October/November/December, 2003 US$5.

95

Affirming Sanatana Dharma and Recording the Modern History of a Billion-Strong Global Religion in Renaissance

dinodia: viren desai

HOSPITALITY’S
Big Heart COVER: Hospitality, both a cultural imperative and religious injunction for Hindus, begins with a warm and friendly greeting
by the entire family at the front door. (above) M. S. Subbulakshmi has dominated Indian devotional music for 70 years.

October/November/December, 2003 • Hindu Year 5105

Subhanu, the Year of Beautiful Radiance

www.gurudeva.org

IN T ER NAT IONA L Medicine: Live Pain-free Without Drugs, Offers

Feature Story: Is the Rush of Urban Life this Indian Naturopathic Clinic 52
Threatening Our Legendary Hindu Hospitality? 18 Malaysia: Hindu Children in Muslim-Majority
South Africa: Divine Life Society Dedicates a Country Face Imposing Obstacles 57
Conference to the Chaste Lord Hanuman 26 Theatre: India’s Baffling Mathematician: Upscale
Vrindaban: Cleaning up Krishna’s Boyhood Home 32 Theatre Company Portrays Life of Ramanujan 60
Konark: This Rare Sun Temple Remains a Powerful Commentary: Math Teacher Iraja Sivadas
Refuge for Devotees and Artists 36 Calculates Ramanujan’s Genius 62
Hindu of the Year: The Revered Sri Tiruchi Swami Books: Our Reviewers Take on Weddings and
of South India Is Renaissance Award Winner 54 Wisdom, Rituals, Temples and More 63
Utah: Believe It: The Mormons Help Build a New Heritage: Speak Sanskrit: A Summer Camp 67
Ganesha Temple in Utah 64
Law: McDonald’s $10,000,000 Settlement for Beef- OPINION
Laced Fries Fraud Appealed by Veggie Groups 66 In My Opinion: Choose Your Highest Path to God 9
Publisher’s Desk: Three Ways to Enduring Happiness 10
LIFEST YLE Letters 12
Music: M. S. Subbulakshmi at 87: From the Vedas: The Teaching Invocation 16
India’s Sweet Nightingale of Song 40 Minister’s Message: Controlling Anger 68
History: Houston’s Music Buffs Honor Tyagaraja 35 DIGESTS
Youth: Why Are These Kids Vegetarians? 42
Insight: Explore the Four Sects of Hinduism: Diaspora 6 Digital Dharma 86
Saivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism 44 Quotes & Quips 14

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pg 01-2 cover Oct03 §.ind 1 8/6/03, 1:08 PM

 N E PA L
pg 05 Gatefold Oct03 §2
5
7/31/03, 2:06 PM

During one of Nepal’s most famous Hindu festivals, two uncommon vehicles sky-scrape and sway their way
almost recklessly through the streets of Patan, just a stone’s throw from Kathmandu. Lord Machhendranath,
the occupant of the first chariot, is the country’s patron saint, and this two-mile, four-week journey, which
occurs every year in the months of April and May, is called the Machhendranath Yatra. Machhendranath’s
seven-story chariot is followed by a slightly smaller one carrying his son, Min Nath.
Welcome
to hinduism today’s digital edition!
am pleased to welcome you to the free digital edition of Hinduism
I Today magazine. It is the fulfillment of a vision held by my Satguru
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, founder of Hinduism Today, to bring the
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The text of each issue has long been available on the Web, right back Click links below to soar over other areas of our vast
to 1979, but without the photographs and art. Now you have here the ocean of internet resources in your web browser
entire contents of the printed edition, with all photos and art. Plus, it
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An Audio Library
To the Editor Press International, a
Of Inspired Talks
(e-mail) Daily News Summary
 0%20%40%60%80%100%
Senegal97%
Indonesia95%
India92%
INTERNATIONAL Nigeria92%
Pakistan91%
Religion Is Hot in Iv.Coast91%
Mali90%
CONTROVERSY maybe unintentional, is a refec-
tion of how shallow and callous
India; Warm in US Philipp.88%

AHAD Wins is the American mainstream in

Again!
H indus are bewildered
and angry over Western
companies’ continuing abuse of
images of Hindu Deities.
American Eagle Outfitters
(AEO) made the latest blunder
by putting Ganesha on sandals
and on a bag saying “Get Nuts,”
also adorned with an upside
understanding other nations’ T
he pew global attitudes pro-
ject surveyed44 nations in 2002 to
Bangla.88%
S. Africa87%
Kenya85%
culture and symbols. Anything
Indian is mere ethnic chic,
determine the personal importance of
religion. The big news was that six-in-
Uganda85%
Ghana84%
open to be used anywhere, be
it on toilet seats or footware.”
When companies with deep
ten people (59%) in the US say that
religion plays a very important role in
their lives. As expected, India was
Tanzania83%
Guatem.80%
Angola80%
near the top of the list, with92% de- Brazil77%
India’s portable rice and curry carriers find claring religion important. The US re- Honduras72%
their way into high-end woodworking catalog sults contradict the secular and Marx- Peru69%
ist anti-Hindu dogma that India must Boliva66%
USA abandon religion to advance herself. Turkey65%
The poll shows stark regional di-

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee greets Zambia Presi-

down aum. The American Hin-
dus Against Defamation,
Lunch Box Morphs vides. Africa tops all regions with
eight-in-ten faithful. Europe and the
Venez.61%
USA59%
Mexico57%
dent Levy Mwanawasa in New Delhi during trade agreements

AFRICA
AHAD, coalition mounted an
effective protest, eliciting8,000
online signatures and a flood of
B esides the concept of zero and the
transcendent wisdom of theVedas, India’s
heritage includes numerous down-to-earth
Orient (surprise!) are at the bottom. In
Poland, the Popes’ homeland, only
36% said religion is very important.
Argentina39%
Poland36%
Ukraine35%
phone calls, faxes and e-mails practical gems. A recent fun example appeared Italy, Great Britain, Canada, Slovakia,
Zambia Reaches for India to AEO’s offices within 48
hours. AEO promptly apolo-
in the Lee Valley Fine Woodworking Tools Cat- Korea, Vietnam and Germany rated
alog. It shamelessly markets “an Asian lunch even lower, at20 to 33%. France, a
Uzbek.35%
G. Britain33%
Canada30%
Z ambia, located in the cool high plateaus of south
central Africa, is one of the world’s remaining centers of pris-
tine beauty and wildlife and home for25,000 Hindus.
Zambia
gized and pulled the sandals
from the market. But the bag
remains on the shelves. These offense sandals have
box.... ideal for small parts storage....Perfect for Catholic homeland, ranked near the
organizing screws by type or size...made from bottom, along with Russia, Bulgaria,
22 guage polished stainless steel...four stacking Czechoslovakia and Japan, with86 to
Slovakia29%
Italy27%
Korea25%
achieved independence in1964. In the infancy of development, Prakash Ashwani, an engi- been pulled off shelves. containers 4-1/2” in diameter by 2-1/2” 89% of the populations who could Vietnam24%
leadership faces serious challenges, but holds on to a strong neer working in an Edison, NJ deep....Measures 12-5/8” tall. An excellent stor- hardly care less about religion. China Germany21%
democracy and forward vision. In April, President Mwanawasa firm, said it well in an inter- resources for marketing age system, and not a bad idea for a four- abstained from the poll by barring in- Russia14%
signed trade cooperation agreements with India. And, first Lady view with the India Tribune, research miss the mark, Hindus course lunch either.” Want a cool tiffin carrier? vestigators from asking the question. Bulgaria13%
Maureen Mwanawasa hosted Indian dancers in Lusaka’s Hindu “This act of sacrilege, though are left wondering why these Live in the US, far from India or Indian stores? Japan12%
Hall, saying, “If you love culture, then you need to support pro- companies don’t bring Order from www.leevalley.com,search “con- Pew Global Attitudes Project shows most France11%
grams like this which bring two different peoples together.” She religious and cultural tainer systems.” Just $9.95 a set! wealthy nations are abandoning religion Czech11%
thanked the Hindu Association of Zambia for its second,50-ton sensibilities to their de-
food donation for famine stricken districts. sign strategies.
INTERNATIONAL

spondent, Paras
Ramoutar, de-
It took two years to com-
plete the murthi and reno-
Armani, “Khadi Will Rule”
scribed it as an
exhilarating day,
with over 10,000
vate the Lord Dattatreya
Temple along Dravidian
architectural lines. Resi-
K hadi is haute and happening, reports the
the Hindustan Times, quoting the famed fashion
king, Giorgio Armani who praised India’s hand-woven
attending the dent Bala Swamiji said, cotton at the Singapore Fashion Week, “Thekhadi
function. Head of “We plan to have a prima- made in India is among the most skin-friendly fabrics
the Yoga Centre, ry and secondary school we know. The day isn’t far whenkhadi-based designs
Attorney-at-Law on site, a play park and will rule the world.” Used by Mahatma Gandhi to
Ramesh Persad garden with a beautiful make a strong statement of patriotism and self-re-
Renovated Dattatreya Yoga Centre, Trinidad Maharaj, noted landscape to bring peace liance, hand-spun, hand-wovenkhadi is suddenly the
TRINIDAD
that the murti to all who visit.” The toast of fashion houses in France and Italy. “It was a
represents the mandir complex, which is Herculean task repackagingkhadi for Indian and Eu-
85-Foot Hanuman hopes and aspira-
tions of the Hindu
expected to become a
tourist attraction as well,
ropean tastes. Designers abroad were completely un-
aware that a quintessentially Indian material could be
Community and has beendescribed as a used for making Western clothes. Today after two

O n june 3, 2003, param

Poojya Sri Ganapati
of Hinduism. It was the first
such massive statue built in the
Sachchidananda Swamji conse- nation since the arrival of East
part of a divine gift from
Swami Ganapati to
Trinidad and Tobago
years of rigorous effort,khadi has finally been accept-
ed in the international markets. We now cater to
front-line couturiers like Donna Karen, Gucci and
crated an 85-foot tall Lord Shri Indians from Uttar Pradesh and which will, said Bala Giorgio Armani,” says J. Nagarajan, advisor to the Sar-
Karya Siddhi Hanuman Murti Birhar in 1845 to cultivate sug- Swamiji, “boost the psy- voday Ashram, New Delhi. The ashram provides over
(photo, right) at his Dattatreya ar. The concrete and steel stat- che of the Hindus and eighty percent of Europe’s requirement of khadi. Once
Yoga Centre and Satchidananda ue was constructed by20 silpis non-Hindus and bring a dull, coarse material, todaykhadi is a multicolored
Ashram in Trinidad. Our corre- led by Subramaniyam Sthapati. spiritual elevation to all.” India’s old styles are new. Khadi saris and dhotis star at Bangalore fashion show. wonder fabric with weaves as fine as muslin.

clockwise from top: agence france press, tekee wanwar; clockwise from top left: lee valley tools catalog, pew glob-
6 hinduism todayoctober/november/december , 2003 agence france press; devant maharaj al attitudes project survey, mukherjee/agence france presse october/november/december, 2003hinduism today 7

Coloring book introduced in California
schools to broaden ethnic awareness
P U B L I C AT I O N S
Sikh Victory
For Peace
O vercoming ethnic ste-
reotyping in the white
Anglo-Saxon world has always
been a big challenge for those
of other colors and religions.
THE FAMED TEMPLE OF TIRUPATI
has established a dress code at
Tirumala, India, for sponsors of
rituals. Men cannot participate
in any rituals unless they are
wearing a dhoti and anga-vas-
tram and women should be
wearing sari or salwar kameez.
Presently, the dress code,
prompted by complaints, does
not apply to those just visiting
for darshan. But it may be ex-
tended to all visitors later.
A MAY BREAK-IN AT THE OLOSARA
Hindu Temple in Sigatoka, Fiji,
has inspired a public plea to
toughen Fiji’s penalties for van-
dalism. Police report that over
the past two years 44 Hindu
temples, 19 churches and 10
mosques were broken into by
vandals, and holy books and
items of worship were destroyed.
8 h i n d u i s m t o d ay o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r , 2 0 0 3
Since 9/11, Sikhs have
been the subjects of
suspicion and attacks
by those who wrongly
see them as terroists.
The Boy With Long
Hair is an example
of the Sikh religion’s
proactive initiatives in
response to the prob-
lem. This coloring and
activity book is being
distributed in schools
by the California
Teachers’ Association
under the auspices of
Lt. Governor Cruz M.
Bustamante’s Commis-
sion for One Califor-
nia. Bustamante said
the book is meant
to “educate children
about cultural diver-
sity and help promote
an understanding and accep-
tance of our differences.” The
author and illustrator, Pushpin-
der Singh, hopes the work will
help make the peers of Sikh
children at school treat them
with greater understanding and
friendliness. The initiative is
a real-world model for Hindus
facing similar challenges in
countries outside of India.
THE ORISSA GOVERNMENT
brought a ray of hope to pover-
ty-stricken temples and priests
in India whose endowment
lands have been usurped. The
government canceled temple
land leases whose income was
as little as $3,800 but valued
at several million dollars. After
re-evaluation, the leases will be
put up for public auction.
SWAMI CHINMAYANAND, a sann-
yasin, was appointed by the
Vajpayee government as Min-
ister of State for Home Affairs
in India. The only sadhu in the
Vaypayee administration, he
will report directly to Advani.
THE FIRST CASES OF “MAD COW”
disease in North America came
to light in Canada in May. The
discovery has led to fretful
E D U C AT I O N
Deathless
Dissection
M ay 5, 2003: the univer-
sity of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
Senate voted to adopt
a dissection alterna-
tives policy, the first
of its kind at a major
US university. General
education courses that
require students to en-
gage in animal dissec-
tion must now make
alternatives available
to all students who
request them. It was
a victory for the two-
year campaign waged
by SILA (Students
Improving the Lives
of Animals). Still,
many other conscien-
tious objectors find
themselves forced to
kill animals—6 million
toxic, formaldehyde-
Digital options for
learning biology
scrutiny of the legal but hor-
rific practice of feeding animal
remains (including restaurant
leftovers, chicken litter, out-of-
date pet food and cows’ blood)
to cows. That burger could
be made from a cow who ate
ground up plate scrapings from
your local steak house and bar!
THE SINGAPORE ARMY HAS
introduced personal computer
gaming to hone the fighting
skills of its solders. It is yet an-
other chilling confirmation of
the dangers video games pose
for society, making it easier for
children to kill by desensitizing
them to violence.
THE UDUPI ZILLA VILLAGE council
president, B. Bhujanga Shetty,
has directed the heads of
schools in the district to make
yoga, moral education and
the activities of the Seva Dal
(a group committed to social
service) compulsory in the dis-
top left to right: office of california’s lt. governor
busmante, pushpinder singh; krt, h. mc comas
laden vertebrates a year in US
high schools alone—for biology
credits needed to meet career
goals. Some students now have
a life-respecting alternative.
for more information go to: http:
//www.dissectionchoice.org/
trict’s government and private
schools for at least two school
periods each week.
DESPITE THE 10-MILLION DOLLAR
settlement by McDonald’s for
misleading vegetarians, noth-
ing much has changed. The
fries still contain “natural flavor
(beef source)” and eggs pop
up across the menu— e.g., in
“Creamy Herb Sauce.”
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAS
raised the age at which a
spouse can be brought to Brit-
ain from outside the European
Union to 18 in an attempt to
combat forced marriages of
young girls, mostly taking place
among Pakistani and Bangla-
deshi Muslims.
MERRILL LYNCH REPORTS that
there are 200,000 millionaires
of Indian origin in the US.
That’s a combined wealth of a
mind boggling $200 trillion.
HINDU RENAISSANCE TEAM
HINDUISM TODAY was founded January 5, 1979,
by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. It is a
nonprofit educational activity of Himalayan
Academy with the following purposes:1. To
foster Hindu solidarity as a unity in diversity
among all sects and lineages; 2. To inform and
inspire Hindus worldwide and people inter-
ested in Hinduism; 3. To dispel myths, illu-
sions and misinformation about Hinduism; 4.
To protect, preserve and promote the sacred
Vedas and the Hindu religion; 5. To nurture
and monitor the ongoing spiritual Hindu re-
naissance; 6. To publish a resource for Hindu
leaders and educators who promote Sanatana
Dharma. Join this seva by sending letters, clip-
pings, reports on events and encouraging others.
Founder: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Publisher: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Editor-in-Chief: Paramacharya Palaniswami
Publisher’s Aide: Paramacharya Ceyonswami
Deputy Editor: Acharya Kumarswami
Managing Editor: Sannyasin Arumugaswami
Graphics Director: Sannyasin Natarajnathaswami
Production Manager: Sannyasin Sivakatirswami
Contributing Editor: Yogi Japendranatha
Advertising and Subscriptions: Sadhaka Jothinatha
Correspondents: Choodamani Sivaram, Bangalore;
Rajiv Malik, Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj, Madhu
Kishwar, Delhi; Mangala Prasad Mohanty, Orissa; V.
S. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala; Basudeb Dhar, Bangla-
desh; Archana Dongre, Los Angeles; Lavina Melwani,
New York; Dr. Hari Bansh Jha, Nepal; Anil Mahabir,
Paras Ramoutar, Trinidad; V. G. Julie Rajan, Phila-
delphia; Rajesh Jantilal, South Africa; Iraja Sivadas,
California; Tara Katir, Hawaii. HPI Staff: Tara Katir,
Janaka Param, Toshadeva Guhan, Vijay Pillai, Easan
Katir, Adi Alahan, Chandra Sankara, Shama Kumaran,
Lavanya Saravan, Rajkumar Manickam, Arjana Das-
wani. Sanskritist: Dr. P. Jayaraman, New York. Artists:
A. Manivelu, S. Rajam. Cartoonists: M. Arumugam,
Bob Thaves. Photo Contributors: Thomas L. Kelly,
Stephen P. Huyler, Dinodia, Amit Kumar, Dev Raj
Agarwal, Gilles Flament, Vel Kadressen, Mu Devaray-
an, Gordon Wiltsie, Indivar Sivanathan. Web Masters:
Nitya Nadesan, Sadhunathan Nadesan. Distribu-
tion: USA: Ingram Periodicals, New Leaf, EBSCO
Subscription Services, OneSource, Ubiquity. Europe:
SWETS Subscription Service. Malaysia and Singapore:
Sanathana Dharma Publications. India: Central News
Agency Limited, Delhi. Mauritius: CODIP. Trinidad:
Pandit Narendra & Ashwinee Ragoonanan. Printer:
Banta Publications Group, Kansas City, MO
IN MY OPINION
e Each ave a Choic
Take responsibility for your own unfoldment
RAJESH K.R. BALI
omeone once asked
aguru who worshiped
Lord Sadasiva to describe
courtesy rajesh k.r. bali
Sanatana Dharma as it
compares with other religious
theologies of the world.
“Imagine a great big tree
that has its roots very deeply
implanted in the earth,” he
said. “These roots are so deep
that they do not require any
nurturing from an outside
source, because they receive
everything that is necessary for their sur-
vival from mother Earth Herself. Think of
this giant tree as Sanatana Dharma. All of
its branches and leaves are its many differ-
ent religions. All of these different religions
draw life from the same trunk of the same
tree. The branches may break; the leaves
may fall. But with time they will only reap-
pear on the same tree in a slightly different
form.”
In my opinion, this is a very appropriate
analogy. All of the man-made paths to God
will come and go with time, but the Sana-
tana Dharma will always be there, and it
will always be the same.
Unlike other religions, the Sanatana
Dharma is eternal. No one can declare
when it started. However, we do know from
our Vedas and other scriptures that it is
from a time before this universe existed.
The paths toward the attainment of God
are many, and the choice of a path is left
up to the individual. Each person makes
his or her own decision according to per-
sonal perception and understanding.
In the broad view, our scriptures have
defined five basic paths to God. Each of
these paths is characterized by the worship
of a particular Deity. Those Deities are:
1. Lord Ganesha, the first son of Siva with
an elephant head. 2. The Divine Mother
Sakti, understood as the active life force of
Siva and also worshiped as Durga, Kali and
Saraswathi. 3. Lord Sadasiva, worshiped on
Earth as the satguru. 4. Lord Vishnu, the
sustainer of the universe, and 5. Surya, the
Sun God, one of the principal Divinities
of the Vedas. Later, a sixth God became
popular. His name is Lord Karttikeya, and
october/november/december, 2003
He is the second son of Lord
Siva. Besides these six Dei-
ties, there are millions of other
Gods and Goddesses, each of
whom has a special purpose in
this universe.
I think that it is very impor-
tant for all of us to understand
that we are each unique in our
approach to and understanding
of the Supreme Being. No two
individuals think alike. There-
fore, we all interpret things
differently. For this reason, each of us is re-
sponsible to decide on our own which De-
ity and path we must follow on this Earth.
The beauty of Sanatana Dharma, in my
opinion, is that it never imposes a particu-
lar mode of thought upon an individual. Re-
gardless of our background, we are allowed
to decide for ourselves how we should
relate to God and how we should approach
Him. And regardless of the path that we
choose, we move toward the one source,
which the Vedas regard as Sadasiva.
Paths are many, but the final destination
is one, just as millions upon millions of
rivers all take their own routes toward the
one ocean. Choose whatever path pleases
you. Be honest with yourself in pursuing
that path. Do not let others distract you
from your spiritual objectives. And above
all, take faith in the fact that all these paths
will lead to the same place and that place
is the same Ultimate Supreme. It is through
the grace of Sadasiva, from whom all things
originated, that all things will find their
final resting place in Him.
Look deep within yourself and ask the
question: What is it that I need to accom-
plish in this lifetime? Then strive to attain
that goal. May the blessings of Lord Sada-
siva be with you. ∏π
Rajesh K.R. Bali was born and raised
in the Fiji Islands in a strongly religious
family. He currently works for Lacent
Technologies Inc. in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada, as Director of Manufacturing
and Service. He is a follower of Hinduism’s
liberal Smarta Sampradaya. See this center
section on pages 44 through 51.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 9
PUBLISHER’S DESK
Three Ways to chieve
Enduring Happiness
Become secure in your innate, inner joy through
meditation, devotion and service to others
B Y S A T G U R U B O D H I N A T H A V E Y L A N S WA M I
   
happiness is that if you attain what you
desire, you are happy; and if you don’t,
you are unhappy. Win the lottery, get a
great job, and you are happy. Miss the
lottery, don’t get a great job, and you are mis-
erable. Webster tells us that happiness is “the
emotion evoked by success or by the prospect
of possessing what one desires.” A reective
person knows that this kind of happiness is
eeting. When we nally possess what we
have been desiring, somehow the happiness
soon fades, and before we know it we are back
to our dissatised self again, desiring some-
thing new to give us that elusive happiness.
Desire-fulllment-pleasure-loss-pain-suffering—that is the cycle
of seeking happiness in outer things, be they possessions or people.
What is the solution? Some say, “Give up desire!” Desire is what is
causing the whole problem. It drives us to get what we want, and
when the happiness of that getting eventually wears off we start all
over again with a new desire. So, if you can get rid of desire, you
solve the whole problem. Right?
Our Gurudeva, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, looked at it differ-
ently. He said, “Desire is life, and the reason we desire things is
because we are alive. Desire is energy expressing itself.” The only
way you could get rid of desire would be to get rid of life. Even
if the physical body has passed on, even if we don’t have a physi-
cal body, we are still “alive,” still active, creative and motivated by
what? Desire. So, trying to get rid of desire is not really a solution
to the cycle of desire and fulllment.
Instead, Gurudeva suggested uplifting our consciousness and
changing what we desire. That is how we solve the problem, by
channeling or transmuting our energy, desiring things that are
more rened. Instead of desiring just to make ourselves happy, we
desire to make our family and friends happy, too. That is a higher
desire. Going to school is a way of channeling energy. As a child,
rst we memorize, bringing the energies up out of the chakras
below the muladhara into the muladhara chakra. Then, in the
svadishthana chakra, we reason. We learn how to think. Then we
learn how to push things through and accomplish them, through
the force of will in the manipura chakra. We are pulling the energy
up into memory, reason and willpower in the normal process of
schooling. Schooling is important, for it trains us to lift our con-
sciousness, rene our character and harness the baser desires.
Cultural practices such as singing, dancing and playing a musi-
cal instrument are also effective ways of rening desire. They help
10 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
raise the energies even further
than the basic studying in school.
In doing so, we raise our conscious-
ness and learn to avoid the grosser
states of mind—doubt, depression,
discouragement—and circumvent
the base problem of desire’s lead-
ing ultimately to sorrow.
The goal is to claim the spiritual
happiness that is inside of us. Hap-
piness is already part of our inner
self, but we need to learn how to
experience that part of us that is
always happy. Our religion gives
us inner ways and outer ways to
accomplish this. The monistic or medita-
tive way is to turn within in meditation,
go deep into the lotus of the heart and
experience our inner self, our inner light,
our spiritual energy. That makes us truly
happy. That’s a wonderful way.
There is also the theistic way. We can
come to the temple and open ourself to
the blessings of the Deities. We come in
an unhappy state, receive the blessings
and go away uplifted and happy. Why?
Because we have connected with our
inner self through external worship. We
a. manivel
have connected with the same blissful
state that can be achieved through medi-
tation. These are two ways to internalize
our awareness, to move our awareness
into our spiritual being.
Gurudeva gave us a third way: “If you want to attain happiness,
make others happy.” That is a wonderful statement. Quite often we
are unhappy because we are self-centered. We are in a selsh state
of mind, concerned only about our life, our problems, our chal-
lenges. “Life is not treating us fairly,” we think, so we are unhappy.
What’s the antidote? Do something for other people. Try to make
them happy.
A woman suffering from severe depression was told by her psy-
chiatrist, “I have a remedy that is a sure cure for your depression
if you follow it. Go out and help other people. Make other people
happy.” Of course, she would not do that. We might say she actu-
ally wanted to be depressed. Or we could say she was stuck in that
state of mind, unable to change.
Recently a devotee wrote to me for advice. “The doctor has put
Dad on an even stronger pain medication. He spends his days in
bed. He is so very depressed. I pray daily that I can brighten his
day in some small way. I offer to massage him. Sometimes he is
open; sometimes he just wants to be left alone. My husband and I
try very hard to care for him in the best way we know how. Most
times, I feel it is never good enough, because Dad is so closed
down, so critical and angry. I continually look for ways to give and
to serve each day. Please offer advice and encouragement.”
Sound familiar? An aging parent is in a negative state of mind,
to one degree or another, and refuses to budge from that state of
mind, no matter what the children do. Here was my advice. “In
caring for your father-in-law, it is enough to do the kindly act.
Whether it is appreciated or not does not matter from a karmic
o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r , 2003
Appreciating life’s many blessings: A Hindu youth, metaphorically
cradled in God’s hands, spreads his arms joyously. Trained to ac-
cept life’s ups and downs as part of the divine scheme of things, he
has mastered the power to abide in grateful contentment.
point of view. You are creating good karma by fullling dharma.”
Don’t be disappointed when you you can’t change a lifetime of
mental habits of a person just by smiling, being nice and helping
out. He is who he is. All you can do is your duty. Do it to the best
of your ability. If he is uplifted and smiles because of it or remains
grumpy and depressed, don’t let that be the measure of your suc-
cess. The measure of success is doing your duty, doing it with love.
It is okay for you to be happy even if your parent isn’t happy, even
though you live in the same house. You should not let your father’s
or mother’s negativity, depression and criticalness be contagious.
This same principle applies to everything we do for others in
life. Sometimes parents get discouraged because they do the best
they can with their children and the children don’t respond in a
way that seems reasonable. “Look, our daughter didn’t follow my
good advice, despite all my love and attention. She is still doing
the same old, stupid things.” The parents feel sad. But why should
they? They have done their duty and earned good karma by doing
the right things in a loving way.
Being surrounded by family and friends is important. It is a nat-
ural and positive state to live in. It helps us live a fullling, dharmic
life. However, the problem comes if we rely on family and friends
to make us happy. This is a false concept. We want our happiness
coming from ourselves. Then we can share that happiness with our
family and friends.
We should never fall into thinking, “I am unhappy by myself.
Somehow, if I get married, if I have children or if I have lots of
friends, I will be happy.” It does not work that way. Any tempo-
rary happiness soon wears away in the old cycle of fulllment of
desire. We get married. If we are an unhappy person, we may be
happy for a while. But eventually we will fall back into the state of
unhappiness, because that is our mental habit, the mode our mind
operates in. That habit does not go away just because we associate
with new people. It also does not go away by our getting new pos-
sessions. The happiness derived from acquiring things lasts for an
even shorter time. New computer, new car, redecorate the home—
that is fullling for a few months, maybe a year for the home, but
eventually the charm wears off. The state of unhappiness only goes
away permanently by our remolding our consciousness and the
way we look at life, by rening our character to the point where
we naturally live in a state of fullled contentment all of the time,
regardless of external circumstances. We can summarize the above
observations in seven practical principles:
Seven Tools for Conquering Unhappiness
. Rene your consciousness and build self-control through educa-
tion and cultured activities.
. Clear the subconscious of negative memories, reactions and
grudges through afrmation, self-reection and sadhana.
. Fill yourself with gratitude for life and for all that you have.
. Know that happiness and unhappiness are states of mind. They
are not the real you. You are the pure awareness that experi-
ences a state of mind; you are not the state of mind itself.
. Learn to change your state of mind in meditation, turning
awareness within to your spiritual nature, the radiance within
you. Direct awareness through controlled breathing.
. Tune into your innate happiness through religious devotion.
. Become fullled and uplifted by doing things for others.
By cultivating these tools you can experience true bliss, true hap-
piness, a contentment that does not cycle or fade.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 11

Useful Beyond Words
i find some of the hinduism today
articles useful beyond words. When I read
Self Knowledge (Atmabodha) by Shankara-
charya, I thought it was the most impressive
piece of spiritual writing. What was even
more practical was “Karma Management”
(“Insight,” Oct/Dec 2002). I immediately sent
the link to everyone I know. They all loved it.
Nambakam Ranganathan
∫ ranganatham.nambakam@siemens.com
No Varna Castes in Tamil Nadu
like most articles on the issue of
caste, your articles in the last issue assumes
that the varna system (the four caste system)
existed uniformly throughout India. When
discussing the caste system, the insight and
LETTERS
does not know anything about Hinduism.
Can you come out with some easily readable
booklets which the young as well as not so
young can read with interest?
Ashok Garg, Pune, India
∫ gargsenior@eth.net
Use the Local Language
i agree with mrs. jamuna vittal’s
suggestions (Letters, Apr/Jun 2003) and I
feel that the loss you reported of 60,000
Hindus in Malaysia is mainly due to people
not understanding the language in which
the pujas are done. In Bali they do the pujas
in their own language, and though many
centuries have passed, still 90 percent of
the population are Hindus. There need be
no unifying language. The temples can use
Education seems to be held in high regard by
the Hindus and other South Asians that I am
acquainted with, not to mention tolerance,
acceptance and the ability to let individuals
think freely. America’s greatest strength is in
her diversity, which is supposed to be inclu-
sive of everyone no matter what. Sadly, these
troubled times that we live in are made worse
by those who seek to dominate and stamp out
that diversity and impose their own rules
and agenda on the masses. History lives on
to show that anytime mass dominance was
attempted, it ultimately failed. And it will
continue to fail because people can only take
just so much before they stand up for them-
selves and say “No!” to tyranny.
Steven Pfeiffer, St. Louis, Missouri
∫ skanda2@earthlink.net
Of Temples and of Character
one of my neighbors never goes to any
temple, despite the fact that Nepal has many
temples—from small jungle temples to famous
traditional ones. But Hinduism is very broad,
including Hindus who go to temples and good
Hindus who don’t. As my brother says, to be a
good Hindu one must be honest, behave well
and have character. Chanting, offering flow-
ers, etc., can set an important example for our
children, but devotion is the important thing,
not putting on a show. Unfortunately, many
Hindu hypocrites go to temples but are oth-
erwise quite corrupt, saying one thing while
doing another, causing the next generation
to hate religion. Meanwhile there are others,
like my mother, who think good thoughts,
have respect for God in their hearts and
make small temples in their very own homes.
Bylsujung Karki, kathmandu, Nepal
∫ isu@enet.com.np
Some Jews Believe in Karma
some of your publications say the
beliefs in karma and reincarnation are fun-
damental differences between Judaism and
Hinduism. I just want to say that these are
actually part of Judaism also. Reincarnation
is known as gilgul. Midda ka neged midda
is the Jewish equivalent of karma: as one
does so will he reap; good for good and bad
for bad. Judaism also believes, as Hindus do,
that an old soul can choose to reincarnate in
a body well after birth, in someone who is
say 15 or 22 years old, this is known as ib-
bur. If you ever have a chance to discuss this
with an orthodox Jew, they will confirm this
to you, especially the Lubavitch orthodox
Jews, who have embraced cyber-space.
Rose Ndayahoze
∫ roland_7_2000@yahoo.comv
Letters with writer’s name, address and daytime
phone number, should be sent to:
Letters, Hinduism Today
107 Kaholalele Road
Kapaa, Hawaii, 96746-9304 USA
or faxed to: (808) 822-4351
or e-mailed to: letters@hindu.org
Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may
appear in electronic versions of HINDUISM TODAY.∫
INDICATES LETTERS RECEIVED VIA E-MAIL

Help Us Strengthen Hinduism Worldwide

evidence that Tamil history and literature
provides is never taken into account. Even a
passing glance at Tamil history and literature
makes it abundantly clear that the four-caste
system never existed in Tamil society. Many
scholars and historians have established the
fact that the Tamil castes are indigenous to
the Tamils and have nothing to do with the
varna system. The Tamil society of Sri Lanka
is further evidence for this fact. Granted, in
the last couple of centuries, Tamils of Tamil
Nadu, by their failure to define themselves in
terms of their history, have allowed the shad-
ow of the varna system to fall on their society.
In this century, while the goal of the Tamils
would be to level out the differences within
the Tamil castes and to eventually eliminate
caste as an identity, we will first assert the
fact that the varna system has nothing to do
with the Tamils.
Renuka Kumarasamy, New Jersey, USA
∫ re_ku@hotmail.com
Help Eradicate Untouchability!
the june 2003, national geographic,
article on “India’s Untouchables” makes for
gory reading and paints a pathetic picture of
Hindu society. Nearly 20 percent of Hindus
are so-called “untouchables.” For thousands
of years this large proportion of Hindu
society has been persecuted, resulting in
large-scale conversion to Christianity, Islam
or Buddhism. If about 160 million backward
class Hindus leave our religion because they
are being ill-treated, even after 56 years of
India’s independence, then can you imagine
the plight of Hinduism in its birth place—In-
dia? Your magazine is trying to tell the read-
ers good things about Hinduism, and I hope
that one of the motives is to stop conversions.
If so, then you should also make attempts to
eradicate the casteism and untouchability
from our religion in India. Another problem
is that today in India Hindus are ashamed
of calling themselves Hindus because of so-
called secularism. The younger generation
12 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
the language of the area, and all who want
to worship can worship there. Hindus have
migrated to Western countries, and mil-
lions are in English-speaking countries. In
one more generation, unless the pujas are
done in the language they understand, they
will not go to the temples. I urge Hindism
Today and all those interested to prepare
a program so that the pujas can be done in
English. Today marriage ceremonies and
others are done in a language which most
do not understand and the purpose and
significance of the religious ceremonies
are lost. More translation to suit the tone of
pujas must be done to ensure that our chil-
dren and grandchildren are Hindus.
K. Mailvaganam, Mawson, Australia
∫ tamilsca@apex.net.au
USA Not an Abrahmic Country
the article “has the united states be-
come Judeo-Christian-Islamic?” sent on
your daily e-mail service was well written,
(HPI, May 18, 2003). I am always amazed
at how much the so-called religious right in
this country either doesn’t know or won’t
say about our founding fathers. America was
never meant to be Christian, Judeo-Chris-
tian, or any other religious nation. Most of
the founding fathers and the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, The Bill of
Rights and The Constitution were, in fact,
Deists. A Deist believes in God, and makes
no reference to Jesus the Christ, or any other
Prophet, Messenger, Avatar, Incarnation or
whatever. A simple search for Deist on the
net will turn up a lot of interesting informa-
tion. I, for one, cannot understand why this
information isn’t known by more people. I
was raised Roman Catholic and still knew
about this history, as many of my friends who
went to public school also knew. America suf-
fers from the lack of education of her people.
That’s just one small reason that I chose to
call myself Hindu, and make every effort to
practice the dharma to the best of my ability.
Temple News Uplifts Us
it was my fortune that i hit upon
your website while searching for resources
on Arunachaleswar. The story on the maha
kumbhabishekam of Arunachaleswara Tem-
ple (“New Life,” Jan/Mar 2003) was very
lively. Being in Delhi, I totally missed this
great event. Now the regret of not witnessing
the kumbhabhishekam has gone. Thanks
again to Hinduism Today and your corre-
spondent, Mr. Kesav Mallia. I look forward to
reading your next internet issue. Maybe you
can have a regular feature on some of our
great temples that are lesser known or bur-
ied in history. This would give life to these
temples and local economies, too, as more
people will start travelling to these places.
Pilgrimage tourism is the earliest form of
travel and still a great motivating factor in
India for people to travel.
D. Venkatesan, Delhi, India
∫ dvenkatesan@hub.nic.in
Celebrating Hinduism
one of the things i have greatly ap-
preciated about Hinduism Today is its
unabashed celebration of Hinduism. As a
Westerner, I enjoy Hinduism Today on so
many levels: as a guide to a wonderful spiri-
tual tradition, a great place to read what’s
going on in India and in other traditions
around the world and a forum—one of the
few—that shares my beliefs in compassion
and vegetarianism. I was deeply saddened to
read about the mistreatment of elephants in
Hindu temples in India (“Elephant’s Price,”
Jul/Sept 2003). We are, unfortunately, used
to hearing about such abuse in circuses, but
it is doubly distressing to learn about these
noble creatures suffering abuse within a
place of worship. I do not believe animals
are put on Earth for our use in any form. I
appreciate you publishing this story. 
Mark Hawthorne, California
∫ nga_sha_zamet@yahoo.com
Put Hinduism Today in your will, living trust or life insurance policy
iraj bhatt, a 21-year-old princeton graduate,
recently flew from his home in New Jersey to help at our
editorial offices for a few weeks in July. Niraj has been
reading HINDUISM TODAY since he was 12 years old. Be-
fore flying off to London for training with the company that
hired him, he wanted to participate personally in the publica-
tion that has been his inspiration since he was a boy. Born and
raised in America, having never traveled to India, he regards
the magazine you hold in your hands as a lifeline to his roots
and international Hindu family. We need to continue to grow
Hinduism Today into an ever better instrument for the ben-
efit of Niraj and tens of thousands like him. You can help us
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Become a benefactor of HINDUISM TODAY by making the
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your estate plan through your will, revocable living trust or Niraj Bhatt, 21, who has read Hinduism Today since he was
life insurance policy. The HTPF ensures that this powerful 12, told the editorial staff during his Hawaii visit,“This maga-
instrument for dharma will continue for centuries to come. zine is an inspiration, not only to me, but to many other young
The Hinduism Today Production Fund is one among the people. It was amazing to see that just a handful of dedicated
many funds of the US government recognized charitable monastics produce this world-class magazine.”
nonprofit trust known as the Hindu Heritage Endowment. It
provides a permanent quarterly income to help subsidize our
editorial and production costs—writers and photographers,
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of modern media and giving our children a contemporary tool
they can be proud of.
Talk to your financial planner today to make your bequest,
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forms or for more information visit: http://www.hheonline.org/ of Hinduism Today. For years he has subsidized the purchase
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october/november/december, 2 0 0 3 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 13
 Frank and Ernest ©1989 THAVES, REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION

“hin twice befoe you tal.

hin hrice befoe you ac.”
Sri Sri Sri Sivaratnapuri, Tiruchi Mahaswamigal, spiritual head of Kailasa Ashrama, Bangalore

According to karma yoga, the action one
has done cannot be destroyed until it has
borne its fruit; no power in nature can
stop it from yielding its results. If I do an
evil action, I must suffer for it; there is no
power in this universe to stop it or stay
DID YOU KNOW?
895 The World’s LARGEST
it. Similarly, if I do a good action, there is
no power in the universe that can stop its
bearing good results. The cause must have
its effect; nothing can prevent or restrain
this. Swami Vivekananda (-)
If you would walk the way of love, never
feel hurt nor yield to anger, but accept pain
as a part of life. Dada J.P. Vaswani, spiritual
head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.
H.G. Wells (-), British author
The angel turned expectantly to the leader Wealth and happiness are not related to man emotion, thought and action. Yet, you
He who has millions in money but no of religion C. With an expression of grave each other as cause and effect. An attempt no doubt meet or observe people occasion-
character will soon turn his cash into trash. humility, C’s leader said, “I wish nothing to secure happiness by securing wealth ally whose life and actions are repellent or
His Divine Holiness, Pramukh Swami
Maharaj, spiritual head of Bochasanwasi
for myself. It will be enough if you merely
grant the prayers of my two colleagues!”
is as futile as it is absurd. Jagadguru Sri
Chandrasekhara Bharati Mahaswamigal
unacceptable to you. The absence of love
has created a vacuum of understanding.

Hindu Populations Shree Akshar Puroshottam

Swaminarayan Sanstha
Children, we must rst plant the seeds of
love, peace and patience within ourselves.
(-), th pontiff of the Sarada
Peetham
For the meditating person, there should
not be a single human being whose actions,
The key to world peace is within every habits, opinions or conduct lies beyond
Eternal, pure, groundless, death-and-birth individual residing on this planet. Peace is Love is the source of understanding. You your ability to love and understand.
free, pervasive, ever immaculate, distant, not just the absence of war and conict; it know intellectually that within you resides Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Highest Proportion of Hindus near, enveloping effulgence of void, the goes well beyond that. Simply transferring the potential, expressed or not, for all hu- (-), founder of H T
support of all, the fullness of bliss, the the world’s nuclear weapons to a museum
India 89% consciousness-form beyond thought and will not in itself bring about world peace.
Nepal 86% speech, That which thus stood, the expanse The nuclear weapons of the mind must rst Glory
Mauritius 59% vast that generates bliss, let us contem- be eliminated. Mata Amritanandamayi Ma,
plate. Tayumanavar (-), India’s Kerala-based “hugging saint” Tirukural 235: Loss that is gain
Guyana 46%
South Indian devotional poet and death that is life of immortal
Fiji 42% Fear less, hope more; whine less, breathe glory are attained only by the
Every two miles the water doth change, more; talk less, say more; hate less, love wise.
and every four the dialect. Hindi proverb more; and all good things are yours.
Estimates, in millions on India’s languages Swedish proverb Tirukural 237: Why do those
whose life is devoid of renown
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. It is far easier to conquer others than to blame enemies who hate them,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibetan conquer oneself, because the former can when they have themselves to
21
spiritual-political leader in exile be attained by recourse to outside means, blame?
12.6 while the latter can be achieved only with
5.9 The leaders of three religions—A, B and one’s own mind. Mahatma Gandhi Tirukural 239: Even awlessly
2.1 C—decided to convene a meeting to bring (-) fruitful lands will lessen their
about peace. God was so pleased with yields when forced to support
their efforts that He sent an angel to them There was a young lady named Bright, the body of one who lacks
India Nepal Bangladesh Indonesia Pakistan during the meeting. The angel asked the Who could travel much faster than light. illustriousness.
leaders what they wished. The leader of She started one day in the relative way,
religion A said, “Religion B is responsible And came back on the previous night. Tirukural 240: Those who live
2 2 1.4 1.4 1.3 for all the problems. So please wipe them without reproach truly live.

. 
off the face of the Earth!” The leader of re- Sojourns in tirthas, which are meritori- Those who live without renown
ligion B said, “Religion A is the cause of all ous and which constitute one of the high don’t live at all.
Sri Lanka USA Malaysia South Africa UK our troubles. You have to reduce them to mysteries of the rishis, are even superior to
ashes!” By now the angel was disappointed. sacrices. Mahabharata

14             //,  //,              15


FROM THE VEDAS

gni 
otra—the Fire Sacrifice
Oblations to the Blazing Splendor, Messenger of the Gods!
he most appropriate V edic symbol for the
lordship of the Lord is perhaps the figure of
Agni, the friend of Man, the mediator, the sa-
cred and sacrificial fire, and at the same time
the fire that is in the Sun, in burning things,
and in the heart of Man, everywhere the
same and yet everywhere different, having varied and even
almost contrary effects. The devotion to Agni does not rep-
resent nature worship, much less pantheism; it is the recog-
nition of an underlying polymorphic reality that softens
s. rajam
16 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
wax and honey but hardens mud, dries up plants, may
bring life or death, and always transcends all our powers,
mental as well as physical. Agni is near to Man, kindly dis-
posed, intimately bound up with his life, the guest of his
dwelling, the wise Lord who knows all things, the eternally
young, the strong and powerful to whom one offers sacrifice
and who is able to shower one with blessings. If modern
Man does not follow what has been said, let him wait until
winter and evening, kindle the hearth, and simply gaze at
the live coals, and he will surely understand that the lord is
he who breaks his isolation without disturbing his solitude.
He is powerful and yet accessible to Men, full of goodness
and mercy, inspiring devotion in such a way that Man ap-
proaches him fearlessly as a friend, not as an abstraction or
a distant and formidable deity. The lordship of Agni is not
seen as the imposition of a divine will, but as an expression
of the normal and beautiful order of reality.
RAIMUNDO PANIKKAR
• • • • • the Gods of old took their ritual shares of oblation! United
I magnify God, the Divine Fire, the Priest, Minister of
the sacrifice, the Offerer of oblation, supreme Giver of
Treasure. Rig Veda, 1.1.1
All set for the kindling of the sacred fire, we hymn you,
O Lord, with our verses, invoking your powerful grace. In
your praise, O Lord, who reach highest heaven, we com-
pose our song, eager to obtain your treasure divine! Priest
among Men, may he offer due homage to the heavenly be-
ings! Great, O Lord, is your renown. Through you, O bless-
ed one, worthy mediator, may we complete the sacrifice!
The poets exalt you with their hymns—you whose under-
takings are ever successful. Grant us great vigor! As the
october/november/december, 2003
spokes are bound by encircling iron, so you encompass the
Gods, O Lord. I yearn for your bounty! Rig Veda, 5.13.1-6
Agni extends the sacrifice to heaven: his forms are scat-
tered everywhere. Rig Veda, 10.80.4
O Lord almighty, enkindled on the altar, confer upon us
your treasures—you who gather all things into one, even
what comes from the stranger! Gather together, converse
together! Your minds be of one accord, just as in harmony
be your counsel, united your assembly, united your spirit
and thoughts! A single plan do I lay before you; a single
oblation do I offer! United your resolve, united your
hearts, may your spirits be at one, that you may long to-
gether dwell in unity and concord! Rig Veda, 10.191.1-4
It was you, O Agni most ancient, whom the ancients of
old, observers of Cosmic Law, enkindled for their aid, O
God created by life-power, the shining, the adorable, the
one who brings comfort to all Men, worthy of worship,
God of the hearth and home. It was you, O Agni of the
flaming hair, whom the peoples enthroned as their fore-
most guest, the master of their households, O God of the
lofty ensign, of manifold shapes, the winner of stakes, our
kindly protector and helper, devourer of ancient forests. It
is you, O Agni of manifold shapes, who imparts life-power
to each race of Men, as in days of old, O God highly
praised! By means of this, your life-power, you control all
sorts of food. That light of yours, when you shine forth,
blazes indomitable. It is you, O Agni most youthful, whom,
once enkindled, the Gods have chosen as messenger, con-
veyer of oblations. You, O God of vast range, situated in oil
and nourished by offerings, the Gods have made their
bright Eye, the inspirer of thought and fancy. It is you, O
Agni, whom Men through the ages have sought with sa-
cred oil and with fuel easy to kindle. Thus, imbued with
strength, your size increased by the plants, you spread
over all the world. Rig Veda, 5.8.1-7
It is you, O sweet-spoken Agni, the immortal, whom the
God-loving seek first to win with their prayers—O you
who remove far all hostility, unerring friend and master of
the home! Remove, as our helper, all poorness of thought;
drive far all sorrow, all evil intention. Deal kindly, O Agni,
son of strength, at evening with him whose salvation, as
God, you provide! Rig Veda, 4.11.5-6
O blazing splendor, purifying flame, joy of all hearts,
with cheerful songs we venerate you, the cheerful one! Rig
Veda, 8.43.31
You, O Agni, are the righteous, the truthful, the mighty,
and most wonderful. You are indeed manifest to all: you, O
Agni, are omnipresent. Men rank Agni highest for grace
and joy, for grace and joy reside undoubtedly in sacrifice.
You, who are heaven, the ruler and divine one, we human
beings invoke with song. Shukla Yajur Veda, Satapatha
Brahmana, 4.1.34
Raimundo Panikkar, 82, holds doctorates in science, phi-
losophy and theology. His anthology of verses, The Vedic
Experience, excerpted above, is the result of ten years spent
in Banaras translating with the help of Vedic scholars.
The Vedas are the divinely revealed and most revered scriptures,
sruti, of Hinduism, likened to the Torah (1,200 bce), Bible New
Testament (100 ce), Koran (630 ce) or Zend Avesta (600 bce). Four
in number, Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva, the Vedas include over
100,000 verses. Oldest portions may date back as far as 6,000 BCE.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 17

THE GLORIES AND WOES OF A GRACIOUS TRADITION
Hospitality
INDU
SOCIAL ISSUES
dinodia
WELCOME!
Arriving guests are warmly
greeted at the entryway by the
entire family. In a well-adjusted,
cohesive family, receiving
visitors is a joyous event.
By Lavina Melwani, New York
e one to whom the
mother is a God. Be
one to whom the father
is a God. Be one to
whom the teacher is a
God. Be one to whom the guest
is a God.” So advises the Tait-
tiriya Upanishad of the Yajur
Veda, affirming the remarkable
Hindu reverence for a guest.
The Sanskrit word for guest
is athithi, “without time,” i.e.,
“one who has no fixed day for
coming.” It remains today the
accepted custom of Hindus to
visit friends, relatives and even
strangers without notice. Hosting
guests is one of the five central
religious duties or “sacrifices” of
the Hindu householder: paying
homage to seers, to Gods and
elementals, to ancestors, to liv-
ing beings and, manushya yajna,
“homage to men,” which includes
gracious hosting of guests. The
ancient Tamil scripture, Tiruku-
ral, says, “The whole purpose of
earning wealth and maintaining
a home is to provide hospitality
to guests.” In this article we ex-
plore the many facets of Hindu
hospitality, from how to receive
a guest to how to behave in the
home, to the impact of modern-
ization, urbanization and the ad-
vent of the nuclear family upon
this most ancient and revered
obligation of our faith.
“ Be one to whom
the guest is God.”
—TAITTIRIYA UPANISHAD
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 19
 Do you think you are the perfect Hindu
host? Well, here’s a story that will make you
reevaluate your hospitality skills, for the host
in this tale is none other than Lord Krishna.
When his boyhood friend, Sudama—hungry,
impoverished and in rags—arrived at the
palace, the guards refused to allow him in.
But Lord Krishna, overjoyed to see his old
friend, received him with open arms and
joyfully led him to his throne. He personal-
ly washed Sudama’s feet and fed him with
his own hands. Sudama had brought a hum-
ble gift, a handful of parched rice tied in the
corner of his shawl and was too ashamed to
give it to Lord Krishna in front of all the fine
courtiers, but Lord Krishna opened it with
Guestly Perfection
guest may be anyone
from a close relative to a
total stranger, and rules
naturally vary accord-
ingly. What is summarized here
is for a visitor somewhere be-
tween the two extremes.
Arrival: It is traditional that a
guest need not inform a host of
his impending arrival. Howev-
er, in today’s busy world, more
and more often guests do give
advance notice. The host may
insist that no advance notice is
necessary, and close friends or
relatives may even take
advance notice as an affront, a
disturbing sign that all may not
be well with the relationship.
Duration: It is very impolite
dinodia
of the host to ask how long the
guest is staying. But, as a guest,
you should convey this infor- Arrival: Guests may arrive unannounced
mation in an casual manner. In
a gesture of hospitality, the host will natural- chores, as well as care for their quarters,
ly retort that you should really stay much
longer.
Gifts: Gifts are always given to hosts by
guests when staying overnight in a home.
The value of the gift varies greatly, of course, offered drink or food. Blend into the family’s
depending on the guest’s circumstances and rhythms. Be a genuine friend, taking real
resources. It is proper to give a separate gift
for the wife and the husband. The wife re-
ceives the nicest item. Small items should
also be given for the children. In Sri Lanka,
giving goes the other way as well. It is com-
mon for the host to give a gift to the guest,
especially those poorer.
Helping: In a home without servants, con-
siderate guests can help with housework and tail of your visit that you most appreciated.
20 hinduism today october/november/december, 2003
delight and ate the grains with pleasure and and guests, each covered with a mosquito
appreciation. To him, the true value of this net to ward off insects.
meager gift lay in the affection with which it Another time, I was with my older broth-
had been offered. Similar stories abound in er, who had to stop at an acquaintance’s
our scriptures and histories. home in Old Delhi to pick up some paper-
Although I did not grow up in a particu- work. The family knew we were coming and
larly religious household, the concept of hos- had prepared a feast. In this very Hindu
pitality was still very traditionally Hindu, home, we removed our shoes, washed our
both in giving and receiving. I remember we hands and feet and sat on the immaculate
stopped at a friend’s home in Mathura after kitchen floor with the hosts while a brah-
a pilgrimage to Haridwar. The hosts re- min cook served us one of the most memo-
ceived us like VIPs, with open hearts and rable meals I have ever eaten.
minds. We ate a wonderful vegetarian meal Indeed, you can never leave an Indian
in the cool evening air in their garden, and household without gaining a few ounces, for
then, as the stars came out, the string beds you will certainly be plied with some
were brought out into the open, for family snacks, some tea at the very least, or a glass
of cold rose sherbet in the heat of
summer. In our home in New Del-
hi, family and friends came to us
from everywhere, and they cer-
tainly got more than a glass of wa-
ter: delicious meals, a comfortable
bed, domestics hanging over their
every need and, yes, even a guided
tour of Delhi, and, sometimes,
even Agra.
Nor was the hospitality reserved
just for visiting guests. Daily food
was never eaten without my moth-
er’s consecrating a small portion to
God, and a portion being given to a
passing needy person or a cow.
Relatives came and were joyous-
ly received, especially on days of
shraddha when the priest, uncles,
aunts and cousins would descend
on the house to honor the memory
of ancestors. The house would take
on an almost festive air, as scores of
children erupted out of the arriv-
ing cars. After prayers and feeding
the priest, the aroma of sizzling
puris and pakodas wafted from the
kitchen while elders embarked on
a massive talkathon.
Sundari Katir of California told
Hinduism Today, “When I was
growing up in Sri Lanka, guests
would always be visiting us from
different parts of the country and
even if the host insists it is not necessary. You India. The whole household would
can also help with cooking, as well as invite jump into action. My mother
your hosts out for a meal. would assemble the meal, and we
Graciousness: It is an insult to refuse any children would get our rooms all
ready, because we would give them
up and sleep on mats on the floor.
interest in the family’s life and treating the It was such a natural thing to do,
children lovingly, as you would your own. and we were always delighted to
Conversely, one should not meddle in family have guests. Today my brother
affairs, nor later make unflattering observa- Ranjan is one of the few relatives
tions to others about one’s hosts. left in Colombo, and he carries on
Thanks: After returning home, remember the tradition. He treats everyone as
to send a warm and sincere thank-you letter, God, with good food, comfortable
hand-written, mentioning some specific de- beds and heartfelt hospitality. I
have become a better hostess after
observing him.”
God as guest: The most common
Perfect Hosting
Hindu form of worship,puja, is, in
fact, an act of hosting. Rare is the
Hindu home without a shrine for
the Deities. From huge family
temples of marble in the homes of
the wealthy to modest shrines,
Hindus revere their Gods. Daily, osting is more an atti-
images of the family Gods are tude than a set of prac-
bathed, clothed and offered fruit, tices. The perfect host is
flowers and incense, accompanied truly open to guests and
by chanting and the tinkle of the honestly delighted with their
bell, all in the format of hosting a presence. That said, here are
guest. The full 16-step puja begins some specifics to keep your
with an invitation for God to come hosting up to par.
to the home, continues through of-
fering of a seat, washing the feet Welcome: Greet the guest with
with water, offerings of drink and namaskara, invite him cheer-
food, garments and incense, flow- fully into the house. Make him
ers, etc., until finally the God is sit comfortably. Speak pleasant-
thanked and bid adieu. While the ly to him, inquiring about his
standard human guest would re- welfare.
ceive less adulation, a holy man Refreshments: Always offer the
visiting a family’s home may well guest something to eat and
be welcomed and worshiped in drink. Usually tea or juice is
this complete manner. served, along with snacks. At
Festivals bring a more intense least a glass of water is offered
program to host God. At Dipavali, (with a smile and apology).
dinodia
the Festival of Lights, when God- Hosting: Guests who are mem-
dess Lakshmi visits the homes of bers of the extended family
devotees, there is a frenzy of clean- will just fit in to the family rou- Welcome!: A pleasant welcome is the first gift from the host
ing, sweeping and painting as tine. When a bit more formality
homes are beautified and decorat- is called for, the father, if present, will speak Punctuality: Eastern life is generally more re-
ed with hundreds of earthen lamps with the guest. If not present, the mother laxed than in the West. A good guideline is
to greet Her. and a son will fulfill this role, and if no son is do not be surprised or offended if your guest
And guest as God: At the very present, the mother may act as hostess, but arrives late or early. But be punctual in your
heart of Hinduism is the belief that only with the accompaniment of someone own engagements, as this is appreciated.
the Almighty permeates every- close to the family. The children may go off Duration of Stay: It is quite impolite to ask a
thing. Indeed, the Hindu belief in to play among themselves, stay with the guest how long he intends to stay, but it is
the presence of the Paramatma in adults or come and go. good protocol for guests to make their plans
every living thing transforms each Wife Home Alone: If the lady of the house is and itinerary known from the outset.
one of us into God. The ancient home alone and a male visitor comes to see Goodbyes: Always see your guest to his trans-
Hindu texts say the guest has to be her husband, it is not proper for her to invite port, and wave and watch until they are out
shown honor by the host’s going him in, or for him to expect to enter. Rather, of sight.
out to meet him, offering him wa- he will leave a message and depart.
ter to wash his feet, by giving him
a seat, lighting a lamp before him,
providing food and lodging and accompany- guests is one of the five obligatory sacrifices dama—a brahmin at that—outside the gates.
ing him some distance when he departs. or duties of the householder. Anusasana When Hinduism Today’sfounder, Satguru
Thousands of years have passed, but this states, “The host should give his eye, mind Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (Gurudeva), was
code of etiquette remains little changed and agreeable speech to the guest, he should in Sri Lanka as a young man, he experi-
from the ancient scriptures. personally attend on him and should accom- enced wonderful hospitality across the is-
In the Manu Dharma Shastras, for exam- pany him when he (the guest) departs; this land from all the communities. Part of the
ple, the host is directed thus: “All the food sacrifice (yajna) demands these five fees.” time he stayed in the very traditional Tamil
shall be very hot, and the guests shall eat in The visit of a holy person is given extra village of Alaveddy at the home of Kandiah
silence. Having addressed them with the special attention, and for good reason.Vrid- Chettiar, one of his teachers, receiving in-
question: ‘Have you dined well?’ let him give dha Harita Dharma Shastra says that if a structions on, among other things, the host-
them water to sip, and bid farewell to them bramachari ascetic stays as a guest in a ing of guests. One day, Chettiar had given
with the words: ‘Now rest.’” K.T. Achaya in householder’s home for a single night, the food to a rather suspicious-looking man at
Indian Food: A Historical Companion latter’s accumulated sins are destroyed, and the gate, rather than inviting him to the
points out that guests had an honored rank when such an ascetic takes food at a man’s porch of the house. When the young Gu-
in Vedic society and, after being ceremoni- house, it is Vishnu Himself who is fed. rudeva asked why he didn’t invite the man
ously received, were offered the ambrosial Common sense: It should be clearly stated in, Chettiar replied, with characteristic
beverage, madhuparka, consisting of ghee, that Hindu hospitality does not extend to frankness, “Because he would steal every-
curd, milk, honey and sugar. being careless with the safety of one’s fami- thing in the house.” The dharma shastras
According to thedharma shastras, hosting ly and home. Even Krishna’s guards kept Su- discuss at some length the issue of unworthy
october/november/december, 2003 hinduism today 21
 way to make each guest feel welcome. It is
proper protocol to drop whatever one is do-
ing, no matter how important, to entertain a
visitor. One of the privileges of friendship in
the East is being able to drop by any time
without advance notice.
Mitesh Patel, whose family hails from
Kathiawad region of Gujarat, says that in his
hometown hospitality is extended to every-
one: “When a guest comes to our house, we
rarely let them go without offering a good
meal. We don’t feel that guests are a burden,
whether they are staying for few hours or
few days, and offer them full assistance.”
He gives the example of his uncle who left
the ancestral village30 years ago to settle in
the city of Rajkot. Three decades later, if
anyone from the village comes for a medical
checkup to the big hospital in the city, his
uncle makes sure healthy, home-made meals
go out to the patient every single day.
The level of hospitality depends upon sev-
eral factors, the most obvious being family
ties. Traditionally, any known or unknown
member of one’s extended family—and the
Hindu extended family includes not only
to the host. They, too, may be treated just like improving in the big cities where caste and
a member of the extended family, as Janet creed lose their importance in the great eco-
Chawla experienced, though commonly a bit nomic bazaar and where politicians see the
more formally. We can see from Sheela’s de- lower castes as potential votes, the village
scription of her childhood village that the scene remains woefully medieval. Buried in
homes were designed to accommodate even the back pages of newspapers are frequent
total strangers in a convenient fashion. stories of atrocities, which should shock us
The concept of hospitality extends to wel- all from our complacency and our conceit of
coming customers to business settings, just how “hospitable” we may really be.
where it certainly makes good sense. Go Loss of tradition: In the larger hospitality
into a sari shop in crowded marketplaces picture, things seem to be changing for the
and the owner will automatically offer you a worse as the time-honored extended family
soft drink in the heat. If you’re shopping for finally battles modernity. Dr. T. H. Chow-
an expensive wedding trousseau, they are dary of Hyderabad writes, “As people leave
even more solicitous—offering coconut wa- their villages and joint families break up
ter, a snack and drinks from the market. I re- and the educated move to flats in the cities,
call my father in his jewelry store not only the old idea of hospitality is fast dying. In
offering soft drinks, paan in silver contain- the villages and small towns in the past, in
ers and candy, but also giving the kids who the evening when beggars came for food,
came to the shop small items as gifts. whatever was left in the house would be giv-
Untouchables: Yet, one does have to admit en away. In those days of no refrigeration,
that Hinduism’s glowing hospitality report food could not be kept. Now in the towns
card does have one very big black mark on and cities, surplus is stored in refrigerators,
it, something which the Gods probably did which have thus come to be known as garib-
not ordain but which wily man has reinter- mar, the killers of the poor.
preted for his own gain—the treatment of “Even when brothers and sisters and such

dinodia
blood relatives to several degrees removed, the so-called lower castes. It is really quite near ones come, one silently wishes that
but also all the in-laws by marriage—is basi- inconceivable that a loving religion, which they will stay in a hotel and, at best, they
cally treated just like a member of the im- proclaims that God is in every living thing, might come for a dinner or a breakfast,” he
possible that in the morning there is one set Little wonder, then, that in multicultural mediate family. It would not be uncommon, would denigrate a whole class of human be-
An enjoyable visit results when both of people, in the afternoon another and a to- India these varied streams of hospitality for example, for a student at the university ings as untouchables.
guest and host are experts in the art tally different group at night. The meals have coalesced to produce a generous and to stay with distant relatives throughout his The story of everyday village India is full Serving food is a host’s obligatory
of congenial conversation. served would be according to whatever time warm people. Visitors to India come away entire schooling. of the low castes being turned away from duty, and for the host to skip it, or
of day it is. Also, the bath area often has a with awed stories of the way they were em- Then there are friends, business acquain- village wells, being castigated for worship- for the guest to refuse what is offered,
separate access from outside the house.” braced and included in every family cele- tances, people from the same village or state ping at the temple or merely for passing by are both affronts.
or even dangerous guests, yet advising that In her grandfather’s day, Sheela noted, it bration—in fact, made part of a larger, ex- and so on, all of whom have some connection the home of a brahmin. While things are
no matter what the circumstances, the visi- was the practice for the head of the house- tended family. Often these relationships last
tor should at least receive food. hold to stand at his doorstep at mealtime over the years.
Village traditions: Sheela Venkatakrish- and ask loudly, not once but thrice, “Is there You cannot go to even the humblest home
nan of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, told Hindu- someone who needs to be fed?” Sometimes without being honored with food and Indian
ism Today,“You offer your guest the same a traveler or a poor man would come in for drink, as Janet Chawla found out some years
love and respect that you would offer to food. It was only after the guest had been back. Chawla, an American who married a
God. Simple! A striking example of hospital- fed that family would eat—one of the explic- Sikh and now lives in New Delhi, believes the
ity is when the whole town of Kumbakonam, it instructions in the dharma shastras. The charm of India is in the graciousness of its
where my father hails from, turns host dur- Apastamba says, “He who eats before his people, although it is getting less so in the big
ing the week of the Mahamaham.” Thou- guest eats destroys food, prosperity, progeny, cities. She feels there is a grace, a way of sit-
sands upon thousands of people come for cattle and the merit of his own house.” ting together, singing together at weddings.
the holy bath in the tank of the Kumbar- Hospitality permeates Indian culture, People in small villages, she says, really are
eswaran temple, and every home opens its both on a personal and institutional level. In very giving, sharing the little they have.
doors to accommodate and feed all who Tamil Nadu, many of the bigger and older “In America, if we were sitting and work-
reach its doorstep. No one is turned away. temples have the annadanam scheme—a ing together, and I had a sandwich—I would
Sheela explained, “Houses in the villages daily free feeding. Recently, with the active open it and eat it alone. An Indian would
and towns of Tamil Nadu usually have a fair- patronage of the government, many more never do that,” she says. “There is this kind
ly large platform just outside their front temples have revived this practice, where of culturally prescribed sharing which I find
door, called a thinnai. This serves two pur- they feed a minimum of 100 people each very gracious.” Janet didn’t mention it, but
poses. One is temporary storage of grain day at noon. Muslim darghas have adopted some Westerners visiting India can find the
during the harvest and also an airy place to this practice, while the Sikh gurudwaras level of hospitality discomfiting, especially
sleep during the hot and humid summers. have always followed it. Mention also has to the tradition of never leaving a guest alone.
It is not unusual for a traveller to use this as be made of the Hyderabadi brand of hospi- That impinges upon the Westerner’s desire
a resting place. You could open your front tality that has few parallels. Made famous by for privacy and “personal space”—concepts
door in the morning and find someone the Muslim nawabs of Lucknow, those on absent from the Indian milieu.
sleeping on your thinnai. This is where you the receiving end enjoyed courtesy, food, Hospitality at home: Hindu tradition lays
would find the strangersduring Mahama- drink and congeniality—all served with an great stress on the respect due to guests.
ham. Of course, family and friends would elegant world-class flourish. Every ethnic The greatest hurt for a guest is the thought
dinodia

be accommodated inside the house. But and religious subculture of India puts a pre- that the host or hostess does not enjoy one’s
everyone is fed, irrespective of caste. It is mium on hospitality. presence. Therefore, Hindus go out of their

22 hinduism today october/november/december, 2003 october/november/december, 2003 hinduism today 23


goes on. “What to speak of caring for the
parents or relatives when the wife and hus-
band have no time even to talk to one an-
other! Or when the one-year-old child, the
only child, is put in a day-care center so that
both the wife and husband can earn enough
to satisfy their ideas of modern comforts, in-
cluding that refrigerator or new TV
“What to speak of hospitality for friends
and unknowns,” says Chowdary, “when the
nuclear family of wife and husband are say-
ing that the old father must stay with one son
and the old mother with another son? They
want to separate the old parents, considering
them burdens to be shared by the sons.”
As Chowdary points out, with women
joining the work force in large numbers, and
time, effort and budgets stretched by mod-
ern life, the old-time hospitality is often
compromised. Earlier, visitors could just
drop in, but now hosts get agitated to find
unexpected guests on the doorstep—a far
cry from the hospitality of the village home’s
thinnai.
Sheela Venkatakrishnan agrees: “In recent
years, the trend has become, as Gurudeva
said, ‘The women going out of their homes
to work.’ Living in nuclear families, who is
there to take care of the home, leave alone a
guest? You tend to think twice about visiting
a friend or relative, not wanting to impose or
inconvenience them in any way.”
Still, she points out that they have many
relatives in joint families who welcome them
with open arms. She herself lives in a joint
family in Chennai where someone is always
home: “The doors of our home and our
hearts are open to God and all whom He
chooses to send our way.”
The diaspora adjusts: The picture, how-
ever, is bleaker in the diaspora, where immi-
24 hinduism todayoctober/november/december, 2003
dinodia
grants struggle with the beliefs they grew
up with and the pressures of their new en-
vironment. Most manage to keep the hospi-
tality intact for family and close friends.
Some go to extraordinary lengths, sponsor-
ing relatives and even opening up their
homes to them till they get settled.
The Gujarati community is particularly
strong in this respect, and many continue to
live in large, extended families abroad. This
sense of caring is extended to the entire
community and, in fact, many Patels have
managed to do so well in the motel business
because of their unity and financial support
of friends and relatives. No wonder the
Gujaratis command a whopping portion of
the motel industry. They are well-trained in
the ways of hospitality, for as one of the suc-
cessful hoteliers, H.P. Rama, affirms, “We
Indians believe the guest is God.”
Mitesh Patel, who lives in Edison, New
Jersey, came to the US when he was 15, so
he has seen life on both continents. Now24,
he believes that Hindu hospitality has less-
ened in the US, Canada and the UK, but not
in India: “I believe the reason is quite sim-
ple. NRIs are busy making big bucks in
these countries. Sometimes even family
members don’t see each other for a few days
because they are busy working, so they feel
that it’s hard to accommodate a guest.”
Indeed, living abroad, notions of hospital-
ity do undergo a change. Also, abroad, one
would never dream of dropping in on ac-
quaintances without calling ahead. This is a
culture where even children do not just play
but have organized “play dates” scheduled
out weeks in advance.
Indians living abroad do have to contend
with housework, their jobs and the daily
commute, all without the support of extend-
A fond farewell puts a sweet end to the
guests’ experience, and creates antici-
pation for the next visit
ed family or domestic helpers. So their stan-
dards of hospitality have diminished. Some
compromise, putting guests in hotels or tak-
ing shortcuts in their care. Truly generous
hospitality in any society or home depends
on the strength, integrity and security of the
family unit.
Changing attitudes: Summer, especially,
means an endless barrage of guests from In-
dia and points in the diaspora. Homes be-
come as crowded as the Grand Central Ter-
minal, and hosts are faced with a multitude
of tasks. As one exhausted woman, whose
house was full of summer guests, told me,
“Houseguests are like fish: after three days,
they stink.”
She didn’t know it, but this adage ap-
peared in the1736 edition of Poor Richard’s
Almanac by Benjamin Franklin, one of
America’s founding fathers. He said, precise-
ly, “Fish and houseguests stink after three
days.” The statement, and the attitude be-
hind it, stand in stark contrast to the Hindu
view of the guest as God. And it’s not just an
American trait. Shakespeare wrote with a
similar attitude in King Henry VI, Part I ,
“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when
they are gone.” In all fairness, there are
many hospitable Americans and Britishers,
but offering hospitality is not the religious
obligation it is for Hindus. It is also relevant
that, in the Hindu village, true strangers
were served on the porch, or even at the
compound gate, in order to preserve the
sanctity and safety of the home.
While the pressures of life in the West are
there for the hosts, to some extent their atti-
tudes have also changed. The rhythms of
the place where you live impact you. Lead-
ing frenetic lives in the West, people tend to
become more brusque, more cynical. Like
Franklin, they begin to regard the guest as
an unwelcome nuisance. Standards of hospi-
tality are indeed changing, and one wonders
how far we should embrace modernization
at the expense of true hospitality?
What to do? Gurudeva, Satguru Sivaya
Subramuniyaswami, once observed, “The
guest is God, not an intruder. All Hindus
have a heart to receive the guest as God.
This is very important for us to remember,
because guests come and guests go. Often,
guests come and never come back, because
of subtle inflections in the voice, because it
was forgotten to serve even a glass of water,
which is traditional in Hindu culture. The
guest is God, not an intruder. When some-
one steps up to you, drop your work. People
are more important than paper. People are
more important than giving oneself to the
computer. People are more important than
anything else. People are the working out of
your karma.”
Yes, it may help to remember an old Indi-
The Holy
an saying: Dane dane pe likha hai khane
wale ka naam —“On each grain is written
the name of the eater.” The people who turn Kural on
up on your doorstep are meant to be there,
part of your karma, part of the big cosmic
play. Of course, it’s hard to see it quite that
way when you are under stress at work and
Hospitality
still have to produce dinner for your guests The South Indian ethical mas-
by 7:00pm !
For Hindus caught in the modern world of terpiece, Tirukural, composed
hurry and scurry, it would be good to reaf- in Tamil couplets by Saint Tiru-
firm their duty toward guests and to refresh valluvar (ca200 BCE), devotes
their memories on how to be perfect hosts—
and perfect guests. There is etiquette for an entire chapter to hospitality.
both roles, and if each plays his part well, This sagely compendium of
the whole experience can be rewarding. practical advice, called “a bible
Hosts should give of themselves with a
generous and open heart, exerting every ef- on virtue for the human race,”
fort to make their visitors’ stay a memorable is so pithy, so profound and so
manivel
one, where the kindnesses and warmth are sacred that it is sworn upon to-
vast, even if the budget is tight. They should
do all they can to entertain and help visitors day in South Indian courts.
in a new and bewildering place.
Guests should attempt to be considerate, The whole purpose of earningwealthand maintaining
informing their hosts of their length of stay a homeis to provide hospitalityto guests.
in advance. They should pick up after them-
selves and not add to the harried hostess’
tasks. Bringing small gifts for the family When a guestis in the home, it is improper to hoardone’s meal,
members, entertaining the children or per- even if it happens to be the nectarof immortality.
haps offering to take the family out to dinner
are practical and appreciated gestures.
Hospitality is a virtue that has many ben- If a man cares daily for those who come to him,
efits for the receiver and the giver, as these his life will never suffer the grievous ruinof poverty.
small kindnesses smooth social connections
and build relations. It also shows the next Wealth’s Goddessdwells in the hospitable home
generation the way to continue the beliefs of
our ancestors. And of course, often the shoe of those who host guestswith a smilingface.
is on the other foot—and the host himself
becomes a guest. So he should treat his If a man eats only after attending to guests’ needs,
guests as he himself would like to be treated. what further sowingwill his fertile fields require?
There are so many stories of God Vishnu
himself donning beggar’s raiment and com-
ing to the door for alms. So, the next time The hostwho, caring for guests, watches hopefully for more,
the doorbell rings, welcome your guests will himself be a welcomed guest of those whose home is Heaven.
with an open heart. Look beyond the facial
features, the clothing and the physical bod-
ies into the eternal soul which glows within Charity’s merit cannot be measured by gifts given.
each of us like the purest of gold. This is the It is measured by measuringthe receiver’s merits.
Self that scripture says is immortal, the one
that water cannot wet, sword cannot cut nor Those who never sacrificeto care for guestswill later lament:
fire burn. And so, bending low, with folded
hands, welcome the divine Paramatma, the “We hoarded wealth, estranged ourselves, now none will care for us.”
God who is within each of us. ∏π
Author Lavina Melwani , a popular free- The povertyof poverties is having plenty yet shunningguests.
lance correspondent, was born in Sindh, Such senselessnessis only found in senseless fools.
grew up in New Delhi and has lived in Hong
Kong and Africa. She currently resides in
New York with her husband and two chil- The delicate anichamflowerwithers when merely smelled,
dren. T. H. Chowdary, Information Technolo- but an unwelcome lookis enough to withera guest’s heart.
gy Advisor: Government of Andhra Pradesh,
contributed to this article. He may be con- Chapter 9, Verses 81 to 90
tacted at thc@satyam.com.
october/november/december, 2003h induism today 25
SOUTH AFRICA
Chastity’s Strength,
Power and Purity
Durban’s key swamis extol the virtues
of Lord Hanuman’s brahmacharya
he 2003 world sri hanuman
Conference, April18-20, was an
outstanding success with more than
14,000 people attending over the
three days in Durban, South Africa.
Jointly organized by the Ramakrishna Cen-
tre and Divine Life Society, the primary
objective was to “awaken the great ideals
synonymous with Sri Hanuman ofbhakti,
jnana and shraddha (devotion, knowledge
and faith), and to inspire aspirants to tread
the path of God Realization with great zeal
and sincerity.” Many scholars, pundits and
artists joined Sri Swami Sahajananda of the
DLS and Swami Saradananda of the RK
Mission and gave excellent talks on the
mission of Lord Hanuman and the power
of recitation of Lord Rama’s name. We at
HINDUISM TODAY were most impressed
with the presentation of the two swamis,
who focused on a central but often ignored
aspect of Lord Hanuman, Hisbrahma-
charya or celibacy, source of His enormous
physical and spiritual strength. The follow-
ing are excerpts from their presentations.
Swami Sahajananda: “Besides being an
unparalleled votary of Ram-Nam (the
name of Lord Rama), Sri Hanuman was
also a great brahmachari (celibate). Today,
we pay homage to Him for this quality of
His. Since this is a very auspicious occa-
sion, it will be appropriate if all those at-
tending this conference take the vow of
brahmacharya. Boys and girls should take
“Sri Swami Sivananda stated
that not an iota of spiritual
progress can be made
without the observance of
brahmacharya.”
—SRI SWAMI SAHAJANANDA
26 hinduism todayoctober/november/december, 2003
the vow of brahmacharya until they get
married. Married couples, as advised by
our Divine Master, Sri Swami Sivananda,
may observe lifelong brahmacharya after
they have one or two children. He says that
if householders utilize the vital force for
procreative purposes only and, according
to the rules laid down in the scriptures,
they are consideredbrahmacharis also.
These rules can be found in our Master’s
book, Sthree Dharma.
“Thousands of years ago, theBhagavata
Purana predicted that sex would be the
main cause of sufferings in this Kali Yuga.
We see how true this is, what havoc sex is
causing in the whole world through TV
and the media. Wastage of the vital force
weakens the mind and brings about all
sorts of problems, like deterioration of
indra sharma
health, suicides, domestic conflicts, giving
vent to anger, hatred, jealousy, etc.
“When Dhanwantari had taught the de-
tails of ayurveda, Indian medicine, to his
disciples, they enquired about the essence
of the science of ayurveda. The sage re-
marked: ‘I tell you thatbrahmacharya is
truly a precious jewel. It is the one most
effective medicine to destroy diseases, de-
cay and death. For attaining brightness,
peace, knowledge, memory, health and
God-vision, one should observebrahma-
charya. It is the greatest and highest dhar-
ma. Saluting brahmacharya first, the cases
beyond cure, I cure! Aye!Brahmacharya
can undo all signs that are not good.’
“Our most beloved Lord
Rama Himself set the best ex-
ample for us in the practice of
brahmacharya. Sri Ramakrish-
na, Sri Swami Sivananda and
Papa Swami Ramdas state that
divine life society
not an iota of spiritual progress
can be made without the
observance of brahmacharya.”
Swami Saradananda: “The
subject of brahmacharya is as
intrinsic to this conference as
God for our age: Lord Hanuman, ever face lined, the eyes dull, hearing impaired
ready to act, kneels as he meditates upon and the brain inactive. Ifbrahmacharya is
Rama and Sita; (below) the Divine Life So- practiced, the physical body remains
ciety ashram, Durban, South Africa, was youthful and beautiful, the brain keen and
the venue for the huge conference attended alert and the whole physical expression
by 14,000 devotees becomes the likeness and the image of the
Divine.’
oil is to a lamp. It is all too important a “The values of our brahmacharya ashra-
subject, and its omission or neglect at a ma must be studied and carefully cultivat-
conference of this nature would do grave ed. Without it, student life will lack the
injustice to a figure like Sri Hanuman. resource of spirituality, and with it student
Scripturally and traditionally speaking, Sri life will lead to sainthood. Hence, the ideal
Hanuman is always eulogized as an eternal of brahmacharya, Sri Hanuman, must be
brahmacharin. A brahmacharin is one who before our students.
controls his senses in order to reach Brah- “Sri Hanuman’s eternal appeal is solely
man or the Supreme Being. At a more com- through the power ofbrahmacharya. The
mon level of definition, abrahmacharin is yogis say that that part of human energy
one who controls his passions or sex in- which is expressed as sex energy, in sexual
stincts and transmutes or sublimates these thought, when checked and controlled, is
thoughts and energies into resources that transmuted into the highest and subtlest
are capable of giving him the highest real- energy called ojas. Swami Vivekananda
ization of God. In the case of Sri Hanuman, states in his book, Raja Yoga, ‘This ojas is
He is not a spiritual aspirant striving to stored in the brain, and the moreojas there
practice brahmacharya. He has already is in a man’s head, the more powerful he is,
attained mastery in this field. He epito- the more intellectual, the more spiritually
mizes excellence and the ultimate maturity strong. One man may speak beautiful lan-
in brahmacharya. It gives us the necessary guage and beautiful thoughts, but they do
purity which is the basis of spiritual life. not impress people; another man speaks
No impure person can be spiritual. neither beautiful language nor beautiful
“The concept of
brahmacharya is as ancient as
the Vedas themselves. All Hin- “Sri Hanuman epitomizes
dus who were below the age of
twenty-five and were going excellence and the ultimate
through their student life had
to practice it. Total abstention maturity in brahmacharya.”
from sex and a life of self-con-
trol were the hallmarks of our —SRI SWAMI SARADANANDA
students. This stage in life was
known as the brahmacharya ashrama. It is thoughts, yet his words charm. Every
a way of life or a convention which we as movement of his is powerful. That is the
Hindus seem to have forgotten. power of the ojas.’
“In some of the earliest sruti texts, such “Swami Vivekananda said, ‘By the obser-
as the Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya, Chan- vance of strict brahmacharya, all learning
dogya and Mundaka Upanishads, we get a can be mastered in a very short time. One
good glimpse of the vibrant student life has an unfailing memory of what one hears
lived under the conditions of chastity. To- or knows but once. It is owing to this want
day our students seem to be jaded and of continence that everything is on the
lacking in mental stamina in an environ- brink of ruin in our country.’
ment of excessive sense pleasures. Draw- “Brahmacharya also gives one the power
ing a vivid and sharp contrast between to grasp and remember the subtle truths
those students who observebrahmacharya imparted by the guru and the scriptures.
and those who indiscriminately waste their People forget spiritual teachings due to the
energies in passion, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan lack of brahmacharya. Deep meditation
wrote in the introduction to hisPrincipal and higher spiritual states of consciousness
Upanishads, ‘Brahmacharya is not sex- cannot be achieved and retained without
destruction. Ancient Indian thinkers were brahmacharya. It is through the power of
of the opinion that the seed within man ojas that a person attains God Realization.
and woman is intended for the purpose of “Those that practice brahmacharya see
creating a body by which another soul all females as Sita or the manifestation of
may come into physical embodiment. the Divine Mother. Women will consider
When thus controlled,brahmacharya all men to be the images of Lord Rama.
helps creative work of every description. The practice of this insight will have far-
When the seed is wasted in sex excesses, reaching effects on our domestic, social
the body becomes weak and crippled, the and spiritual lives.” ∏π
october/november/december, 2003hinduism today 27
MUSIC
M.S. Subbulakshmi, 87, has dominated music in India for70 years with genius,
devotion, purity and humility. A dear friend shares the making of her legend.

By Anandhi Ramachandran, Chennai to launch a Tamil magazine entitled Kalki. was herself very much like Meera—a pious
ubbulakshmi sang beautifully To help produce the needed capital for this woman who prayed and worshiped fervent-
at my dance recital for graduation publishing venture, Subbulakshmi accepted ly. Because of her devotion, she had an al-
from Kalakshetra College of Fine an offer to perform the part of Sage Narada most mystical ability to stir listeners into the
Arts back in the forties. By this in a film called Savitri. Although she had al- revery she herself was experiencing. That
time she had become quite famous ready played the part of Shakuntala, a saint- was the magic of her soulful music.
and could have politely declined my ly heroine, portraying the male role of Sage Mahatma Gandhi, a few months before he
request to perform. No one would have been Narada would prove far more challenging. was assassinated, sent a message to Subbulak-
surprised. But she did not. Those who shmi lamenting how much he would like
knew her understood. Such was her to hear her sing his favorite bhajana,
way. She was and still is uncommonly “Hari Tuma Haro Janaki Bhir.” Subbu-
humble. Even when her name was a lakshmi humbly submitted that she did-
household word in South India, we n’t know the song. But Gandhi replied,
called her kunjakka, which means “lit- “I would rather hear‘Hari Thuma Haro’
tle sister.” spoken by Subbulakshmi than sung by
It is not easy to write about this great anyone else.” That same night Subbulak-
artist, who has become such a legend shmi set the words toDarbhari Kanada
within her own lifetime, even though Raga (A South Indian classical music
she is a friend of mine. It would also be scale), recorded it and had the tape
impossible in the space of this entire flown to New Delhi the next day, Octo-
magazine to summarize her many ac- ber 2, 1947 , just in time for Gandhi’s
complishments or give even a brief syn- birthday. When Mahatma was assassi-
opsis of her long life story. So I will just nated on January30, 1948, All India Ra-
tell you what inspires me. dio broadcasted that song repeatedly.
Some 50 years back, M.S. Subbulak- Touchingly, its lyrics were written to al-
shmi became known as the singer with leviate the burdens of mortal life.
the “golden voice.” Publically venerated All through the 1940s, Subbulakshmi
as one of the twentieth century’s finest gave benefit concerts for innumerable
South Indian classical musicians in the institutions, schools, colleges, hospitals,

photos: courtesy t. sadasivam

Carnatic tradition, she was privately sanatoriums, memorials and temples.
adored as an example of piety, humility, Still today, proceeds from the sale of
devotion and uncommon marital loyal- many of thoserecords continue to fi-
ty. She and her husband, T. Sadasivam, nance the same causes.
were unfalteringly dedicated to each From 1950 onward, Subbulakshmi
other. As people continued to flock to and Sadasivam were among Tamil
her concerts year after year, her esteem Nadu’s leading philanthropists. Kalki
as a musician grew in both North and had become a tremendously successful
South India, where customs in music Extraordinary beauty: Subbulakshmi was stunning household magazine by that time, earn-
and life contrast drastically. This was a in her performance of Meera during the 1940s ing respect throughout India for its so-
rare accomplishment attained only by a phisticated perspective and unbiased
very few. Bolstering her courage, she took on the journalism. As publisher of such a trend-set-
Born in Madurai in a family of performing role and measured up to the task beautiful- ting publication, Sadasivam had gained a
artists—her mother was a celebrated vina ly. I will never forget how the audience ap- measure of distinction himself. Together, he
player—Subbulakshmi’s exceptional talent plaudedwhen Subbulakshmi as Narada ap- and his illustrious wife were an impressive
was recognized and cultivated early. By the peared singing in the sunset sky with a pair.
courtesy subbulakshmi
courtesy subbulakshmi
time she and Sadasivam were married in small tambura, a simple stringed instru- The couple were also a model of hospital-
1940, she had already performed as an ac- ment, in her hands. Under the spell of her ity. Today, there is not a spiritual leader,
tress and singer in two successful films,Seva mesmerizing music, no one cared that a fe- politician, great musician, or Sanskrit or
Sadasivam and Shakuntala. In the 1930s, male was portraying Sage Narada. Her per- Tamil scholar who has not visited their
songs were an integral part of movies in formance was simply too enchanting. home. Pandit Nehru often stayed with them.
Tamil Nadu, and musicians were often cast Although Subbulakshmi’s portrayal of Rajaji, the first Governor General of India,
as heroes and heroines. Although Subbulak- Sage Narada was magnificent, it was the was their guest often. One of South India’s
shmi was strikingly beautiful and naturally film Meera which bestowed upon her the most famous priests, Anantharama Dikshi-
gifted as an actress, it was her remarkable image of a saintly musician. This movie was tar, gave a discourse on the Ramayana, an
voice and music that made her irreplaceable about a Rajasthani Princess who gave up important Hindu epic, for 40 days in their
in films. All her songs became hits in those everything to search for spiritual union with garden. Indira Didi, recognized by many as
days. Lord Krishna. The emotion-filled songs of a reincarnation of Meera, stayed in their
About this time, Sadasivam and a close Meera suited Subbulakshmi eminently. She home. There, Didi would composebhajanas
friend named Kalki Krishnamurthi wanted easily identified with the story because she in Hindi while in a trance, and Subbulaksh-

28 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003 october/november/december, 2003h induism today 29

 mi would set these songs to tune and sing world to a large extent because of the un-
them. ceasing efforts of Sadasivam, working con-
When the governor of Madras wanted the stantly behind the scenes.
famous spiritual leader,Mata Anandamayi, After the tremendous success of the Tamil
to reside in his residence, Anandamayi Ma film, Meera, Subbulakshmi never acted
replied, “I will stay in the house of Subbu- again. However, Sadasivam did arrange for
lakshmi. She is Meera to me.” Within two his wife to dub the songs ofMeera for a Hin-
days, Sadasivam had special quarters built di version of the film in North India. For
in their garden for Mata to give darshan and this, all new musical arrangements had to be
arranged for a new well to be dug nearby for composed in the Hindi language. Subbulak-
fresh drinking water. Every evening thou- shmi diligently learned them all, and the
sands of people gathered there. dubbing went flawlessly.
When C.V. Narasimhan from the United Just as the TamilMeera was a smash hit in
Nations arranged for the artist to perform at a South India, so was the HindiMeera a huge
UN conference, Subbulakshmi sang a song success in North India. Prime Minister
she composed especially for the occasion. Jawaharlal Nehru brought British friends
The late Pontiff of Kanchi Mutt, Sri Sri Chan- Lord and Lady Mountbatten to the screen-
drasekharendra Saraswati Swami—Subbulak- ing of the film in New Delhi. After the
shmi’s spiritual mentor—composed a bene- showing, he said to Subbulakshmi, “Who am
diction for the historic conclave, and I, a mere Prime Minister, to say anything
Subbulakshmi set it to music. When she per- about a queen, the queen of songs?”When
formed her rendition of his benediction dur- Sarojini Naidu, a great Hindi singer famous
ing the concluding ceremonies, the audience as the “Nightingale of India,” sawMeera, she
m
asiva

was spellbound. From then on, Subbulakshmi was so inspired that she took it upon herself
sang that song at every one of her concerts. to personally introduce Subbulakshmi, a res-
t. sad

The lyrics begged people to give up war and ident of South India, to the music-loving
live in peace. public of North India. “I commend Subbu-
rtesy

Sadasivam’s mission in life was preserving lakshmi of the South to the people of the
s: cou

his wife’s musical gift. He would sit faithful- North,” she said in a now-famous statement.
ly through every one of her performances “Whosoever comes under the enchantment
photo

like a man enchanted. So deeply involved of this singer’s great gifts, will agree with me
was he in her music, he knew all of her that she is not an interpreter of Meera, but
songs by heart. He was the one that Meera herself. Take her into your hearts and
arranged the concert programs. He was the cherish her. You will be proud that India in
one that personally saw to it that Subbulak- this generation has produced such a
shmihad a quiet place and time to rest and supreme artist.” After this, Subbulakshmi
prepare in seclusion before each and every became a musician respected almost like a
performance. saint all over India.
Through her long career, Subbulakshmi In 1986, the Madras Music Academy con-
performed in every state of India. During ferred upon Subbulakshmi the title of
each one of these concerts, she would sing Sangeetha Kalanidhi. Not only was this one
one or two songs in the state language, of the greatest honors a South Indian classi-
which would thrill the audience. In prepara- cal musician can receive, it had also never
tion for these concerts, Sadasivam would be been given to a woman. When she was pre-

am
sure she learned, practiced and studied the sented with the title at that precedent-set-

adasiv
languages she would be singing so that her ting Music Academy conference, she said,

sy t. s
pronunciation was perfect. Each time she “My husband has been my friend, my guide
prepared to sing a song in a new language, and my philosopher. I lay all recognition I

urte
an appropriate linguistic scholar would be have received as a musician at his feet.”

os: co
invited by Sadasivam to their home as a Whether Subbulakshmi is singing a South
guest. She would sing for that scholar, and Indian classical composition, a popular Hin-

phot
he would check and recheck her pronuncia- di bhajana or a Sanskrit sloka set to music,
tion. her voice is so filled with devotion listeners
Sadasivam was very particular about the can’t help thinking she must be a saint. The Not yet done and more to come:
emotional content of each song. If there was words of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, former Pres- (From top to bottom) The artist per-
even the slightest erotic content, he would ident of India, come to mind. “It is a great forming in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. When
not allow it to be included in her repertoire. joy to listen to Srimathi M.S. Subbulakshmi,” asked about the younger musicians com-
Today, Subbulakshmi is held in high esteem he said. “She brings us into great exaltation. ing up, Subbulakshmi replied, “Many of
by people throughout India and around the Her music is the gift of Gods.” ∏π them are so gifted and finely trained.
But I miss one thing in their music,
Accolades: (From top to bottom)Subbulakshmi with the Mountbattens, guests of Jawa- namely this (gesturing to her heart). If
harlal Nehru (second from left) at the opening of the Hindi version of Meera in New there is radiance in the heart, there will
Delhi; Smt. Sarojini Devi, renowned as the “the nightingale of India,” praised Subbu- be radiance in the music.” (Background)
lakshmi’s musical gifts; with Mrs. Indira Gandhi The artist in Savitri, her first film.

30 hinduism today o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r, 2 0 0 3 october/november/december, 2003 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 31

ENVIRONMENT Recollects Michael, “After the project Friends of Vrindavan beloved land, we must ask ourselves how
ended, I asked myself, ‘What am I going to showed the people that can we cleanse our hearts through bhajana

Vrindavan Cleanup do now?’ I wanted to do something prag-

matic. At that time, I was still in the Western
mode of thought—to work and to survive.
It took some time to shed that off. Then I
Vrindavan has turned into
a prison for its temples.
The pungent smell of sew-
age has replaced the sweet
without fresh water in the Yamuna, clean air
and unpolluted food? He asked them, “Can
we remember the lilas without the natural
landscape and fragrance of Krishna’s stage?
decided to go all around India.” He bought fragrance of sandalwood. How long will we continue to close our eyes
UK devotee establishes Friends of Vrindavan

  

to reclaim the natural beauty of a holy town
B T B, L
     
Duffy, a -year-old Englishman
turned Vaishnava, has brought to-
gether eco-awareness and religious
consciousness in an effort to revive the
lost glory of one of India’s most important
pilgrimage towns through an organization
called Friends of Vrindavan.
It all started in  when Michael, then
a freelance lmmaker, and his photographer
wife, Robyn Beeche, came to Vrindavan to
make a documentary on India’s colorful
Holi festival. After completing the lm, the
couple went back to London. A subsequent
recession in the UK gave them the opportu-
nity to consider working on more projects
in India. Setting aside the discouragement
of friends, they packed their bags and got
ready to leave. Four days before they were
to land in India, Robyn got a call from a UK
publisher to do a lm highlighting the arts
and crafts of India. This three-month proj-
ect helped them transition into Indian life.
a mountain bike and traveled from Bhopal
to Orissa and from Kashmir to Chennai to
get to know India. The tour helped Michael
crystallize his idea about what he would do
for Vrindavan. The rst thing he did was to
organize cycle yatras, which succeeded in
raising money. It was from these donations
that Friends of Vrindavan took shape.
Practical demonstration is the best ap-
proach to making a difference, Michael real-
ized, so he formed a small team and started
personally cleaning the streets of Vrindavan.
They also planted saplings around the city
and garnered community support to see
them to maturity. It wasn’t easy. It took a
lot of effort to convince the locals of the
importance of keeping Vrindavan clean.
The Yamuna has been and indifferently pretend that we have the
fouled. So, how do we vision of a transcendental Vrindavan?”
expect Krishna and Radha These questions perturbed the locals and
to come here and indulge evoked in them a positive response. Slowly
in their divine play? Sim- and steadily, Michael began to receive pub-
ply praying to Radha and lic support. The local residents started real-
Krishna but doing noth- izing that any small effort to keep Vrindavan
ing to serve the urgent clean and green is a very valuable devotional
cause of maintaining their service, as Lord Krishna and the natural am-
Inspiration: Friends of Vrindavan founder Michael Duffy earthly playground was bience of His home are one and the same.
at his home in this famous North Indian pilgrimage town contradictory, Michael In the last ve years, Friends of Vrindavan
explained. So, cleaning has passed many milestones. Recently, it was
Michael explained to them that devotion to and greening efforts should become a conferred an award as the best nongovern-
Krishna and reverence for nature are closely priority for all Vaishnavas, as their most mental organization in the northern zone
connected. This spiritual anchoring helped sacred pilgrimage place was threatened by by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department
Friends of Vrindavan to get across their en- pollution. Perhaps if we perceive that while for the stupendous success of its Operation
vironmental message. worshiping Krishna we are neglecting His Green program. Under the program, last

More Pilrims Than a emple own Can Handle
Study shows how pilgrimage sites can’t manage the present surge of visitors
’   : 
pilgrims to India’s holy
sites are creating a wholly
unpleasant mess. Several
major pilgrimage destinations
in India, principally Vrindavan
and Tirumala-Tirupati, were
the subjects of a study con-
ducted by Kiran Ajit Shinde
at the Asian Institute of Tech-
nology’s School of Environ-
ment, Resources and Devel-
opment, Thailand, in which
environmental degradation
due to pressures exerted by
an increase of visitors was dis-
cussed in detail.
The number of pilgrims, also
known as the oating popula-
tion, often signicantly out-
numbers the local population,
severely compounding issues
that plague nearly all of In-
dia. Vrindavan is a small town,
in , an average of nearly
, per day.
These visitors naturally
create a demand for support-
ing infrastructure, such as
facilities for accommodation,
which causes urban expansion
often at the expense of these
rural oases’ natural beauty. In-
creased air pollution and insuf-
cient solid waste disposal only
begin to speak of the strain
that large pilgrim populations
place on small temple towns.
When they were founded as
remote spiritual sanctuaries,
India’s population was less than
one percent of what it is today,
there was no rail system and
the average Indian never ven-
tured more than  miles from
his home.
In Tirupati the stress and
strain caused by this increase is
  
canals and ponds has resulted
in depletion of ground water.
The water shortage pales
in signicance to a sewage
network which serves only 
percent of the total area in
Vrindavan. In the remaining
areas, septic tanks or open gut-
ters are used, and a mere 
Environmental Issues in Pilgrim Towns public toilets exist in the city.
The two sewage treatment
• Pilgrims in Tirumala-Tirupati offer about , plants are nonfunctional, and
coconuts per day to be carried away as waste. raw sewage goes directly into
• Visitors to Tirumala-Tirupati generate  tons of waste the Yamuna River.
per day, higher than the per capita in urban areas. Both these cities also face
• Air pollution in Tirumala-Tirupati is double the maximum air and noise pollution prob-
permissible for religious places in Andhra Pradesh. lems. For example, the average
• With , tons of waste accumulated in the Pamba River width of a street in Vrindavan
is seven meters, originally
at Sabarimala, the presence of E. coli has reached near epi-
meant for bullock carts. Thus,
demic proportions at  times the permissible limit. automobile and pedestrian
trafc share the same con-
gested space, and air pollution
caused by old diesel-burning
vehicles is on the rise.
It doesn’t stop with air and
water. Development in Tiru-
mala has caused total denuda-
tion of the forests and soil,
leading to near extinction of
the indigenous ora and fauna.
are incapable of handling the
additional burden of the oat- Staggering Numbers During Brahmotsavam
ing population due to lack of
resources and authority to
Main Festival in Tirumala-Tirupati (1998)
act. On the other hand, most
• Pilgrim transport trips from Tirupati to Tirumala ,
religious institutions, which
benet directly from offer- • Total passengers ,
ings made by pilgrims, as well • Heads tonsured ,
as local businesses, are not • Average occupancy at devasthanam (, rooms) .%
contributing to improving the • Peak occupancy at devasthanam %
environment. • Pilgrims fed with free meals ,
Shinde suggests that these • Pilgrims fed with free meals on peak day ,
institutions have the moral re- • Pilgrims had darshan ,
sponsibility of propagating reli- • Pilgrims had darshan on peak day ,
gious faith while incorporating • Pilgrims for sarvadarshan (free) ,
environmental concerns. He • Total collection ,,
argues that pilgrimage needs • Hundi collection (offerings in the temple) ,
to be acknowledged as an eco-
Source: Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams
nomic activity which provides
income for local residents but
also produces output that adds
to environmental pollution.
For the long term, Shinde
recommends developing poli-
cies to manage the impacts—
the effects—through cleanup
programs such as those
spearheaded by Friends of
Vrindavan, as well as increasing
and improving carrying capac-
ity and waste management. If

  

with a population of ,.
About two million pilgrims
come each year, an average of
three times the local popula-
tion every month. With a local
population of less than ,,
the little hill town of Tirumala
hosted over  million pilgrims
felt with the scarcity of drink-
ing water. The municipality
supplies  gallons of water per
day per person, whereas the
standard for human consump-
tion use is  gallons. Unau-
thorized occupation of and
encroachment on water tanks,
Wildlife has been severely af-
fected by light and noise pollu-
tion at night.
Who is responsible? Strate-
gies for better environmental
management are only begin-
Disposal: In Vrindavan, Krishna’s cows are dying from eating ning to see the light of day. On
plastic after they encounter trash heaps like this around the city. the one hand, local authorities
those measures prove ineffec-
tive, he suggests limiting the
causes, meaning regulating the
inux and ow of pilgrims ac-
cording to temple carrying ca-
pacity, such as has been done
at Amarnath. Tirumala-Tirupati: The home of one of India’s largest and richest
temples has a oating population of  million pilgrims per year

32             //,  //,              33


Recycle, reforest: Baskets from waste plastic are sold in local markets (left) and Vrindavan reforestation program gets off to a healthy start
year Friends of Vrindavan planted ,
traditional trees, of which  percent have
survived. All of the trees were watered by
hand. Friends of Vrindavan also undertook
greening of the -km sacred pilgrimage
route around the city as part of Operation
Green. Friends of Vrindavan maintains two
nurseries with a stock of more than ,
saplings. The organization distributes ,
tulsi plants free of cost every year.
Friends of Vrindavan has also been re-
moving garbage, including the ever-present
piles of plastic, from the temple lands and
city lanes. It has constructed ve garbage
loading ramps in the city to make waste
collection easier. Michael’s team makes an-
nouncements on loudspeakers discouraging
people from dumping garbage in the River
Yamuna or illegally on roads and other pub-
lic places.
Plastics are collected by a special rickshaw
and recycled into strong baskets and bags
with the help of poor village women and
the physically challenged. Ten families are
involved in this activity, earning between Rs
 and  for each basket they weave.
Another of Friends of Vrindavan’s unusual
feats is the collection of biomedical waste
from  clinics and hospitals in the greater
Mathura-Vrindavan area for mechanized
incineration by the Indian Medical Asso-
ciation. At a recent workshop in Lucknow,
the chief secretary for environment of the
Uttar Pradesh government cited Friends of
Vrindavan as creating a biomedical waste
management scheme that the entire coun-
try could use as an example.
The biggest success story has been the
restoration of the ve-acre Mansarovar
Lake, popularly known as the Lake of Tears.
Over the years, water hyacinth choked the
lake so much that the surface of the water
was completely hidden from view. This
drove away the bird life, who could no
longer sh here, and starved the water of
34             //, 
   
oxygen. In early , Friends of Vrindavan
worked for six weeks to deweed and desilt
the lake and plant , saplings around its
border. Now the site is a haven for many
exotic birds. Friends of Vrindavan continues
to plant more trees each year and asks the
visiting devotees to not use detergents or
throw plastic bags into the lake.
Michael has been the spirit behind all
these encouraging outcomes. However, he’s
not satised. He remarks, “Local support is
there, but that does not translate into action.
Besides, corruption in civic departments de-
stroys many initiatives that we undertake. I
get frustrated when I see the tardy progress
of our projects. We have a plan to augment
municipal funds using a geographical infor-
mation system by which tax would be levied
on all buildings in the city which are not cov-
ered by the municipality and improve pres-
ent collection to nearly  percent, but dis-
Nursery: This nursery operated by Friends of Vrindavan cultivates traditional sacred plants
trict authorities are indifferent to the plan.”
A great admirer of Chaitanya, Vivekananda
and Mahavir, Michael asserts that religious
leaders should follow the footprints of these
saints and take responsibility to bring back
Vrindavan’s past grandeur.
Michael says that he is happy because
“Vrindavan has given me a chance to under-
stand the Hindu religion.” Something about
his efforts to clean up the holy city has
drawn him closer to Krishna. When he and
his wife were returning to Vrindavan from
Nepal three years ago, they were separated
at the airport due to some document prob-
lems. Michael said, “The pain of separation
in those hours at the airport helped me
surrender to Krishna. I moved into another
realm. I realized that Krishna exists.” ∏π
       
     
    ... 
- @..  @.
MUSIC
East Meets West Down South
Tuning into Tyagaraja—Texas style
By Lakshmy Parameswaran, Houston
t all began humbly 25 years ago
whenIndu Krishnamurthy, affectionately
known to friends as Indu Mami, conduct-
ed Houston’s first Tyagaraja aradhana
(worship). Although that small but charming
event was just a short concert meant only to
commemorate the musical genius of a great
Indian saint, it became an annual event
thereafter. And each year it got a little bigger,
a little better and a little more significant as a
motivating force in keeping alive and moving
Westward the great traditions of South Indi-
an classical music. Through the years, that
first casual performance grew into a major,
three-day festival, celebrated not only in
Texas but in many other US cities as well.
On March 28, 29 and 30, 2003, Saint Tya-
garaja’s grand silver anniversary at the Sri
Meenakshi Temple in Pearland near Hous-
ton was—as might be expected—the saint’s
greatest Texas party yet. In respect for Tya-
garaja’s devotional approach to music, the
festive occasion was couched in Hindu reli-
gious ceremony and sacred procession, yet it
featured quality dance-drama, lots of Tyaga-
raja’s music and a multi-media play in Eng-
lish on his life.
Saint Tyagaraja had the same impact on
the development of Eastern classical music
as Bach, Beethoven or Mozart did on the
growth of classical music in the West. This
18th century musician ( 1767-1847) is be-
lieved to have composed 24,000 devotional
songs, of which only about700 are in circula-
tion today. Because he was an ardent devotee
of Lord Rama, many of his compositions
were dedicated to this Hindu God. Tyagaraja
lived in Tiruvaiyaru on the banks of the river
Cauveri near Tanjore in India. Still today he
The artists: Performers join Ram Gane-
shan (center) who is dressed as Tyagaraja
photos courtesy lakshmy parameswaran
is honored there every
year with a celebra-
tion called Tyagaraja
Utsavam, which is the
model for the Houston
annual event.
Houston’s celebra-
tion began with a joy-
ful parade around the
vast Meenakshi tem-
ple complex. This procession was meant to
exemplify Tyagaraja’s chosen life as a un-
chavruthi brahmin—a sadhu who wanders,
sings and begs for his food. This un-
chavruthi tradition was common in ancient
India where village housewives considered
it a privilege to offer such homeless ascetics
raw rice and alms. In the Houston event, a
fine, locally respected musician named Ram
Ganeshan played the part of Tyagaraja and
led the early-morning parade, attired as the
saint in a flowing turban and carrying the
holy man’s signature tambura (a drone
stringed instrument).
The end of the procession marked the be-
ginning of the festival’s stage performances,
including presentations from more than six-
ty youngsters. Such a showing of youth was
undeniable testimony not only to their talent
but—more importantly—to their interest in
learning and preserving the ancient classical
music of South India.
Some of the youth who participated had
been trained only in the Western system of
music. To accommodate their interest in
Eastern music, Indu Mami transcribed Tya-
garaja’s songs into Western staff notation so
that they could be “sight-read” by them.
One of the most interesting presentations
october/november/december, 2003
The leaders: Indu Mami (second from left
above) organized the first Tyagaraja con-
cert with help from friends; (Left) author
of the festival was the play about the saint’s
life, entitled “The Sands of Thiruvaiyaru,”
written in English. Through forty-five songs
interspersed with dialogue and scriptural
verses, the play emphasized the Saint’s com-
plete devotional self-surrender. His only am-
bition in life was to become one with his
beloved Lord Vishnu, and a fine group of
young bharatanatyam dancers from Hous-
ton brought this spirit to life beautifully.
Although Tyagaraja simply used music to
express devotion, his compositions impact-
ed the evolution of South Indian music in a
major way. Hence, the essence of Houston’s
Tyagaraja silver anniversary was the singing
of his songs. Even connoisseurs acknowl-
edged that the singing was superb. Aruna
Sairam, one of India’s current vocal stars,
performed the grand finale. Other distin-
guished performers from India included sis-
ters Ranjani and Gayatri as well as the
mother and daughter team of Charumathi
and Shubashree Ramachandran.
At the end of the festival, when all was
said and done, it was none other than Saint
Tyagaraja who had the final word. And, of
course, it was sung in song, brimming with
devotion: “To all ye great souls, we offer our
salutations.” ∏π
hinduism today 35
 A place of golden grandeur: (Above) Although much of the famous Hindu temple of Konark now lies in ruins, it is still one
of India’s most popular pilgrimage destinations. Viewing the temple from the front, the dancing pavilion is still fully intact.
(Below) The temple entrance is surrounded by elephants and war horses, signs of royalty.

photos by deivarayan
The world’s finest Hindu Sun temple is also one of India’s most innovative
architectural masterpieces. Though weathered by time, it continues to shine.
By Mangala Prasad Mohanty, Orissa
ear the huge 700-year-old sun
temple of Konarkon the Bay of
Bengal in Orissa, a small lake called
the Chandrabhaga gently flows to-
ward the sea some 50 meters away.
I can understand how tourists visit-
ing this place during non-festival times
might consider it unspectacular. How could
they know that long ago it was a raging riv-
er where yogis became sages as they prayed,
performed extreme penance and worshiped
the rising Sun?
Those holy men of yore left behind a por-
tion of the peace they earned. It can be felt
strongly even today, lingering in the air like
sweet perfume. Although the Konark temple
now lies in ruins and the geography of the
holy sites surrounding it has changed drasti-
cally with time, this magical place still pulls
pilgrims from all over Orissa, India and
around the world—literally thousands of
them every year—to rise up in rever-
ent prayer for the Sun God
n
aya
var
dei
38 hinduism today o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r, 2 0 0 3
that ever shines, now as in ancient times. here gladly, shivering through a cold night,
As I am standing here with my small son, immersed in benign devotion, waiting to
Nirvan, on the banks of the Chandrabhaga, worship the Sun.
I click to turn on the blue light of my digital Saptami Mela starts every year on the sev-
wrist watch to check the time. It is 3:46 in enth day (saptami) after the full moon in
the morning on February8, 2003. We have January/February. It is Konark’s most popu-
been up all night, but we are not tired. We lar religious festival. Though themela is an
have lots of company. There are, I am told, annual event, the one in progress this year is
nearly a half-million people standing here unique for astrological reasons and occurs
with me. We are all crowded together, wait- only once every 34 years.
ing in the dark. A group to my right is quiet- Suddenly there is quite a bit of noise waft-
ly reciting Sanskrit slokas. To my left some ing from a distance. The crowd around me is
young fellows are singing bhajanas (devo- beginning to shift back and forth. I grasp my
d e i va r aya n
tional songs). It’s pitch black and we can’t see son’s hand tightly. Occasionally, we are lifted
a thing. Still, I snap a few blind shots with off our feet and moved some distance to the
my camera, and the flash captures a glance left, than back to the right. It is a bit discon-
upon the carefree and unselfconscious pil- certing, but panicking will not help. This I
grims. Today begins a week of celebrations know. It is becoming apparent that the
called the Magha Saptami Mela. We are all events we have all long awaited will soon
come to pass.
A grand and colorful procession which
commenced at midnight some miles from
here has been slowly making its way
through many small and large villages of
Orissa and is finally arriving here. Three
icons, representing Lord Siva as Triven-
iswar, Dakshineswar and Ayisaneswar, are
being carefully brought down from their
palanquins to be placed upon their re-
spective seats of honor. A special homa
(fire ceremony) and abhishekam (wa-
ter ceremony) will soon be performed
for them by priests from the Konark
temple.
When these oblations are conclud-
ed, we will all flood the lake or the
nearby ocean for our holy dip in the
sanctified waters. This could be dan-
gerous with so many people. The
possible peril, however, has not gone
unanticipated. Many special arrange-
ments have been made. The lake has
been dug larger to accommodate more
people. Special facilities have been con-
structed for women. Electricity was in-
sanjib mukherjee
stalled. Two watch towers have been erect-
ed for crowd observation, and hundreds of
police are on hand. Eight temporary med-
Celebrating the ascension of God:
(Left) A lifesize stone elephant commands atten-
tion at the threshold of Surya’s chariot. (Right, top to
bottom) Devotees leave the seashore after sunrise wor-
ship during the Magha Saptami Mela . Conservation
workers apply chemical treatment on sculptures of the
Konark temple to impede the erosive effects of the
j aya n ta s h aw
seaside saline climate. Dancer Shilalipi Parida
guides students in a practice session on the beach
during a dance festival. (Behind) Facade of Konark
temple typifies unique Orissan architecture.
october/november/december, 2003 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 39
 Pahar there is an abundance of fresh coconut milk
Assam and soft drinks.
The Temple
The Sun temple of Konark represents the
Dakshinaarka
culmination of Orissian sacred architecture.
Gaya
Even in its present state of disrepair, it is one
the world’s most stunning examples of reli-
gious art. Speaking of Konark, the poet Ra-
Modhera bindranath Tagore said, “Here the language
Gujarat Bhramanya Dev of stone surpasses the language of man.”
Madhya Pradesh Built by King Narasimhadeva in the thir-
teenth century, the entire Konark temple
Konark was carved as a colossal chariot for Surya,
Orissa the Sun God. Surya was a very popular De-
ity in India during the Vedic period (ap-
proximately 6-8,000bce ) and was depicted
then in art and sculpture as a dynamically
handsome, superhuman entity traversing
feet high before it crumbled—much taller
than those of the Lingaraja and Jagannath
temples, two other famous Orissian temples
built around the same time.
Accentuating its massive size and height,
the temple structure was built on top of high
platforms meant to represent the base of the
huge chariot. Twenty-four gigantic stone
wheels were built along the sides of these
platforms, although only one remains fully
intact today (see photo below). Each of
these intricately sculpted wheels was twelve
feet in diameter.
The rising tiers of the roof, many still ex-
isting today, were embellished with larger-
than-life musicians and dancers celebrating
the rising of the Sun God, and with sensu-
ous, and famous, erotic sculptings.
On either side of the main entrance,
which still exists today (see photo).
No one knows for sure why the Konark
temple disintegrated so rapidly in such a rel-
atively short period of time. Some experts
assert that a natural catastrophe like an
earthquake was responsible. Others contend
that the temple was built on “shifting sands”
so to speak, marshy, unstable terrain that
eventually toppled most of the temple by
fragmenting its foundation. Although there
are currently no plans to reconstruct the
temple, the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI), a central government organization re-
sponsible for the protection of monuments,
has instigated restoration efforts for the
sculptures, which are constantly exposed to
the saline air from the nearby sea.
The History

deivarayan
the heavens in a resplendent chariot drawn mammoth sculptures of elephants and hors- The Vedas, which are the world’s oldest
by seven horses, representing the seven days es were constructed as symbols of distin- scripture, extol the Sun God as Surya or Adi-
Suryanarayanaswamy of the week. Yet even with the popularity of guished royalty and honor. Of the 22 sub- ti, especially in theRig Veda (the first of the
Andhra Pradesh this particular image in painted art, the con- sidiary temples that once stood within the four Vedas). The Upanishads, a set of deeply
cept of building an entire temple in the compound, only the Vaishnava and Mayade- philosophical works comprising the final
shape and form of such an unsymmetrical vi shrines remain. An important part of the portion of the Veda, place great emphasis on
scene was breathtakingly original, especially temple is the nrityamandira (dance stage), Sun worship. TheChandogya Upanishad fo- The author and son: Mangala Prasad
during the 13th century when temple build- cuses on the worship of Surya exclusively. Mohanty relaxes with Nirvan near Konark
Suryanaar ing protocol was very strict. To this day it is The Mahabharata, an important Hindu lit-
Tamil Nadu not clearly understood why King Nara- erary epic and Indian historical account,gives the Sun God such sovereign status that
simhadeva was so inspired to build he was considered, at that time, more signif-
such an untraditional structure Lone rolling stone: Only one icant than many other Gods in the Hindu
with such extravagance. of the Konark temple pantheon. Certainly, the magnificence of
Construction of the chariot’s original 24 the Konark temple testifies to the great re-
Few and far between: Of the thousands of temples in India today, there are only seven huge edifice is said wheels is fully intact spect Surya once commanded.
dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun. Of those seven, Konark is the foremost. to have taken today Orissa is one place in India where Sun
twelve years. worship has been practiced continuously
ical camps have been set up on themela site, ceremoniously offering fruits and flowers Its main since Vedic times without a break in conti-
and a mobile ambulance is on patrol. Special while chanting the family’s names. These tower nuity. The solar symbols on ancient punch-
retail shops have been opened by the gov- pujas, intended to bring prosperity, usually was marked coins discovered in Orissa prove the
ernment to supply food at reasonable prices. last from 15 to 30 minutes. As the morning 227 prevalence of Sun worship in its remote past.
And good drinking water is being made stretches on, such activities will slowly come At both the Lingaraja temple of Bhuba-
available everywhere. Still, I’m a bit wor- to an end, and local fishermen with their neswar and the Jagannath temple of Puri,
ried. Ah, but it’s a festival. What can really catamarans will gradually reclaim posses- the worship of Surya is part of the daily rou-
go wrong? sion of the beach. tine. Even though Sun worship does not ex-
At dawn, my son and I will join a sea of For the next six days, the famous Chan- ist as a distinct sect in modern-day Hin-
wet and shivering devotees to gaze upon the drabhaga Fair, which takes place right next duism, honoring the Sun is very prevalent.
brightening horizon of the Bay of Bengal. to the Konark temple, will entertain thou- In the Smarta sect, Surya is worshiped as
Together, we will greet the rising Sun with sands. Although the fair will essentially a major Deity, along with Ganesha, Vish-
prayer. Such worship is considered highly be the joyful overflow of serious devo- nu, Siva, Sakti and Skanda. Certainly, it
meritorious and will officially constitute the tion, lively entertainment—provided by it could be argued that formal Surya
culmination of our night’s austerity. In truth, a throng of songsters, dancers and dra- worship is not readily apparent, since
however, the larger celebration of the Magha ma troupes performingjatra (folk the- of the thousands of Hindu temples in
Saptami Mela will have only just begun. The atre)—will make it a joyous, social af- India today, only seven are dedicated
Chandrabhaga Fair is yet to come. fair. The closest town to Konark is to Surya (see map). Yet, who could
After the dawn worship of the Sun, most Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. deny that, at this very moment, the
of the pilgrims will casually move toward Because the fair both attracts fun- Sun God is as unquestionably pre-
the Konark temple, stopping along the way lovers from Bhubaneswar and reli- sent, essential and adored in our
to make offerings at local shrines on the gious pilgrims from Konark, it is— lives as he ever was? A day cannot
beach and at thethakurbari (home of the lo- especially this year—one of Orissa’s begin without Him, nor can it end.
cal head priest). Some small groups, usually most popular and colorful events. We could not exist at all but for the
families, will gather around waiting forpan- There are toys to charm children grace of this bright light of life in
das (village priests), to request them to per- and delicious foods of all sorts for our lives. May He continue to smile
form personal pujas (worship ceremonies). young and old alike. Makeshift shops upon us through the dawn of each
The pandas will accommodate these re- everywhere sell everything imagin- new morning, and may we never
quests by drawing outlines of temples in the able, including keepsakes, souvenirs take Him for granted. Praise Surya!
sand, placing earthen lamps upon them and and religious mementos. For tourists, Hail to the Sun God of Konark! ∏π

40 hinduism today o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r, 2 0 0 3 october/november/december, 2003 hinduism today 41

 ��������
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in a short essay covering the reasons why they personally existed as a custom in the days of yore
chose to remain a vegetarian if so raised (or why they became ���������
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one if not), how they have dealt with peer pressure to change, the value �����������
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of more people becoming vegetarians and any other aspect of vegetarianism munis of the ancient times, whereas nonveg-
they wanted to share with Hinduism Today readers. Here we include a select etarian food is a product of violence as the
representation of the very grown-up reasons they gave. animal is killed and cooked for eating pur-
poses. The animal at the time of death has
feelings of anger, or may fear death, which
Thuvaarahan Ravichandran, 7, Toronto: To many teenage girls, being a on consuming them as food are transferred
When I was small, I ate meat, and then vegetarian means that they can not only to the human body but the human mind and soul as well.
when I was four someone told me that I cut the greasy meat products �������
Our ancient scriptures say, “What you eat, so you become.” Just
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say that being a vegetarian is healthier than me, because the devotion of God more violent and aggressive, and they pose a serious threat to the
eating meat. I like to do pujas, and I think manifests in all of His creation, and within each individual and people that are strictly vegetarians, such as my parents. They have existence of a peaceful world. At the same time they are inviting
that people who eat meat are not supposed to do pujas. You can thing. So, why should we harm any of God’s creatures? Life is taught my sister, my brother and me that we should respect ani- diseases like high blood pressure, tension and other psychological
���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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still eat delicious food when you are vegetarian. composed of a cycle of rebirths, so whatever is done in this life will mals, because we, too, are animals. We would not want to be eaten
��������������������������������������
�������������������������������������� problems. ∫ rajivhtc@del3.vsnl.net.in
∫ abikandasamy@hotmail.com predict the outcome of the next life. ∫ donkeykong448@aol.com or killed by them, so we should not eat or kill them either. Because
of this belief in our household, we have never and will never find Tejal Shah, 19, New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Medha Raj, 10, La Palma, California: I have Abirami Ravichakaravarthy, 15, Toronto: beef, pork or anything like that in our refrigerator. Drugs and alcohol have already exhibited
often been told by others, “How can you live I realized that innocent animals were����� �����
being I have�������
�������friends that don’t practice the same �����������������
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religion as I do and extreme mental affects on individuals, lead-
without meat!” It’s not even a question, just slaughtered so that I could have a “good” �������������������
�������� ����������� are always asking me why I am a vegetarian
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and why I won’t ing some to depression, yet scientists have
a statement they make, which sounds very dinner, but how good could my dinner be
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���������������������������������������������� not researched adequately the effects of
much like, “Oh, my God!” “Simple,” I say, “I if the food that I was eating had to endure ��������������
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and I just can’t let that diet on mental health. Hinduism here is
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just do.” If they really want to know, I ask pain? I also realized
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������������������������������������������������������ be hard to live in a society several steps ahead, as its philosophy stated
them questions. Why not live with nature not become closer to the Lord unless�������������
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instead of destroying it? Why not start being became a vegetarian.
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������� ���� � another belief in my family is that there is no food like homemade Vedic times the rishis meditated and com-
healthy as a kid? By eating meat, you are There are also many scientific and�������
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killing animals. Extra fat also goes into your reasons that associate with vegetarianism.
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��������������� our mom cooks Indian food. But others can’t live without meat his higher consciousness and his spirit. They delved deep to
body. That’s size XXXXXL! If I keep on being a vegetarian, it will For example, the human body was naturally
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structured to be her- because they have always been raised to eat meat, so I don’t bother fathom the mechanisms of his behavior with himself, with those
help keep me fit and healthy for a long time to come. So, why not bivorous; this can be identified mainly by our jaw structure and arguing with them about it. ∫ desigurls23@hotmail.com around him, with his environment and the divine. Gleaning the
��������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������
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start developing healthy tastes right now? I deal with other people teeth. They were prearranged to take in the same victuals as ani- empirical truths, they prescribed holistic injunctions of diet purity
by telling them that I am happy just the way I am, and how should mals like the elephant, deer and rabbit. We were basically made to Narasimhachar Prativadi, 22, Getzville, to edify his body, mind and spirit.”
I know what I’m missing out on because I’ve never tasted it and eat vegetables. New York: Vegetarianism gives us a deeper Hindu scripture places food into three categories: tamasic, raja-
never wanted to bother trying. Although the sciences of being a vegetarian are considerable, the appreciation for all life forms. It allows us to sic and sattvic, in accordance with the kinds of effects it has on an
For a long time, lunch recess was not something I looked forward ethical conflicts are the most upsetting. Not only are the animals see that every form of life has value. A meat individual’s body, mind and spirit. The tamasic category includes
to. I felt quite disgusted by the prospect of eating near others who killed for the sake of someone’s meal, but they must also endure eater’s diet calls for the slaughter of several meat and is attributed to a state of darkness, ignorance, lethargy
were chewing dead animals in their mouths. Then I figured that pain before death. It was just the other day when a teacher told animals per day. Since the slaughter is done and inactivity. The scripture elaborates, “A diet of animal flesh
I couldn’t starve myself. So I told them to chew with their mouth me that, when reading in the newspaper of the mad cow disease, so often, the meat eater no longer feels the stimulates the senses, inciting the baser instincts in man. He is
shut, and they did. Over time, they have begun to understand me she saw a picture of a cow on quarantine who was about to be value of the animal’s life. These types of more prone to bursts of anger, hate and violence. The calming,
and respect my feelings. ∫ medha_raj@hotmail.com slaughtered with a tear rolling down its cheek. If this is the emo- thoughts breed superiority of humans over sattvic temperament accruing from a vegetarian diet is reflected in
tion of a cow that must bear death because of a fatal disease, then other forms of life. It makes it okay for us animals. Herbivores are docile, whereas carnivores are aggressive
Kavita Nana, 15, Munster, Indiana: Personally, I consider eating we can only imagine the emotion of a cow that will be slaughtered to destroy life for our own comfort and lifestyle. A vegetarian diet and violent.” At the same time, a nonvegetarian diet teaches no
animals unethical, because why should we kill animals for food for the enjoyment of eating beef. makes us realize that Sri Rama (God) is in everything. Vegetar- pity and care for animals, leading to their ill treatment, sometimes
when we can get through life as healthy human beings without ∫ abikandasamy@hotmail.com ians eat plants because they lack central nervous systems. Eating even when they are not being eaten.
hurting one animal? Many of my classmates in high school can’t plants causes less harm than eating animals. We should live our ∫ tejalshah84@hotmail.com
understand how I never am tempted to eat meat. But when your Nikita Shah, 16, Wisconsin: Most people know that Hinduism is lives doing the least amount of harm to the planet and the beings
mom cooks highly nutritious vegetarian Indian meals every night, made up of many different beliefs, and sometimes these beliefs around us. this is the first in hinduism today’s new “youth speak out” series,
presenting young people’s responses to relevant questions and issues
I am the one left wondering who would actually want to eat meat may or may not be strictly followed. The belief in being a vegetar- Vegetarianism reduces the amount of negative karma we accu- faced by modern hindus living in today’s cosmopolitan world.
please e-mail letters@hindu.org with your suggestions
after a scrumptious Indian meal? ian is also not always strictly followed. But there are still some mulate during a lifetime. Every time we slaughter an animal for for other issues you would like to hear youths’ opinions on.

42 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003 o c t o b e r / n o v e m b e r / d e c e m b e r , 20 03 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 43
 or over  years, Western scholars have
INSIGHT
struggled to understand Hinduism, a faith
whose followers seemed (to outsiders) to arbi-

Hinduism
trarily worship any one of a dozen Gods as the
Supreme, a religion vastly diverse in its beliefs,
practices and ways of worship. Some Indologists
labeled the Hinduism they encountered polytheistic;
others even coined new terms, like henotheism, to
describe this baffling array of spiritual traditions. Few,
however, have realized, and fewer still have written,

A Splendrous
that India’s Sanatana Dharma, or “eternal faith,” known
today as Hinduism and comprising nearly a billion
followers, is a family of religions with four principal

Lotus with denominations—Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism

and Smartism. This single perception is essential for
understanding Hinduisim and explaining it accurately

Four Superb to others. Contrary to prevailing misconceptions,

Hindus all worship a one Supreme Being, though by
different names. For Vaishnavites, Lord Vishnu is God.

Petals For Saivites, God is Siva. For Shaktas, Goddess Shakti

is supreme. For Smartas, liberal Hindus, the choice of
Deity is left to the devotee. Each has a multitude of
guru lineages, religious leaders, priesthoods, sacred
literature, monastic communities, schools, pilgrim-
age centers and tens of thousands of temples. They
possess a wealth of art and architecture, philosophy
and scholarship. These four sects hold such divergent
beliefs that each is a complete and independent reli-
gion. Yet, they share a vast heritage of culture and
belief—karma, dharma, reincarnation, all-pervasive
Divinity, temple worship, sacraments, manifold Deities,

Saivism the guru-shishya tradition and the Vedas as scriptural

authority. In this eight-page Insight, drawn from Sat-

Smartism
Saivite Hindus worship the guru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami’s Dancing with Siva,

Shaktism
Supreme God as Siva, the we offer a synopsis of these four denominations, fol-
Compassionate One. Saivites lowed by a point-by-point comparison.
esteem self discipline and phi- Smartas worship the Supreme in
losophy and follow a satguru.
They worship in the temple
Shaktas worship the Supreme as
the Divine Mother, Shakti or Devi.
She has many forms. Some are
Vaishnavism one of six forms: Ganesha, Siva,
Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and Skanda.
Because they accept all the major Each of Hinduism’s philosophies, schools and lineages
and practice yoga, striving to
gentle, some are fierce. Shaktas use Vaishnavites
Vaishnavites worship
worship the
the Supreme
Supreme Hindu Gods, they are known as shares a common purpose: to further the soul’s unfoldment
be one with Siva within.
chants, real magic, holy diagrams, as
as Lord
LordVishnu
Vishnu and
and His
His incarnations,
incarnations, liberal or nonsectarian. They follow to its divine destiny. Nowhere is this process better repre-
yoga and rituals to call forth cos- especially
especially Krishna
Krishna and
and Rama.
Rama.Vaish-
Vaish- a philosophical, meditative path, sented than in the growth of the renowned lotus, which,
mic forces and awaken the great navites
navites are
are mainly
mainly dualistic.
dualistic.They
They areare emphasizing man’s oneness with seeking the sun, arises from the mud to become a magnifi-
kundalini power within the spine. deeply
deeply devotional.
devotional.Their
Their religion
religion isis rich
rich God through understanding. cent flower. Its blossom is a promise of purity and perfection.
in
in saints,
saints, temples
temples and
and scriptures.
scriptures.

october/november/december, 2 0 0 3 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 45
 What Is the
Deeply Mystical
Saiva Sect?
Saivism is the world’s oldest reli-
gion. Worshiping God Siva, the
compassionate One, it stresses
potent disciplines, high philo-
sophy, the guru’s centrality and
bhakti-raja-siddha yoga leading
to oneness with Siva within. Aum.
art by s. rajam
AIVISM IS ANCIENT, TRULY AGELESS, FOR IT HAS NO
beginning. It is the precursor of the many-
faceted religion now termed Hinduism.
Scholars trace the roots of Siva worship
back more than , years to the advanced In-
dus Valley civilization. But sacred writings tell us
there never was a time when Saivism did not exist.
Modern history records six main schools: Saiva Sid-
dhanta, Pashupatism, Kashmir Saivism, Vira Saivism,
Siddha Siddhanta and Siva Advaita. Saivism’s grand-
eur and beauty are found in a practical culture, an
enlightened view of man’s place in the universe and
46 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
Seated on Nandi, his bull mount, the perfect devotee,
Lord Siva holds japa beads and the trident, symbol of
love-wisdom-action, and offers blessings of protection
and fearlessness. Mount Kailas, His sacred Himalayan
abode, represents the pinnacle of consciousness.
a profound system of temple mysticism and siddha
yoga. It provides knowledge of man’s evolution from
God and back to God, of the soul’s unfoldment and
awakening guided by enlightened sages. Like all
the sects, its majority are devout families, headed
by hundreds of orders of swamis and sadhus who
follow the fiery, world-renouncing path to moksha.
The Vedas state, “By knowing Siva, the Auspicious
One who is hidden in all things, exceedingly fine,
like film arising from clarified butter, the One
embracer of the universe—by realizing God, one
is released from all fetters.” Aum Namah Sivaya.
What Is the
Magic and Power
Of Shaktism?
Shaktism reveres the Supreme as
the Divine Mother, Shakti or Devi,
in Her many forms, both gentle
and fierce. Shaktas use mantra,
tantra, yantra, yoga and puja to
invoke cosmic forces and awaken
the kundalini power. Aum.
HILE WORSHIP OF THE DIVINE MOTHER EXTENDS
beyond the pale of history, Shakta Hin-
duism arose as an organized sect in India
around the fifth century. Today it has four
expressions—devotional, folk-shamanic, yogic and
universalist—all invoking the fierce power of Kali or
Durga, or the benign grace of Parvati or Ambika.
Shakta devotionalists use puja rites, especially to
the Shri Chakra yantra, to establish intimacy with
the Goddess. Shamanic Shaktism employs magic,
trance mediumship, firewalking and animal sac-
rifice for healing, fertility, prophecy and power.
october/november/december, 2 0 0 3
Shakti, depicted in Her green form, radiates beauty,
energy, compassion and protection for followers. Wear-
ing the tilaka of the Shakta sect on Her forehead, She
blesses devotees, who shower rosewater, hold an
umbrella and prostrate at Her feet.
Shakta yogis seek to awaken the sleeping Goddess
Kundalini and unite her with Siva in the sahasrara
chakra. Shakta universalists follow the reformed
Vedantic tradition exemplified by Sri Ramakrishna.
“Left-hand” tantric rites transcend traditional ethi-
cal codes. Shaktism is chiefly advaitic, defining
the soul’s destiny as complete identity with the
Unmanifest, Siva. Central scriptures are the Vedas,
Shakta Agamas and Puranas. The Devi Gita extols,
“We bow down to the universal soul of all. Above
and below and in all four directions, Mother of
the universe, we bow.” Aum Chandikayai Namah.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 47
 What Is the
Devotional
Vaishnava Sect?
Vaishnavism is an ancient Hindu
sect centering on the worship of
Lord Vishnu and His incarnations,
especially Krishna and Rama.
Largely dualistic, profoundly
devotional, it is rich in saints,
temples and scriptures. Aum.
HE WORSHIP OF VISHNU, MEANING “PERVADER,”
dates back to Vedic times. The Pancharatra
and Bhagavata sects were popular prior to 
bce. Today’s five Vaishnava schools emerged
in the middle ages, founded by Ramanuja, Madh-
va, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Chaitanya. Vaishna-
vism stresses prapatti, single-pointed surrender
to Vishnu, or His ten or more incarnations, called
avataras. Japa is a key devotional sadhana, as is ec-
static chanting and dancing, called kirtana. Temple
worship and festivals are elaborately observed.
Philosophically, Vaishnavism ranges from Madh-
48 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
Vishnu is the infinite ocean from which the world
emerges. He stands on waves, surrounded by the many-
headed Seshanaga, who represents agelessness and is
regarded as an extension of divine energy and an incar-
nation of Balarama, Lord Krishna’s brother.
va’s pure dualism to Ramanuja’s qualified nondu-
alism to Vallabha’s nearly monistic vision. God and
soul are everlastingly distinct. The soul’s destiny,
through God’s grace, is to eternally worship and
enjoy Him. While generally nonascetic, advocat-
ing bhakti as the highest path, Vaishnavism has
a strong monastic community. Central scriptures
are the Vedas, Vaishnava Agamas, Itihasas and
Puranas. The Bhagavad Gita states, “On those who
meditate on Me and worship with undivided heart,
I confer attainment of what they have not, and
preserve what they have.” Aum Namo Narayanaya.
What Is the
Universalistic
Smarta Sect?
Smartism is an ancient brah-
minical tradition reformed
by Shankara in the ninth cen-
tury. Worshiping six forms of
God, this liberal Hindu path is
monistic, nonsectarian, medi-
tative and philosophical. Aum.
MARTA MEANS A FOLLOWER OF CLASSICAL SMRITI,
particularly the Dharma Shastras, Puranas and
Itihasas. Smartas revere the Vedas and honor
the Agamas. Today this faith is synonymous
with the teachings of Adi Shankara, the monk-
philosopher known as shanmata sthapanacharya,
“founder of the six-sect system.” He campaigned
India-wide to consolidate the Hindu faiths of his
time under the banner of Advaita Vedanta. To unify
the worship, he popularized the ancient Smarta
five-Deity altar—Ganapati, Surya, Vishnu, Siva and
Shakti—and added Kumara. From these, devotees
october/november/december, 2 0 0 3
Adi Sankara lived from  to  CE, a mere  years, yet
he gave Hinduism a new liberal denomination—Smart-
ism. Here, wearing sacred marks, he holds his writings and
is flanked by the six Deities of the Smarta altar: Surya the
Sun, Siva, Shakti, Vishnu, Kumaran and Ganesha.
may choose their “preferred Deity,” or Ishta Devata.
Each God is but a reflection of the one Saguna
Brahman. Shankara organized hundreds of mon-
asteries into a ten-order, dashanami system, which
now has five pontifical centers. He wrote profuse
commentaries on the Upanishads, Brahma Sutras
and Bhagavad Gita. Sankara proclaimed, “It is
the one Reality which appears to our ignorance
as a manifold universe of names and forms and
changes. Like the gold of which many ornaments
are made, it remains in itself unchanged. Such is
Brahman, and That art Thou.” Aum Namah Sivaya.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 49

S JUST SEEN, THE SPECTRUM
of Hindu religiousness is
found within four major
sects or denominations:
Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism
and Smartism. Among these four
streams, there are certainly more
similarities than differences. All four
believe in karma and reincarnation
and in a Supreme Being who is
both form and pervades form, who
creates, sustains and destroys the
universe only to create it again in
unending cycles. They strongly de-
clare the validity and importance of
temple worship, in the three worlds
of existence and the myriad Gods
and devas residing in them. They
concur that there is no intrinsic
evil, that the cosmos is created out
of God and is permeated by Him.
They each believe in maya (though
their definitions differ somewhat),
and in the liberation of the soul
from rebirth, called moksha, as
the goal of human existence. They
believe in dharma and in ahimsa,
noninjury, and in the need for a
satguru to lead the soul toward Self
Realization. They wear the sacred
marks, tilaka, on their foreheads as
sacred symbols, though each wears
a distinct mark. Finally, they prefer
cremation of the body upon death,
believing that the soul will inhabit
another body in the next life. While
Hinduism has many sacred scrip-
tures, all sects ascribe the highest
authority to the Vedas and Agamas,
though their Agamas differ some-
what. Here, now, is a brief compari-
son of these four denominations.
50 h i n d u i s m t o d ay
On the Personal God/Goddess
SAIVISM: Personal God and temple Deity
is Siva, neither male nor female. Lords
Ganesha and Karttikeya are also
worshiped.
SHAKTISM: Personal Goddess and temple
Deity is Shri Devi or Shakti, female, wor-
shiped as Rajarajeshvari, Parvati, Lakshmi,
Sarasvati, Kali, Amman, etc. —the Divine
Mother.
VAISHNAVISM: Personal God and temple
Deity is Vishnu, male. His incarnations as
Rama and Krishna are also worshiped, as
well as His divine consort, Radharani.
SMARTISM: Personal God and temple Deity
is Ishvara, male or female, worshiped as
Vishnu, Siva, Shakti, Ganesha and Surya
or any Deity of devotee’s choice, e.g., Ku-
mara or Krishna.
s. rajam
On the Nature of Shakti
SHAIVISM: Shakti is God Siva’s inseparable
power and manifest will, energy or mind.
SHAKTISM: Shakti is an active, immanent
Being, separate from a quiescent and
remote Siva.
VAISHNAVISM: No special importance is
given to Shakti. However, there are par-
allels wherein the divine consorts are
conceived as the inseparable powers of
Vishnu and His incarnations: e.g., Krish-
na’s Radharani and Rama’s Sita.
SMARTISM: Shakti is a divine form of Ish-
vara. It is God’s manifesting power.
On the Nature of Personal God
SAIVISM: God Siva is pure love and com-
passion, immanent and transcendent,
pleased by our purity and sadhana.
SHAKTISM: The Goddess Shakti is both
compassionate and terrifying, pleasing SHAKTISM: The Divine Mother, Shakti, is Major Scriptures
and wrathful, assuaged by sacrifice and mediatrix, bestowing advaitic moksha on SAIVISM: Vedas, Saiva Agamas and Saiva
submission. those who worship Her. Puranas.
VAISHNAVISM: God Vishnu is loving and VAISHNAVISM: God and soul are eternally SHAKTISM: Vedas, Shakta Agamas (Tantras)
beautiful, the object of man’s devotion, distinct. Through Lord Vishnu’s grace, the and Puranas.
pleased by our service and surrender. soul’s destiny is to worship and enjoy VAISHNAVISM: Vedas, Vaishnava Agamas,
SMARTISM: Ishvara appears as a human- God. Puranas and the Itihasas (Ramayana and
like Deity according to devotees’ loving SMARTISM: Ishvara and man are in reality Mahabharata, especially the Bhagavad
worship, which is sometimes considered a Absolute Brahman. Within maya, the soul Gita).
rudimentary self-purifying practice. and Ishvara appear as two. Jnana (wisdom) SMARTISM: Vedas, Agamas and classical
dispels the illusion. smriti—Puranas, Itihasas, especially the
On the Doctrine of Avatara Bhagavad Gita, etc.
SAIVISM: There are no divine earthly Spiritual Practice
incarnations of the Supreme Being. SAIVISM: With bhakti as a base, emphasis Regions of Influence
SHAKTISM: The Divine Mother does is placed on sadhana, tapas (austerity) and SAIVISM: Geographically widespread,
incarnate in this world. yoga. Ascetic. strongest in South and North India, Nepal
VAISHNAVISM: Vishnu has ten or more SHAKTISM: Emphasis is on bhakti and and Sri Lanka.
incarnations. tantra, sometimes occult, practices. SHAKTISM: Geographically widespread,
SMARTISM: All Deities may assume Ascetic-occult. most prominent in Northeast India, espe-
earthly incarnations. VAISHNAVISM: Emphasis is on supreme cially Bengal and Assam.
bhakti or surrender, called prapatti. Gener- VAISHNAVISM: Geographically widespread,
On the Soul and God ally devotional and nonascetic. especially strong throughout India, North
SAIVISM: God Siva is one with the soul. The SMARTISM: Preparatory sadhanas are and South.
soul must realize this advaitic (monistic) bhakti, karma, raja yoga. The highest path SMARTISM: Geographically widespread,
Truth by God Siva’s grace. is through knowledge, leading to jnana. most prominent in North and South India.
Paths of Attainment
SAIVISM: The path for Saivites is divided into four VAISHNAVISM: Most Vaishnavites believe that religion is the
progressive stages of belief and practice called charya, performance of bhakti sadhanas, devotional disciplines, and
kriya, yoga and jnana. The soul evolves through karma that man can communicate with and receive the grace of the
and reincarnation from the instinctive-intellectual Gods and Goddesses through the darshan (sight) of their icons.
sphere into virtuous and moral living, then into temple The paths of karma yoga and jnana yoga lead to bhakti yoga.
worship and devotion, followed by internalized worship, Among the foremost practices of Vaishnavites is chanting the
or yoga, and its meditative disciplines. Union with God holy names of the Avataras, Vishnu’s incarnations, especially
Siva comes through the grace of the satguru and culmi- Rama and Krishna. Through total self-surrender, prapatti, to
nates in the soul’s maturity in the state of jnana, or wis- Vishnu, to Krishna or to His beloved consort Radharani, libera-
dom. Saivism values both bhakti and yoga, devotional tion from samsara (the cycle of reincarnation) is attained.
and contemplative sadhanas, or disciplines.
SMARTISM: Smartas, the most eclectic of Hindus, believe that
SHAKTISM: The spiritual practices in Shaktism are similar moksha is achieved through jnana yoga alone—defined as an
to those in Saivism, though there is more emphasis in Sak- intellectual and meditative but non-kundalini-yoga path. Jnana
tism on God’s Power as opposed to Being, on mantras and yoga’s progressive stages are scriptural study (shravana), reflec-
yantras, and on embracing apparent opposites: male-fe- tion (manana) and sustained meditation (dhyana). Guided by
male, absolute-relative, pleasure-pain, cause-effect, mind- a realized guru and avowed to the unreality of the world, the
body. Certain sects within Shaktism undertake “left-hand” initiate meditates on himself as Brahman, Absolute Reality, to
tantric rites, consciously using the world of form to trans- break through the illusion of maya. Devotees may also choose
mute and eventually transcend that world. The “left-hand” from three other non-successive paths to cultivate devotion,
approach is somewhat occult in nature; it is considered a accrue good karma and purify the mind. These are bhakti yoga,
path for the few, not the many. The “right-hand” path is karma yoga and raja yoga, which certain Smartas teach can
more conservative in nature. also bring enlightenment.
Artwork: The Divine is reflected in four pots, their
common source being the radiant Aum, the sacred
mystic syllable and symbol of Hinduism
october/november/december, 2 0 0 3 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 51
H E A LT H
Pill-Free Clinic Relieves Pain
Tough testimony extols the body as its own best doctor
By Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj
have osteoporosis. for a greatmany
years I have tried to quietly live with
this debilitating disease, but unfor-
tunately, it has grown steadily worse.
When the pain became intolerable, I
started taking painkillers.
About two months ago, I took twice my
prescribed dosage by mistake and the results
were disastrous. After that terrible experi-
ence, I began looking seriously at “alterna-
tive medicine.” That’s when I learned about
the National Institute of Naturopathy in
Pune, Maharashtra. Although this institute
was far from my home in
52 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
accommodations are far from luxurious,
even though they do include a full range of
traditional naturopathic treatments, compli-
mented by yoga classes and acupressure.
NINrecords show that in the 1930s, Ma-
hatma Gandhi spent 156 days at this place
during seven visits. He was a staunch be-
liever in naturopathy. “The human body is a
living temple of God and a miraculous ma-
chine,” said Gandhi in defense of the medi-
Delhi, I made the trip without hesitation. The National Institute of Naturopathy cal system. “It is self-reliant in maintaining
I arrived late one afternoon. My treatment (NIN) is located on ten acres of land at health, as well as in curing disease through
began the following morning. After six ses- Bapu Bhawan in Pune, about 100 miles the medicines produced in its own factory.”
sions spread over three days, I was able to from Mumbai. Four doctors, eight interns Naturopathy is a system of physical thera-
sleep without painkillers. After two weeks, and 20 trainees work there six days a week py that utilizes natural remedies in treating
I returned home transformed. It was such to serve approximately 175 patients a day. illness. Naturopathic doctors strive to treat
a wondrous experience, I want to share it Funded only by modest patient fees and a even acute or chronic illness by simply al-
with everyone. small government grant, NIN services and lowing or helping rather than hindering the
body as it attempts to work with physical
Staying healthy: (Clockwise from top left) A juice shop on the NIN grounds sells fresh problems in its own way. The fundamental
fruit and vegetable juices at reasonable prices; Dr. B.T. Chidananda Murthy is the cur- principals of this approach are: regulated
rent director of NIN; Dr. Abhishek Jain takes the blood pressure of a patient; a patient daily routine; occasional fasting; a vegetar-
receives a mud application as part of a skin treatment; the entrance to the clinic; yoga ian diet; hatha yoga; and the strict avoid-
classes and meditation are an important part of the NIN program; an overview of the in- ance of indiscriminate medication, cigarette
stitute grounds with Pune looming in the background. smoking or excessive consumption of tea,
coffee, drugs or alcohol. Hydrotherapy,
chromotherapy, mud baths and massage are
also utilized to assist the body in the healing
process. Hydrotherapy (water treatment)
features cold compresses, as well as sitz,
spinal, immersion and steam baths. Chro-
motherapy (color treatment) includes sun
baths and exposure of certain areas of the
body to colored lights.
“We should be able to live healthy lives
naturally, like birds and animals,” asserts
Dr. B.T. Murthy, the current director of the
institute. “The science of living naturally has
been lost to humans for some time.” Murthy
went on to explain that the British brought
to India the attitude that allopathic medi-
cines exclusively could cure all ailments.
a l l p h o t o s : p r a b h a p r a b h a k a r b h a r d wa j
Asked about the feasibility of applying
long-term techniques without ongoing
professional assistance, Murthy said, “Af-
ter diagnosis and some training, almost
all treatments can be carried on at home,
some with help from family members. But
knowledge is a must. The treatment is a
learning process. Sometimes an old patient
is worth more than a young doctor.”
Dr. Murthy emphasized that
the body is made of five ele-
ments—earth, air, fire, water
and ether—and that the proper
balance of these elements in-
dicates good health, while an
imbalance indicates the op-
posite. His parting words to
me were, “In today’s world,
there is a medicine-bound
mania. Self-medication
is the order, and the last
resort is desperate prayer
to God Almighty. In our
discipline, we start with demedication and
detoxification, and let the body do the rest.”
Dr. Chander Shekhar, another doctor at
the clinic, offered these insights, “The body
has remarkable recuperative powers. We can
treat any condition if it is referred to us dur-
ing early stages—even severe illnesses like
cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, obesity, arthritis
and polio.” Shekhar emphasized, however,
that the patient must do his part. He or she
must think positively and learn to be calm.
When I brought up the
subject of aging with Dr.
Shekhar, he said, “Old age
is a natural process and not
a disease. In aging, as in liv-
ing, mental attitude, poise,
proper diet, regular exercise
and ample water intake con-
tinue to be important.”
After three days of treat-
ment, I was referred to Saty-
ajeet Biswas, the yoga teacher
at NIN. Biswas explained
that—especially in the treat- ment of
arthritis, nervous disorders, stress, tension,
pain in joints and respiratory disorders
like asthma—hatha (physical) yoga and
pranayama (breath control) are effective in
enhancing other naturopathic treatments.
Lastly I spoke with Dr. Abhishek Jain,
one of the doctors who treated me. When
I asked him specifically about diseases that
could not be treated by naturopathy, he
clarified that in cases of a neurological or
structural abnormality, like cerebral palsy,
other systems might be more helpful. He
did say, however, that with mental retarda-
tion, naturopathy can help.
He also emphasized the importance of the
unseen or spiritual side of the treatment. It
is our job to set the proper physical controls
in place, he exclaimed. Then the nonphysi-
cal forces can have their best effect.
While I was at the institute, I had the
good fortune to interview a few people who
were as enthusiastic about their treatment
as I was about mine. Their testimonies
speak for themselves.
Ram Dular Sharma (at left) is a retired
Engineer. At age 70—just one year ago—he
had a number of health prob-
lems. For years he had tried
allopathic medicines. Nothing
worked. After experimenting
with a variety of “alterna-
tive treatments,” he ordered a
“miracle cure” by mail. Instead
of bringing him relief, it made
his condition worse. One thing
after another he tried. Finally,
desperation set in. Nothing was
helping. His pain was excruciat-
ing and he could not sleep. He
october/november/december, 2003
even told me that he was considering sui-
cide. In February of 2003, he learned about
NIN and came in for a checkup. The doctor
who first met with him immediately advised
a complex regime of treatment, including
strict vegetarian dietary controls. After
40 days, Sharma no longer suffered from
pain, and his overall condition was greatly
improved. Today, he is off all medicines,
lives at home in Pune and visits the institute
only occasionally. He is fully
recovered and considers the
whole experience nothing short
of wondrous.
Sujata Upadhaya (at left) was
living with painful rheumatoid
arthritis. “I was in such great
agony,” she lamented. “The ail-
ment started only a year and
a half ago with nothing more
than some minor discomfort
in my ankle. In six months
this condition had degenerated so rap-
idly that I was almost immobilized.
“By that time I was also suffering from
typhoid and some other infections. I began
ayurvedic treatment, but there was abso-
lutely no relief—not even a proper diagno-
sis. I started taking strong allopathic drugs.
Nothing was working.
“There I was—39 years old, helpless and
completely bedridden. Although I have a
doctorate in medicine, I had no idea what
was wrong with me. My knees had swollen
to the size of footballs. I was in constant
pain. In addition to everything else, I had a
mental breakdown. My life was totally shat-
tered. And the future looked very dark in-
deed. I retreated into a shell, surviving only
by the grace of strong family support.
“The very first week of my stay here was
marvelous. Slowly I improved. I was off
painkillers in seven days. In a month, I was
back at work.
“Before coming here, I contemplated tak-
ing my own life. When doctors tell a doctor
that a disease has no cure and nothing can
be done, it is really scary. But the physicians
at NIN gave me confidence that I could
recover. Now, I am a woman transformed. I
am strong, optimistic and leading a normal
life. Normal? Actually, it’s a miracle.”∏π
Prabha Prabhakar
Bhardwaj is a free-
lance journalist who
lives with her husband
outside New Delhi.
For more information
on NIN contact the
National Institute of
Naturopathy, “Bapu
Bhawan,” Tadiwala Road, Pune 411 001,
Maharashtra, India.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay 53
H I N D U R E N A I S S A N C E AW A R D
Hindu of the Year
Sri Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal, trainer and guide of monastics and priests
B Y C HOODIE S HIVARAM , B ANGALORE
orty-three years ago when ban-
galore, the serene garden city, was
not bursting at its seams with mul-
tinationals and information technology
companies, a small hermitage began
on the outskirts of the city. Tucked away in
the quiet, remote suburbs off Mysore Road
was Kailasa Ashrama Maha Samasthanam,
built in 1960. In 1978 the Sri Rajarajeshwari
temple was dedicated. Commuting to this
temple was a demanding task in those days.
Public transport was sparse. Unmindful of
all these hassles, the faithful regularly vis-
ited. Prayers were answered. Some experi-
enced the Mother beckoning. Word spread
about the power of Goddess Rajarajeswari
and the ashram’s founder, Sri Jagadguru Sri
Sivarathnapuri Mahaswamigal, popularly
known as Tiruchi Swami. HINDUISM TODAY
is proud to honor him with the Hindu Re-
naissance Award as Hindu of the Year 2003.
Swamiji has trained dozens of sannyasins,
Hindu monks, who are now in charge of
ashrams of their own, and a large number
of priests who serve in temples all over the
world. He is held in such respect in India
that highly-placed spiritual leaders come to
him for advice in difficult situations. He is
a living embodiment of the Goddess’s grace,
with even casual devotees able to sense
Her blessings radiating from him. He has
inspired devotees in many countries during
his tours of North America and Europe.
Starting in 1990, Hinduism Today has
honored one eminent Hindu each year who
has most impacted the faith and spread its
values, compassion and profundity across
the globe. Past renaissance winners are:
Swami Paramananda Bharati (’90), Swami
Chidananda Saraswati, “Muniji” of Parmath
Niketan (’91), Swami Chinmayananda (’92),
Mata Amritanandamayi Ma (’93), Swami
Satchidananda (’94), Pramukhswami Ma-
haraj (’95), Sri Satya Sai Baba (’96), Sri
Chinmoy (’97), Swami Bua (’98), Swami
Chidananda Saraswati of Divine Life Soci-
ety (’99), Ma Yoga Shakti (’00), priest Sri T.
S. Sambamurthy Sivachariar (’01) and Dada
kailasa ashrama
Vaswani (’02).
Currently, devotees daily throng the
temple and Kailasa Ashrama, the abode of
Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal. A huge town-
ship now surrounds the temple—it is even
54 h i n d u i s m t o d ay //, 
Leader of leaders: Tiruchi Mahaswamigal
is among the most respected monastic
leaders of India
named Sri Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Well con- “I’ve been visiting the ashram for the last 28 Swamiji had a divine inspiration to start the
nected today to various parts of the city by years. A lot of good things have come to us ashram and temple near Bangalore.
public transport, real estate values in the with the blessings of Swamiji. On many occa- A devotee approaching Kailasa Ashrama
township have skyrocketed. sions we have escaped dangers, and we real- passes through two towering, ornately deco-
Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal has a large fol- ized that Swamiji would have forewarned us. rated wrought-iron gates 30 feet tall and 20
lowing of devotees from all over the country Once, I was on my way to Maddur (60 miles feet wide. Inside, the massive Rajarajeswari
and abroad. He is well known throughout from Bangalore) and, en route, I stopped Temple complex, with its new Sri Yantra
South India as a spiritual leader and healer. to seek Swamiji’s blessings. He warned me Shrine, spans a full six city blocks. To the
This quiet, compassionate, unassuming sa- to drive carefully. Within an hour, a bus left, a three-story assembly hall, constructed
vant is an ocean of Divinity, knowledge and came menacingly from behind me, and to accommodate thousands during major
wisdom. Being in his presence brings peace there was a major accident. I survived festivals and temple celebrations, beckons
only because of His blessings.” from just beyond a long bed of bright red
Another confided, “I have been and yellow flowers where cool shade trees
associated with Swamiji for over shelter three elite guest apartments. Just in-
45 years, even before he came side the second gate of the twelve-acre mon-
and settled in Bangalore. I visit astery complex, adobe shrines to Ganesha
the ashram monthly and never do and Muniswara stand in a wide courtyard, a
anything without his advice. He giant, open well nearby. Straight ahead some
can foresee the future and pre- 50 yards, the impressive Devi Hall, the main
dict what will happen. I admire monastery building, towers up four stories,
him for his simplicity. He has a pastel pink jewel in the tropical sun. To
only one thought and one goal the right of Devi Hall, a newly-constructed
—serving Mother Rajarajeshwari.” kitchen and dining room sparkle with fresh
Kailasa Ashrama runs a patha- paint. To the left, Trichyswami’s ever-so-
sala school that provides thor- simple personal quarters stand, partially
ough religious training. A steady hidden in the foliage of trees and bright
stream of proficient priests who flowers. It is in the front room of this un-
hinduism today
graduated from here have be- imposing dwelling that the swami greets
come renunciate monks, noted guests, who sit on the cool stone floor as he
for their training and dedication. gives darshan from a carved wooden chair,
Some have stayed back to serve with pictures of many saints and sages on
In America: Sri Tiruchiswami with Satguru Sivaya Kailasa Ashrama, and some have the walls above. Behind Devi Hall, a large
Subramuniyaswami at Kauai Aadheenam, 1991, seat- joined other ashrams. Prominent cow shed, expansive food gardens and fruit-
ed beside the 700-pound crystal Siva Lingam among these are Jagadguru Sri Sri tree groves stretch back several acres. Deep
Sri Balagangadharanatha Swami of within these gardens, Sanskrit pundits meet
“In the earlier days, one Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt in Belur, every day with youthful students in a dor-
Swami Sivananda Bharati, head mitory-style pathasala .
of Siddharudanatha Math, and Seated on a simple chair in his long-time
person had to stand at the en- Kumaraswamy, head of the Thiru- living quarters known as “Kuteeram,” Sri
chi Swami Math. Kailasa Ashrama, Swamiji is a man of few words. In this room,
trance and shout three times, staffed by Swamiji’s monks and perhaps 15 by 35 feet, he has met people
administrated by Sri Jayendra Puri from all walks of life. He dislikes indulging
‘There is no place for lazy Swami, has spawned a number of in worldly affairs and refuses to comment
subsidiary spiritual centers in on matters of current developments. Yet
people in Kailasa Ashrama.’” Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states. politicians, bureaucrats, professionals and
Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal was layman alike have immense faith in him. He
—SRI TIRUCHI MAHASWAMIGAL destined to be a monk. While is the benign reliever of their troubles. Ev-
traveling in Kanya Kumari in ery morning, if his health permits, Swamiji
and serenity to the mind. He infuses confi- South India, his parents were informed by tours the grounds, taking interest in the
dence. Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal is also an a stranger near the Devi temple, “By the minutest detail. Around the ashram has
accomplished scholar with exemplary mas- grace of the Divine Mother and Lord Sub- developed a 1,000-child school and a chari-
tery over the Vedas, Upanishads and the ramanya, a glorious son will be born to you. table hospital.
scriptures. A complete portrayal is given in He will be a teacher and benefactor for all
his biography, Life and Work of Sri Sivarat- mankind.” Born in 1929, young Palaniswa- In His Own Words
napuri Swamiji by S. V. Krishnaswamy. mi was drawn to religious life right from his Tiruchi Mahaswamigal patiently shared his
Last year, rains failed in Karnataka. The childhood. While in his twenties, he trav- wisdom by answering a barrage of questions
state was under pressure to release reservoir eled to Nepal and was initiated as Jagadguru posed by HINDUISM TODAY:
water to its neighbor and there was political Sri Sivarathnapuri Bhagawath. HT: How can one who is not a practicing
unrest. The chief minister, S. M. Krishna, Sri Tiruchi Mahaswamigal was ordained yogi achieve good concentration during
set out on a padayatra (pilgrimage on foot) by his guru, Shivapuri Baba, to return meditation?
to propitiate the rain Gods. He started his to India, propagate dharma and build a Swamiji: Anusthana, worship, brings
journey after performing worship at the Ra- temple. Before returning, Swamiji went to ekagratha, or concentration, just as when
jarajeshwari temple and seeking the bless- Mount Kailash. There, he had a vision of a person has a bath, he becomes clean. So,
ings of Tiruchi Mahaswamigalji. The very Goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati, also, by worship one can develop concentra-
next day heavy rains drenched the state. who told him, “Proceed south and establish tion and meditation, whether he is a yogi or
One ashram devotee, a jeweler, told me, an ashram there.” While traveling south, not. The simplest method is prayer.
//,              55
 HT: Why should we go to temples? of Kailasa Ashrama have been made
Swamiji: Worship is very essential for Where the World’s One Billion Hindus Live heads of institutions of particular
any human life. Concentration cannot Hindus are one-sixth of the human family. While India is home to 93% of the world’s
one billion Hindus, nearly 70 million are scattered widely across the globe.
communities so that they may propa-
be achieved at home, because of do- gate dharma more effectively in their
mestic distractions. Domestic environs own way.
������� ������
Netherlands �������������
180,000
������� ������
England: 1,300,000 �������� ������

do not provide the right atmosphere for HT: A current issue in medical eth-
Germany: 100,000 ������������ ������
��������������� France: 150,000 ��������������������������
Belgium: 6,000
Austria: 6,100
Spain: 12,500

worship. Vibrations are very strong in a ics is stem cell research. Scientists are
�������������� Portugal: 8,000 Japan: 6,000
��������� �������������
Bahrain: 24,000 ������������������ Bhutan: 300,000
Kauai Aadheenam: 30 �������������� Egypt: 6,000
���������� �������������������� Bangladesh: 12,100,000

temple because of the form, the place harvesting stem cells from fertilized
��������������� Ethiopia: 3,000 Myanmar: 294,000
Jamaica Pakistan �������������
Hawaii: 700 Trinidad: 320,000 1,200,000 India
25,000 Vietnam: 5,500
Guyana: 450,000 895,000,000
Thailand: 7,000
����������������� Afghanistan Sri Lanka Philippines:1,100

and the congregational get-together. At human eggs and doing experiments to

�������������������� 130,000 2,200,000 Indonesia: 5,900,000
Nigeria: 30,000 S. Yemen: 7,000 Malaysia
Somalia: 6,000 1,290,000
�������������� Uganda: 20,000 Kenya: 75,000 Singapore

a temple, inspiration is more, and con- develop medical cures. What are the
Zambia: 25,000 Tanzania: 70,000 171,000 Fiji: 600,000

Malavi: 3,000 Mauritius: 700,000

Reunion: 290,000 ����������
Botswana: 7,000
Madagascar: 1,100 ��������

centration is better. Temple building is moral implications?

South Africa: 1,430,000
Zimbabwe: 6,000

Argentina
4,000

essential because a temple is necessary Swamiji: Life should be taken prac-

New Zealand
47,000

for public worship. It provides an op- tically. Just as birth is inevitable, so

portunity for celebration. One has to
celebrate life and not lead a mechani-
cal life. When one involves in praising
the Supreme and does not indulge
in oneself, this celebration becomes
unique. A temple provides opportunity
for celebration for the less fortunate,
like the handicapped and the poor,
who cannot afford it otherwise. They
can participate where there is no dis-
crimination between the rich and the
poor. A temple provides strong com-
munity feelings.
HT: What is Swami’s advice for the
young people of today?
Swamiji: Work very hard. Earn your
living and lead a devoted life. You can
HINDU RENAISSANCE AWARD FOR 2003 also is old age, disease and death. We
Presented by HINDUISM TODAY to Hindu of the Year, 2003, Sri Jagadguru
Sri Sivarathnapuri Mahaswamigal (Tiruchi Mahaswamigal), founder
have to accept what is inevitable and
of Kailas Ashram and Sri Rajarajeshwari Temple, Bangalore, India, in not go out of the way to protect this
recognition of his leadership, his monastic and priest training
programs, his exemplary ashram environment and profound frail body, which is definitely perish-
personal devotion to Goddess Rajarajeshwari. able. We have to allow it to go accord-
ing to the dictates of nature and find
happiness there. I am totally against
this research. It is a waste of money
and effort. It increases population. We
will do great service to nature in al-
lowing it to maintain the balance and
not interfere with it.
HT: What motivated you towards
sannyas? As an only child, how did
your parents react to your decision?
Swamiji: From childhood I had
listened so much to the saints, I was


see it in the ashram, everyone has to convinced that loka seva, service to hu-
work. In earlier days, one person had manity, is the greatest purpose of life.
to stand at the main entrance of the That is why I took sannyas. If I was a
ashram and shout three times, “There grihastha (married person), I may not On the move: (Center) Hinduism Today Publisher, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, with Managing Editor Sannyasin Arumugaswami,
is no place for lazy people in Kailash have been able to do this. When we are and children of a class on Hinduism at the Sri Sakthi Vinayagar temple in Penang during their ve-day journey through Malaysia
Ashram.” Total discipline and work for holding a pot of hot water and cannot
a living is most important in life. hold it any longer, we drop it without MALAYSIA
HT: We see a breakdown of the fam- worrying what happens to the pot. The
ily, especially both parents working. Is
Swami concerned about this trend?
fingers have to be protected. Similarly,
I left home without thinking about Young Hindus Must Prepare for Tomorrow
hinduism today

What do you tell couples who say they what would be my parents’ reaction.
cannot live on the husband’s salary A ripe fruit does not think of the tree
alone? when it drops down.
Swamiji: If we go on increasing our HT: More and more children are Faced with discrimination, peer pressure and a major lack of knowledge,
wants, money will be necessary. The Due honor: (above) Bronze plaque award; (below)
more money is necessary, the feel- Swamiji is honored upon his arrival at Kauai Aad-
unhesitatingly sending their parents to
old-age homes. What is your opinion? young Hindus of Malaysia need inspiration to keep faith
ing that another person will have to heenam with the traditional washing of feet and Swamiji: In olden days, when the son
work will come. If wants are reduced, waving of arati lamp came of age, the parents would hand
automatically the earning will be suf- over the responsibilities and go to the    ,   Dato J. Jegathesan (left) is an economist
ficient. The mother aspect of the house can tioned anywhere. A person should be free to forest—vanaprastha ashrama. As recently of Hinduism is the future of its who serves the Hindu community as a
be saved. This will keep the balance in the choose his own path.” As far as Hinduism is as fifty years ago, too, people went away youth. Some say that future is leader, a speaker and a devotional singer.
family. The root of the problem is material- concerned, it is an ocean where one can get on pilgrimage, handing over responsibility bright. Others disagree. In January, Our more wealthy Hindus are more
ism. all the benefits of having a bath in all the to the son once he came of age. However, when Satguru Bodinatha Veylanswami, Westernized than the Westerners them-
HT: What is the most important thing in rivers of the world by having a bath in one today parents do neither. Even when the son publisher of H T, left his selves. Now their children are becoming
keeping a happy marriage? place—that is Hinduism. is old enough to shoulder responsibility, they GardenIsland home in Hawaii to attend lawyers, engineers and “information
Swamiji: Reducing wants. Collectively, HT: Please speak to the Hindu world about go on interfering, demand attention and the Hindu Renaissance Rally in Malaysia technology professionals.” The majority
when all the people in the family under- the importance of an order of monks in the make a nuisance of themselves. This is one as its guest of honor, H T of these kids from wealthy families do
stand the value of money and the value of perpetuation of dharma. aspect. More important is how we bring up New Delhi correspondent Rajiv Malik not go to the temples regularly and have
happiness, they will reduce their wants and Swamiji: An order of monks has to be ac- our children. Children with good upbring- traveled with him to capture a close-up no knowledge of Hinduism. The lower-
automatically create a cordial atmosphere in cording to the traditions and customs of the ing will never send their parents away in old glimpse of the lives of Malaysia’s young income group is far more religious, but
the family. community. The main intention in propa- age. There are so many youngsters taking Hindus and the modern-day challenges their religion is emotional, without much
HT: Can Swami say a few words about his gating dharma is to propagate virtuous liv- good care of their old parents. It’s all in the they face. During the ve days they were understanding. They perform the wor-

work abroad, outside of India? ing. We should consider the individual way way we inculcate the right values in our
Swamiji: Whenever I go abroad, I tell peo- of life. One aspect of dharma to one person children. ∏π
ple, “Devotion is mentioned in all religions, may not be applicable to the other. It has to contact: h. h. sivaratnapuri swamigal, kailasa
ashrama mahasamsthanam, sri rajeswari nagara-ken-
but forcible conversion has never been men- be coupled with the way of life. Disciples chanahalli, 560039 bangalore, karnataka, india
 
there, Rajiv conducted a number of inter- ship but do not know why. Hindus here
views on many issues affecting the youth. can be divided into two broad groups: the
Here we share some of those candid English-speaking elite class and the Tamil-
encounters. speaking lower class.

56 h i n d u i s m t o d ay //,  //,              57


“In today’s scientific age, we cannot just tell the
youth that we cannot answer their questions.
They must be answered in a way that makes
sense. ” —DATO J. JEGATHESAN
Today you go to any Hindu home and ask
the youth who their heroes are, and they
will name Bollywood or Hollywood stars.
Today’s youth do not know about our great
Hindu saints who were spiritual giants. The
parents know about them, but they don’t
tell the children. Consequently, these young
people are not in awe of their religion.
In today’s scientic age, we cannot just
tell the youth that we cannot answer their
questions. Their questions must be an-
swered, and they must be answered in a
way that makes sense.
Also, Hindu young people want role
models. But these role models will never be
swamis. They have to be young, successful
entrepreneurs. And besides being success-
ful, they must be good Hindus. From this
the youth will get the impression that being
a good Hindu is helpful in being successful
in life.
:  
Sri S. Chandrasekaran, (above) is owner
and manager of the Annai Illam Orphanage
near Petaling Jaya.
I would like to see the older generation
come here, sit with the children and share
some of their experience. They should
explain how they have succeeded in life.
When I was young, many elders inspired
me with this kind of talk. If we want a posi-
tive future for Hinduism, we need to bring
about a change in the lives of our Hindu
youth. The children are our future.
I have young people in their teens and
twenties coming to me saying they will
talk about Hinduism to the children in this
orphanage. But this will not be convincing,
because these kids are not good examples
58             //, 
themselves. The boys here were telling me
that one of these young men that was ask-
ing them to chant mantras and bhajanas
yesterday was standing on a street corner
smoking cigarettes today. All their talk won’t
make any difference if they set this kind of
example.
“I love India. My origin is there. I go to the
temple, but most of the time I am not able to
understand what the pundit (teacher) is saying,
because he speaks in such difficult Hindi and
Sanskrit. This is a problem the Hindu youth must
face. We just cannot understand what the Hindu
priests and religious leaders are telling us.”
Karuna Kukreja (above) is a student. She
is also a religious young Hindu.
My parents are highly spiritual people.
They have inspired me to attend Vedanta
classes. I am very fortunate. I have been
taught the basic concepts of Hinduism by
my parents. This is rare. Now I am trying to
apply what I have learned in my daily life.
The general Hindu youth of Malaysia are
not pursuing this path. There are very few
Hindu children who are even interested in
Hinduism. Basically, today’s young people
are busy partying. They have no direction
or guidance in life.
Also, some of the South Indian youth are
involved in gangsterism. They run around
openly with knives. The Malaysian In-
dian youth are notorious for this. Again, the
problem is a lack of proper knowledge and
guidance. And parents are not even both-
ered about it. They don’t seem to care what
their children are doing.
I love India. My origin is there. I go to the
temple, but most of the time I am not able
to understand what the pundit (teacher) is
saying, because he speaks in such difcult
Hindi and Sanskrit. This is still another
problem the Hindu youth must face. We
—KARUNA KUKREJA
just cannot understand what the Hindu
priests and religious leaders are telling us.
I feel that the youth should go out and
seek the right knowledge of Hinduism for
themselves. If they don’t do this, they are
not going to get it at all.
 
Shantha Devi Muniandy is an English
teacher in a Secondary School who assists
at the Manjung Hindu Sabaj Sanatana
Dharma Orphanage, located in Manjung
about  miles north of Kuala Lumpur.
Six years ago we made plans to here at the temple with our new
set up an ashram for needy children,
but we were looking for somebody
“As far as I am concerned, the library.
to donate funds, as we just had no
resources to run the project. It was
problem with the youth is just Arvind Subramanian, a religious
Hindu, age , works at a well-
then that I met Gurudeva (the late
founder of H T) at a
bad parenting—bad parent- known chemical processing plant
near Petaling Jaya
trafc stop light in Malaysia. When ing and Tamil movies. Some As far as I am concerned, the
I rst saw him, I was shocked. Was problem with the youth is just bad
it really Gurudeva, I thought? of these movies are extremely parenting. Bad parenting and Tamil
He rolled down the car window, movies. Some of these movies are
acknowledged me and assured violent. They are having a more extremely violent. They are having
that we would meet again. We did
indeed meet again—right away. I damaging effect on our youth a far more damaging effect on our
youth than we are willing to admit.
followed him to the hotel where he
was staying and received his bless-
than we are willing to admit.” Most Hindus in Malaysia speak
Tamil, even if they are Gujarati or
ings there. He gave me a donation —ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN Telegu. Therefore, they all watch
of twenty dollars to get the ashram these Tamil lms. Although cen-
construction going. We are still pre- sorship laws in Malaysia are very
serving that twenty-dollar bill as a gift from
Gurudeva. We never spent it. After that
Hindu philosophy has not permeated the restrictive with regard to sexual content in
entire group. The Hindu youth can play an lms, there is no such limitation on violence.
unforgettable day, lots of funds came in and
the ashram is now constructed. Now we are
important role in changing this situation. And these Tamil movies have some of the
There are a lot of slums here lled with most gruesome brutality I have ever seen
even expanding. people who have migrated from the rural anywhere.
areas which are slowly becoming indus- I have witnessed for myself how our
Gangadara Vadivel (below left) is in trial. They are having difculty adapting to Hindu teenagers emulate what they see on
charge of the Sri Siddhi Vinayaga Temple, their new life and are consequently getting screen in action, dress and language. This
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The temple has re- involved in all kinds of unsavory activities, can be very dangerous. For instance, one
cently constructed a library for the primary
purpose of providing youth with Hindu
which get publicized in the press. Some movie explicitly showed an enraged fellow
of the Hindu youth are part of this group. chase a man with a machete and cut him to
education.
We Hindus comprise eight percent of the
They need to have access to their religion. pieces—right on lm! A few weeks later, I
One method of approach here is to get read in the newspapers that something simi-
total population here in Malaysia. There are the youth to interact with each other, ex- lar happened in real life. Luckily, no one was
a lot of differences within our community, changing ideas and discussing religion. We actually murdered. But I have heard other
mainly due to economic status. Also the true have been able to achieve this successfully stories of people who have. ∏π
The library: (Left) Sri Siddhi Vinayaga Temple manager, S. Gangdadara Vadivel, established a temple library that is popular with the youth
//,              59
all photos: david allen

groups, drawing the ad- Theoretical origin: (left) Goddess Namagiri

miration of readers and writes theorems on the sleeping Ramanu-
students alike. Most of jan’s tongue; (right) classics professor
miere from April 11 to May 18, 2003, at the the lectures Arrow delivers in the play are Billington (sitting) and Hardy discuss their
upscale Aurora Theatre (www. aurorathe- based on Hardy’s real addresses to the Lon- gifted scholar from India
Numbers Goddess: (left) Namagiri with Ramanujan (kneeling in white) and Fermet; (right) atre.org/ ) in Berkeley, California. The author don Mathematical Society, and their sleek
Ramanujan’s 1915 passport photo; (inset) a page of his first letter to Hardy from India is working to bring the play to New York. passion stands in marked contrast to the dis- Namagiri’s presence at Trinity College is
Witty, intelligent and surprisingly accessi- tance he kept between himself and other one of Hauptman’s fanciful touches. The
THEATRE ble to the math-challenged, “Partition” fol- people. other is Julian Lopez-Morillas as seven-

Hit Play on Ramanujan

New York playwright and Berkeley theatre bring the story of
India’s ingenious Goddess-inspired mathematician to the stage
SPECIAL REVIEW BY LISA DROSTOVA
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
ight decades after his deathat
age 32, mathematician Srinivasa Iyen-
gar Ramanujan is still swathed in mys-
tery. Virtually unheard of here, Rama-
nujan is one of India’s legendary intellectual
heroes, a brahmin who defied tradition to
travel to England so that he could study at
Cambridge at the invitation of G.H. Hardy,
and a mathematical genius who ascribed his
brilliance to a personal relationship with a
Hindu Goddess. Stubborn and religious, Ra-
manujan (1887–1920) saw the divine in the
dance of numbers; an acquaintance said of
him that “every integer was his personal
friend.” During an illness in England, Hardy
visited Ramanujan in the hospital. When
number 1729, a singularly unexceptional
number, Ramanujan immediately respond-
ed that this number is actually quite remark-
able: it is the smallest integer that can be rep-
resented in two ways by the sum of two
cubes! One cubed plus twelve cubed equals
1729, as does nine cubed plus ten cubed.
Ramanujan’s work has been used to help
unravel knots as varied as polymer chem-
istry and cancer, yet how he arrived at his
theorems is still unknown, unless one takes
him at his word—as most Hindus would—
about the Goddess. As Robert Kanigel
writes in The Man Who Knew Infinity,“It is
uncanny how often otherwise dogged ratio-
nalists have, over the years, turned to the
language of the shaman and the priest to
convey something of Ramanujan’s gifts. Re-
choate expressions of wonder and awe in the
face of his powers, have stumbled about,
groping for words, in trying to convey the
mystery of Ramanujan.” Consider Hardy’s
comment that one group of Ramanujan’s
theorems “defeated me completely; I had
never seen anything in the least like them
before. A single look at them is enough to
show that they could only be written down
by a mathematician of the highest class.
They must be true, because if they were not
true, no one would have the imagination to
invent them.”
It is such mystery—and the unlikely friend-
ship between Ramanujan and his benefactor
Hardy—that defines Ira Hauptman’s new
play “Partition,” so-called after an area of
math Ramanujan worked on. It was nimbly
lows Ramanujan’s pilgrimage to Trinity Col- Where Hardy is chilly, classics professor teenth-century French mathematician
lege, where Hardy taught. The two men Billington (a delightful Chris Ayles) is warm Pierre de Fermat, laughing a fabulous laugh
could not have been more dissimilar. The and welcoming, a good friend to both men. and scratching out theorems. The time-dis-
naive, inexhaustible Ramanujan (Rahul While in real life Hardy did have almost dai- placed Fermat is a marvelous turn from
Gupta) was an observant Hindu, adept at ly contact with Ramanujan—there’s evi- Lopez-Morillas—he’s big, arrogant and mis-
dream interpretation and astrology. His dence that he nursed the latter through an chievous, spending his time dreaming up
work was marked by bold leaps and gut feel- illness—in the play it’s Billington who keeps ways to frustrate his rival Descartes. Little
ings. Hardy, ten years Ramanujan’s senior, tabs on Ramanujan’s welfare. He’s also a use- does Fermet know that he’s on a collision
was a stringent atheist who prized rationali- ful way for Hauptman to explain the math to course with a certain dogged brahmin and
ty and intellectual rigor above all. In one of the audience without being too obvious
the play’s most telling moments Hardy ex- about it.
his guardian Goddess Who personally tries
to wrest from him the secret of his famous
plains that he’s “trying to make [Ramanujan] Although he managed to convince the last unsolved theorem.
a complete mathematician so he doesn’t atheist Hardy otherwise, Ramanujan was a Of the liberties Hauptman takes, some are
have to rely on anyone,” a reference to the devout man. Growing up, he had learned to more successful than others. The cooking,
Goddess. worship Namagiri, consort of the Lion God equation-dealing Goddess and the lusty
The line is indicative of Hardy’s psyche. Narasimha, Lord Vishnu’s fourth incarna- dead Frenchman work. Hardy’s last speech
He was incredibly neurotic, refusing to look tion. Unbeknownst to Hardy, Ramanujan before the London Mathematical Society af-
at himself in mirrors or be photographed. believed that he existed to serve as Namagi- ter Ramanujan’s death, however, is a stretch.
Contrary to biographical accounts of his ri’s champion. His grandmother had had a Although Arrow does a fine job with it,
good looks, Hardy (who never married) was vision to that effect, and his mother believed Hauptman is working overtime to wrap
convinced he was too horrible to look upon. it was through Namagiri’s agency that she things up neatly. It feels like the last scene in
David Arrow plays Hardy as an utterly con- was finally able to get pregnant. In real life Shaw’s “St. Joan” where Joan’s ghost merrily
vincing mass of tics and twitches; his por- Ramanujan told people that Namagiri visit- asks her persecutors if they’re going to “un-
trayal suggests a man who can’t get comfort- ed him in his dreams and wrote equations burn” her. Neither Ramanujan nor Hardy
able in his own skin. Hardy also couldn’t talk on his tongue; in the play She decides She need the apology; Hauptman’s sharp dia-
about himself—the scene where he intro- doesn’t have enough to do in India so She ac- logue and character development create a
duces himself to Ramanujan in the train sta- companies Ramanujan to Cambridge to vivid portrait of the mysterious intersection
tion is hilarious (“I like cats, don’t like dogs keep an eye on him. Namagiri is silkily of genius and faith without it. ∏π
and fountain pens. God, this is the longest played by Rachel Rajput, who has a wonder- lisa drostova, drostova@earthlink.net,
introduction I’ve ever given of myself.”). Yet ful smoky voice with which to berate Rama- is theatre critic for the east bay express.

Hardy remarked that he had taken taxi peatedly, they have been reduced to in- directed by Barbara Oliver in its world pre- he blossomed on paper and in front of nujan for not taking proper care of himself.

60 hinduism todayoctober/november/december, 2003 october/november/december, 2003hinduism today 61

COMMENTARY manujan, does that mean zero divided by BOOKS
zero is one? Chachaji’s Cup
 Bafflin ind
This is an excellent question, though its
import was likely lost on the teacher. It
might be hard to believe, but calculus was
Plan Your uality hindu storybooks for chil-
created by Sir Isaac Newton and Baron
Gottfried Wilhem von Leibnitz to answer Wedding! dren don’t come our way often enough,
but a recently published book by Uma
Ramanujan’s Goddess-inspired genius this very issue, zero divided by zero. It is
the only way they could determine instan-
Krishnaswami, Chachaji’s Cup (32
pages, Children’s Book Press, $16.95), is a

spanned diverse branches of mathematics

taneous velocity and the slope of a tangent
to a curve—both, incidentally, with very
A comprehensive guide sweetly gentle and poignant story you don’t
want to miss. Through a simple teacup and
practical applications. the ritual of brewing afternoon tea with

By 13, Ramanujan mastered Trigonometry,
B Y I R A J A S I VA DA S by S. L. Loney, an advanced text requiring
a background in calculus. Classmates ahead
n the spring of 1994 i found myself in erode, of him brought him difficult problems,
Tamil Nadu, India, boarding a train with my wife for which he would solve immediately. At 15,
a trip to Madras. We had been staying in Bhavani, a he came across the book, A Synopsis of Ele-
village nearby, for eight months during a year’s sabbati- mentary Results in Pure and Applied Math-
cal from teaching mathematics to immerse ourselves ematics. It is mostly thousands of theorems
in Hinduism. We shared our second-class sleeping cubicle listed without proofs. With no formal edu-
with a gentleman from Madurai, a mechanical engineer. cation in math, he set about proving them.
When our new friend realized I was a student of math- At age 16, in 1904, he was awarded the K.
h i n d u i s m t o d ay
a r a at k i n s o n - s k i n n e r
By Tara Katir, Kapaa, Hawaii Chachaji, an elderly great uncle, a little
ndian weddings often are grand boy named Neel comes to understand his
affairs, with celebrations stretching over family’s Indian heritage and value its tradi-
a number of days and the price tag oc- tions. In 1947, when Chachaji is young, his
casionally passing beyond $100,000. family has to leave their home with only
Sarbjit Gill’s A Comprehensive Indian what they can carry, as they are caught up
Wedding Planner (300 pages, Bookmark in the Partition. Chachaji remembers people
Press, $28.95) is a “how to” guide cover- laughing at his mother who insists on carry-
ing everything you ever needed to know explains the basics of Hinduism and the ing a delicate teacup “instead of something
about Indian weddings. The book covers all Hindu view of marriage, making the book useful.” Neel wonders what he would take if
regions of India, plus the basics of Sikh and useful for explaining the Hindu wedding to he had to leave home like that, but “it was

ematics, he told me that Srinivasa Ramanujan was born in
Erode, just ten miles from where we were living. It seemed
an amazing coincidence, but as anyone who has spent time
in India knows, coincidences do not exist. Nine years later,
at the same time that Hinduism Today decided to include
a review of “Partition,” a play on Ramanujan (see preceding pages),
one of the best number theorists who ever lived, I had finished
this article explaining why he was both unique and important in
the field of mathematics.
I describe math as an art form, and not as a science, because my
students so often ask, “What is the practical value of it?” While
there is a whole field of applied mathematics, which is eminently
practical, much of math is completely abstract, or at least at the
present time has no practical application, and these are just the
areas of math Ramanujan contributed to. Most mathematicians
develop a single area of expertise, so specialized it is often under-
stood only by other mathematicians in the same area. Ramanujan,
in contrast, stated nearly four-thousand theorems in wide ranging
areas of math. He was like a physician who simultaneously mas-
tered cardiovascular surgery, obstetrics, oncology and neurology.
Unlike most mathematicians, he was intensely religious. He often
united mathematics and spirituality together. He felt, for example,
that zero represented Absolute Reality, and that infinity repre-
sented the many manifestations of that Reality. Ramanujan felt that
each mathematical discovery was a step closer to understanding
the spiritual universe. He once told a friend, “An equation for me
has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God.”
While growing up, he lived the life of a traditional brahmin with
his forehead shaved and wearing a topknot. He often prayed to his
family Deity, the Goddess Namagiri of Namakkal, and followed
Her advice. He pilgrimaged all over Tamil Nadu. He quoted the
Vedas, interpreted dreams and was regarded by his friends to be a
mystic. Throughout his life, Ramanujan worshiped at the Saranga-
pani Vishnu temple in Kumbakonam.
Ramanujan’s genius appeared when he was just learning arith-
metic. A teacher explaining division said, “If three bananas were
given to three boys, each boy would get one banana. If 100 ba-
nanas were given to 100 boys, each boy would get one banana.”
Then the teacher said that this worked for all numbers. Ramanujan
astutely asked, “Sir, if no banana is distributed to no student, will
everyone still get a banana?” Put another way, the teacher had
explained that any number divided by itself is one. So, asks Ra-
Ranganatha Rao prize for mathematics. The
school headmaster, Krishnaswami Iyer, told
the audience that Ramanujan could not be
graded with an A+ or 100 percent, for he
was truly off the scale. Ramanujan took no
interest in other subjects, and failed exam after exam. When he
finally wrote to the eminent English mathematician G. H. Hardy
in 1913, he was working for the Port Trust Office in Madras. This
historic event was described by the famed philosopher and math-
ematician Bertrand Russell, a colleague of Hardy, “I found Hardy
and Littlewood [a fellow mathematician] in a state of wild excite-
ment, because they believe they have discovered a second Newton,
a Hindu clerk in Madras living on twenty pounds a year.”
Fortunately for us, the short-lived Ramanujan (he died at 33) kept
copious notebooks which mathematicians continue to mine today.
His first notebook was on hypergeometric series, continued frac-
tions, singular moduli, and many branches of number theory. Often
he would state things without proof, preferring instead to record his
every discovery. This is where his true genius was apparent.
For example, he worked on finding natural number solutions (1,
2, 3, etc.) to a kind of equation involving squares and higher pow-
ers, one of which is x2 + 7 = 2n. The smallest solution is x = 1 and
n = 3. That is, 12 + 7 = 23 or, 1 x 1 + 7 = 2 x 2 x 2, or 8 = 8. The
next solution is x = 3 and n = 4. Ramanujan stated that there are
five and only five solutions to this equation: x = 1, 3, 5, 11, 181
when respectively n = 3, 4, 5, 7, 15. Just finding the solutions is
an impressive feat, especially the last one. But how did he know
there were only five solutions? He didn’t offer any proof, and it
wasn’t until many years later, in 1948, that Tyrgve Nagell proved
that this is true. So now we know that Ramanujan was correct, but
we haven’t a clue as to how he knew it. And this is just one very
simple example of his intuitive mentality.
Ramanujan was totally self confident in his mathematical abilities.
He did not follow others, but explored fearlessly on his own, some-
times duplicating work done centuries before. His process of discov-
ery confounds mathematicians, who still cannot follow his thought
processes. But Hindus understand that he was guided by Goddess
Namagiri whispering in his ear.
iraja sivadas, 53, has taught mathematics at the University of Ha-
waii and Shasta College. He specializes in infinite series and combi-
natorics. He and his wife, Nilani, converted to Hinduism in 1990.
Muslim weddings, but mostly it is focused non-Hindus. And she hasn’t forgotten that not unthinkable.” Soumya Sitaraman’s wonder-
on Hindu traditions. Gill, a professional US- everyone has an unlimited budget, providing fully expressive illustrations add grace to
based wedding planner, includes photos, at- possible cost-cutting measures at every step this sensitive story. A short explanation of
tire and pages of check lists for everything. while still designing a grand affair. Partition is included at the end of the story,
The wedding options range from completely a comprehensive indian wedding planner, sarbijit k.
gill, 304 pages, bookmark press, us$28.95bookmark
but better yet is a PDF file from the web-
traditional to an eclectic mix of Eastern press, p.o. box 807,voorhees, nj 08043-0807 usa site with a complete lesson plan, aligned to
www.bookmarkpress@onebox.com
and Western customs and celebrations. Gill California State education standards. Teach-
ers can use this lesson plan to conduct an
informative and entertaining class.
Dada’s Message
chachaji’s cup, uma krishnaswami, illustrated by
soumya sitaraman, children’s book press, 2211 mis-
sion street, san francisco, california, usa. $16.95
www.childrensbookpress.org
or his dedicated service to hinduism and world
peace, Dada J.P. Vaswani was the 2002 “Hindu of the
Year” and the 1998 recipient of the U Thant Peace
Award. Living his belief that the “world is one family,”
Aussie Temples
Dada uplifts spiritual seekers worldwide with his message of
compassion and love. Sandhya Nankani, one of those inspired by n an area roughly the size of the
Dada, has written Moments with a Master, Meetings with Dada United States, but with just seven per-
J.P. Vaswani (212 pages, Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., $3.50), cent of the population, the land “down
a gentle and sweet personal reflection of Dada’s influence in under” has seen a remarkable building
her life. Meeting Dada as a young girl, then again after a gap of boom of Hindu temples. Dr. A. Kandiah’s
many years, Nankani has the opportunity to interview Dada—ask- Hindu Temples in Australia (56 pages, Na-
ing penetrating questions on the nature of life and death. One of the most poignant chapters tajalaya Publication), is a small labor of love
details the passing of Nankani’s father and Dada’s insightful letters to him. describing fourteen of Australia’s temples.
moments with a master, meetings with dada j.p. vaswani, sandhya s. nankani, 212 pages, sterling publishers private
ltd., us$3.50.sterling publishers private limited, a-59 okhla industrial area, phase-ii
Prior to 1981 there were just 2,000 Hindus
new delhi 110020 india. www.sterlingpublishers.com living in Australia. By 1996 their population
had grown to over 67,000, and
with that growth came a temple
Hindu Rituals building boom. Despite their
small numbers, the immigrant
Hindus’ temple building has been
ochsanwasi shri akshar purushottam swaminarayan san- remarkably fervent and fertile.
stha, BAPS, are renowned for their disciplined, dedicated swamis Kandiah’s chronicles cover the
and large, enthusiastic grihastha membership. Because the tradi- history of Ganesha, Muruga, Siva
tional samskaras (rites of passage) and religious ceremonies are and Siva-Vishnu temples spread
important in their tradition, BAPS has detailed these in Hindu Rites & throughout the country from the
Rituals (196 pages, Swaminarayan Aksharpith, Rs.30). The book covers in bustling capital of Sydney in the
detail both the how and why of rituals. Though focused on the tradition of south, to Perth on the farthest
Lord Swaminarayan and his present successor, Sri Pramukh Swami Maha- western coast.
raj, it is a valuable resource for every Hindu. hindu temples in australia, dr. a. kandiah,
56 pages, natanalaya publication, (no price
hindu rites & rituals, 196 pages, swaminarayan aksharpith, rs.30. swaminarayan aksharpith
shahibag, amdavad-4, india www.swaminarayan.org
given)natanalaya publication, 17 edward
street, strathfield south, nsw 2136 austra-
lia. www.kandiahjaya.com

62 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003 october/november/december, 2003 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 63


B Y A DITYA V INADHARA , U TAH
n may 5, 2003, the salt lake city
Tribune reported, “Ganesha’s devotees
gave Him a housewarming, bathing
the icon again in milk, honey, yogurt,
grain, and offering sacrifices, or homa, on
fires in a tented space next to the temple.
A symbolic string ran from the fire to
the icons, connecting all the Deities and
conducting the prayers and offerings to
them. Many friends and guests joined
the celebration, including the president of
the local LDS (Latter-Day Saints) ward.
Far from the solemn rites used in most
Christian religious rituals, the Hindu
consecration was a high-energy, joyous and
sensuous celebration. The temple was filled
64 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
USA
Mormons Welcome Ganesha
Utah Hindu community gets a big
helping hand with their dream temple
Ganesha’s new home: (clockwise from above) View of the just completed temple on
its four-acre lot with the newly established landscaping; first milk bath for Lord
Ganesha after installation; priest feeds homa fire as temple’s power is awakened
through ritual worship
with the smell of incense and oranges;
horns were blowing, drums beating
and tambourines jangling while the
crowd, dressed in vivid silks and saris,
chanted aloud and children laughed
and played patty-cake between
prayers. After the final sacrifice and
before the feast, priests drew the red
curtain back once again to
reveal Ganesha, draped in
flowers and garlanded with
leaves and jewels.”
This warm and friendly
news report captured the
magic of a long-awaited
event in the Hindu commu-
nity for which hundreds had
donated time and money. It
was also one manifestation
of the open welcome for the
Hindus here in Utah, where
most of the local people are members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
also known as the Mormons, a conservative
Christian denomination.
east. We bought this parcel and paid it off.
Architectural plans followed, and we began
fundraising. The contractor’s bid for the job
came in at $850,000—but with Neel and In-
dra stretching each dollar, and a great deal of
volunteer work, we got it done for $580,000—
none of it borrowed. Surprisingly, the LDS
church donated $25,000 to the project.
Brent Robison, liaison between the Jordan
River Ridge LDS Stake (congregation)
and us, told the Salt Lake Tribune, “It’s not
something the church boasts about, but it
comes from one of the foundations. We wel-
come the Hindus and love and honor them
as neighbors.” Later, close to the dedication
p h o t o s c o u r t e s y u ta h g a n e s h a t e m p l e & m a r l e n e l a m b e r t
ceremony, the local Stake offered to help
with the landscaping. Headed up by their
expert horticulturist and grounds keeper,
Alex Morris, thirty to sixty LDS volunteers
Happy people, happy Gods: (above) Volunteers who assisted with the dedication ceremony showed up each Saturday for four weeks in a
pose with priests. (below) Goddess Durga is mortared into place beside the just-installed massive showing of community support.
Siva Lingam. Both have yantras, mystical diagrams on a metal plate, beneath them. A week before the May 4 ceremonies,
we moved Ganesha. We built a grand
chariot, held a slow, mile-and-a-half parade
from Neelamegghams to the new temple,
with many Hindus walking and singing,
nagaswaram temple music blaring from a
CD player. As we neared, the entire Hindu
community was there to welcome Ganesha.
They ran forward with tears in their eyes,
joyous that this long-awaited day for Gane-
sha to enter His new home had arrived.
The temple is, admittedly, austere, con-
strained by our “pay as we go” policy. But
it has all the essentials, including a heated
concrete floor to keep the barefoot devotees
comfortable in Utah’s cold winters, and a cov-
ered verandah encircling the main building.
The Maha Kumbhabhisheka to dedicate
the temple was performed from May 2 to
May 4 under the guidance of our permanent
Our odyssey to this point began in 1993 priest, Pundit Shashidhara Somayaji, with
when I asked the one Hindu family I knew three assistant priests flown in from temples
in the area why there was no Hindu temple in California, Boston and Ohio.
in Utah. My friend, Ram Natesh, could give Many said we were too small a commu-
no reason. So on August 15 of the same year, nity—just 300 families and 100 students—to
I asked him to introduce me to other Hindu As it worked out, Gurudeva came to Salt change their mind.” build and support a temple. Despite our
families during the India Independence Lake City a few weeks later, on September So, at 9:00 pm, just as Neel and Indra numbers and diverse backgrounds, we
Day celebrations conducted by the India 5. His message was simple. “Begin the wor- were about to retire for the evening, we managed to overcome many obstacles, re-
Forum at International ship,” he said. “Meet once a month at the knocked on their door. We were welcomed main a harmonious working group (as Gu-
Peace Garden’s Park. There same time and place, and do not worry in and offered food as if this was just a casu- rudeva often advised us) and got the temple
I met Neel Neelameggham about any fundraising at this time.” He was al visit. “We have something for you,” I said. built—debt-free. Already our monthly in-
and told him I’d like to help inspired by the large turnout during his “We brought Ganesha.” Their eyes got big. come is sufficient to meet on-going expens-
start a Hindu temple for the visit here and offered to donate the granite Alan, their nephew, got on the phone and es. We believe this temple will be a place
community. He, in turn, in- Ganesha statue for the temple—as he had invited eight of his strong friends over and, to pilgrimage to, as many have commented
troduced me to others at the done for dozens of temples worldwide. with great effort, we got the crate into the how special it already feels. Our plans now
event who might take an in- A year-and-a-half later, I received a fax house and opened. In 1996, the Neelameg- include building the community center, el-
terest. Finally I stood up on stating a 750-pound crate awaited me in ghams moved to South Jordan, about 15 derly housing and day care and creating an
a picnic table and addressed Oakland, California. My wife and I hopped miles south of Salt Lake City. They bought endowment for the future. Nothing can de-
the entire group. I said I had in our small truck and drove 700 miles to a larger house with a full basement where scribe the joy of seeing this project finished
spoken with Satguru Sivaya pick up Lord Ganesha. On the way back we placed Ganesha. The basement was with so many to benefit. And yes, we expect
Subramuniyaswami (Guru- to Utah, I called Gurudeva, and he asked, always open to the public, and this was the it to last 1,000 years. ∏π
deva), and asked if he would come and help “Do you have a home for Him?” I said, “The real beginning of the temple.
us get a temple started as he had done in so Neelamegghams had offered their home a After years of searching, we found a contact: sri ganesha hindu temple of utah, 1142,
west off south jordan parkway [10400 south], south
many other cities and countries. The group year ago, so we’ll take Him there. Should I beautiful, four-acre parcel with a breath- jordon, utah 84095 usa. phone: 801-253-3592.
e-mail sriganeshatempleof utah@yahoo.com.
responded very favorably. call first?” “No,” said Gurudeva, “they may taking view of the Rocky Mountains to the web: www. sriganesh.faithweb.com
october/november/december, 2003 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 65
 part of the settlement that the full apology North America $200,000; SSV Temple, whose research showed a close correlation
be printed in Veggie Life, India Tribune and $50,000; Guru Harkrishan Institute of Sikh between meat consumption and cancer and
Hinduism Today. Studies, $50,000; Hindu Students Council, heart disease.
Bharti wrote at the time, “I am proud of $500,000; Jewish Community Centers The specifics are contained in a long
obtaining the apology (with admission of Association, $200,000; Orthodox Union, article at www.vegsource.com, search for
wrongdoing), the enhanced disclosure from $150,000; Star-K/Torah.Org, $300,000; “McDonald’s.” Author Jeff Nelson writes,
McDonald’s and the advisory board. This CLAL, $50,000; The Foundation for Jewish “All major vegetarian groups and leaders
means a lot to my clients and me, because Campus Life (Hillel), $300,000; Produce for are opposed to the settlement as currently
this is very valuable for the consumer inter- Better Health Foundation, $500,000; and formulated. ... Lawyers falsely claiming to
est in the long run. In the last 100 years this Division of Nutrition and Physical Activ- represent vegetarians joined hands with
is the first giant corporation to apologize, ity at the Centers for Disease Control and McDonald’s to produce a list clearly in-
admit wrongdoing and also pay millions of Prevention (“CDC”), $500,000. tended to minimize benefit to the national
dollars.” On Hinduism Today’s part, $250,000 in vegetarian community.” For example, he
McDonald’s is indeed giant, and serves the endowment would fund outright 1,000 says, Tufts University “has shown repeated
as a kind of magnet for all criticism of subscriptions a year forever, or subsidize a hostility toward vegetarianism ... and has a
big business (see www.mcspotlight.org). larger number. But our meritorious plan and clear bias when it comes to promoting the
For the year 2002, McDonald’s worldwide those of everyone else came to a screech- unhealthy, largely nonvegetarian foods of its
income was $15.4 billion, which yielded a ing halt as the distribution proposal was funders—Kraft foods.”
net profit of $893 million. More than 30,000 appealed by a consortium of vegetarian Nelson is livid when it comes to the North
local McDonald’s restaurants serve 46 mil- groups not part of the settlement (except American Vegetarian Society ($1,000,000)
lion customers each day in more than 100 the American Vegan Society, which is to and the Vegetarian Resource Group
countries. receive $500,000) and, separately, by a Mus- ($1,400,000) each of whom he excoriates in
Organizations were invited to submit lim group. We don’t know the basis for the an article called “Sleeping with the Enemy”
specific proposals to Bharti and the other Muslim appeal, as only the notice of appeal on the same web site. NAVS, he says, doesn’t
lawyers for a share in the settlement. The has been filed and not the actual appeals. have the expertise to carry out their pro-
money was to go, according to McDonald’s, The appeals will take at least two years for posed project with the funds. VRG should
“to Hindu, vegetarian and other groups the courts to rule. Lawyers for the vegetar- not get the money because they don’t op-
richard b. levine

whose charitable and educational activi- ian groups making the appeal said, “The pose the distribution of funds to undeserv-
ties are closely linked to the concerns of $6,000,000 distribution subverts the spirit ing organizations.
these consumers [having dietary restric- and letter of the settlement agreement by Hindus might wonder what kind of
tions].” The Hindu Heritage Endowment, improperly directing funds to nonvegetarian atonement or penance could be done for
founded by Hinduism Today’s creator, groups, hostile to vegetarianism and groups inadvertantly eating beef-laced fries. The
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, was in limited size and geographical reach.” question has come up before, in relation to
Here’s the beef: They look like pure potato, but sleuthing vegetarians were aghast to learn their “natural flavor” is a beef extract invited to submit a request. HHE proposed Complaints about who would get the mon- a beef burrito at a Taco Bell. We consulted
to put any settlement share in its Hinduism ey began as soon as the list was being for- Swami Paramananda Bharati of Bangalore,
FOOD Today Distribution Fund to increase the mulated. In January, 2003, T. Colin Camp- our 1990 “Hindu of the Year.” Swami, who
magazine’s free distribution in the US, on bell, said, “It will set back vegetarianism as is attached to Sringeri Mutt. He replied that

McDonald’s Fries: Not Done Yet

the basis that the magazine has consistently a class for ten to twenty years” because the because the offense was unintentional, the
promoted vegetarianism among Hindus. groups McDonald’s favors are hostile to the prayaschitta, penance, could be relatively
In May, 2003, the Illinois court where the values the settlement was intended to honor. simple—the chanting of mantras for about
class-action suit was litigated, announced Campbell is a Cornell University professor half an hour a day for eleven days. ∏π
the 24 organizations awarded
$10 million settlement–including $250,000 for Hinduism Today–appealed money under the settlement,
one of which was the Hinduism H E R I TAG E nearby lake, joined in games,
Today endowment. The groups sang devotional songs, relished

t was started by a seattle lawyer,

Harish Bharti, a vegetarian Hindu who
makes a habit out of identifying the ingre-
dients in purportedly vegetarian foods.
He examined McDonald’s french fries. Back
in 1990, news reports appeared that stated,
for example, “McDonald’s, Wendy’s and
Burger King are switching to all-vegetable
oil to cook their fries.” The reason was to
reduce the saturated fat content (bad for the
heart), which, in McDonald’s case, went from
42 grams to 23 grams for a two-ounce serv-
the veggie-oil cooked fries didn’t taste like
their popular tallow-cooked fries, which
they solved by including a beef flavoring at
the time of preprocessing for distribution
(not while being cooked in the restaurant).
Under the US government’s food guidelines,
they were allowed to label this beef flavoring
as “natural flavor,” which it is. But because
of the hype over the switch to vegetable
oil for frying, vegetarians assumed—and
McDonald’s did not try to dissuade—that
the fries were now vegetarian.
being settled. McDonald’s agreed to issue a
formal apology, better disclosure of ingre-
dients, creation of an advisory board and
payment of us$10,000,000 to organizations
which promote vegetarianism and issues
related to the fries.
The apology reads, in part, “McDonald’s
sincerely apologizes to Hindus, vegetarians
and others for failing to provide the kind of
information they needed to make informed
dietary decisions at our U.S. restaurants. We
acknowledge that, upon our switch to veg-
and the amount of settlement
is: Vegetarian Resource Group,
$1,400,000; ADAF Vegetar-
ian Nutrition Dietetic Practice
Group, $600,000; Preventive Med-
icine Research Institute, $550,000;
North American Vegetarian Soci-
ety, $1,000,000; Vegetarian Vision,
Inc., $250,000; American Vegan
Society, $500,000; Loma Linda
University, $300,000; Tufts Uni-
versity, $850,000; Muslim Con-
sumer Group for Food Products,
Camp vegetarian meals and discussed
Sanskrit culture and his-
tory with Sri Krishna Shastry,
ighty students from instructors in the style of an founder of Samskrita Bharati.
around America came to ancient Hindu gurukulam. samskrita bharati, 1044 lancer drive,
san jose, ca, 95129 usa.
Camp Nawaka in East Participants enjoyed the web: www.samskrita-bharati.org
Otis, Massachusetts, to
immerse themselves in San-
skrit for five days in May, 2003.
This was “Paavinii,” the sec-
ond national Sanskrit camp by
Samskrita Bharati, a nonprofit
organization dedicated to the

ing of fries. Previously, the fries were cooked
with beef tallow. Our on-line dictionary
appetizingly defines tallow as, “Hard fat
obtained from parts of the bodies of cattle,
sheep or horses, and used in foodstuffs or
to make candles, leather dressing, soap and
lubricants.” Yum.
The problem for McDonald’s was that
Bharti sued McDonald’s in 2001, and that
grew into a class-action law suit involving a
number of lawyers and organizations. Ulti-
mately, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims, vege-
tarians and vegans joined the fray—the Jews
because the beef flavoring was not kosher
and the Muslims because it wasn’t halal.
In March, 2002, the lawsuit was close to
etable oil in the early 1990s for the purpose
of reducing cholesterol, mistakes were made
in communicating to the public and custom-
ers about the ingredients in our french fries
and hash browns. Those mistakes included
instances in which french fries and hash
browns sold at U.S. restaurants were im-
properly identified as ‘vegetarian.’ ” It is
$100,000; Islamic Food and
Nutrition Council of Amer-
ica, $450,000; International/
American Gita Society, $50,000;
Hinduism Today Endowment,
$250,000; Supporting Excel-
lence in Education, $900,000;
Council of Hindu Temples of
s a m s k r i ta b h a r at i
revival of Sanskrit language and
culture (see July, 2003, issue).
Each day began at 5:45 am
with meditation and yoga.
Classes on Sanskrit speaking,
listening, literature and gram-
mar were taught by volunteer Budding linguists: Sanskrit in the Berkshire Mountains

66 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003 october/november/december, 2003 h i n d u i s m t o d ay 67

MINISTER’S MESSAGE
Transforming nger
Control your tongue and your actions; then
learn to express your anger in a positive way
BY S R I S WA M I N I K H I L A NA N DA
here is no escaping anger. everyone gets
angry. Sometimes I get angry. Emotions are a fact
of life, and you should not try to rationalize or form
philosophies justifying them. If I’m angry, I’m angry.
But if I try to philosophize about my anger, I’ll end up
suppressing it. This does not mean one should express anger,
either. Control is required. If I’m angry, I should have con-
trol over my tongue. You should not hurt others, even though
you may feel like doing so in a moment of anger.
Anger begins with harsh words, especially if it involves
people who are near and dear to us. Words are the most
powerful weapon we have, more than any weapon depen-
dent on our physical strength. The first thing to do is control
your tongue. Don’t say things that you’ll later regret.
Anger is caused because of expectations. I expect something for
myself and from others, and when these are not fulfilled, it makes
me angry. The closer the people are to me, the more expectations
there are. If I have expectations from you, I’ll expect you to behave
and to talk in a particular way. But if you are a stranger and I have
no expectations, I’ll be courteous.
Generally, if we call a stranger at odd hours, we are very polite,
“I hope I’m not disturbing you….” If it’s family, we shout even if
we’re calling at two in the morning, “Why did you take so long to
answer the phone?” We take our people for granted and we want
them to behave or live in a way that makes us happy.
Thwarted desires also make us angry. They can be little desires,
such as wanting to sit at home to watch television. If a call inter-
rupts your plans, it irritates you. Or if someone visits you whom
you don’t want to meet, it makes you angry. It’s because your life
is in a flow and someone obstructs the flow. If you cannot do any-
thing about your anger, you get frustrated and depressed. If you
are angry with someone who is powerful and whom you cannot
hurt, it makes you angrier.
Anger is a power. If it is sustained over a long time without ex-
pression or sublimation, it leads to hatred. Hatred is deep and can
burn you. It spoils your vision of life and makes you bitter. Even
things that would normally make you happy start giving you sorrow.
If I can understand anger and use its force in an intelligent way,
I can transform it and use it to my advantage. Mahatma Gandhi
was thrown out of the train in South Africa. Just imagine being
thrown out like that. It would make you feel insulted and angry.
What might he have done? He could have been angry with the
person, beat him and thrown stones at him. If that didn’t work,
he could have thrown stones at the train. Or he could have gone
home and beat his wife. Once his frustration was expressed, he
would feel relief.
But Mahatma Gandhi did something wonderfully different. He
got angry, no doubt, but not with the person. He directed his
anger at the system which made the man behave the way he did.
He directed the anger at apartheid and decided to work for free-
68 h i n d u i s m t o d ay october/november/december, 2003
dom. That was his revenge. He converted
anger into a positive strength. To fight
for freedom of any country, strength and
energy is required. Anger is an energy. If
you express it at every little thing, you
are wasting it. Therefore, some thinking
is needed. If the postman brings you bad
news, you don’t get angry with him. He is
just the messenger. Use your strength to
eradicate the source.
Using force to suppress our anger is not
good. For example, if your boss says some-
thing insulting and you want to give him
one on the nose, you can’t. You want to
beat him black and blue, but you suppress
the feeling. Suppression is bad. Another
problem is verbal expression of anger. This
is also bad. It’s doing what animals do. If
a dog is angry, it barks and bites. Sublima-
tion is using your judgment to transform
and channel the feeling into a higher cause.
Many people don’t get angry for the
right reasons. That is bad. If a man is beat-
ing a child and you are not getting angry,
it does not mean that you are a great per-
son. It means you are equally bad. In this
case, you should get angry. When you di-
rect this righteous anger to a higher cause,
it is called sublimation. Anger is expressed, but it is expressed for
the welfare of yourself and the world. It requires wisdom to know
what is good or bad. If you have no wisdom and you get angry,
society will set you right. The direction of anger makes it good or
bad. If I’m angry against crime, poverty or injustice, it is good, for
then I will use my power to improve things.
In our scriptures, the Gods always wield a weapon. Lord Rama
is always with his bow, not to cause harm but to fight injustice
and adharma. When God holds a weapon, it is for the benefit of
the world. But when an asura holds a weapon, it is to harm others.
Even the anger of a wise person is beneficial for the world.
Anger under your control can be used to benefit the world. But
if anger controls you, you will get destroyed, as did Ravana and
Sanskrit Academy Promoting Sanskrit Language and Culture
Duryodhana. Lakshmana also got angry, but not for his own ben-
efit. Petty anger is bad and can destroy you.
If you become angry and are alone, hold a mirror to yourself ● Sanskrit classes for
●
and look at your anger objectively. Tell yourself, “I’m getting an-
gry. My voice is raised.” This will help you gain control. Anger is individuals or groups
like fire, and water helps to calm it down. Drinking cold water
or taking a cold shower when you’re angry will quell the fire rag- on location or by correspondence
ing inside you. If you are with someone and he is shouting, you
should speak calmly. It will cool down the other person. If some- with continuous guidance
one is angry with you, try to sit closer. If you are within an arm’s
distance, then he cannot point a finger at you. It may sound funny, all ages
but it works.
Anger, jealousy, greed, passion and desires by themselves are elementary, intermediate
not good or bad, as all can be utilized for a better purpose. Gener-
ally we know about their negative aspects and label them as that. or advanced levels
When people say we should not have anger, it is not a proper state-
ment. It creates misunderstanding. Selfish anger is bad, but anger
for the benefit and the welfare of the world is not bad. It will not ● Translation Service
●
burn your heart, but it will burn the negative forces. If your anger
creates a force and power in you, it is positive. You should cherish
the transformed power of anger.
swami nikhilananda is head of the Chinmaya Mission in Contact Dr. Sarasvati Mohan ● 408-370-2260
Delhi, India samskrt@aol.com ● www.samskrtam.org
69
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 Working Together Chakrapani Ullal, Vedic Astrology A Glimpse of Divinity
A stunning book for all who desire perfect
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1. Make donations to the institutions of your choice
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