canadian hindu link - hindu education link – hindu ...€¦ · a unique hindu - african temple 15...
TRANSCRIPT
I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E
From Editor’s Desk 2
Durga Puja 3
Meaning of Rituals 4
Reasons to Celebrate
Diwali
5
Hindu View of God,
Individual & World
6
Legends of Bhai Dooj 7
Deepavali - South In-
dian Style
8
Geeta Jayanti 9
Youth Corner 13
Dussehra - It’s Signifi-
cance
14
A Unique Hindu -
African Temple
15
Is Vedanta Really
Practical
16
Mother Supereme Kali 18
Significance of Tulsidas
Jayanti
19
Raja Ram Mohan Roy 20
Perspective on Idol
Worship
21
Q & A on
Hinduism
22
Volume 2 Issue 4
Canadian
Hindu link A Free Quarterly Journal Dedicated to educating the New Generation of Canadian Hindus
DIWALI SPECIAL
ISSN # 1920-9339 Oct./ Nov./ Dec. 2010
This Issue is Sponsored By:
Mr. Ashwani Goel [Ace Financial Group] Mr. Amit Shah[Floradale Medical Pharmacy]
Mrs. Seema Makhija[Accounting Services] Dr. Naresh Sharma[Family Dentist]
Mr. Prabhat Kapur[Heartlake Florist & Gifts] Mr. Ashwani Sharma[B. R. Auto Sales]
Mr. Dave Bhatia[Improbus Realty Corp.] Mr. Anil Sharma[Akal Financial Group]
Mr. Indar Singh[Optimum Closing Centre Inc.] Mr. Harpaul Rishi[Sajawat & Puja Hut]
Ms. Ann M. Sehdeo[Canada Mortgage Experts]
Mr. Vishva & Mrs. Kamlesh Sharma[Vishal's Gas & Fuel Ltd.]
Mr. Vinod Sharma[Avenue Optical] Mr. Pramod Anand[Market & Financial Analyst]
Mr. Rakesh M. Joshi[Joshi Law Office]
P A G E 2
From the Editor’s Desk
Restoring Peace in GTA Temples Democracy is the best system of
governance until a better system is
found. This is what wise people say,
but it does not apply to the manage-
ment of many temples in the GTA.
We go to temples to find a few mo-
ments of peace, and to remain con-
nected with our Dharma. It has now
become common knowledge that
most of our temples, if not all, are
plagued with conflict, unrest and
tension arising from power struggles
between two or more small groups or
caused by certain individuals with
over-inflated egos and desires for
fame and power; they want to stay in
power forever. In some temples, the
conflict is out in the open, while in
others it is simmering and festering
under the surface. Thank God, there
have been no incidents of violence so
far though police have been called
many times to restore peace. Some
temples have spent thousands of dol-
lars we donate, on litigation.
Like many concerned Hindus, I
find this trend personally very painful
and disturbing. I have been tempted
many times to write about this issue,
but I was restrained by some of my
friends and by those who have been
performing Nishkam Sewa at temples
either as part of the management or
as an ordinary volunteer. They tell
me that this matter should remain as
an internal community affair. If ex-
posed, it could tarnish our image as a
peace loving community. Now, any-
one can read all about it in the media.
It is no longer a hidden secret.
We discuss this matter in private
parties, but no one offers a solution to
maintain peace in our temples. We
have half a dozen federations claim-
ing to represent Hindus of Canada.
What they do for the community
seems to be a well-hidden secret. No
Hindu leader has taken any initiative
to do something to resolve and pla-
cate conflicts and ugly confrontations
related to temple management, and
establish the much-needed peace in
our temples. We make two sugges-
tions that may help restore peace in
GTA temples,
Arbitration and mediation
Board
One solution that is worth trying
is to establish a permanent voluntary
mediation and arbitration board in
Ontario that can volunteer its services
to parties involved in any conflict in
temples, as a substitute to costly liti-
gation. The board should develop a
panel of mediators and arbitrators
with a variety of expertise- lawyers,
judges, corporate executives, char-
tered accountants, senior priests, pro-
fessional social workers or counsel-
ors and individuals with substantial
experience in temple management,
provided they have not held any man-
agement position in any temple at
least for five years. Our community
has plenty of people with such exper-
tise. The members of this board can
receive training in mediation and
arbitration by attending a short
course offered by many professional
organizations in Ontario. The parties
in the conflict can approach the
board, and select a committee of
three or five individuals from this
panel to mediate or arbitrate. Both
parties should be required to sign an
agreement that they will refrain from
discussing this matter in public or
media, and they will accept the deci-
sion or the solution offered by the
committee. The details of the referral
procedure can be developed by the
Board once established.
Is there any Hindu federation or
leader in Ontario who would step
forward and take the initiative to
work on this solution or come up
with an alternative? This will be a
yeoman service to the Hindu commu-
nity. It will also add to their credibil-
ity and enhance their prestige and
public image.
Presidential system of gov-
ernance
The second solution is to do
away with the parliamentary system
involving annual elections of office
bearers, as frequent elections seem to
be the root cause of discord among
leaders. It is commonly observed that
the defeated candidates form an in-
formal opposition group and indulge
in all kinds of undesirable tactics-
smearing campaign of wild and un-
substantiated accusations and even
sabotage against those in power.
Therefore, it is worth trying the US
style Presidential form of govern-
ance. Perhaps, Hindu temples may
consider this idea seriously. Under
this system, the general membership
could elect an all-powerful President
for a period of five years or more,
allowing the elected President to
choose his or her own Executive or
cabinet. The general membership
would have the power to impeach the
President, if he or she violates the
constitution. This system may bring
peace in temples at least for five
years or more
These two proposals are not new
ideas, but they have never tried to
solve our community problems re-
lated to the management of NGOs or
temples. If these suggestions are not
workable, let us hope and pray that a
messiah will emerge to perform a
miracle and restore peace in our tem-
ples.
I also earnestly appeal to our
readers to send their comments and
suggestions on this issue, by letter or
email. We will publish them in the
Feedback Section of our next issue
Ajit Adhopia, Editor
Tel. 905-273-9563
Email: [email protected]
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
Significance of Durga Puja
The Durga Puja is perhaps the
most important festival on the Bengali
religious calendar. It celebrates the
victory of the goddess Durga over the
buffalo demon Mahisa. It comes as a climax of the Navaratri (nine nights)
festivities, which are observed in one
form or another throughout India.
Who is this Durga? When did the
stories about her become part of
Hindu culture? It is generally be-
lieved by scholars that the concept of
a ferocious Mother Goddess existed in
the pre-Aryan Indus Civilization. In
the Mahabharata, there are references to Durga. However, here she is de-
scribed as a goddess worshipped by
savage tribes. She is pictured as riding
a lion or tiger, and indulging in blood,
meat, and wine.
It was during the period of the
puranas that this goddess was re-
garded as a manifestation of Shakti,
and especially through the influence
of the Markandeya Purana. In one section of this Purana there is a
lengthy poem proclaiming the powers
of Shakti. It is here that the currently
popular Durga legends first appear.
Durga literally means,
‗inaccessible‘, ‗unapproachable‘ or
‗fortress‘. It was once the name of a
vicious giant who had acquired enor-
mous powers through penance. He,
too, like Hiranyakasipu, brought havoc in the world, preventing Brah-
mins from reading the Vedas. The
pious and righteous, the saints and
sages, the gods and the godliness, all
appealed to Siva to intervene. Siva
entrusted the task to his consort Par-
vati. Parvati in turn sent a formidable
female by the name of Kalaratri (dark
night) to order the giant to calm down
so that peace and spiritual rule may be
restored in the world. Durga answered by sending his army of ferocious gi-
ants to capture Kalaratri. Kalaratri
summarily destroyed them en masse.
The infuriated Durga now dispatched
several thousand more giants, innu-
merable chariots, elephants and horses
to vanquish Kalaratri. This vast array
of power frightened even the envoy of
Parvati, who therefore fled to her mis-
tress,
At this point Parvati felt that enough was enough. She transformed
herself into a ferocious power with a
thousand arms. Followed by terrible
looking beings she now faced Durga
with burning rage. A gory fight en-
sued during which she stepped merci-
lessly over Durga, pierced his heart
with her trident, provoking mighty
streams of blood and she flung him
into the air. She struck him further
when he fell to the ground until even-tually the mighty giant breathed his
last. As a result of this stupendous
victory, the Gods gave Parvati the
name of Durga. Therefore, it is this
victory that is celebrated in the Durga
Puja.
After she had destroyed the giant,
a process that involved an enormous
output of emotion
and energy, Shakti got into a state of
uncontrollable rap-
ture. She now
danced and jumped
with joy, shaking
meadows and the
mountains, the rivers
and oceans. Even
Siva could not put an
end to this wild and
turbulent state of Parvati and so as she
waved and wandered
wildly. Siva lay down
on her random path,
Durga, still in her
intoxicated joy,
stepped over the
Lords chest and this
brought her to a
stunned halt. In utter
shock and surprise, she opened her mouth
and let her tongue
hang out. This pos-
ture of Shakti is
known as the Kali
state
The idea sug-
gested by the Durga episode is simply
this- evil forces come into play not
infrequently in this mortal and imper-
fect world of ours. Good and dedi-
cated people often exert their utmost to hinder the foul play, and once in a
while, they may succeed. However,
occasionally the forces of harm and
destruction acquire enormous powers,
and all the efforts of the good and the
righteous seem to be in vain. When
this continues for long, the wrath of
the spirit of history is turned loose
with frightening ferocity until the hor-
rors of the wicked are routed out once
for all. In this process, the innocent and the helpless may also suffer. Hu-
man history has provided ample in-
stances of such sequences of events
Source : Indher Journal, Volume II
issue 6 [page 247-249] republished
here with the consent of the pub-
lisher.
P A G E 4
light. They pray: lead me from illu-
sion to reality; lead me from darkness
to light; lead me from death to im-
mortality. This prayer is a reminder
to us, repeated year after year, of our
real nature- pure, immaculate, free
wrapped in golden hue, immortal:
You are a child of Divinity,
Your roots go deep to Eternity,
Your reach is unto Infinity!
Ritual is the beginning of the
search performed in the state of pu-
rity, piety and honesty of gratitude.
When on the battlefield of Kuruk-
shetra, Yudhistar touches the feet of
Bhishma Pitamaha and the Pitamaha
blesses him, Drayodhana protests,
and Pitamaha tries to enlighten him
by saying, ―Droyodhana! Know that
even if your enemy touches your feet,
your hand, unconsciously, moves and
caresses him on the head with bless-
ings.‖ Therefore, ritual is a natural
instinct, and the response of Divinity
is spontaneous. Only we have forgot-
ten this fact of life, as we are forget-
ting the little ceremonial Deeya in the
dazzle of electric flare.
Every Act of ritual is sacred,
from folding of hands in Namaste in
silence to touching the ground on
Mother Earth; it should be respected
and understood in the spirit. When
you fold your hands, bring close to
your heart and bow your head in
obeisance, the meaning is, ―With all
the strength in my hands, with all the
love in my heart, with all the knowl-
edge in my head, I bow to thee‖
The language of silence is deep,
unfathomable, unmistakable and
mysterious, because all thought and
languages arise from silence and re-
turns into silence, and silence can be
the highest ritual.
Man, by nature is loving, re-
spectful and worshipful, depending
on the stage of development, being
otherwise is unnatural. All our acts,
Ritual at the beginning of an ac-
tion is indicative of surrender and
worship in response to the vision of
Divinity for the sake of self-
fulfillment. In course of time, it be-
comes a sacred exercise in pursuit of
the same vision. Ultimately, the per-
former, performance and the Deity
merge and become one in a state of
being.
Ideally speaking, ritual is the
beginning, from the outside though,
of Yoga of the highest order: self-
integration of the particle, re-
integration of the part with the whole,
and reunion of the finite with the
infinite. It is the first step in piety in
the state of purity, on a long road of
self-realization and even beyond self-
transcendence, which is a state be-
yond the human imagination.
Let us think in simple practical
terms. On Diwali, we light the Dee-
jays (lamps) in worship of goddess
Lakshmi. What sort is Lakshmi?
Goddess of wealth. Therefore, we
celebrate Dhan-teras, before Diwali
evening on Amavasya, and buy metal
wealth, from brass utensils to Gold.
That act of purchase is a symbol of
the advent of Lakshmi. The lighting
of lamps is a simple celebration for
most people, but for some enlight-
ened souls, it is the descent of light
more and ever more.
This ritual, and any ritual, can be
an end in itself; celebration, merry-
making, sheer fun ending in the ex-
citing to the point of self-
forgetfulness. In addition, it can be
the means to an end of the highest
order imaginable. Watch the news
immediately after Diwali, ―so many
people died of self-poisoning by spu-
rious drinks.‖ That was not the kind
of celebration in the honour of return
of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after his
victory over the forces of darkness,
but it happens. For the others of right
understanding, Diwali lights symbol-
ize another stage n their search for
manners and behavior, whether they
are personal, familial, social or reli-
gious, are to be meticulous. That is
the ideal. Therefore, our secular acts,
when performed well, are also de-
scribed and valued as ritualistic.
Therefore, it is important that our
rituals should also be faultlessly me-
ticulous. Any act of prayer, worship
in temple, gurudwara, church,
mosque or anywhere should be sim-
ple, honest and meaningful without
violating the spirit and philosophy of
its tradition. A violation of sincerity
and honesty is a desecration, which
brings its own retribution. Sacred is
sacred. Even a secular act should be
treated as sacred because performed
in the spirit of sanctity, it brings the
best results.
Sometimes, blind imitation of
rituals goes against tradition and phi-
losophy. For example, blowing out
the candles, all except one, violates
the Hindu tradition and the Hindu
concept of time. Hindu concept of
time is cyclical, not lineal. The past
does not die out, it lives on. Even
death is not termination absolute. We
live on; our time and age live on. The
candles must go on, no black out
please! Rethink.
HAPPY DIWALI
TO OUR READERS,
VOLUNTEERS AND
SPONSORS.
Read all our previous issues
at our website :
canadianhindulink.com
Ajit Adhopia, Editor
905-273-9563
Meaning and Significance of Rituals By : Dr. Tulasi Ram Sharma (Hamilton, Ontario)
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
Why do we celebrate Di-
wali? It‘s not just the festive mood in
the air that makes you happy, or just
that it's a good time to enjoy before
the advent of winter. There are 10
mythical and historical reasons why
Diwali is a great time to celebrate.
And there are good reasons not just
for Hindus but also for all others to
celebrate this great Festival of
Lights.
1.Goddess Lakshmi’s
Birthday: The Goddess of wealth,
Lakshmi incarnated on the new
moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kar-
tik month during the churning of the
ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the
association of Diwali with Lakshmi.
2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On
this very day (Diwali day), Lord
Vishnu in his fifth incarnation as
Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi
from the prison of King Bali and this
is another reason of worshipping Ma
Larkshmi on Diwali.
3. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On
the day preceding Diwali, Lord
Krishna killed the demon king Nara-
kaasur and rescued 16,000 women
from his captivity. The celebration of
this freedom went on for two days
including the Diwali day as a victory
festival.
4. The Return of the Pandavas:
According to the great epic
‗Mahabharata‘, it was ‗Kartik
Amavashya‘ when the Pandavas ap-
peared from their 12 years of banish-
ment as a result of their defeat in the
hands of the Kauravas at the game of
dice (gambling). The subjects who
loved the Pandavas celebrated the
day by lighting the earthen lamps.
5. The Victory of Rama: According
to the epic ‗Ramayana‘, it was the
new moon day of Kartik when Lord
Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman re-
turned to Ayodhya after vanquishing
Ravana and conquering Lanka. The
citizens of Ayodhya decorated the
entire city with the earthen lamps
and illuminated it like never before.
6. Coronation of Vikramaditya:
One of the greatest Hindu Kings
Vikramaditya was coroneted on the
Diwali day, hence Diwali became a
historical event as well.
7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj:
It was the new moon day of Kartik
(Diwali day) when Maharshi
Dayananda, one of the greatest re-
formers of Hinduism and the founder
of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.
8. Special Day for the Jains: Ma-
havir Tirthankar, considered to be
the founder of modern Jainism also
attained his nirvana on Diwali day.
9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The
third Sikh Guru Amar Das institu-
tionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter
Day when all Sikhs would gather to
receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577,
the foundation stone of the Golden
Temple at Amritsar was laid on Di-
wali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru
Hargobind, who was held by the
Ten Reasons to Celebrate Diwali By : Gyan Rajhans
Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was re-
leased from the Gwalior fort along
with 52 kings.
10. The Pope’s Diwali Speech: In
1999, Pope John Paul II performed a
special Eucharist in an Indian church
where the altar was decorated with
Diwali lamps, the Pope had a ‗tilak‘
marked on his forehead and his
speech was bristled with references
to the festival of light.
P A G E 6
―Hindu religious thought is
based upon the belief in the Ultimate
Reality (Brahman of the Upani-
shads), faith in the reality of the spirit
(ãtman), and faith in the spiritual
order of the world. Through their
spiritual experiences, the ancient
rishis (sages) discovered that there
are different ways to approach the
same goal, catering to different peo-
ple exhibiting different levels of
spiritual development. Enormous
diversity is thus an essential feature
of the religious life of Hindus.
Hindu View of God
Hindu view of the Ultimate Real-
ity is expressed in the following reve-
lation of the Rig Veda, the oldest
Hindu scripture:
"Ekam sat vipraha, bahudha
vadanti." "Truth is one, the wise call
It by various names."
This doctrine recognizes that the
Ultimate Reality possesses infinite
potential, power and intelligence, and
therefore cannot be limited by a sin-
gle name or form. Thus, Hindus view
the Ultimate Reality as having two
aspects: impersonal and personal.
The impersonal aspect of the Ulti-
mate Reality is called Nirguna Brah-
man in Hindu scriptures. Nirguna
Brahman has no attributes and, as
such, is not an object of prayer, but of
meditation and knowledge. This as-
pect of the Ultimate Reality is be-
yond conception, beyond reasoning
and beyond thought.
The personal aspect of the Ulti-
mate Reality is known as Saguna
Brahman, that is Brahman with at-
tributes. Saguna Brahman is the crea-
tor, sustainer and controller of the
universe. Saguna Brahman cannot be
limited by one form and is therefore
worshipped by Hindus in both male
and female forms. As the male as-
pect, Saguna Brahman is called by
various Sanskrit names, such as Ish-
vara, Parameshvara, Paramãtma,
Maheshvara, and Purusha. These
Sanskrit names represent more or less
the same concept as the word God in
other religions.
As the female aspect, Hindus
refer to Saguna Brahman by various
names, such as Divine Mother, Durgã
and Kãlî. Hindus further worship the
male and female aspects of Saguna
Brahman in many forms, called dei-
ties.
Hindu View of the Individual
Hindu scriptures teach that an
individual is essentially ãtman
clothed in a physical body. The San-
skrit word ãtman, meaning "God
within," is usually translated as soul,
self, or spirit. If the physical body of
an individual were compared to a
computer, the ãtman would represent
the electricity that operates the com-
puter. Thus, without ãtman, the hu-
man body is insentient. In a human
body ãtman is the source of the mind,
intellect and ego sense.
Hindu scriptures declare that
ãtman is immortal and divine. In
Hindu view, therefore, an individual
is potentially divine and eternally
perfect. There are two states of exis-
tence associated with ãtman: the
bound state and the liberated state. In
the bound state, ãtman is associated
with a physical body. As a result of
this association, ãtman is subject to
mãyã, which causes it to forget its
true divine nature and commit evil
deeds in the world. The powers of
mãyã are two-fold. As cosmic igno-
rance, mãyã deludes the ãtman into
forgetting its own true nature.
As creative energy (shakti) of
Brahman, mãyã is the material cause
of the universe. In the liberated state,
ãtman is said to have attained moksha
(spiritual perfection) and conse-
quently enjoys union with God. Mok-
sha simply means freedom of the
individual from ignorance, i.e. reali-
zation of one's own true divine na-
ture, or union with God.
Although there are various view-
points, the predominant Hindu view
is that the same ãtman dwells in all
beings. Thus, all human beings have
a common source and are intercon-
nected in a subtle way. The reason
humans are different from each other
(or at least think they are different) is
that the manifestation of ãtman in a
physical body depends upon the type
and construction of the physical
body. Just as the same electricity
manifests as cold in a refrigerator and
heat in an oven, the same ãtman
manifests as a saint in one human
body and a sinner in another human
body, owing to the past karma. Thus
a sinner of today is a potential saint
of tomorrow.
In Hindu view, an individual is
not born a sinner, but commits sin
due to mãyã. Just as darkness quickly
disappears upon the appearance of
light, an individual's delusion van-
ishes when he gains self-knowledge.
Self-effort and guru's (spiritual pre-
ceptor) grace is all that is needed to
dispel one's ignorance and attain self-
knowledge.
Hindu View of the World
The Sanskrit word for creation is
srishtî, which means "projecting
gross phenomenon from subtle sub-
stance." In Hindu view, creation
originates from the Ultimate Reality,
Brahman. When a potter makes a pot
from clay, he makes the process hap-
pen and is the efficient cause. The
wheel he uses to spin and mold the
pot is the instrumental cause, and the
clay is the material cause. Unlike
Jewish, Christian and other Western
theologies, the predominant Hindu
view is that Brahman is the efficient
cause, the instrumental cause, as well
as the material cause of the universe.
Thus Brahman is the whole universe,
animate and inanimate. With this
thought in mind, Hindus worship
God as abiding in all created things
Hindu View of God, Individual & World
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
and beings.
Brahman manifests as conscious-
ness (ãtman) and nature (matter) in
the phenomenal world. This manifes-
tation is made possible by mãyã, the
inherent creative energy of Brahman.
Hindu scriptures reveal that the mani-
festation of Brahman as the things
and beings of the world is a divine
sport (lîlã). In this eternal sport Brah-
man manifests in diverse forms in the
phenomenal world (creation), stays in
that mode for a time (sustenance),
and reverts back to the original state
(dissolution). This process of crea-
tion, sustenance and dissolution is
repetitive and occurs in cycles with-
out beginning (anãdi) and without
end (ananta). Thus, in Hindu view
there is no absolute beginning or end
to the universe. Whenever the words
"beginning" and "end" appear in
Hindu scriptures, they simply mean
the beginning and end of a particular
cycle of creation.
In the beginning of creation, con-
sciousness is wrapped up in matter.
Through the process of evolution,
consciousness evolves from lower
forms to higher forms of life until it
becomes aware of itself in a human
body. From that stage onwards, it
struggles to free itself from physical
limitations (through spiritual disci-
pline) and attain union with Brah-
man, the original source of con-
sciousness.
In Hindu view, individuals go
through the repeated cycles of birth
and death, while time goes through
the repeated cycles of creation, suste-
nance, and dissolution. Thus, the
Hindu notion of time is cyclic and
both time and individuals are viewed
as non-unique entities. The Western
notion of time is unidirectional and in
the Western system both individuals
and time are viewed as unique enti-
ties.
Practical Significance
The Hindu view of God allows
one to exercise complete freedom in
worship. A Hindu may worship any
deity as he chooses based upon his
own mental constitution. He knows
that different modes of worship are
just different roads to the same desti-
nation of union with God. He has no
quarrel with other religions as he
considers them as different rivers
flowing to ultimately merge in the
same ocean. As such, he has no urge
to forcibly convert other people to his
own faith.
The belief in the existence of the
all-pervasive Divinity in the universe
creates an attitude of acceptance,
reverence, benevolence and compas-
sion for all things and beings in the
mind of a Hindu. He does not see any
intrinsic evil in Nature. He sees the
ground, the sky, the trees, the hills
and mountains, and the rivers all sa-
cred.
The Hindu concepts of the indi-
vidual and the world eliminate the
fear of God or eternal hell from one's
mind. A Hindu considers life a divine
pilgrimage from "unreal to real, dark-
ness to light, and death to immortal-
ity." Being on this road of pilgrim-
age, a Hindu has no intention to hurt
anyone. He is thoroughly convinced
that whatever he does in this life will
come back to him in the next life.
Thus he must do good and be good
now, as he will have to come back
again and again in this world until all
scores are settled.‖
This article was gleaned from the
website : www.hinduwebsite.com
and edited by Ajit Adhopia.
Yami, who puts the auspicious mark
on his forehead and prays for his well
being. Therefore, it is believed that
anyone who receives a tilak from his
sister on this day would never be
hurled into hell.
According to one legend, on this
day, Lord Krishna, after slaying the
Narakasura demon, goes to his sister
Subhadra who welcomes him with
the lamp, flowers and sweets, and
puts the holy protective spot on her
brother's forehead.
Yet another story behind the
origin of Bhai Dooj says that when
Mahavir, the founder of Jainism, at-
Nowhere is the bond of brotherly
-sisterly love glorified with such
grandeur as in India. Hindus cele-
brate this special relationship twice
every year, with the festivals of Rak-
sha Bandhan and Bhai Dooj.
What, When & How
After the high voltage celebra-
tions of Diwali, the festival of lights
and fire-crackers, sisters all over In-
dia get ready for 'Bhai Dooj'. This
involves sisters symbolizing their
love by putting an auspicious tilak or
a vermilion mark on the forehead of
their brothers. Sisters perform an
aarti of their brothers by showing
them the light of the holy flame as a
testament of their love and protection
from evil forces. Sisters are lavished
with gifts, goodies and blessings
from their brothers. Bhai Dooj comes
every year on the fifth and last day of
Diwali, which falls on the night of
the new moon. The name 'Dooj'
means the second day after the new
moon, the day of the festival, and
'Bhai' means brother.
Myths & Legends
Bhai Dooj is also called 'Yama
Dwiteeya' as it is believed that on this
day, Yamaraj, the Lord of Death and
the Custodian of hell, visits his sister
Legends of Bhai Dooj festival
Continues on page 8…….
P A G E 8
perhaps the greater the appreciation
and adulation for the lady of the
household. Well, some of these prac-
tices are not in vogue any more, more
due to the changes that have come
about in the living style and infeasi-
bility of such practices.
The evening before the
Deepavali Day is noteworthy for the
elaborate feast the family members
share. As mentioned earlier, one of
the unique features of the South In-
dian practice is the expectation that
the entire family wake up quite early
in the morning during
‗Brahmamuhurtham‘ (the most auspi-
cious time) before sunrise, to start the
festivities. It is not unusual to find
some getting up as early as 4 a.m. to
start off the day‘s activities with zest.
The first task after the morning
chores is to apply warm sesame oil
seasoned with cumin seeds, ginger
and turmeric powder on one‘s head
and fire the first round of crackers.
The younger members of the family
take charge of firing crackers, an
activity they eagerly look forward to
in the days leading up to the
Deeoavali. After the opening round
of the same, the family members
troop in to take their turns. The fam-
ily members take oil bath, wear new
clothes, which are kept before the
family deities for divine blessings,
It would be no exaggeration to
describe Diwali, known as Deepavali
in South India, as the Queen of all
Hindu festivals, which are numerous
in number. Deepavali, celebrated to
remember the triumph of good over
evil as demonstrated by Lord Krishna
by his annihilation of the demon king
Narahasura, is celebrated with equal
intensity of spirit and fervor both in
North and South India. However, as
in the case with other festivals, prac-
tices and rituals performed on the
occasion differ, though not substan-
tially. The purpose of this essay is to
give a bird‘s eye view on the manner
in which Deepavali is celebrated in
South India.
The title Deepavali, or DEEPA
OLI, means illumination spreading
from the lamp. Deepam literally
translated means Lamp and Oli
means illumination. The jubilant
spirit with which the festival is cele-
brated is infectious and creates an
atmosphere of oneness and solidarity
among kith, kin, and among one‘s
own friends and acquaintances. It is
not inaccurate to state that Deepavali
is seen as more of a social occasion
and less of a religious one, though the
occasion itself celebrates divine acts
of the Almighty.
The five important features of
celebrating Deepavali could be stated
in terms of the following: Rising up
early in the morning before sunrise,
wearing new attire purchased espe-
cially for the occasion, firing of
crackers, seeking the blessings of
elders by reaching out to them , shar-
ing of sweets with friends and rela-
tives and of course, remembering the
Almighty with special prayers. In all
of this, the lady of the house has an
especially lead role to play in orga-
nizing things, though from behind the
scenes.
The one activity in which her
expertise and active role comes to the
fore is in drawing what is called KO-
LAM, a form of artistic drawing done
with rice flour in front of the house
for the passersby to see, admire and
comment. This is done by connecting
various dots to bring out various
shapes and images. The more the
number of dots, the better it is and
Deepavali - South Indian Style By : Shankar Swaminathan (Mississauga)
tained nirvana, his brother King
Nandivardhan was distressed because
he missed him and was comforted by
his sister Sudarshana. Since then,
women have been revered during
Bhai Dooj.
Bhai Phota
In Bengal, this event is called
'Bhai Phota', which is performed by
the sister who religiously fasts until
she applies a 'phota' or mark with
sandalwood paste on her brother's
forehead, offers him sweets and gifts
and prays for his long and healthy
life. Every brother eagerly waits for
this occasion that reinforces the bond
between brothers and sisters and their
affectionate relationship. It is an op-
portunity for a good feast at the sis-
ter's place, coupled with an enthusias-
tic exchange of gifts, and merriment
amid the resounding of conch shells
in every Bengali household.
Underlying Significance
Like all other Hindu festivals,
Bhai Dooj too has a lot to do with
family ties and social attachments. It
serves as a good time, especially for a
married girl, to get together with her
own family, and share the post-
Diwali glee. Nowadays, sisters who
are unable to meet their brothers send
their tika - the spot of protection - in
an envelope by post. Virtual tilaks
and Bhai Dooj e-cards have made it
even easier for brothers and sisters,
who are far away from each other,
specially remember their siblings on
this propitious occasion.
Source of This article:
www.boloji.org/legends of bhai-
dooj.html
(Continued from page 7)
P A G E 9 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
and participate in the family prayers
together. Typically, these prayers are
performed by the head of the family,
usually the father of the household.
Here mention must be made of
what has come to be known as
‗Deepavali Lehiyam‘ in Tamil par-
lance, which is a home-made medi-
cine of sorts, with ingredients such as
dry ginger, black pepper, jaggery,
cumin seeds, etc., which aid the di-
gestive process. This medicine is
somewhat sweet tasting and is ad-
ministered to all the family members
by the mother after the prayer. The
medicine has utility value as the
number of sweets and other eats that
one ingests on the day is almost lim-
itless given that during visits to dif-
ferent homes, goodwill is best dem-
onstrated by accepting what is of-
fered to consume . It is considered
rude to refuse what is offered by the
host, though the hosts themselves are
sensible enough to understand the
limits to which the guests could be
pushed.
One of the praiseworthy features
of the Hindu cultural heritage is the
respect, reverence, esteem the family
elder is held in, and the exalted posi-
tion he or she is conferred with in
terms of status and moral authority.
Thus, it is natural that seeking the
blessings of such elder is of utmost
importance on all days but more par-
ticularly on occasions such as
Deepavali day. This is perhaps one of
the clear illustrations of the Hindu
belief that accumulated wisdom is
derived not exclusively from the
bookish knowledge alone but from
the life long experiences that an indi-
vidual has undergone in his lifetime
and the amount of learning and wis-
dom that he has acquired to his credit
from such experiences, considered
invaluable.
The morning visits culminate
with a visit to the nearby temple
where prayers are offered to the
Lord. While the obligatory rituals do
not extend beyond the morning
hours, the spirit of Deepavali lingers
on for the entire day. The whole fam-
ily takes stock of the situation at the
end of the day of the bruises and
burns incurred by the youngsters, of
the affectionate banter among the
siblings while dividing the crackers,
and of the rivalry in firing the crack-
ers. Thus, the celebrations that all
looked forward to with great expecta-
tions for months, come to a close
with the participants having to accept
the reality with reluctance.
Relevance of Geeta Jayanti By : V. N. Gopalakrishanan (Mumbai, India)
The Bhagavad Gita (Song Ce-
lestial) is one of the greatest and
most beautiful of the Hindu scrip-
tures. It is said to be the most popular
religious, philosophic poem of its
kind existing in any known tongue.
This Sanskrit text conveys the sub-
lime teachings on religion, philoso-
phy, ethics, and the art and science of
correct and efficient living. Bhaga-
vad Gita gives a synopsis of the reli-
gious thought and experience of In-
dia through the ages and describes
the ultimate reality as a personal
God, identified with Lord Krishna.
Gita Jayanti marks the birth of
this Holy Book and is to commemo-
rate the day when Lord Krishna, an
earthly incarnation of Lord Vishnu
rendered his philosophical teachings
to Prince Arjuna on the first day of
the 18-day battle of Kurukshetra
between the Pandavas and the Kau-
ravas. The two armies stand oppos-
ing each other, and on seeing many
of his friends and relatives among
those lined up on the other side, Ar-
juna hesitates to engage in a just but
cruel war. However, he is recalled to
his sense of duty as a warrior by
Lord Krishna. The epic battle of the
Mahabharata took place in Kuruk-
shetra in Uttar Pradesh and Sage
Manu is said to have written the
Manusmriti here. According to the
Hindu calendar, Gita Jayanti falls on
the Ekadashi day of Shukla Paksha
(November-December).
The Bhagavad Gita consists of
700 Sanskrit verses divided into 18
chapters. Bhishma Parva (Chapters
25 to 42) of the Mahabharata consti-
tutes this immortal dialogue. All the
18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gita are
designated, each as a type of Yoga
and all the 18 Yogas contained in it
may be reduced to four - the Karma
Yoga, the Raja Yoga, the Bhakti
Yoga and the Jnana Yoga. Yoga in
the Bhagavad Gita is not merely
thought control as in the technical
Yoga-shastra, but the whole of spiri-
tual life, which aims at union with
the Supreme. Since Lord Krishna
handles all the four Yogas with equal
importance, he is called Yogeswara.
The popularity of the Bhagavad Gita
is evident from the many commen-
taries, glossaries and expository
works written on it. The earliest
commentary on Bhagavad Gita is by
Shankaracharya followed by Bhaska-
racharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhva-
charya, Nilakanthacharya, Sridhara-
chaya, and Madhusudanacharya. In
modern times, commentaries were
written by Bal Gangadhara Tilak, Sri
Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi, Vi-
noba Bhave, and Dr. S. Radhakrish-
nan.
The Bhagavad Gita has been
translated into many languages. It
was first translated into English in
1785 by Sir Charles Wilkins and
published by the East India Com-
pany, with an introduction by War-
ren Hastings, the then Governor
General of India. It was well re-
ceived in Europe and translated into
the French, German and Russian
languages. A.W. Schlegeal published
the Latin version in 1823, and called
the Bhagavad Gita “the most beauti-
ful, and perhaps the only truly phi-
Continues on page 12…….
P A G E 1 0
Vishal’s Gas & Fuel Ltd.
Vishva Nath & Kamlesh
Sharma
Of St. Catherine’s, Ontario Wish you a
Happy Diwali
and invite you to visit
Shiv Mandir
5284 Second Avenue
Niagara Falls
For directions & details
Call
905-356-7575 or 905-646-1166
Indar R. Singh, B.A.
Cell: 647-294-5295
[email protected] Ann M. Singh, Sr Legal Asst
Cell: 647-501-5294
Your One Stop Real Estate Closing Centre 40 years experience in residential/commercial
Real Estate
Sale Trans: $600 + GST
Purchase Trans: $799 + GST
With several lawyer affiliations we can handle
both sides of a transaction.
Wills/POAs, Contracts, Corporate
Survivorship Applications
Family Law Matters
Flexible hours to accommodate clients
2985 Drew Road, Suite 220
Mississauga, ON L4T 0A1
Tel: 416-900-7846/5495 Fax: 416-981-7228 www.optclosingcentre.com
ServiSingh Your Real Estate Needs
Ann M. Sahadeo, AMP
Lic Mortgage Agent Lic. #M08009738
Tel: 416-900-7846/5495 Cell: 647-501-5294
Fax: 416-981-7228 [email protected] ServiSingh Your Mortgage Needs
We work for you, not the lender
Over 40 lenders to choose from
Best rate available today (credit based)
Purchasing or Refinancing we can assist.
Up to 95% financing* (based on credit)
Residential/Commercial
2nd mortgages
Private mortgages
Equity lines of credit
Slow Credit We work with many of the big banks such as Scotia,
TD, etc. but we are not limited to just them. *90% refinance as of April 1, 2010
P A G E 1 1 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
164, Sandalwood Parkway East,
Unit # 235, Brampton
Ph. : 1-800-567-0639
905-846-7142
P A G E 1 2
losophical poem that the whole
range of literature known to us has
produced”. The Bhagavad Gita in
Sanskrit, Kannada and English along
with Schlegeal‘s Latin version and
Humboldt‘s Essay on the Philosophy
of Gita, was published in 1847 by
John Garrett. J. Cockburn Thomson
translated Bhagavad Gita into Eng-
lish in 1885. Dean Milman says, ―It
reads like a noble fragment of Empe-
docles or Lucretius, introduced into
the midst of a Homeric epic. Some of
the Western scholars who studied
deeply the Bhagavad Gita include
Albert Einstein, Dr. Albert
Schweizer, Aldous Huxley, Carl
Jung and Henry David Thoreau.
A clear and exhaustive exposi-
tion of Sat-Chit-Anand (Existence-
Knowledge-Bliss) is the theme of
Bhagavad Gita and it expounds the
philosophy of Karma and Dharma.
Although the words Karma and
Dharma have been used with 30 dif-
ferent meanings in Bhagwad Gita,
nowhere does the word ‗Dharma‘
meaning ‗religion‘ comes up. The
word ‗Hindu‘ also does not occur
anywhere in Bhagavad Gita. In its
three disciplines, the Bhagavad Gita
gives a typology of the three domi-
nant trends: dharma-based Brahman-
ism, enlightenment-based asceticism
and devotion-based theism. For those
who must lead a normal life in this
world, the Bhagavad Gita gave a
moral code and a prospect for final
liberation. It has been addressing
contemporary issues and solving day
-to-day problems of humanity.
The Bhagavad Gita can be ex-
perienced as a powerful catalyst for
transformation. It has become a se-
cret driving force behind the unfold-
ing of one's life and will contribute
to self-reflection, finer feeling and
deepen one's inner process. It has all
the management tactics to achieve
the mental equilibrium and to over-
come any crisis. The method of sal-
vation taught in the Bhagavad Gita is
that a man should
live a life of actions
without focusing on
results, which should
be dedicated to God.
The Bhagavad
Gita reveals the ex-
perience of everyone
in this world, the
ascent of man from a
state of utter dejec-
tion, sorrow and
total breakdown and
hopelessness to a
state of perfect un-
derstanding, re-
newed strength and
triumph. The Bhaga-
vad Gita serves as an
essential guide to
better living and it
prompts an individ-
ual to think, to take
fair and right deci-
sion without surren-
dering one's identity.
Lord Krishna has
shown the way and
has said repeatedly,
"Use your intellect and decide‖.
The Bhagavad Gita is the es-
sence of the Vedas and Upanishads
and it is profound in thought and
sublime in heights of vision. If the
hold, which a work has on the mind
of man, is any clue to its importance,
then evidently the Bhagavad Gita is
the most influential work in Indian
thought.
Here‘s what some of the greats
have to say in praise of this vener-
able scripture.
"When I read the Bhagavad Gita
and reflect about how God created
this universe everything else seems
so superfluous." ~ Albert Einstein
"When doubts haunt me, when dis-
appointments stare me in the face,
and I see not one ray of hope on the
horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita
and find a verse to comfort me; and
I immediately begin to smile in the
midst of overwhelming sorrow.
Those who meditate on the Gita will
derive fresh joy and new meanings
from it every day."
Mahatma Gandhi
"The Bhagavad Gita is a true scrip-
ture of the human race a living
creation rather than a book, with a
new message for every age and a
new meaning for every civilization."
~ Rishi Aurobindo
Editor’s note: This article is a
short, edited version of the original
one submitted by Mr. V. N.
Gopalakrishnan. He is a social ac-
tivist, and the Director, Indo-Gulf
Consulting, based in Mumbai, In-
dia.
(Continued from page 9)
Email : [email protected]
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4 P A G E 1 3
The World’s Dream By : Sarina Sharma (Age 13), Edited By : Falitaa Chhabra
As I get older, I‘m beginning to
see that the world‘s religions are split
into two. On the one hand we have
the ―Abrahamic‖ religions, namely
Judaism, Islam and Christianity,
which are all based on a Holy Scrip-
ture. On the other hand we have the
―Dharmic‖ or ―Vedic‖ traditions,
which are not based off one particular
book or scripture, but instead are
based on reflections of various sages
and wise people at different times in
our history.
The Vedic traditions say that
while there is only one truth, there
are many paths to it. There‘s no right
way or wrong way, if it gives you
spiritual enlightenment. Hinduism
and Buddhism in particular are two
of the most tolerant religions in the
world. That‘s what I like about Hin-
duism. I don‘t have to follow every-
thing as literally as possible. Even if I
forget to do Hanuman puja for one
Tuesday, it doesn‘t make me a non
believer. Even if I disagree with
something, it doesn‘t make me a non
believer.
Another thing I like about being
a Hindu is that I can accept other
faiths as being different paths to the
same truth. Hinduism even says,
―One truth many paths‖ and ―The
world is one big family‖. Hindus are
so accepting and tolerant that nearly
14% of India‘s population is Muslims
and is the only country that is a true
face of democracy. In fact, India is
the only country in the world that
subsidizes the airfare for Muslims
going to the Hajj. Hindus living out-
side of India have also successfully
made a place for themselves in for-
eign countries by respecting people
of all faiths and cultures and living in
harmony with everyone.
I‘m glad to be a Hindu. I‘m glad
to be able to say my mind about my
religion and not be shunned. I‘m
proud to be able to have friends with
many different faiths and not be dis-
liked. I‘m honored to be part of a
religion that‘s willing to move for-
ward, that‘s so modern, yet so ancient
at the same time. People have fought
and continue to fight wars for their
religion, thinking they‘ll please God
and go to heaven by either killing or
converting everyone who doesn‘t
believe in their religion. But I believe
they only anger God further. I believe
God will only be happy when human-
ity can join hands with one another
and live in harmony, and when relig-
ion is glue that holds us together in-
stead of a blade tearing us apart.
That‘s the Hindu dream. That is the
world‘s dream.
Sarina is a grade 9 student in Mis-
sissauga, Ontario.
Education Guides Inner Meaning By : Jiv Parasram
"Well, first of all, Hindus have a
pantheon of gods." These words have
been lectured to me all too often by
teachers. During class, I would often
attempt to gain enough time to ex-
plain the concepts of Hinduism. It
was usually glazed over by over-
worked and underpaid instructors
trying to compact the world's spiri-
tual history into a neat package palat-
able to the western intellectual diet.
Perhaps living as a Hindu in Canada
is a challenging reality. However, I
know no other.
I was born in Ottawa, a Canadian
citizen. Soon I was living in Dart-
mouth, N.S., — I was the personifi-
cation of "minority". Dartmouth is a
beautiful town, with beautiful
weather, beautiful parks and a quaint
collection of world religion books in
its libraries.
I would have to search through
the mythology section (located close
to the religion section) to find in
oversized picture books (after several
chapters of Ancient Greek and Egyp-
tian myths), finally the Hinduism
chapter! This was a major part of my
initial religious education.
There was no denying that I was
different from other children in my
area. The pigment was a dead give-
away. What was probably a minority
complex would act as a catalyst in
my need for knowledge about Hindu-
ism.
Religious discoveries made
My parents and brothers were all
born in Trinidad. I am a Canadian,
and the teasing joke was to constantly
remind me of this difference. So, I
decided that if I was to fit in with my
family culturally, I had to find a com-
mon link. An ancient link. It would
be much easier than fitting in at
Continues on page 14…….
P A G E 1 4
Dussehra is one of the most
popular, splendid and fascinating
Hindu festivals of India. The10-day
festival takes place in the month of
Asvin. The festival is celebrated from
September 23-28. Dussehra is cele-
brated to commemorate the victory of
Lord Rama, prince of Ayodhya and
an incarnation of Vishnu, over Ra-
vana, the ruler of Lanka who had
abducted Rama‘s wife, Sita Devi and
held her captive in his realm. The ten
days represent the ten heads of Ra-
vana, and each day is used by the
Hindus to get rid of lust and jealousy.
The tenth day is known as
Vijayadashami, the day of victory.
According to the Ramayana,
Lord Rama performed Chandi Puja in
order to invoke the blessings of the
goddess Durga for killing of Ravana.
Durgadevi is believed to have di-
vulged the secret to Lord Rama on
how he could slay Ravana.
Durga Puja is part of the Dusse-
hra festival and is more popular in
West Bengal. Goddess Durga is be-
lieved to have possessed great delu-
sive powers and is regarded as the
creator and destroyer of the universe.
Paying homage to ‗Shakti‘, the cos-
mic power is the purpose of the festi-
val and hence its puja has a universal
appeal. The ten-armed Goddess
Durga presents a radiantly beautiful
form simultaneously benign and
transmits profound spiritual teach-
ings. The nine different forms of god-
dess Durga are worshipped over the
nine days. They are: Durga Shailapu-
tri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta,
Kushmanda, Skanda Mata,
Katyayani, Kalratri, Maha Gauri and
Siddhidatri.
Durgotsav in Mysore celebrates
Dussehra - It’s Significance By : V. N. Gopalakrishanan (Mumbai, India)
much potential and so much hope in
the embracement — not mere toler-
ance — of diversity. The patronizing
tone of the past will someday die
with the unnecessary dogma of way-
ward lecturers of religion, and rein-
carnate itself into a release of accep-
tance — not of god's way, but of our
own. What is more divine than hu-
man harmony?
Had I grown up in Trinidad, my
views on my religion would more
than likely be identical to that of my
cousins back in McBean village. Not
wrong, but not my own.
Canada is part of who I am, is
me. Had I not grown up here, in
crowded isolation I would not have
found my own path and possibly dis-
carded the religion as archaic dogma
without ever truly examining it.
"Well, first of all Hindus have a
pantheon of Gods." Whatever makes
you happy.
Jiv Parasram is a third-year
student at the University of To-
ronto working towards a double
major in international relations
and drama.
to be taboo. Spirituality is in, dogma
is out. Unfortunately, yoga is also
trendy and, with it, a very basic
vaguely linked reference to Hindu-
ism.
To avoid that, I have a further
need to become informed on my
found heritage. For me, the only way
I could look at the religion was from
a relatively objective standpoint as
philosophy.
This is the way I believe I can
truly live as a religious Hindu. Like
most Hindus, I believe there are
many paths to God. As to how I de-
fine "God" is another matter alto-
gether. Perhaps I'm a product of the
information age. But when I can
watch the Robert Dziekanski Taser
incident at Vancouver's airport on
YouTube, I can't believe that there is
a physical god who chooses to not
intervene.
I've come to interpret the teach-
ings of Hinduism as a certain laissez-
faire energy held within every living
thing in the universe. To explain this
to the followers of Dawkins is not
always the easiest, not to mention
those of other faiths.
Yet in my generation, I see so
school.
There, we would sing Christmas
carols every year and I would try to
figure out what exactly Diwali, the
Hindu festival of light, meant. The
truth was that I was no different than
anyone to whom I might now explain
my take on Hinduism. My knowledge
was based on encyclopaedias and
what I could learn from my parents,
who never talked much on the topic.
I couldn't read Hindi, nor can I
now, so my reading was very limited.
There was nowhere that I felt I be-
longed that might teach me about the
religion, therefore I decided it best to
learn myself. After some time, my
father noticed my interest in the relig-
ion and went to great lengths to en-
sure that I had the resources available
to read. My whole family was very
supportive.
And I certainly read the Rama-
yana, the Upanishads, the Rig Veda,
the Mahabharata — I soaked up as
much ancient philosophy as I could.
And that's when it began to make
sense.
Spirituality trumps dogma
In Canadian youth, religion tends
(Continued from page 13)
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4 P A G E 1 5
Mariamma temples followed by a
procession of 10 mantapas from 10
temples on the night of
Vijayadashami. At night, effigies of
Ravana, Kumbhakarna and
Meghanad are set afire.
It is on the Durgashtami day, the
warriors perform their puja by sur-
rendering their weapons before the
goddess Durga. The students surren-
der their books and the artists their
tools or instruments before the deity.
It is an effort to see divinity in the
tools and objects one uses in daily
life. Basically, it includes all tools
that help to earn one‘s livelihood.
The legend underlying the cele-
bration of Dussehra, vary vastly by
region. However, all festivities focus
on the victory of the forces of good
over evil. It is considered to be an
auspicious day to begin new things in
life. It is believed that any new ven-
ture commencing during this time
such is bound to succeed.
The author is a social activist and
Director of Indo-Gulf Consulting,
Mumbai. He can be contacted on
Vijayadashami day.
`
Vijayadashami is known as
‗Dashain‘ in Nepali and is celebrated
in Nepal on the tenth day of Ashwa-
yuja or Asvin month and is the grand
culmination of the annual festival of
Dussehra.
There is another little-known
legend associated with Mahabharata.
According to legends, the Pandavas
underwent a period of exile for 14
years of dwelling in the forest fol-
lowed by a year of exile incognito.
The Pandavas found it necessary to
lay aside the divine and distinctive
weapons that they possessed. They
secreted them in a ‗Shami‘ tree in the
vicinity of their chosen residence. At
the end of the year, they returned to
the spot and found their weapons in
tact. They worshipped both the
Shami tree and the Goddess Durga,
the presiding deity of strength and
victory. Even today, people exchange
Shami leaves and wish each other
victory in their own ventures and
efforts.
Madikeri Dasara in the South has
a history of over 100 years and is
celebrated in a different style. Dasara
starts off with Kargas from four
the destruction of the demon king
Mahishasura in order to restore peace
in the world. Mysore is said to have
derived its name from Mahishasura
who once lived there and was van-
quished in the battle by the goddess
Chamundeshwari. On Vijaydashami
day, the idol of Chamundeshwari is
taken in a grand procession through
the city of Mysore, from the histori-
cal Mysore Palace to the Banni Man-
tapa. Banni is the Kannada equivalent
for the Sanskrit word Shami and
Mantapa means Pavilion. In Karna-
taka, Ayudh Puja on the ninth day of
Dussehra is celebrated with the wor-
ship of implements used in daily life.
In Gujarat, the people celebrate
another aspect of the worship of the
goddess Durga. The most visible sign
is the all-women dance called
‗Garbha‘. In North India, Dussehra is
celebrated as ‗ Ramleela‘, the drama-
tization of the Ramayana. The burn-
ing of the effigies of Ravana,
Meghanad and Kumbhakarna on the
Vijayadashami day brings the festivi-
ties to a colourful close.
In olden days, Kerala patronized
Dussehra but now young children are
initiated into the world of learning
(Vidyarambh) on the auspicious
Continues on page 16…….
Hindu Temple in Accra (Ghana)
The air is filled with the sweet
smell of incense burning in a corner
of the huge hall. Wrapped in shiny
bright clothes, idols of Hindu gods
and goddesses smile benevolently
from the elevated platform.Sitting on
the white marble floor a group of
more than 50 men, women and chil-
dren sing devotional Hindi songs.
Nothing extraordinary about this
scene, except that the temple is in
Ghana and the devotees are all in-
digenous Africans. The tall cone-
shaped temple emerges out of the
crowded neighbourhood of Orkordi
on the outskirts of the capital Accra.
It can be easily identified - the holy
Sanskrit word 'Om' shines on its top.
The devotees here have no
links with India and have never vis-
ited the country. Still they strictly
follow religious rules and observe
rituals in traditional Hindu way. They
say they have all converted to Hindu-
ism but many still use their Christian
names and African surnames. How-
ever, they give their young ones
Hindu names like Rama or Krishna.
Once inside the temple, you for-
get that you are a continent away
from India. Diyas or little lamps are
lit in obeisance to the gods. Surpris-
ingly, there is even a picture of Jesus
Christ amid the idols of Hindu dei-
ties. Come evening and the devotees
A Unique African - Hindu Temple in Ghana By : Rajesh Joshi (BBC Hindi)
P A G E 1 6
gather in the temple hall for evening
prayer rituals. Holy offerings to the
gods are distributed after prayers.
Swami Ghanananda Saras-
wati, the man who established
Ghana's first African Hindu Monas-
tery in 1975, oversees the prayers
sitting in a high chair. Dressed in a
flowing saffron kurta and a wrap-
around, he addresses the people on
the public address system and ex-
plains the finer points of the Hindu
faith and philosophy.
He was born in a village nearby
into a native Ghanaian faith, but his
parents converted to Christianity.
"From a very early age I would think
about the mysteries of the universe
and try to find the answers in reli-
gious texts. But I failed," Swami
Ghanananda says. Then he read some
books on Hindu faith and embarked
upon a new journey which took him
to Rishikesh in north India. He spent
some time there with a spiritual guru
who suggested him to open the mon-
astery in Accra.
Ask Swami Ghanananda his
original name and the reply comes
promptly: "My real name is Guide!"
It's not been easy for him to keep the
faith. He says initially he faced some
opposition from a section of the local
people, but then the number of visi-
tors started growing. "We don't ask
anyone to convert to Hinduism.
Those who seek the truth enquire
about the Hindu monastery. We write
articles in newspapers before we ob-
serve big Hindu festivals like Nava-
ratri or Dipawali," says DG Otchere,
manager of the temple. He says that
when a devotee died recently, a local
TV channel covered his cremation
because burning a body on pyre was
unusual in Ghana.
There is even one Muslim among
the devotees. Jamer Baroudy says he
was born into the Islamic faith but his
mother introduced him to Hinduism
when he was eight years old. I am
aware that Islam prohibits idol wor-
shipping but then God does not make
any distinction. I visit this temple
because I find solace here."
Today there are more than 2,000
indigenous African Hindus in Ghana
who come to the temple quite regu-
larly. The total number of Hindus,
including those from India, is much
larger. Hindu religion was first intro-
duced in Ghana by Sindhi settlers
who migrated to Africa after India
was divided in 1947. There is still a
Sindhi temple in Accra.
Note this article was forwarded to us
by Mrs. Aruna Duggal, our Volun-
teer Copy Editor
(Continued from page 15)
Vedanta: Upanishads, Personal-
ity Development, Spirituality. Ve-
danta has come to be known in many
ways. Etymologically, Vedanta is a
Sanskrit word derived from veda
(knowledge) + anta (end) or the ‗ end
of knowledge ‘. Philosophically,
what is the ‗end of knowledge‘? Self
knowledge - a science which is the
consummation of all other sciences.
When we listen to, reflect on and live
Self Knowledge, a despondent per-
sonality is transformed into a Divine
personality. Knowing this, the best
way to explain Vedanta would be, the
Science of Life. Knowing this, the
best way to live is to understand Ve-
danta.
As an Acharya of Chinmaya
Mission, people and Centers often
approach me to speak on ‗Practical
Vedanta‘, ‗Spirituality in Day to Day
Life‘, Gita in Daily Living‘, etc. And
every time I receive such a request I
smile inwardly. Smile because there
is no other science as comprehensive
or transformational as Vedanta! Ve-
danta elevates our vision. With our
thoughts raised our actions match
suit. The final outcome of this chain
reaction: more peace for ourselves.
Actually there is one more link in this
chain reaction. And that is peace is
contagious; our inward peace spreads
outwards to all around us. The next
time people or Centers ask for practi-
cal Vedanta I am going to ask them
to teach me what is not practical
about Vedanta!
Nonetheless, with the incessant
pull of the finite world upon us, we
have been deceived to believe that
matters of the world are simple and
matters of the spirit are complex. To
save us from such deceit, we often
need tips on how to apply Vedanta
here and now. Fascinatingly, as these
tips are shared, all those listening or
reading come to appreciate the fal-
lacy of their request for practical Ve-
danta. They too come to smile in-
wardly acknowledging that Vedanta
= practical and practical = Vedanta.
Enough of the temptation, what
are these tips?! Well the first tip to
becoming more spiritual today is to
become more aware of the utility of
spirituality. Quite often our ego pre-
vents us from acknowledging the joy
we derive from engaging in puja or
Hypothesis - Is Vedanta Really Practical? By : Acharya Vivek
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4 P A G E 1 7
to the fruits of our actions 4) we
should not be attached to inaction.
With this knowledge on how to act
effectively, we will be dedicating
ourselves to the divine present mo-
ment. Through a simple change in
attitude, actions which bind us would
serve to liberate us. Even from a
worldly perspective, if we can dis-
cover happiness in the action itself
then we have the control to bring
happiness into our lives here and
now. Those who do not practice
karma yoga are forever depending on
chances of happiness at some other
place and time. Slowly and steadily
we have to make right thinking our
lighthouse for guidance on the un-
known spiritual path.
In our search for practical Ve-
danta we have discovered three se-
crets on how to be more spiritual.
These secrets are: 1) recognizing the
utility of Vedanta 2) making Vedanta
more approachable 3) creating time
for Vedanta.
Often at the end of a prakarana
grantha the author shares with the
readers, ‗If you are unable to follow
any of the instructions given, surren-
der to the Guru and God and all vir-
tues will accrue to you‘ (i.e. Manah
Shodanam, Upadesha Sara, etc.).
Following the same style, if anyone
finds any of the tips shared out of
reach, if one simply engages in sat-
sanga and seva one will inculcate all
the greatness that comes with the
daily practice of Vedanta. Through
satsanga we learn we are all One.
Through seva we put this learning
into action. Satsanga gives us knowl-
edge, seva gives us wisdom. The
more we immerse ourselves in these
sadhanas the more we will appreciate
the benefits, intimacy and timeliness
of spirituality. As I mentioned at the
beginning there is no science more
comprehensive or transformational
than Vedanta.
[Acharya Vivek is the Resident
Acharya at the Chinmaya Mission
Niagara. For more information,
please visit the Chinmaya Mission
website, www.chinmayamission.org]
we study a shloka of Gita every
morning and every evening, within a
year we would have studied this most
popular Vedantic Scripture. The
same goes for sadhanas. We are ex-
posed to mauna, puja, vrata, etc. If
we are able to take up just one disci-
pline sincerely, we are set. Especially
if this discipline is japa. Japa can be
practiced anytime, all the time. This
means while we are eating, driving,
exercising, etc. In Bhagavatam Lord
Krishna says, that by chanting a Di-
vine name we can be taken beyond
sorrow. With the right attitude we
will comprehend that spirituality is
not far from us but in front of us.
The last tip on how to become
more spiritual today is to make time
for spirituality. Each and every week
we have 168 hours. What are we do-
ing with these 168 hours? If we took
the time (no sarcasm intended) to
analyze our schedules we would dis-
cover inefficiencies. Whether these
inefficiencies are sleeping too much,
eating too much, socializing too
much or even working too much, this
is a compromise on time we should
be dedicating to our inner world
rather than the outer. Think about
how much time we invest on our-
selves (i.e. beautifying the body) in
comparison to how much time we
invest in ourselves (i.e. beautifying
the mind). Even more shocking is
how much importance we give to
appointments with strangers in com-
parison to the appointment with our
timeless Self. Our relationship with
our Self is even more intimate than
our relationship with God.
If we still find reason not to ‗go‘
to spirituality, then we have to
‗bring‘ spirituality to us. And this fits
in perfectly with the famous quote,
‗A spiritual person does not do differ-
ent things, rather does the same
things differently.‘ Instead of engag-
ing in karma let us practice karma
yoga. Everyday before we begin any
activity, whether it be cooking, oper-
ating or studying let us reflect and
remember the basic tenets of karma
yoga: 1) we do not control the fruits
of our actions 2) we do control our
actions 3) we should not be attached
reading Gita or listening to Upani-
shads or just being quiet. Our ego
tells us we do not need spirituality;
that spirituality is for the dejected and
aged; that there is no joy in spiritual-
ity.
If we could temporarily detach
from the ego and accept that spiritu-
ality is the means to the Spirit and
that the Spirit is Unconditional Joy,
we would slowly replace finite joy
with Infinite Joy. A method to detach
from the ego is to attach to the Spirit.
Every morning before we go to work
or school and every evening before
we sleep or study, we should read a
spiritual text for 15 minutes. This
sravanam should be followed up with
a 15 minute walk sans a cell phone,
head phone or people phone, to en-
courage mananam. This simple prac-
tice will fill us with inspiration each
morning and evening allowing us to
embrace the challenges of our work
and family affairs. Everyday we fill
our cars with fuel, our stomachs with
food. So why is it that we do not
regularly fill our minds with inspira-
tion? We should!
The second tip to becoming
spiritual today is to make spirituality
more approachable. There are endless
acharyas, granthas and sadhanas
available to all of us. Add moksha to
the equation and we are utterly over-
whelmed. In this state we end up
simply discarding the spiritual path
as not available for us. But if we
choose one acharya, one grantha and
one sadhana, we will understand that
the only roadblock on the spiritual
path was ourselves. With all the spiri-
tual teachers available to us, we have
to follow the one which brings us the
most long term solace. We should be
open to, accepting of all the other
teachers, but what our Guru says
goes. In the same way we should be
open to, accepting of all scriptures
but resort to a shastra which offers us
the most intimate guidance.
Many people tell me they are
unable to study Gita. And I agree
with them today. But not tomorrow.
If we aspire to study the whole Gita
today we will be unsuccessful. But if
P A G E 1 8
Besides the Indian sub-continent
and all adjacent nations from the East
Indies to Central Asia, Tibet and Ja-
pan, worship of Divine Mother Su-
preme has been in vogue for thou-
sands of years. It is known that:
* Mother worship was prevalent
in ancient Greece, Rome, Japan and
China...
* In the ruins of the Egyptian
civilization images of Mother God-
dess were found, including that of
Mahishasura-Mardinee – the slayer
of the demon Mahishashura.
* Many ancient temples of
Mother Goddesses of the Latin
American countries were converted
to the temple of Mary, as Christianity
made headway in later periods.
* In the ruins of Mohenjo Daro,
Harappa and all other sites in far
away locations of the sub-continent
of India, the image of mother God-
dess is seemingly as numerous as of
Lord Shiva. These civilizations be-
longed to diverse peoples of space
and time - over thousands of years of
immigration, settlement, emigration,
invasion, destruction and exodus.
* Mother worship is amply evi-
dent in the Vedas, Raamaayana, Ma-
haa-Bhaarata, all Mahaa-Puraanas
and Upa-Puraanas. The repertoire is
immense, diverse and even comple-
mentary on occasions.
Indeed, over a period of 11 thou-
sand years, evidences from the re-
gions of the Vindhya mountains in
India prove that worship of God as a
Mother Divine, the process has been
an unbroken continuum. Devadatta
Kali – an Occidental devotee of
Mother Kaalee - writes in his In
Praise of the Goddess (2003, Devi-
mahatmya, pronounced as Devee-
Maahaatmya, page 3):
―In the winter of 1980, a
team of Indian, American and Aus-
tralian archeologists and anthropolo-
gists uncovered what may be the old-
est evidence of religious practice on
the Indian subcontinent. Dating as
far back as 9000 BCE, the site is in
the Son valley, below the nearby
Vindhya mountains – a region that
will play an important part in the
story of the DeviMahatmya. There,
the researchers excavated what ap-
pears to be a circular shrine, meas-
uring about three feet across and
made of sandstone blocks. In the cen-
ter lay another sandstone block,
measuring about 12 by 6 by 4 inches.
Its weathered surface reveals harder
layers that stand out in relief to form
a natural pattern of concentric trian-
gles. Tribal villagers assisting in the
excavation immediately recognized
the stone as a sacred emblem of
Shakti, the Goddess. Such stones,
they confirmed, are still sought out
today and installed in the local vil-
lages, in both individual and commu-
nal shrines. According to the arche-
ologists, this dramatic evidence of
cultural continuity indicates that the
veneration of Shakti in the mountains
of north central India stretches back
at least 10,000 years.” Formatted:
Indent: Before: 0.25"Formatted: Bul-
lets and NumberingFormatted: In-
dent: Before: 0.25"
The tradition of worshipping a
clay image of Mother Divine - at a
season, or at different seasons of a
year, and delivering it to Ganga to
melt away – appears by all signs, to
be even older stone cultures, for its
creativity, simplicity and liveliness.
In the last Chapter 13 of Shree Shree
Chandee, a prime sourcebook of
mother worship, we find a deposed
emperor, Suratha and a discredited
and abandoned merchant, Samaadhi,
who daily worshiped Mother Divine
in clay images for three years, until
Mother of the universe appeared be-
fore them for offering benediction.
She granted: that king Suratha to be
born in his next life as the son of
Manu: that Swambhuva to regain his
sovereignty, ; and that Samaadhi to
receive Moksha, or deliverance from
the cycles of birth and death.
It is recognized that worship
Mother Supreme in an image in a
stone sculpture is but one of the innu-
merable ways where each image is a
symbol of God. Indeed, each created
stuff is a symbol of God. Though we
each worship Divinity or God, or
Divine Mother Supreme. Thus, the
creation of an image of Godhead Su-
preme in the form of a Deity allows
for the greatest devotion, care, con-
centration and meditation.
* Indeed, Mother Supreme is
primordial: for human worship.
My gratitude to Mr. Prabhat
Raha for linking me with this journal.
Mother Supereme Kali A Historical Perspective
By : Samprasad Majumdar (Hamilton, Ontario)
Wanted
We invite volunteers to
write letter-to-editor in re-
sponse to the articles of
this journal, opinion, col-
umns or essays on social,
cultural or religious issues,
and for other tasks.
Contact: Ajit Adhopia
Ph. : 905-273-9563
Canadian Hindu Link is
online now. Please visit our
Website to get latest up-
dates and to read our previ-
ous issues online
Website :
canadianhindulink.com
P A G E 1 9
Tulsidas Jayanti is a popular
festival held all over India on the
seventh day of Shukla Paksha Shra-
van. The festival is being celebrated
on July 23 this year in honor of Tulsi-
das, a great poet-saint who wrote
Ramacharitamanas (Sacred Lake of
the Acts of Rama). It is popularly
known as Tulsi Ramayana and is the
greatest achievement of medieval
Hindi literature. It expresses the reli-
gious sentiments of Bhakti to Lord
Rama. His poems give expressions
both to monistic Advaita doctrine as
well as to the polytheistic mythology
of Hinduism. His eclectic approach to
doctrinal questions meant that he was
able to rally wide support for the
worship of Lord Rama.
Sage Valmiki narrated the story
of Lord Rama in the Ramayana and
after him many poets have retold it.
However, Tulsi Ramayana is one of
the most venerated Ramayanas. He is
regarded as an incarnation of Sage
Valmiki. In Bhavishyottar Purana
(Pratisarga Parva, 4.20), Lord Shiva
tells Parvati how Valmiki got a boon
from Hanuman to sing the glories of
Lord Rama in the vernacular lan-
guage in Kali Yuga. Nabhadas, au-
thor of Bhaktamala, describes Tulsi-
das as an incarnation of Sage Valmiki
born again to explain Ramayana in
the vernacular language. Tulsidas
used Awadhi (a dialect of Hindi),
Bhojpuri and Brijbhasa in his works.
Like many translations of the original
Sanskrit Ramayana, Ramacharitama-
nas is read with reverence in many
Hindu homes and is also called Tulsi-
Kirtan-Ramayan.
Though Ramcharitmanas is the
immortal creation of Tulsidas, his
other works are also considered as
important. Tulsidas wrote overall 22
different works out of which five are
longer and six works shorter includ-
ing Dohavali, Kavitavali, Gitavali,
Krishnavali and Vinaya Patrika.
Most of them deal with his devotion
to Lord Rama. Tulsidas' most read
work, apart from the Ramayana is the
Hanuman Chalisa, a poem praising
Hanuman.
The literary legacy of Tulsidas
has been highlighted by Acharya
Ram Chandra Shukla in his critical
work Hindi Sahitya Ka Itihaas. The
entire collection of compositions by
Tulsidas has been translated into
English by Binda Prasad Khattri
(1898-1985) but the work is yet to be
published. All the known facts of
Tulsidas' life are critically discussed
in the introduction to Ramayana pub-
lished by the Nagri Pracharni Sabha.
F.S. Growse has translated the work
in English in 1891. Hill, Grandsay,
Atkins and Allwyn also have ren-
dered English translations. Edwin
Greaves has written Notes on the
Grammar of the Ramayan of Tulsidas
in 1895. Alexander Barranikov, a
Soviet Academician translated the
work in Russian. Dr (Mrs.) Shalont
Vodvil, a French scholar has written
a book titled ―The Basis of Tulsidas’
Ramcharitmanas: A Critical Literary
Study.” Dr Camille Bulcke, a Belgian
by birth wrote a book on the epic in
Hindi titled Utpatti Aur Vikas. Gan-
dhiji has referred to
'Ramacharitamanas' as the greatest
book ever written.
Tulsidas was well-versed in
Vedic lore, philosophy and mythol-
ogy. There is a belief that by virtue of
his devotion, Tulsidas could meet
Anjaneya, the renowned devotee of
Lord Rama during a recitation of the
Ramayana. It is believed that An-
janeya helped Tulsidas to see with his
own eyes Lord Rama and Lakshman.
According to another legend, Tulsi-
das was thrown into a jail as he re-
fused to perform a miracle for Em-
peror Akhbar but an army of mon-
keys attacked the jail and set him
free!
Tulsidas was a personification of
humility and he professed himself the
humble follower of his teacher, Nara-
hari Dasa, from whom as a boy, he
first heard the tale of Lord Rama's
exploits that would form the subject
of his masterpiece. Tulsidas pointed
out that there is no inconsistency
between devotion to Lord Rama and
Lord Shiva. While worshipping Lord
Rama as supreme in his writings, he
also paid attention to Lord Krishna
and Lord Siva. According to Tulsi-
das, the name Rama is bigger than
Lord Rama himself because ‗Rama‘
is a mantra, a sound, the repetition of
which can lead one to higher state of
consciousness.
Tulsidas was born in 1532 in
Rajpur in Uttar Pradesh to Hulsi Devi
and Atmaram Shukla Dubey and the
child was named Rama Bhola. As
per the legends, his mother died the
day after his birth and that Rama
Bhola was wet-nursed until the age of
five when he was given over to Nara-
hari Dasa, a wandering sadhu. He re-
named him as Tulsi Dasa (Servant of
the Tulsi plant) and from him, Tulsi-
das learnt the story of Lord Rama.
When he grew up, he lived as a
householder and married Ratnavali,
daughter of Dinabandhu Pathaka He
had a son named Taraka, who died at
an early age. In later years, Tulsidas
became the head of a monastery in
Kashi and passed away in 1623.
Tulsidas is considered a world
poet as he brought a subject to the
common people in their own lan-
guage. He brought the spiritual mes-
sage that helped establish rapport
among the various devotional streams
and practices.
(The author is a freelance Jour-
nalist and Director, Indo-Gulf Con-
sulting. He can be contacted on
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
Significance of Tulsidas jayanti By : V. N. Gopalakrishnan (Mumbai, India)
P A G E 2 0
Most people remember Raja Ram
Mohan Roy as the man who fought to
abolish Sati (the practice of a wife
immolating herself on her husband's
funeral pyre) and founded the-
Brahmo Samaj. However, his contri-
bution was a great deal more than
that.
Roy was born in Radhanagar
village in Bengal's Hooghly district
on May 22, 1772, to conservative
Bengali Brahmin parents. Not much
has been chronicled about his early
life but what is known is that he had
an eclectic education that sowed the
seeds for his founding a universal
religion, the Brahmo Samaj.
Roy did his elementary edu-
cation in the village school in Ben-
gali, his mother tongue. At the age of
12, Roy went to a seat of Muslim
studies in Patna where he mastered
Persian and Arabic. His knowledge
of Arabic enabled him to read the
Koran in the original, as well as the
works of Sufi saints. He also de-
voured Arabic translations of the
works of Aristotle and Plato.
When he was 16, Roy clashed
with his orthodox father on the issue
of idol worship and left home. To
acquaint himself with the Buddhist
religion, he travelled across northern
India and Tibet for the next three
years. His questioning mind objected
to the deification of the Buddha and
this did not go down well with some
of the lamas. He then visited Vara-
nasi where he learnt Sanskrit and
studied ancient Hindu scriptures.
In 1803, he secured a job with
the East India Company, and in 1809,
he was posted to Rangpur. From the
Marwaris of Rangpur, he learnt about
Jainism and studied the Jain texts.
Roy was drawn to certain aspects of
Christianity that led some of the fol-
lowers of the religion to suggest that
he convert; but he politely declined.
Roy's understanding of the dif-
ferent religions of the world helped
him to compare them with Vedantic
philosophy and glean the best from
each religion. Sufi mysticism had a
great influence on Roy. He loved to
repeat three of their maxims: "Man is
the slave of benefits"; "The enjoy-
ment of the worlds rests on these two
points - kindness to friends and civil-
ity to enemies"; and "The way of
serving God is to do good to man".
To pursue his interests, Roy
resigned from the East India Com-
pany a few years later and came to
Calcutta in 1815. Dissatisfied with
the system of education and the rote
method of teaching English, he
formed an association of English and
Hindu scholars. He also invested his
own money in the starting of a school
where he introduced subjects like
science, mathematics, political sci-
ence and English. Roy felt that an
understanding of these "modern"
subjects would give Indians a better
standing in the world of the day.
Though initially antago-
nistic towards British rule in India,
Roy later began to feel that the coun-
try would benefit in terms of educa-
tion and by exposure to the good
points of Christianity. For this, he
was called a stooge of the British..
Along with a group of like-
minded people, Roy founded the At-
miya Sabha in 1815. The group held
weekly meetings at his house; texts
from the Vedas were recited and the-
istic hymns were sung. Roy was
drawn to the Unitarian form of Chris-
tianity that resulted in him supporting
a Unitarian Mission to be set up in
Calcutta in 1824. Roy's efforts to
abolish the practice of Sati were
largely driven by his concern for the
moral dimensions of religion. It was
the sight of the burning of his
brother's widow on her husband's
funeral pyre and his inability to save
her that spurred Ram Mohan into
action.
He delved into the scrip-
tures in detail and proved that the
practice of Sati could not
gain moksha (salvation) for the hus-
band, as each man was responsible
for his own destiny. He also realized
that very often it was greedy relatives
interested in the property of the dead
husband who were behind promoting
the practice.
His relentless efforts in the
form of petitions, writings and the
organizing of vigilance committees
paid off when the William Bentinck
administration passed a law in 1829
banning the practice of Sati. Roy also
succeeded in starting a revolution for
women's education and women's
right to property. By delving into
Hindu scriptures, he showed that
women enjoyed equal freedom with
men.
Among Roy's other firsts
was the publishing of a newspaper in
an Indian language. The Atmiya
Sabha brought out a weekly called
the 'Bangal Gazette'. He also pub-
lished a newspaper in Persian called
'Miratul-Akhbar' and a Bengali
weekly called 'Sambad Kaumudi'.
Roy placed a great deal of impor-
tance on the development of his
mother tongue. His 'Gaudiya Vya-
karan' in Bengali is rated highly
Raja Ram Mohan Roy - Man for all Times By : Melaine P Kumar
P A G E 2 1
among his writings in prose.
The founding of the Brahmo
Samaj was among Roy's most impor-
tant contributions. Beginning in 1828
as a small group, the Samaj played a
major role in Renaissance Bengal of
the 19th century by attracting lumi-
naries like Keshub Chandra Sen and
Rabindranath Tagore and other mem-
bers of the Tagore family. The objec-
tives of the Samaj were to follow a
theistic form of Hinduism combining
the best of what Roy inculcated
through his exposure to other relig-
ions.
Even today, in Brahmo prayer halls
all over the country, people meet
once a week, most often on Sundays,
and worship the one God or Brahma.
At these gatherings, discourses are
offered, Vedic texts recited and
hymns sung. Present-day followers
try to inculcate his words: "Testing,
questing, never resting, with open
mind and open heart."
Roy felt strongly for the
downtrodden and his belief in the
universal brotherhood of man led him
to support many causes and reform
movements. A 100 years before the
establishment of the League of Na-
tions, Roy expressed the need for a
similar institution. He said that just as
two individuals resorted to a court of
law to settle major disputes, there
should be an organization that could
help to settle differences between two
countries.
Roy made his first and only
trip to England in November 1830
where he lived until his life was
tragically cut short on September 27,
1833 after a brief illness.
In today's world of turmoil
where religious dogma results in ha-
tred, violence and alienation, Roy's
universal approach to religion has
much to offer.
Source: www.boloji.com/people/index.htm
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
My late father belonged to the
Arya Samaj, a reform movement in
Hinduism that condemns idol or sym-
bol worship. With his influence, the
idea of praying to a statue or picture
of any deity was absurd until I felt a
void in my life, and praying to God
became a spiritual need for me. I
tried meditation for a while but found
it extremely hard to concentrate.
Then, I realized that in order to con-
centrate I needed a focal point. Every
morning I stand in front of an idol of
Lord Krishna, burn incense and utter
a self-composed prayer. Yet, I still
believe in Brahman, the formless
Divine Energy that runs within us, in
everything around and beyond us. I
find no contradiction in what I be-
lieve and how I pray. I cannot imag-
ine how a follower of any religion,
can pray to God or meditate without
holding some sort of imagery in his
or her mind. Every spiritual person
needs a prop to help him connect to
his or her Lord. Iconography and
symbolism are excellent tools to
comprehend God, especially for be-
ginners.
In order to explain something
difficult or to make learning interest-
ing, we use various audio-visual aids
and techniques. For example, a
teacher uses a globe to teach world
geography to his/her students. The
students know that the globe itself is
not the world; it only helps them un-
derstand and appreciate the world in
an interesting way. Similarly, in or-
der to make common people under-
stand and realize the glory of form-
less and infinite God, Hindus use
iconography and the art of symbol-
ism. No other people in the world
have utilized the art of symbolism so
extensively for so many purposes: to
express their love for God, to graphi-
cally illustrate His powers, to deliver
His messages for mankind, and to
explain His limitless attributes, atti-
tudes and functions.
My Perspective on Idol Worship By : Ajit Adhopia
Continues on page 23…….
P A G E 2 2
Questions and Answers on Hinduism By : Ajit Adhopia
1. Is the concept of Ahinsa not imprac-
tical and unworkable? Even the sim-
plest action can kill millions of germs
and insects !
Indeed, the death of millions of
germs and creatures is unavoidable as
one goes about one's daily business. It
is necessary to kill insects, rodents and
germs that threaten life and health.
However, the purpose of Ahinsa is to
prevent the intentional killing and suf-
fering of harmless, innocent living crea-
tures. It is senseless, and cruel to de-
stroy life for fur hats, coats and enter-
tainment, or torture animals in laborato-ries in order to test cosmetics.
2 . What is the status of women in
Hinduism?
Hindu scriptures accord women a
place of equality, honour and dignity.
Hindus conceive God in both male and
female manifestations. Many worship
God through female deities. No Hindu
ceremony or sacrament in a family is considered complete, unless husband
and wife perform it together. The an-
cient Hindu society produced many
illustrious female sages, seers and intel-
lectuals; Lopamudra, Urvashi, Yami,
Ghosha, Gargi and Maitreyi, just to
name a few. They are remembered with
great reverence.
3 . What is the role of a Hindu woman
in the family?
Hindus call an unmarried girl a
Kanya, meaning radiant, illustrious or
brilliant, which implies that a girl must
acquire all such qualities that can make
her excel in every field. During the
stage of girlhood, she must develop
herself physically, intellectually and
spiritually in order to enter the life of a
homemaker.
4. Why does Hindu woman have to be
a homemaker? Why does Hinduism
not allow her to work?
According to Hinduism, woman is
a teacher of humankind. They build the
foundation of society and shape the
destiny of a nation. Since the future of a
nation depends upon the quality of chil-
dren it produces, motherhood occupies
an exalted position in Hindu society.
Women are considered qualified for
this role than men because they are regarded as possessing the gentler
qualities- patience, tolerance, nurturing
and caring. She is a natural teacher,
counsellor, and possesses superior
managerial skills. Therefore, being a
homemaker is not an inferior status for
Hindu woman. The concept of husband
earning an income, and wife managing
the household and raising children is an
equal division of labour.
Hindus who follow the traditional
family system believe that the high
quality of life , conducive to raising
virtuous children is a fulltime responsi-
bility, and this task is too crucial to be
entrusted to babysitters or nannies.
Hindu Woman is not forbidden by her
religion from working. She is free to
become a career woman or a full time
homemaker. In both India and Canada,
Educated modern, Hindu women are now entering many professions and
occupations that were previously mo-
nopolized by men, and doing very well.
5. If Hinduism promotes equality of
man and woman, why has the status of
women declined in Hindu society?
Women's status gradually declined,
as Hindu society decayed over the cen-
turies. Some Hindus would rather say that the Hindu society decayed because
of the decline in the status of women.
There are many reasons for the de-
valuation of women's status: Hindus
moved away from their traditional
Hindu values; women's education was
totally neglected; men's control over
power and money corrupted them, and
they made women subservient to them.
Foreign occupation of India for over
seven centuries has also contributed to this decline.
6. Has there been any improvement in
the status of women in modern Hindu
society?
Many Reform movements that
have swept across India emphasized
that restoring to women the prestige
they once enjoyed was the key to the
betterment of Hindus society in general.
After independence in 1947, with the
spread of mass education, this aware-
ness has gathered momentum. Since independence, the progress made by
urban Hindu women in every field has
been phenomenal. Hindu women have
become doctors, lawyers, managers,
engineers, elected politicians, scientists,
pilots, police officers and joined every
other field that was previously man's
domain. However, the progress in the
rural India has been much slower due to
the low level of education.
7. Why do Hindu women wear a dot
on their forehead?
Traditionally, the dot called "Bindi"
worn by a married woman signifies her
marital status. It serves the same pur-
pose as the wedding band on the finger.
The Bindi also has a spiritual connota-
tion. It represents the third inner eye, a
metaphor for spiritual awakening.
However, to many modern Hindu women, the Bindi is simply comsmetic.
8. Is the custom of dowry a part of
Hinduism?
No, it has nothing to do with Hin-
duism. Dowry, called "Dahej", is a
social custom, as old as the institution
of marriage. It simply refers to the wed-
ding gifts parents willingly give to their
daughter. This custom is common throughout Asia.
9. How did the dowry custom become
a social evil in India?
Dowry was never been mandatory
nor demanded by the groom. Over the
centuries, however, this custom became
distorted as most parents started making
dowry compulsory in order to maintain
their prestige in society, while some greedy parents of the groom started
demanding it. In this manner, a per-
fectly reasonable custom became a
serious social problem, as many poor
parents had to incur heavy debts in or-
der to meet the dowry demands of the
groom's family. Demanding dowry is
illegal in India, and carries a jail term.
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4 P A G E 2 3
Canadian Hindu Link Publisher Inderlekh Publication Editor Ajit Adhopia Editorial Advisors Prabhat kapur Kumar Agarwal Dr. Nitin Deckha Youth Advisor Falitaa Chhabra Layout Designer Lovelesh Anand Website Master Ram Sharma Address 2546 Pollard Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, L5C 3H1 Tel. & Fax 905-273-9563 E-mail [email protected]
Acknowledgements We acknowledge the selfless service (Nishkam Sewa) rendered by these volunteers who make it possible for this issue of the Canadian Hindu Link to reach you. Narinder Anand :Distribution -Scarborough &
Markham Raghu Sharma : Consultant Web Designing Aruna Duggal :Copy Editing Sunny Sharma :Copy Editing Manmohan Anand :Distribution- Halton Region &
Hamilton Arun Gawri :Distribution Brampton Rajesh Gupta :Distribution Cambridge/Guelph Suchitra Goswami :Copy Editing
Disclaimer
The views and opinions Expressed in this publication are those of the writers, and
not necessarily those of the Management of the journal Canadian Hindu Link
Over the centuries, poets, paint-
ers and sculptors have used their rich
sense of imagination to describe the
Indescribable, and give form to the
Formless. The colourful and interest-
ing stories Hindus hear about these
deities, and various idols and pictures
we see in Hindu temples, are a clever
use of the art of symbolism as a sim-
ple technique or visual aid to explain
to ordinary people the glory of God.
The ancient Hindu sages recognized
the fact that most working people
neither had time nor the intellectual
ability to reach the depths of thoughts
expressed about the formless Creator
in the Vedas. Moreover, symbols and
icons make the attributes of deities
easily and logically comprehensible.
This explains why the Hindus wor-
ship countless gods and goddesses.
However, many Hindus do not
make use of the art of symbolism for
the purpose of understanding and
experiencing God. Instead, they read,
understand and follow their holy
scriptures or meditate on an imper-
sonal or abstract God without focus-
ing on any idol or symbol. Many
saints and reformist movements, e.g.
Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj, in
Hinduism have vehemently de-
nounced the worship of idols and
symbols. They would claim that sym-
bol worship and the rituals associated
with it had distorted the true concept
of God in Hinduism. Moreover, they
assert, it is not validated or sanc-
tioned by the Vedas.
Notwithstanding the merits of
these arguments, it cannot be denied
that the large majority of Hindus do
worship God through many ‗gods‘ as
the medium of imagery and symbol-
ism. They worship what a symbol or
idol represents, not the idol itself. As
a Hindu, I am lucky that my religion
does not impose any specific mode of
worship on me. I enjoy the freedom
to worship God in any way that suits
my spiritual needs. Idol worship is no
different than a Sikh prostrating in
front of his holy scripture or a Chris-
tian bowing to the Cross.
(Continued from page 21)
P A G E 2 4 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 4
Diwali is a distortion of the
Sanskrit word ‗Deepavali‘ meaning
row or cluster of lights. This most
Floradale Medical Pharmacy
Live strong Live Healthy
Compounding Pharmacy
Free Home Delivery
We waive $2.00 co-payment
All Drug Plans Accepted
Amit Shah, Pharmacist
2444 Hurontario Street
Mississauga, ON L5B 2V1
[South of Dundas@ Floradale]
Tel. 905-279-1773
Fax 905-279-1725
Starting a new business
Buying a business
Expanding your business
Looking for change
Contact for free consultation
SEEMA MAKHIJA MBA, CGA
PH.: 905-232-8510
Manual & Computerized Accounting
Financial Statements
Software Training & Accounting System Set-Up
Personal & Corporate Tax returns and Planning
Business Plans & Cash Flows
GST, PST, WSIB and Payroll Returns
Business Registrations and Incorporation
Business Loans & Consulting
Financial Planning and Investments
20 Kingsbridge Garden Circle, Suite 2007
(Northwest Corner of 403 & Hwy. 10),
Mississauga ON L5R 3K7
Ph. : 905-232-8510 Fax : 905-232-8410
Are
Yo
u
? 18 + Years
Of Canadian
Experience