The Only Hindu Temple Built By the British

In 1879, when there was British were ruling in India, Lt. Col. Martin of Agar Malva was leading the army in the war against Afghanistan.
Col. Martin used to regularly send messages of his well-being to his wife. The war continued for long & Lady Martin stopped getting messages. She was very upset.
Once riding on her horse, she passed by the temple of Baijnath Mahadev. She was attracted to the sound of Conch & Mantra. She went inside and came to know that the Brahmanas were worshipping Lord Shiva. They saw her sad face and asked her problem. She explained everything to them. They told her that Lord Shiva listens to the prayers of devotees and takes them out of difficult situations in no time. With the advice of the Brahmanas she started the “Laghurudri Anushtthan” of the Mantra: “Om Namah Shivaya” for 11 days. She prayed to Lord Shiva that if her husband reaches home safely, then she would get the temple renovated.
On the last of the “Laghurudri” a messenger came and gave a letter to her. Her husband had written: “I was regularly sending messages to you from the battle grounds but suddenly the Pathans surrounded us from all sides. We were entrapped in a situation where there was no scope of escaping death. Suddenly I saw a Yogi of India with long hair, carrying a weapon with three pointers (Trishul). His personality was amazing and he was maneuvering his weapon with a magnificent style. Seeing this great man, the Pathans started running back. With his grace our bad times turned into moments of victory. This was possible only because of that man of India wearing a lion skin & carrying a three-pointer weapon (Trishul). That great Yogi told me that I should not worry and that he had come to rescue me because he was very pleased with my wife’s prayers.”
Tears of joy were falling down the eyes of Lady Martin’s eyes while reading the letter. Her heart was overwhelmed. She fell into the feet of Lord Shiva’s statue and burst in tears.
After a few weeks Col. Martin returned. Lady Martin narrated the whole incident to him. Now both husband & wife became devotees of Lord Shiva. In 1883 they donated Rs. 15,000 for renovating the temple. The information engraved slab for the same is still there in the Baijnath Mahadev Temple of Agar Malva. This is the only Hindu temple built by the British.
When Lady Martin left for Europe she said that they would make Shiva Temple at their home and pray to Him till the end of life

Like A Child, A Yogi Enjoys Eternal Happiness

Yunjannevam sadaatmaanam
yogee niyatamaanasaha
shaantim nirvaanaparamaam
matsamsthaam adhigacchati
Thus spoke Lord Sri Krishna in Bhagvadgeetha. Such a Yogi is always immersed in the pure state of self, being continuously engulfed in Brahman. Yoga means to be one with Parabrahman.  To be ever indulged in Him and being focused on is to be full of Satu Chitu Anand. For such a Yogi whose mind and heart are always dwelving in Satu, the experience is, everything is Brahman and nothing other than Brahman. The great Bhagavata & Jnani Saint Nammalwar exclaims:
“Unnum Shorum Paruhu Neerum Thinnum Vethilai Ellam Kannan”
- the food I eat, the water that flows and even the betel leaf I eat, are all nothing but Sri Krishna”. Sri Nammalwar sings and dances in ecstasy and tries to describe the Lord thus in his Tiruvaymoli - Dear father, how at all can I describe you in my poor words. Shall I say you are this very earth, this vast sky, the great oceans, the flying birds, the great sun, moon & fire or as one who has surpassed all these and grown beyond”.
What is the mental state of such a Jnani? How does he behave?  How to identify him? - are of some of the frequently asked questions, which can be answered thus.  A Jnani will be like a child.  He will be like the child which is innocently sleeping on the Banian leaf, on the waters of the Mahapralaya, suckling & enjoying the toe of his own feet.  The vedic utterance precisely explains the same status.  He will be like a child in its mother’s womb, in the 8th month of pregnancy, when he is blessed with the vision of Narayana, and thus totally immersed in Brahmananda.
The jnani will be like the great Sanaka, Sananda, Prahlada and Shuka.  Such a Yogi may also be like a mad man - infatuated person - infatuated in the Parandhama, Parabrahman.  In the eyes of this world, a jnani is nothing but a “totally mad” man. But actually the jnani will be in his - a condition beyond the comprehension of our mind.  His words are sometimes unintelligible, his actions non-decipherable; he drinks whatever he likes, eats whatever is unpalatable to a worldly person.  But in the eyes of other Jnanis, he is a well established in the higher divinity. Such a great celestial condition has been described by Purandaradasa in his devaranama - Huchhu Hidiyitu Enage”.
An established Yogi enjoys the eternal happiness just like a child or mad man and some times appearing to be both. This is the very condition, described by Sri Shankaracharya as “enjoys”. Such a jnani is a living witness for the vedic definition - Brahman is nothing but the highest truth, knowledge, boundless and happiness.  Such a Jnani is ever immersed in the divine light form of Sri Krishna, enjoying the divine sound of Pranava from his flute and being an embodiment of eternal happiness.
This article has been taken from the book A Torchlight in the Path of Salvation, Bhaja Govindam- Pray to Govinda by K V Varadaraja Iyengar

Parliament Denies Seat For Hindus

Saturday, 14 December 2013 17:22 Last Updated on Saturday, 14 December 2013 20:36 Written by Saleha Sadat

The Lower House on Saturday rejected President Hamid Karzai's legislative order that created a seat for Hindus in Parliament. 
During Saturday's session, the order of President Karzai was taken for up discussion and a majority of the members considered it to be against the Constitution.
"President Karzai legislative order in regards to an assigned seat for Hindus was rejected with majority of votes" said Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, Chairman of House of Representatives.
This marks the second time Karzai has had an order to create a hindu Parliament seat rejected.
House members argued seats are based on election, so alotting a chair for Hindus was aken to an appointment.
"House of Representatives seats are based on elections; it is the right of the people to choose their representatives," Herat MP Khalil Ahmad Shaheed said. "These seats can't be just given away."
Others were concerned witht he precedent such a move would set.
"We don't want to give this privilege to Hindus because there are many other minorities in Afghanistan, and if give it to Hindus, then we must give to all other minorities as well," Herat MP Munawar Shah Bahaduri said.
But there were other MPs who agreed with the legislative order and wanted a Hindu seaet.
"If Kochis are provided with 10 seats in election law, then Hindus should be assigned one seat as well," MP Ahmad Behzad said.
"We demand a seat for our Hindu countrymen, I think that minorities must not be excluded from political rights," Balkh MP Gulalai Noor Safi said.
At the moment, there are 249 seats in the House of Representatives. If President Karzai's legislative order was approved, there would be 250.

Courtesy:tolonews.com

The untold story of Nelson Mandela and the Bhagavad Gita:

Hare Krishna. I thought you might like to know a little bit of the untold side of Nelson Mandela. He came several times to ISKCON's Ratha Yatra in South Africa while he was president of the nation.
The first time Bhakti Tirtha Swami met him, in the course of their conversation, Maharaja quoted a Gita verse. Half-way thru the verse, Mandela quoted the rest of it.

BT Swami was surprised. He asked "You know the Gita?"
Mandela said "Try me."
Every Gita verse Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja knew, Nelson knew as well.

Naturally, BT Swami asked "How is this?"
Nelson Mandela explained that he was imprisoned on Robbins Island along with some of his fellow leaders of their political party, the ANC.

One of them was an Indian-bodied lawyer. The South African government tried to break them by giving them mindless labor and routine.Realizing that they needed to keep their minds actively engaged, the Indian lawyer taught Nelson Mandela Gita verses which they quoted and discussed back and forth to transcend their daily drudgery.

Nelson Mandela told Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja that learning the Gita helped keep him sane and did much to infuse his view of the world and his strategies for bringing independence and a better future for the South African people.

Bhakti Chaitanya Maharaja, the GBC for South Africa adds: "When Mr. Mandela visited our temple the first time (he came several times thereafter as well) he, with dignity and humility bowed before Srila Prabhupada, and then asked (me) "How did he do it?", meaning how did Srila Prabhupada spread Krishna consciousness all overthe world.

We then had a brief discussion about how Srila Prabhupada gave Krishna consciousness to all nationalities and types of people, without discrimination, and Mr Mandela was deeply struck by this, and was very appreciative of Srila Prabhupada.


Courtesy-->Paramshreya Phillip T Rabe

Why the West Needs to Know More About Hinduism ?

Last month I had the pleasure of taking part in a panel discussion at the South Asian Literature Festival - which was held in the beautiful surroundings of the University of Westminster on London's Regent Street. The discussion, which was chaired by the author Sarwat Chadda, was on the theme of Revisiting Mythology. One of the questions we discussed was why Hindu mythology was not better known in the 'West'.
Sarwat said that he had been motivated to write books that centred on mythology (he is the author of the hugely popular 'Ash Mistry' series) because although he was fascinated by the Hindu myths when growing up, the only material he could find on them tended to be rather dry and instructional - at odds with the vivid nature of the stories. Sarwat's books are now helping to bring Hindu mythology to a wider audience. But why aren't these myths better known already?
I suspect that our education system and traditions bear some responsibility. In some quarters, there may be a reluctance to teach something unfamiliar (unfamiliar to the teachers as much as the children). There is perhaps a feeling that Hinduism is 'unusual', because it is pantheistic, has more than one god. That's understandable (if unreasonable), since the culture in Britain for centuries has reflected a monotheistic religion, Christianity, and a powerful church - powerful both socially and spiritually.
In my case, it was precisely this difference of Hinduism that appealed to me. My encounters with Hinduism on my travels in the Himalayas, and my later interest in the religion, reminded me that many societies have thought of 'gods' as sharing our world with us rather than living in a world 'above' us.
To encounter a different way of viewing the world is very refreshing. But the differences between world religions can also obscure their shared heritage. As the author Ashwin Sanghi wrote in his contribution to JJ Books' series of guest posts on illustration, the similarity between the names 'Brahma' and 'Abraham' point at this shared heritage - as do similarities between the myths themselves. Sarwat reported great success with introducing Hindu mythology to schoolchildren - which I can easily imagine.
Even according to the most conservative estimates, there are now over 800,000 Hindus who live in the UK - and around 1.5 million in the US. And stories related to Hinduism increasingly crop up in the news. Consider the recent controversy over teaching yoga in Californian schools, or the one over delays to laws ending caste discrimination in the UK. If we are going to have discussions like this within our societies, then we need to know more about what we are discussing.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Contemporary retellings or reinterpretations of Hindu myths are certainly becoming more popular. (Alongside Sarwat's books, the graphic novel Adi Parva by Amruta Patil is another good example.) Another positive development was the recent publication of the international edition of the 11-volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism - the product of 25 years of research by almost 1,000 scholars from India, the US and Europe. It suggests that there is a growing appetite for serious engagement with the religion.
Another member of the discussion panel was the novelist Sangeeta Bahadur, who believed that one reason Hindu myths are not as well known as they could be is that Hindus have been too touchy to let Hollywood play around with them on the big screen. It's true that since Hinduism is a living tradition, creative artists need to be sensitive to practising Hindus when they address their mythology. But equally, the fact that Hinduism is a living, breathing tradition also lends its myths a great deal of power.
Historically, there is a strong link between Britain and India. Unfortunately, in my view there are still sometimes lingering elements of 'imperial conceit' - that late nineteenth century mentality whereby the British considered themselves and their culture superior to others. Happily that tendency is now fading, and being replaced by a desire to understand the cultures of others on their own terms.
It's certainly high time that we in the West got to know Hinduism better. If your experience is anything like mine, you will find the learning process not so much an obligation, as a pleasure.

by john jackson
Courtesy:huffingtonpost dot co dot uk

How do we find truth through Hinduism, but not orthodoxy?

If these things do no satisfy me, what then do I seek? I seek a light that shall be new, yet old, the oldest indeed of all lights. I seek an authority that accepting, illuminating and reconciling all human truth, shall yet reject and get rid of by explaining it all mere human error. I seek a text and a Shastra that is not subject to interpolation, modification and replacement, that moth and white ant cannot destroy, that the earth cannot bury nor Time mutilate. I seek an asceticism that shall give me purity and deliverance from self and from ignorance without stultifying God and His universe. I seek a scepticism that shall question everything but shall have the patience to deny nothing that may possibly be true. I seek a rationalism not proceeding on the untenable supposition that all the centuries of man’s history except the nineteenth were centuries of folly and superstition, but bent on discovering truth instead of limiting inquiry by a new dogmatism, obscurantism and furious intolerance which it chooses to call common sense and enlightenment; I seek a materialism that shall recognise matter and use it without being its slave. I seek an occultism that shall bring out all its processes and proofs into the light of day, without mystery, without jugglery, without the old stupid call to humanity, “Be blind, O man, and see!” In short, I seek not science, not religion, not Theosophy, but Veda - the truth about Brahman, not only about His essentiality, but about His manifestation, not a lamp on the way to the forest, but a light and a guide to joy and action in the world, the truth which is beyond opinion, the knowledge which all thought strives after - yasmin vijnate sarvam vijnatam. I believe that Veda to be the foundation of the Sanatan Dharma; I believe it to be the concealed divinity within Hinduism, - but a veil has to be drawn aside, a curtain has to be lifted. I believe it to be knowable and discoverable. I believe the future of India and the world to depend on its discovery and on its application, not to the renunciation of life, but to life in the world and among men.
In these articles I shall not try to announce truth, but merely to inquire what are those things in Hinduism by following which we may arrive at the truth. I shall try to indicate some of my reasons - as far as within these limits it can be done - for my faith in my guides and the manner in which I think they should be followed. I am impelled to this labour by the necessity of turning the mind of young India to our true riches, our real source of power, purification and hope for the future and of safeguarding it in the course of its search both from false lights and from the raucous challenges and confident discouragements cast at us by the frail modern spirit of denial.
I write, not for the orthodox, nor for those who have discovered a new orthodoxy, Samaj or Panth, nor for the unbeliever; I write for those who acknowledge reason but do not identify reason with Western materialism; who are sceptics but not unbelievers; who, admitting the claims of modern thought, still believe in India, her mission and her gospel, her immortal life and her eternal rebirth.

Courtesy:newindianexpress dot com

3 things that should Never be touched with foot - Chanakya Neeti

 According to Acharya Chanakya these are three things which should never be touched with foot

Acharya Chanakya says

Anal Vipr guru Dhenu puni, Kanya kuwari det

Balak ke aru vridh ke, Pag na Lagavahu Yet
 

1)fire is considered sacred to the god. That's why touching fire with foot is considered unlucky

2)Similarly, master, Brahmins and the sacred cow are also considered sacred. Touching any one of these with foot is believed to insult them.

3)Touching these seven things( fire, the spiritual master or a brahmana, a cow, a virgin, an old person or a child.) with foot even unknowingly is considered inauspicious

"Under no circumstances, it is fair to insult anyone."