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

. NOVEMBER, 1998

~W~·Cf'~·
INTERNATIONAL
Lead Stor,y: Vedic Astrologers Bring their
Subtle Indian Craft to America 20
Caribbean: Hirldu Life on Barbados 32
Defamation: Ganesha Departs Disney 35
Discrimination: Fired for a Swastika! 36
History: He's One Determmed Historian 50

LIFESTYLE
Life Decisions: Choosing a Career 25
Spirituality: Your Inne;: Astrology 26
Insight: Nakshatras: the Twenty-Seven
• Superstars of Vedic Astrology 27
L~a"'J1ing: ?mart Kids Don't Smart 41

OPINION
Pub'lIsher's Desk: Regrets and Worries ...
• Flee from the Eternal Now 10
Letters 12
My Jurn: What Qualifies an Astrologer? 13
Editorial: Becoming Good Navigators
6n the Sea of Time 16
Women of Vision: Why Ramas Role as
Husband Doesn't Inspire Women 39
Healing: Indian Food that Can Kill 46
Minister's Message: Two Swamis Lay Down
the Law on Corporal Punishment 52

DIGESTS
Diaspora 7 News in Brief 49
Quotes &Quips 17 Digital Dharma 54
Evolutions 46

( "I""\c-ui;,,,,, from left) The nine planets of 0 solar system pose for a group
www.hlndu.org/htl
o 74470 12134 3 '1~'"}1l<lJ'll newlyweds and kin at their family festival in Barbados, . A ... I,mber: 181. Unlld80
'-'lI.iU\.J.~fP""1l U1lal at his Vedic Astrology center in Los Angeles, CalifJrrua ' ~ AINolatld , ..... 'IY RlIOul'OI Award
, .
Welcome
to hinduism today’s digital edition!
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~~A~U:~~~C~=~A7INDU.TEMPLE Q( GREATER CHICAGO, NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 7

Young girls, like these Nepalese porters, are often forced into labor
SOC I,..E T Y
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dwells in me. Listen, you who know! What I say is worthy
of belief.
I This aPman is the Lord of all beings, the King of all beings.
Just as the spokes are fixed in the hub and the rim of a
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GOGS, all the worlds, all life breaths, ali these selves, are
fixed in the aPman.
SHUKLA YAJUR VEDA, BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD 2.5.15
8 HIN fi uISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998
age group 43 percent higher for
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THE VEDAS
God's Word,
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RIG VEDA 10.114.5
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PUBLISHER'S DESK
Will You Dare Live'
, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . . . . . .,. . . . . u
In the"Eternal Now?
Abiding in the moment is the height of security, but to
maintai:r:t it takes practice and a clear subconscious
BY. SATGURU SIVAYA SUBRAMUNIYASWAMI
, OU ONLY HAVE A MINUTE , ONLY SIXTY
seconds in it. Didn't want it, didn't choose it,
forced upon you, can't refuse it. Yet you suffer
if you lose it, give account if you abuse it. Just a
tiny little minute, but eternity is in it. For not
to love is not to live, and npt to give- is not to live."
That's an old proverb I was taught when young.
There is really very little to be said intellectually
about -the eternal now. You have to live in it, and in
living in it you discover a higher state of conscious-
ness than you have experienced in your life.
Because the vibration of the eternal now is so very
high, part of your mind and nature does not like to
experience the security of the eternal now, which is'
really the height of security. It takes practice to
maintain a continued experience of the eternal now.
Can you visuiilize yourself, right at this instant,
balanced on the top of a tall tree? If the tree were to bend toe far
forward, you would fall to the ground, or down into time and
thought. If it were to bend too far back, you would again fall. Bal-
anced on the top of this tree, you can look out over the country-
side and enjoy everything you see. But if you stop to think about
one thing of the past; you would become so engrossed in what you
are thinking about that you would again fall to the ground. You
find that you cannot live in a thinking consciousness balanced so
high. ,Here you live in the eternal now, with great awarenes& of
what-is around you and within you, but with no thought on it.
Can you feel like this? Right now you are here. Right now noth-
ing else maHers. You are aware. You are alive, and you are in eter-
nity. Finding the eternal now is a vibration even more powerful
than that of sound or light, for you are in the consciousness of Be-
ing-being intensely aware, being very alive. In that state of con-
sciousness you can see that when you begin to think, it is like
climbing down the tree and wplking along through the forest. On
ille ground you cannot see the forest.for the trees. On top of the
tree you can see the entire fores( and enjoy it. In the eternal now
you find awareness in every part of your body, every fiber of your
consciousness. Your life depends upon your awareness! Here you
can enjoy seeing the birds fly by, the waterfall, the countryside.
You can enjoy all that, but you dare not stop to think upon the
flight of one bird, because you would become too engrossed in
thClught and fall into a lower state of consciousness. That bird
might remind you of a pet bird you had at home, and the thinking
mind would go on and on, landing you on the ground. When you
become aware and start living in eternity, in the eternal now, you
find t hat eternity is within you. Then you can see there is no life.
10 HINDUISM TOD A~ NO :V EMBER , Igg8
,
Three modes of living: The man on the left is burdened by the past,
fretting over things he wished had never happend. The man on the
right is worned about the future. Neither has time fo catch up with
the present. 'The being in the middle lives in the now---centered,
positive and secure in the certainty that "I'm all right, right now."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... n .....u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
now, worried, bothered and disturbed, and in the midst of your
disturbance say to yourself, :'1 am all right, t ight now. Just this in-
stant, I am all right." What a shock to the disturbed part of your
mind! It will not only be shocked, it will be shllttered out of its
disturbance when you declare the truth that you are all right in
the eternal now. .
It is one thing to say "I am all right, right now," and it is another
thing to feel it. Can you feel that you are all right, right now? Can
you really believe it? Can you hold that feeling, so that this affir-
mation becomes permeated through your subconscious mind? Let
this feeling permeate so deeply through your subconscious mind
that it begins working within you, the same way your involuntary
subconscious keeps your heart beating and the other processes of
Nor is there any death. your body going.
You have transcended 'Tm all right, right now." Let the feeling of these words Vibrate
even the laws of reincar- within you. Then every time you abide in the luxury of worry-
nation in that state, hold- and the luxury of worry is one luxury you cannot afford-say to
ing the consciousness of yourself, 'Tm all right, right now," and forget about where you are
eternity, for you are be- going, forget about.where you have been and just be where you
yond the soul which rein- are, where your physical body is, in its immediate surroUndings.
carnates and creates a When you do that, you fmd that where you were going and what
new form around itself you were worried about has to do with the egotistical you-your
What is the instant? pride and the various qualities that you hasten to rid yourself of
That is what we have to when you think you should improve yourself So, it is really very
discover through a mo- practical to live now and be all'right in all the nows. But remem-
ment of concentration. ber, since living in the eternal now lifts you into a higher state of
What is the moment? We consciousness than you have been accustomed to, you have to con-
all know what the past tinue to feel that you are all right, right now. When you continue
is-many people live in for long ~eriods in the consciousness of the eternal now, something
the past, over and O\~er mysterious and wonderful begins to happen-your soul, your su-
again, and they never catch up with the perconscious, begins to work out your spiritual destiny. When you
present. Other people live in the quiet your mind, and only when you quiet your mind, you give
future-but of course when they do, your soul a chance. What difference does it make) f you do have
they are really only living in the past, problems? They will work themselves out if you can keep the con-
too, and they never fmd the present fusion of your lower states of mind out of the way.
either. Visualize your soul now as a shaft of light. Visualize your mind
an
Just as example, how many times as various layers surrounding that soul, covering up the brilliancy
have you gone to the temple without of that light. If you live in the layers around the soul, which only
being fully tliere? Part of you was there, cover up the brilliancy of the light, you add to the confusion
part of you was living in the past, part around the soul. But you can choose to live in that shaft of light. By
of you was trying to live in the future; realizing that you are all right this instant, that light of your soul
and there you were, emoting over the has a chance to shine thro~gh the surroun<#ng layers of the mind
things that.happened that should never- just a little, enough to calm your future-fer yOUF future is made ill
have happened, and fear(ul of things the prE!.sent, in the eternal nQw.
that might happen in the future, which
probably won't happen unless you con- Announcing Our Daily Web Page: Now you can visit on the Inter-
tinue being fearful of their happening net our Kauai Aadheenam on the Garden Island of Kauai. Just
until you create them! ' point yOpI' browser to http;llwww.gurltdeva.dynip.coml-htoday/to-
Do youJrnow that the ability to live day/. Here yQ.u 'll enjoy my daily spiritual message in live voice,
right now, in the instant, is a spiritual read todays newest news and a fresh lesson of the day, see some
power, reflecting the awakening of the soul and requiring a sub- while, as if you weren't anybody, if for years and years you have current digital photos and soon a video. Aadheenam is the South
conscious control of the mind? Your soul is never bothered with been accustomed to making fears, worries and doubts your cher- India name for an ashram. It is where 25 of my monks-acharyas,
the things tllat disturb the rest of the mind! The mind lives in the ished possessions-more important to you than anything. There swamis, yogis and sadhakas-serve in creating HINDUISM TODAY
past, and the mind tries to live in the future. But when you quiet are people who just wouldn't know who they were if you took away month after month after month. This is our 20TH year of produc-
your mind, you live in the present. You are living within your soul, their"f'ears, worries and doubts. But if you want to be somebQdy, ing the magazine. For those who do not know, our tropical island is
or the higher state of your mind which is undisturbed by the something, a state of being, you want to live in the eternal now. 3,800 miles east of Japan, 4,8'00 miles north of Australia, 2,200
things of time. There is a simple formula for attaining the eternal now. If you miles south of Alaska and 2,750 miles west of California.
Also, when you live in the present, you eliminate fears, worries can remember it, you can center yourself within yourself very Come to the ashram in cyberspace for daily darshan. Do it now.
and doubts. Of course, you might feel a little out of place for a . quickly .and experience living right this instant. Imagine yourself Don't delay. You will be very welcome.
NOVEMBER , Igg8 HINDUI SM TODAY 11
 :L ETTERS ~~~ MYTURN
Dress Code for Temple Goers If only we' could realize we are all actually and reverential tribute to Swami Krish- I

I AM A MALAYSIAN OF CHINESE ORIGIN,
and I am very interested in Indian/Hindu
c;lture, especially on the aspect of dr~ss
and costume. There is, of course, a signifi-
brothers and sisters, and it doesn't matter
what we speak or how we speak but that we
are all of one kind. If only? Would you be
willing to teach your child that every Hindu
Can Astrologers Be
nll9andji [MINISTER'S MESSAGE, Aug. 'g8] as
"Swami of Africa" will bring happy memo-
{ies, satisfaction and gratitute to thousands
of people whose lives were touched by Swa-

cant Indian minority in Malaysia, and I have
many indian/Hindu friends. One of the best
gifts I have got from an Indian friend was
when he taught me how to wea( the dhoti,
wpat they call here a veshti for men. The
sad thing is that not many men wear the
veshti nowadays in Malaysia, not even in the
temples, except for the priest. Many of my
friends say that wearing a veshti is uncom-
fortable since ' they are more used to
trousers. I have to say that there is nothing
really uncomfortable about the veshti, one
can get used to it after a while, but the trib-
al style where the cloth goes under the legs
to .be tucked behind takes a bit of getting
used to. Some of my friends whose origins
are from Kerala say lhat some temples there
enforce traditional clothing on men when
they go there. Do you .think there should be
a dress code for all who enter temples?
JAMES CHONG
PERAK, MALAYSIA
I monies were the cornerstone of Hinduism.
" acchong@pc.jaring.my
A Big Barrier-Social Divisions
COMING FROM A COUNTRY LIKE MALAYSIA,
one inevitably notices that the Hindus here
are made up of many different groups iden-
tified with different Indian states, languages
or castes. We nave the Telegus, Malayalees,
Gounaers, Chettiyars, Mudaliars, etc., etc.,
and the list never seems to end. What aston-
ishes me most is the fact that as people of a
common religion, just Hindus, we instead
look at each other through the eyes of "he or
she is not one of my kind," and this has cre-
ated and clouded the progress of the Hindus
in this country. Each temple.or Hindu or-
ganisation is identified as "a Ceylonese tem-
ple" pr "a Chettiyar temple," etc. The worst
part is when a boy and a girl of two different
groups fall in love and decide to get married,
the opposition is so strong that often the
couple decide to part and save their family
the shame of marrying out. This is unbeliev-
able. Hindus and yet not Hindus. What is
the problem here? Identifying yourself with
a special language or caste group rather than
being proud that you are a Hindu, this is the
problem. It stunts the progress of the Hindu
yommunity in terms of education, econom-
ic and social welfare. Certain groups are
found to only contribut~ and help their own
kind and are proud of it. If only we didn't
belong to a Nair, a Pillai, a Menon, a Goun-
der, a Chettiyar social caste group or what-
ever else andJ ust belonged to the Hindus,
we might find ourselves conquering moun-
tains and leapiNg over the tallest buildings.
Spiritual Mentors?
is a Hindu and not a member of some lan- mi Krishnanandji. I met him in 1981 and to-
guage or caste group? If only we could day memories come flooding to my mind of,
break these barriers created by our forefa- his deep spirituality, compassion and true
thers and still practiced by many!1f only we greatness. It is right and proper that Mahat-
HINDU RENAISSANCE TEAM
could change ourselves firsf! Then I think rna Gandht.. and Swami Krishnanandji who
Hindus all over the world still have a chance. made history in and for Africa are remem- HINDUISM TODAY was founded January 5, 1979, Only if they are trained in counseling and
No Hindu should be greater or lesser than bered together. Swami Ghananandji and his by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. It is a
another, and no Hindu should eye himself as
the greatest and look down on his neighbor.
message are a compliment to Africa. ' nonprofit educational activity of Himalayan
Academy with the following\Jlurposes: 1. To fos-
steeped in personal spiritual practice
NAUTAM RAVAL
After all, dear Ganesha, I wonder what You • HARROW, UNITED KINGDOM ter Hindu solidarity as a unity in diver-sity
are and what language You speak? , among all sects and lineages; 2. 'fo inform and BY l)MANANDA QUONG
KRISHNAKUMARI NALLAKUMAR Don't Dismiss Ancient Tamil inspire Hindus worldwide and people interest-
" kumari@frim.gov.my- THE POSSIBILITY THAT AN ANCIENT DRA- ed in Hinduism; 3. To dispel myths, illusions and OR PROFESSIONAL ASTRO- hira describes the qualities of
vidian tongue could be the language of the misinformation about Hindl:lism; 4 ..To protect,
logers who encounter the ideal astrologer: "He must
Sadhu Bathing Order Harappans should not be discredited [LAN- preserve and promote the sacred Vedas and the
daily the hopes, fears, be clean, efficient, bold, elo- -
IN YOUR KUMBHA MELA TIME LINE IT IS GUAGE , May'98]. The letter "+" also repre- Hindu religion; 5. To nurture and monitor the
ongoing spiritual Hindu renaissance. We invite . desires and aspirations of quent, possessed of genius or /
mentioned [INSIGHT, pg 34, Sep.' 'g8]: "ca sented "K" in ancient Tamil. The Rig Veda often desperate people facing ready wit, knower of the time
our readers to share these purposes with us by
1780: British establish the order for royal mentions dark complexion"ed residents. Pure real-life crises, predictive ability and place, sincere, not timid in
sending letters, reports on events, news clip-
bathing by the monastic groups (the same Tamil words are traceable in ancient Sanskrit pings, and encouraging others to subscribe. and technical expertise are not assemblies, not to be overpow-
order is followed today)." It is my impression texts. Tamil was older or contemporary with enough. They must develop the ered by his fellow students,
that it was (Thode) Madhavrao Peshwa, the Sanskrit and perhaps its culture and cere- capacity to address the psycho- expert, free from vices, well-
Maratha Prime Minister, who established Pub lis he ...: Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
logical needs of the client, versed in the performance of
Admin. Dir.: Paramacharya BGldhinatha
this order (prior to 1780?) after figllts broke THAVARAJA SUNDHAR SUNDRAM Edito ...-in-Chief Acharya Palaniswami above and beyond the basic curative and preventive types of
out at &e Nashik KiImbha Mela and not the KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Publishe...·s Aitk: Acharya Ceyonswfuni interpretation of the horoscope. How many rituals, as well as in that of magic and
British. The British East India Company DeputlJ Edito...: Acharya Kumarswami professing to be astrologers have received bathing, engaged in the worship of Gods,
had just won the Battle of Plassey (1757) Conspiracy Behind a Name? Managing Edito...: Sannyasin Arumugaswami any kinel of formal training in counseling observances or austerities and fast; pos- •
and would hardly be in a position to dictate I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED WHY, IN ENG- Graphics Di...ecto ...: Sannyasin Natarajnathaswami skills, or even any informal preparation, sessed of great power generated by the
religious rules in 1780. The British Crown lish, Christianity is the only religion referred Mauritius Edito ...: Sannyasin Sivamurugaswami which qualifies them to give advke to peo- wonderful achievements of his scientific
seized power of India in 1857 after the Na- to with the suffix "-ity." Every other religion Mauritius Staff Writer: Sannyasin Sivadevanathaswami ple on a variety of important issues? knowledge and,capable of answering
tional Uprising. It was then that major re- is referred to as an "-ism," Hinduism, Bud- Pmd.lP...omotion Mgr.: Sannyasin Sivakatirswami How many times have we seen or heard queries made by others and suggesting
forms, changes, and degradations in Hindu dism, Jainism, Judaism, etc. The suffix "-ity" Managing Ed.'s Aitk: Tyagi Saravanannathaswami
about clients who have departed an astro- remedial measures for troubles, other than
religion started taking place. suggests a state of being, as in gravity, agili- Dep. Managing Ed.: Tyagi Karttikeyanathaswami
Edito ...-in-Chiefs Aitk: Yogi Yuganatha
logical consultation feeling distraught, con- the visitations of God." Knowledge of as-
I
AMOL lOSHI ty , volatility. It suggests a quality inherent to
Advertising Manage ...: Sadhaka Jothinatha fused and discouraged about specific con- trology must be complem~nted by spiritual
" ahjoshi@hotmaihcom the subject-the way religion is supposed to SubScription Manage ...: Sadhaka Adinatha clusions and predictions concerning future practice and a religious life ~hich enables
be. The suffix "-ism" suggests a precon- Correspontknts: Gowri Sh~kar & Anandhi Rama- events in a person's life? Indians typically the astrologer to be an instrument of the
Ten Years to Worldwide Reiki ceived set of thoughts to which one agrees chandran, Chennai; Choodamani Shivaram, Bangalore; believe in karmic retribution and in as- Divine, providing advice based on spiritual
I'M SURPRISED NO ONE HAS RESPONDED TO or does not without it being inherent to one's Rajiv Malik, Prabha Prabhakar Bhardwaj, Mangala trologers' predictions, which they expeot in values and the wisdom of personal E)xperi-
the "Reiki" article (HT January 1998). For nature as in communism, capitalism, dada- Prasad Mohanty, Delhi; V S. Gopalakrishnan, Kerala; any consultatiol}. What the eyes see, the ence. The spiritual qualities which make a
many years, I have believed that hatha yoga ism, minimalism, etc. It is not hard to imag- Basudeb Phar, Bangladesh; Archana Dongre, Los An- mind interprets according to ones expecta- -person a great yogi are the same attributes
and meditation are the keys to achieve Self ine that people who first coined. the term geles; Lavina Melwani, New York; Dr. Hari Bansh Jha, tions and beliefs. A, strong belief that an which contribute to eminence in astrology.
Realization. This is true, however, Reiki is did not feel comfortable calling other's reli- Nepal; Parasram Ramoutar, Anil Mahabir, Trinidad; astrologer's predictions will come true will Only a life lived in ~ccordance with dhar-
no! just for healing-it is a path to Enlight- ;gion a religion. But now that we are free to Dr. Devananda Tandavan, Chicago; V G. Julie Rajan, have a major effect upon one's perception ma can produce the wisd~m and loving
enment. When you put your hands on any call ourselves anythil)g, we should call our- Philadelphia; Shikha Malaviya, Minnesota; Rajesh Jan-
tilal, South Africa; Tara Katir, Hawaii. Sanskritist: Dr. and interpretation of the "objective reality" kindness that can heal as well as inform.
part of the bQdy, the flow of healing energy selves "Hinduity" and let people Imow that of events to come. Americans tend to be- As "great as astrology is, we should also
S. Jayaraman, New York. Artists: A. Manivelu, S. Ra-
begins. Remove the hands and the energy we have caught on to their conspiracy. jam. Cartoonists: Barry Geller, David Lourie, Mario lieve they can alter their destiny through recognize its limitations, and maintain ~
stops! This is a simple but powerful tech- SHRUTI AND ABHIJIT T. SHUKLA de Miranda, Manick Sorcar, Gary L. Stair, Bob Thaves. conscious choice, and prefer directions for clear understanding of its role in the con-
nique. Your readers should consider adding " ashuklas@bellatIantic.net Photo Contributo ...s: Thomas L. Kelly, Stephen P personal, spiritual transformatiqn. In either text of our ovef"all spiritual evolution. We
<
Reiki to their daily routine. Within the next Huyler, Dev Raj Agrawal, Phal S. Girota, ~ny Stone case, there is a large subjectivity factbr and should not lose sight of the unlimited, infi-
ten yearS"; I believe Reiki will spread rapidly Images, Photobank, Art Wolfe Inc., Gordon Wiltsie, room for judgmental errors. It would be nite, illlbounded nature of our.true Being-
throu~hout the entire world. Indivar Sivanathan. Web Masters: Deva Seyon, Sad- prudent to show discretion and humility in ness, which is always beyond the realm of
Le~ters with writers n~e, address and daytime
MARC EDWARDS phone number, should be sent to: hunathan Nadesan. Scanning: Vikram Patel, New ones presentation, lest some error of judg- cause and effect. Astrology pertains to fhe
" marced@asan.com Letters, HINDUISM TODAY York. Distribution: USA: Ingram Periodicals, New ment result in actual harm to the client. At interactions of cosmic forces in the realm
107 Kaholalele Road Leaf, EBSCO Subscription Services, Indo-US Books,
the very least, predictive astrologers should of manifestation, and does not provide a
Remembering'Krishnanaildji KAPAA, HAWAII, 96746-9304 USA One ~urce, Ubiquity, Total Circulation..:Services.
Canada: Gordon and Gotch. Europe: SWETS Sub- speak in simple, clear language, according direct path to realization of the Divine.
IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT THE COVER OF or faxed to: (808) 822-4351 ,
or e·mailed to: letters@hindu.org , scription Service. Malaysia and Singapore: Sanathana to the level of understanding of the listener,
the" August issue should carry ' the photo- , Dharma Publications~ South Africa: Atlas Printers. In- and not inundate the client with excessive STEPHEN QUONG, 47, has traveled exten-
graph of President Nelson Mandela at a Letters may be edited for space and clarity and may dia: Central News Agency Limited, New Delhi. technical jargon. Sively throughout India, Nepal and Sri Lan-
Hindu center at Durban on Dipavali cele- appear in electronic versions of HiNDUISMTODAY. Printe...: Banta Publications Group, Kansas City In Brihat Samhita (11.2), Sage Varahami- ka. He began studying astrology in 1970.
brations. Also, Swami Ghananandji's warm \., INDICATESLETTERS REC,EIVEDVIA E-MAIL

12 HI,NDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER , 1998 NOV EMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 13

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EDITORIAL
We Ar~ All \X(ayfarer-s
, .
On the Waves ofTime.
And one of the few truly useful navigational
tools is an ancient one -V.edic astrology
BY'THE EDITOR
ELIEVING NOTHING, THE SKEPTIC IS BLIND; BELIEVING
everything, the naif is lame_ Somewhere between the t~o
lies the lucid land of viveka, discrimination, which neither
doubts every inexplicable phenomenon nor swallows every
un'~x~un:ined statement. In this issue we explore the uncanny
Vedic technology ofjyotisha, that hoary knowledge derived from sec-
oddary Vedic texts, born, they say, of Lord Brahma who taught it to
Surya, the Sun, who gifted it to Brighu, the first human to know the
science of astronomy and astrology. Its about time. And its about the
unseen forces that swir about our blue Earth-island, creating tides, not
of matter but of mind, not-of water but of flow.ing fates and karmas.
Ronald Reagan, when President of the lJnited States, confounded
the White House staff and embarrassed aides by having his itiner-
ary and major meetings scheduled in careful consultation with his
wife's astrologer in California. Scoffing staffers counted it pure silli-
ness, others thought it merely impolitic of him.
,Mr. Reagan is not a lone heretic. Queen Elizabeth I consulted the
stars. Galileo, the Italian mathematician and astronomer, cast charts
on the side, as did the Gentian celestial scientist Johannes Kepler.
Britain's Princess Diane followed the stars, and many Hollywood
stars do the same. Ditto with Carl Jung and American-millionnaire
J.P. Morgan. That said, astrology still is not anywhere near as im-
portant in the Western world as in Asia.
A '1990 poll of Americans found that
while nearly 30% of Christians in
AmeFica believe in astrology and read
their horoscope weekly, only 5% had
personally consulted an astrologer_ Like
so many other things, astrology in the
Occident is anout personal things-
about me and mine, my spiritual
progress, my love life and business suc-
cess. In the Orient these con~erns are
not absent, but larger concerns domi- ~
nate. Astrology in India is about(auspi- "~
ciousness, about connections, about sa- ~
cred timing and being in a flow with '" . trologers, and you may get ten distinct'
the ebb and tide 0.£ divine forces. This universalizing approach to as-
trology gives the science a maturity that it tends to lack in the West,
where it is seen as a frivolous, campy diversion for lonely souls try-
ing to get a grip on their out-of-controllife.
At the HINDUISM TODAY headquarters in Hawaii, monks move
in a matrix of Vedic understanding. We don't observe the days of the
week in our life on Kauai, rather follow.ing the sacred lunar calendar
for which our Monday is called Sun 1 and our Friday is Sun 5 (or
16 HINDUISM TODA;Y NOYEMBER. 1998
-- --~ ---- ~-----
,
maybe 6 or 7 or 4), since the week we
live is, like the day, flexible in its length
depending on the c~lestial movements.
QlJOTES & tlllPS
"Weekends," which we call retreats and
dedicate to nonworldly matters, are "There is no conflict between politics and religion, for
usually two, but sometimes three, days
long. All this brings us cl0ser to the sa-
cred cosmo~, though it can confound
-both aini ,~t perf~ction of the individual. and s,o ciety"
our connections with the rest of the
world. We're alWays hearing one among
us utter, "What? Today is Saturday?"
We also avoid important meetings or
events during ashtami, the eighth day
Member of India's Parliament Swami Chinmayananda, asked whether it's difficult to be a religious leader and politiG..,mn at the same time
put stones in the bowl, the light will go out
and he will become a stone himself A
of the lunar cycle. Ironically, some
Vedic astrologers don't themselves fol-
stone does not grow or move. If at any time
he tires of being a stone"all he needs-t:o do
10w the traditiimal Indian calendar,
which is understandable in this 7-days-
is turn the bowl upside down and the
make-a-week world. Less understand- stones will fall away and the light will grow
able is why they don't always follow the • once more. Ancient Hawaiian saying
knowledge they teach others. Consider
how when an astrology conference was being planned last year, we The Patience Prayer: God, please grant me
proposed it happen on an auspicious day. "That won't work," came
the answer. "Its not a weekend!" Behold the new auspiciousness! patience... and please don't delay!
The astrologer is something of a tribal shaman. Ideally, he or she
is the one with special insight, a wider vision that lifts awareness be-
yond our little world, connecting us to the canopy above, expand-
ing perception beyond the narrow sliver oHime in which we live by
bringing past lives and actions into the now. I have said before that
astrologers tell time with a bigger watch.
The genuine astrologer is a time navigator. He teaches that time is
not all colorless and neutral: the same in all directions. Time has its
eddies, its waxing and waning, its preferential ways-and in that "Yes, I have previous management experience.
sense is much like the oceans, full of change. No ship's captain worth
his hardtack would consider the sea uniform, everywhere equal and In a past life, I was the master of a galley ship
indifferent to his passage. No, the sea is alive with idle doldrums and where I kept 100 men rowing 24 hours a day."
treaCherous'tempests, and, yes, dangers worthy of anticipation.
To the astrologer, time is like that sea, with changing moods and
forces, some propelling us swiftly forward, others opposing our Many advances in the sciences that we session is full of commotion and that all
well-plotted progress. Today time impels, tO,morrow it impedes. consider today to have been made in Eu- political leaders should be taught yoga and DID YOU KNOW?
How foolhardy is the seaman who keeps his canvas unfurled in a
rope were in fact made in .India centuries Transcendental Meditation.
storm or stows his sails when good winds blow. Time is a kind of
ago. Grant Duff, British-historian (!)f India
Western Pundits
psychic wind, blowing now this way, now that. As a ship's captain
, heeds the chart reckoned by his navi- Some came with sandals or bathroom slip- HAT IS A PUNDIT? THE WORD
gator as to course, winds and tides, so
our life's journey benefits f{om anoth-
er chart, our astrologer's appraisal of
protean time's orderly and sometimes
A round luit:
• This is Tuit. Guard it
with your' life as Tuits are hard
pers ...some even dared to step in clad il!
jeans and funky glasses. The Kathmandu
Post on the reason for a new law that all
• wear the traditional
W is from the Sanskrit pandita,
'1earned person," but a new
meaning surfaced when Dwight Eisen-
ornery flow. It benefits, too, from a to come by, especially the round parliamentarians must hower denounced "sensation-seeking
deep submissio to the fact that .this ones. This is an ~dispensable item. It s~ack, knee-length shirt, matching jacket columnists and commentat0rs" as "pun-
life is all our own self-created sea; and will help you become a more efficient and cap during parliament sittings. In the dits_" So now the word has a pompous
the navigator's chart cannot chan~ worker. For years we have heard people past, only government ministers have vol- connotation in the West, and, accord-
the waters we are in, it can simp,ly help
us exploit the currents and avoid the say, 'TIl do it as soon as I get a Round untarily worn Nepali dress, while deputies ing to a humorous account in the New
perilous shallow reefs. 'lUit." Now that you have on~, you . turned up in a range of informa.z wear: York Times, todays journalist "pundit"
The subtle art of astrology turns on can accomplish all those things boldly w.rites into stories that he isn't
what to give importance to. Ask ten as- you put aside until you get Each child, at birth, has a bowl of light. If sure about certain facts, secure in the
a Round Tuit! he tends to his light, it'll grow in strength knowledge that most readers will take
responses. The key is finding one that suits you, your needs and
. understandings. If ever it seems too confusing or you fall into doubt and he can do all things: swim with sharks, that to mean he really does know but is
about your days, remember the words of Sri Lanka's greatest sage, I can ,do it because 0f yoga and meditation. fly with birds, know and understand all protecting a source. FUrther, the "pun-
Satguru Yogaswami: 'M times are auspicious for the true devotee If all'ministers would meditate, they can things. But if he becomes envious, jealous, dit" is loyal only to fact-gatherers and
of Siva." He wanted to combat the superstition and Sani-phobia also interact with, people calmly. Dr. angry or fearful, he drops a stone into the bosses loyal to him, and requests news
that often surrounds an astrologer's forwarnings. He meant that we Prasanna Patsani, member of India's Par- bowl and some light goes gut. Light and tips from colleagues who are less "exalt-
need not cringe in fear that this time is bad for me, that time is
good. All times are beneficent to those who cling closely to God. liament! commenting that every legislative the stone cannot. coexist. If he continues to ed" but more knowledgeable than him.
\
NOVEMBER . 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 17
 --
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The Great
Cycles of Life
Understanding the
rhythm of the dasas
Edith Hathaway took up W estern as-
trology and hatha yoga in 1976, and
Vedic astrology in 1988 under the ini-
tial tutelage ofVamadeva Shastri..
ASA IS A CYCLE OR PERIOD OF
J[ time. In Vedic astrology there
are 55 differept dasa systems, of
which the VImsottari is most
used. Vimsottari literally means "120,"
and refers to manS ideal 120-year life-
span, with various cycles, subcycles
and sub-sub-cycles within it. These
dasas are indicators of when the
karnw.phala, fruits of karma from past
lives, will unfold. The sequence of the
dasas is the same for everyone, but the
starting point varies according to the
individual chart, specifically the
Moon's nakshatra. The duration of the
mahadasas, or major cycles are: Sun, 6
years; Moon 10 years; Mars, 7; Rahu,
18; Jupiter, 16; Saturn, 19; Mercury, 17;
Ketu, 7; and Venus, 20. Dasas unfold
differently for each person, depending
upon the birth chart.
An example close to me is that of the
great Hindu saint, Ma Anrritananda-
mayi, known as Am-
machi. The first 19
years of her life-
her Sun and Moon
dasas- were ex-
tremely difficult.
She was unnoticed,
uncared for, treated
as a domestic ser-
vant and completely
misunderstood by
her own family. The
Edith dasa sequence for
Hathaway Ammachi since age
19 has steadily im-
proved the material conditions of her
life, even as a satguru and Holy Moth-
er. When she entered Rahu dasa in
1972, devotees came and her first
ashram began. 'IJpical for a spiritual
master, her dasa sequence starts off
with many difficulties, then improves
dramatically. During her Saturn dasa,
beginning in 2006, her influence
should become extremely prominent.
20 HI ~ DUISM TOD b Y N <\VEMBER, 1998
E IT MEDITATION, MANTRAS , YOGA,
ayurvedic medicine, vastu archi-
tecture or-to go further back-the
systematic study of language, an-
cient Vedic arts and scienceS' have
slowly penetrated Western life.
Among the least recognized of these divine-
ly inspir~d intellectual colonizers is jyotish,
Hindu astrology. Its introduction has picked
up steam only in the last five or ten years,
aI\d it seems destined now to eventually dis-
place the Western system of astrology-it-
self derived from the Greeks who took it
from the Hindu system thousands of years
ago. Prominent among jyotish's harbingers
is Chakrapani Ullal, who arrived in America
in 1979 as the personal astrologer of Swami
Muktananda. A few years later, in 1981,
Chakrapani set up practice in Southern Cal-
ifornia. Today he runs a thriving counseling
service dealing with hundreds of clients a
year, including major corporations. He's one
of several cross-cultural facilitators who
have inspired hundreds of Americans to
pursue the divine art and many thousands
to seek its wisdom.
Dennis Harness, for example, met Cha-
krapani in 1980 at Swami Muktananda's
ashram in Santa Monica, California. "It was
a profound experience of being seen at a
soul level," Harness told HINDUISM TODAY.
"During the session, many predictions for
the future were made which have come to
pass. Chalqapani told me that my profession
would involve teaching, counseling, consult-
ing and advising using astrology. At one
point during the consultation he looked
deeply into my eyes and said, 'I know your
mind very well, perhaps better than you. ",
Harness is one leader of the American
Council of Vedic Astrology, a recently
formed group representing about half the
practitioners of Hindu astrology in Ameri-
ca-several of whom have written and been
featured in the sidebar stories to this article.
Unlike in India, astrology has been exiled
to the margins of r~spectability in the West
since the Middle Ages. Though rarely en-
forced, laws against "fortunetelling"- .which
includes astrology-exist today in many
communities. Earlier in the century some of
Americas most prominent astrologers were
arrested. When enemies of Nancy Reagan,
wife of US President Ronald R~agan, want-
ed to get even with her, they expos.~d the
fact she had been consulting an astrologer,
Joan Quigley, throughout much of Reagan's
presidency, and that his meetings of state
were generally timed according to Quigley's
advice. The First Lady was widely ridiculed
in the media.
Two groups, normally at opposite ends of
issues, vehemently attack astrology today:
conservative Christians and crusading secu-
lar humanists-the former as a devilish art,
the latter as superstitious balderdash. Nev-
NOVEMBER, 1998
Medical
Astrology
To foresee problems
and guide treatment
Vamadeva Shastri (Dr. David Frawley)
divides his talents between astrology
and ayuroeda, writing, editing and
teaching in both fields
MONG THE FmST QUESTIONS AN
A astrologer may hear from a new
client is, "How is my health going
to be?" or even, "How long am I
going to live?" Medical astrology aims at
assessing our health potential, our likely
diseases, their possible cure and our life
span, as well as potential emotional and
mental problems.
This system is inti-
mately connected
with ayurveda, the
Vedic medicine.
All of us eventual-
ly get sick and die,
so every chart has
negative health po-
tentials- a disturb-
ing fact when deal-
ing with those
close to us. Proper Vamadeva Shastri
analysis can show
us when a person is likely to get sick
and their potential for recovery. If a
person has come down with a major ill-
ness and is entering into difficult plane-
tary periods, the prognosis is not likely
to be good. If the periods change to
something positive, a quick recovery
can be indicated. The chart can also
show which treatment may work best
for them- and especially when to
schedule major surgery. Even wrong
treatment can be predicted!
Remedial measures can promote
health. Gems, mantras and rituals for
planetary deities can make a real dif-
ference in the vitality of a person.
Gems help fortify the pranic (energy)
field and subtle body which is highly
sensitive to cosmic rays. Mantras and
rituals are good for problems caused
by occult influences.
By providing early warning of im-
pending negative planetary periods for
our health, astrology gives us time to
take precautions and offers methods to
minimize the negative effects.
HI N DUISM TODAY 21

Right Timing
Working with, not
against, the stars
Christina Collins-Hill began her prac-
tice of Westem astrology in 1968 and
incorporated the Vedic system in 1989.
She assists a celebrity clientele and stu-
dents and is a TM teacher.
LECTIONAL ASTROLOGY (MUHUR-
ta, "moment," in Sanskrit) selects a
time for an action to commence by
searching for positive future plan-
etary placements. By doing this, we can
relieve or correct difficult conditions in
the natal chart which cause impedi-
ments to a desired objective. Spiritual
muhurta includes timings for initiation,
weddings, name-giving, etc. Material
muhurta covers matters of education,
business, surgery, travel, law, etc.
A client of mine, Mike Love, lead
singer of the popular music group "The
Beach Boys," approached me with the
years-long dilemma that many of the
songs that he had either written or co-
written did not carry his name as the
author. Through
four years of litiga-
tion, we used
muhurta for dates
to file documents,
arrange deposi-
tions, court dates,
etc. When difficul-
ties seemed in-
evitable, we used
remedial measures,
Christina such as ayurvedic
Collins-Hill remedies to "cool
down" the nature
of the participants. The fmal results?
The other band member admitted Mike
wrote the songs.
Another client absolutely needed a
passport immediately Learning that it
would take six weeks, he called me in
distress. Using a muhurta that had a
two-minute window of auspiciousness,
I asked him to personally drive himself
to the passport office-not to send an
employee-and hand in his request at
the exact time. He received the pass-
port in just three days!
One can learn the complex art of
muhurta, but I recommend engaging
the services of a competent astrologer
for all important life moves.
22 HINDUISM TODAY . NOVEMBER , Igg8
Jaipur: Part of the observatory, Jantar
Mantar, located at Jaipur, Rajasthan, In-
dia, and founded by Maharaj Jai Singh in
171 6. These giant rruzsonry instruments
Little Omens
were used for determining local time and
eclipses, as well as plotting the location of
the stars and the rrwvement of planets, all
Reading subtle signs
with extrpordinary precision. Smaller ob-
servatories were built by Singh at Delhi, James Kelleher learned astrology in
Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. 1975 from M.K Gandhi. He has pur-
sued the practice full-time since 1980.
F AN ASTROLOGER WANTS TO
know what is going to happen in
the future, he can, rather than ana-
lyze a chart, look around for signs.
An entire branch of Vedic astrology,
called nemitta, is devoted to this sub-
ject. Omens, we are told, work because
of the interconnectedness of all things.
A couple of years ago, I was invited
to dinner, along with two other as-
trologers, by a popular lady-guru in I
Delhi. She asked us, "Will I return to
K.N. Rao: He predicts that some of the India permanently?"
American Vedic astrologers will <'become Since my friends
very good after eight or ten years. In 2020, were accurately read-
the generation that will come and dominate ing her chart, I would
America will be spiritual. The country will have nothing to add.
then take to the spiritual life very well. " So I scanned the
room for signs. Sud-
there are degree programs (Trivedi has a denly, the guru asked
masters'in astrology) and certification tests the cook to bring
(such as by the Indian Council of Astrologi- three glasses of milk.
cal Sciences, founded by Raman), anyone Then an ex-consulate
may call himself an astrologer and start a general to India
practice. In America, Harness, Quong, Va- came to visit. I had James Kelleher
madeva Shastri and others held a sympo- what I needed.
ertheless, astrology remains widely popular, ma and reincarnation to Western astrolo- chology, whereas in the Vedic system the fo- sium in 1992 with Raman as the key speak- When my turn came, I said, "The signs
and columns of advice appear in nearly gers, fundamentals missing from their sys- cus is predictions. But there have always er. From this developed the American coinciding with this reading suggest
every daily newspaper in the country. tem. Hes continued to visi~eight times up been businessmen, such as J.P. Morgan, the Council ot: Vedic Astrology, which encom- that you will return to this country
The first Vedic astrologer arrived in Amer- to 1993-and has seen many Westerners richest man of the 19th- century, and politi- passes perhaps half the practicing Vedic as- permanently in three years-indicated
ica in 1946 in a book, not a boat. H~ was Sri adopt the Vedic system under his guidance cians, such as the Reagans, who have made trologers in the country and offers certifica- by the three glasses of milk and the
Yukteswar, guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. and inspiration. practical use of the science of light. tion tests. This level of organization 'and consulate generals arrival"-a predic-
Yukteswar was.a major figure in Yoganandas In the 70S only a handful of Americans Some Vedic astrologers, Harness for ex- training among, the followers of the Inaian tion later confirmed as accurate.
hugely popular Autobiography of a Yogi, . were trying to figure out the Vedic system, ample, use the system in conjunction with system in the US has only developed within You don't have to be an astrologer to
read by millions. "In this text," recounts but then in the early 80S the Transcenden- psychological counseling-citing a pattern the last few years. , use nemitta. Birds, animals, the weath-
American Vedic astrologer Gary Gomes, tal Meditation movement of Maharishi Ma- set by the famed psychiatrist Carl Jung, who Astrologer K.N. Rao's tours and seminars er and other events can all give clues
"many of those outside India got a taste of hesh Yogi and the International Society for corresponded in the early 50S with B.V Ra- in 1993 to 1995 opened new vistas of know1- that will reveal your future. There is
the power of astrology in India and the use Krishna Consciousness both began actively man on the charts of difficult patients. Oth- edge for the fledgling community in Ameri- also a system called swara, based on
of remedial measures such as gemstones." promoting Vedic astrology, along with other ers, such as Chakrapani, Stephen Quong and ca, especially with regard to the dasa system which nostril is more clear at the time
Western astrologers were more or less traditional Indian arts and sciences. Christina Collins-Hill, work in the business and other more complex aspects of the Hin- of a yes-no question. If on Sunday,
aware of the Vedic system, either through Freelance Indian astrologers have visited world. Asked about her clients" Christina du science of the heavens. Unfortunately, Tuesday or Saturday, at the time of
Autobiography of a Yogi or by' reading The or immigrated to America also in the 70S commented, "Mostly I talk to their lawyers" Rao became unhappy with b9th his tour asking, the right nostril is more clear,
Astrology MagaZine, published by J)r. B. V and 80S to serve the immigrant Hindu ~om­ -meaning she was involved in he client's hosts and Americans in general. Unl.!ke Ra- then the answer is yes. If the left is the
Raman of Bangalore, India. Some knew munity Their numbers are not known; crucial corporate dealings. Laxshmi Shan- man, he arrived in a fairly decadent Ameri- clearer one, then no. On Monday,
their own system had problems, that it was guesses range from fifty to several hundred, I kar Trivedi, an elder of the Gujarati com- ca. Raman came in the late 50S, when Amer- Wednesday, Thursday or Friday it is
a truncated and inaccurate version of the if priests practicing part-time are included. munity living in Fremont, California, coun- ican life was still kind and gentle. "My reversed, left is yes, right is no. This
more complete ancient astrology So, in a re- Serious, full-time American Vedic astrolo- sels a few dozen businessmen. He provides personal experience," Rao told HINDUISM may sound like mumbo jumbo, but it is
turn to their own roots, they invited Ra- gers probably number about 50, according the service of horary, the answer to a single TODAY reporter Rajiv Malik in a recent in- based on esoteric principles related to
man-a revered figure in India-to speak at to Harness, and several hundred more are quesfion, based upon the moment it was terview in New Delhi, "is that America is to- the ida and the pingala., two types of
a New York conference in 1959. He came capable amateurs. asked, sometimes augmented by the inquir- tally, one hundred percent, a mercenary subtle energy which run up the spine
before the 60S outbreak of spiritual fervor Many of those adopting the Hindu system ers chart. Grateful clients amply reward him country with all the ills of capitalism. Fami- in different ways on different days of
and the arri';al of swamis from India, and to were adepts at the Western system. The ma- with a share of the profits his advice brings. ly life has broken down, and society has be- the week, and it works-as do other
some extent he provided a groundwork for jor difference, according to them, is that the With .astrology, there is a perennial ques- come totally dysfunctional." Rao is aghast at forIllS of omen reading.
them. He reintroduced the concepts ofkar- main focus of the Western system is psy- tion of credentials. Even in India, where the lack of respect for parents, the loose sex
NOVEMBER, Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 23

Parenting by
Dharma
Astrology's clues for
good child rearing
Self-taught, Dennis F'la.Mrty is certified
in Western and Eastern astrology and
uses both. He has been initiated into Su-
fism, TM and Kriya Yoga.
NSTRUCTION ON THE RAISING
I of children in Hinduism is quite
different than in other faiths, be-
cause of the doctrine of reincarna-
tion. Vedic astrology can benefit any
family, Hindu or not, who shares this
belief system.
First, an astrologer can identify for
devout parents those times for concep-
tion more divinely ordained than others
to bring an evolved and high-minded
soul into their family.
Health of their
newborn is then natu-
rally the parent's fore-
most concern. The
childs chart will indi-
cate areas of constitu-
tional weakness and
potential illness. In
some cases balarishta
yogas-negative kar-
mas of the past with
Dennis
Flaherty
the potential to cut
this life short-are
seen. In all cases, in-
cluding extreme ones,
remedial measures are effective, espe-
cially the parent's prayers. This is not
wishful thinking. I have personally seen
miracles.
The astrologer can suggest appropri-
ate education, based on, the child's incli-
nations for profession. Spiritual inclina-
tions may be seen and encouraged.
Appropriate discipline can be recom-
mended. For example, if the child has a
strongly placed Saturn, verbal admon-
ishment can bring about humbling re-
sults. If Mars is strong, physical chores
constructively engage the childs nature,
but corporal punishment will only neg-
atively engage the Martian nature, fur-
ther fueling samskl1:ras of anger and po-
tential violence. What is good for one
child is not good for another. Raise the
child according to his or her nature, not
anothers nature.
24 HINDUISM TODA·Y NOVEMBER, 1998
life and the self-centeredness. Such observa- not enhance your social standing. Despite
tions-he himself confesses a lack of tact- these obstacles, dozens of sincere individuals
ana disagreements over money during his are working hard to learn' the complex Vedic
tours left him at odds with several promi- systems. Many mix Eastern and Western as-
Financial
nent Vedic astrologers here. Raman made trology, though Chakrapani and Quong at-
many of the same observations-though tribute this to a lack of thorough familiarity
Astrology
somewhat less heatedly-in his entertaining with the Vedic system. Several say proudly
book, ,Hindu Astrology and the West. Rao's they are Hindus.' Those who do not cite a
main complaint about the astrologers was a specific religion tend to follow an eclectic
Getting as rich as
lack of training-especially in the area of path, selecting behefs and practices from
predictions, which he considers the heart of various traditions. They may have been born
destiny allows
Hindu astrology. "There are some very goo.d as Christians, but have outgrown that belief
Americans who want to. take the spiritual system. Traditionally, according to Raman, Stephen Quong, Uman4nda, is a
life very seriously and who are keen learn- Chakrapani, Rao and others, an astrologer trained investment consultant, and
ers, but they are overly dependent on their who expects divine guidance should follow a since 1991 a full time Vedic astrologer
computers and cannot do mental calcula- sattvic, pure, lifestyle, and some are found specializing in finance.
tions. My advice is to first of all do worship." ...lacking in this respect.
Whatever the faults of the nascent group Vedic astrology may displace Western as- IMING IS EVERYTHING IN THE
of Vemc astrologers in America, one must ac- trology, as Chakrapani predicts, but the •
knowledge the great personal sacrifice each greater impact is that these astrologers are
has made to practice their art. Both associa- spreading the core Hindu beliefs of karma
tion with astrology and Hinduism can lead and reincarnation among their clients-95%
to serious, even permanent rifts with par- of whom are not Indians. They are also ex-
'::;<"
"'"
t:
T world of business. Through a care-
ful analysis of an
individual's birth-
chart, an astrologer
can predict not only a
::;
ents, wives and family members-especially ponents of the efficacy of prayer, sadhana <~~----------------~-
person's overall pros-
for those doing it full time. Even in ordinary (spiritual diSciplines) and self-sacrifice to al- Right profession: A contented Anil Gupta at his Navratan Kendra shop, Haridwar pects to succeed in a
life, announcing you are an astrologer does ter the course of a l?erson's life. .. specific field of en-
LIFE DECISIONS deavor, but outline the
exact timetable when
t Planning a Stellar 'Career
the favorable karmas
Michael's Smart? Ask His Chart of previous lifetimes
which affect finances
become reactivated.
)( T ~ 'n Chart the best course for your ·ability and destiny He can also predict
when increase is not likely, those times
.n. when a person should concentrate on
William Levacy is a self-taught astrologer proached me to help identify lier five-year preserving his present capital.
, who practices in Southern California. He is old's capabilities-a perfect age to set career For example, one of my clients had
a certified teacher of Transcendental Medi- directions. I saw the child would be interest- opportunities in both aircraft leasing
tation, and considers himself a "Vedantist." ed in skills related to precision and high and the shipping business. Apparently,
South Indian Style
')) e He shares here his experience about how to technology. All through the child's early ed- there was an immediate, appealing
* "
Chart for Michael
Kearney
- --
(ascendent)
choose a career.
N THE SHELVES OF ANY MAJOR B~OK­
ucation, the mother could see these interests
and skills, and she encouraged them. Now, at
18, he is entering the university with' a hap-
prospect in shipping, and none for
several years in the aircraft leasing
business. Nonetheless, my analysis
Born 7:10 pm , seller you'll find many books on how to py specialization in computer technology. indicated success for him only with
' locate that perfect job. To their dozens Two of my cli~nts proVide an example of airplanes, and in the near future at
VJ January 18, 1984,
J1 of methods-submission of resumes, mid-career adjustments. They were success- that. Trusting my advice, the individ-
0 Honolulu, HawaII personal connections, moving up in the cur- ful consultants, but, wanted to take a major ual continued in the aircraft business.
S PART OF THIS rent business, etc.-we can add one more: step up with their business. One of the He attained extraordinary success a
story, HINDUISM ,. short time later, while the shipping
cf astrology. With this time-tested process, we ladies called to ask about a new opportuni-
~
<
TODAY sent as- '"
o can fmd our best choice for education and ty. I looked at their charts and, indeed, saw opportunities fell through.
....
'U'~ ~
trologers inter-
viewed for the article the
~ - career. Later in life, we can use it to get clar- the potential for positive career change-but The choosing of an auspicious time
ity when we encounter those proverbial only for the next seven days. I told her and and date (muhurta) for a business
birthdate, time and place '":cz" Jl ~ IJ 'It "forks in the road" as our caree!; branches her partner to go to the interview that very meeting or court appointment can also
(and nothing else) of ge- out in various directions-or per- week-they did, we:re accepted, make a significant difference in ensur-
nius Michael Kearney, haps doesn't branch out at all. and successfully made q,: major ing amicable or favorable outcomes.
who entered high school at rate. Among the readings: not too close on the educa- I have found three special upward career move. Besides personal karmas for wealth,
5, graduated at 6 and at age ''highly intelligent, early ed- tion, but indicated, among , places that identify career activ- Vedic astrology can give clues there are collective karmas which
14 was the youngest person ucational advancement;" other traits, that Michael ity. The first house or ascendant to your karma in this life. It can manifest as business cycles and overall
to ever receive a master's "excelled in academic stud- has a strong intuitive and and its ruling planet give big ' tell you where your dreams lie increases or decreases in the stock
degree in America. We ies, performed lSeyond their spiritual nature-something clues . .The sixth house, that of and how you might make the market. There are many successful
asked, "What is exceptional years;" "Unusual attain- we confirmed with his par- service, has more to say about most money. From that point investors who use astrological analysis
about this person?" ments in the form of educa- ents. Is there any other sci- those "bread-and-butter" jobs forward, you can set a vision for of cycles related to planetary place-
Of the seven responses tion;" "great deal of creative ence which can know any- that make us money. The tenth your future and develop the ments, lunar phases, even sun spots
we receive'd by deadline, talent being recognized thing about a person, sight house, of karma or action, tells us competence to deploy those and solar flares, as their primary basis
four were amazingly accu- now." The other three were unseen? about career or life purpose. dreams completely, correctly for timing their trades.
Several years ago a client ap- William Levacy and m a timely manner. ,;
NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 25
 Devotion: Priest of the Hazareshwar Temple
in Udaipur, Rajasthan, tenderly arranges
flowers for Nandi, Siva's bull.

tions preposterous. She could be described

as somewhat flighty, flirtatious and fun lov-
I, ing, with a tendency to manipulate people to
her advantage. I advised her that she would
likely marry a foreigner, live abroad, be-
come very religious, and that it would ben-
efit her to begin a program of meditation.
Ten years later, when Jupiter dasa started,
she went through an enormous transforma-
tion in line with my predictions. In July,
1998, she actually showed up at my door,
feeling ashamed of how she had treated me
' a decade earlier, and insisted she write ·a
check as a gesture of apology.
In another case, I told a poor friend, one
who used to visit Swami Muktananda with
me, that he would become a great philan-
thropist. That friend later became rich and
just a few months ago decided to devote half
his profits to spiritual work. Others have
gained the confidence to take up the life of a
sadhu. I once advised a doctor that his chart
indicated skill with mantras. He developed
this skill, and learned mantras to recite be-
fore surgery that greatly helped his patients.
One couple who sought a child only suc-
ceeded when, following my advice, they in-
creased their religious worship to offset neg- The nakshatras, central to Hindu astrology, sattvic, rajasic or tamasic in nature. Sattva is ry motivation-dharma (life purpose), artha
ative influences in their chart. are the subject of this month's four-page In- the quality of spirituality and purity. Rajas (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (en-
Sometimes the advice just . lets people Sight section. Contributors to this introduc- is high-energy activity. Tamas has the basic lightenment)-is associated with each nak-
cope better with life. After I explained to a tion include Devendra Trivedi, B.V Raman, quality of dullness, inertia and darkness. A shatra. An individual is born when the
talented lady that the lack of recognition she Dennis< Harness, Vamadeva Shastri and Lin- specific symbol [see pages 28-29], animal Moon is in a nakshatra suited to his destined
deserved which so frustrated her was fore- daJohnsen. species, sex, caste, temperament and prima- experiences of that lifetime. Astrological in-
seeable in her chart, she became accepting terpretations are based both on the naksha-
and less angry about it; I told one rich man HAT'S YOUR SIGN?" PEOPLE IN tra and the rasi [zodiac sign] of each planet,
that he must live a very simple life, or he America ask, meaning, "What but for both the Moon and the planets it is
would have problems. He forgot my advice, the position of the Sun in the nakshatra which has the deeper effect.
developed a lavish lifestyle for he and his zodiac when you were born?" Nakshatras are of primary importance in
family and, as predicted, started to face But in India, when the temple muhurtha, or electional astrology, estimat-
many difficulties. Recently he remembered priest queries, "Whats your nak- ing the optimal timing to undertake any new
Chakrapani Ullallearned astrology from his gest the best, lifestyle and spiritual regimen my advice, simplified his life and his prob- shatra?" he wants to know the position of venture, such as starting a new business,
father and grandfather. Early in life he came (sadhana) for that individual. The three gu- lems diminished. the Moon at your birth. The difference is not building a new home or choosing an auspi-
into contact with Swami Nityananada, and nas-sattva, calmness; rajas, action; and ta- Sometimes it is just the knowledge ofkar- superficial. In Western astrology, the birth cious wedding date [See page 30].
later that master's revered disciple, Swami mas, inertia-coexist in a varying degree of ma and reincarnation implicit in Vedic as- position of the Sun is considered paramount, Nakshatras (as well as rasis) mentioned in
Muktananda. It was Muktananda who in- dominance, also evident from the chart. The trology which, especially for the Wester:per, while in Hindu astrology, the Moons place- ancient texts provide clues of great historical
sisted Chakrapa.ni pursue his family profes- • interplay of the gunas determines the nature creates a spiritual perspective on life. It ment is most critical. While both systems use value. In scriptures, such as the Vedas, Pu-
sion, even though he had obtained degrees of all our thoughts, feelings, and actions, helps the individual take responsibility fQ! (with important differences) the zodiac, or ranas and Mahabharata, are found refer-
both in business and law. Here he shares hence sadhana is recommended according the circumstances in which he finds himself rasi, division of twelve parts (Aries, Pisces, ences that at the equinox (or solstice), the
with us his insight into spiritueLllife. to the predominate guna. Hatha yoga and and forego resentment at the seeming mis- etc.), Hindus further refme this to 27 nak- Sun was in a particular nakshatra. Because
meditation for those of sattv;c nature, devo- fortunes in'dicated in the chart-whiqh is, shatras-literally, "star clusters," also know of the precession of the equinoxes, the Sun
STROLOGY OFFERS TO ':QIE TRUTH tion for the rajasic person and s~lfless reli- after all, a mere messenger of one's karma, as the '1unar mansions" (Ashvini, Bharani, slowly changes nakshatras at the equinox-
seeker who endeavors to maximize gious service for the tamasic. and in fact an opportunity for personal etc.). The moon passes through all 27 in the so one can calculate backward to arrive at
the opportunity for self-reflection The influence of certain planets encour- growth. ~, course of a lunar month, at the rate of about the date of the scripture accurate to within a
. and spiritual discipline a knowledge ages or hinders spiritual awareness, Jupiter one a day. The division is ancient. The list of few hundred years. For example, in the
so profound in its nature th~t it can be a being the most auspicious indicator, and Sat- • KEARSARGE CONTACT INFORMATION: CHAmAPANI ULLAL, 12044
STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90049 USA;
the 27nakshatras given in the Krishna Yajur Atharva Veda (19.7) and Shatapatha Brah-
companion to any journey, as deep and as urn being an indicator of steadfastness. The B.V. RAMAN, SRI RAJESWARI, #28 (OLD 115/1) NAGAPPA Veda (Taittiriya Samhita 2-4-10) as part of mana, the solstice is in Magha, the period of
STREET, SE SHADRIPURAM 560 020 BANGALORE , INDIA; E:.N.
subtle as the aspirant is prepared. to take. powerful influence of Jupiter is demonstrat- RAO, F291 SARASWATI KUNJPATPARGAN], 110092 DELHI, the construction of the sacred fire altar was 27oo-1900BCE. This fact is used to trace the
By looking at the horoscope and how the ed to me often in my consulting practice. I INDIA; GARY GOMES, 854 BROCK AVE, NEW BEDFORD, MA
02740-4842, USA; STEPHEN QUONG, 17514 GRIZZLY DEN
likely recorded in the second millennium, beginning of the later Vedic age.
planets demonstrate dharma (righteous- remember one case, owing to the rather ROAD, LAKE SHASTINA, CALIFORNIA 96094 USA; DENNIS BCE. Each nakshatra is governed by a Vedic On the next two pages the 27 nakshatras
HARNESS, DENNIS FLAHERTY. VAMADEVA SHASTRI, EDITH
ness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and bold and dramatic gesture of my client, who HATHAWAY, WILLIAM LEVACY, CHRISTINA COLLINS-HILL Deity-Krittika by Agni, Rohini by Prajap- are explored, how they relate to the 12 rasis
moksha (liberation), one gains insight into canceled her' check after her consultation AND JAMES KELLEHER, ALL d o AMERICAN COUNCIL OF
VEDIC ASTROLOGY, POST OFFICE BOX 2149, SEDONA,
ati, and so forth. Krittika: Star map adorns 1890 painting of and the basic qualities of a person born un-
the individual's basic instincts, and can sug- with me because she considered the predic- ARIZONA 86339 USA A nakshatra is male or female, as well as the personification of Krittika nakshatra der each nakshatra. ~

26 HINDUISM TOD.A.Y NOVEMBER, 1998 NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUI SM TODAY 27

 The following is a condensed summary of the characteristics and
tendencies of persons born when the Moon is located in each of the
27 nakshatras. Noted next to each nakshatra name is the star with
which it is associated. There are 2 1/4 nakshatras per zodiac sign.
1. Ashvini (Beta Arietis): Passionate, impulsive, attractive and intel-
" ligent, people whose birth Moon is in Ashvini can also be headstrong
and extravagant. They enjoy travel, are often skilled workers, and
may have healing abilities. The Ashvins are Vedic gods of light, heal-
ing and inspiration.
2. Bharani (41 Arietis): Bharani folk are usually healthy, happy, skill-
ful and conscientious. They also tend to be somewhat impatient and
self-indulgent, and find it hard to forgive. Setbacks can shift their
priorities from material preoccupation to spiritual transcendence.
3. Krittika (Alcyone 2-Pleiades): Krittika types are fiery, full of cre-
ative energy, highly ambitious, dedicated to divine service, self-mo-
tivated and "think big." They stand out in a crowd and can become
quite famous. They're prone to eating too much.
4. Rohlni (Aldebaran): Rohini gives a loving, truthful disposition,
serenity, a sense of responsibility and a love of the arts, beauty and
culture. If the Moon is afflicted, they may be prone to stubbornness,
anger, selfishness and fault -fmding.
5. Mrigashira (Lambda Orion is): Gentle, sensitive, highly perceptive,
drawn to romance, music and the arts, Mrigashiras prefer a quiet,
comfortable life, can be very hard working and are frequently
drawn to spiritual life. Some are haunted by self-doubt or egoity.
6. Ardra (Betelguese 7): FUll of vitality, good athletes, Ardras live life
with enthusiasm and intensity. Sympathetic and helpful, they're of-
ten drawn to the study of esoteric laws. If the Moon is afflicted, they
can be cruel, lashing out at others unfairly at times.
7. Punarvasu (Pollux 11): Good-natured, generous emotionally, pru-
dent financially, content to live a relaxed, uncluttered life, self-disci-
plined, yet playful. They need to guard against complacency and
watch their health. They make good friends.
8. Pushya (Delta Caner i): They are stable, easy going personalities,
prosperous, well educated, popular, virtuous, nice looking, forth-
right, intelligent and wise. Can be overly rigid, selfish and arrogant.
Productive and caring people who make good teachers.
9. Ashlesha (EpSilon Hydrae): Self-reliant, excellent communicators,
capable of great concentration and penetrating insight. Their candor
can turn to tactlessness, and they may manipulate truth to protect
themselves. Don't humiliate them; they will never forget it.
10. Magha (Alpha Leonis): Regal, ambitious, pleasure loving, physi-
cally strong, they easily rise to leadership positions, honor tradition
. and pursue noteworthy projects. They enjoy being served more than
serving, and they can fall prey to a voracious desire for sex.
11. Purva Phalguni (Delta Leonis): Magnanimous, loyal, delightful
conversationalists, earthy, attractive. They get their way without in-
timidating others. Often they are wanderers, drawn to the arts, and
enjoy life to the full. The body is usually healthy, but the mind is so
active and creative, they tend to leap before looking.
12. Uttara Phalguni (Beta Leonis): Likeable, generally well-to-do,
earning substantial salaries through their exceptional intelligence.
Make wonderful friends, and are always ready to help their com-
panions. Success, courage and love of adventure may appear, but ro-
mantic escapades may lead to trouble.
13. Hasta (Delta Corvi): Hard working, industrious and exceptional-
ly resourceful, they make fine artisans, specialists, business people
and teachers, but are not often leaders. May display intelligence, a
sharp wit and healing ability, also a lack of patience, and a deter-
mined effort to manipulate others for their own ends.
14. Chitra (Spica 16): Charming and stylishly dressed, drawn to any-
thing new or out of the ordinary. Magnets to the opposite sex, often
artistically gifted, they surround themselves with beautiful things.
May at times become self-indulgent. These are intelligent, honest,
efficient and never superficial people.
28 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998
atras
The Moon's location at birth along this ancient division of the ecliptic is,
says Hindu astrology, a prime indication of a person's basic characteristics
ART: A . MANIVELU
15. Svati (Arcturus 17): Independent, generally quiet, nice people
who control themselves in public. They are helpful, pleasant con-
versationalists and rarely hold grudges. Like travel and strongly at-
tracted to religion or philosophy. Sometimes they experience chron-
ic discontent.
16. Vishakha (Alpha 2 Libra): Purposeful, forceful, commanding in
appearance. Excellent public speakers who enjoy making money.
Courage, ambition and one-pointedness carry them quickly to their
goals. They revel in turmoil and enjoy a good argunIent.
17. Anuradha (Delta Scorpio): Well-to-do, they dislike austere
lifestyles, but have a deep spiritual nature. They value family and
friends, enjoy organizing projects and managing people. The less
mature are prone to jealousy and depression.
18. Jyeshtha (Antares 18): Deeply passionate, able leaders, re-
nowned for their adherence to virtue-and their testy tempera-
ments! Generally cheerful, but quite irascible when provoked, they
gladly fight to defend the helpless.
19. Mula (Lambda Scorpii): Set in their ways, clever, soft and happy
disposition, but somewhat suspicious of other people's motivations.
They tend to find their way to money, or money finds its way to
them.
20. Purvashadha (Delta Sagittarii): Patient, independent minded,
convincing in speech, proud, lucky in love, outgoing people who will
stick with their friends. Value their own opinions over other's.
21. Uttarashadha (PI Sagittarii): Popular, idealistic, influential, sta-
ble, introspective and ethical. Good both at starting projects and
completing them. Drawn to work which uplifts others. The less ma-
ture may be lazy, easily distracted or stressed out.
22. Shravana (Altair 20): Intelligent, well-educated, and prosperous.
A degree of fame usually comes their way. They love to learn, make
good teachers and enjoy traveling. Often drawn to religious life, or a
life of service, but they may become rigid or fanatical.
23. Dhanishtha (Alpha Delphini): Courageous, generous, often pros-
perous, upbeat, ambitious and with a universal outlook. They bring
people together for a worthy cause. Not easily fooled, they carefully
analyze any proposition put to them. Can be aggressive, rash or
overly conservative.
24. Satabhishak (Lambda Aquarii): Blunt but honest, disinclined to
conform, almost always get their way. Drawn to fields requiring pen-
etrating insight such as science or philosophy. Can become a mind-
less workaholic, private, hiding their real thoughts. Most devoted to
service of humanity, whether recognized or not.
25. Purva Prostapada (Beta Pegasi): F1ne speakers, good business
skills, can make money and hang onto it. Generally fairly serious
people, yet may act impetuously or have a hard time sticking to a de-
cision. The less mature can be phobic, cynical or may strike out vin-
dictively at others.
26. Uttara Prostapada (Gamma Pegasi): Well-balanced and ethical
people, kindly, self-sacrificing, supportive, very convincing in dis-
cussions. They sincerely enjoy family life and like to help others.
When conflicts or competition arise, they are likely to hold the
winning hand. Young souls can be lazy, irresponsible and envious.
27. Revati (Zeta Piscium): Healthy, intelligent, with a sweet disposi-
tion and artistically gifted, they love people, wish harm to no one
and nourish those in need. While they don't seek much for them-
selves, wealth and joy are often spontaneously bestowed on them.
The less mature may display an inferiority complex, a servile nature,
or fall prey to continual disappointments.
Nakshatras: Here with the Earth in the center is a diagram depict-
ing the 12 rasis, or signs, of the zodiac surrounded by the 27 naksha-
tras, according to their relative location in the heavens as seen from
the Earth. Each nakshatra is given a symbol related either to its sub-
tle vibration or to the shape of a nearby constellation of stars. There
are also four equal divisions of each nakshatra, making a total of 108
expressions of human nature.
NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 29

doing things requiring a harsh,
strong or cutting force.
Dreadful: Bharani, Magha,
Purva Phalguni, Purvashadha,
and Purva Prostapada. All stir
the mind, leading to evil deeds
such as setting fires, poisoning
and destruction, also imprison-
ment or confinement. Purva
Prostapada is good for repen-
tance and penance.
Mixed: Krittika and Vishakha
are best for mundane daily activ-
ities. Krittika can be good for
fire ceremonies due to its deity,
Agni. Excellent for meditation.
Dr. B. V. Raman, India's fore-
most astrologer, now in his 80S,
writes that "the constellation of
Pushya is the most favorable of all
the nakshatras. It is said to neu-
tralize almost all doshas or flaws
arising out of a number of ad-
verse combinations. Pushya, the
constellation par excellence, has
the power to overcome negative
forces and assert its benefic na-
ture. Despite all its positive influ-
ence, Pushya is still considered
Right Timing: AIl life's important or mundane activities go better when attuned to the Moon's vibration inauspicious for a marriage cere-
mony." The days from the third
ASTROLOGY quarter of Dhanishtha, the 23rd
nakshatra, to the end of Revati,
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Stars Above, Life Below the 27th, are unsuitable for any
kind of auspicious work, except
Uttara Prostapada. Each naksha-
tra has a set of syllables which
Take advantage of the good times and dodge the bad should be used to begin the name
of a person born under that nak-
shatra. This gives a name in har-
AKSHATRAS ARE A POWERFUL MEANS activities, doing healing work or administer- mony with the person's nature, and also is an
to find auspicious times for every ing medicines, opening a business, sales, easy way to record ones nakshatra.
imaginable human activity. They're trade and borrowing and repaying. By consulting an astrologer, or studying
also useful for avoiding actions on a Soft: Mrigrashira, Chitra, Anuradha and books on the subject, one can determine aus-
day when results are likely to be frustrated. Revati are excellent for learning music, picious times for celebrating samskaras, rites
In order to find that date when the cosmic dance and drama, performing auspicious of passage for children, medical treatment,
vibrations will be just perfect for you to ceremonies such as marriage, buying and beginning of education, etc. This more com-
make that big career move, buy a car or wearing new clothes, the enjoyment of plea- plex analysis, involving your own birth chart,
plant your garden, you need a panchan- sure, romance, conception of a child and the location of the planets during the time
gam-an astrological calendar-calculated making of friends. period in question, can more precisely bring
for your region [see resources]. The Moon's Fixed: Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara your desired aims into harmony with uni-
nakshatra is the same allover the world at Ashadha, Uttara Prostapada are good for versal energies-something that is not neces-
the same moment, but the human conven- permanent works such as making vows or sarily going to happen when you schedule
tions of time zones and the international taking oaths of office, building homes and activities only according to a conveniel!t.day
date line make the calendars produced in laying the foundations of cities, plowing the of the week. Those who live by this ancient
one place not applicable to another. Pan- land, planting and purchasing farms. lunar calendar swear it empowers their life.
changam in hand, you can proceed to re- Moveable: Purnarvasu, Svati, Shravana, One way to fmd out is to try it. ..-
search dates according to the following re- Dhanishtha and Satabhishak are good for RESOURCES: PANCHANGAMS: HINDUISM TODAY HTTP://
WWW, HINDU,ORClsCIENCES/PANCHANGAM.HTML; PALANI
commendations. In general, activities will buying vehicles, for parades, gardening, PANCHANG, 4831 PIPER STREET, FREMONT, CALIFORNIA
9 4538, USA. EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES CORPORATION OF
bear more productive fruit if the Moon is change of residence or career, travel and AMERICA, PO BOX 88852 WORLD WAY CENTER, LOS ANGE-
waxing, that is, moving in the brightest phase other major life changes. LES, Ct\. 90009, USA, BOOIS: MYTHS AND SYMBOLS OF VEDIC
ASTROLOGY, BY BEPIN BEHAR!, PASSAGE PRESS, PO BOX
toward full moon day Sharp: Ardra, Aslesha, Jyeshtha and Mula. 21713. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84121-°713 , USA; NilSHA-
TRAS BY DENNIS HARNESS P.O. BOX 2 149, SEDONA, ARIZONA
The nakshatras are divided into seven de- Their vibration contributes to separation 86339 USA; NAXSHATRA, BY K.T. SHUBHAKARAN, SAGAR
scriptive categories as follows: from spouse or friends, argument, the work- PUBLICATIONS, 72 JANPATH , YEn MANSION, NEW DELHI 110
001 I NDIA [ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE}; LIGlIT ON LIFE, BY
Light: Ashvini, Pushya and Hasta are es- ing of black magic, exorcism, punishment HART DEFOUW, AVAILABLE F ROM JDR VENTURES, 918
DOUGLAS DRIVE, WOOSTER, OH 44691 USA.
pecially good constellations for travel, sports and harm to others. These are good days for

30 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER, 1998


z ding, this all-important point was well con-
<
z
"<
~
By LAVINA MELWANI, NEW YORK
Lavish Sindhi wedding celebrations signal the MOUND OF SALT BETWEEN THEM, THE
new bride, resplendent in her fmery,
thriving of Hinduism in a Caribbean outpost shyly picks up a handful in her palms
and passes it to the bridegroom, who
hands it back to her. Thrice the salt exchange
takes place, after which,the bride touches his
feet. She repeats the ceremony with all her
new in-laws, bowing to the elders and hug-
ging the others, including the family cook, to
ensure good relations in her new life.
This ancient custom, datar, has been
handed down through generations of Sindhi
Hindu families and has become a part of
their Vedic wedding rituals. One would ex-
pect to see it in Sindh, Pakistan, India-even
in New York City-but it was a bit startJing
to. observe it on the holiday resort island of
Barbados, a place populated by touris~,
where rum is the drink of the day and flying
fish is the national dish.
Althougl{ the bridegroom was born ip Sri
Lanka and the bride in Spain, they had met
in Miami. At heart, both wanted nothing
less than a real Indian wedding. They con-'
sidered traveling to India, but decided to
wed in Barbados, which is now their home.
• The preparations started a full year in ad-
vance. Since there are so few Indian images
in Barbados, the bridegroom's mother took a
trip to Mumbai and Delhi to purchase the
Kinship: The bride (right) and her new sister-
in-law exchange salt in a ritual of bonding
32 HINDUISM TODAY NOVEMBER , 1998
Sind hi rite: Seven married women assist the bridegroom's mother in prayers for the couple
paraphernalia, including huge cutouts of
Radha-Krishna and the Taj Mahal, to pro-
vide a backdrop for the boisterous sangeet
and mehndi party. With no Indian grocery
stores or restaurants, everything Indian in
Barbados, from dals to DJs, is brought in
from Miami or New York.
For wedding services, even the priest is
imported- a practice common to most of
these islands, including St. Martins, St.
Thomas and Jamaica. Priests are generally
invited from New York, since they are more
famili!l1"'-with Sindhi traditions. This season,
however, all the New York priests were
booked solid with weddings in the city, so
the Sabnanis hired a priest from Trinidad,
who performed the Vedic rites beautifully.
Barbados has a tightly-knit community of
just 80 Sindhi families, and everyone of
them has a home shrine. The, Sabnanis'
shrine is especially handsome, with beauti-
ful idols and pictures, incense, beJli; and a
light which burns constantly, be it day or
night. It is this spiritual spark which is re-
markable about the community here. In-
deed, for many years the Sindhis kept Hin-
duism alive solely through their private
shrines at home, which paid tribute"to every
Hindu deity, to the Bhagavad Gita and the
Guru Granth Sahib, too. A Hindu temple
for the community was a dream for a long
time, but it was only a few years back that a
Sindhi businessman and philanthropist do-
nated the building which has become Bar-
bados' firs~and only Hindu temple.
Many Sindhi families face · a universal
dilemma. As older generations pass on, the
younger ones discover they do not know the
rituals of their faith. Nor do many Hindu
priests know the regional customs. Even
some of the elder statesmen of the communi-
ty have lived on the island so long that they
are uncertain of the original rites. Many of
the younger women voiced this concern to
me, hoping that !i book on Sindhi customs for
the passings of life might be published to give
them guidelines on the appropriate behavior.
But Pundit Jeevan Maharaj of Trinidad
l<.elieves the future looks bright for Hindu-
ism in the islands of the Caribbean. A son of
the Dharmacharya of Trinidad and Tobago,
Maharaj grew up in Guyana. He went to col-
lege, pursued a legal career and now travels
through the islands, even to Canada and
America, conducting Ramayana, {'urana
and Bhagwat yajnas, as well as weddings.
His message to the isolated islanders is,
"People are getting ahead in life, but they
are not getting along. They are getting mon-
ey, but losing their children; getting name
and fame, but losing their culture. You can't
keep telling children about an India of thou-
sands of years ago while they are watching
American television of the present in the
Caribbean. So :t:.0u can't blame them for a
sense of confusion and loss. We have to cre-
NOVEMBER ,
J
ate a fine balance. Many of us are so busy
trying to get our children all the things we
didn't have, that we forget to'pass on to them
the things we did have."
The earliest Sindhi settlers came from Ra-
jasthan and Bombay 50 years ago, before In-
dependence. In fact, a few hardy souls were
there early in 1945. Some of the first families
who came here were the Thanis, Motwanis
and Kripalani, and these are still well-known
names on the island. Many of these entre-
preneurs started their businesses in the old
days by going into the countryside on bicy-
cles and selling their goods from suitcases.
Today, the Indian community com.,prises
people from many regions, but the primary
graup is still the Sindhis. According to
Prakash Mahtani, a community leader, 95
percent of the members of the Hindu Asso-
ciation of Barbados are Sindhis. A majority
of Hindus in Barbados are followers of Ma-
haraj Charansinghji of Beas (a district of
Amritsar in the Punjab), Sri Satya Sai Baba
or Sadhu Vaswani. It is a community of
many vegetarians and teetotalers. In fact,
when the Sabnanis planned their son's wed-
sidered. They had to make sure the cake
and refreshments would not offend anyone.
Barbados is part of the Lesser Antilles,
bounded by the Caribbean Sea on the one
side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. Just
21 miles long by 14 miles wide, it is so flat
that Christopher Columbus didn't even spot
it when he discovered the neighboring is-
lands. Apart frpm the sun, sand and sugar
cane, Barbados' most winning resource is its
people-a warm, friendly lot who go out of
their way to help newcom~rs.
. With the opening of a giant new software
solutions company, Barbados is fast becom-
ing the quintessential destination for Indian
computer programmers. Srinivasan Vishy is
the president of PRT Group Inc., which is
headquartered in New York and services
-Fortune 500 companies. The company has
launched its new software solutions compa-
ny, TTSL, in Barbados, where it employs sev-
eral hundred people. The company is active,
ly recruiting computer programmers from
India to work and live here. If they have their
way, thousands will come. US Visa quotas for
such engineers are 30,000 per year, while
300,000 jobs go unfilled. TTSL hopes to fill
the market need by establishing a program-
ming base offshore. They offer unparalled
personal attention to employees, including
giving them the apartment of their dreams.
Barbados is a special place, where your
spiI'its are lifted by the perfect play of sun,
sky and sand and the happy smiles of Bar-
badian schoolchildren walking hand in
hand. Long after you return home, as I did
to New York in August, the memories stay
with you, turning the coldest days of winter
into summer once again. ..,..,
1998 HINDUISM TODAY 33
 Pooja, Devotional and Wedding Items Finest Research in Hindu Astrology
DEFAMATION
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through the Internet. There was no re-
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the mailing addresses of the officials at Dis-
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Marion, VA 24354-2534 USA
Tel: 540-782-9987 • Fax: 540-782-9697
~ ;to ;:rllrnCfT Fax: 732-750-4908 • stellargroup@worldnet.att.net eager to take up the matter, but they were Much of her ordeal was simply waiting.
We accept VISA and MasterCard engaged in a skirmish with Sony over the Six months later, a letter from Disney stated
defamation of Lord Krishna [Hindu Protest that they were looking into the matter. Fear-
Forces Sony to Remake CD, July 1997]. A ing that her appeal was drowning in red
Main attraction: Prominent website ad "higher official" at a famous Hindu Temple tape, Krishnan renewed her effort to get
in the LoS'Angeles area told her, "Lady, you people to write to Disney. Finally, in late July
T TOOK MORE' THAN A YEAR TO GET can do what you want. My one phone call to she received a ~ordialletter from Christine
Disney to understand our sentiments Disney will take care of this problem."
experience the Gift of
Goosman, a senior show writer in Show
and do the right thing," explains South- Apparently it did not. After seeing no Writing and Concept Development: "I apol-
ern California housewife Jayashree Kr- change during a visit to Disney in the spring ogize for the delay. I waite9- to write this let-
ishnan. "Fired up by the article I read in of '97, Krishnan concluded it was up to her ter until the situation had been resolved and

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alone. She collected signatures from friends
at the Chinmaya Kasi center in Anaheim,
California. Bramachari Someshwar, the res-
I could bring you a positive response. Fol-
lowing in-house discussions with our de-
signers and management, the statue of
ident acharya, spoke to the congregation to Ganesha has been removed from the queue
rally support. Sp.e distributed pictures and
area and is no longer in public view. We are
·sorry that the inclusion of the figure caused
offense, but want to assure you that the sit-
uation has been corrected. Thank you for
taking the time to write us with your con..
cerns and for your patience in awaiting a re-
sponse. Your input was of great value to us."
Triumphant and relieved, Krishnan ex-
ults, "One of the most satisfying moments of
my life was receiving that letter. Without the '
article in HINDUISM TODAY, I would not
have become aware of such an insult to Lord
Ganesha by an American icon."
Another Ganesha still sits contentedly in
the adjacent Jungle Cruise ride. His sur-
rouhdings are natural, not derogatory, so His
placeTent was never found offensive. ~
CONTACT: DAVE FISHER, DISNEY, POST OFFICE BOX 25020 ,
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA 92112 USA

Statutory statues: (above) Ganesha in the

Jungle Cruise ride; (left) A 1996 photo of
the "Indy" Ganesha before His removal

34 NOVEMBER , Igg8 HINDUISM TODAY 35

 - ~ - - -----------~
- - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- - - - ---- - -~---------~-----------

I'
,,
t
I

DISCRIMINATION
. His case has been in the local newspa~
Treasures of India Visit Barsana Dham, Austin, Texas I

pers, as well as India Abroad. There was a The fInest images Established by H.D. Swami

Symbol ·of -Goo'd and Ev.i l report or two on the radi6, but Kaushal com-
plains that all this has been too brief and too
shallow. "1 wish someone would get this
created by the
most talented
artists in contem-
Prakashanand Saraswati.

We invite you to visit Shree

across to the American public, with a televi- porary village India. Raseshwari Radha Rani
Hindu sues Hyatt hotel for religious discrimination sion documentary or something, to let people Recently featured Temple at Barsana Dham
know there are very different meanings." in the Atlanta and receive the Divine
after being fired for draWing his swastika The swastika is a symbol of unknow.n ori- Festival of India blessings of Radha Krishn.
gin that has been employed for thousands of Celebrations! All of
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vegetarian Hindu from New Del- used by American Indians. • Kachila Stone (our specialty)-from $25 to $1,000 In an increasingly complex field of
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ma at work one day. His employ- Punjab and moved to New Delhi gies, it is wise to rely on professional
ment of over twelve years at the at age four, the swastika had al- Paintings on: counsel for retirement and estate i
Hyatt Regency in WoodfIeld, just ways been the symbol of every- • Silk-from $30 to $800 planning. For information, contact
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The image .was immediately ~ ,. When 1 got married, this was the Atlanta, GA 30306-3472 USA San Francisco, CA 94111-2850
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complained. Kaushal made efforts this is the fIrst sign we put on the
to explain to his seniors that in his religion the ily. I am not going to resign. I don't know what building." He is painfully aware of the irony-
swastika is a prevalent image associated with you are thinking. This is my religious sym- his symbol of goodness is another man's sym-
auspiciousness. But they were not convinced. bol." Kaushal claims he had n0 knowledge of bol of evil-and he struggles with the impli-
He was asked to resign, and when he didn't, how deep the revulsion for die swast ika runs cations of hi~ case. "Its a hard lesson for me to
was fIred days later. Kaushal is now suing the in the West. He told HINDUISM TODAY, "I did learn. 1 just want the public to know that our
hotel giant for religious discrimination, seek- not mean to offend anybody. Now that I have symbol has a very different meaning."
The Sixth
ing reinstatement, back pay ahd damages. learned more about it, I do feel sorry for the Prior to press time fOJ this issue, Kaushals International
Married with two boys, ages 5 and 2 , thir- holocaust victims. But people should also be case was scheduled for mid-October. His at-
ty-six-year-old Kaushal told his supervisor, aware that this is our religious symbol. We torney was optimistic. w/ Symposium
"There is no way thaI:'I am going to resign af- Hindus have been using it long before
ter working for so long with the com}'lany. If I anybody else. It is very hard for 'me to
was young, I wouldn't care. But I have a fam- get this through to the public." ASTROLOGY FEATURED SPEAKERS FROM INDIA
,.N. Sharma, C.S. Patel and Niranjan Babu
Astrology was developed by the ancient sages of India over
5 ,000 years ago. Called )yotisha, the Science of Light, it is renowned
fACULTY
james Braha Andrew Foss R.G. Krishnan
Ancient Icon prohibited. After the outbreak
of World War II, four Arizona
the use of the
emblem com-
for its spiritual depth and accuracy in predicting future events.
Goals of the Vedic Astrology Symposium are:
Howard Beckman Dr. Dav id Frawley William R. Levacy

HO .COULD FORESEE
tribes protested Nazi aggres-
sion by banning the swastika.
monly know.n
today as the
* To promote the development of the
American College of Vedic Astrology as
t:j{.
_~
Kathleen Burt
Christina Collins-Hill
Gary Gomes
Dennis M. Harness, PhD
Pt. Benu Mukhopadhyay
Ann Muldoon

that the battle of The proclamation of the ban swastika, or a non-profit educational organization ~ Nalinikanta Das Edith Hathaway Barry Rosen

World War II in Europe (photo right) reads, "Because fylfot, on our * To establish professional standards in the Yves Decarie
Narendra Desai
Richard Houck
Kenneth johnson
Dr. Dinesh Sharma

* training and practice of Vedic Astrology Prince Hirindra Singh, PhD

would deeply impact na- the above ornament, which blankets, bas-
To promote the free exchange ideas among Ronnie Gale Dreyer james Kelleher Atreya Smith
tive American Indian tradi- has been a symbol of friend- kets, art ob-
practitioners and students of various schools Brendan Feeley Sat Siri Khalsa Steven Stuckey
tions for decades? ship among our jects, sand- of astrology Dennis Flaherty Robert Koch
The swastika was
one of the most
forefathers for many
centuries, has been
paintings and
clothing." Never again: Hopi, Fred Kabotie, (left) and
* To provide accredited classes and workshops
for certification in Vedic Astrology
Dr. Bangalore Sureshwara
Chakrapani Ullal I

used ancient sym- desecrated recently The specific Apache, Miguel Flores, banning the swastika o Please register me for attendance at the International Symposium
1~".U::l.I.dJII""". Savings for Early Registration! on Vedic Astrology, November 12-17, 1998, atthe Poco Diablo Resort,
bols of the Native by another nation list of restric- Sedona, AZ. Enclosed is payment of $_ _ for _ _ Registration feels)
IKI~gI~itriltlll'n fees for main symposium (Nov. 13-15):
Americans. This of peoples, there- tions signifies the extent to be if Hindus were to proscribe o
fact is little know.n, fore, it is resolved which the tribes had used the the use of the sacred
for ACVA Members (by 10/15/98)
for non-members (by 10/15/98)
,.-:::-----::--::-:----.,.-,--,--.,----,,,-----,
* Send more information on the SymposiJm and hotel accommodations
Optional pre-conference introductory classes and post-conference
intensives will also be offered .
not because it's use that henceforth, motif in every aspect of their symbol, Aum.
$275 after (l0/15/98)
was insignificant, from this date on daily life up to the time of the RESOURCE : THE SWASTIXA: A HISTORY,
but because in Feb- INSTlTUn OF VEDIC ASTROLOGY
and forever more, ban, perhaps even more so BY ROBERT R. WEGER, rnEBOR REGEW
_ __ __ __ _ _ _ _ _~State_Zip _ __
AND ASSOCIATES, BOX 1806, LAFAYETTE , P.O. BOX 2149· SEDONA, AZ 86339
ruary, 1940, it was our tribes renounce than Hindus. A parallel might CALIFORNIA 9454 9 USA
Phone (520) 282-6595 • FAX (520) 282-6097
Website http:\ \a"cva.sedona.net· e-mail acva@sedona.net _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Exp.Date --.l _

36 HINDUISM TODA.Y NOVEMBER , 1998 ~~~====================~~37

 r

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During Ramanand Sagar's' "Ramayan" telecast Siva alone of all the Gods is considered
on TV, as the episode approached when Sita's the most desirable type of husband. Un- ,
fidelity was to be tested with an agnipariksha married women fast on Mondays praying

"Sweet" ,
(fire ordeal), the serial makers were flooded in
advance with so many letters protesting the
depiGtion of Sita going through the agniparik-
sha that he had to deviate from his text and
show a mock agnipariksha, witli the TV Ram making it clear that
to Siva that He bless them with Parvatis
good fortune. Why? Because Siva is single
minded in his devotion to Parvati. He has
rio eye for any other woman. When she
immolates herself as Sati to protest her father's ins,ult of her hus-

Sattvic, he did not doubt Sita's chastity. Clearly, Ram's injustice to Sita hung
so heavily on the collectjve conscience of Indians that they will-
ingly demanded even a'sacred text be altered.
I witnessed the power of Sims story ,to move men's hearts in
band, Siva is ready to burn down the whole world and rests only
after he has brought her back to life. She carries treQ1endous influ-
ence in his activities, a companion and advisor rather than a
servile wife. They are our mythology's most celebrated and happy
couple, representing per!ect joy in togetherness, including iI;t their

Jyotish
Maharashtra. I was working on the Lakshmi Mukti program to
persuad~ peasants of the organization, Shetkari Sangathana, to ,
empower women by voluntarily transferring a portion of the fam-
ily land in the name of the wife. During our campaign, Sangathan~
sexual union. Yet, Parvati had not been able to seduce him with
her physical charm. She did rigorous austerities to win him.
Why do women want a Siva-like husband and not a Krishna or

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Often no better than Ram treated Sita! When Ram was banished
for 14 years Sita could have stayep. back, but she insisted, 'Wherev-
er go'es Ram, there goes Sita. My place is by your side.' She suf- .
fered numerous privations for him jQyfully. Though Ram's enemy,
Ravan, respected her chastity when she was captured by him, and
, did not violate Sita against her wishes, her own husband subjected
her to the cruel humiliation of a&nipariksha to prove her chastity.
Even fire could not touch her. But on their return to his kingdom,
at the mere hint of a slanderous remark by a laundryman, Ram
asks b akshman to take away Sita ana. leave her in a forest without
explanation. Maharani (Great Queen) Sita became a beggar
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preaching its...Vi.rtue to women, most men have found it hard to live
by those norms. And women have had a hard time trying to hold
. 'men to it by making their own lives examples to be emulated in
this respect. Some succeed partially, some well, some not at all. But
most keep trying because they know if they give up or take to the
ways of men, there is little possibility of fmding an emotionally
stable family life for themselves and their children.
MADHU KISHWAR, 47, New Delhi, editor of Manushi, India's lead-
ing'magazine on human issues, espeCially women right's, is an eru-
dite activist in the effort to raise up the qualify of life in India.
NOVEMBER , 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 39
 dames Braha-dyotish Kovid A Modern Master of Solar Yoga
James Braha, 20 years experience, is Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov is
author of Ancient Hindu Astrology for
the Modern Western Astrologer, How
"...a great modern master of
Solar Yoga" - Georg
Feuerstein, Ph.D. ,
Child Abuse
to Predict your Future-Secrets of
Eastern and Western Astrology, How author of Shambhala
to be a Great Astrologer and Astro- Enclyopedia of Yoga. To identify and prevent
Logos-Revelations of a Hindu •
Astrologer. Call about lectures, work- Surya Yoga is fundamental to
shops, brochures: James T. Braha Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov's - OU GREET YOUR SCHOOL STUDENTS
680 Fox St • Longboat Key, FL teaching. In the first three of one morning and Devi, usually cheer-
34228 USA • Tel: 941-387-9101 the following volumes, he ful' walks in the classroom looking
http://braha.home.mindspring.com explores the Sun's role as a sullen, with a slight limp, and, oh, it
giver of light and life and as a looks like there may even be a red mark on
symbol of the transcendental her cheek. What should y.ou do?
light of the divine. The fourth As child abuse escalat~s, parents are ask-
volume, The Mystery of Light, ing: What is child abuse? How do I talk to
Answers to Eternal Questions is the first book-length account of Master Aivanhov's children about sexual abuse? Who are the
remarkable life and teaching. "I'll teach you ..." Sure. These kids won't be in any mood ~o learn after this lesson abusers? Are my children at risk? How do I
Where have you come from? Where • Toward a Solar Civilization US$6.95 cope if my child is abused? Nowhere are an-
will you go when you leave this life? • Light is a Living Spirit 6.95 LEA.RNING swers more thoroughly given than in James 'I
You can find the answers to these • The Splendour of Tiphareth (Surya Yoga) 14.95 A. Monteleone, M.D's, new A Parent's &
/
questions within you.
"I entered this life to reveal Christ
Consciousness." -Normal Paulsen
• The Mystery of Light by Georg Feuerstein
Prices do not include shipping. For a free catalog:
• USA: Prosveta USA, PO Box 49614, Los Angeles, CA
14.95
Do Smacks Lower Smarts? Teacher's Handbook on Identifying and Pre-
venting Child Abuse, (G.W Medical Pub-
lishing). It's not that Dr. Monteleone wasn't
Books and video available from: 90049-0614 • Tel: 310-458-3331 dealing with abuse for many years. It's just
• Australasia: Suryoma Ltd: PO Box 798, Brookvale . Punishment leaves intel}igence behind, says study that, until now, there was no request for
The Solar Logos Foundation NSW 2100, Australia • E-mail: suryoma@worldnet.fr practical, hands-on information for parents.
PO Box 2008- H
Buellton, CA 93427-2008 USA
• Americasia Global Marketing:
Clementi Central Post Office, PO Box 108
. -\
OUNG ASHOK WAS CANED ONE MORN- not an absolute decrease in cognition."
You'll fInd out what abusive injuries look
like (paleness, sweating, vomiting or diffi-
Tel: 888-689-0352. Fax: 805-688-9998 Singapore 911204 • 'leI: 65-892-0503 • Fax: 65-95-199-198 ing before school for pushing his sister. Straus believes one reason for higher cog- culty in breathing can mean an infant was
1l!och!ags of tho WNBn GDootIc aDd HiDdu. ThIdltIom - - - - - - ' j Next door, Kugan pushed his sister, but nitive ability in children spanked the least is shaken), what behavioral signs mean and
instead of caning, mom sat him down that, wanting to avoid corporal punishment, don't mean (injuring pets can indicate a
and calmly explained more appropriate be- "parents use more verbal methods of con- child is abused) .and how
havior. That day in school, was Ashok as re- trol, such as explaining to the child." Some --=---------,. to communicate
The only resource that will help you confidently choose .ceptive to learning 'as Kugan? Not according parents think explaining correcfbehavior
• to the University of New Hampshire's Mur- is a waste, but research shows these ver-
ray Straus, co-director of the Family Re- bal parent-child interactions enhance the
caregivers and safeguard your children. search Laboratory (www.unh.etlulfrV) and child's cognitive stimulation. Straus's study
author of numerous studies on after-effects also confIrms recent brain research showing
of corporal punishmeqt. He and Mallie that we "downshift" from our brain's cere-
NEW! AParent's &Teacher's Handbook on Identifying and Preventing Paschall have found th'llt children who are bral cortex (cognitive learning center) into
Child Abuse $19.95, plus $5.95 shipping & handling (ISBN 878060·27-9)
never or rarely spanked have higher s~ ores instinctiveness when faced with 'threat.
on tests of cognitive ability (knowing Even if the parent says she is smacking
For every parent who has felt helpless to protect a child from abuse, this resource offers empower- through .awareness, perception, reasoning, "with love," can. we honestly expect tllat a
ment. In layman's language with an easy-to-follow format, the authors (all experts in their fields) ex- judgmel\t) than . those frequently spanked. spank seems nonthreatening to a child? No.
plain what is and is not abuse, and describe in detail the physical and behavioral indicators of physi- Spanking refers to several forms of punish- In another study ,about learning, Claudia
cal, sexual and psychological abuse. Strategies for discussing personal body safety with children are ment, such as slapping, caning or paddling. Mueller and Carol Dweck of Columbia Uni-
The fmdings are based on a representative versity found that children told they_were
presented, along with clear-cut steps to take when a child discloses that he/she has been abused.
sample of 960 US children ages one to four smart were vulnerable to setbacks, while
Drawing on the advice of real families who have dealt with abuse, the handbook describes at the start of the study. The study took into those praised for their efforts were not. '
how the legal and social systems process a child abuse case. Stressing prevention, it offers help account many other factors that could affect "Praising childrens' intelligence, far from with children regarding body safety issues
with choosing a daycare center or babysitter, keeping discipline from becoming physically or a childs cognitive ability-mothe\"s age, ed- boosting their self-esteem, encourages them (just as you'd teach kids to look both ways
emotionally abusive, and creating a supportive home environment. A chapter on the Inter- ucatilm, whether the father was present in to embrace self-defeating be4aviors like before crossing a street, while sparing gory
net £uniliarizes parents with cyberspace and how molesters use chat rooms and web sites to the household, number of childrer( in the worrying about failure and avoiding,:risks," details of what it's like to be run down, you
contact children. Safety guidelines for computer use by children are included. family, mother's supportiveness and cogni- Dweck said. "But when children are taught can teach about sexual abuse without being
Abuse scars a child for life. Because the stakes are so great, we've loaded this volume with tive stimulation, ethnic group and the child's the value of concentrating, strategizing and graphic). Dr. Monteleone explains how to
tables, illustrations and case histories, all at a most reasonable price. Invest in its knowledge age, gender and birth weight. working hard in dealing with academic work with US laws, create a supportive
and help protect our children. "Cognitive ability of children ' who were challenges, they're encouraged to sustain home environment and how to keep kids
not spanked in either of two sample weeks their motivation, performance and self-es- saf~ on the Internet. In the first edition of
Four easy ways to order: increit>ed, while cognitive ability of children teem." Bottom line-it's better to praise An- the book, Dr. Monteleone disapproved of
who were frequently spanked decreased," jali for her hard work than for her brains. most corporal punishment, but his next edi-
1) Call toll-free: 1-800-600-0330 (U.S.) or 2) Fax: 314-298-2820 (U.S.) reports Straus. "Children who were spanked Since discipline means "to teach" and cor- tion makes a compelling argument that any'
or 3) E-mail: info@gwmedical.com or 4) Mail to: didn't get dumber. The study shows that poral punishment is now scientifically form of physical punishment is abusive. ...~
spanking is associated with falling behind proven to impair learning ability, Hindus C.W. MEDICAL PUBLISHING, 2.601 METRO BLVD, ST. LOUIS, MIS-
G. W. Medical Publishing, Inc., 2601 Metro Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63043 the average rate of cognitive development, should avoid viotent child rearing. ~ SOURI 63043 USA, WEBSITE : www.gwmedicalcom

Visit our web site at www.gwmedical.com

40 NOVEMBER, 1998 HINDUISM TODAY 41
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 .... _------------------------------- .. .. ------------~==

RI:CENT DONORS

Hindu Businessmen's Association 'frust Kriya Haran $141.00 Malaysian Hindu Youth Educational Trust
Vel Alahan $155.56 Edwin Hawk $1,405.35 Jeyasreedharan $40.00
Manogaran Mardemootoo $21.39 Diksha Kat ir $82.40 Total $40.00
M I SSION STATEMENT Nathan Palani $31.20 Andrzej & Beatriz Kraja $50.00
Mathavasi Medical Fund
Small gifts to fu nd $22.46 Sadhunathan Nadesan $308.00
Anonymous $24.00
Hindu Heritage Endowment is a publicly supported, charitable organization te~ognized as tax ex- Total $230.61 Deva Natharaja
Umah Rani Palanisamy
$1,780.00
$71.35
Gow ri Nadaso n $30.00
Hindu Orphanage Endowment Fund
empt by the IRS on April 22, 1994. Its emyloyer ID nlll!lber is 99-0308924. Foun~d by" Satguru'
Total $54.00
Ka nthasamy Pillaiyar $110.00
Anonymous $134.00
Saiva Siddhanta Church $7,1 66.16 Mathavasi Travel Fund
Raj & Sun ita Kumar $101.00
Padmin i Samuthiran $3 18.26 Erasenthiran Poonjolai $75.00
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, its philanthropic mission is to'provide secure, professionally managed Small gifts to fu nd $60.00
Hitesvara Saravan $413.90 Total $75.00
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financial support for instihltions and religious leaders of all lineages of Sanatana Dharma. Hinduism Today Endowment Trust Palaka Shivam $300.00
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Markandeya Peruman $25.00
Robert Sorrells $180.00 Yatrikadevi Shivam $200.00
Total $25.00
N OVEM.~ER DONOR PROFILE Small gifts to fu nd
Total
$70.00
$250.00
Peshala Varadan
Vayudeva Varadan
$235.75
$444.10 Thank You Gurudeva Fund
Small gifts to fund Kailash Sivam Dhaksinamurthi $5 1.00
Sharing a profound interest in things mystical and beginning their Hinduism Today Distribution Fund $36.47
Total $13,973.8 1 Larry Gibson $50.00
study of traditional Hinduism together, Markandeya and Sundari Peru- Hotranatha Ajaya $630.31
Satya Palan i $40.00
Appamal Athimulam $37.93 Jyarappan Temple Trust
man were married in 1961. They moved to Houston, Texas, in 1977, and Jatinder Bhan $46.00 Alphonse Van Well $50.00
Markandeya Peruma n $50.00
Vayudeva Varadan $52.00
became active members of the Sri MeeI1jlkshi Temple. Often, temple Ravindra Doorgiat $38.22 Total $50.00
Small gifts to fund $35.08
devotees came to look to this elderly coupl~ <tlmost as grandparents. As Kartikeyen Manick $30.39 Kauai Aadheenam Annual Archana Fund Total $278.08
Logadasan Murugesu $45.00 (
one family said, "Their impact on all our lives is huge, especially with Logadassen Raday $40.73
Prasana Samugam $44.28 Trrunavakkarasu Nayanar Gurukulam Fund
Small gifts to fund _ $83.94
our spiritual growth. I-am glad our children had the blessing of learn- P Rajagopalan $52.00 Small gifts to fund $72.20
Total $128.22
ing Hinduism from Markandeya and Sundari. They are like family to Guha Skanda $40.00 Total $72.20
Omkar Tiku $52 .00 Kalakshetra Scholarship Fund
us." When Sundari (photo left) departed from this world in 1995, Total of Small Funds $55.00
Bhamar & Kanta Trivedi $50.00 Manickam Shanmugam $20.00
Markandeya and son Ravi started a memorial endowment to which Saravan Veylan $65.54 Total $20.00 Personal Income Endowment

anyone who loved or admired Sundari Per~man is welcome to donate. The fund is dedicated to Small gifts to fu nd $204.90 KauaiAadheenam Monastic Endowment
HHE's Pooled Income Funds allows individu-
als to maintain a personal income while giv-
Total $1,333 .02 Vinaya Alahan
teaching Hindu children in A1p.erica about thsir religion. $300.00
ing generously to support the work of Hindu
Iraivan Temple Endowment Ramsamy Natarajan $16.09
Heritage Endowment.
Rathi Devi Batumallah $44.00 Ramsamy Pillay Samoo $138.47
VeiAlahan $5,000.00
FUND OF THE MONTH Veerasamy Batumallah $44.00 Total $454.56
Deva Raja n $5,000.00
Kailash Sivam Dhaksinamurthi $221.67 Loving Ganesha Distribution Fund Total $ 10,000.00
Toshadeva Lynam Guhan $186.10
A remote jewel floating in the Indian ocean, Mauritius is a pilgrimage destination10r sophisticated Chitravelloo Gunasegaran $58.50
Eric Mitchell $10.00
Manoharan Navaratnarajah $25.00 Total Recent Contrib. $27,369.50
tourists from three continents. N9w pilgrims of ~ ~ Mohana Sundari Gunasegaran $56.80 Total $35.00 Total Endowments at Market Value
another sort are journeying to a fishing village
Our sincere gratitude goes out to each and every individual who has given to one As ofJuly 31 , 1998 $2,513,997.53
on the Nortneast coast of this island where a
of the endowment funds of Hindu Heritage Endowment, helping to strengthen
unique nine-foot tall, five-faced statue of Gane- Hinduims for generations yet to come. HHE's goal is $50,000 a month to really
sha emanates a serene sense of sanctity that make a difference. All donations are income tax-deductible in the US.
pervades the surrounding spiritual park. Gane-
sha is enshrined in an imposing Kerala-style
INVESTMENT MANAGERS AND CONSULTANTS: Franklin Management Inc.; First Hawaiian Bank,
mandapam (right), and visitors find that peace
Trust & Investment Division; Brandes Investment Partners, Inc.; Pacific Century Trust (Bank of
of mind comes quickly in this beautiful seacoast
Hawaii); Alvin G. BUchignani, Esq., attorney; and Nathan Palani, CPA. HHE is a: member of the
sanctuary. You can help support this spiritual
Council on Foundations, an association of 1,500 foundations which interprets relevant law, interl1a-
park by checking the "Panchamukha Ganapati
tional and domestic, and acc9unting, management and investment principles.
Endowment" on the enclosed donation card.

A PROFESSIONAL'S PERSPECJ1VE: In general, you and your spouse may make tax-free transfers to ; I WANT TO PARTICIPATE. WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY DONATION? You can send your gift to an
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in a Minors Trusf may be used by or for the benefit of the child before age 21, and the remainder our family of benefactors who are Strengthening Hinduism Worldwide. Thank you.
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HINDU HERITAGE ENDOWMENT
ages the property in a custodial account until.it must be turned over to the
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107 Kaholalele Road
trust and a custodianship, there are many tax and non-tax factors to consider.
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and more"'tax advantages, but the custodianship is not as flexible as the trust Tel: (800) 890-1008, Ext. 235
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HEALING
How About a
to D 'ie 'I;or?
• Swami Bhuteshanandlijl Maharlij, in
Diet
Indiscriminate food habits lead to obesity,
malnutrition, heart disease and arteriolsclerosis
BY DEVANANDA TAND~VAN,
S I HAVE MENTIONED IN
the past, the traditional'
South Indian vegetarian
diet is an excellent bal-
ance of protein, fat and carbohy-
drates with no emphasis op
undesirable fats. However, the
diet I have encountered on my
many·Indian pilgrimages is
something dif(erent. .What is
served by the Tamil Nadu tourist
facilities and many of the other restaurants
throughout tpe south of India, as well as in
many homes, is truly a sad example of a
good, healthy diet.
The food served to the public, and in-
creasingly cominon in homes, is slowly
killing people by creating or fostering the
problems of obesity, arteriosclerosis, coro-
nary heart disease and other degenerative
diseases. This modern makeshift diet con-
tains too much fat a.qd sugar. There are too
few vegetables, and what vegetables are
served have been cooked to a mush of little
nutritional value. The quality of fat used in
frying is of the worst kind-the so-called
tropical fats that are highly saturated-
coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.
Restaurants and many private homes use
and reuse these fats until they no longer
remain liquid. Ii: is common knowledge
throughout the world that whenever fat is
heated, the fat breaks down to harmful
unknown and unnatural prod\lcts. It is also
common knowledge, even in India, that the
use of saturated fats contributes fo cardio-
vascular disease and other conditions.
A typical restaurant meal is fried dosai
dripping with fat, vadai and deep fried
as
potatoes or bananas. As near could be
calculated, the amount of calories from the
fat far exceed the desirable '1ess than
30%." Main meals consist of polished rice,
rasam, sambar and a small amount of salad
or vegetables. The evening meal is, again,
fried foods or several kinds of rice. Even
46 HINDUISM TODAY N VEMBER, 1998
M.D.
upper class homes don't have a
well-rounded vegetarian diet.
When I asked why no one uses
brown or unpolished rice for its
added nutritional value, I was
told, "That is feed for the ani-
mals." Perhaps that is why some
of the hogs and cattle seemed
healthier than the people.
Desserts are almost totally
sugar and eaten excessively.
Children are constantly bribed with sweets
to behave. Some children eat practically
nothing but sweets and rice; their teeth
show t4e disfiguring horrors of cavities and
decay. <0verall body stature of children in
India is less than that of comparable chil-
dren fed a more appropriate vegetarian
diet: ls it any wonder that many residents
of India are suffering from arteriosclerosis,
heart disease, obesity and malnutrition?
I urge everyone to select fats that are
predominantly monounsaturated-such as
from olive oil, grape seed and flaX oil. Don't
ever reuse fats, for even one heatinltcauses
degeneratioI}. Reduce use of fats, as well as
the amount of fried foods, and rarely deep .
fry. If cast iron ~s used to cook, a few drops
of oil spread over the bottom of the pan is
sufficient even for frying dosai. I also urge
use of raw vegetables and slightly cooked
vegetables, with as much variety as possi-
ble. One should consume some dark green
leafy vegetables every day. The flavor of
the unpolished rice is very good, and its
nutritional value is much greater. There are
also other grains that can be used as rice
substitutes. Elders' and children will bene-
fit greatly by the reduction of the amount
of sugar and sugary products.
DR. TANDAVAN, 78, retired nuclear physi-
cian and hospital staff preSident, lives in
Chicago, where he specializes in alternative
healing arts. Visit his home page at the
HINDUISM TODAY website.
EVOLUTIONS
DIED: Twelfth president of Ramakrish-
na Math and Ramakrishna Mission,
Calcutta, August
10, at age 97.
Hundreds of thou-
sands of devotees
paid tribute as he
was cremated at
the Mission's glob-
al headquarters in
Belur Math on
the banks of the Bhuteshanandaji
River Hooghly.
Popularly addressed as "President Ma-
haraj" by disciples, Swami took charge
of the Mission in 1989. Known for his
wit, wisdom and strict adherence to
discipline, he authored Thoughts on
Spiritual Life. His successor was to be
named by the Mission's board of
trustees in early September.
PERISHED: Over two hundred Hindu pil-
grims, their porters and local villagers
in the Himalayas
August 18 when
incessant rains
caused a huge
landslide and flash
flood in the Kali
River. The pil-
grinls were head-
ed across the Chi-
nese border in
Tibet toward the
sacred Mount
Protima Bedi Kailas. On August
19 three other
landslides hit the area, killing 37 more.
Struggling through rains and fog, res-
cuers had recovered only 43 bodies
and found 18 survivors by August 23.
Among the bodies was that of famous
Odissi dancer Protlma Gaurl Bedl,
founder of the prestigious Nrityagram
dance village outside Bangalore. She
was on her way to Lake Manasarovar
at the foot of Kailas. It is said that one
of the most auspicious ways to die is
while on pilgrimage to Kailas.
MURDERED: Swami Mahesh Anand of the
Chinmayanand Ashram in Mumbai
July 9· He was 65. Police suspect rob-
bery may be the motive behind his be-
ing stabbed in his room with a kitchen
knife. It was apparent the ashram had
been plundered as well. Located on a
picturesque hillock abutting Powai
lake, the lake area is often host to anti-
social elements after nightfall.
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47
 EUROeE CONTINUES ITS love affair with Hin-
du culture. Among programs co_morat-
Mac OS ing India's 50th Independence anniversary
of is a touring exhibition on Lord' Krishna,
currently on view in Britain, organized by
· Demo CD's the Hayward Gallery for the Arts Council
of England. It is the fIrst major exhibit in
Europe exclusively devoted to a single Hin-
Order by phone or website du Deity. The objective, according to orga-
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too much freedom. His conduct violates
Buddhist discipline," the temple abbot said.
CHART ORDERS ~30
Oforo ty~IO SOFlWARE ORDER FORM THERE'S NOTHING LIKE expressing inner
forces through outer art. Celebrating this in
"My Software CD will put the July was "Mannin Marabu," a Tamil cultur-
Universe of Hindu Astrology at .,' ~I al festival organized by
~ I PI___ . India's government. A
your fingertips."
[~ shop on kolams, rich
• ' . ... mandala-like de-
See our web site to join our I '" , / signs for beautifying
ongoing Jyotish E-Mail
Discussion list or to order your I. 1 ~
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and protecting the Hin-
du home. A hundred
Chart with Readings printed
from our pr'OlmUl1 - $30 ;:"-«", . . ::::J women shared their deft
.]j(j SRI VISHNU
Kolam design renderings of everything
from tulips to yantras.
Lakshmi Venkataram, coordinator, said,
«The aim was to revive traditional designs
which have died out as well as to fmd new
evolving kolam expressions."
Program P~ice US$345 ,.,
Demos $10 THE AMERICAN HINDUS AGAINST Defamation
Training Videos $20 announced a successful outcome in August
of its efforts to negotiate with the Karma
All versions now have nightclub in Chicago. The club attracted
the International numerous protests after opening in 1997,
ACS Atlas inside the due to its decor of pictures, statues and oth-
er depictions of Hindu deities. The owner,
Shrinivas Reddy, has removed all Hindu
deities from the club. For details, visit the
Defamation website at www: hindunet.
org!anti_ defamationlkarma_club.
WELCOME TO OUR BROTHERS' and sisters in
the Ukraine Republic! The Odessa Center
of Integral Yoga plans to hold a "World
Spiritual Meditation" in August 2000-a
meeting in Ukrallle (part of the former So-
viet Union) of monks and teachers of all re-
CLOCKWI SE FROM TOP: COURT ESY OUTRIGGER HOTEL,
PHOTODISC, ~AHESH KOLAM BOOK
'" ligions to make a joint effort toward world
peace. They ambitiously expect 150,000
participants. For details write: Odessa Cen-
ter of Integral Yoga, PO Box 9, Odessa
270101, Ukraine. E-mail: jafep@farlep.net
HINDUISM TODAY'S staff, as they stroll€d
through Kauais Outrigger Hotel lobby in
August, were
taken aback
when a group
of evangelical
Christians
shoved pam-
phlets in their
hands and
loudlyex- •Outrigger Hotel on Kauai.,.
tolled Jesus.
It was a surprise because the setting was
private property. HT promptly informed
Gordon, a hotel manager, who was upset
with the proselytizing and said the hotel
has a policy of "no solicitation," assuring
that "we never want our guests to face this."
A CENTER FOR THE STUDY of alternative medi-
cine has been established at the"University
of California in San Francisco. FUnded by
$12.2 Illi.llion in grants, the Osher Center
for Integrated Medicine will research how
alternatives can be combined with conven-
tional patient care to "address all aspects of
health and wellness-biological, psychologi-
cal, social and spiritual." The fIrst research
focuses on areas such as how to treat coro-
nary heart disease and breast cancer with
approaches including hatha yoga, medita- ,
tion, dance, Chinese herbs and art therapy.
SPEAKING AT PORTLAND STATE University in
June, US President Clinton exhorted Ameri-
cans to welcome rather than shun new im-
migrant~ saying they have brought benefIts
in the economic, cultural and countless oth-
er spheres. Clinton also called on immi-
grant~ to do their part to be full citizens,
and urged them to "embrace our culture,
learn our language, know our history- and
when the time comes, become citizens.
Ethnic pride is a very good thing. But pride
in one's ethnic and racial heritage must nev-
er become an excuse to withdraw from the
larger American community. This does not
honor diversity, it breeds divisiveness."
IT'S A CRISIS THE OTHER.WAY around. Once
regarded universally as a cherished gcial,
low birth rates in the industrial world have
become a cause for alarm. Driven hrrgely by
prosperity and freedom, millions of women
are having fewer children. Never before-
NOVEMBER, 19 9 B
except'" in times of plague, war and deep
ecopomic depression-have birth rates fall-
en so low. Europe is the worst: there's no
longer a single country where people are
having enough children to replace them-
selves when they die. illustrating the think-
ing, Mia Hulton, 33, a Swedish working
wife, says, "Women fInally have so many
chances to have the life they want. To travel
and work and learn. I fmd it hard to see
where having children would fIt into it."
STRANDED AT DEATH? The United Arab Emi-
rates has banned cremation since January.
The only Hindu crematorium in Dubai was
·shut down by the government. This put the
UAEs 500,000 Indians, of whom 300,000
are Hindus, in a tough spot. "If anybody
dies now, we have to take the body to India,
which is very expensive," said one Dubai
resident. Hindus have appealed to the Indi-
.
an ambassador's offIce, but to no avail.
D~SPITE MILITANT DISRUPTIONS, a record
140,000 pilgrims trekked to India's famous
Amarnath cave'in July/August for darshan
of the ice Lingam. An offIcial said numer-
ous sadhus carrying the silver mace of
Lord Siva entered the cave on August 8.
About 15 pilgrims died this year along the
arduous route, mostly due to heart failure.
A COLLEGE DORM KITCHEN should stock vege-
tarian basics, says the University of Califor-
nia at Los Angeles. Here is a sampling of
their list, a good-and inexpensive-foun-
dation for your own pantry: vegie burgers,
whole wheat flower, pita
bread, nuts, mixed veg-
etables, sunflower seeds,
garlic powder, chili pow-
der, honey, blackstrap
molasses, miso, yeast
flakes, brown rice,
quinoa, millet and asep-
tically packaged tofu. Its..good they
have this list, since Chelsea Clinton, vege-
tarian daughter of the US President, just
entered the dorm at Stanford University.
LIFE FOR COMMUNISTS IN KERALA has come
full circle. The God-defying, temple-wreck-
ing breed of Lenin worshipers are tossing
away Marxist ideology for Hinduism. Real-
izing the power of India's new government
and the appeal of Hindutva to the masses,
they're energetically renovating temples
and conducting annual temple festivals.
"Faith in God doesn't hinder our party
work," says activist Sukumar'an. "Besides,
temple festivals are part of our social life."
HINDUISM TODAY 49

mayan~ Sites' project. In it I categOl;ically re-
stated, 'Combined evidence from five sites
excavated under the project shows there did
exist a historical basis for the Ramayana.",
To the allegation that he is withholding
documents from the Archaeological Survey
of India, Lal writes, "The SUl1vey is already
the custodian of'all the documents, includ-
ing the field diaries, plans, photos and the
entire excavated material." To the third alle-
gation, Lal gives a more detailed response,
due to its importance to the whole country
(thousands died in 1992 communal riots
over demolition of the Babri Masjid).
Excavations in Ayodhya were originally
.undertaken to comp~e Ayodhyas antiquity
with other sites in the Ramayana story. But
as work progressed, they took on deeper
meaning. A trench dug next to the Masjid I
boundary revealed parallel rows of pillar-
Sitting strong: Lal doesn't give in to anti-Hindu bias; he just presents archaeological facts foundations lying near the mosque. Affixed
to the piers of the Masjid were pillar-shafts
HISTORY carved with Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
Deity-carvings on pillars used as foundation
Ha's Re~Rightlng History' material in a mosque? Lal couldn't help but
wonder if this meant a Hindu temple once
stood on this same\ ite.
Lal knew that real confirmation required
Atheists. scorn professors proof of Ayodhya excavation in the Masjid floor area, but oth-
er historians resisted it. That obstacle fell
with the now famous and unfortunate
ERHAPS HE SAW IT COMING. IN JUNE evidence the Babri Masjid mosque stood on , . Masjid demolition in 1992. Within the walls
The Indian Ministry for Human Re- the ruins of a Hindu temple, but doesn't sub< ' , torn down by the mob much archaeological
source Development r~placed 18 stantiat~ this claim with excavation facts. material was found. Especially.crucial were
Marxist historians of the Indian Council Withln ten days Lal issued a full rebuttal . three stone inscriptions, the largest (see
of Historical Research (whose terms were letter. "To the first allegation," he Wrote, '1et . photo left) 9f which Professor Ajaya Mitra
up) with scholars who support the existence me make it absolutely clear that at no point Shastri of Nagpur University translated. His
of a Rama temple in Ayodhya. Councilman in time did I ever say there was no evidence ' report says, "The inscription was evidently
Professor B. B. Lal was attacked by those put up on the temple wall, the
historians and their compatriots. Lal's term construction of which is recorded
was also up, but he :.vas reappointed. A bit in the inscribed text. Line 15, for
example, tells us that a Beautiful
surprised, Lal was 'Still prepared to calmly
and fully respond. Here is why, and how. temple of Vishnu-Hari, 'built with
.Leftists in India are commonly Hindu- heaps of stone' and 'beautified
with a golden spire ~paralleled
bash~ng and attempt to distort history. 'Fhey
were. understandably upset at losing one of by any other temple built by ear-
their greatest sources of government pa- lier kings, was constructed. This
templ~ was built in the city of Ay-
tronage and academic power in India. After
the ICHR chair-shuffling was over, Lal, for- . odhya.''' This inscription SPi!aks
mer Director General of the Archaeological .... for itself It's clear a twelfth-cen-
Survey of India (ASI), was condemned by tury temple was destroyed ana
leftists as "communal" because he supports some of its parts incorporjited by
the view that a Rama temple qnce existed at Muslims in the mosque.
tfie site of Babri Masjid, Ayodhya, and that , So what happens next? Why is
the Aryan invasion theory is a myth. Rock-solid proof: stone inscripti0tl found at the Lal's response to The Hindu's edi-
A negative editorial in The Hindu news- Ayodhya Masjid site details former Vishnu temple torial crucial? Before the Majid
paper titled "Tampering with History" sug- was demolished, a debate raged as
gested a "disturbipg effort to undermine the about the 'historicity' of the Ramayana. In to whether the mosque was sitting on the
scientific temper that must preempt histori- 1988 the ICHR organized a seminar in Del- ruins of a Rama temple. Now, with over-
cal inquiry." The editor said La}. faltered>in hi at which I presented a 60-page paper en- \vhelming evidence that it was, millions of
tltree ways: 1) that Lal's earlier conclusion titled Historicity of the Mahabharata and HiRdus want to know when the temple will
said there was no evidence to suggest "his- Ramayana: What Has Archaeology to Say? be re-constructed (a project already under
toricity" of the Ramayana; 2) that Lal refus- Finding in it something counter to their way, sponsored by the Vishwa Hindu
es to hand over field diaries to the ASI and views, the (leftist) ICHR authorities at the Parishad), and how it can be done without
open them to fellow archaeologists; and time withheM publication. In 1993 came my offending Muslims. FUrther violence must
3) Professor Lal claims to possess "clinching" first report of the 'Archaeology of Ra- be avoided. .....I
50 HINDUISM TOD.AY N,OVEMBER , Igg8
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51

MINISTER'S MESSAGE
Zero.Tolerance
for Chil.d Battering
Corporal punishment as failure, not method
A
BY S W M I B H A VA H A R,A NAN D A
AND SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDA
, PERSONALLY FEEL THAT '
!pllllishment and fear are
natural outcomes of the
J insufficiency and failures
on the side of both parents and
their wards. There should-not
be any kind of oppressing
domination, physical or other-
wise, by either parents or chil-
dren. Such dominatioh only
proves that we are still at the
instinctual level only-animal
or human. It shows that we
have not yet been able to rise above such reactions and situations.
Imaginative pro-action as well as creative planning fer a higher
life through a cool and impassionate approach will bring out from
within us more patience, sympathy, love and affection. All that is
cruel, ugly and revengeful is best avoided while dealing with hu-
man relationships. An aesthetic, objective approach will bring
forth better results, no doubt.
Corporal pllllishment does not always bring the desired result. I
personally experieneed this while once in charge of a school for
boys. A strong well-built senior pushed a junior from a height,
resulting in a head injury to the jllllior and profuse bleeding.
There was no hostility between them. He just pushed playflllly, not enjoined. Ahimsa paramo dharmah, (nonviolence is a supreme
realizing the .outcome. I, being witness to the suffering of the vic-
tim, wanted to pllllish the wrongdoer (according to me) so that,he,
too, would feel at least some of the pain which he had inflicted on
a jllllior. I wanted to cane him twice or thrice and asked him to
put out his hand to cane him on the palms. The boy, who had
come from a stock which had seen much fight, blood and suffering
refused to obey me despite my asking him three times. I just want- guidance, with firmness and understanding, love and considera-
ed to make him understand tl}e pain and the consequent events he tion, patience and tolerance, never failing to explain the reason
had inflicted on an innocent boy younger and weaker than him-
self I even explained to him patj@ntly that only by suffering pain
would he realize the consequence of his irresponsible act. But
nothing worked, so in desperation I caned him twice on his thighs
and once on his buttocks. Being a very fair complexioij.ed, chubby
boy, the cane left angry red marks on his body. But, strangest of
all, the boy neither cried in pain· nor requested me to excuse hiin.
But I was in tears, since I felt det'eated in front of a child. Feeling da) of spiritual works, most recently Myth, Symbol and Language.
sorry, I took him to my room, applied ointment on his welts and
gave him some cool drinks which he took with the s'ame stoic atti-
tude. Children are made of such stern stuff This made me thinI:<:,
"Maybe I had a feeling of defeatism which I unconsciously
52 HINDUISM TODA.Y NOVEMBER , Igg 8
-------- 1'
imposed on this boy physically. Maybe an
affectionate gesture would have made the
boy realize the pain he l/ad caused the
younger boy!" Punishment with love at the
most can be tolerated, but need not be en-
couraged at all. The danger of corporal
punishment lies in that it will produce an
attitude of challenge, to defy and to oppose
any kind of punishment, however beneficial
it may be to the pllllished. Before resorting
to pllllishment, especially corporal, one
should think and act wisely.
SWAMIBHAVAHARANANDA
y KIND OF PH"YSICAL VIOLENCE
I has a brutalizIDg influence on the
; perpetrator and the perpetrated
r, . against. A widespread occurrence
upon defenseless children in most societies,
it speaks of a highly uncivilized form of
I
behavior. It is an expression of the brutish
instinct of physical might. Provoked by a
weaker person, sheer bodily strength gives
vent to intolerance in the form of violence,
such as in wife-beating, which is also wide-
spread nearly 'everywhere. .
Considering that most children are in-
clined to resist being disciplined as they
grow up, it is understandable that parents
become irritated, lose patience and, thus,
take recourse to violence on the spur of the
moment. But violence inevitably marks the
psyche of a child, especially when it occurs
repeatedly. If children are sure of the security of the love of their
parents, as adults they will forgive their ill-tempered violence, but
if not, their' grudge will be perman~nt and unforgiving. In such a
case, no parents could expect their children to respect the injunc-
tion from our scriptures, the Vedas, matri clevo bhavah, pitri clevo
bhavah, "May your mother be a Goddess, MaY., your father be a
God." Awesome is the power of the parents over their children
who are totally dependent on them and also to~ defenseless.
Thus, it is morally imperative to all parents that such a power
should net er be abused.
Nowhere iN any Hindu scripture is violence against chjldren
religious injunction).is a basic teaching of Hinduism. Nonviolence
is the first restraint (the first yama) in raja yoga. In the Hindu
tradition, the mother smgs to her child the lullaby: shuddosi, bud-
dhosi, niranjanosi (You are a pure one,-intelligent one, innocent:.are
you.) All parents should learn from the Hindu scriptures how to
raise their children: first of all, by personal example, with clear-cut
why pf any discipline required. 'I1fey may complain, but if th~y
know theit parents mean well, do not have double stapdards, and
unselfishly love them, they will obey and grow up reasonably well.
SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDK
SWAMI BHAVAHARANANDA, 65 (left), is head librarian at the Ra-
makrishna Mission in Mumbai and author (unclerpen name Anan-
SWAMI SHIVAPREMANANDA, 72,f01"/'l1erprivate secretary to Swami
Sivananda, taught Yoga-Vedanta in Rishikesh and now directs
large centers in South America in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile.
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PERl'IIr NO 215