Page 12

Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha

The Hindu Community in India as well as world over, has long lacked a single body that can claim to represent the Hindu community as a whole. Therefore when it comes to rep-resenting ourselves in international Forums, Inter-religious conferences and seminars, we often were entirely absent, or if we were present, rather poorly represented. Further, we have not had a single body that can claim a suffi cient august status so as to command the respect of a vast majority of Hindus who are anyway fragmented in many ways.

The Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, is the apex unifying body that provides leadership, guidance and a collective voice for the Hindus. It came into being in 2002 and has grown into a body comprising virtually all the ancient Sampradayas of Hindu Dharma, with its current membership of over 125 Acharyas.

The members are revered Heads of Mathas which are several hundred years old and in-clude, the Sankaracharyas, Chiefs of all major Akharas and Peethas. The Acharya Sabha has become widely known within the country and overseas and now has regional Commit-tees comprising of smaller groups of Acharyas, each with its own convener while Swami Dayananda Saraswati continues as the convener of the apex body.

The above Picture was taken at the First Hindu - Jewish Summit, February 5 and 6, 2007

The Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha, already had three major conventions, in the years 2003, 2005 and 2008. A complete overview of the activities, conventions, meetings and resolutions of the Acharya Sabha is available at the website www.acharyasabha.org .Sanatana Dharma Foundation, is fundamentally inspired by the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha and encourages all Hindu organizations to get acquainted with the resolutions of the Acharya Sabha, and relate to them, as the highest possible level of leadership and guidance that Hindu Society can get today.

Page 1

NEWS LETTER

Volume 1 Issue 3 July 2009

INSIDEHindu Unity Day - 2009 1United We Serve 2Acharya Sabha message 3Day I - Unity Day Schedule 3 Why a Hindu Unity Day ? 5Francois Gautier - A profi le 6Seminar on India’s History 7Day II - Seminar Schedule 7Robert Spencer - Profi le 9Joe Kaufman - Profi le 9Sanatana Dharma Foundation 11Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha 12

Published by : Sanatana Dharma Foundation

Dallas, Texashttp://www.sdfglobal.org

E-Mail : info@sdfglobal.org

Wisdom to live by ...

The Spirit in Man has one aim before it in all Mankind; but different continents or peoples approach it from different sides with different formulations and in a differ-ing spirit. Not recognizing the underlying Unity of the ulti-mate divine motive, they give battle to each other and claim that theirs alone is the way for mankind.

Spirituality is indeed the Mas-ter-Key of the Indian Mind; the sense of the infi nite is na-tive to it - Sri Aurobindo

Hindu Unity Day - 2009United We Serve

The Hindu Unity Day of 2009 is being celebrated across 2 days, featuring two landmark events.

Day I - SaturdayAugust 8th - 2009 - 10 am to 2 pm

Hindu Unity Day At the D/FW Hindu Temple - Cultural Hall

Featuring several Hindu Organizations, and-Special Guest Francois Gautier

(See Pages 2 through 6 of Newsletter)

Day II - SundayAugust 9th - 1 pm to 5 pm

Seminar on India’s HistoryLessons from History for the Modern World

At the Holiday Inn, Select - Summit Ballroom2645, LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas 75234

(See Pages 6 though 12 of Newsletter)

Page 2

Hindu Unity Day - 2009 is designed to be a weekend with many highlights

One of the main highlights will be the presentations on ‘Seva’ or Community Service activities being performed by some of the fi nest Hindu

organizations that are in operation today.

The fact that all these organizations will be sharing a ‘platform’ on thisday will in itself be a milestone with rich possibilities for the future

Page 11

The purpose and mission of the Sanathana Dharma Foundation is to strengthen Hindus, Hindu Communities, Hindu Culture, Institutions and Society in the US, India and the world as a whole by :

1. Promoting Research, Education and Awareness of Hindu issues and concerns

2. Facilitating Harmony and Unity amongst Hindus and Hindu organizations, and enabling Collaborative Action

3. Clarifying, Preserving, Protecting and Strengthening the Hindu Identity, spanning its various Sampradayas (Ancient Traditions) represented by its Acharyas and Gurus (Hindu Saints deeply learned in the Hindu Scriptures)

4. Sponsoring Strategic Initiatives that are aimed at Strengthening Hindu Society, Hindu Institutions and People, especially its vulnerable sections in India

5. Positioning issues and concerns of Hindus in the World bodies and World Media, in such a way that representation of Hindu issues are fair, accurate credible and well informed

In the Bhagvad Gita, the principal Kshatri-ya of that age – Arjuna, argues with Bhag-van Shri Krishna that he would rather walk away from the confl ict altogether or rather die without striking a blow.

Bhagvan Shri Krishna asks his protégé Ar-juna to rise up resolved to do battle with the Adharmic forces of his time, and ad-vises him that even death in the cause of his Dharma is a superior end.

He further asks him to act while being unattached to the outcome, to discharge his Dharma, without regard to pleasure or pain, fame or infamy, success of failure.

Sanatana Dharma Foundation is proud to be supporting Francois Gautier’s tour of the US of 2009, and his efforts to raise funds for the Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum of History in Pune. Those who wish to support the Museum project may make donations directly in the name of FACT India and send it to 6823 Windrock Road, Dallas, TX 75252

Page 10

KARYA SIDDHI HANUMAN TEMPLE& VIDYA DAANAM

presentKeerthana Sravanthi

(A Carnatic Classica Concert)

(Vidya Daanam is an Educational Charity Initiative of Sanatana Dharma Foundation)

By

Padma Thyagaraju on Vocals(Renowned Student of Sangeetha Kalanidhi

Nedunuri Krishnamurthi Garu )www.padmathyagaraju.com

T S Krishnamurthy on Violin

T R Saravanan on Mridangam

Date and Time :Sunday, 16th August, 2009

At 4 pm

Location : Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple12030 Independence Parkway,

Frisco, TX 75035www.dallashanuman.org

ADMISSION FREE(Complimentary snacks provided by Swadeshi Plaza and Indian Cuisine and Coffee provided by Jaya Genie

For More Information : Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple - 866-996-6767 Gopal Ponangi - 214-868-7538I.V.Rao - 214-284-6227 Lalitha Venkat - 972-741-6338

Page 3

August 1, 2009

The various Sampradayas (Spiritual Traditions) of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) have been living in harmony for centuries without one attempting to change the other. That comes from the religious and spiritual culture of Hindu Dharma, that accommodates different modes of prayer and worship.

On this Hindu Unity Day, this truth has to be highlighted more than any attempt to forge unity.

Swamy Dayananda Saraswati,Convener, Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha

Hindu Unity Day - Program Schedule

Prayers by Children 10 - 10.05 am

Song and Dances by Children 10.05 - 10.15 am

Welcome Address by D/FW Hindu Temple 10.15 - 10.20 am

Purpose and Vision of Hindu Unity Day 10.20 - 10.30 am

Presentations by Hindu Organizations - Set 1 10.30 - 11.30 am

Talk by Shri Francois Gautier 11.30 - 12.15 pm

Presentation of “Dharma Rakshaka” Award 12.15 - 12.20 pm

Presentations by Hindu Organizations - Set 2 12.20 - 1.50 pm

National Anthem 1.50 - 1.55 pm

Mahaprashad 1.55 pm onwards

Page 4

With Best WishesWith Best Wishesfrom from

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7964 N Macarthur Blvd. Suite 1007964 N Macarthur Blvd. Suite 100Irving Texas 75063Irving Texas 75063

Phone 972-409-6551Phone 972-409-6551

One Stop for ALL your Grocery One Stop for ALL your Grocery Needs!Needs!

With Best wishes from Third Eye Meditation

www.thirdeyemeditation.com

With Best Compliments from :

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Swetha , Sindhu & Suraj

With Best Compliments from

Mahesh ChoppaRao Dasari

Krishna NarayanabhattaGagan Shori

Mohan Talluri

And their Families

With Best Compliments from

Sridhar IyengarVikas Dabber

Krishnan PadmanabhanViswas Mudigonda

Venkat Tekkalur

And their Families

With Best Compliments from

Raj Video and Photo

For

Weddings,Receptions,

Arangetrams

And other occasions

Please Contact Krishna Puttaparthi at 817-798-1376Or Write to : kputtaparthi@hotmail.com

Page 9

ROBERT SPENCER is the director of Jihad Watch, a program of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and the author of nine books on Islam and jihad, including the New York Times bestsellers The Truth About Muham-mad and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades). Spencer is a weekly columnist for Human Events and FrontPage Maga-zine, and has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the United States Cen-tral Command, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group, the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. intelligence community.

Spencer (MA, Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) has been studying Islamic theology, law, and history in depth since 1980. As an Adjunct Fellow with the Free Congress Foundation in 2002 and 2003, he wrote a series of monographs on Islam that are still avail-able from the Foundation: An Introduction to the Qur’an; Women and Is-lam; An Islamic Primer; Islam and the West; The Islamic Disinformation Lobby; Islam vs. Christianity; and Jihad in Context. More recently he has also written monographs for the David Horowitz Freedom Center: What Americans Need to Know About Jihad; The Violent Oppression of Women In Islam (with Phyllis Chesler); Islamic Leaders’ Plan for Genocide; and Muslim Persecution of Christians.

His articles on Islam and other topics have appeared in the New York Post, the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News, Canada’s Na-tional Post, Middle East Quarterly, WorldNet Daily, First Things, Insight in the News, National Review Online, and many other journals. He has also appeared on the BBC, CNN, FoxNews, PBS, MSNBC, CNBC, C-Span, France24 and Croatia National Televison (HTV), as well as on numerous radio programs.

Joe Kaufman is the Chairman of Americans Against Hate, the founder of CAIR Watch, and an investigative journalist for FrontPage Magazine.

In September of 2003, Joe was invited by Florida Speaker of the House Johnnie Byrd to give expert testimony in front of law enforcement and government representatives at a forum on terrorism and homeland se-curity held in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Amongst other accomplishments, in December of 2006, Joe convinced U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer to rescind an award her offi ce had given to a leader of the Hamas-affi liated Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Joe has spoken at the conferences of the Middle East Forum, the Intel-ligence Summit, America’s Truth Forum and Hadassah, and he was the keynote speaker for Islamofascism Awareness Week at UCLA in October of 2007. Joe has been featured on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC and has appeared on numerous local and national television and radio talk shows.

Robert Spencer

Joe Kaufman

The Courage to remember, helps us not to repeat the same mis-takes and to build a better future for our children - Sri Sri Ravishankar

Page 8

D/FW HINDU TEMPLE SOCIETY“Ekta Mandir”

1605 N Britain, Irving, TX 75061

In Association with

Sanatana Dharma Foundation (SDF) and Dhyanapeetam

Cordially invites you to attend

Ganesh Pooja by Kids

Where: D/FW Hindu Temple (Cultural Hall)

When: Saturday, August 22nd 2009 – From 10.00 AM - 12.00 PM

For further information, Please contact D/FW Temple @ 972-445-3111 orRajiv Gaind 972-392-7860 Ranna Jani 817-690-3728 Phalguni Naldiga 972-839-5055Bhasy Nair 512-750-9978 Swati Pandit 817-267-0264 Gopal Ponangi 214-868-7538J.P.Sarkar 817-294-5536 S.P.Krishnamurthy 817-267-5505 Anshul Agarwal 214-708-2123Sandhya Patel 972-506-9141 Swati Tripathy 940-382-7305 Tarun Saran 214-364-8427

Page 5

Ever since the Rig Veda said “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahauda Vadanti”, Sanatana Dharma has fostered a diversity of beliefs, systems, paths and practices. Even in the conception of the one Brahman, being manifested as many Gods, i.e. many Devatas, this essentially pluralistic, liberal framework has prevailed in our Bharatavar-sha. Even as a spirit of “Live and Let Live” has informed and permeated our civilization, it has progressively given rise to numerous sects, sub-sects and sub-identities, that learnt to live together in harmony and with-out confl ict.

Today, with the long and hoary passage of time, Hindus generally have a stronger attachment to Sub-Iden-tities, rather than their over-arching Hindu Identity. For example, Hindu people identify themselves as lin-guistic groups such as Tamil, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi etc. Secondly, they also identify themselves by caste - such as Brahmin, Bania, Reddy, Yadav, Jat, Kamma, Ezhava etc. Thirdly, they are also divided by Sampra-daya identities - such as Vaishnava., Shaiva, Kashmir Shaiva, Vedantin, Vishishtadvaitin, Gaudiya Vaishnava, etc. Fourthly, many Gurus and Acharyas, emphasize their own specifi c version or aspect of the Shastras, and create new Paramparas and followings. Thus we have amongst us this abundance and diversity of expres-sions such as Ammachi followers, Sai Baba devotees, Art of Living group, Swaminarayan group, Hare Krishna group, Chinmayananda Group, Gayathri Parivar and numerous other groupings today that constitute the vast family of Sanatana Dharma.

United we stand, divided we fall is an old adage, but never more true in a democratic society, where num-bers count in a fundamental way. We all know that it is very easy to divide Hindus into various confl icting groups, which don’t agree with each other. Some of us are comfortable being called Hindus – And others are very much ill at ease with that term. If we start a conversation on the question of What is Hinduism, there will be so many views and perspectives, that we may never reach a consensus on what it is.

This then is our civilizational weakness – this inability to come together and forge a suffi cient consensus on some common issues, some common themes, some common challenges that we share with all fellow Hindus. Adjunct to this weakness, is our inability to take on bold new actions, initiate well co-ordinated projects where it really matters, based on the larger concerns that face us as a collective of the family of traditions and sampradayas, that we all belong to.

Hindu Unity Day then is an attempt to create an opportunity to come together at least for one day in a year, where we affi rm our solidarity and belonging to that vast Eternal stream – called Sanatana Dharma. While a rose and a daffodil, a jasmine and a lotus are very different fl owers – still they all belong to the same family of fl owers. Hindu Unity Day represents an opportunity – for experiencing ourselves as part of a bouquet of fl owers, as being a stream in the larger ocean of Sanatana Dharma, a note in the majestic symphony of Hin-duism or as a branch in that great eternal Tree. It is an opportunity for us to appreciate each fl ower for what it is, experience each fragrance and color and variety for its own intrinsic uniqueness and not get caught up in a divisive thought such as my fl ower is better than your fl ower (which is the legacy of a competitive world).

And as we gather thus, we may in time to come even exercise the opportunity to discuss and debate the common themes, problems, challenges that face our Dharma today. And who knows, we may even embrace our collective responsibility to bring forth new leadership, create new initiatives and projects that will yet shape the emerging future of Sanatana Dharma.

Why Celebrate a Hindu Unity Day ?

What is the point ? What possible value is there in creating such an occasion ?

Page 6

Francois Gautier - A Profi leFrancois has written several books: “Un autre Regard sur l’Inde” (Editions du Tricorne, Geneva-Paris), which has been reprinted thrice and for which he was invit-ed in May 2000 to ‘Bouillon de Culture’, France’s most prestigious TV literary programme; “Arise O India” (Har Anand, 1999), “A Western journalist on India” (Har Anand, 2001), “India’s Self Denial” (Editions Auroville Press, 2001), “Swami, moine hindou et PDG” (Edi-tions Delville, Paris, 2003, 8000 copies sold), “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a Guru of Joy” (India Today Book Club, 2003; 11 reprints, 30,000 copies sold). “La Caravane IntÈrieure” (Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 2005), “A New His-tory of India” (Har Anand, 2008)

Francois Gautier received a journalism prize (Natchiketa Award of excellence in journalism) from the Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee in the year 2003.

He used the prize money to create a Non-profi t organi-zation called “FACT India” which stands for “Foundation against Continuing Terrorism - India” and launched a se-ries of conferences & exhibitions highlighting the mag-nifi cence of India and the threats to its sovereignty.

FACT - India today creates Awareness Campaigns, Con-ferences, Exhibitions, Films and Papers on Art, Culture, History & Human Rights abuses. FACT India’s team works with supporting organizations on research, analy-sis, design and presentation of the issues. FACT - India seeks to bring attention to these forgotten or neglected issues and to pressure governments and international organizations to take corrective action.

Examples of his exhibits are : An exhibition on the per-secuted minorities of Bangladesh, another one on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits (which was shown to the US Congress in 2005), a fi lm on the trauma of 1947 and an-other one on the testimonies of the Mumbai train bomb-ings of 2006. Other Exhibitions include Aurangzeb, as he was according to Mughal Records; Bangladesh, A Por-trait of Covert Genocide; Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, A Hero for Modern India; Naxalism, a threat to the Unifi ed Nation of India Sikhs, the defenders of Indian Dharma; Terror Unleashed, An Exhibition on Kashmir

Francois Gautier was born in Paris in 1959. He fi rst came to India at the age of 19, when he was attracted to the Mother and Sri Aurobindo of Pondicherry. He has been living in Auroville along with his wife Namrata, for over 25 years.

In the early eighties, he began freelancing in In-dia for different publications and fi nally ended-up being the correspondent in South Asia, for the Geneva-based “Journal de Geneve”, then one of the best international newspapers in Europe. In 1993, he switched to Figaro, one of France’s leading newspapers for which he worked ex-clusively for eight years. He also started writ-ing regular columns for Indian newspapers, fi rst in Blitz Bombay, then in the Hindustan Times, later came the ‘Ferengi’s column” in the Indian Express, then the “French Connection” column in the Pioneer, as well as regular contributions for Outlook, Rediff, New Indian Express, Dainik Bhaskar, etc.

Francois is now the editor in chief of the Paris-based La Revue de l’Inde and a director of a book collection on India with the same publisher. Fran-cois is married to an Indian from Delhi, Namrita and shuttles between Pondichery, Bangalore and Delhi.

Francois Gautier will receive the “Hindu Dharma Rakshaka - Kshatriya” Award from Sanatana Dharma Foundation, during the Hindu Unity Day 2009, for his courage in tackling subjects that are diffi cult, unpopular and often neglected, as well as for em-barking on the Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Museum of Indian History in Pune.

It is the spirit of the Kshatriya, the willingness to stand up against the forces of Ad-harma, the willingness to put oneself at risk, and fi ght for the Dharma, and do what is right, even though what is right may not be comfortable or popular that the “Hindu Dharma Rakshaka – Kshatriya” Award attempts to honor.

Page 7

This Seminar on India’s History is another signifi cant highlight of this year’s Hindu Unity Day program, and will feature three eminent Speakers :

- Francois Gautier - A Hindu of French descent, based in Pondicherry, India

- Robert Spencer - A Christian and an American, based in New Hampshire

- Joe Kaufman - A Jew and an American, based in Florida

In Segment 1 - Francois Gautier will survey a period of India’s history, that is least un-derstood and studied today i.e. the period of time, when India came under successive waves of Islamic invasions. He will address the question, what really happened in India during that time, based on original research of Islamic texts amd materials from the peri-od. He will further discuss the impact that this intenesely violent period had on India’s i.e. the Hindu Psyche. He will examine the key lessons that we must learn from that period, that will help us understand the challenges of the current time

In Segment 2 - Robert Spencer will correlate the nature of the violence unleashed upon India with the origins of Islam itself. Drawing from his extensive knowledge of the Koran, The Hadith and the Sira, Robert will go take us further back into the life of Muhammad himself, and trace the beginnings of the ideology that gave rise to the terribly violent events that were to unfold in India. In doing so, Robert will take us into the very heart of the ideology that lies behind modern terrorism, and will lift the veil, so that we may get a glimpse, that is untainted by propaganda or political correctness.

In Segment 3 - Joe Kaufman will bring us back into current time, and re-create for us the special ways in which this medieval ideology is still operational today, and the signifi cant challenges that it poses to our current day societies through out the world. Joe will draw parallels between what happened in India, to what is happening today around the world, and based upon his unique knowledge of the many organizations waging this modern day Jihad, he will examine the lessons that we may learn from history that will be useful for humanity’s collective future.

This is a unique opportunity for people of all backgrounds, to gain insight into some critical lessons that the World can learn from India’s history.

Seminar on India’s HistoryLessons from History for the modern world

Sunday, August 9th, 1 pm to 5 pm At

The Holiday Inn, Select (Summit Ball Room)2645, LBJ Freeway, Dallas, TX 75234