्द तो कभी भी नहीं बन सकता। किन्तु काव्य में सुन्दर के बिना सत्य की गति नहीं। इसीलिए साहित्य के क्षेत्र में जब हम ‘सत्यं’ शब्द का प्रयोग करते हैं, तब उसका योग ‘शिवं’ और सुंदरं’ से अवश्य करा देते हैं। हमें अकेला सत्य अभीष्ट नहीं, सत्य का गुण भी हमारा इष्ट है, इसीलिए हम कहते हैं—‘सत्यं, शिवं, सुन्दरम्’।

एक बात और भी है अपनी कविता की व्याख्या करने का अर्थ है अपनी व्याख्या करना—उस चेतना की व्याख्या करना, जिसके हम कवि हैं। वह चेतना अखण्ड है। अखण्ड है इसीलिए आनन्दस्वरूप है। खण्डित होने पर वह आनन्द नहीं रह पाता। काव्य भी आनन्द है—आनन्द से भी एक और पग आगे की वस्तु—स्वर्गानन्द सहोदर और उसका आनन्द भी उसकी अखण्डता में ही है खण्डित होने पर तो वह आनन्द न रह कर निरानन्द हो जाएगी। इसीलिए मैं कहता हूँ कि काव्य की व्याख्या नहीं की जा सकती।
पर हाँ, जिस प्रकार कुसुम के सुवास की व्याख्या न होकर उसकी पँखुरियों के रूप-रंग (बाह्यावरण) के विषय में कुछ बताया जा सकता है, उसी प्रकार काव्य के भाव की मीमांसा न सम्भव होकर भी उसके साधनों और उसके कारण के विषय में कुछ संकेत दिए जा सकते हैं।

जीवन के सत्ताइस पृष्ठ पढ़ने के बाद मेरी अनुभूति अब तक केवल तीन सत्य प्राप्त कर सकी है—सौन्दर्य, प्रेम और मृत्यु। इनका अर्थ मेरी कविता में क्रमशः चिति (सौन्दर्य), गति (प्रेम) और यति (मृत्यु है। अपने पाठकों और आलोचकों की सुविधा के लिए मैं प्रत्येक की अलग-अलग व्याख्या करूँगा—

1 - सौंदर्य

सौन्दर्य का अर्थ मेरी दृष्टि में संतुलन (Harmony), क्रम (Order), आकर्षक (Gravitation or Attraction), स्थिति-कारण (Force of existence) और सब मिलाकर चिति शक्ति है। उदाहरणार्थ मान लीजिए आपके सम्मुख चार व्यक्ति खड़े हैं। आप उन चार व्यक्तियों में से केवल एक को सुन्दर बतलाते हैं और शेष तीनों को नहीं। अब प्रश्न उठता है कि आपके पास वह कौन-सा पैमाना है जिससे नाप-जोखकर आपने चार व्यक्तियों में से केवल एक को ही सुन्दर ठहराया। आप कहते हैं—पहले व्यक्ति की न तो मुखाकृति ही सुन्दर है और न उसका शरीर ही सुडौल है, फिर उसे सुन्दर कैसे कह सकते हैं ? दूसरे व्यक्ति को आप यह कहकर असुन्दर ठहरा देते हैं कि उसकी मुखाकृति (नाक, कान, आँख, ओंठ आदि) तो सुन्दर हैं, पर उसका शरीर सुडौल नहीं।

तीसरे व्यक्ति के लिए आप कहते हैं—उसका शरीर तो सुडौल है, पर उसकी मुखाकृति असुन्दर है—इसलिए उसे भी सुन्दर नहीं कहा जा सकता। चौथा व्यक्ति जिसे आपने सुन्दर बतलाया है, आप कहते हैं कि नख से शिख तक उसका प्रत्येक शरीरावयव निर्दोष है। उसके सम्पूर्ण अंगों में एक समुचित अनुपात (Proportion) है। न उसकी नाक मोटी है, न आँख छोटी है। न उसके हाथ मोटे हैं और न पाँव पतले, अर्थात् उसका सम्पूर्ण शरीर सन्तुलित है और इसीलिए वह सुन्दर है। इसी दृष्टि से यदि आप अपनी ओर भी दृष्टिपात करें, तो आपको पता चलेगा कि स्वयं आपके शरीर में भी पंचतत्वों का एक (Proportion) है, जिसके कारण आपकी स्थिति है यानी आप जीवित हैं। जिस दिन यह अनुपात क्षीण हो जाता है, उसी दिन मृत्यु हो जाती है। उर्दू के महाकवि चकबस्त ने इसी सत्य को इस प्रकार कहा है—

‘‘ज़िन्दगी क्या है अनासिर में ज़हूरे तरतीब,
मौत क्या है—इन्हीं अजज़ां का परीशां होना।’’

(अनासिर - पंच महाभूत, ज़हूर - प्रकट होना, अज़जा - टुकड़ों)
[ये शब्दार्थ मेरे दिए हुए हैं। अगर गलत हो तो गुणीजन मदद करें। - राहुल)

जहाँ सन्तुलन है, अनुपात है वहाँ क्रम (Order) यूँ कहें तो अधिक उपयुक्त होगा कि क्रम ही सही सन्तुलन है—Order is proportion . सृष्टि में भी एक क्रम है। प्रत्येक गतिशील तत्त्व में एक क्रम होता है। चलती हुई रेलगाड़ी में भी एक लय होती है। सम्पूर्ण विश्व ही एक लय है। हजारों-लाखों वर्ष हो गए, सूरज सदा से सुबह ही निकला और चन्द्रमा रात को ही उदय होता है। न तो किसी ने (केवल कवि को छोड़कर) रात में सूरज देखा और न किसी ने दिन में चाँद। शताब्दियों की माँग का सिन्दूर झर गया, पर सृष्टि के इस क्रम में रंचमात्र भी अन्तर नहीं आया।

इस सृष्टि के सम्राट विष्णु की ओर भी ज़रा देखिए। इस संसार के पालन का भार उसे मिला है, पर वह आदिकाल से कमल के पत्ते पर शेष शैया बनाये हुए क्षीरसागर में शयन कर रहा है। आश्चर्य की बात है कि वह राजा जिस पर इतने विशाल साम्राज्य के पालन और संरक्षण का भार है इस प्रकार निश्चेष्ट होकर लेटा है। पर इसमें अचरज की बात कुछ भी नहीं। जिसके राज्य में सब कुछ अपने आप क्रम से संचालित होता रहता है, उस राज्य के राजा को दौड़-धूप की क्या आवश्यकता—वह तो ऐसे निश्चिन्त होकर सोता है जैसे क्षीरसागर में विष्णु। तो इस सृष्टि में एक क्रम है, सन्तुलन है, जिसका नाम है, सौन्दर्य और जो सम्पूर्ण विश्व की स्थिति का कारण है।

दूसरी तरह से सोचिए। सुन्दर वस्तु की ओर देखते हैं तो आपको अपनी ओर आकर्षित करती है। आकर्षक चेतन का गुण है यानी सौंदर्य जहाँ है वहाँ चेतना है, जीवन है। तो सौन्दर्य एक चेतन-आकर्षण-शक्ति है वैज्ञानिक दृष्टि से देखिए तो पता चलेगा कि सम्पूर्ण विश्व की स्थिति का कारण भी आकर्षण है। ये धरती, आकाश, सूरज, चाँद सितारे, ग्रह, उपग्रह सब एक आकर्षण-डोर में बँधे घूम रहे हैं—

‘‘एक ही कील पर घूमती है धरा,
एक ही डोर से बँधा है गगन,
एक ही साँस से ज़िन्दगी क़ैद है,
एक ही तार से बुन गया है, कफ़न।।’’

आकर्षण में जिस दिन विकर्षण होता है, उसी दिन प्रलय हो जाती है। अर्थात् आकर्षण (सौन्दर्य) ही स्थिति है।

हाँ, तो मैं सौन्दर्य को सृष्टि की स्थिति का कारण चित शक्ति मानता हूँ। जिस दिन सौन्दर्य इस मिट्टी को स्पर्श करता है उसी दिन चेतना (प्राण अथवा ताप) का जन्म होता है। यह एक विज्ञान सम्मत सत्य है कि दो वस्तुओं के स्पर्श या संघर्ष से ताप (Heat) की उत्पत्ति होती है। मेरे गीतों में कई स्थानों पर इसकी प्रतिध्वनि मिलेगी, जैसे इन पंक्तियों में—

(1)
‘‘एक ऐसी हँसी हँस पड़ी धूल यह
लाश इन्सान की मुस्कराने लगी
तान ऐसी किसी ने कहीं छेड़ दी
आँख रोती हुई गीत गाने लगी।’’
अथवा
(2)
‘‘एक नाज़ुक किरन छू गई इस तरह
खुद-बखुद प्राण का दीप जलने लगा
एक आवाज़ आई किसी ओर से
हर मुसाफिर बिना पाँव चलने लगा
अथवा
(3)
कहाँ दीप है जो किसी उर्वशी की
किरन उँगलियों को छुए बिन जला हो।
अथवा
(4)
परस तुम्हारा प्राण बन गया,
दरस तुम्हारा श्वास बन गया।

तीसरे उद्धरण में उर्वशी सौन्दर्य का प्रतीक है। दीपक के रूपक से चेतना के जन्म की ओर संकेत है। चौथे उद्धरण में सौन्दर्य और प्रेम से किस प्रकार प्राण (ताप-चेतना) और श्वास (गीत) का जन्म हुआ—इसकी कहानी है। सौन्दर्य और प्रेम द्वारा सृष्टि के उद्भव और विकास का रूपक यह गीत है।

2 - प्रेम

किन्तु केवल स्थिति या चिति ही जीवन नहीं है, वहाँ गति भी तो है और जीवन को गति देने वाली शक्ति का ही नाम है प्रेम। तात्विक दृष्टि से प्रेम का अर्थ है—एक से दो होना—दो से एक होना और फिर अनेक से फिर एक हो जाना। सृष्टि के विकास का भी यही रहस्य है—‘एकोहम् बहुस्याम’। जहाँ अद्वैत है, वहाँ प्रेम नहीं हो सकता। प्रेम के लिए द्वैत की आवश्यकता है। द्वैत अनेकत्व को जन्म देता है, किन्तु प्रेम इस द्वैत (व्यक्ति) और अनेकत्व (समष्टि) से होता हुआ अद्वैत की ओर ही जाता है। सम्पूर्ण सृष्टि एक तत्त्व से बनी है और उसी में समा जाएगी।

व्यावहारिक दृष्टि से प्रेम का अर्थ है किसी को प्राप्त करने की, और प्राप्त करके स्वयं वही बन जाने की इच्छा-लालसा या आकांक्षा। प्राप्त करने का अर्थ है किसी स्वप्न को, किसी प्यास को या किसी आदर्श को साकार करने की कामना। और कामना ही गति है।

‘‘जब तक जीवित आस एक भी
तभी तलक साँसों में भी गति’’
(बादर बरस गयो)
अथवा
हँस कहा उसने चलाती चाह है
आदमी चलता नहीं संसार में।

जब हम अपनी दृष्टि भीतर से बाहर की ओर करते हैं, तब हम प्रेम (कामना-इच्छा) करते हैं और तभी हम किसी आदर्श को जन्म देते हैं। जो वस्तु भीतर है उसके लिए हमें भागदौड़ नहीं करनी पड़ती, किन्तु जो वस्तु बाहर है उसके लिए प्रयत्न अनिवार्य है। यद्यपि प्रेम भी एक भावना का ही नाम है जो भीतर है, किन्तु उसका आकार बाहर होता है। वह किसी व्यक्ति वस्तु या आदर्श का रूप धारण कर ही साकार हो सकता है। वह निराकार-साकार है। यदि तनिक सूक्ष्म दृष्टि से देखिए तो पता चलेगा कि प्रेम के लिए हम स्वयं (एक) का ही भावना के माध्मय से एक और रूप रचते हैं। जो हमारा इष्ट है वस्तुतः वह ‘पर’ नहीं बल्कि हमारा ‘स्व’ ही भीतर से बाहर आकर ‘पर’ बन गया है यानी हम स्वयं भीतर से बाहर आकर स्वयं प्रेम करते हैं : ‘‘निराकार ! जब तुम्हें दिया आकार, स्वयं साकार हो गया।’’ इसीलिए मैं कहता हूँ कि प्रेम भावना का सूक्ष्म बाह्य प्रयत्न है—व्यष्टि और समष्टि से होकर इष्ट तक आने का मार्ग। तो प्रेम एक प्रयत्न है और प्रयत्न ही गति है। जीवन में गति है तो वह प्रेम है।

यहाँ एक प्रश्न पूछा जा सकता है—क्या प्रेम जीवन के लिए अनिवार्य है ? मेरा उत्तर है ‘हाँ’। किन्तु क्यों ? इसलिए कि वह हृदय की अनिवार्य भूख है। पर इस भूख को समझने के लिए हमें सृष्टि के जन्म तक दृष्टि फैलानी होगी। सारे धर्मग्रन्थों ने स्वीकार किया है कि विश्व का उद्भव एक तत्त्व से हुआ है। लेकिन यह किस प्रकार संभव है। प्रकृति और पुरुष के संयोग का नाम सृष्टि है। दो के बिना जन्म कहाँ ? तो मानना पड़ता है कि वह आदि-तत्त्व जिससे इस विश्व की रचना हुई है, अवश्य ही एक होकर दो था। हमारे यहाँ उसे अर्ध-नारीश्वर कहा गया है, आधा अंग स्त्री का और आधा अंग पुरुष का—एक साथ स्त्री-पुरुष—हाँ। (अभी पपीते की भी कुछ ऐसी नस्लें मिली हैं जो नर-मादा होती हैं) उस अर्धनारीश्वर (एक तत्त्व) ने प्रेम के लिए या कहिए सृष्टि प्रसारण के लिए, केलि के लिए, क्रीड़ा के लिए अपने को दो में विभाजित किया (अद्वैत ने द्वैत को जन्म दिया) दो के बाद चार, चार के बाद आठ और फिर इस तरह सृष्टि बन गई। किन्तु यदि तत्त्व के विभाजन (Division) से संसार में एक बहुत बड़ी ट्रेजडी हो गई कि प्रत्येक तत्त्व आत्मा-विभाजित आत्मा हो गया। फलस्वरूप उसके हृदय में प्यास है, भूख है, अपने उस आत्मा के साथी (Soul-mate) के लिए जो सृष्टि के आदिकाल से उससे अलग और जिसको खोजने के लिए, जिसको प्राप्त करने के लिए बार-बार उसे मिट्टी के ये कपड़े बदलने पड़ते हैं—

‘‘नाश के इस नगर में तुम्हीं एक थे
खोजता मैं जिसे आ गया था यहाँ,
तुम न होते अगर तो मुझे क्या पता,
तन भटकता कहाँ, मन भटकता कहाँ,
वह तुम्हीं हो कि जिसके लिए आज तक
मैं सिसकता रहा शब्द में, गान में,
वह तुम्हीं हो कि जिसके बिना शव बना
मैं भटकता रहा रोज शमशान में’’

बस, आत्मा के साथी के लिए जो प्रत्येक चेतन तत्त्व में प्यास और चाह है, उसी का नाम प्रेम है और यह प्यास तब तक तृप्त नहीं बनेगी, जब तक उस मन के मीत से आत्म-सम्बन्ध स्थापित नहीं हो पाता। यह आवागमन का चक्र भी तब तक चलता रहेगा, जब तक वह नहीं मिलेगा। जिस दिन वह मिल जाएगा, उसी दिन मुक्ति हो जाएगी। मैं ही क्या, मैं जिधर दृष्टि डालता हूँ, देखता हूँ—

‘‘दीप को अपना बनाने को पतंग जल रहा है,
बूँद बनने को समुन्दर की हिमालय गल रहा है,
प्यार पाने को धरा का मेघ व्याकुल गगन में
चूमने को मृत्यु निशि दिन श्वास पन्थी चल रहा है।’’
(बादर बरस गयो)

तो हम बार-बार अपने बिछड़े हुए साथी की खोज करने आते हैं, पर बार-बार हम भटक जाते हैं—या तो हम अपना लक्ष्य भूल कर पूजन-अर्चन (मंदिर-मस्जिद) को बना लेते हैं, या प्रकृति को या योग-समाधि को। हम मनुष्य हैं, हमारी आत्मा का साथी तो कहीं मनुष्यों में ही मिलेगा। किन्तु हम वहाँ न खोजकर इधर-उधर भटकते फिरते हैं। फिर मुक्ति कैसे हो ? मुझे भी भरमाया गया था—

‘‘खोजने जब चला मैं तुम्हें विश्व में
मन्दिरों ने बहुत कुछ भुलवा दिया,
ख़ैर पर यह हुई उम्र की दौड़ में
ख़्याल मैंने न कुछ पत्थरों का किया,
पर्वतों ने झुका शीश चूमें चरण
बाँह डाली कली ने गले में मचल,
एक तस्वीर तेरी लिये किन्तु मैं
साफ़ दामन बचाकर गया ही निकल।’’

पर इस बार मेरे पास उसकी तस्वीर थी, इसलिए मैं भूला नहीं। पर अभी गन्तव्य मिला नहीं है—अगर यूँ कहूँ कि मिलकर छूट गया है तो अधिक सही होगा जीवन का यह बहुत बड़ा अभिशाप और साथ-साथ वरदान भी है कि जो हमारी मंजिल होती है, जब वह समीप आती है तब या तो हम उसको पीछे छोड़कर आगे बढ़ जाते हैं या वह स्वयं और आगे बढ़ जाती है—

पागल हो तलाश में जिसकी
हम खुद बन जाते रज मग की
किन्तु प्राप्ति की व्याकुलता में
कभी-कभी हम मंजिल से भी आगे बढ़ जाते।

अथवा

मैं समझता था कि मंजिल पर पहुँच आना-जाना ख़त्म हो जाएगा
पर हज़ारों बार ही ऐसा हुआ पास आकर दूर जाना पड़ गया।

इसी प्रकार जब हम भावना (प्रेम) के माध्यम से अपने उस आत्मा के साथी के निकट पहुँचते हैं तो वह पीछे खिसकता है और खिसकते-खिसकते विश्वात्मा में मिल जाता है। अन्त में हम भी उसकी खोज करते-करते विश्वात्मा तक पहुँच जाते हैं—

‘‘मैं तो तेरे पूजन को आया था तेरे द्वार
तू ही मिला न मुझे वहाँ मिल गया खड़ा संसार !’’

और फिर मनुष्य स्वयं ही कहने लगता है—

दूर कितने भी रहो तुम, पास प्रतिपल,
क्योंकि मेरी साधना ने पल निमिष चल,
कर दिए केंद्रित सदा को ताप बल से
विश्व में तुम और तुम में विश्व भर का प्यार !
हर जगह ही अब तुम्हारा द्वार।

और जिस दिन मनुष्य अपनी आत्मा का प्रेम (भावना) के द्वारा विश्वात्मा से तादात्म्य स्थापित कर लेता है उसी दिन उसकी मुक्ति हो जाती है। विश्वात्मा से अपनी आत्मा का तादात्म्य ही एक मुक्ति है और यह संदेह ही प्राप्त हो जाती है, आवागमन के चक्र को बहुत दूर छोड़कर।

एक बात इस सम्बन्ध में और कह दूँ तो अनपयुक्त न होगा। जो व्यक्ति ‘प्रेम’ को नहीं जानता वह केवल ‘मैं’ (अहं) को ही जानता है। और केवल ‘मैं’ को जानने का अर्थ है शेष सृष्टि के रागात्मक सम्बन्ध से हीन हो जाना। किन्तु जो व्यक्ति प्रेम करता है वह ‘मैं’ (अहं) को समूल नष्ट तो नहीं करता, उसका ‘तुम’ से सम्बन्ध स्थापित कर उसका पर्युस्थान करता है। वह ‘मैं’ कहता तो है, पर ‘मैं’ कहने से पूर्व वह कहता है ‘तुम’। यथा—

‘‘गंध तुम्हारी थी मैं तो बस सुमन चुरा लाया था,
रूप तुम्हारा था मैंने तो केवल दर्पण दिखलाया था।’’


और इस प्रकार वह व्यष्टि की संकुचित सीमा से निकलकर समष्टि की ओर जाता है—अपने व्यक्तित्व का उत्थान कर देवत्व की ओर जाता है। इसीलिए मैं प्रेम को जीवन की गति के साथ-साथ एक बहुत बड़ी शक्ति—एटम बम से भी अधिक प्रबल शक्ति मानता हूँ और जो उसका विरोध करता है, उससे कहता हूँ—

प्रेम बिन मनुष्य दुश्चरित्र है

अथवा

प्रेम जो न तो मनुज अशुद्ध है।

3 - मृत्यु

प्रेम जीवन का गीत है। अपनी आत्मा के साथी के लिए खोज हम विभिन्न रूपों में कर रहे हैं, उसका नाम जीवन है। पर जो खोजा करता है वह थकता भी है। संसार की प्रत्येक वस्तु शक्ति और गति को जीवित रखने के लिए विश्राम लेती है। यह चेतना हज़ारों बरसों से अपने साथी के लिए भटकती फिर रही है, इसको भी थकान आती है। थकान आने पर यह भी विश्राम चाहती है। इसको अपनी सेज पर जो क्षण-भर विश्राम देती है—उसी का नाम है मृत्यु—जिसे मैं यति कहता हूँ।

‘‘जीवन क्या माटी के तन में केवल गति भर देना,
और मृत्यु क्या उस गति को ही क्षण भर यति कर देना।’’
(बादर बरस गयो)

अथवा

‘‘है आवश्यक तो विराम भी
यदि पथ लम्बा और कठिन हो,
पर केवल उतना ही जितने
से पथ-श्रम की दूर थकान हो।’’

इन तीनों सत्यों के अतिरिक्त एक चौथा सत्य भी है—जिनका नाम है रोटी (पेट की भूख)। हृदय की भूख-प्यास जिस प्रकार जीवन-स्थिति के लिए आवश्यक है, उसी प्रकार पेट की भूख भी शरीर-स्थिति के लिए अनिवार्य है। और जिस प्रकार हृदय (प्रेम) के माध्यम से मनुष्य अंत में विश्व की एकता तक पहुँचता है, उसी प्रकार रोटी के माध्यम से भी हम अन्त में मानव-एकता तक ही पहुँचते हैं। दोनों का लक्ष्य एक है, इसलिए दोनों को मैंने एक प्रेम के अन्तर्गत ही ले लिया है। जीवन के प्रति जो मेरी दृष्टि है, वह मैंने यहाँ आपके सामने स्पष्ट की है। यह ग़लत है या सही, प्रतिभागी या प्रगतिवादी, यह तो निर्णय आप करेंगे। मैं तो केवल क्षम्य गर्व के साथ इतना ही कहता हूँ कि इस दृष्टिकोण से मुझे अपने जीवन में काफ़ी बल मिला है।

नीरज

‘इन्द्रेनी’
जनकपुरी, मेरिस रोड
अलीगढ़—202001

Pasted from


A picture may be worth a thousand words. But mere words can inspire millions

Sunday, August 30, 2009

SECULARISTS - WHO IS WHO

agrasen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secularists- Who's who?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arvind Tapkire Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 12:59 AM
To: Arvind Tapkire





> Subject: MEDIA (CPI(M)) NDTV
>
>
> MEDIA (CPI(M)) NDTV
>
> Prannoy has secretly converted to Christianity.
> Suzanna Arundhati Roy is niece of Prannoy Roy (CEO of NDTV)
> Prannoy Roy married to Radhika Roy
> Radhika Roy is sister of Brinda Karat (CPI(M))
> Brinda Karat married to Prakash Karat (CPI(M) - General
> Secretary)
> CPI(M)'s senior member of Politburo and Parliamentary
> Group Leader is
> Sitaram Yechury.
> Sitaram Yechury is married to Seema Chisthi.
> Seema Chisthi is the Resident Editor of Indian Express
> Burkha Dutt works at NDTV
> Rajdeep Sardesai was Managing Editor at NDTV
> Rajdeep Sardesai married to Sagrika Ghose
> Sagarika Ghose is daughter of Bhaskar Ghose.
> Bhaskar Ghose was Director General of Doordarshan.
> Sagarika Ghose's aunt is Ruma Pal.
> Ruma Pal is former justice of Supreme Court.
> Sagarika Ghose's another aunt is Arundhati Ghose.
> Arundhati Ghose was India's permanent
> representative/ambassador to United
> Nations.
> Dilip D'Souza was member of PIPFD
> Dilip D'Souza's father was Joseph Bain D'Souza.
> J.B.D'Souza was former Maharastra Chief Seccretary and
> activist.
> Teesta Setalva member of PIPFD
> Teesta Setalvad married to Javed Anand
> Teesta and Javed run Sabrang Communications.
> Javed Anand is General Secretary of Muslims for Secular
> Democracy { ?? }
> Javed Akhtar is spokesperson for Muslims for Secular
> Democracy
> Javed Akhtar married to Shabana Azmi
> Karan Thapar owns ITV
> ITV produces shows for BBC
> Karan Thapar's father was General Pran Nath Thapar COAS
> during 1962 war,
> when India lost under his watch.
> Karan Thapar was very good friend of Benazir Bhutto and
> Asif Ali Zardari.
> Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan's Prime Minister.
> Benazir Bhutto's father was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
> Z.A.Bhutto served as Pakistan's President.
> A.A.Zardar is the current Pakistani's President.
> Karan Thapar's Mama was married to Nayantara Sahgal.
> Nayantar Sahgal is daughter of Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
> Vijayalakshmi Pandit was sister of Jawharlal Nehru.
> Medha Patkar is a leading spokesperson for Narmada Bacho
> Andolan.
> NBA was helped by Patrick McCully of International Rivers
> (formerly Internal
> Rivers Network.)
> Angana Chatterjee was on the board of IRN
> Dipti Bhatnagar was an Intern/Volunteer at IRN.
> Dipti Bhatnagar is an activist at NBA.
> [/color]Dr. Angana Chatterjee part of PROXSA
> PROXSA mother-ship of FOIL
> ASHA endorsed by FOIL
> Sandeep Pandey co-founder of Asha for education (ASHA)
> Dr. Angana Chatterjee is married to Richard Shapiro
> Richard Shapiro is Director and Associate Professor of the
> Grad.
> Anthropology Prgm at CIIS
> Shubh Mathur co-wrote a letter with Angana on
> 'Humanitarian Crisis in J&K'
> Biju Matthew is co-founder of FOIL.
> Vijay Prasad is co-founder of FOIL.
> Vijay Prasa co-authored with Angana Chatterjee and wrote
> against IDRF.
> ASHA has association with AID
> AID works with FOSA
> FOSA started by a Pakistani - Ali Hasan Cemendtaur.
> Amitava Kumar associated with FOIL
> FOIL & FOSA opposed California Text Book Edits.
> California Text Book Edits was opposed by Michael Witzel.
> M.Witzel is Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard
> University.
> Rahul Bose is brother-in-law of Khalid Ansari.
> Khalid Ansari is the Chairman of Mid-Day Group of
> Publication based in
> Mumbai.
> Khalid Ansari is Chairman of M.C.Media Ltd.
> M.C.Media Ltd. has a join-venture with BBC for FM radio
> brodcasting.
> Khalid Ansari's father was Abdul Hameed Ansari.
> A.H.Ansari was a freedom fighter and active Congressman.
> Dr.John Dayal worked as a journalist with the N.Delhi
> edition of Mid-Day.
> Narasimhan Ram is the Editor-in-Chief of 'The
> Hindu'.
> N.Ram's first wife was Susan.
> Susan, an Irish, was in charge of Oxford University Press
> publications in
> India.
> N.Ram and Susan's daughter is Vidya Ram.
> Vidya Ram is a journalist.
> N.Ram is now married to Mariam.
> N.Ram, Jennifer Arul and K.M.Roy participated in closed
> door Catholic
> Bishops Conference of India in Thrissur, Kerala.
> Jennifer Arul is the Resident Editor and Bureau Chief in
> South India for
> NDTV.
> Jennifer Arul is Chief Operating Office for Astro Awani -
> Indonesian news
> and information channel.
> K.M.Roy was a reporter in `The Hindu'
> K.M.Roy is the General Editor of the group of the
> `Mangalam' Publications.
> Mangalam Group of Publications was started by M.C.Varghese
> K.M.Roy received the `All India Catholic Union Lifetime
> Award'
> All India Catholic Union's National Vice President is
> Dr.John Dayal.
> Dr.John Dayal is also Secretary General of All India
> Christian Council
> (AICC)
> AICC's President is Dr. Joseph D'souza
> Dr. Joseph D'souza founded Dalit Freedom Network (USA)
> Dr.Joseph D'Souza participated in the inaugural
> Religious Freedom Day
> The Religious Freedom Day was attended by former Republican
> Sentor Rick
> Santorum
> AICC claims Confederation of SC/ST Organizations (India) as
> a sister
> organization.
> AICC claims Christian Solidarity Worldwide (UK) as a sister
> organization.
> AICC claims Release International (UK) as a sister
> organization.
> Release International states it supplies bibles and
> literature to meet the
> need of growth and evangelism.
> Dalit Freedom Network's partner's with Operation
> Mobilization India.
> OM India's South India Regional Director is Kumar Swamy
> Kumar Swamy is the State President of Communal Harmony
> Committee.
> Kumar Swamy serves with Karnataka State Human Rights
> Commission.
> OM India's North India Regional Director is Moses
> Parmar.
> Moses Parmar serves as North India Public Relations officer
> of the All India
> Christian Council (AICC)
> OM seeks to plant and strengthen churches in areas of the
> world where Christ
> is least known.
> OM ministries work with Dalit-Bahujan people in India.
> Operation Mercy Charitable Company (OMCC) grew out of OM
> India
> OMCC works with Dalit Freedom Network.
> DFN has Dr. Kancha Illaiah on its Advisory Board.
> Dr. Kancha Illaiah is a Professor in Osmania University,
> Hyderbad.
> DFN has William Armstrong on its Advisory Board.
> William Armstrong is a former US Senator from Colarado
> (Republican).
> William Armstrong is currently the President of Colorado
> Christian
> University.
> Colorado Christian University's one of the strategic
> objective is to share
> the love of Christ around the World.
> DFN has Udit Raj on its Advisory Board.
> Udit Raj claims Joseph Pitts as a great friend of India.
> Joseph Pitts is a Republican US Congressman from
> Pennsylvannia.
> Joseph Pitts sent a letter to Condoleezza Rice, Secretary
> of State –USA,
> requesting USA to deny visa to N.Modi.
> Joseph Pitts has led a Congressional delegation to Pakistan
> & India.
> Joseph Pitts is Founder and Co-Chairman of the `Kashmir
> Forum'.
> Joseph Pitts along with Congressman John Conyers introduced
> legislation
> condemning actions of N.Modi.
> John Conyers is Congressman from Michigan's 14th
> congressional district.
> The 14th district contains Dearbon, a major city.
> Dearbon has the largest Arab Americans for a city of its
> size.
> Udit Raj is member of National Integration Council,
> Government of India.
> Udit Raj is National Chairman of Buddha Education
> Foundation.
> Udit Raj is National Chairman of All India Confederation of
> SC/ST
> Organizations.
> Udit Raj leads Dalit International Foundation
> Udit Raj leads Lord Buddha Club.
> Udit Raj was part of an international Steering Committee on
> Kashmir
> Majid Tramboo promoted the Steering Committee.
> DFN has Baroness Caroline Cox on its Advisory Board.
> Baroness Caroline Cox is Deputy Speaker, House of Lords,
> England.
> Suhasini Haidar is daughter of Subramanian Swamy
> Suhasini Haidar is daughter-in-law of Salman Haidar
> Nadira Alvi married V S Naipaul
> Nadira Alvi, a journalist, is sister of recently
> assassinated Maj Gen Amir
> Faisal Alvi, the ex-chief of Pakistan's elite SSG
> "Resalat" is a Tehran-based Persian daily.
> "Ettela'at" is another Tehran-based Persian
> daily.
> "Resallat" and "Ettela'at"signed
> MoU with "Siyasat" and "Munif"
> Siyasat and Munif are Hyderbad, Andhra Pradesh based
> dailies.
> Toseeh is another Persian daily.
> Toseeh has tied up with Vaarta.
> Vaarta is one of the dailies from A.G.A.Publications Pvt
> Ltd.
> A.G.A Publications Pvt Ltd is one of the companies in
> Sanghi Group
> Sanghi Group was co-promoted by Gireesh Sanghi with his
> brothers.
> Gireesh Sanghi is Congress M.P, Rajaya Sabha
> Gireesh Sanghi is All India Vaish Federation National
> President.
> Mahendra Mohan Gupta is on the Advisory Board of AIVF
> Mahendra Mohan Gupta is Chairman of Dainik Jagran Group
> Ramoji Group is headed by Ramoji Rao
> Ramoji Rao is Founder & Chairman of Eenadu
> Eenadu is the largest Telugu news daily in Andhra Pradesh.
> Ramoji Group also owns ETV Network.
> ETV Network produces content in Telugu, Bangla, Marathi,
> Kannada, Oriya,
> Gujarati, Urdu & Hindi.
> Ramoji is reported to be close to Chandra Babu Naidu and
> supported of Telugu
> Desam Party.
> Ushodaya Enterprises Pvt. Ltd's parent company is
> Ramoji Group.
> Blackstone Group is reported to have invested Rs600 crore
> in UEL.
> Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd brings out The Deccan
> Chronicle newspaper.
> DCHL also brings out "Andhra Bhoomi" a telugu
> newspaper.
> DCHL also brings out "Asian Age".
> DCHL became a publishing parter of `The New York
> Times'.
> DCHL began publishing `The International Herald
> Tribune'
> T.Venkatram Reddy is the Chairman of DCHL.
> T.Venkatram Reddy is fromer MP, Rajhya Sabha from Congress.
> M.J.Akbar was Editor-in-Chief of Deccan Chronicle and Asian
> Age.
> M.J.Akbar is Founder and Chairman of the fortnightly the
> Covert.
> M.J. Akbar worked at `Times of India', `Sunday'
> & `The Telegraph'
> M.J.Akbar was an Congress MLA from 1989 to 1991.
> M.J.Akbar joined The Brookings Institution, Washington in
> 2006, as a
> Visiting Fellow on U.S. Policy Towards the Islamic World.
> M.J.Akbar was a member of the `Forum of Islamic Scholars
> and Intellectual'
> held in Makkha al-Mukaramma in 2005.
> M.J.Akbar's wife is Mallika Joseph.
> Mallika Joseph worked at Times of India.
> Y.S.Rajasekhara Reddy is the Chief Minister of Andhra
> Pradesh.
> YSR Reddy is from the Congress party (INC).
> YSR Reddy's father, Raja Reddy, setup a degree college
> and a Polytechnic in
> Pulivendula.
> YSR Reddy has said that his one year study at Andhra Loyola
> College (ALC), a
> Jesuit institution, influenced him so much that he handed
> over the
> Pulivendula colleges to the Loyola Group.
> The YS family has established several educational
> institutions in Andhra
> Pradesh.
> YSR Reddy's daughter is Sharmila.
> Sharmila married Anil Kumar, Anil Kumar converted to
> Christianity after the
> marriage.
> Anil Kumar set up "Anil World Evangelism" and is
> an active Evangelist.
> YSR Reddy's son is YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
> YS Jagan is a youth Congress Leader.
> YS Jagan is Chairman of Jagati Publications Pvt. Ltd.
> Bhumna Karunakara Reddy is close to YSR Reddy.
> Karunakara Reddy is the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati
> Devasthanam.
> JPPL publishes the newspaper Sakshi.
> Chandra Babu Naidu has claimed that Lanco group was forced
> to invest in
> JPPL.
> L. Sridhar is alleged to have made the investment from
> Lanco Group.
> L Sridhar is Lanco Infratech's Vice Chairman
> L Sridhar's brother is L.Rajagopal.
> L.Rajagopal joined Congress in 2003.
> L Rajagopal is the son-in-law of P.Upendra.
> P.Upendra is a former Minister from Congress.
> Lanco Group's Chairman is L. Rajagopal
> Andhra Prabha is a telugu newspaper started in 1938.
> Andhra Prabha is owned by The New Indian Express Group.
> Andhra Jyothi is a telugu newspaper.
> Andhra Jyothi's Managing Director is Vemuri
> Radhakrishna.
> SUN TV Network is owned by Kalanidhi Maran.
> Kalanidhi Maran is the Chairman & Managing Director of
> SUN TV Network.
> SUN TV network owns: Sun TV, Gemini TV, Teja TV, Surya TV,
> Kiran TV, Udaya
> TV, Surjo TV among other channels.
> Kalanidhi Maran owns the tamil daily `Dinakaran'.
> Dinakaran was started by a former DMK Minister
> K.P.Kandasamy.
> Kalanidhi Maran's brother is Dayanidhi Maran.
> Dayanidhi Maran was Minister of Communications and IT in
> the UPA government.
> Kalanidhi Maran's father was Murasoli Maran.
> Murasoli Maran was a Union Minister from the DMK party.
> Murasoli Maran edited a tamil daily `Murasoli'.
> Murasoli Maran was an editor to `The Rising Sun' a
> English weekly.
> Murasoli Maran as a publisher published the following tamil
> magazines:
> Kungumam, Muththaram, Vannathirai & Sumangali.
> Murasoli Maran's uncle is M.Karunanidhi.
> M.Karunanidhi is Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, from the DMK
> party.
> M.Karunanidhi launched Kalaignar TV in 2007.
> M.K.Azhagiri owns Kalaignar TV.
> M.K.Azhagiri is M.Karunanidhi's son.
> M.K.Stalin is another son of the M.Karunanidhi..
> M.K.Stalin was named after Joseph Stalin.
> Joseph Stalin was the authoritarian leader of the Soviet
> Union.
> M.K.Stalin is the Minister for Rural Development and Local
> Administration in
> Tamil Nadu.
> Kanimozhi is one of the daughters of M.Karunanidhi.
> Kanimozhi was a sub-editor for the `The Hindu'.
> Kanimohi was Editor in Charge of `Kungumam' a tamil
> weekly.
> Kanimozhi became a Rajya Sabha member in 2007.
> Kanimozhi conducted programs in SUN TV and Vijay TV.
> Kanimozhi's second husband G.Aravindan is Singapore
> based Tamil literary
> figure.
> Dina Thanthi a tamil daily was founded bu Si.Pa.Aditanar.
> Aditanar's second son is Sivanthi Athithan.
> Sivanthi Athithan owns Dina Thanthi.
> Aditanar had launced the tamil evening daily `Malai
> Murasu'.
> Aditanar set up Malar Publications Ltd.
> Malar Publications Ltd. Brings out the tamil evening
> newspaper Malai Malar.
> Balasubramanian Adityan son of Sivanthi Athithan managers
> Malar Publications
> Ltd.
> B.Adityan set up `Air Media Network Pvt Ltd' (AMN)
> AMN is into cable distribution, content productions and
> broadcasting.
> AMN owns AMN TV
> AMN has produced content for FM radio, All India Radio,
> Doordarshan, Vijay
> TV.
> Dina Mani is a tamil newspaper.
> Dina Mani is owned by The New Indian Express Group. (NIEG)
> NIEG owns Kannadaprabha, Andhraprabha, Malaylamvarikha,
> Indiavarta and
> Expressbuzz.
> NIEG also owns Cinemaexpress & Tamilanexpress
> STAR Vijay TV is a tamil TV channel.
> Vijay TV is owned by STAR TV
> STAR TV is owned by News Corporation based in Hong Kong.
> News Corporation is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
> Fox Entertainment Group is a subsidiary of News
> Corporation.
> FEG owns Fox News Channel, in USA.
> Fox News is a conservative, pro-church Republican Party
> channel in US
> News Corporation owns the The Wall Street Journal
> Jaya TV is a tamil TV channel.
> Jaya TV is owned by Jaya Network.
> Jaya Network is owned by J.Jayalalitha
> Jayalalitha was the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
> (AIADMK party)
> Makkal TV is owned by Makkal Tholaikatchi
> Act Now for Harmony and Democracy's (ANHAD) Founding
> and Managing Trustee is
> Shabnam Hashmi
> Shabnam's father was a freedom fighter.
> Shabnam went to USSR on a cultural exchange scholarship for
> six years.
> Shabham is married to Gauhar Raza.
> KN Panikkar is a Founding trustee of ANHAD
> Panikkar is an Indian Marxist Historian.
> Panikkar was the Vice Chancellor of Sree Sankarcharya
> Sanskrit University,
> Kalady, Kerala.
> Panikkar received Homi Bhabha Senior Fellowship.
> Panikkar was awarded Padma Bhushan.
> Harsh Mander is a Founding trustee of ANHAD
> Harsh Mander is a Human Rights activist, author and was in
> the IAS.
> Harsh Mander was close to Ajit Jogi
> Harsh Mander, born into Sikh faith, was in-charge of the
> relief camps in
> Indore during the 1984 riots.
> Harsh Mander served as Managing Director of SC/ST Finance
> Corporation.
> Harsh Mander was the Director of ActionAid India.
> Ajit Jogi was the Chief Minister of Chhatisgarh.
> Ajit Jogi is from the Congress party (INC).
> It is claimed that after Ajit Jogi, a tribal Christian
> became the CM the
> rate of Christian conversions has gone up.
> Harsh Mander received the 2002 "Rev. M.A.Thomas
> National Human Rights Award"
> Rev M.A.Thomas National Human Rights Award was awarded by
> "Vigil India
> Movement.
> Shubha Mudgal is a trustee of ANHAD
> Shubha's parents Skand and Jaya Gupta were professors
> of English literature
> at Allahabad University.
> Shubha's grand-father Prof. P.C.Gupta was also a
> professor at Allahabad
> University.
> Shubha's first husband was Justice Mukul Mudgal of
> Delhi High Court.
> Shubha is currently married to Aneesh Pradan, a tabla
> player.
> Shubha received Padma Shri.
> Shubha has received several awards in the field of music.
> Kamla Bhasin is a trustee of ANHAD
> Kamla is an Indian feminist.
> Kamla was a lecturer in the Orientation Centre of the
> German Foundation for
> Developing Countries, Bad Honnef, West Germany.
> Kamla was the Development Secretary of Seva Mandir,
> Udaipur.
> Saeed Akhtar Mirza is a trustee of ANHAD
> Saeed Mirza is a writer and director in Hindi films and
> television.
> Saeed Mirza's father is Akhtar Mirza
> Akhtar Mirza was a noted film script writer.
> Asianet Communications Limited (ACL) has a majority stake
> in Asianet TV.
> ACL is owned by Jupiter Entertainment Ventures Limited
> (JEVL).
> JEVL is a subsidiary of Jupiter Capitals Ltd.
> The other media outlets of ACL are: Asianet News, Asianet
> Plus, Best FM 95,
> Asianet Suvarana, Suvarna News, Asianet Sitara and Sitara
> News.
> Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the Chairman & Editor-in-chief.
> Rajeev Chandrasekar entered Rajya Sabha in 2006.
> Rajeev Chandrasekar's uncle is M.K.Narayanan
> M.K.Narayanan is National Security Advisor
> M.K.Narayanan headed the Intelligence Bureau from 1987 to
> 1990.
> Malayalam daily, Mathrubhumi, is owned by M P Virendrakumar
> Virendrakumar is a MP through Janata Dal (Secular), from
> Kerala
> In Kerala, Deva Gowda's Janata Dal (Secular) party is a
> constituent of Left
> Democratic Front
> Latest Editor of Mathrubhumi is Kesava Menon
> Kesava Menon was the Associate Editor of The Hindu before
> taking up this
> position
> - Joseph Bain D'Souza was CEO of a housing project in
> which Mrinal Gore, PB
> Samant and Suresh Narvekar were trustees.
> - N. Ram was a founder of Students Federation of India,
> CPI(M)'s student
> wing.
> - N. Ram's niece is married to Dayanidhi Maran.
> - Joseph D'Souza is the head of All India Christian
> Council.
> - Joseph D'Souza works with Dalit Freedom Network.
> - Dalit Freedom Network operates out of a church in
> Colorado. Melody Divine
> is part of DFN and Melody Divine works for Arizona
> Congressman Trent Franks.
> - Joseph D'Souza is listed in Pat Robertson's 700
> club, a group for
> fundamentalist Christians.
> - Dalit Freedom Network is a member of the Evangelical
> Council for Financial
> Accountability.
> -Admin (came via email
> -- Dr. Shiv Kumar Poojari
>
>
> Jagdish Tatyler is a Christian. He killed more than 30,000
> Sikhs, still he
> has not been punished by Christian Congress president
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 8.0.238 / Virus Database: 270.11.51/2052 - Release
> Date: 04/10/09 06:39:00






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get an email ID as yourname@ymail.com or yourname@rocketmail.com. Click here.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thursday, August 27, 2009

NOSTRADAMUS again!

agrasen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[IndianVoice] Fw: What Nostradamus SAID about BJP is coming True- A NEW BJP WITH HARDCORE HINDUTVA WILL BE BORN.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BRAHMASTHRA Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 10:12 AM
To: B , B , B , B , INDIAN VOICE
Cc: B Anjali , B , B , B , B

----- Original Message -----
From: BRAHMASTHRA
To: bjp ; SUSHMA"SWARAJ" ; RSS=RAMMADHAV ; RSSCHENANNIA
Cc: BJP-INFO
Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 10:41 PM
Subject: What Nostradamus about BJP is coming True- A NEW BJP WITH HARDCORE HINDUTVA WILL BE BORN.

WIDE CIRCULATION
VANDE MATARAM
From:- FROM A JOURNALIST [Investigative]& COUNTER JOURNALISM
Dear Countrymen-Letters to the Editor-PCCouncil-CII-NHRC-Minorities Commission
Namashkar
Vande Mataram

Nostradamus On India, Sonia Gandhi & BJP
January 8, 2009

Paush Shuddha Dwadashi

By Francois Gautier

Michel de Nostre-Dame, better known as Nostradamus (1503-1566), was a famous French astrologer whose predictions - which included the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy & the premature death of the previous Pope - have proved infallibly accurate.

Recently, unpublished manuscripts of Nostradamus have been discovered (and authentified) in an old trunk in the French city of Lyon. Curiously, there are two full pages, which deal at length with India, particularly with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the just concluded elections. We are giving here the first words in Latin, the language which he used, along with a rough translation in English.

"Politicus Bharatus Janatus Indicus veni grandus est vingtus unus centurus - Congressus oublium est ."

The Bharatiya Janata Party will come to dominate India in the 21st century, as the Congress, will slowly sink into oblivion.

"Malheureusus, duo annum millenium trahisonus idealum est Congressus ressemblum, fautum adoptus est. Electionirium Blanca Madamus attaquum"...

Unfortunately, to achieve power, the BJP may gradually forsake most of its idealism. In the 1999 elections for instance, (Nostradamus made here a prediction error : he said duum millenium = 2000), instead of concentrating on real issues - water, sanitation, education - it will waste all its energies on attacking the White Lady (Sonia Gandhi, we suppose).

"Surtoutnum idealus oublium Indianum magna Carta devenus est".

But more than these basic issues, which any sincere politician should have at heart, it will not address the real burning changes which India needs to adopt so as to become again a Great Power.

And Nostradamus goes on to enumerate these changes :

"Congressus independantum Blancum copium est; necessarus changum indianus cumum facus est".

As the Congress had heavily borrowed from the White Man (British ?) at Independence, it will become necessary to "Indianize" the nation so that it may manifest again its true unique soul.

"Panchayatum villagum empruntus. Sanskritus introdum est. Historicum ecritum manus, daemonus est. Yogum, respirationnus introdum est."

Give back the power to the villages in the form of Panchayat. Reintroduce Sanskrit as the national language. Rewrite Indian History, which had mostly been devised by White Masters. Revive ancient traditional systems such as pranayama, yoga, and incorporate them in the education system and everyday life. Change the Constitution so that democracy may not be perverted as it will be. Privatise the over-staffed Iron Bird (Indian Airlines ?), which has the most expensive fares in the world.
"Americanus octopussus contentus summum est; jaunus manus menacus ignorum est, Gaullus manum oublius est. Aurobindus Ghosus Propehetus ignorum est".

It will try to please the American octopus (?) at the cost of India's integrity, will ignore the great danger of the Yellow Hand (China ?), it will forget that a reuniting with Pakistan is of utmost importance for the stability of the subcontinent, will shun the friendship of the Gauls (France ?) and will also disregard the words of its Great Prophet, Aurobindo Ghose.

"Indianus pretus reformus est, Grandus nationus manum".

India by that time will be ready for the Big Change and the new party will sweep away the polls and implement these reforms.

"Sanskritus savantuus nationalum languus, decentralisum governmentus, aryanus theorum mortuum est, dharmum hinduus devenum. Christianum, Islamus influencum".

Scholars will sit down to modernise and simplify Sanskrit; government will be decentralised; India will strive to form of a federation of SAARC countries; the theory of the Aryan invasion will be proved false and it will be shown that Indian civilisation is at least ten thousand years old and has influenced all great ancient civilisations and religions such as Christianity and even Islam.

And finally :

"Aurobindus Ghosus realisum est, Indianum Agus ancientus mortum non est"..

And the prophecy of Sri Aurobindo will be fulfilled : "India of the ages is not dead nor has She spoken Her last creative word. And that which She must seek now to awake, is not an anglicised oriental people, docile pupil of the West and doomed to repeat the cycle of the Occident's success and failure, but still the ancient immemorial Shakti recovering Her deepest self, lifting Her head higher towards the supreme source of light and strength and turning to discover the complete meaning and vaster form of Her Dharma".

P.S. Nostradamus had written a Post Script:

"Post Scriptum : Politicus Bharatus Janatus minus votus, realisus stupidum est et changum exorcisus".

As the BJP, in spite of its alliance getting overall majority (in 1999), will actually win less seats than in the previous election (because of it folly of forsaking its idealism and only attacking the White Lady), it may come to its senses and take-up again its original ideals, thus avoiding the Split. In this way, this semi-defeat may help to exorcise the demons of mediocrity.

Source: Astrojyoti.com
Unquote

A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history"
VANDE MATARAM***JAY HIND***BHARATH MATHA KI JAI
YOURS AFFECTIONATELY
"BRAMHASTHRA"
JOURNALIST
E&OE

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

IDENTITY CRISIS

IDENTITY CRISIS Post Your
Articles / Joke

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by humrahi
Accessed 41 times

Shortcuts

• Post comments
• Read comments (0)
• About the author
• Contact author







An old Mallu stood in the queue of senior citizen discount counter at New Delhi Railway station.
He had stood in the line for a very long time until it was finally his turn. The lady behind the counter asks him for Senior citizenship identification. He went to get his wallet out of his back pocket and realized that he forgot to wear his pant but now wearing a lungi instead. The lady told him that was alright he could just show her his chest hairs and if they were grey she knew he was old enough for senior citizen discount
After everything was done there he went home and told his wife how his day went. He told her that he had forgotten his wallet at home and the lady at the Railway counter office just ask him to pull down the front of his shirt and she could tell he was old enough.
After listening to his story his wife told him if he had dropped his Lungi he probably could have gotten disability discount too.

________________________________________
It seems that life goes by resembling somewhat of a bell curve of what is considered successful...

At age 4...success is...not peeing in your pants.
At age 10...success is...making your own meals.
At age 12...success is...having friends.
At age 16...success is...having a drivers license.
At age 20...success is...having sex.
At age 35...success is...having money.
At age 50...success is...having money.
At age 60...success is...having sex.
At age 70...success is...having a drivers license.
At age 75...success is...having friends.
At age 80...success is...making your own meals.
At age 85...success is...not peeing in your pants.

WHY I BECAME A HINDU, STEPHEN KNAPP

Why I Became a Hindu / a Krishna Bhakta
By Stephen Knapp
When I go to India one of the most common questions I get is why did I
become a Hindu, or what attracted me so much to India and its culture. Many
people wonder why, if I´m born in the opulence and decadence of the West,
would I be so interested in India? Why would I be so fascinated by their
ancient Vedic tradition? Wouldn´t I already have everything I would want,
everything I need? Maybe not. Maybe the American dream is not all it´s cracked up
to be, at least not without a higher level of spirituality for balance and
completeness. Maybe Western religion also does not give all we need. So,
let me provide a little insight into why I took up the Dharmic path.
Now this is about "why" I became a follower of Sanatana-dharma, not "how"
I became a Dharmist, which is a longer story. But this does include a
little of how it happened.
Back when I was a teenager, I felt like I did not fit into this world and
thought ill of the premise that the whole purpose of life seemed to be based
on the idea that you have to get an education to learn a skill so you
could find a career that should last the rest of your life, even if you don´t
know what you want to do. So, I was cynical toward everyone because of that,
and would have fun playing the subtle game of tearing apart anyone´s
paltry purpose for their existence. In that process, I would find that most
people also had little reason for what they were doing. They just went along
with the crowd because it seemed right, or because their parents wanted them
to do something. Of course, it was amusing to my friends to make these
kinds of jokes at others´ expense, but I was just irritated for being pushed
into a world with social patterns and expectations that didn´t make sense to
me.
In my mid-teens I became a musician. Music was the only thing I liked. It
saved my life. I learned how to play guitar and specialized in bass guitar,
and became quite good at it. So, I spent time hanging out with other
musicians, artists, and hippies of the area, and though we would express
ourselves in various ways, we would still get serious at times and sit down and
wonder what was our real purpose in this life and where we really fit into
this world. Then, in my late teenage years, I had to set my guitar down for a
while and do some considerable research into the various philosophies and
spiritual paths of the world to find some solid answers for the real
purpose of life.
Having grown up as a Christian, which was typical of most people in
America, I decided to seriously look into it. I studied the Bible, not only in
Sunday school and Church, but privately I read the Bible from cover to cover.
It took me a year to do that, so I was fairly determined, but I did it.
This was simply to see what was really contained in its pages. I knew of few
other people, especially of my age, who had read the Bible from cover to
cover. But I had more questions than it could answer. So, I had to keep
searching for the spiritual knowledge I wanted to know, because if you look
deeply into the Bible, it mostly covers moralistic principles, what to do or not
do. These, of course, are necessary for any religious path, but it is only
the beginning. I wanted to know more about spiritual knowledge and the
process to increase my spiritual perception. The fact of the matter is that
most religions start with faith and end with faith, without any real
spiritual experiences or realizations in between. There is often nothing to take
you to a deeper level of self-perception, but merely the same beliefs in
concepts that remain outside your own encounters, and often times with no
encouragement from the church authorities to reach that higher level of
consciousness. So, I obviously had to look elsewhere for the information I needed.
Now is that being difficult? I don´t think so. I was just asking the kind
of questions that any inquisitive and decent human being would ask. But if
you look, what does the Bible say about God, even in simple matters such as
what is His form, what does He look like? Other than mentioning that He
appeared as a burning bush or a dove, etc., it does not say much. It also says
he is a jealous and angry God. But why would God be angry and jealous, and
of who? He already owns everything, and everyone is under His control, so
what is the problem? Or is it actually a matter of humanity merely
projecting their own weaknesses on their conception of God? Then the conception of
God that is presented is not really God at all, but merely mankind´s idea
of what God must be, based on their own weaknesses and imagination. Well,
this was not what I wanted to learn.
Furthermore, what does the Bible really say about the soul, about our
spiritual nature, about our spiritual relationship with God and each other, or
even about heaven and hell, or things like that? Furthermore, it was
completely absent of any description of the soul. Thus, it really does not say all
that much regarding higher spiritual knowledge, which means there are
numerous questions left unanswered. This also means that we have to rely mostly
on faith that we are doing what is necessary to reach heaven. After all,
this is one of the goals of Christianity. Everyone has hopes of going to
heaven. In this way, it offers a very elementary level of spiritual knowledge
based on the idea that you have to do whatever the church tells you if you
expect to have any relationship with God. Without that, you may face
excommunication, which is synonymous with going to hell. Sorry folks, but that is
not enough for me, or any sensible person for that matter.
However, another problem is that the church took out most references to the
topics of karma and reincarnation, which I later found out in my research
had been a part of a political ploy to keep people in line with the demands
of the church. Without such obedience, they would not be good Christians,
and, thus, have no standing in the eyes of God, or so they say. So, you
cannot expect to get the whole spiritual truth out of such books when these
kinds of things are done to them.
So, where do we go to find the answers? Therefore, I also studied Judaism,
Egyptology, magic, witchcraft, I Ching, palmistry, Tarot, Voodoo, Zen
Buddhism, mysticism, Yoga, and many other esoteric topics. I even read most of
the Koran. However, as anyone who reads the Koran will see, in comparison
with other scriptures, it is not a book which focuses much on theology or
spiritual doctrine. It does not dwell on describing our eternal spiritual
identity, the characteristics of the soul, or the spiritual nature of God. In
fact, it provides a harsh view of God when compared to other religious
texts like the Vedic literature. It presents God, Allah, as a God who gives
out much punishment with little or no mercy for those fallen ones who do not
follow the Islamic path, even though verses within it say how merciful He
is. But this is mercy mostly showed to those who are already followers of
Islam or who convert to Islam, while apostates deserve to be killed. But,
again, is this really God, or only mankind projecting their own characteristics
and demands into their concept of God?
In this way, it became obvious to me that all religions are not the same.
They definitely take you to different levels of understanding. The Bible
and Koran, for example, deal mostly with moralistic principles, which are, of
course, necessary if a person is to begin any spiritual process. However,
books of the western religions consist mostly of rules, or dos and don´ts
with the promise that if you follow all of them properly, you will go to
heaven. Otherwise, you go to hell with no second chance. In the conventional
monotheistic religions, it´s like you are walking a tightrope just to make
sure you do not make the mistakes that will take you to hell, what to speak
of trying to make any genuine spiritual advancement. But anyone who is
spiritually experienced and knowledgeable knows that you cannot go to heaven by
faith alone. It just does not work that way. The only way you can go to a
higher dimension is by changing your consciousness to a higher level of
perception and activity, and doing it right here in this life. And I found few
genuine spiritual paths that provided the means or the processes by which
you could do that.
Thus, I had to continue looking for the answers I needed for a higher
understanding and for things to make sense to me, including the purpose of
life. But fear-based religions, those that promise hell and punishment if not
followed, were not for me. I did not want the fear of going to hell as the
main motivation for accepting a particular spiritual path, or a dogma that
everyone was supposed to accept in order to go to heaven, or to maintain an
approved connection with an institution or church to keep from being
excommunicated and, thus, going to eternal damnation. This did not seem logical
to me. I wanted a path that could give me a natural and progressive way to
attain a clear perception of the spiritual dimension, not dogma or
fear-based indoctrination or blind faith.
In all my research, I finally read the Bhagavad-gita, which was like the
final piece of the puzzle that I had been putting together from all of my
philosophical and spiritual investigation. I could see that all of the
spiritual paths were connected. Through the knowledge they offer, they can bring
a person to different levels of consciousness, some higher and some lower.
But the Bhagavad-gita gave me exactly what I needed, which was a big boost
in spiritual understanding, and I knew I needed more. So, I went on to read
the Upanishads, Vedanta Sutras, Yoga Sutras, and other texts including the
Puranas. These all gave me profound insights into the purpose of life,
and, finally, let me know that this world is not my real home anyway. It is
not like I have to find a permanent place here, or an occupation that has to
last forever, like I was being taught in school at the time, and which was
expected of me by my parents. I was a spiritual being and only a passing
tourist on this planet as I moved forward, preparing for higher realms.
As I studied the Eastern texts, it became clear that we all have a
connection with God regardless of what our religion is, or whether we have a
connection with a religious institution or church. All we have to do is reawaken
that relationship. And the Vedic system gives you many tools to choose from
to help you do that, such as gurus and teachers, sacred texts, temples for
worship and learning, systems of yoga, and processes of development.
Nothing is forced on you.
In the Vedic process, you choose your own speed at which you advance, your
own methods that work best for you, the level of understanding and the
spiritual texts you want to use. You decide whatever lessons you need to learn
in order to proceed. And whatever advancement you make is never lost.
It´s not a question of having a dogma forced on you. It is a matter of
proceeding at the rate that works best for you so that your spiritual progress
unfolds naturally, not artificially or superficially. The Vedic system
expects you to have your own spiritual awakenings and experiences when you are
ready for them or developed enough.
I did not want to merely read about the spiritual dimension, and what it
must be like. I wanted to see it. I did not want to merely read about the
Supreme Being, which is more than you can get in most Western religions
anyway. Most of them have no idea about His appearance, characteristics, how He
acts, jokes with His devotees, or displays His pastimes and love towards
them. But I wanted direct evidence and realizations, a connection to fill my
soul, and to complete my purpose in life. I did not get that from anything
else, whether it was material pursuits or Western religions. They all
remained too shallow for me. I must admit that even parts of Hinduism were more
like intellectual exercises or pursuits until I came to the teachings of
Lord Krishna, especially in Bhagavad-gita and then in the Bhagavata Purana.
These provided deep teachings that awakened a higher awareness of life and
the spiritual nature of us all.
I also did not try to learn this spiritual knowledge through an academic
pursuit. Most academics have never experienced whatever spiritual culture
they teach anyway, or may even teach outright wrong information about it.
Armchair philosophers often lack the necessary direct insight and awareness to
qualify for teaching others. It is known amongst all Eastern mystics that
anyone, regardless of qualifications, academic or otherwise, who does not
engage in the spiritual practices described in the Vedic texts, cannot
actually enter into understanding the depths of the Vedic spiritual science, nor
acquire the realizations that should accompany it. So, rather than
pursuing my research in an academic atmosphere at a university, I directly engaged
in the spiritual disciplines that have been recommended for hundreds of
years. Thus, in time, I studied the Vedic knowledge and spiritual practice
under the guidance of a spiritual master.
After several years of serious independent study, I earnestly took to the
Dharmic process of yoga and became a steady follower of it. This was
because it gives a person the means or the system to spiritualize one´s
consciousness, and, thus, actually begin to have insights into perceiving the
spiritual dimension. It does not merely prescribe faith that such a thing exists,
but it gives you the descriptions of it and the process by which you can
have your own spiritual experiences. The point is that the more spiritual
you become, the more you can perceive that which is spiritual. This is the
key. Thus, the spiritual dimension no longer remains a mystery, or merely
something you study or learn about, but it becomes a reality, something to
experience. And that makes all the difference. Thus, I imbibed the teachings
within the Vedic texts and that of Lord Krishna and took up the path of
yoga, especially bhakti-yoga or devotional yoga and became a Krishna bhakta.
Thereafter, I lived in an ashram to practice, study, and be trained in the
Vedic teachings and learn the way of regulated spiritual life, sadhana, along
with temple rituals, puja, and so forth until I became initiated into the
Brahma-Gaudiya sampradaya under the auspices of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada, and was given the name of Sri Nandanandana dasa. Several
months later I was brahminically initiated as well.
One of the reasons why I became a Krishna bhakta is that He is the God of
unconditional love, which is something that everyone is looking for, and He
also instructed in the Bhagavad-gita to stand up and protect
Sanatana-dharma for the benefit of others. At the battle of Kuruksetra, Arjuna wanted to
leave the battlefield and go to the forest and meditate, but Lord Krishna
said no. It was best to do one´s duty and stand up to protect Dharma, not
only for oneself but for all others as well. By working for the benefit of
others in such a way, one simultaneously helps oneself. You get a little of
the credit, or punya, for whatever advancement others make because of your
endeavors. And now this is one of my main activities, not only pursuing my
own practice of Sanatana-dharma, but helping to preserve, protect, and
promote or explain Vedic culture so others can understand, utilize and benefit
from it.
If we look at the library of Vedic texts like the Bhagavad-gita,
Upanishads, Mahabharata, or Vishnu Purana, or especially the Bhagavata Purana, they
all explain various aspects of the nature of God, what our spiritual
identity is, what is this universe, where we came from and where we are going
based on whatever our actions are, and what are the pastimes, characteristics,
attributes, and nature of the Supreme Being. How else are we supposed to
learn this knowledge, and where else can it be found in such a complete
fashion? I have studied all of the world religions and no other texts or
scripture offers such a depth of spiritual information. That is why I have
concluded that the Vedic philosophy is the last bastion of deep spiritual truth
and knowledge. Nothing offers what it does. Vedic culture, essentially,
takes up where the Western religions leave off.
That is why I never went back to the Western religions, though I may
respect all paths and still study portions of them for comparative reasons. But
what is the point of going back to something less profound, less expansive,
less spiritual, less dynamic than what we have in the Dharmic tradition
and philosophy as found in India? To do so makes no sense. Though raised in
the West with its Christian beliefs and its modern facilities, many of us
Westerners look toward the East, especially India, for our inspiration and
spirituality. We are rejecting some of the very aspects of the Western
religions that some of the present day Indians are accepting when they convert to
them. This means that possibly they have not looked into them as deeply as
we have, at least when it comes to seeking the deeper aspects of spiritual
knowledge, beyond moral principles. They also may not be looking at the
bloody history they have left in their trails through the past. Horrible
crimes against humanity have been committed in the name of these religions,
mostly in order to control such people and make them convert, not by their
spiritual purity, but by political force whether they wanted to or not.
In this way, Vedic culture, Sanatana-dharma, by giving me this spiritual
knowledge, saved my life, more than music did. It gave me the insights I
needed to understand the purpose of life, what I was doing here, where I came
from, where I´m going based on my actions in this life, and how to acquire
the highest levels of spiritual perception. It gave me the means to keep
going in this world. For me, without those things, my life remained incomplete
and void of real meaning. It meant that I had little purpose to continue
living. Why bother with something that made little sense to me? And
materialistic life was just that, something that made no sense.
However, anyone who grasps the big picture of things, meaning to
understand that our existence spans many lifetimes, will know that this is not my
first life as a follower of Sanatana-dharma. I was obviously an Indian devotee
in India in a previous life. I´m only taking up where I left off from
before. And I will continue to follow Sanatana-dharma, as well as work to
preserve, protect, and promote it for the benefit of others until the day I die.
And I invite others to join me on this great path.
The thing is that I was not born into Vedic culture in this life. I did
not learn about it because my parents or grandparents followed it, like most
Indians do. I was born in a small Midwestern town in America where there
was no hint of any Vedic tradition. So, I had to search for it and fight to
attain it. That is why I do not take it for granted at all. And no one is
going to take it away from me now that I´ve found it.
I know what my life was like when I did not have it, and it has made such
a difference in my life compared to when all I had was the elementary form
of religion that I started with. I learned the benefits of the Dharmic path
and how it can relate to my life, and the many improvements of
understanding it has given me.
So, as a typical American, when we find something good, positive, and
advantageous, we want to share it with others. Our enthusiasm makes us want
others to take a look at it and see what they think because they might like it
as well. And I´ve seen what it has done for others with its deep spiritual
knowledge, peace, insights into our purpose in life, and how to increase
our own spiritual perception, over and above mere faith and hope. This is
why I have gone on to write various books on the many aspects of Vedic
culture, so others can learn about it, use it in their life, and benefit from it.
I especially try to write in a way to make the lofty and sophisticated
Vedic philosophy understandable for the regular layman. But amazingly, even
though I started out writing for Westerners, many Indian Hindus have also
appreciated what I do and have expressed how they have gathered much from my
own learning, research, realizations, and experiences about which I have
written. This enthuses me to continue the work I do to help preserve, protect,
and promote the Vedic knowledge and its traditions. Its timeless wisdom
and spiritual knowledge still serves an important purpose.
However, as things stand today, we may think that the battle of Kuruksetra
was just a story in the Mahabharata, a scene for the Bhagavad-gita in
which Lord Krishna told Arjuna that it was foolish for him to want to go off to
the forest to meditate when his duty was to stand and fight. But fight for
what? To fight for Sanatana-dharma and our freedom to pursue the spiritual
Dharmic path. Thus, we should all follow in the footsteps of Arjuna in
this way, under the direction of Lord Krishna to do our parts to take a stand
to help protect Vedic culture. In this way, I have worked with a wide
number of organizations, both within India and outside, and numerous individuals
who have similar ideas for doing this.
It is not our time to be timid about standing up for our rights to follow
the Dharma. It is not time to be afraid to come together and work to
preserve our culture from those forces, whether they be different religions,
non-Hindu politicians, Marxists, or secularists who still wish to destroy it or
see its demise. We should be on the forefront to work with each other to
maintain our spiritual traditions. We should be on the forefront to create a
spiritual revolution in India through the promotion of Vedic spiritual
knowledge, and allowing all other interested people to participate in it
without restriction. If we can do this, we could change India in 18 days, which
was the same length of time as the Battle of Kuruksetra. Vedic culture is,
as I call it, the last bastion of deep spiritual truth. We must all do our
part to preserve and protect it, and make sure that India remains the
homeland of a dynamic and thriving Vedic tradition.
Why am I so enthused and determined about this? It is because my life has
been so much blessed because of it. I cannot imagine what my life would
have been without it. I love this Vedic culture. I love India. I love
Sanatana-dharma, and I think everyone should take a serious look at it.
Bharata Mata ki jaya! Jai Hind! Sanatana-dharma ki jaya! Hari Om, and Jai
Sri Krishna!
Other reasons why a person should seriously take a look at Vedic culture
can be found in my E-book "_Why Be a Hindu: The Advantages of the Vedic
Path_ (file:///C:/stephenKnappcom/why_be_a_hindu.htm) ," on my website at:
_www.stephen-knapp.com_ (http://www.stephen-knapp.com/) .

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

ON CONVERTING A SIKH

[prohindu] about conversion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
y treasurer Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Reply-To: prohindu-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: y and u treasurer
Each Friday night after work, Bubbal Singh would fire up his outdoor
grill and cook a tandoori chicken and some lamb meat kababs.
But, all of Bubbal's neighbors were strict Catholics and since it was
Lent, they were forbidden from eating chicken and meat on a Friday.

The delicious aroma from the grilled meats was causing such a problem
for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their Priest.
The Priest came to visit Bubbal, and suggested that he become a Catholic.
After several classes and much study, Bubbal attended Mass. And as the
priest sprinkled holy water over him, he said, "You were born a Sikh,
and raised a Sikh, but now, you are a Catholic."

Bubbal's neighbors were greatly relieved, until Friday night arrived,
and again the wonderful aroma of tandoori chicken and meat kababs filled the
neighborhood.
The Priest was called immediately by the neighbors, and, as he rushed
into Bubbal's backyard, clutching a rosary and prepared to scold him,
he stopped and watched in amazement.

There stood Bubbal, clutching a small bottle of holy water which he
carefully sprinkled over the grilling chicken and meats and chanted:

"Oye, you waz born a chicken, and you waz born a lamb, you waz raised
a chicken, and you waz raised a lamb but now yara, you are a potato
and you are a tomato"!!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

FUTURE OF INDIA

Raviji,

Namaskar and Jai Hind. India prospered and we are where we are today because of the Hindu nation at the time and the domination of Hindu religion and culture; but now we are dominated by Islamis and Christians, who have no scruples whatsoever, whose very basis is dishonesty, lying, murdering and having their way by hook or crook whereas Hindu religion preached and Hindus practised honesty, integrity, non-violence and what not. So where India will be in another decade or fifty years with the Islamis and Christians having taken over India, is anyone's guess how far we will go, if not forward, we can be going backward!!

And by the way what Abdul Kalam Azad did to make India the strongest nation on earth, as you say, what about all the Hindus and Sikhs who made so many sacrifices to save the nation and bring it prosperity. And none of the Islamis or Xians made any effort to get India free. It has been the character of the Hindus as prepared by the Hindu religion that we see all those brains and progress. And why these Muslims and Parsees could not achieve the same in other nations? They succeeded in India only because of the Indians and of their their character and will having been moulded by the Hindu religion.

Your reply would be appreciated.

I only hope God always has a hand in whatever happens to a person or a nation and so ultimately it is upto him what Hindu Bhagwan Krishna has in his plans for India.

Jai Ramjiki, Jai Shri Radhakrishnjiki, Jai Veer Hanuman !

SHER SINGH AGRAWAL


- Hide quoted text -
On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 6:31 AM, RAVI GUPTA wrote:

Dear All:

On this Independence Day we should express our gratitude to Gandhi and Nehru who had the grand vision of creating an independent secular India. Look at what has happened to the non-secular countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Iran among many failed Islamic states. We would have joined the ranks of these countries if we had chosen to be a Hindu nation.

Look at all the developed nations. They are all secular. They have been able to make all kinds of progress because of their secular constitutions.

India has survived 10,000 years of history because of its secular roots. We have welcomed people of all kinds of religions and ethnicities. The Jews, Christians, Parsis and Muslims are an integral part of our society.

How can we forget that it was a Christian (David Hume) who in 1886 created Indian National Congress to free India from the British; it was a Parsi (Jamshetji Tata) who laid the foundations of modern industry in India in late 19th century; it was a Muslim (Abdul Kalam Azad) who made us one of the most powerful nations on earth today; and finally it was a Sikh (Manmohan Singh, India's present prime Minister) who saved India from a national bankruptcy only 15 years ago? Where would India be today without them? Do we want to alienate creative minorities by declaring India to be a Hindu state? THINK!

Indians are adaptable and progressive people. The 21st century belongs to Indians. By listening to a few religious crackpots we cannot allow India to go back to the stone ages.

Let's be grateful to our forefathers who laid down their lives so that we and our children and grandchildren could enjoy our lives today and tomorrow.

Jai Ho! (Another Minority contribution!)

Ravi Gupta