Presently there is a need for what could be called Vedic Ambassadors. These are people who are followers of Vedic Culture, or Sanatana-Dharma, and who are also knowledgeable enough to be able to explain the basics of Vedic culture to those who are sincerely inquisitive, or even critical, and show how their involvement in Vedic culture has helped them and how it can help others. The idea of being a Vedic Ambassador is more fully explained in my article, “A Call for Vedic Ambassadors” located on my website at http://www.stephen-knapp.com.
This course, which is especially meant for Westerners everywhere, is provided in connection with the international organization known as The Vedic Friends Association (VFA) (http://www.vedicfriends.org). It is designed to present the basic philosophy and principles of the Vedic culture and Hindu tradition. Since the test is based on the book, “The Power of the Dharma”, you will need to purchase a copy of the book so you can read and study it. The questions of the test are arranged in the order of the topics in the book to make it simple and easy to do.
The test is fairly simple and is an open book test. Some of the questions are fill in the blanks, so you merely fill in the words from the book. Others may require you to summarize some points. This is done simply by writing in the explanations from the book, or paraphrase the main points as best you can. You can acquire the test and send it back after you have filled in the answers through email.
Naturally, when you send in the test, the answers are checked for accurateness. However, you do not get a grade, you either pass, upon which you get your certificate along with the sheet with the correct answers so you can check over them, or you get to do it again. The one time cost of the test includes all correspondence and the processing and mailing of the certificate and membership card.
By going through the test and filling in the answers, it shows your dedication to understand and also learn and practice these principles, and thus be able to explain them to others. This is the object of the title “Vedic Ambassador”. This qualifies you through The Vedic Friends Association to receive the attractive certificate that we offer upon the completion of this course, along with a card that you can keep in your pocket or wallet.
The certificate is for your own personal display, but it is also meant to show others your dedication to the Vedic path, and that you are thus eligible to participate in various aspects of Vedic practices, such as going into various Hindu temples for darshan (seeing the deities) and puja (worship). This is not an issue in the United States, but this does occasionally become an issue in some temples in India. Naturally there are many temples in India that allow devoted Westerners into the temple sanctum, but some do not, or they want to see some sort of certificate to verify one’s devotion to and understanding of the Vedic principles before allowing just anyone to enter the main shrine. So this will help in this regard. Therefore, it is suggested that you make a copy of the certificate to carry with you if you travel to India, along with your pocket membership card that you can carry at any time.
The certificate is also a sign of your devotion to the Vedic path and is a way of recognizing you as a follower of the Vedic tradition. However, it does not replace the initiation process that you may want to take from a guru or spiritual teacher as when or if you decide to join a particular sampradaya, lineage or ashrama, or when you may get a spiritual name. That is another step if you decide to take it.
To get started, simply email me (at Srinandan@aol.com) your request and I will email you the test. Let me know what format works best for you. After you go through the book and fill in the answers on the test, you simply email or send back to me the answer sheet with a check for $25. This will cover all costs for checking the answers along with any further correspondence and sending you your certificate and membership card.
We thank you for your interest and encourage you in this learning process into the basics of the Vedic tradition.

Mathura (UP), Sep 1: Thousands of devotees paid obeisance at temples in Barsana, Vrindaban and Rawal as the "Radha Astami" was celebrated with religious fervour today.No untoward incident has been reported from any place, Additional District Magistrate Rajeev Rautela said.The maximum rush was in Barsana since last evening where "Abhishek" (bathing ceremony) of principal deity of Sri Ji temple were held amidst vedic hymns.A processon, mainly comprising women carrying baskets full of dry fruits, clothes, sweets and fruits, passed through the main streets of Barsana before culminating at Sri Ji temple where all the articles were offered to the deity.In Rawal, where Radha was born according to legends, the bathing ceremony of principal deity was performed with mixture of curd, milk, honey and ghee in the wee hours of the day.Radha Astami was celebrated in all the major temples of Vrindaban, though the main attraction was the Radha Ballabh Mandir. "Raas Lila" was staged in Bankey Behari temple in the afternoon.

LONDON, Aug 28 (Bernama) -- Amid chanting of sacred Vedic hymns, the largest Hindu temple in Europe was consecrated Sunday in Tividale near the British city of Birmingham, Press Trust of India (PTI) reports.Fifteen priests were specially flown in from India to perform the "Kumbhabhishekam" of Shri Venkateswara Balaji Temple in Sanskrit to sanctify the temple, the news report quoted NRI entrepreneur and hotelier Joginder Sangar, Trustee and Chief Treasurer of the temple as saying.The architecture of the temple is based on the famous Tirupati-Tirumala Temple, one of the holiest sites in South India which is visited by millions of people every year.The temple, built at the cost of millions, is situated on a 13-acre site in Dudley Road East in Tividale.Another one million pounds will be needed to complete the landscaping around the temple, which is dedicated to Lord Balaji, an incarnation of the God Vishnu.Scores of sculptors from India have worked on intricate carvings of Hindu deities which adorn the walls, pillars, ceilings and roof of the temple.V.P. Narayan Rao, founding chairman of the temple, said the funds were provided by donations from devotees and a grant from the Millennium Commission."This is the fulfillment of a long cherished dream, the end of a long road and the beginning of a new era," he said.An estimated 10,000 people from the United Kingdom and Europe visited the temple during the five-day religious festival which concluded Sunday with the installation of a 12-foot statue of Lord Krishna.Bimal Kishna Das, secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples (Britain), said: "The opening of this great temple will be a wonderful addition to the multi-religious society of Britain, especially in the West Midlands."The idea of the temple was conceived in the 1970s but it was not until 1987 that worshippers acquired the site.

http://www.answeringislam.org/Silas/terrorism.htm

The Secular-bastard, vatican-slave, anti-Hindu/India media has not mentioned about this meet.

Ideological chalk and cheese shared dais when firebrand Dalit poetNamdeo Dhasal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Sri K Sudarshancame together at a book release function in the Capital .The internationally renowned poet and Dalit leader is the founderpresident of Maharashtra's Dalit Panther that has traditionally beenat odds with the RSS. The Dalit Panther has for long looked upon theRSS as representing the Brahmanical order. Ironically, Dhasal releaseda RSS book on Dalit pain at the function.Dhasal, an outspoken literary figure and the first recipient of theSahitya Akademi Lifetime Achievement Award, said he was initiallyreluctant to share the dais with the RSS chief as "Leftist friendswould pounce upon me with abuses and accusations that I have shiftedcamp, but I don't care, because I have only one mission -- tostrengthen national unity and social integrity. This can't be achievedif we remain divided in thousands of castes and sub- castes and keeppouring venom against each other. Neither can politics help eradicatecastes, which rather thrive on casteist divisions."He had high hopes, he said, from the RSS, which should get into actionto remove the concept of untouchability and castiesm from the country."Mere speeches and books won't help. The work that RSS outfits likeSamarasta Manch are doing in Maharashtra has to be furtherstrengthened," he said.The Dalit leader narrated how he had lost his childhood to tyrannicalcaste-based hatred and had to face what he called a "death-likesituation" at the hands of "so-called high caste people just because Ihad dared to go near their house."He did not even spare the socialist movement and claimed that leadersof the movement had shielded castiesm and that even Communist leaderswere Brahmanical in their outlook and actions.Emphasizing that the fight against casteism needed a combined effort,Dhasal said: "Yes, I do feel that the fight to eradicate caste has tobe fought by Dalits and caste Hindus together carrying forward thetradition of Adi Sankara, which got broken somewhere in between."RSS chief Sri K Sudarshan said the pain and anguish of "our peoplehave to be understood honestly. The Dalits are our own flesh andblood, but because of some ill practices and social evils the practiceof untouchability has brought havoc on those who were an integral partand defenders of dharma. This has to be corrected through our deedsand actions."The RSS chief said had never accepted any kind of casteism among itscadres. He said the year of Shri Guruji, the second Sarsanghchalak ofthe RSS, had been devoted to working for social harmony and lakhs ofRSS workers had reached out to the Dalits.The RSS Sarsanghchalak ended his address by turning to Dhasal: "Ifully agree with what you have said here today".An unusual kinship was thus effected at the release of the bookSamaraste Ke Sutra (threads of harmony), which contains articles fromDalit writers and social activists working among Dalits and is editedby Tarun Vijay, Editor of the RSS weekly Panchjanya and RameshPatange, Editor of the Marathi weekly Vivek, also an RSS publication.

By investigating the knowledge and viewpoints in the many topics found in Vedic culture we can certainly see that the practice and utilization of this Vedic knowledge can indeed assist us in many ways. In regard to all the trouble we presently find in this world, maybe it is time to look at things through a different and deeper view to find the answers and directions that are so needed. The knowledge and understandings of this great Vedic culture may indeed be what will help us see through the fog of confusion that seems to envelope so much of society.

What we find in Vedic culture are areas of study, progress and ex-pression that are as relevant today for human advancement as they were hundreds or thousands of years ago. India and its Vedic culture has contributed much to the world, such as its music, beautiful forms of art and architecture, martial arts, astronomy, holistic medicine in Ayurveda, and the mathematical system based on the number ten, along with its yoga and philosophy. In the United States, yoga has exploded into a three billion dollar industry. A recent survey (at the time of this writing in 2005) showed that 16.5 million people are practicing yoga, or 7.5 percent of the United States. Also, the Yoga Journal magazine has grown from a circulation of 90,000 in 1998, to 170,000 in 2000, to 325,000 in 2005.

Vedic mathematics is another example of its contribution to world progress. It is an ancient development that continues to play an important part in modern society. Without the advancements in math that had been established by Vedic culture as far back as 2500 BC and passed along to others, such as the Greeks and Romans, we would not have many of the developments and inventions that we enjoy today. The Greek alphabet, for example, was a great hindrance to calculating. The Egyptians also did not have a numerical system suitable for large calculations. For the number 986 they had to use 23 symbols. Even after the Greeks, the Romans also were in want of a system of mathematical calculations. Only after they adopted the Indian system that was called Arabic numerals did they find what they needed. Weights and measures and scales with decimal divisions had been found from that period which were quite accurate.

The difference was that Vedic mathematics had developed the system of tens, hundreds, thousands, etc., and the basis of carrying the remainder of one column of numbers over to the next. This made for easy calculations of large numbers that was nearly impossible in other systems, as found with the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and even Chinese. The Vedic system had also invented the zero, which has been called one of the greatest developments in the history of mathematics.

The numeral script from India is said to have evolved from the Brahmi numerals. This spread to Arabia through traders and merchants, and from there up into Europe and elsewhere. It became known as the Arabic numerals, yet the Arabians had called them “Indian figures” (Al-Arqan-Al-Hindu) and the system of math was known as hindisat, or the Indian art.

Vedic culture already had an established mathematical system that had been recorded in the Shulba Sutras. These are known to date back to the 8^th century BC. The name Shulba Sutras meant “codes of rope”. This was because such calculations were used for measuring precise distances for altars and temple structures by using lengths of rope.

The Shulba Sutras were actually a portion of a larger text on mathematics known as the Kalpa Sutras. These and the Vedic mathematicians were recognized for their developments in arithmetic and algebra. Indians were the first to use letters of the alphabet to represent unknowns. But they were especially known for what they could do in geometry. In fact, geometrical instruments had been found in the Indus Valley dating back to 2500 BC. Furthermore, what became known as the Pythagorean theorem was already existing in the Baudhayana, the earliest of the Shulba Sutras before the 8^th century BC. This was presented by Pythagoras around 540 BC after he discovered it in his travels to India. So this shows the advanced nature of the Vedic civilization.

After the Shulba Sutras, Vedic mathematics enjoyed further development in the field of Jyotish, Vedic astronomy, which used all forms of math. Indian mathematicians continued creating systems that were not known in Europe until much later in the Renaissance period. For example, Aryabhatta in the 5^th century introduced sines and versed sines, and is credited as the inventor of algebra. He is said to be the first to state that the Earth travels around the sun. However, the ancient Vedic texts have described this many years earlier, which shows the wisdom of the early Vedic seers.

Aryabhatta was followed by Brahmagupta (7^th century) who was the great mathematician that especially developed the use of zero and was the first to use algebra to solve problems in astronomy. Next was Mahavira (9^th century) who made great strides in the use of fractions and figuring out how to divide one fraction by another. Then there was Bhaskara (12^th century) who made progress in spherical trigonometry and principles of calculus before Newton by 500 years. He used it to determine the daily motion of planets.

The Vedic system of math, as explained in the sutras, also reduced the number of steps in calculations to merely a few that otherwise required many steps by conventional methods. Thus, this ancient science is still worthy of study today.

A well-developed medical system was in existence by the 1^st century A.D. Progress in medicine led to developments in chemistry and the production of medicine, alkaline substances and glass. Colorfast dies and paints were developed to remain in good condition over the centuries. The paintings in the caves of Ajanta are a testimony to this.

Vedic art is another ancient development that still holds much appreciation in modern times. Art in the Vedic tradition was never a mere representation of an artist’s imagination. It was always a vehicle to convey higher truths and principles, levels of reality that may exist beyond our sense perception. It was always used to bring us to a higher purpose of existence and awareness. In this way, it was always sacred and beheld the sacred. Still today it is used to allow others to enter into a transcendental experience. It may also present the devotional objects of our meditation.

Vedic paintings or symbols are unique in that they can deliver the same spiritual energy, vibration and insight that it represents. In other words, through the meditation and devotional mood of the artist, the art becomes a manifestation of the higher reality. In this way, the painting or symbol becomes the doorway to the spiritual essence contained within. They are like windows into the spiritual world. Through that window we can have the experience of darshan of the Divine or divinities, God or His associates. Darshan is not merely seeing the Divine but it is also entering into the exchange of seeing and being seen by the Divine.

Thus the art, or the Deity, is beyond mundane principles or ingredients, such as paint, paper, stone or metal with which it may be made, but it becomes completely spiritual through which the Deity can reveal Himself or Herself. Thus, the truth of spiritual reality can pierce through the darkness of the material energy and enter our mind and illuminate our consciousness.

To convey higher realities in paintings and sculpture, everything has a meaning. The postures, gestures, colors, instruments or weapons, everything conveys a principle or purpose, which often must be explained to those who lack understanding. Thus, knowing the inner meaning of the painting increases its depth for those who can perceive it, which makes it worthy of further meditation and contemplation.

As with art, dance in India was not merely an ex-pression of an artist’s emotional mindset or imagination, but was meant to be an interpretation or conveyance of higher spiritual principles or pastimes of the Divine. In fact, in the Vedic pantheon Shiva is known as Nataraja, the king of dancers. Shiva’s dance was also not without a more significant purpose. His dance was based on the rhythm of cosmic energy that pervades the universe, and the destruction of the illusory energy by which all souls are given the opportunity for release from the illusion to attain liberation, moksha.

In this way, traditional Indian dance is highly spiritual and often accompanies important religious rituals and holy days and festivals. Vedic dance goes back to prehistoric times. Bharata Muni wrote his Natya Shastra, science of drama and dance, over 2000 years ago. In it he explains that it was Lord Brahma, the secondary engineer of the universal creation, who brought dance (natya) and drama to the people of Earth millions of years ago, shortly after the Earth was created.

Now dance has evolved into a tradition involving various schools and styles but with strict discipline. It is not uncommon that Indian families will have their daughters spend at least several years or more in such study and practice. There is a precise method of postures, facial and hand gestures (mudras), and movements, along with footwork that must be learned and synchronized to the beat and music in order to convey specific meanings, moods and stories to the audience. Many temples, especially in South India, were known for maintaining large groups of dancers that performed at festivals and religious functions.

When the dance is performed according to the spiritual standards, which some view as similar to the practice of yoga, even the dancers can invoke a high degree of spirituality in their own consciousness and bring unity between their inner selves and God. Then the transcendental atmosphere can manifest and draw the Divine to appear in the performers on stage. Thus, the environment becomes transformed and the audience may also experience darshan of the Divine and experience an inspiring upliftment in their own consciousness. In this way, the dance is divine beauty in motion. Or it is a way of invoking the spiritual dimension into our midst. Few other forms of dance attempt to do this.

Various schools of dance include Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Orissi, Kathak, Mohini Atam, Krishna Atam, Bhagavata Mela, etc. Thus, we may have many dances that convey stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, or Krishna-lila from the Bhagavata Purana. Nowadays this ancient art of Indian dance is enjoying a wide audience and a prominent place on the international stage.

So, as we can see, Vedic culture and its many areas of knowledge and devotional ex-pression are still as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. And humanity can benefit from it by introspection and in spiritual as well as material development as it did in the past.

The power of the Dharma and the relevancy of Vedic culture are found in the number of tools it has always provided in order for humanity to reach its fullest potentials, both as individuals who are searching for their own fulfillment and spiritual awakening, and as a society that can function in harmony with nature and cooperation amongst themselves.

By investigating the knowledge and viewpoints in the many topics found in the Vedic tradition we can certainly see that the practice and utilization of this Vedic knowledge can indeed assist us in many ways. Let us take a look at a few.

AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is the Vedic system of holistic medicine. It has become quite popular in the West and is continuing to gain ground and acceptance. To understand briefly what Ayurveda is, I let Pratichi Mathur, an Ayurvedic practitioner herself, tell us about it from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“So what is Ayurveda exactly? Literally translated from Sanskrit it is composed of two words ‘Ayus’ which means life and ‘Veda’ which denotes knowledge. So Ayurveda is the knowledge of healthy living and is confined not only to the treatment of diseases. Life is a vast, and an all-encompassing phenomena, which includes death. On one end, life is a celebration of birth, growth, child bearing, youth and sexuality; on the other end, life also brings forth disease, decay, aging, and loss of vigor. Ayurveda is that ancient art and science that helps us understand this very ‘life’ with all its different shades and colors; understand how best we can undertake this journey; and how we transition through its different phases, example from teenage, to adulthood, to maturity, etc. Following the principles of Ayurveda brings about a profound understanding of the inner ability to have sound body, mind and spirit. From this point of view, Ayurveda is a compendium of life and not disease. This is a major agenda indeed for any system of medicine, but can it be any less--especially if true healing has to take place. Perhaps, this is exactly why Ayurveda manages to get to the root of the disease that distresses the mind or the emotion that ails the body.

“Ayurveda has twin objectives--maintaining the health of the healthy, and cure illnesses of the diseased. Ayurveda, which is not just a system of disease and its management, but literally a living dynamic philosophy and manual on the art of living, is well fitted to meet its objectives. On one hand Ayurveda offers treatments like Panchakarma or even surgery for the diseased; and on the other hand Ayurveda offers preventative medicine for the healthy. These include elaborate details for following ideal daily and seasonal routines, specialized diets for optimizing health and immunity (Ojas), Rasayana Chikitsa (promotive therapy), Vajikarna Chikitsa (aphrodisiac therapy), Swasthavritta (regimen to stay healthy furnishing details on topics such as exercise, smoking for health), Sadachar (social hygiene), etc.

“Ayurveda advocates a complete promotive, preventive and curative system of medicine and includes eight major clinical specialties of medicine namely, (1) Medicine (Kayachikitsa), (2) Surgery (Salya Tantra), (3) ENT (Salakya Tantra), (4) Pediatrics (Kaumatabhritya), (5) Psychiatry (Bhutvidya), (6) Toxicology (Agad Tantra), (7) Nutrition, rejuvenation and geriatrics (Rasayan tantra), and (8) Sexology and virilization (Vajikarana). This shows what a developed science Ayurveda was in ancient times.

“The exact origin of Ayurveda is lost in the mists of antiquity. Since Panini is placed at 7^th century BC and Ayurveda depicts non-Paninian Sanskrit grammar, it is logical to place Ayurveda between 6^th –10^th Century BC. Tracing the continuity of Ayurveda, it is natural to look for the continuing thread in India’s ancient Vedic tradition. Although the term Ayurveda, does not seem to appear in the Vedas, and it appears first in Panini’s Ashtadhayayi, however, there are positive evidences to show that in the Vedic period, medicine as a profession was prevalent. The Rig Veda XE "Rig Veda:mentions Ayurveda" and the Atharva Veda both mention that there were thousands of medical practitioners and thousands of medicines. References to Ayurveda are found as early as the Rig Veda. The three Rig Vedic gods Indra, Agni and Soma relate to the three biological humors: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. References are made of organ transplants as in the case of the artificial limb of queen Vishpala, daughter of King Khela. The functions of physicians are also described in the Rig Veda.

“Rishi Sushruta, famous Ayurvedic Surgeon, also holds that Ayurveda is a supplement (upanga) of the Atharva Veda. While several other sources including the famous Hindu epic Mahabharata speak of Ayurveda as an upanga of Atharva Veda; several other schools of thought hold Ayurveda as a fifth Veda (Panchamveda). Perhaps Ayurveda grew from Atharva Veda first as a branch and then as a comprehensive vast system deserving it’s own satus, or it developed parallel to the four Vedas as an independent knowledge (with close resembalance to the Atharva Veda).”

JYOTISH: VEDIC ASTROLOGY

Jyotish is the Vedic form of astrology, which is an ancient science and is also being accepted and gaining popularity in the West. Vedic Astrology is meant to help the individual better find his or her way through life. It is to assist in discovering one’s highest proclivities, personality, character, qualities and traits and what may be one’s best direction for a career, and other things. Thus a person will least likely waste one’s time in unfulfilling activities, professions or pursuits.

To further our understanding of Jyotish, I let Chakrapani Ullal, one of the most well-known Vedic Astrologers, describe it as taken from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“We turn our attention now to the subject of a branch of the Vedas called Vedic astrology or Jyotish, which is called the ‘eye of the Vedas’. It has a cognizing influence of the truth of life and self-knowledge. It acts as a mirror to an individual without which one may not know how to approach life most effectively. It is also called the ‘Science of Time’. Time is the source power that rules the universe. All things originate through the procession of time. Hence, Vedic Astrology constitutes the science that maps the structure of time. Astrology is considered divine knowledge that is pure, supreme, secret, and exalted.

“Astrology can be defined as the science of correlations of astronomical facts with terrestrial events, and demonstrates the Vedic understanding of the universal interconnectedness and interdependence of all phenomenon, that microcosm and macrocosm are but reflections of one another. Just as mathematics is the organizing principle of science when dealing with inanimate matter, so also astrology is the organizing principle which deals with life and its significance in relation to all living bodies. The planets are seen as reflectors or transmitters of light and solar energy. The solar and planetary rays, like radio waves, affect biological and psychological processes. The rays of influence are unseen vibrations that are not perceptible to the physical eye.

“Astrology gives insight and guidance to the fortunes and misfortunes of men, issues of empires and republics, floods and earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, plagues, pestilence and other incidents concerning terrestrial phenomena in relation to the regular movements of the planets.

“Over 10,000 years ago the ancient sages, in their super-conscious state, cognized that there is energy in planets, and that they send out different rays at different angles which bear influence on everything animate and inanimate on other planets. Through their sensitized intuition and repeated observations these highly evolved souls were able to find out the different characteristics inborn in the planets and also discovered that each rules a distinctive part of the human mind/body. It was also found that particular groups of stars known as constellations have different characteristics, and that they modulate the influence of the planets.

“Astrologers say that there are two forces, Daiva and Purushakara, fate and individual energy. The individual energy can modify and even frustrate fate. Moreover, the stars often indicate several fate possibilities; for example, that one may die in mid-age, but that if, through determination, one gives attention in that area it can be overcome, one can live to a predictable old age. Thus, astrology does not say that events must and should happen, but gives the benefic and malefic tendencies which can be directed or modified through conscious effort. The horoscope shows a man’s character and temperament. Though it may show that he could become a criminal, it does not mean he is fated to become so. What it means is that he is just the sort of person who will have criminal tendencies, but they can be checked by proper care and training. Additionally, if emotional and financial challenges are indicated in any particular year, one can certainly meet the crisis better if one knows that it might occur.

“Then, how would one define astrology? It is the philosophy of discovering and analyzing past impulses and future actions of both individuals and nations in the light of planetary configurations. Astrology explains life’s reactions to planetary vibrations.”

VEDIC GEMOLOGY

Gemology is an important field in today’s market. But when we speak of Vedic gemology, we do not mean that it is merely for judging the value of a gem. The Vedic purpose in gemology is to determine the best type of quality gem for a person to wear. Thus, Vedic gemology worked in conjunction with Ayurveda and Jyotish to establish the best gem a person should wear for health and positive influence. To give a little more understanding about this increasingly recognized field, I include the following description by Howard Beckman, a qualified and practicing Vedic gemologist, from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“It is a field that is making great strides medically by using gems for illness and disease both of the physical body and the mind. It is a noninvasive therapy that has produced definite repeatable results medically. (It should be noted that only natural gems, not synthetic, have this inherent energy and also that certain gem treatments commonly used for color or clarity enhancement will render the gem ‘dead’ and ineffective.) Our research and record keeping of case histories of gem use in jewelry for astrological reasons has also allowed us to not only prove the efficacy of gems, but in “debunking” commonly held incorrect notions as far as how to recommend them, as well as baseless superstitions.

“It is the energy force of the cosmos that sustains all living organisms. This energy is called ‘prana’. It energizes our bodies throughout life until it leaves at the time of death, leaving the gross material body to decay and return to the elements from which it arose. The Vedic scriptures calculate our life spans in the number of breaths we are allotted during our lives. If we use this energy more quickly, then the life span will be shorter. (Long distance runners are renowned for dying in their 50’s.) If we conserve our energy, especially through systems such as the yoga system, then the life span may be extended. The Ayurvedic system of healing first evaluates the intake and distribution of prana within both the physical and subtle (ethereal) bodies of an individual.

“Gem therapy has been used by many ancient cultures and especially the wearing of gemstones on the body had great significance for the Vedic culture, other than the purely cosmetic or ornamental value that gems are mostly used for today. The science of Ayurveda when combined with Vedic astrology gives a wealth of knowledge in the correct application of gemstones to amplify planetary rays, which can have a dynamic effect on one’s physical and emotional health, one’s ability to prosper materially, and the general well-being of individual persons here on earth.

“As Gems have such vibratory qualities, we may utilize them to not only affect the brain, but also the higher vibrations in the physical body necessary for healthy functioning of all our internal and external organs. Dr. Young and Bruce Tainio of Cheny University in Washington have made the following statements from their research in this regard. ‘The average frequency of the human body during the daytime is between 62 and 68 cycles per second. If it drops below this rate the immune defense system will start to shut down. Cold symptoms appear at 58 cycles, flu at 57, candida at 55, glandular fever at 52, and cancer at 42 cycles per second’.

“Natural (meaning from the earth, which does not include synthetic, man-made material), untreated gemstones, which are repositories of cosmic colors, can restore the pranic energy to the cells of the body, so that its natural vibratory rate and normal health may be regained when it is in a diseased condition. Blue sapphire can tranquilize or have a sedative effect. Emerald can be used as an analgesic. Yellow sapphire has antiseptic properties, and diamond’s ability to stimulate cell growth are just a few examples of how gems can affect the healing process in the body.”

VASTU SHASTRA

Vãstu is the Vedic science of architectural and home arrangement. It made its way through the orient and became known as Feng Shui, which has made particular progress in popularity in the West. However, Vastu is a particular science that deals with the flow of energy through a house or building for the highest benefits. It is not enough to merely arrange a house so it looks nice or that there is a good flow of energy through it. But there is much that depends on the directions in which things are facing or which parts of the building in which certain activities are performed.

To get a little more insight into the Vedic science of Vãstu, I have included the following description by Arun Naik, an architect that practices the science and art of Vãstu Shãstra. Again, this is taken from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“The Vedic and the Agamic traditions of ancient India always held that the microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm. A dwelling is an ecological unit, a microcosm which reflects the Cosmos, the macrocosm. Vãstu Shãstra is the applied aspect of this philosophy, a highly refined method of creating a living space which is a miniature replica of the cosmos as perceived by the Vedas. Vãstu Shãstra is about emulating the attributes of the Cosmic Space, about bringing the divine sentinels of Cosmic Directions into our homes, about creating Harmony by creating a living environment where the forces of nature are balanced and at peace with each other.

“Sri Aurobindo has said… ‘Indian sacred architecture of whatever date, style or dedication goes back to something timelessly ancient and now outside India almost wholly lost, something which belongs to the past, and yet it goes forward too, though this the rationalistic mind will not easily admit, to something which will return upon us and is already beginning to return, something which belongs to the future.’ (SA, The Renaissance in India)

“There is a prayer is Sama Veda:

` *aE> zaiNtrNtir]‡ zaiNt> p&iwvI zaiNtrap> zaiNtrae;xy> zaiNtRvnSpty> zaiNtivRñedeva> zaiNtRäü zaiNt> svR‡zaiNt> zaiNtrev zaiNt> sama ziNtreix, suzaiNtRÉvtu.

May there be peace in the sky, may there be peace in mid region, may there be peace on earth, may there be peace in the waters, may the medicinal plants be peaceful, may the forest be peaceful, may there be peace in gods, may Brahma be peaceful, may all the creation be peaceful, may there be peace and peace only, may such peace come to us.

“Vãstu is about creating an Inner Space, the chidakash, where this divine peace can park itself. And it achieves it by creating a harmonious external environment--the bahyakash.

“At a more earthly level, Vãstu Shãstra aims at establishing a dynamic balance between Form and Energy so that harmonious conditions are created for the inhabitants. Vãstu buildings have harmonious energies and they promote stability, prosperity, happiness, and mental peace for the occupants and owners.

“The principle of Vãstu is that the Cosmic World with its order and stern discipline has been built by the gods who occupy all the spaces, from the celestial Space within the Cosmic World to the little spaces in our homes, and even our mental space, chidambaram. Man’s existence in the Cosmic World has a purpose: it must ascend to immortality and godhood; and the gods, having occupied man’s inner Space, strive to create different states in man’s consciousness for his ascension from mortality and low nature to Truth, godhood and immortality. Vãstu Shãstra helps the effort of the gods by creating an external space--a dwelling, a place to worship and meditate, or a place to work by applying the same laws which the gods have used to create the Cosmic World. This, indeed, is the ultimate function and the highest objective of Vãstu Shãstra.”

* * *

So here we can see how various aspects of the ancient Vedic culture are still applicable today and can provide assistance in our attempts to reach our highest potential, both materially and spiritually. This is the constant and higher nature of the power of the dharma that can be recognized and utilized generation after generation.

By investigating the knowledge and viewpoints in the many topics found in Vedic culture we can certainly see that the practice and utilization of this Vedic knowledge can indeed assist us in many ways. In regard to all the trouble we presently find in this world, maybe it is time to look at things through a different and deeper view to find the answers and directions that are so needed. The knowledge and understandings of this great Vedic culture may indeed be what will help us see through the fog of confusion that seems to envelope so much of society.

What we find in Vedic culture are areas of study, progress and ex-pression that are as relevant today for human advancement as they were hundreds or thousands of years ago. India and its Vedic culture has contributed much to the world, such as its music, beautiful forms of art and architecture, martial arts, astronomy, holistic medicine in Ayurveda, and the mathematical system based on the number ten, along with its yoga and philosophy. In the United States, yoga has exploded into a three billion dollar industry. A recent survey (at the time of this writing in 2005) showed that 16.5 million people are practicing yoga, or 7.5 percent of the United States. Also, the Yoga Journal magazine has grown from a circulation of 90,000 in 1998, to 170,000 in 2000, to 325,000 in 2005.

Vedic mathematics is another example of its contribution to world progress. It is an ancient development that continues to play an important part in modern society. Without the advancements in math that had been established by Vedic culture as far back as 2500 BC and passed along to others, such as the Greeks and Romans, we would not have many of the developments and inventions that we enjoy today. The Greek alphabet, for example, was a great hindrance to calculating. The Egyptians also did not have a numerical system suitable for large calculations. For the number 986 they had to use 23 symbols. Even after the Greeks, the Romans also were in want of a system of mathematical calculations. Only after they adopted the Indian system that was called Arabic numerals did they find what they needed. Weights and measures and scales with decimal divisions had been found from that period which were quite accurate.

The difference was that Vedic mathematics had developed the system of tens, hundreds, thousands, etc., and the basis of carrying the remainder of one column of numbers over to the next. This made for easy calculations of large numbers that was nearly impossible in other systems, as found with the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and even Chinese. The Vedic system had also invented the zero, which has been called one of the greatest developments in the history of mathematics.

The numeral script from India is said to have evolved from the Brahmi numerals. This spread to Arabia through traders and merchants, and from there up into Europe and elsewhere. It became known as the Arabic numerals, yet the Arabians had called them “Indian figures” (Al-Arqan-Al-Hindu) and the system of math was known as hindisat, or the Indian art.

Vedic culture already had an established mathematical system that had been recorded in the Shulba Sutras. These are known to date back to the 8^th century BC. The name Shulba Sutras meant “codes of rope”. This was because such calculations were used for measuring precise distances for altars and temple structures by using lengths of rope.

The Shulba Sutras were actually a portion of a larger text on mathematics known as the Kalpa Sutras. These and the Vedic mathematicians were recognized for their developments in arithmetic and algebra. Indians were the first to use letters of the alphabet to represent unknowns. But they were especially known for what they could do in geometry. In fact, geometrical instruments had been found in the Indus Valley dating back to 2500 BC. Furthermore, what became known as the Pythagorean theorem was already existing in the Baudhayana, the earliest of the Shulba Sutras before the 8^th century BC. This was presented by Pythagoras around 540 BC after he discovered it in his travels to India. So this shows the advanced nature of the Vedic civilization.

After the Shulba Sutras, Vedic mathematics enjoyed further development in the field of Jyotish, Vedic astronomy, which used all forms of math. Indian mathematicians continued creating systems that were not known in Europe until much later in the Renaissance period. For example, Aryabhatta in the 5^th century introduced sines and versed sines, and is credited as the inventor of algebra. He is said to be the first to state that the Earth travels around the sun. However, the ancient Vedic texts have described this many years earlier, which shows the wisdom of the early Vedic seers.

Aryabhatta was followed by Brahmagupta (7^th century) who was the great mathematician that especially developed the use of zero and was the first to use algebra to solve problems in astronomy. Next was Mahavira (9^th century) who made great strides in the use of fractions and figuring out how to divide one fraction by another. Then there was Bhaskara (12^th century) who made progress in spherical trigonometry and principles of calculus before Newton by 500 years. He used it to determine the daily motion of planets.

The Vedic system of math, as explained in the sutras, also reduced the number of steps in calculations to merely a few that otherwise required many steps by conventional methods. Thus, this ancient science is still worthy of study today.

A well-developed medical system was in existence by the 1^st century A.D. Progress in medicine led to developments in chemistry and the production of medicine, alkaline substances and glass. Colorfast dies and paints were developed to remain in good condition over the centuries. The paintings in the caves of Ajanta are a testimony to this.

Vedic art is another ancient development that still holds much appreciation in modern times. Art in the Vedic tradition was never a mere representation of an artist’s imagination. It was always a vehicle to convey higher truths and principles, levels of reality that may exist beyond our sense perception. It was always used to bring us to a higher purpose of existence and awareness. In this way, it was always sacred and beheld the sacred. Still today it is used to allow others to enter into a transcendental experience. It may also present the devotional objects of our meditation.

Vedic paintings or symbols are unique in that they can deliver the same spiritual energy, vibration and insight that it represents. In other words, through the meditation and devotional mood of the artist, the art becomes a manifestation of the higher reality. In this way, the painting or symbol becomes the doorway to the spiritual essence contained within. They are like windows into the spiritual world. Through that window we can have the experience of darshan of the Divine or divinities, God or His associates. Darshan is not merely seeing the Divine but it is also entering into the exchange of seeing and being seen by the Divine.

Thus the art, or the Deity, is beyond mundane principles or ingredients, such as paint, paper, stone or metal with which it may be made, but it becomes completely spiritual through which the Deity can reveal Himself or Herself. Thus, the truth of spiritual reality can pierce through the darkness of the material energy and enter our mind and illuminate our consciousness.

To convey higher realities in paintings and sculpture, everything has a meaning. The postures, gestures, colors, instruments or weapons, everything conveys a principle or purpose, which often must be explained to those who lack understanding. Thus, knowing the inner meaning of the painting increases its depth for those who can perceive it, which makes it worthy of further meditation and contemplation.

As with art, dance in India was not merely an ex-pression of an artist’s emotional mindset or imagination, but was meant to be an interpretation or conveyance of higher spiritual principles or pastimes of the Divine. In fact, in the Vedic pantheon Shiva is known as Nataraja, the king of dancers. Shiva’s dance was also not without a more significant purpose. His dance was based on the rhythm of cosmic energy that pervades the universe, and the destruction of the illusory energy by which all souls are given the opportunity for release from the illusion to attain liberation, moksha.

In this way, traditional Indian dance is highly spiritual and often accompanies important religious rituals and holy days and festivals. Vedic dance goes back to prehistoric times. Bharata Muni wrote his Natya Shastra, science of drama and dance, over 2000 years ago. In it he explains that it was Lord Brahma, the secondary engineer of the universal creation, who brought dance (natya) and drama to the people of Earth millions of years ago, shortly after the Earth was created.

Now dance has evolved into a tradition involving various schools and styles but with strict discipline. It is not uncommon that Indian families will have their daughters spend at least several years or more in such study and practice. There is a precise method of postures, facial and hand gestures (mudras), and movements, along with footwork that must be learned and synchronized to the beat and music in order to convey specific meanings, moods and stories to the audience. Many temples, especially in South India, were known for maintaining large groups of dancers that performed at festivals and religious functions.

When the dance is performed according to the spiritual standards, which some view as similar to the practice of yoga, even the dancers can invoke a high degree of spirituality in their own consciousness and bring unity between their inner selves and God. Then the transcendental atmosphere can manifest and draw the Divine to appear in the performers on stage. Thus, the environment becomes transformed and the audience may also experience darshan of the Divine and experience an inspiring upliftment in their own consciousness. In this way, the dance is divine beauty in motion. Or it is a way of invoking the spiritual dimension into our midst. Few other forms of dance attempt to do this.

Various schools of dance include Bharata Natyam, Kathakali, Manipuri, Orissi, Kathak, Mohini Atam, Krishna Atam, Bhagavata Mela, etc. Thus, we may have many dances that convey stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, or Krishna-lila from the Bhagavata Purana. Nowadays this ancient art of Indian dance is enjoying a wide audience and a prominent place on the international stage.

So, as we can see, Vedic culture and its many areas of knowledge and devotional ex-pression are still as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. And humanity can benefit from it by introspection and in spiritual as well as material development as it did in the past.

The power of the Dharma and the relevancy of Vedic culture are found in the number of tools it has always provided in order for humanity to reach its fullest potentials, both as individuals who are searching for their own fulfillment and spiritual awakening, and as a society that can function in harmony with nature and cooperation amongst themselves.

By investigating the knowledge and viewpoints in the many topics found in the Vedic tradition we can certainly see that the practice and utilization of this Vedic knowledge can indeed assist us in many ways. Let us take a look at a few.

AYURVEDA

Ayurveda is the Vedic system of holistic medicine. It has become quite popular in the West and is continuing to gain ground and acceptance. To understand briefly what Ayurveda is, I let Pratichi Mathur, an Ayurvedic practitioner herself, tell us about it from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“So what is Ayurveda exactly? Literally translated from Sanskrit it is composed of two words ‘Ayus’ which means life and ‘Veda’ which denotes knowledge. So Ayurveda is the knowledge of healthy living and is confined not only to the treatment of diseases. Life is a vast, and an all-encompassing phenomena, which includes death. On one end, life is a celebration of birth, growth, child bearing, youth and sexuality; on the other end, life also brings forth disease, decay, aging, and loss of vigor. Ayurveda is that ancient art and science that helps us understand this very ‘life’ with all its different shades and colors; understand how best we can undertake this journey; and how we transition through its different phases, example from teenage, to adulthood, to maturity, etc. Following the principles of Ayurveda brings about a profound understanding of the inner ability to have sound body, mind and spirit. From this point of view, Ayurveda is a compendium of life and not disease. This is a major agenda indeed for any system of medicine, but can it be any less--especially if true healing has to take place. Perhaps, this is exactly why Ayurveda manages to get to the root of the disease that distresses the mind or the emotion that ails the body.

“Ayurveda has twin objectives--maintaining the health of the healthy, and cure illnesses of the diseased. Ayurveda, which is not just a system of disease and its management, but literally a living dynamic philosophy and manual on the art of living, is well fitted to meet its objectives. On one hand Ayurveda offers treatments like Panchakarma or even surgery for the diseased; and on the other hand Ayurveda offers preventative medicine for the healthy. These include elaborate details for following ideal daily and seasonal routines, specialized diets for optimizing health and immunity (Ojas), Rasayana Chikitsa (promotive therapy), Vajikarna Chikitsa (aphrodisiac therapy), Swasthavritta (regimen to stay healthy furnishing details on topics such as exercise, smoking for health), Sadachar (social hygiene), etc.

“Ayurveda advocates a complete promotive, preventive and curative system of medicine and includes eight major clinical specialties of medicine namely, (1) Medicine (Kayachikitsa), (2) Surgery (Salya Tantra), (3) ENT (Salakya Tantra), (4) Pediatrics (Kaumatabhritya), (5) Psychiatry (Bhutvidya), (6) Toxicology (Agad Tantra), (7) Nutrition, rejuvenation and geriatrics (Rasayan tantra), and (8) Sexology and virilization (Vajikarana). This shows what a developed science Ayurveda was in ancient times.

“The exact origin of Ayurveda is lost in the mists of antiquity. Since Panini is placed at 7^th century BC and Ayurveda depicts non-Paninian Sanskrit grammar, it is logical to place Ayurveda between 6^th –10^th Century BC. Tracing the continuity of Ayurveda, it is natural to look for the continuing thread in India’s ancient Vedic tradition. Although the term Ayurveda, does not seem to appear in the Vedas, and it appears first in Panini’s Ashtadhayayi, however, there are positive evidences to show that in the Vedic period, medicine as a profession was prevalent. The Rig Veda XE "Rig Veda:mentions Ayurveda" and the Atharva Veda both mention that there were thousands of medical practitioners and thousands of medicines. References to Ayurveda are found as early as the Rig Veda. The three Rig Vedic gods Indra, Agni and Soma relate to the three biological humors: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. References are made of organ transplants as in the case of the artificial limb of queen Vishpala, daughter of King Khela. The functions of physicians are also described in the Rig Veda.

“Rishi Sushruta, famous Ayurvedic Surgeon, also holds that Ayurveda is a supplement (upanga) of the Atharva Veda. While several other sources including the famous Hindu epic Mahabharata speak of Ayurveda as an upanga of Atharva Veda; several other schools of thought hold Ayurveda as a fifth Veda (Panchamveda). Perhaps Ayurveda grew from Atharva Veda first as a branch and then as a comprehensive vast system deserving it’s own satus, or it developed parallel to the four Vedas as an independent knowledge (with close resembalance to the Atharva Veda).”

JYOTISH: VEDIC ASTROLOGY

Jyotish is the Vedic form of astrology, which is an ancient science and is also being accepted and gaining popularity in the West. Vedic Astrology is meant to help the individual better find his or her way through life. It is to assist in discovering one’s highest proclivities, personality, character, qualities and traits and what may be one’s best direction for a career, and other things. Thus a person will least likely waste one’s time in unfulfilling activities, professions or pursuits.

To further our understanding of Jyotish, I let Chakrapani Ullal, one of the most well-known Vedic Astrologers, describe it as taken from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“We turn our attention now to the subject of a branch of the Vedas called Vedic astrology or Jyotish, which is called the ‘eye of the Vedas’. It has a cognizing influence of the truth of life and self-knowledge. It acts as a mirror to an individual without which one may not know how to approach life most effectively. It is also called the ‘Science of Time’. Time is the source power that rules the universe. All things originate through the procession of time. Hence, Vedic Astrology constitutes the science that maps the structure of time. Astrology is considered divine knowledge that is pure, supreme, secret, and exalted.

“Astrology can be defined as the science of correlations of astronomical facts with terrestrial events, and demonstrates the Vedic understanding of the universal interconnectedness and interdependence of all phenomenon, that microcosm and macrocosm are but reflections of one another. Just as mathematics is the organizing principle of science when dealing with inanimate matter, so also astrology is the organizing principle which deals with life and its significance in relation to all living bodies. The planets are seen as reflectors or transmitters of light and solar energy. The solar and planetary rays, like radio waves, affect biological and psychological processes. The rays of influence are unseen vibrations that are not perceptible to the physical eye.

“Astrology gives insight and guidance to the fortunes and misfortunes of men, issues of empires and republics, floods and earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, plagues, pestilence and other incidents concerning terrestrial phenomena in relation to the regular movements of the planets.

“Over 10,000 years ago the ancient sages, in their super-conscious state, cognized that there is energy in planets, and that they send out different rays at different angles which bear influence on everything animate and inanimate on other planets. Through their sensitized intuition and repeated observations these highly evolved souls were able to find out the different characteristics inborn in the planets and also discovered that each rules a distinctive part of the human mind/body. It was also found that particular groups of stars known as constellations have different characteristics, and that they modulate the influence of the planets.

“Astrologers say that there are two forces, Daiva and Purushakara, fate and individual energy. The individual energy can modify and even frustrate fate. Moreover, the stars often indicate several fate possibilities; for example, that one may die in mid-age, but that if, through determination, one gives attention in that area it can be overcome, one can live to a predictable old age. Thus, astrology does not say that events must and should happen, but gives the benefic and malefic tendencies which can be directed or modified through conscious effort. The horoscope shows a man’s character and temperament. Though it may show that he could become a criminal, it does not mean he is fated to become so. What it means is that he is just the sort of person who will have criminal tendencies, but they can be checked by proper care and training. Additionally, if emotional and financial challenges are indicated in any particular year, one can certainly meet the crisis better if one knows that it might occur.

“Then, how would one define astrology? It is the philosophy of discovering and analyzing past impulses and future actions of both individuals and nations in the light of planetary configurations. Astrology explains life’s reactions to planetary vibrations.”

VEDIC GEMOLOGY

Gemology is an important field in today’s market. But when we speak of Vedic gemology, we do not mean that it is merely for judging the value of a gem. The Vedic purpose in gemology is to determine the best type of quality gem for a person to wear. Thus, Vedic gemology worked in conjunction with Ayurveda and Jyotish to establish the best gem a person should wear for health and positive influence. To give a little more understanding about this increasingly recognized field, I include the following description by Howard Beckman, a qualified and practicing Vedic gemologist, from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“It is a field that is making great strides medically by using gems for illness and disease both of the physical body and the mind. It is a noninvasive therapy that has produced definite repeatable results medically. (It should be noted that only natural gems, not synthetic, have this inherent energy and also that certain gem treatments commonly used for color or clarity enhancement will render the gem ‘dead’ and ineffective.) Our research and record keeping of case histories of gem use in jewelry for astrological reasons has also allowed us to not only prove the efficacy of gems, but in “debunking” commonly held incorrect notions as far as how to recommend them, as well as baseless superstitions.

“It is the energy force of the cosmos that sustains all living organisms. This energy is called ‘prana’. It energizes our bodies throughout life until it leaves at the time of death, leaving the gross material body to decay and return to the elements from which it arose. The Vedic scriptures calculate our life spans in the number of breaths we are allotted during our lives. If we use this energy more quickly, then the life span will be shorter. (Long distance runners are renowned for dying in their 50’s.) If we conserve our energy, especially through systems such as the yoga system, then the life span may be extended. The Ayurvedic system of healing first evaluates the intake and distribution of prana within both the physical and subtle (ethereal) bodies of an individual.

“Gem therapy has been used by many ancient cultures and especially the wearing of gemstones on the body had great significance for the Vedic culture, other than the purely cosmetic or ornamental value that gems are mostly used for today. The science of Ayurveda when combined with Vedic astrology gives a wealth of knowledge in the correct application of gemstones to amplify planetary rays, which can have a dynamic effect on one’s physical and emotional health, one’s ability to prosper materially, and the general well-being of individual persons here on earth.

“As Gems have such vibratory qualities, we may utilize them to not only affect the brain, but also the higher vibrations in the physical body necessary for healthy functioning of all our internal and external organs. Dr. Young and Bruce Tainio of Cheny University in Washington have made the following statements from their research in this regard. ‘The average frequency of the human body during the daytime is between 62 and 68 cycles per second. If it drops below this rate the immune defense system will start to shut down. Cold symptoms appear at 58 cycles, flu at 57, candida at 55, glandular fever at 52, and cancer at 42 cycles per second’.

“Natural (meaning from the earth, which does not include synthetic, man-made material), untreated gemstones, which are repositories of cosmic colors, can restore the pranic energy to the cells of the body, so that its natural vibratory rate and normal health may be regained when it is in a diseased condition. Blue sapphire can tranquilize or have a sedative effect. Emerald can be used as an analgesic. Yellow sapphire has antiseptic properties, and diamond’s ability to stimulate cell growth are just a few examples of how gems can affect the healing process in the body.”

VASTU SHASTRA

Vãstu is the Vedic science of architectural and home arrangement. It made its way through the orient and became known as Feng Shui, which has made particular progress in popularity in the West. However, Vastu is a particular science that deals with the flow of energy through a house or building for the highest benefits. It is not enough to merely arrange a house so it looks nice or that there is a good flow of energy through it. But there is much that depends on the directions in which things are facing or which parts of the building in which certain activities are performed.

To get a little more insight into the Vedic science of Vãstu, I have included the following description by Arun Naik, an architect that practices the science and art of Vãstu Shãstra. Again, this is taken from the book, “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make in Your Life”:

“The Vedic and the Agamic traditions of ancient India always held that the microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm. A dwelling is an ecological unit, a microcosm which reflects the Cosmos, the macrocosm. Vãstu Shãstra is the applied aspect of this philosophy, a highly refined method of creating a living space which is a miniature replica of the cosmos as perceived by the Vedas. Vãstu Shãstra is about emulating the attributes of the Cosmic Space, about bringing the divine sentinels of Cosmic Directions into our homes, about creating Harmony by creating a living environment where the forces of nature are balanced and at peace with each other.

“Sri Aurobindo has said… ‘Indian sacred architecture of whatever date, style or dedication goes back to something timelessly ancient and now outside India almost wholly lost, something which belongs to the past, and yet it goes forward too, though this the rationalistic mind will not easily admit, to something which will return upon us and is already beginning to return, something which belongs to the future.’ (SA, The Renaissance in India)

“There is a prayer is Sama Veda:

` *aE> zaiNtrNtir]‡ zaiNt> p&iwvI zaiNtrap> zaiNtrae;xy> zaiNtRvnSpty> zaiNtivRñedeva> zaiNtRäü zaiNt> svR‡zaiNt> zaiNtrev zaiNt> sama ziNtreix, suzaiNtRÉvtu.

May there be peace in the sky, may there be peace in mid region, may there be peace on earth, may there be peace in the waters, may the medicinal plants be peaceful, may the forest be peaceful, may there be peace in gods, may Brahma be peaceful, may all the creation be peaceful, may there be peace and peace only, may such peace come to us.

“Vãstu is about creating an Inner Space, the chidakash, where this divine peace can park itself. And it achieves it by creating a harmonious external environment--the bahyakash.

“At a more earthly level, Vãstu Shãstra aims at establishing a dynamic balance between Form and Energy so that harmonious conditions are created for the inhabitants. Vãstu buildings have harmonious energies and they promote stability, prosperity, happiness, and mental peace for the occupants and owners.

“The principle of Vãstu is that the Cosmic World with its order and stern discipline has been built by the gods who occupy all the spaces, from the celestial Space within the Cosmic World to the little spaces in our homes, and even our mental space, chidambaram. Man’s existence in the Cosmic World has a purpose: it must ascend to immortality and godhood; and the gods, having occupied man’s inner Space, strive to create different states in man’s consciousness for his ascension from mortality and low nature to Truth, godhood and immortality. Vãstu Shãstra helps the effort of the gods by creating an external space--a dwelling, a place to worship and meditate, or a place to work by applying the same laws which the gods have used to create the Cosmic World. This, indeed, is the ultimate function and the highest objective of Vãstu Shãstra.”

* * *

So here we can see how various aspects of the ancient Vedic culture are still applicable today and can provide assistance in our attempts to reach our highest potential, both materially and spiritually. This is the constant and higher nature of the power of the dharma that can be recognized and utilized generation after generation.

When I was growing up as a teenager and became interested in the Vedic teachings, I had to research it on my own. I was not like the Indian youth who naturally grow up with it in their own families, and who may also take it for granted as if it is nothing special. I had to struggle and almost fight to acquire access to the books and information I needed. There was so little around where I grew up. In other words, there was no way I was going to take this Vedic knowledge cheaply once I got it.

The fact of the matter was that I was raised in a Christian family, which was nice, but gradually I was not totally satisfied with the spiritual teachings within the faith. I had more questions about life than it had answers. I found it rather shallow and wanted something deeper. So I looked at all kinds of religions and spiritual teachings, but with the question that is typical of most westerners when growing up, “What’s in it for me?” Plus, “How is it going to help me and which spiritual path is going to do the most for me? How can it make a difference to my growth and understanding.” This is a basic attitude of most westerners and is spreading to most of the youth around the world.

With that premise as the basis of my exploration, when I finally arrived at the Vedic tradition, I was convinced of the depth of its spiritual knowledge and its comprehensiveness. But from the view of “What’s in it for me?” I can also understand the position of other young people today, especially those of Indian descent, who may be asking the same questions regarding their own culture. Therefore, if they do not get the right answers to their questions, or the proper guidance to understand the purpose and meaning of its philosophy and practices, it will not make enough sense to them to take up the path seriously or fully accept it. Therefore I realize how important it is to teach them correctly, and in a way in which they will find interest in it.

Indian youngsters of today have adopted the American or western approach to accepting their parent’s tradition, which is called “What’s in it for me?” In other words, if they do not understand something, or if they cannot relate to it, or if it makes no sense or seems to have little relevancy to their lives, they will not take it. Gone are the days when sons and daughters accept something mainly because their parents did. Now they have to be able to see the purpose of it. They need to understand the meaning and usefulness behind the tradition.

This is not only the way the next generation of Indians and Hindus are viewing things in America, but I’ve seen this same approach in the youth in India as well. This is also happening in other cultures too. So this is a challenge to the parents everywhere. But in some ways this is good because if the children really understand the customs and traditions, if they are truly educated in the meaning of them, then if they embrace them they will sincerely follow them for life.

So it is up to the parents, teachers and gurus to find the ways in which the Indian youth of today can understand and learn about the customs and history of the Vedic tradition in a way that makes sense to them. They cannot be bored with it. It has to have meaning and be relevant to their lives. They can’t see it merely as myths, but as legends and history. They should not see it as mere rituals but as ceremonies and practices that uplift and purify the consciousness. They should not see the images in the temple as mere idols, but as Deities that can reciprocate with the devotee to the degree of sincerity and surrender in which the devotee approaches the Deity. They need to see that Vedic culture is a dynamic and living tradition that holds eternal spiritual truths that are as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago. They need to see that many of the technological advancements that we take for granted today are made possible by many of the developments that had been given by the ancient Vedic tradition.

The youth of today need to be introduced to the Vedic tradition through methods that involve their own interests, whether it is technology and computers, or whether it is through ways of self-ex-pression like music, dance, art, or even martial arts. All of these avenues have strong roots in the Vedic tradition and were used in ways of discipline that would also lead one to higher awareness and refined realizations.

They need to made aware of the possibilities that can be attained or learned from the ancient Vedic tradition as it is applied to the modern age. I recently got a letter from South Africa in which they explained how they were using an approach from an article I wrote on how various frequencies can allow a person to kill, heal or transcend. In it I explained that the numerous frequencies which exist around us can affect us in various ways, both beneficially or destructively. It also shows how Russians had been broadcasting radio frequencies that could control behavioral patterns in people or even kill, as well as how the ancients of Vedic culture used the sound vibrations in mantras to perceive and reach the spiritual strata and change social cooperation for the better.

When this was presented to the youth in a class, no one was bored, but they could see how ancient knowledge could be applied for purposes that could be used today. In this way, children that displayed no interest in spirituality suddenly had their curiosity piqued. So we need to know how to develop these kinds of methods.

Furthermore, Hindu temples, being the center of cultural preservation, also need to find the ways for the youth to get involved in all age levels. Even if it is only through association with others youngsters for fun, games, and youthful activities like camping, boating, swimming, musical sing-alongs, etc., that can be incorporated to bring them together. Then stories of the ancient histories can be told wherein they learn moral values and also the characters and traits of the Vedic personalities, both old and contemporary. This can be done in a way that can also explain the history of India and its development. Or they can learn songs and bhajans as played with modern instruments like guitars and electric keyboards. The point is to use any avenue in which their interest can be aroused. It also has to be fun.

Thereafter, classes that teach the more orthodox ways of the culture can also be introduced, such as the traditional forms of dance, art, yoga, and philosophy with a modern bent to it. By this I mean how it has influenced great thinkers of the West, such as Emerson, Thoreau, and others. Or how in America yoga has become a three billion dollar business that now has over 16 million people who practice it. Plus, westerners and people all over the world are adopting such views as reincarnation and karma, which are thoroughly rooted in the Vedic tradition. In essence, the youth should feel proud of their culture, its global acceptance and how it is providing upliftment for increasing numbers of people.

Many of these ways of teaching and numerous other techniques are already being done quite successfully, but they need to be set up and documented in a way in which they can be duplicated by others who are also in need of them. When a solution is found, when there is something that works, it should be made available through the proper channels to others who could also use it. There are some networks for this purpose already functioning, but they need to increase their exposure and cooperation with other Hindu organizations. This lack of cooperation between various organizations and sects is indeed a prime issue in the global Hindu community.

Another point is that if parents are going to convey Vedic culture and Dharma to their children, then the parents also must know what to say and how to explain things properly to them. And if they don’t know how, then they need to learn. It is not enough to merely send the children off to someone else to get the necessary information and guidance. The parents, being our first teachers, must also be exemplary and provide the proper instructions. They must be educated in their own culture so they can explain it to their children. Otherwise, how will the children understand the basis of the ceremonies, the holidays and customs or ceremonies that are observed? And if this is the case, why would it make sense to the children to adopt the Vedic standards and tradition when the answers to the primary question, “What is in it for me?” has not been answered. Or when it seems that their own parents do not know the purpose behind the traditions, or do not take them seriously.

On the other hand, when the parents regularly bring their young children to the temple and they join together with other families and youngsters to joyously observe the eventful holidays, or the colorful worship or special classes, it can create fond memories in the minds of the children that last their whole lives. They remember their family taking special care and lovingly doing this together and devotedly going to the temple for special observances, and the uplifting feeling they would get from that. These are like samskaras or impressions which themselves can motivate the children to continue partaking in such aspects of the Vedic Hindu traditions long after they reach adulthood. And then they partake of the same traditions and observances with their own children.

In essence, the youth of today have to know that the practice of the Vedic tradition is going to improve and enhance their life. They have to know how it is going to help them reach their higher potential in today’s world, both materially and spiritual. And how it is going to give them the fulfillment that everyone is looking for. And we have to provide those answers and insights to them in some way or other.

For me, I write books and articles like this one. Admittedly this is only one of many ways that have to be utilized. But I view books as tools, not only for educating westerners, but also for Indian youth and adults alike. For example, I just put together a book called “Vedic Culture: The Difference It Can Make In Your Life”. By working with some of the top writers in different fields of Vedic study today and letting them write on their main topics of interest, I was able to produce a book that covers the important ways that Vedic knowledge can be utilized for assisting a person to reach their highest potential. The book covers not only the spiritual paths of the Vedic tradition, as in yoga, but it also covers Vedic science, Ayurveda, Vastu Shastra, Jyotish, Vedic gemology, Vedic environmentalism, etc. The purpose of this is to clearly show the different ways the Vedic tradition can help a person sort out various problems or enhance one’s life for reaching one’s highest potential and state of fulfillment. So it is an educational tool for anyone to understand the wide scope of applications available in the Vedic tradition that can be used to make a difference in one’s life. This certainly is to help answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Such a book is meant to assist all Hindus to utilize and to know how to present the validity of the Vedic tradition to others, even to one’s own children, and shows the value in learning how important the Vedic knowledge can be. This is just one aspect of preserving and presenting the great tradition known as Vedic culture for the benefit of all others.

Another article to read in this connection is: Vedic Culture: As Relevant Today As Ever.

[This article available at http://www.stephen-knapp.com]

Namaste. The recent discussion here about The Da Vinci Code brings up more things of interest to this forum than most may realize. May I suggest that the issues raised by Elaine Pagels are only partly of the concern "the Church" has, and the idea that "there was no Jesus" is another red herring designed to "throw a false scent" and distract from a far more serious skeleton in their closet. What would that be? Let's follow the work of some other historians and scholars to see.

Flavius Josephus was a first-century Roman historian whose works are still extant, and giving allowance for adjustments historians always make in favor of their employers (in this case the Roman empire) we find some unusually interesting things in his works. He writes of a conversation where one person is asking about the nature of Jews. Remember now that Jesus and his contemporaries were considered Jews—the word (and religion of) "Christianity" was invented by Paul and was first heard in Greece after Jesus had long left the scene. Neither the word nor religion are from Palestine where the original disciples of Jesus lived. So what is a Jew? Josephus tells us (paraphrasing): that a Jew is a most amazing character, but if one actually wants to know the complete nature of something he must know its origin. The Jews, he says, are derived from the Indian philosophers! In other words, they were followers of Vedic culture. This comes as no particular surprise to members of this forum, but of course we find that that culture has changed dramatically over time, so that it now looks entirely different.

If Jesus was a Jew what kind of Jew was he? According to Robert Eisenman, religious historian at Cal State Univ, Long Beach, there were basically two main divisions of Jews occupying Palestine in the early first century. There were the Pharisees, who were cooperating with the occupying Roman forces, and who held control over the main temple, where they engaged in endless slaughter of animals performed as sacrifice and atonement. There was another group that lived outside the city of Jerusalem, near the Dead Sea in a community known as Qumran. Eisenman, and others, tell us that the place called Nazareth did not exist at that time; you cannot find it on maps of the time. Jesus' being called a Nazarene, instead of being a reference to his birthplace, referred to his association with the people of the Qumran community who were referred to as Nazarenes, Ebionites, Zaccarii, and by other appellations, all referring to the same group, or different parts of the same group of Jews.

The Nazarenes not only held the Romans in contempt, but the Pharisees as well. They were convinced that their scripture, the Torah, had been falsified up to a thousand years earlier and they were trying to reestablish their factual religion. They believed that God was kind and loving Being, and that He was replaced by this blood-thirsty character, Jehovah, who was always smiting someone or other, thundering in a tent, and demanding blood sacrifices. Blood sacrifices were an anathema to the Nazarenes were strict vegetarians. They also held that the Deity was both masculine and feminine (Radha Krishna, Sita Rama, etc.), they understood the eternal nature of the self (soul), and that self-realization and God realization were synonymous. There had many other traits identical with vaishnava siddhanta. They were interested in reestablishing their long lost religion and culture, and to live accordingly, but both the Pharisees and the Romans were making that difficult. Jesus was esteemed as their patriarch (acharya), and his role was to determine what was true and what was false in the Torah, and to replace the false teachings with the true principles of religion. As a leader of this sometimes militant group that sought independence from Rome, he was crucified—a punishment reserved for political crimes alone. This group, the Nazarenes, were actually followers of the Eternal Religion, otherwise known as sanatana dharma.

So the reason "the Church" is so concerned is that once people begin digging into the factual history of Jesus they are going to find out that not only is he not what they have made him out to be, as Pagels also concludes, but that he and his followers were followers of sanatana dharma. That opens up an entirely new can of worms that historians, religionists, and scholars the world over have worked in concert to keep closed.

The fact is that Jesus and the Ebionites were vaishnavas, and this can be understood from the nature of their beliefs and practices as revealed not only by the Egyptian Nag Hammadi texts, but the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were made available only in the early 90's. The Dead Sea Scrolls are directly from the Ebionites, and offer direct references to the practices and beliefs. For this reason, although they were discovered in 1949, they were held in abeyance by a cabal of scholars for more than forty years. It was largely due to Eisenman's efforts that the scroll material became available to scholars, giving us immediate access to the followers of Jesus without any interpretation by a motivated and controlling church.

Regarding the existence of the factual Jesus, Eisenman shows that there is little indeed written about Jesus, but there is a great deal of information about his brother, James. Both are referred to by name in the Nag Hammadi texts. For many long and detailed reasons he concludes that whatever James was, Jesus also was, and James was indeed a follower of the eternal religion.

For a very detailed analysis please consult Robert Eisenman's 1,000 page tome, James, Brother of Jesus. And for a much more livelier (and shorter) read, regarding the collusion and mystery behind the discovery and release of the scrolls, get Bagent and Leigh's Dead Sea Scroll Deception . Bagent and Leigh are also authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which aims at understanding the historical Jesus as opposed to the Jesus of faith, and is one of the main source books for Dan Brown's best seller. See also Hans Joachim Schoepes' Jewish Christianity: Factional Disputes in the Early Church.

Dhanesvara Das

Archbishop Angelo Amato, a top Vatican official, recently railed against ``The Da Vinci Code'' as a work ``full of calumnies, offenses and historical and theological errors.'' As a historian, I would agree that no reputable scholar has ever found evidence of author Dan Brown's assertion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married and had a child, and no scholar would take seriously Brown's conspiracy theories about the Catholic group Opus Dei. But what is compelling about Brown's work of fiction, and part of what may be worrying Catholic and evangelical leaders, is not the book's many falsehoods. What has kept Brown on the bestseller list for years and inspired a movie is, instead, what is true -- that some views of Christian history were buried for centuries because leaders of the early Catholic Church wanted to present one version of Jesus' life: theirs. Some of the alternative views of who Jesus was and what he taught were discovered in 1945 when a farmer in Egypt accidentally dug up an ancient jar containing more than 50 ancient writings. These documents include gospels that were banned by early church leaders, who declared them blasphemous. It is not surprising that ``The Da Vinci Code'' builds on the idea that many early gospels were hidden and previously unknown. Brown has said that part of his inspiration was one of these so-called Gnostic Gospels as presented in a book I wrote on the subject. It took only three lines from the Gospel of Philip to send Brown off to write his novel: The companion of the savior is Mary Magdalene. And Jesus loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often. . . . The rest of the disciples were jealous, and said to him, ``Why do you love her more than all of us?'' Those who have studied the Gospel of Philip see it as a mystical text and don't take the suggestion that Jesus had a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene literally. Still, by homing in on that passage and building a book around it, Brown brought up subjects that the Catholic Church would like to avoid. He raised the big what-ifs: What if the version of Jesus' life that Christians are taught isn't the right one? And perhaps as troubling in a still-patriarchal church: What if Mary Magdalene played a more important role in Jesus' life than we've been led to believe, not as his wife perhaps, but as a beloved and valued disciple? In other words, what Brown did with his runaway hit was popularize awareness of the discovery of many other secret gospels, including the Gospel of Judas that was published in April. There have long been hints that the New Testament wasn't the only version of Jesus' life that existed, and that even the gospels presented there were subject to misinterpretation. In 1969, for instance, the Catholic Church ruled that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, as many people had been taught. The church blamed the error on Pope Gregory the Great, who in 591 AD gave a sermon in which he apparently conflated several women in the Bible, including Mary Magdalene and an unnamed sinner who washes Jesus' feet with her tears. But even that news didn't reach all Christians, and it is the rare religious leader who now works hard to spread the word that the New Testament is just one version of events crafted in the intellectual free-for-all after Christ's death. At that time, church leaders were competing with each other to figure out what Christ said, what he meant -- and perhaps most important, what writings would best support the emerging church. What we know now is that the scholars who championed the ``Gnostic'' gospels are among the ones who lost the battle. In the decades after Jesus' death, these texts and many others were circulating widely among Christian groups from Egypt to Rome, Africa to Spain, and from today's Turkey and Syria to France. So many Christians throughout the world knew and revered these books that it took more than 200 years for hardworking church leaders who denounced the texts to successfully suppress them. The copies discovered in 1945, for example, were taken from the sacred library of one of the earliest monasteries in Egypt, founded about 10 years after the 313 AD conversion of Constantine, the first Roman emperor to join the fledgling church. For the first time, Christians were no longer treated as members of a dangerous and seditious group and could form open communities in which many lived together. Like monks today, they kept in their monastery libraries a very wide range of books they read aloud for inspiration. But these particular texts appeared to upset Athanasius, then archbishop of Alexandria; in the year 367 he sent out an Easter Letter to monks all over Egypt ordering them to reject what he called ``illegitimate and secret books.'' Apparently, some monks at the Egyptian monastery defied the archbishop's order and took more than 50 of the books out of the library, sealed them in a heavy jar and buried them under the cliff where they were found 1,600 years later. In ordering the books destroyed, Athanasius was continuing the battle against the ``Gnostic'' gospels begun 200 years earlier by his revered predecessor, Bishop Irenaeus, who was so distressed that certain Christians in his congregations in rural Gaul (present day France) treasured such ``illegitimate and secret writing'' that he labeled them heretics. Irenaeus insisted that of the dozens of writings revered by various Christians, only four were genuine -- and these, as you guessed already, are those now in the New Testament, called by the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Irenaeus said there could be only four gospels because, according to the science of the time, there were four principal winds and four pillars that hold up the sky. Why these four gospels? He explained that only they were actually written by eyewitnesses of the events they describe -- Jesus' disciples Matthew and John, or by Luke and Mark, who were disciples of the disciples. Few scholars today would agree with Irenaeus. We cannot verify who actually wrote any of these accounts, and many scholars agree that the disciples themselves are not likely to be their authors. Beyond that, nearly all the gospels that Irenaeus detested are also attributed to disciples -- some, including the Gospel of Thomas, to the original 12 apostles. Nonetheless, Athanasius and other church leaders succeeded in suppressing the gospels they (and Irenaeus) called illegitimate, won the emperor's favor and succeeded in dominating the church. What, then, do these texts say, and why did certain leaders find them so threatening? First, they suggest that the way to God can be found by anyone who seeks. According to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus suggests that when we come to know ourselves at the deepest level, we come to know God: ``If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.'' This message -- to seek for oneself -- was not one that bishops like Irenaeus appreciated: Instead, he insisted, one must come to God through the church, ``outside of which,'' he said, ``there is no salvation.'' Second, in texts that the bishops called ``heresy,'' Jesus appears as human, yet one through whom the light of God now shines. So, according to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said, ``I am the light that is before all things; I am all things; all things come forth from me; all things return to me. Split a piece of wood, and I am there; lift up a rock, and you will find me there.'' To Irenaeus, the thought of the divine energy manifested through all creation, even rocks and logs, sounded dangerously like pantheism. (Sic: This is reminiscent of the Isha Upanishad-- God in everything. N.S.R.) People might end up thinking that they could be like Jesus themselves and, in fact, the Gospel of Philip says, ``Do not seek to become a Christian, but a Christ.'' As Irenaeus read this, it was not mystical language, but ``an abyss of madness, and blasphemy against Christ.'' Worst of all, perhaps, was that many of these secret texts speak of God not only in masculine images, but also in feminine images. The Secret Book of John tells how the disciple John, grieving after Jesus was crucified, suddenly saw a vision of a brilliant light, from which he heard Jesus' voice speaking to him: ``John, John, why do you weep? Don't you recognize who I am? I am the Father; I am the Mother; and I am the Son.'' After a moment of shock, John realizes that the divine Trinity includes not only Father and Son but also the divine Mother, which John sees as the Holy Spirit, the feminine manifestation of the divine. But the Gospel of Mary Magdalene -- along with the Gospel of Thomas, the Dialogue of the Savior, and the Gospel of Philip -- all show Peter, the leader of the disciples, challenging the presence of women among the disciples. We hear Peter saying to Jesus, ``Tell Mary to leave us, because women are not worthy of (spiritual) life.'' Peter complains that Mary talks too much, displacing the role of the male disciples. But Jesus tells Peter to stop, not Mary! No wonder these texts were not admitted into the canon of a church that would be ruled by an all-male clergy for 2,000 years. Those possibilities opened by the ``Gnostic'' gospels -- that God could have a feminine side and that Jesus could be human -- are key ideas that Dan Brown explored in ``The Da Vinci Code,'' and are no doubt part of what made the book so alluring. But the truth is that the texts he based his novel upon contain much deeper and more important mysteries than the ones Tom Hanks tries to solve in the movie version that opened this weekend. The real mystery is what Christianity and Western civilization would look like had the ``Gnostic'' gospels never been banned. Because of the discovery by that Egyptian farmer in 1945, we now at least have the chance to hear what the ``heretics'' were saying, and imagine what might have been. ELAINE PAGELS, author of ``The Gnostic Gospels'' and ``Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas,'' is a professor of religion at Princeton. She wrote this article for Perspective. Da Vinci: Cross with the Code? [An article that reflects the affects of the movie in India] http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=132&page=4 By Sandhya Jain Organiser It must have come as a surprise to Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Das-munshi that India’s supposedly small Roman Catholic community can field two hundred organisations to protest the screening of the Hollywood blockbuster, Da Vinci Code, based on Dan Brown’s bestselling novel by the same name. Certainly it would have mattered to him that not only are these the UPA chairperson’s co-religionists, but belong to the same majority Christian sect, headquartered in Vatican City. Little wonder then, that while the Christian world will view the film with no cuts or disclaimers, India’s I&B Minister feels the Catholic Churches’ Association of India (CCAI), rather than the Censor Board, should have the final say in the matter. After all, this is a secular country, and secularism, as I have argued elsewhere, is the twin god of Christianity, the face it turns towards the world when it wants to conceal the designs of the cross. In fairness, however, the Vatican and the Indian evangelical industry are right to be wary of the film. The Da Vinci Code is no ordinary fiction. It represents the latest in a long history of dissent in the Catholic church regarding the true nature of the mission of the Christian church that suddenly emerged in Rome in the early centuries AD. Was Christianity ever intended to be anything more than a political movement, or did it have religio-political goals, and why did Jesus and his Apostles break with Jewish community and opt for aggressive evangelism among non-Jews? These are not questions that will go away until the Vatican opens its archives and furnishes some credible answers. Indeed, the core issue is how and when the early Christian Church conceived its plan for world dominion, and the driving force behind this ambition. Anyone who is concerned with fundamentalist Islam’s jehadi face and its plans for world conquest, must be interested in the early Christian Church, as this is where a blueprint for such dominion was first conceived and implemented. It would be a mistake to believe that the quest has been consigned to the dustbin of history—all rich Western nations have a huge budget for evangelical activities oversees, and conversion is a major foreign policy agenda. Indeed, the Christian nations do not spare even fellow monotheistic traditions like Islam, and Christian missionaries are very active in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, not to mention other parts of the globe. This central mission of an unknown group striving for control of the whole world and its economic resources and thought processes, is what the Da Vinci Code exposes in the form of a novel. It is bound to make the thinking public ponder about the supposedly spiritual content of this faith, which is unable to win adherents without resort to special tactics, and does not even have a credible theology around its key figures. Forget that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had a child or children, or even the stories that he was not the first born child of his own mother, Mary. These are side issues for Indians. What is important, however, is why there is so much suspense about key components of the Christian story, when it is a religion that supposedly began with one man and his band of followers. It would be safe to say that Jesus was born in a Jewish family and initially aspired for leadership of his own community. On being shunned, he turned towards the Gentiles, the non-Jews of Jerusalem, who were in search of a religion. But what was the religion he preached? Was the heavenly father he spoke of the same as the Jewish Yahweh, or someone else? Who or what is the Holy Ghost, the third element of the Christian Trinity? To the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely no credible information about the role and purpose of this divinity in the spiritual evolution of Christians. Ultimately, we are asked to believe what the Vatican says, and it says very little beyond the fact that belief in Jesus is imperative for human salvation. Yet Christians are prone to deride Muslims for similar adherence to the Prophethood of Mohammad. This makes the criticism of the film by some Indian Muslim organisations highly suspect, and the UPA government would do well to take adequate precautions that vested elements do not create trouble on the pretext of protests against the film. The protests are an act of muscle-flexing by the Christian church that is determined to plant the cross in India. And typically, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, a Roman by birth and a Catholic by faith, has refused to reveal her mind over the agitations, though anyone who has observed the disproportionate rise of Christians to top jobs in the Congress party and its state governments will know how avidly she promotes her community’s interests.

By Stephen Knapp


It was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth
was
predicted in Srimad-Bhagavatam: "In the beginning of the age of Kali, the
Supreme
Personality of Godhead will appear in the province of Gaya as Lord Buddha,
the son of
Anjana, to bewilder those who are always envious of the devotees of the
Lord."
(Bhag.1.3.24)
This verse indicates that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of the Supreme who
would appear in Gaya, a town in central India. But some historians may point
out that
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was actually born in Lumbini, Nepal, and that
his mother
was Queen Mahamaya. Therefore, this verse may be inaccurate. But actually
Siddhartha
became the Buddha after he attained spiritual enlightenment during his
meditation under
the Bo tree in Gaya. This means that his spiritual realization was his
second and most
important birth. Furthermore, Siddhartha's mother, Queen Mahamaya, died
several days
after Siddhartha's birth, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother,
Anjana. So the
prediction in the Bhagavatam is verified.
When Lord Buddha appeared, the people of India, although following the Vedas,
had deviated from the primary goal of Vedic philosophy. They had become
preoccupied
with performing ceremonies and rituals for material enjoyment. Some of the
rituals included
animal sacrifices. The people had begun to sacrifice animals
indiscriminately on the plea
of Vedic rituals and then indulged in eating the flesh. Being misled by
unworthy priests,
much unnecessary animal killing was going on and the people were becoming
more
degraded and atheistic.
The rituals that included animal sacrifices, according to the Vedas, were
not meant
for eating flesh. An old animal would be placed in the sacrificial fire and,
after the mantras
were chanted, it would come out of the fire in a new and younger body as a
test to show
the potency of the Vedic mantras. However, as the power of the priests
deteriorated, they
could no longer chant the mantras properly and, therefore, the animals would
not be
brought back to life. So in the age of Kali all such sacrifices are
forbidden because there
are no longer any brahmanas who can chant the mantras correctly. Thus, Lord
Buddha
appeared and rejected the Vedic rituals and preached the philosophy of
nonviolence. In
the Dhammapada (129-130) Buddha says, "All beings fear death and pain, life
is dear to
all; therefore the wise man will not kill or cause anything to be killed."
The Vedic literature also teaches nonviolence, but Buddha taught the people
who
used the Vedas for improper purposes to give them up and simply follow him.
Thus, he
saved the animals from being killed and saved the people from being further
misled by the
corrupt priests. However, he did not teach the Vedic conclusions of
spiritual knowledge but
taught his own philosophy.
Buddha was born in the town of Lumbini in Nepal as the son of a king of the
Shakya
clan. He is generally accepted to have lived during 560-477 B.C. but has
been shown to
have been born in 1887 B.C. and died in 1807 B.C. Check the article
Reestablishing the
date of Lord Buddha for more evidence of this.
His mother, Queen Mahamaya, before she conceived him, saw him in a dream
descending from heaven and entering her womb as a white elephant. After his
birth his
father sheltered him from the problems of the world as much as possible.
Later, Buddha
married and had one son. It was during this time that he began to be
disturbed by the
problems life forced on everyone, especially after he had seen for the first
time a man
afflicted with disease, another man who was decrepit with age, a dead man
being carried
to the cremation grounds, and a monk who had dedicated himself to the
pursuit of finding
a release from the problems of life.
Soon after this, at the age of 29, he renounced his family and became a
wandering
beggar. For six years Buddha sought enlightenment as an austere ascetic. He
would eat
very little food, sometimes only one grain of rice a day, and his bones
would stick out as
if he were a skeleton. Finally giving that up, thinking that enlightenment
was not to be found
in such a severe manner, he again became a beggar living on alms. When he
started to
eat more regularly, the five mendicants who were with him left him alone,
thinking that he
had given up his resolution. During this time he came to Gaya where he
determinedly sat
in meditation under the Bo tree for seven weeks. He was tempted by Mara, the
Evil One,
with many pleasures in an effort to make Gautama Buddha give up his quest.
But finally
he attained enlightenment. It was then that he became the enlightened Buddha.
Buddha at first hesitated to teach his realizations to others because he
knew that
the world would not want them. Of what use would there be in trying to teach
men who
were sunk in the darkness of illusion? Nonetheless, he decided to make the
attempt. He
then went to Benares and met the five mendicants who had deserted him near
Gaya.
There in the Deer Park, in present day Sarnath, he gave his first sermon,
which was the
beginning of Buddhism.
Buddha taught four basic truths: that suffering exists, there is a cause for
suffering,
suffering can be eradicated, and there is a means to end all suffering. But
these four noble
truths had previously been discussed in the Sankhya philosophy before
Buddha's
appearance, and had later been further elaborated upon in Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras. So this
train of thought actually was not new.
Buddha also taught that suffering is essentially caused by ignorance and our
own
mental confusion about the purpose life. The suffering we experience can end
once we rid
ourselves of this confusion through the path of personal development.
Otherwise, this
confusion and ignorance causes us to perform unwanted activities that become
part of our
karma that must be endured in this or another existence. When karma ceases,
so does the
need for birth and, naturally, old age, sorrow, and death. With the
cessation of birth, there
is the cessation of consciousness and entrance into nirvana follows. Thus,
according to
this, there is no soul and no personal God, but only the void, the
nothingness that is the
essence of everything to which we must return. Although this was the basic
premise from
which Buddha taught, this theory was mentioned in the Nasadiya-sukta of the
Rig-veda
long before Buddha ever appeared.
However, Buddha refused to discuss how the world was created or what was
existence in nirvana. He simply taught that one should live in a way that
would produce no
more karma while enduring whatever karmic reactions destiny brought. This
would free one
from further rebirth.
In order to accomplish this, Buddha gave a complete system for attaining
nirvana
that consisted of eight steps. These were right views (recognizing the
imperfect and
temporary nature of the world), right resolve (putting knowledge into
practice or living the
life of truth and nonviolence toward all creatures, including
vegetarianism), right speech
(giving up lies, slander, and unnecessary talk), right conduct (nonviolence,
truthfulness,
celibacy, nonintoxication, and nonstealing), right livelihood (honest means
of living that
does not interfere with others or with social harmony), right effort
(maintaining spiritual
progress by remaining enthusiastic and without negative thoughts), right
mindfulness
(remaining free from worldly attachments by remembering the temporary nature
of things),
and right meditation (attaining inner peace and tranquility and, finally,
indifference to the
world and one's situation, which leads to nirvana). This, for the most part,
is merely another
adaptation of the basic yamas and niyamas that are the rules of what to do
and what not
to do that are found in the Vedic system of yoga.
However, because of Buddha's lack of interest in discussing any metaphysical
topics, many interpretations of his philosophy were not only possible but
were formed,
especially after his disappearance. The two main divisions of Buddhism that
developed
were the Hinayana, or lesser vehicle, and Mahayana, or greater vehicle. The
Hinayana was
more strict and held onto Buddha's original teachings and uses Pali as the
language of its
scriptures. It also accepts reaching nirvana as the goal of life. Hinayana
stresses one's own
enlightenment and puts less emphasis on helping others, and Mahayana
emphasizes the
need of enlightenment for the good of others while overlooking the need to
realize the truth
within. The Mahayana accepts Sanskrit as the language for its texts and
integrates
principles from other schools of philosophy, making it more accessible to
all varieties of
people. Gradually, as followers came from numerous cultural backgrounds,
Mahayana
Buddhism drastically changed from its original form.
The ideal of the Mahayana system is the bodhisattva, the person who works for
enlightenment for all other living beings. The personification of this
enlightened
compassion is one of the major deities of Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara, who is
represented
in a variety of forms and images. The mantra that is the sound
representation of this
enlightened compassion is om mani padme hum, which is chanted on beads by
aspiring
Buddhists. The vibration of this mantra evokes compassionate qualities and
feelings in the
heart and consciousness of a person who chants it.
A third division of Buddhism is the Vajrayana sect. This has the same
principles as
the Mahayana, but the Vajrayana bases its process for achieving
enlightenment on the
Buddhist Tantras, which are supposed to reveal a quicker path to
enlightenment. The
Vajrayana path is one of transforming the inner psychological energy toward
enlightenment
by the use of various types of yogic techniques. First they try to change
their conventional
perceptions of this world by identifying themselves with the Buddhist deity
that they feel
affinity for, and to view the mandala of the particular deity as the world.
Ultimately, this form of meditation, as well as other techniques used in
this system,
is meant to give one the experience of what is called the "clear light."
This clear light is said
to be experienced by everyone shortly after death, but most people hardly
notice it
because they are not prepared for it. The idea is that if one is prepared
for it before death,
it can help one to be ready to merge into it when he sees it after death.
As Buddhism flourished, the Hinayana spread through the south in Ceylan,
Burma,
and Thailand, while the Mahayana spread to the North and East and is now
found primarily
in Tibet, China, and Japan. The Mahayana school still uses knowledge of
kundalini and the
chakras in its teachings, other topics that are traced to the Vedic system.
It is this
Mahayana school which has now developed more than twenty sects with a
variety of
teachings that, in some cases, especially in the West, have become so
distorted that it is
impossible to distinguish the original principles that were established by
Buddha.
Besides the Vedic similarities in Buddhism already mentioned, there are many
additional correlations between the Vedic literature and the Buddhist
religion of the Far
East. For example, the word Ch'an of the Ch'an school of Chinese Buddhism is
Chinese
for the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means meditation, as does the word zen
in Japanese.
Furthermore, the deity Amitayus is the origin of all other Lokesvara forms
of Buddha and
is considered the original spiritual master, just as Balarama (the expansion
of Lord Krishna)
in the Vedic literature is the source of all the Vishnu incarnations and is
the original spiritual
teacher. Also, the trinity doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism explains the three
realms of
manifestations of Buddha, which are the dharmakaya realm of Amitabha (the
original
two-armed form is Amitayus), the sambhogakaya realm of the spiritual
manifestation (in
which the undescended form of Lokesvara or Amitayus reigns), and the
rupakaya realm,
the material manifestation (which is where the Buddha in the form of
Lokesvara incarnates
in so many other different forms). This is a derivative of the Vedic
philosophy. Thus,
Lokesvara is actually a representation of Vishnu to the Mahayana Buddhists.
Furthermore, all the different incarnations of Vishnu appear as different
forms of
Lokesvara in Buddhism. For example, Makendanatha Lokesvara is the same as
the Vedic
Matsya, Badravaraha Lokesvara is Varaha, Hayagriva in Buddhism is the
horse-necked
one as similarly described in the Vedic literature, and so on. And the
different forms of
Lakshmi, Vishnu's spouse as the Goddess of Fortune, appear as the different
forms of
Tara in the forms of White Tara, the Green Tara, etc. Even the fearful forms
of Lokesvara
are simply the fearful aspects of Lord Vishnu, as in the case of the
threatening image of
Yamantaka, who is simply the form of the Lord as death personified. The name
is simply
taken from Yamaraja, the Vedic lord of death.
Many times you will also see Buddhist paintings depicting a threefold
bending form
of Bodhisattvas and Lokesvaras much the same way Krishna is depicted. This
is because
the Bodhisattvas were originally styled after paintings from India, which
were prints of
Krishna. Most images of Tara are also similar to paintings of Lakshmi in
that one hand is
held in benediction. And Vajrayogini, the Buddha in female aspect, is
certainly styled after
goddess Kali or Durga. Kuvera, the lord of wealth in the Vedic culture, is
Kuvera
Vaishravana in Buddhism. There are many other carry-overs from the Vedic
tradition into
Buddhism that can be recognized, such as the use of ghee lamps and kusha
grass, and
the offerings of barley and ghee in rituals that resemble Vedic ceremonies.
In this way, we
can see the many similarities and connections in Buddhism with Vedic
culture, which is the
origin of many of the concepts found within Buddhism.
Therefore, after the disappearance of Lord Buddha, the authority of the
Vedas and
Vedic culture was reinstated by such scholarly personalities as
Shankaracarya,
Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka, Baladeva Vidyabushana, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and others.

[Also available at www.stephen-knapp.com]

By Stephen Knapp


It was several hundred years before the time of Lord Buddha that his birth
was
predicted in Srimad-Bhagavatam: "In the beginning of the age of Kali, the
Supreme
Personality of Godhead will appear in the province of Gaya as Lord Buddha,
the son of
Anjana, to bewilder those who are always envious of the devotees of the
Lord."
(Bhag.1.3.24)
This verse indicates that Lord Buddha was an incarnation of the Supreme who
would appear in Gaya, a town in central India. But some historians may point
out that
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was actually born in Lumbini, Nepal, and that
his mother
was Queen Mahamaya. Therefore, this verse may be inaccurate. But actually
Siddhartha
became the Buddha after he attained spiritual enlightenment during his
meditation under
the Bo tree in Gaya. This means that his spiritual realization was his
second and most
important birth. Furthermore, Siddhartha's mother, Queen Mahamaya, died
several days
after Siddhartha's birth, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother,
Anjana. So the
prediction in the Bhagavatam is verified.
When Lord Buddha appeared, the people of India, although following the Vedas,
had deviated from the primary goal of Vedic philosophy. They had become
preoccupied
with performing ceremonies and rituals for material enjoyment. Some of the
rituals included
animal sacrifices. The people had begun to sacrifice animals
indiscriminately on the plea
of Vedic rituals and then indulged in eating the flesh. Being misled by
unworthy priests,
much unnecessary animal killing was going on and the people were becoming
more
degraded and atheistic.
The rituals that included animal sacrifices, according to the Vedas, were
not meant
for eating flesh. An old animal would be placed in the sacrificial fire and,
after the mantras
were chanted, it would come out of the fire in a new and younger body as a
test to show
the potency of the Vedic mantras. However, as the power of the priests
deteriorated, they
could no longer chant the mantras properly and, therefore, the animals would
not be
brought back to life. So in the age of Kali all such sacrifices are
forbidden because there
are no longer any brahmanas who can chant the mantras correctly. Thus, Lord
Buddha
appeared and rejected the Vedic rituals and preached the philosophy of
nonviolence. In
the Dhammapada (129-130) Buddha says, "All beings fear death and pain, life
is dear to
all; therefore the wise man will not kill or cause anything to be killed."
The Vedic literature also teaches nonviolence, but Buddha taught the people
who
used the Vedas for improper purposes to give them up and simply follow him.
Thus, he
saved the animals from being killed and saved the people from being further
misled by the
corrupt priests. However, he did not teach the Vedic conclusions of
spiritual knowledge but
taught his own philosophy.
Buddha was born in the town of Lumbini in Nepal as the son of a king of the
Shakya
clan. He is generally accepted to have lived during 560-477 B.C. but has
been shown to
have been born in 1887 B.C. and died in 1807 B.C. Check the article
Reestablishing the
date of Lord Buddha for more evidence of this.
His mother, Queen Mahamaya, before she conceived him, saw him in a dream
descending from heaven and entering her womb as a white elephant. After his
birth his
father sheltered him from the problems of the world as much as possible.
Later, Buddha
married and had one son. It was during this time that he began to be
disturbed by the
problems life forced on everyone, especially after he had seen for the first
time a man
afflicted with disease, another man who was decrepit with age, a dead man
being carried
to the cremation grounds, and a monk who had dedicated himself to the
pursuit of finding
a release from the problems of life.
Soon after this, at the age of 29, he renounced his family and became a
wandering
beggar. For six years Buddha sought enlightenment as an austere ascetic. He
would eat
very little food, sometimes only one grain of rice a day, and his bones
would stick out as
if he were a skeleton. Finally giving that up, thinking that enlightenment
was not to be found
in such a severe manner, he again became a beggar living on alms. When he
started to
eat more regularly, the five mendicants who were with him left him alone,
thinking that he
had given up his resolution. During this time he came to Gaya where he
determinedly sat
in meditation under the Bo tree for seven weeks. He was tempted by Mara, the
Evil One,
with many pleasures in an effort to make Gautama Buddha give up his quest.
But finally
he attained enlightenment. It was then that he became the enlightened Buddha.
Buddha at first hesitated to teach his realizations to others because he
knew that
the world would not want them. Of what use would there be in trying to teach
men who
were sunk in the darkness of illusion? Nonetheless, he decided to make the
attempt. He
then went to Benares and met the five mendicants who had deserted him near
Gaya.
There in the Deer Park, in present day Sarnath, he gave his first sermon,
which was the
beginning of Buddhism.
Buddha taught four basic truths: that suffering exists, there is a cause for
suffering,
suffering can be eradicated, and there is a means to end all suffering. But
these four noble
truths had previously been discussed in the Sankhya philosophy before
Buddha's
appearance, and had later been further elaborated upon in Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras. So this
train of thought actually was not new.
Buddha also taught that suffering is essentially caused by ignorance and our
own
mental confusion about the purpose life. The suffering we experience can end
once we rid
ourselves of this confusion through the path of personal development.
Otherwise, this
confusion and ignorance causes us to perform unwanted activities that become
part of our
karma that must be endured in this or another existence. When karma ceases,
so does the
need for birth and, naturally, old age, sorrow, and death. With the
cessation of birth, there
is the cessation of consciousness and entrance into nirvana follows. Thus,
according to
this, there is no soul and no personal God, but only the void, the
nothingness that is the
essence of everything to which we must return. Although this was the basic
premise from
which Buddha taught, this theory was mentioned in the Nasadiya-sukta of the
Rig-veda
long before Buddha ever appeared.
However, Buddha refused to discuss how the world was created or what was
existence in nirvana. He simply taught that one should live in a way that
would produce no
more karma while enduring whatever karmic reactions destiny brought. This
would free one
from further rebirth.
In order to accomplish this, Buddha gave a complete system for attaining
nirvana
that consisted of eight steps. These were right views (recognizing the
imperfect and
temporary nature of the world), right resolve (putting knowledge into
practice or living the
life of truth and nonviolence toward all creatures, including
vegetarianism), right speech
(giving up lies, slander, and unnecessary talk), right conduct (nonviolence,
truthfulness,
celibacy, nonintoxication, and nonstealing), right livelihood (honest means
of living that
does not interfere with others or with social harmony), right effort
(maintaining spiritual
progress by remaining enthusiastic and without negative thoughts), right
mindfulness
(remaining free from worldly attachments by remembering the temporary nature
of things),
and right meditation (attaining inner peace and tranquility and, finally,
indifference to the
world and one's situation, which leads to nirvana). This, for the most part,
is merely another
adaptation of the basic yamas and niyamas that are the rules of what to do
and what not
to do that are found in the Vedic system of yoga.
However, because of Buddha's lack of interest in discussing any metaphysical
topics, many interpretations of his philosophy were not only possible but
were formed,
especially after his disappearance. The two main divisions of Buddhism that
developed
were the Hinayana, or lesser vehicle, and Mahayana, or greater vehicle. The
Hinayana was
more strict and held onto Buddha's original teachings and uses Pali as the
language of its
scriptures. It also accepts reaching nirvana as the goal of life. Hinayana
stresses one's own
enlightenment and puts less emphasis on helping others, and Mahayana
emphasizes the
need of enlightenment for the good of others while overlooking the need to
realize the truth
within. The Mahayana accepts Sanskrit as the language for its texts and
integrates
principles from other schools of philosophy, making it more accessible to
all varieties of
people. Gradually, as followers came from numerous cultural backgrounds,
Mahayana
Buddhism drastically changed from its original form.
The ideal of the Mahayana system is the bodhisattva, the person who works for
enlightenment for all other living beings. The personification of this
enlightened
compassion is one of the major deities of Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara, who is
represented
in a variety of forms and images. The mantra that is the sound
representation of this
enlightened compassion is om mani padme hum, which is chanted on beads by
aspiring
Buddhists. The vibration of this mantra evokes compassionate qualities and
feelings in the
heart and consciousness of a person who chants it.
A third division of Buddhism is the Vajrayana sect. This has the same
principles as
the Mahayana, but the Vajrayana bases its process for achieving
enlightenment on the
Buddhist Tantras, which are supposed to reveal a quicker path to
enlightenment. The
Vajrayana path is one of transforming the inner psychological energy toward
enlightenment
by the use of various types of yogic techniques. First they try to change
their conventional
perceptions of this world by identifying themselves with the Buddhist deity
that they feel
affinity for, and to view the mandala of the particular deity as the world.
Ultimately, this form of meditation, as well as other techniques used in
this system,
is meant to give one the experience of what is called the "clear light."
This clear light is said
to be experienced by everyone shortly after death, but most people hardly
notice it
because they are not prepared for it. The idea is that if one is prepared
for it before death,
it can help one to be ready to merge into it when he sees it after death.
As Buddhism flourished, the Hinayana spread through the south in Ceylan,
Burma,
and Thailand, while the Mahayana spread to the North and East and is now
found primarily
in Tibet, China, and Japan. The Mahayana school still uses knowledge of
kundalini and the
chakras in its teachings, other topics that are traced to the Vedic system.
It is this
Mahayana school which has now developed more than twenty sects with a
variety of
teachings that, in some cases, especially in the West, have become so
distorted that it is
impossible to distinguish the original principles that were established by
Buddha.
Besides the Vedic similarities in Buddhism already mentioned, there are many
additional correlations between the Vedic literature and the Buddhist
religion of the Far
East. For example, the word Ch'an of the Ch'an school of Chinese Buddhism is
Chinese
for the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means meditation, as does the word zen
in Japanese.
Furthermore, the deity Amitayus is the origin of all other Lokesvara forms
of Buddha and
is considered the original spiritual master, just as Balarama (the expansion
of Lord Krishna)
in the Vedic literature is the source of all the Vishnu incarnations and is
the original spiritual
teacher. Also, the trinity doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism explains the three
realms of
manifestations of Buddha, which are the dharmakaya realm of Amitabha (the
original
two-armed form is Amitayus), the sambhogakaya realm of the spiritual
manifestation (in
which the undescended form of Lokesvara or Amitayus reigns), and the
rupakaya realm,
the material manifestation (which is where the Buddha in the form of
Lokesvara incarnates
in so many other different forms). This is a derivative of the Vedic
philosophy. Thus,
Lokesvara is actually a representation of Vishnu to the Mahayana Buddhists.
Furthermore, all the different incarnations of Vishnu appear as different
forms of
Lokesvara in Buddhism. For example, Makendanatha Lokesvara is the same as
the Vedic
Matsya, Badravaraha Lokesvara is Varaha, Hayagriva in Buddhism is the
horse-necked
one as similarly described in the Vedic literature, and so on. And the
different forms of
Lakshmi, Vishnu's spouse as the Goddess of Fortune, appear as the different
forms of
Tara in the forms of White Tara, the Green Tara, etc. Even the fearful forms
of Lokesvara
are simply the fearful aspects of Lord Vishnu, as in the case of the
threatening image of
Yamantaka, who is simply the form of the Lord as death personified. The name
is simply
taken from Yamaraja, the Vedic lord of death.
Many times you will also see Buddhist paintings depicting a threefold
bending form
of Bodhisattvas and Lokesvaras much the same way Krishna is depicted. This
is because
the Bodhisattvas were originally styled after paintings from India, which
were prints of
Krishna. Most images of Tara are also similar to paintings of Lakshmi in
that one hand is
held in benediction. And Vajrayogini, the Buddha in female aspect, is
certainly styled after
goddess Kali or Durga. Kuvera, the lord of wealth in the Vedic culture, is
Kuvera
Vaishravana in Buddhism. There are many other carry-overs from the Vedic
tradition into
Buddhism that can be recognized, such as the use of ghee lamps and kusha
grass, and
the offerings of barley and ghee in rituals that resemble Vedic ceremonies.
In this way, we
can see the many similarities and connections in Buddhism with Vedic
culture, which is the
origin of many of the concepts found within Buddhism.
Therefore, after the disappearance of Lord Buddha, the authority of the
Vedas and
Vedic culture was reinstated by such scholarly personalities as
Shankaracarya,
Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka, Baladeva Vidyabushana, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and others.

[Also available at www.stephen-knapp.com]

It is a tragedy beyond words that on May 18, 2006, Nepal Adhirajya, the only
Hindu country in the world and occupying a special place in the billion
strong Hindu community’s heart across the globe, has been divested of its Hindu
identity, and has been declared as a secular country under pressure from
Maoists and missionaries.
It is deplorable that Nepal, the land of glorious history of thousands of
years; the land of warriors, sages, temples and Vedic heritage; the land of
Gopalas, Mahishpals, Kirats, Lichhavis, Mallas and Shahs; the land of Yalambar,
Lumbini and Gautam Budha, Manadeva, Amsuverma, Jayasthiti Malla, and Prithvi
Narayan Shah; and the only Hindu country in the world is being grabbed by
Maoists and missionaries in the name of democracy.
On May 18, 2006 after a decade long Maoist violence which began in 1996, the
interim government led by G. P. Koirala divested Nepal of it being a Hindu
country, and proclaimed it to be a secular state. Besides, simultaneously, ‘
His Majesty’s Government’ was replaced with ‘Nepal Government’ and Royal
Nepal Army (which was fighting the Maoists) was named Nepalese Army. To complete
Nepal’s break with its distinguished past, monarch was divested of all the
executive powers including that of being the supreme commander of the army. In
the process, the basic identity and history of Nepal have been sought to be
destroyed.
And there was no word of protest against the Maoists for the death and
destruction brought by them.
Anti Hindu conspirators, Maoists, missionaries and ISI operators could not
have asked for more. In the background of Pope’s 1999 address at New Delhi
asking for evangelization of Asia, missionaries see in demolition of Hindu
kingdom of Nepal better opportunities for Christianizing the Hindu nation of Nepal.
Though there are scores of Christian and Muslim countries in the world, and
though there is a billion strong Hindu community across the globe, Nepal with
a population of 24 millions was the only Hindu country in the world.
Maoist-takeover of Nepal
For Nepal as also for India, Maoists are the problem, and not the solution.
It is all the more deplorable that Nepal which could never be subjugated in
the past is being grabbed by the Maoists under the subterfuge of democracy.
As per Mao Tse Tung (1893-1976), “power flows through the barrel of a gun”;
and as his faithful followers, Maoists use violence to achieve political
power. And Maoists never admire democracy.
Nepal travelled from absolute to constitutional monarchy in 1990. However,
in February 1996, ‘Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist’ launched its violent
movement to substitute constitutional monarchy with communist regime. Starting in
1996, Maoist violence has claimed thousands of lives in Nepal.
Throughout their regime till 2005, multi-party democracy and political
parties could not tackle Maoist threat. Accordingly, to quell insurgency and to
save Nepal from disaster, in February 2005, king Gyanendra took over the
government for three years.
History teaches that democratic niceties cannot tackle insurgencies. A
similar Maoist rebellion known as ‘Shining Path’ (Sendero Luminoso in Spanish)
tormented Peru for decades before it was crushed in 1990s by Peruvian President
Alberto Fujimori who suspended legislature and judiciary, and used army and
dictatorial powers to crush terrorism.
After pro-democracy demonstrations, King Gyanendra restored Parliament and
invited the Seven-Party Alliance to form the government. Nepali Congress
leader G.P. Koirala was installed as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
Forgetting that many of their party members were killed by the same Maoists
prior to royal takeover in 2005; and mortally scared of Maoists, Seven Party
Alliance is implementing Maoist agenda which will facilitate Maoist takeover
of Nepal, and make all non-Maoists irrelevant very soon. For political
parties, the only way to defeat the Maoists would have been to support the king.
A unique native institution
Nepal is the only surviving native Hindu government on earth. Therefore, as
a venerable symbol of aspirations of global Hindu community, Nepal’s Hindu
identity must be protected and preserved by the Hindu world.
Anti-Hindu forces want to destroy Nepal, the world’s sole surviving Hindu
kingdom, the way all other native religions and governments in other parts of
the world have been already destroyed. Those celebrating the fall of Nepal as
a Hindu nation should reflect on loss of millions of lives in Russia, China,
North Korea, Laos, Cambodia and many other countries where communists came
into power.
Though anti-Hindus, Maoists and missionaries will celebrate demolition of
the world’s only Hindu country, it is a grim tragedy for Hindus all over the
world. Considering Nepal’s history and heritage, only the constitutional
monarchy and a Hindu Nepal will be able to save Nepal from Maoists and missionaries.
Issues at stake
Events in Nepal concern every Hindu in Nepal, in India and every where else.
The issue in Nepal is not of monarchy versus democracy as has been wrongly
projected by some sections in media. The issue is that of having a friendly
Hindu nation versus a communist dictatorship in India’s neighbourhood. The
issue is that of native Hindu governance versus a totalitarian communist regime
like China, Vietnam or North Korea.
The issue is of preservation of Hindu culture and heritage in Nepal, in
India and in rest of the world.
Demolition of the only Hindu country in the world will be disastrous for
Hindus, and will lead to gradual destruction of Hindu heritage all over the
world. Why cannot even a single Hindu country exist when there are scores of
Muslim and Christian countries in the world?
Way out
By leaving Nepal to its fate, India has facilitated Maoist takeover of
Nepal. And Maoist takeover of Nepal will be detrimental to India since it will
sharpen Maoists’ war on India. Already, Maoists in India are targetting Indian
state and challenging Indian sovereignty over large parts of India.
Nothing is wrong with Nepal’s Constitution of 1990, and with constitutional
monarchy. Rather, constitutional monarchy is the only device which will save
Nepal from Maoists and also enable it to retain its unique feature of being
the Hindu nation. Since the king has already restored parliament and
multi-party democracy, political parties have to ensure that Maoists do not grab
Nepal. And political parties can ensure that only if they support the institution
of constitutional monarchy; and do nothing to hand over power to Maoists.
Since past cannot be recalled and relived, and mistakes of the past cannot
be undone, the least that the Indian government can do now to redeem the
situation in Nepal is to help the anti-Mao forces in Nepal to crush Maoist
violence and prevent Maoist takeover of Nepal.
Since Nepal has nurtured and upheld Hindu heritage and traditions for so
many centuries, it deserves the help of global Hindu community in its fight
against anti-Hindu forces.
If Nepal is allowed to be grabbed by Maoists and missionaries, India too
will be grabbed by Maoists, missionaries and Pak-Bangla combine. Since
government in India is passively watching the gradual demolition of Hindu nation of
Nepal, organizations and individuals who understand Hindu anguish must do their
best to preserve Nepal as a Hindu country.
It is now or never for Hindus all over the world.

Science may have caught up with the Bible, which says that Adam and Eve are the ancestors of all humans alive today. This theory is impossible as per the scientists. Now it is being said that there is no historical Jesus and the Christianity is the biggest fraud committed by some determined group of writers on human race. In the scientists' version, based on DNA analysis, ''Adam,'' the genetic ancestor of all men living today, and ''Eve,'' the genetic ancestor of all living women, seem to have lived 84,000 years apart. In science, unlike the Old Testament, Eve came before Adam and the analysis of Y chromosome shows that Adam was an African. A common modern male ancestor, Adam, is a mathematical concept and made their appearance about 59,000 years ago, and the common modern female ancestor, Eve made her appearance some 1,43,000 years ago. Prior to the modern male there were males but they were more related to chimpanzees than modern man based on the study of a noncoding region of the Y chromosome and Haplotype 1A, defined by an A at a particular site, appears to be ancestral because the A is found in chimpanzees, and that in humans, it occurs only in some Africans. The study even pinpointed the living men whose Y chromosomes most resemble Adam's, are few Ethiopians, Sudanese, and Khoisan people living in southern Africa, including groups once known as Hottentots and Bushmen. The genes reflect known history. Fossil records suggest that Homo sapiens, or modern humans, first appeared in Africa about 150,000 years ago, then moved out and spread across the world fairly quickly: perhaps 50,000 years ago to Europe and as long as 60,000 years ago to Australasia. It is concluded that the last common ancestor of modern humans was a population probably in Africa, suggesting a recent African origin for all the modern 'races' and excluding Neanderthals and other non-African archaic humans form direct ancestry to modern humanity. Chapter 8.6 of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution covers this quite briefly. But detailed studies have pinpointed the fact that the modern male and female had a gap of tens of thousands of years.Females have two X-chromosomes, whereas males have one X and one Y. Only men carry a Y chromosome. All the information in a man's Y chromosome is passed to his son, and every man's Y chromosome carries a virtual pedigree of his male family history. This could be one subconscious reason why Hindus are very particular to have a male child to carry forward the legacy of their father. Using mutation rates of genes, as molecular clocks the small DNA differences between different men's Y-chromosomes are used to figure out how populations from around the world are related, and where and when these populations evolved.Eve’s identity was traced by analysing the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) passed exclusively from mother to daughter. The genetic trail leading to Y-Adam was found to be at the same place where the modern female ancestor, mitochondrial Eve lived. Using mtDNA, the genetic ‘Eve’ was found to have lived 1, 43,000 years ago. The so-called races have no genetic basis, but genetics have relevance only to ethnic and geographic groups. Comparing date collected from the two genetic systems, the researchers found consistency in the estimates of the timing of the various migratory events out of Africa. At the level of the Y chromosome there is very little difference and the skin colour differences are strictly a consequence of climate. Women were good at passing on their genes, while men were less lucky. One tribe conquers another tribe and mate with all the women. Polygamy and a few dominant males get to marry and have children and the rest see their genes consigned to the rubbish heap of posterity. Also if a man has only daughter, he would not pass off his Y chromosome and so would chalk up a big zero in the ‘Adam’ and ‘Eve’ genetic stakes. The data show that variants in the Y chromosome, which sons inherit from their fathers, have a different geographic distribution from variants in mtDNA, which is passed from mother to daughter. Particular mtDNA markers are widespread. Women on different continents often carry the same markers, showing that women move more than men. It may be that women move into their husband’s homes and have their children farther from their birthplaces. Thus over the millennia, women spread their genes farther than men do, eventually across entire continents. But most variations in the Y chromosome are restricted to small geographic areas. Finally in simple language it means that the early eve had males of different genetic markers and after a period of 84,000 years later, the Adam who is the forefather of all males living today met Eve’s descendent female. This also calls for a review of the stories of Bible, and as per scientists there never was a Jesus Christ also known as that there is no historical Jesus. So, Christianity is the biggest fraud on human race.

Religion is the equivalent of modern day’s political parties to corner power and wealth for its leaders. Also the religions provided the cheapest form of labour for its leaders as priests and nuns. Shocking information I found about the Christianity is that Jesus could be just a mythical figure and never existed in reality. A scientific enquiry known as ‘Historical Jesus’ is going on by Western scholars and they say that the Twelve Apostles and the Twelve Disciples are just as imaginary as their master Jesus. BBC had reconstructed a 1st Century Jewish man which could be the real Jesus if he ever lived on earth and the picture is entirely different from the Jesus picture presented by the Church. For Christians, the most important documents relating to Jesus are the four Gospels in the Bible. These purport to be eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus in the first century CE (Common Era). Gospels are given in the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; but we do not actually know that they were by these people. Gospels are not good historical evidence of Jesus existence, or of what he said and did as these were not written by eyewitnesses and are written at the least 37 years after the death of Jesus if he ever lived. By comparative textual studies, Alvar Ellegard in his book 'Jesus: One Hundred Years Before Christ ' says that the gospel accounts of Jesus' life and sayings were written approximately 100 years after Jesus is supposed to have lived, and so 100 years later than alleged contemporaries such as St Paul, St Clement and the Jewish historian Josephus. Biblical scholars readily admit that the Gospels were written by unknown authors not personally acquainted with Jesus as late as 80 years after his alleged death. The letters known to be genuine Pauline epistles and those believed to be probable are completely silence on Jesus' parentage, when he might have lived, his trial, his death, or even his ethical teachings. Paul in many of his theological disputes do cite Jesus, but he does not appear to have been aware of what Jesus allegedly taught in the Gospels. If there was no Jesus who lived in the early part of the first century and if the early Christians did not believe such a thing, then what could be the basis for what they did believe? It is accepted that the earliest Gospel to be written was Mark, no earlier than 70 C.E., but it is not likely that the author lived in Palestine considering his ignorance of basic Palestinian geography. If the Gospel was not written by an eyewitness to the events described, then it is not accurate reports. According to the Gospels, Jesus was supposed to be a public figure and well known. Given that fact, one should be able to presume that he would have been known to some historians and that they would make mention of him. Jesus of Nazareth may not have existed in actual history. Gospels are mythic tale, like walking on water, splitting of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes to feed 5,000, the healing of the sick and disabled, the calming of the storm at sea, the resurrection, and the claim to be the greatest of Yahweh's prophets. New Testament has Tales of virgin births, divine heroes, and miracle workers which were relatively common 2,000 years ago and simply did not mean what they do to us today. One such mythical hero was Mithras, a Persian deity, who was said to have been sent by a father-god to vanquish darkness and evil in the world. Born of a virgin (a birth witnessed only by shepherds), Mithras was described variously as the Way, the Truth, the Light, the Word, the Son of God, and the Good Shepherd and was often depicted carrying a lamb upon his shoulders. Followers of Mithras celebrated December 25 by ringing bells, singing hymns, Black Friday, commemorating Mithras' sacrificial bull slaying. Mithras could be the Jesus of today. The Christian church destroyed records of Jesus and at one time, anyone attempting to preserve writings which were hostile to Jesus was subject to the death penalty. The Church also falsified other records so that it unlikely we will ever be able to say with certainty that Jesus ever existed.

One will wonder what is common between our Congress party, PLO, Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Communist Party and the answer lies in a list of corrupt organizations that supported Saddam Hussein and his policies in return for bribe. The list was published in an Iraqi newspaper ‘al-Mada’ and officials in Saddam's regime, which directly controlled its oil wealth, confirmed the list. Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein bought the support of foreign politicians and organizations with millions of barrels of oil bribe. Iraq's Justice Ministry had launched an investigation in to this on January 28, 2004.So far only individual politicians were seen taking bribe, but this is the first time that a whole political party that too Congress headed by Sonia Gandhi, in return for bribe, supported Saddam Hussein, a dictator and a supporter of international terrorism. Thus it is no wonder that during last year’s discussion on America’s war on terror and on Iraq, Congress expressed apprehension that the U.S. would try to intervene in India. The Congress leader Eduardo Faleiro, described the U.S. stance as a grand strategy of rich countries to control the resources of developing nations. Decades back I used to wonder how a puny state like Dubai could openly smuggle tons of gold in to India and even manipulate our government policies. Since independence Congress has a track record of selling off our nation’s interest. It starts from the one sided Indus Treaty which limited the use of our river water to just 16.4%. One of the recent one was the $2.9 billion Enron deal that did not protect the interests of the state or the nation and which was signed for $ 20 million bribe. Yet this is the first time that Congress party is reported to be on the payroll of a dictator known to be a supporter of international terrorism. Congress party has to answer this serious charge and indicate those top leaders involved. CBI should investigate this news item as this affects the very prestige of our nation.http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20040128_328.html http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_550913,001300180038.htm http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36820http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/7810402.htmhttp://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=CqbDb0eidAxjHCs1ICMLIzxmhttp://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2004/jan/27/012709915.htmlhttp://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040128/RIRAQ28/TPBusiness/TopStorieshttp://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2004-daily/28-01-2004/world/w17.htmhttp://news.myway.com/top/article/id/381613top01-27-2004::09:06reuters.htmlhttp://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040128/RIRAQ28/TPBusiness/TopStories

India today is not governed from either South Block or North Block; it is ruled from 10, Janpath by an Italian Christian Antonia Maino, an uneducated barmaid working in UK, who trapped an impressionable Indian to enter India. She assumed the name Sonia Gandhi and even voted before she became an Indian citizen. She dismissed Governors and replaced them with minority thugs and these muslim and christian governors are taking this nation to the type of Pakistani democracy.
It was a former Supreme Court judge and Tamil Nadu Governor Fathima Beevi who had sworn in the first convict in free India as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Now another muslim Governor Syed Sibtey Razi has sworn in a four time murderer Shibu Soren as Jharkhand Chief Minister. Shibu Soren does not have majority support in Jharkhand. Immediately he was seen in the company of Christian bishops in Ranchi.
It was a muslim president who signed on the dotted lines for the declaration of emergency by Indira Gandhi. Indira was also converted to Islam as per records to marry a muslim and her actions were typically the Paki type democracy. The christian Governor of Goa, S. C. Jamir recently dismissed the Manohar Parrikar government of Goa and sworn in a minority government led by Congress. Eventually president's rule had to be imposed as they could not prove majority.
National Security Advisor M K Narayanan summoned the chief of the Intelligence Bureau, E S L Narasimhan, and expressed his displeasure that the country's top intelligence outfit could not locate five independent legislators of Jharkhand which was the way the mafiosi sonia was gathering support for Sibu Soren. The Jharkand police have been used to prevent the movement of the five independent legislators so that they do not reach Delhi. This misuse of state machinery for crass political purposes is the trade mark of Italian Mafia. The Italian Mafiosi, the Christian Antonia Maino assumed the control of the congress party of India by throwing out its earlier secretary by her thugs in Delhi.
BJP-JD-U alliance has won the largest number of seats in the February assembly election in Jharkhand. With 36 seats, this alliance is ahead of the JMM-Congress alliance whose tally stands at 26. The BJP-JD-U alliance presented five Independent MLAs before Syed Sibtey Razi while staking their claim to form the next government with a majority of 41 MLAs. Yet, Syed Sibtey Razi had installed the JMM-Congress alliance in office, anointing Shibu Soren as chief minister. He has then gone on to justify his contemptuous disregard for established norms and practices by telling a blatant lie: that he is convinced the JMM-Congress had the majority and his decision is to bring in stability to the state. Even the supreme court intervention was not sucessful to control this mafiosi, and no floor test was conduted on 11 th March as directed by the Court. This action even lowered the dignity of the court, the Parliament and our democratic system. The uneducated housemaid cum barmaid christian Antonia Maino with the usurped name Sonia Gandhi is a tragedy on India. Her entry in to India was an international plot to destabilize India. In the next level we are going to have another prostitute from Columbia, who was seen sleeping with Rahul in Kerala, as our future Congress President. The christian community in India who asked and worked for votes on the basis of religion is the most communalist group in India and is planning to dismember our nation. All the christian MPs this week met with the christian terrorists who are blasting and killing innocents in North East, to give support for their anti national activities. Our nation is being taken to the cleaners by the christian and muslim terrorists living in India. The congress leadership is now in the hands of christians of Italy and India. Every christian in the government service is a threat to our nation as they network to sabotage the system, like the Mathew who was in the Home ministry and who leaked secrets to Tehelka. CBI found Mathew of leaking government secrets. and yet Antonia Maino had reinstated him. The muslim thugs who are put in top positions like governors will execute all the directions of this hidden hand of the Italian Mafiosi Antonia Maino. It is time we Indians realized the danger of minority democracy in India.

Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board on March. 9, 2005 claimed that the Taj Mahal was a religious place of Muslims and demanded it be taken out of control of Archaeological Survey of India and declared a wakf property. Mohd Usman, Chairman of the Board, told reporters here that since the Taj Mahal has the grave of Mughal emperor Shahjahan and a mosque, it is a religious place for the Muslim community and therefore it should be a wakf property and not under ASI. The Board has issued notices to the Central government and the ASI in this connection and says that the Board is planning to take a ex-party decision on March 30, 2005 to register the monument as waqf property if the ASI and Centre government fail to appear before it.
This issue has broght forward the need for abolishing Wakf. The Wakf is the biggest urban landlord in India which the outcome of conquest on India and includes Some 30,000 temples that were turned in to mosques. The institution of Wakf was abolished by the caliph of all Sunni Islam and the Ottoman Emperor in 1917 and thus, there are no Wakfs in Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq. In 1956, Wakf was abolished in Tunisia. During 19th century an Indian dispute over the Wakf was declared to be invalid by the British judges and they described the Wakf as "a perpetuity of the worst and the most pernicious kind". Yet Jinnah persuaded the Legislative Council in Delhi to pass the Wakfs Act of 1913 and we are suffering its ill effects even now. India is the result of the merger of 565 princely states, at the time of Independence, that owned their respective principalities and Wakf Act on these constituents is an aberration of law.
All these years, the temple issues were treated as a property dispute. With Wakf being brought in the issue of Bhojshala at Dhar, Taj Mahal, and for Ayodhya it may viciate the relations between the communities and 1946 may revisit us. So GOI should take steps to abolish Wakf Act.
Another historic aspect that is not told in our classes is that Taj Mahal was a Vedic Temple and its construction and photographs prove the point. Taj Mahal, is considered as one of the great wonders of the world. It was supposed to have been built as an expression of Shah Jahan’s love for his wife Mumtaz. Yet there is evidence that the Taj Mahal was never built by Shah Jahan and Taj Mahal pre-dates Shah Jahan by several centuries and was originally built as a Hindu temple or palace complex. Shah Jahan merely acquired it from its previous owner, the Hindu King Jai Singh. the photographic evidence that will provide greater insights into this. The point to consider is how much more of India's history has been distorted if the background of such a grand building is so inaccurate.Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) has been researching the evidence that proves the Taj Mahal and many other buildings were not of Muslim origin, and those interested can read "The Question of the Taj Mahal" (Itihas Patrika, vol 5, pp. 98-111, 1985) by P. S. Bhat and A. L. Athavale. It uncovers the reasons for the rumors and assumptions of why it is said that Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, and presents all the inconsistencies of why that theory doesn't hold up. It also covers such things as the descriptions found in the old Agra court papers on the Taj; descriptions and measurements of the building in the old records; Aurangzeb's letter of the much needed repairs even in 1632 which is unlikely for a new building; records that reveal Shah Jahan acquired marble but was it enough for really building the Taj or merely for inlay work and decorative coverings; the observations of European travelers at the time; the actual age of the Taj; how the architecture is definitely of Indian Hindu orientation and could very well have been designed as a Shiva temple; the issue of the arch and the dome; how the invader Timurlung (1398) took back thousands of prisoner craftsmen to build his capital at Samarkhand and where the dome could have been incorporated into Islamic architecture; how it was not Shah Jahan's religious tolerance that could have been a reason for Hindu elements in the design of the Taj; how the direction of the mosque does not point toward Mecca as most mosques do; the real purpose of the minarets at the Taj; the Hindu symbolism recognized in the Taj which would not have been allowed if it was truly Muslim built; and even as late as 1910 the Encyclopaedia Britannica included the statement by Fergusson that the building was previously a palace before becoming a tomb for Shah Jahan; and more. "An Architect Looks at the Taj Mahal Legend" by Marvin Mills, is a great review of the information available on the Taj Mahal and raises some very interesting questions that make it obvious that the Taj could not have been built the way or during the time that history presents, which makes it more like a fable than accurate history. This suggests a construction date of 1359 AD, about 300 years before Shah Jahan. The True Story of the Taj Mahal. This article by P. N. Oak (from Pune, India) provides an overview of his research and lists his 109 proofs of how the Taj Mahal was a pre-existing Hindu temple palace, built not by Shah Jahan but originally at least 500 years earlier in 1155 AD by Raja Paramardi Dev as a Vedic temple. Mr. P. N. Oak is another who has done much research into this topic, and such a study is hardly complete without considering his findings. The evidence he presents here is a most interesting read, whether you agree with it all or not, or care for some of the anger in his sentiment. Mr. Oak has presented his own conclusions in his books, most notably Taj Mahal--The True Story (ISBN: 0-9611614-4-2). The Letter of Aurangzeb ordering repairs on the old Taj Mahal in the year just before it is said to have been completed. The Badshahnama is the history written by the Emporer's own chronicler. This page shows how Aurangzeb had acquired the Taj from the prevous owner, Jai Singh, grandson of Raja Mansingh, after selcting this site for the burial of Queen Mumtaz. This site http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5220 gives the BBC's view on the Taj Mahal and briefly explains both sides of the story, that maybe Shah Jahan built the Taj and maybe he didn't.

Living among Arabs and the rootless Palestinians for two decades made me respect our way of life more than I learned while in India. My first encounter with a Palestinian was in the late seventies or so, when a limping Palestine Civil Engineer was introduced to me from one of the government department of a Gulf country. He used to carry a civil engineer’s handbook, but I found out that he never had any formal education. He produced an experience certificate from an Arab construction firm to get the job. Even though he did not know anything about engineering, he compensated it by organizing the five time prayer of all Muslims in the department. His limp had come from a terrorist attack in which he participated, and after that he was relocated in a Gulf government department. At any time there were about two dozen Palestinians in my department and I found that they are a rootless lost community.One interesting Palestinian was one Mohammed Fattah, who was a self confessed terrorist. He never had any formal degree yet joined the Gulf government as an Electrical engineer. Always well dressed in a suit he had a pleasant nature. He openly claim that he was involved in terrorist activities and can no longer live in Palestine as he feared for his life. He was a relative of the Director of another government department. Most Gulf nationals have four listed wives, one being a local Arab, the second normally an Egyptian, the third a Lebanese, the forth being a Palestinian. Philipinos and Indians form the living in mistress type for the local arabs. But the poor among the locals marry Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi muslim ladies.
Palestinian wives are very cheap to buy for the rich Gulf nationals and thus all the relatives of the Palestinian wife normally will find a job in one of the government departments. Fattah also arrived in the Gulf through this route. After few years Fattah migrated to US. Another unqualified Palestinian engineer, kept a Tamil Muslim engineer as his assistant to help him in technical matters. Keeping one Indian Muslim engineer as an assistant. This was the normal pattern for the Palestinians who are in to various technical positions with duplicate certificates. Palestinians tried to impress the locals by showing them that they are more religious than other Arabs and Indian nationals. There was an occasion when one of the new generations of local graduate asked me to keep the mosque door locked to prevent them, going inside and sleep during working hours. A vicious side to these Palestinians is their effort to convert Indian Hindus to score a point among the local Arabs. Many daily workers or technicians recruited on temporary assignment had fallen victim to the conversion effort of these Palestinians. Few such Andhraites and Tamils were converted to Islam decades back and they were given jobs in the Gulf Governement. Palestinian expatriates are happy in the present state of turmoil and don’t want peace in their native place, as the Arab brothers give them job as long as their land is in turmoil. They are bent upon having many kids to fight the war and bring up the children to become terrorists of the future. A rootless group, with no pride, willing to indulge in all terrorist activities, the Palestinians is a totally untrustworthy dangerous lot and we Indians should keep them at arms length. It was a Palestinian student who started the first terrorist cell in India and that too in Tamil Nadu, which is the south of India. The friendship of Palestinians is just an act and despise non-muslims to the core. It is in our own interest to keep away the Palestinians, and we should follow the Israeli principle even to deal with the Muslim world and Pakistan.

America is funding Christian militants in India, like that they have done for Taliban This is with the aim to create christian nations in India by breaking it. American president Bush elected with the help of the christian fanatics distribute funds from white house. Millions of dollars flows to christian missionaries and Christian NGOs in India. The seriousness of this situation can be gauged by the fact that christians run most of the 4000 NGOs in India and most of them are involved in misinformation and conversion activities. Christian fundamentalism with its funding from the United States, is orchestrated with enormous guile, secrecy, corporate skill, and is disintegrating India. Bush’s America is worse than Saudi Arabian Islamic fundamentalists. Bush propagate fundamentalism himself, and building it into the American machinery. The missionary activity is tied in with dubious social work. The chistrian bigotry and colossal conversion efforts is destroying our nation. Already N-E is ready for disintegrationMissionary D. Ron Watts, located at Hosur in Karnataka along with his American wife Dorothy is the most successful christian conversion terrorist in India. They are in India on Business visa and with US funding converted 500,000 Hindus in the last five years. They enjoy the political support of the congress party. They have brought in more than 200 foreigners on tourist visa for conversion work in India. Using their organizations known as Maranatha International and Global Mission they carry out the rape of India.
Pat Robertson who call Hindus “demonic”, operate $66 million-a-year agency ‘Operation Blessing’ in four Indian states. The medical conversion drive is a part of Operation Blessing, recently treated more than 22,000 impoverished patients and simultaneously convert them to Christianity. They use hospitals like the christian run Appolo hospitals for this. Christian Medical College Vellore and Christian Medical College Ludhiana, with over 350 institutional members like hospitals, health centers, community health programme and 2 medical colleges are major centers for medical conversion. In year 2000, three thousand people converted to Christianity in exchange for clothes, food, medical care, and drilling of water wells from Operation Blessing. Bush's White House fund all christian missionaries in India and for Christian NGOs like CARE, World Vision etc conversion is their main work
Foreign missionaries are now increasing their efforts to convert Hindus as per missionary organization Baptist World Alliance (BWA). Christian missionaries are behind the terrorism in the North-East India. Southern Baptist Church in America is financed and created in 1989 the Christian equivalent of the Taliban, the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) for creating an independent Christian nation of Tripura.
The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is funded and armed by World Council of Churches. Nagaland has 40 missionary groups, 18 major Christian militant groups. Churches buy guns, such as AK47s and AK57s from Burma or Bangladesh. NSCN has ties with the ISI and has its offices in New York, Geneva and Hague which display boards with legend 'Peoples Republic of Nagaland'. It has twice raised its demand for an independent nation in United Nations. The NSCN has its own government which collects money from the local people. One third of the salaries of the government servants are taken away as Nagaland Tax before disbursement. Most of the banks in Nagaland have closed down because of the huge sums extracted by this outfit. The letterheads and stamps of this unofficial government read 'Nagaland for Christ'. Last week about 30 communal christian MPs from across India met NSCN over dinner at a hotel in New Delhi to offer their support for 'Nagaland for Christ' as per senior NSCN leader V.S. Atem. Never in the history of India had the Christian MPs across India done this criminal act. They came out now in the open because the Italian christian Antonia Maino alias Sonia Gandhi who is ruling India with the help of her dummy Manmohan Singh. In Nagaland drug addiction and liquor supplied by priests have become a major problem. HIV/AIDS has risen dramatically amongst the Nagas after Christianity was forced on them.
Earlier CIA had placed an American spy as English tutor for Sikkim prince who conveniently fell in love with and married the prince later. This was to make Sikkim an independent nation. It was detected by India in time.
With the support of Christian Missionaries, terrorist organizations like NLFT and NSCN are spreading terror in parts of North-East India to convert the whole of North-East states to Christianity at gunpoint. Gun point conversions are going on in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya. NSCN has already succeeded in Nagaland to convert masses to Christianity and asking "Nagaland for Christ" and still fighting for a greater Nagaland called Nagalim. NLFT is in process of having a repeat of NSCN in Tripura.
NLFT attacks and desecrate Hindu and Buddhist temples, as well as stop Hindu religious festivals. NLFT terrorists’ in Tripura systematically carryout kidnappings, rape and murder of Hindus. The NLFT was banned in April 1997 but in 2000, this Christian terrorist group had ordered Hindus to stay away from Durga Puja or be killed. NLFT said it wanted all Hindus in Tripura to become Christians. They also stated that salvation for Tripura lies only in Christianity and would eliminate anyone who dared to come in the way of their plans to forcibly convert all of Tripura to Christianity. 20 ashrams, schools and orphanages of Hindus were closed down by these christian terrorists. On August 6, 1999, four Hindus, named Shyamal Kanti Sen Gupta, Sudhamoy Dutta, Dinendranath Dey, Shubhankar Chakraborti, were kidnapped and beheaded like muslim terrorists by the christian terrorist organization NLFT. John Thwaites, a christian priest in Bengal had links with the terrorist activities of Kamtapuri and was arrested in 2001. Baptist Church's evangelical work in India is buying weapons for organized terrorism. In 1991 the 2.3 per cent christians in Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya is now at 90 per cent, 87 per cent and 70.3 respectively.
The Baptist Church of Mizoram, has created 465 Baptist churches in Mizoram with the of support 436 foreign missionaries and with an annual budget of $875,000 has converted 75000 Hindus.
In Assam, Christian missionaries declare their intention through radios, literature, or in church services, to make Assam an independent christian country.
In Tripura, for instance, there were no Christians at independence, the maharaja of the state was a Hindu and there were innumerable temples all over the State. But from 1950, Christian missionaries with Nehru’s blessings went into the deep forests of Tripura and started converting the Hindus. Now it is 90% christians. Millions of dollars are being poured in by USA in North East for destabilizing India. Three priest were arrested in Tripura in April 2000 for aiding terrorists and possessing a large quantity of explosives including 60 gelatin sticks, 5kg of potassium, 2kg of sulphur and other ingredients for making bombs. In the year 2001, there were 826 terrorist attacks in Tripura in which 405 persons were killed and 481 cases of kidnapping by the rebels. Christian terrorists like All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) are all funded by Americans. These christian terrorists have killed more than 10,000 Hindus in Tripura in the last 20 years. .
In Meghalaya christian missionaries converted two-thirds of Hindus to Christianity. The Church in the north-east is associated with smuggling across the borders, circulation of fake currency notes and arms purchasing. In December 1998, a christian missionary Bedang Tamjen, was arrested for making fake currency notes.
Christians also target well known Hindus. A 30 old Juliana from Bangalore marrying an 80 year old Tamil actor Gemini Ganesan or a Selvaraj targeting Gemini Ganesan’s daughter Dr, Kamala is part of the christian strategy. Even the arrival of an uneducated Italian barmaid who was presented in front of Rajiv Gandhi in UK is part of the world strategy by the christians. In Andhra Pradesh the converted christians constitute about one-sixth of the students in every class and they make unpleasant remarks about Hinduism, its festivals and traditions in the classes as directed by the missionaries. Christians are taking our country and the majority Hindus for a ride with the provisions of the minority educational institutions. Any scumbag Christian can get admission in these institutions and the state ends up pays for it.
Another fallout is the paedophile activities of the christian missionaries in India. In USA recently the christian church paid 100 million dollars as compensation to the child victims of the christian priests. Last year a 62-year-old christian priest Simon Palanthingal from Kerala linked to the St. Bedes and Don Bosco in Chennai was charged with four counts of sexual assault on a 9-year-old American boy and can get maximum 20 years in prison on each of the four counts he has been charged with and he is being held in US on a $1 million bail. In India with no enforcement of the rule of law, it is a free run for these pedophile christian missionaries. Yet some time back in Jharkhand a court has sentenced a Tamil christian priest Christudas, 48, principal of St. Joseph's School at Guhiyajori to 3 years rigorous imprisonment for sodomising a 14 year old schoolboy. In March 2005 the christian priest Prasad Gonsalves was arrested in Radhanpura town in Gujarat for demanding sexual favours from a woman. The christian priest also promised to give her a house if she converted to Christianity as per the Patan police superintendent A V Vasava. The explosion of conversion activities and the criminalities of the christian church is resulting in the creation of new christian sects with US funding. They called City of Faith, Exodus, Joshua, New Life, Master Ministry, Covenant, Hiel Gospel, City of Faith and High Land Trinity and they abhor rituals, episcopal hierarchy and all kinds of mediators, including saints. They discard the church authority and the teachings in the Bible.
This is the religious freedom the American president Bush wants in India. It is the absolute freedom to rape and destroy our culture as the his forefathers from Western countries did in North America with its native Red Indians centuries back. What is happening in India is the modern day Christian aggression of USA on indigenous cultures of the world.
To understand the true nature of christians around the world, we should take a better look at Kerala. In the 4th century AD Christianity became the dominant religion and than the established religion in the Roman Empire. The Sassanian rulers of Iran wisely foresaw that the Syrian Christians within their borders would develop into a fifth column of their powerful neighbors. Their solution was to persecute the Syrian Christians. Some of these Christians fled Iran as groups. In AD 345, around 400 odd persons from 72 families comprising men, women and children, reached Cragananore (Kodungalloore) Kerala, under the leadership of a merchant, one Thomas Cananeus. The Hindu Kings gave them refuge. What these treacherous christians did in return was to invite Vasco de Gama to invade India. This information was recently came to light from Portugese documents. Sanjay Subrahmaniam in Lisbon went through the Portugese Documents 'Career and Legend of Vasco Da Gama' and found that these Kerala christians known as Syrian christians were indeed a fifth column spies and brought Vasco Da Gama to Kerala shores that began the colonisation of India. They had offered to the Portugese, French and British their support to defeat and evict the local kings, Zamorins, who gave them refuge. Vasco da Gama had bombarded Calicut, in Kerala when the Zamorin ruler of that place refused to be dictated by him. He had plundered the Kerala ships bringing rice to the city and cut off the ears, noses and hands of the crews. The Zamorin had sent to him a an envoy after securing Portuguese safe-conduct. Vasco da Gama had cut off the nose, ears and hands of the envoy and strung them around his neck together with a palm-leaf on which a message was conveyed to the Indian king that he could cook and eat a curry made from his envoy's limbs."
This is the true nature of christians who are living in India, a fifth column foreigners, a Trojan horse community that wants to destroy India from within since the fourth century. The same fact is also came to light from the Dutch History of Trvancore, and also in the French records. That the Syrian Christian Refugees of Kerala wanted the Europeans help them to finish the Hindu Kings that gave them refuge is now the most shocking information Keralite cannot digest. Such is the trechery of the christians of Kerala. The only permanent solution to the christian problem is to send them all back to Syria. They are now exposed and in Kerala there are demands from within that the 'Syrians Go Back to Syria'. The Kerala christians prospered and the 'Kerala christian Virus’ Spread to Kutch and even to the North East. Syrian Christians who came as refugees have now captured Kerala. They own all major establishments, own up 85 percent of educational institutions, 80 percent of media, most of the banks, financial institutions. Kerala now ruled by a Christian Muslim coalition, has no Hindu political party worth the name in the state. Hindus are branded communal by the predominantly Christian media. The Chief Minister, Chief secretary, Police Chief, majority IAS officers, why even the sportsmen are all Syrian Christian. The Hindus, once rulers of Kerala, slave it out as workers. Impoverished Hindus commit suicides in thousands.
Syrian Christians also manufactured a lie that they were converted to Christianity by St. Thomas in 52 AD to cover their true background. As per BBC St. Thomas never came to India and Christianity started in 4th century AD only in India. But the christians in India manufactured evidences and even told that he was in Mylapore. Since the christians in India knows their criminal background it was important to manufacture evidence that they were in India long back.
Christianity is a barbaric religion and to what extent the christians go to effect conversion of Hindus was seen when Portuguese occupied parts of India. From 1540 onwards, Portuguese christians destroyed Hindu temples and erected Christian Churches and chapels built with temple stones, like the Santome church in Chennai after destroying the Kapileswara temple. Portuguese christians banned Hindu rites including marriage rites. They conducted mass conversions. From 1560 to 1812 the barbaric Portuguese christians tortured and killed Hindus in what is known as the inquisition. Hindu men, women, and children were brutally interrogated, flogged, and slowly dismembered in front of their relatives. Eyelids were sliced off and extremities were amputated carefully, a person could remain conscious even though the only thing that remained was his torso and a head and their screams could be heard in the streets, in the stillness of the night.

It's easy to mix up Viruses and Bacteria since compared to us, both are very small. Bacteria, given the proper nutrients, can grow and reproduce on their own. Viruses cannot "live" or reproduce without getting inside some living cell, whether it's a plant, animal, or bacteria. And compared to viruses, bacteria are huge . A bacteriophage is a virus that looks like an alien bug with multiple legs. The bacteriophage attaches to the surface of the much larger bacteria say Escherichia coli (E. coli) and once attached, the bacteriophage injects DNA into the bacterium. The DNA instructs the bacterium to produce masses of new viruses. So many are produced, that the E. coli bursts. Phage-activity in India in 1896 was first noticed by M.E. Hankin and he found a noticed a marked anti-bacterial action in the waters of Indian rivers Ganga and Yamuna against Vibrio Cholorae. If any antibiotics resistant Bacterial infection is to be treated a dip or a drink of the Ganga water will solve the problem. Flowing rivers are self cleaning with the help of sunlight. Presently the common properties like rivers have become carriers of industrial and human sewage for which we should blame our lack of environmental knowledge.
Bacteria resistant to most or all available antibiotics are causing increasingly serious problems, raising widespread fears of returning to a pre-antibiotic era of untreatable infections and epidemics. Despite intensive work by drug companies, no new classes of antibiotics have been found in the last 30 years. The emergence of these antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains has forced researchers to explore alternative antibacterial therapies, such as the ability of bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) to treat bacterial infections.This activity destroyed cholera bacteria in culture. M.E. Hankin demonstrated that it could pass through fine porcelain filters and was destroyed by boiling. He suggested that this activity might be responsible for restricting the cholera outbreak among the people that consumed the river water. At the beginning of the 20th century, Frederick Twort from England, and Felix d'Herelle from Canada, working at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, reported isolating similar filterable entities capable of destroying bacterial cultures. It was d'Herelle who named these ultra microbes, "Bacteriophages" (bacteria eaters) and pioneered the use of phages for treating Shigella dysentery in rural France. When d'Herelle was asked to investigate the outbreak of dysentery, which was afflicting soldiers engaged in fighting World War I, he quickly found that the dysentery was caused by the bacteria called Shigella. He cultured the bacteria to study their growth and noticed that sometimes, clear areas could be seen on plates of bacteria. He recognized the significance of the clear areas (plaques). He realized that something was killing the bacteria and he wondered if he could use whatever it was as a treatment to cure the dysentery. So, d'Herelle started monitoring an individual patient carefully. Each day, he took samples of the man's feces and filtered them through a porcelain filter to remove any bacteria. He mixed samples of filtrate with bacterial cells and spread them on agar plates. Initially he saw nothing but on the fourth day he started to see plaques. He now performed a direct test, he recovered the material from a plaque and mixed it with a flask containing a growing culture of bacteria. The next morning he noticed that the culture which the night before had been very turbid with the presence of bacteria, was now perfectly clear. There exist two classifications of bacteriophages: lytic and lysogenic. All references to bacteriophages for therapeutic uses are to lytic bacteriophages (lysogenic bacteriophages are not useful for therapeutic purposes). T4 bacteriophage is an assembly of protein components and DNA. The head is protein membrane, shaped like a kind of prolate icosahedron with 30 facets and filled with viral DNA or RNA. It is attached by a collar (and neck) to a tail consisting of hollow core surrounded by a contractile sheath and based on a spiked end plate to which six fibers are attached. The spikes and fibers affix the phage to a bacterial surface, by binding to specific receptors. The sheath contracts, driving the core through the bacterial cell wall, and the phage injects its nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) into the bacterium. The bacteriophage DNA redirects the bacterial cell's biosynthetic machinery to produce hundreds of new bacteriophages which, when released, destroy the bacterial cell. The newly produced bacteriophages invade other bacteria in the vicinity and the process is repeated about every thirty minutes until all of the bacteria are eliminated. At this time, the bacteriophages, being non-living entities, self-eliminate because the bacteria that they require as hosts no longer exist.Felix d'Herelle was highly successful in treating dysentery in rural France, cholera in India and later cured diseases like typhoid fever, bubonic plague, wound infections, avian typhosis and hemorrhagic septicemia of the buffalo using phage therapy, where as other early attempts to treat infections with phage gave mixed results. At the time that nature of bacteriophages was not clearly known and in the 1940’s, further research into the use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections was stopped in the United States. However, research into the antibacterial use of bacteriophages still continued in the former Soviet Union, with some success in treating bacterial infections. Only recently, has this technology again gained popularity in the United States, due to emergence of many antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Bacteriophage therapy has many advantages over antibiotics. Bacteriophages are highly specific, where as antibiotics kill all bacteria without specificity, beneficial bacteria (e.g. in the intestinal tract) that perform crucial functions for the human body are also affected by antibiotics and harmful pathogens can then grow more easily. Secondary infections like the Pseudomonas species or Clostridium dificile develop in this way and cause severe diarrhea and colon infections. Bacteriophages can specifically target the harmful bacterium, eliminate it, and leave the beneficial bacteria intact. Bacteriophages cannot cause disease to humans, animals, or plants; they can only cause harm to bacteria. Furthermore, for almost all known bacterial species there exists one or more bacteriophages specific to that species Due to bacteriophage's exponential rate of self-replication, usually a small dose is sufficient for curing a bacterial infection. Bacteriophages can penetrate deep into an infection and destroy all of the particular bacterium growing there. Antibiotics, on the other hand, often encounter difficulty penetrating deep bacterial infections and delivery of the antibiotic to all of the bacteria then becomes a significant obstacle. This obstacle rarely exists in the case of bacteriophages. In addition to being self-replicating, bacteriophages are also self-limiting. When all of the bacteria are infected with bacteriophages, their numbers start to decline and the number of bacteriophages also decreases. Bacteriophages require their specific bacterium in order to exist and, in the absence of that specific bacterium, they are eliminated rapidly. Bacteriophage preparations are highly stable and can be dispersed in any media, they can be stored for long periods, and have a low cost of production.The bacteriophage therapy is currently being used to treat post-burn bacterial infections, which are a major problem for those recovering from the trauma of third-degree burns. Within 24 hours, burn patients can start suffering from opportunistic bacterial attacks. As an alternative to treating post-burn bacterial infections by antibiotics, bacteriophages have been in use in certain parts of the world, such as at Tbilisi in Georgia and in Poland, and this approach has now been more widely recognized. Results have shown that bacteriophage therapy has an 80% success rate against Enterococcus infections and up to 90% against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common post-burn infection, and it is known to be notoriously resistant to a variety of antibiotics. For the most effective treatment of post-burn infections, a cocktail of bacteriophages is sprayed at the site of burns, this will reduce the chance of the bacteria developing resistance against the different bacteriophages. Bacteriophage solutions or aerosols can also be used to treat the surfaces and instruments in operating rooms as well as the skin of the surgical patient (prior to surgery).In addition to treating human illnesses, bacterio-phage are being used to treat illnesses in livestock. A bacteriophage which is highly active and rapidly lytic in vitro and which attaches to the K1 capsule antigens of bacteremic strains of E. coli has been very effective in preventing and treating septicemia and cerebritis or meningitis in chickens. The bacteriophage treatment was shown to be more effective than multiple doses of antibiotic. Bacteriophages were found in all tissues examined (muscle, blood, spleen, liver, and brain) within 5 minutes of their injection into the muscle. Experiments were conducted to see if this therapy would cure calves, which were suffering from diarrhoea caused by toxin-producing E. coli. Calves that responded to bacteriophage treatment had lower numbers of the bacteria in their gastrointestinal tracts and continued to excrete bacteriophage until all of the toxic E. coli had disappeared. Another practical use of bacteriophages is for bacterial identification through a process called phage typing, which is the use of patterns of sensitivity to a specific battery of bacteriophages to precisely identify microbial strains. This technique takes advantage of the fine specificity of many bacteriophages for their hosts and is still in common use around the world. Enzymes from bacteriophages have also been isolated and shown antibacterial qualities. One such enzyme is PlyG, which is a type of bacteriophage lysin. The lysins, produced by the bacteriophage, translocate from the bacterial cytoplasm into the cell-wall matrix, where they rapidly hydrolyze covalent bonds essential for peptidoglycan integrity, causing bacterial lysis and concomitant release of progeny bacteriophages. PlyG is produced by the bacteriophage gamma, which infects Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax. Isolated PlyG has been shown to kill B. anthracis in vitro and in vivo. The spores of B. anthracis are resistant to PlyG-induced lysis. However, the spores can be triggered to germinate by adding a solution of L-alanine to them; once they germinate PlyG in the same solution can cause lysis. The lytic specificity of PlyG has also been exploited as part of a rapid method for the identification of B. anthracis .The sophisticated ability of bacteriophages to destroy their bacterial hosts can also have a very negative commercial impact; phage contaminants occasionally spread havoc and financial disaster for the various fermentation industries that depend on bacteria, such as cheese production and fermentative synthesis of chemicals. None the less, the use of bacteriophages may soon replace current antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial infections.

GOI should appoint an expert commission to evaluate Taj Mahal and also a commission for resettlement of Muslims to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
It is time to remove the rotten and dried up skeletons of the barbaric muslim thugs who invaded our country and converted our temples as their dirty tombs to insult Hindus. Since the beginning of Islamic history, muslims had invaded and took over Hindu temples starting with the Siva temple in Mecca. This Shiva temple which had 360 idols inside now has only the Siva Lingam left. This temple has Sanskrit inscriptions. The muslims call it the Kaaba. Strangely the muslims go around the Kaaba as per the Hindu customs and worship the Siva Lingam which is nothing but idol worship. Muslims also kiss the Siva Lingam where as Hindus only worship it. The present generation of muslims doesn’t have a scientific temper or analytical mind to investigate the origin of Kaaba but simply follow the Hindu custom of idol worship.
Coming back to India, the recent demand issued by muslim bodies to handover the Taj Mahal to them is surprising. Muslims think and claim that Taj Mahal is a mosque as well as the burial house for the muslim king Shajahan and one of his 5000 wife, by name Mumtaz. The truth is the building is Tejo-mahalaya, or the Shiva temple. This is known to most of the Hindus but as India was ruled Since independence, by persons like Nehru, whose grand father was a muslim, and later by Indira Gandhi who converted to Islam and had the name of Maimuna Begum and married a muslim. These things prevented Hindus from reclaiming the Hindu temples converted to churches, mosques and muslim morgues. After independence, to prevent the claim of Hindus temples like Tejo mahalaya was kept under the custody of ASI, the same way the Hindu temple properties are kept under government control. Today India is controlled by a combination of Italian christian, Indian muslim and Sikh leaders; so that the muslim clergy is bold enough to claim the ownership of Taj Mahal. Muslims say Taj Mahal is a mosque cum muslim morgue and want to control it and collect the income from tourists. But it is time for Hindus to claim back the Siva Temple Tejo-mahalaya and remove those rotten and dried bodies of the muslim thugs who raped and destroyed our nation. The muslim bury their dead in our temples to humiliate Hindus.
It is time for Hindus to claim back all the temples and palaces usurped by the barbaric muslims during their barbaric rule. During the muslim rule, these barbarians had carried out the biggest genocide of Hindus, which is even bigger than the genocide of Jews during the second world war. Hindus should demand an apology from the muslim countries from where the barbaric muslims invaded and destroyed our nation.
One article published by BBC which indicates that the Taj is Hindu temple is given below. Further articles and photos are available in the internet. The government of India should appoint a commission of experts including international experts, to check Hindus’ claim and return the temple back to Hindus. At the time of independence muslims demanded separate Islamic state and got it. During the partition it was genocide of Hindus in many areas. Yet all the muslims did not go to their Islamic nation, but continued in India and was breeding faster than the Pakistan they got. India is no safer for Hindus because of the remaining muslims in India who are carrying out terrorist bombings of our temples and important places. Even in 1971 in Bangladesh, Bangladeshi and Pakistani muslims killed more than 600,000 Hindus and one crore Hindus were driven out to India as refugees. As long as muslims are in India, India is not safe for Hindus. So Indian Government should establish a commission and have the remaining muslims sent back to Pakistan peacefully and take back all the Hindus left in Pakistan and Bangladesh. This will stop the terrorism that we are experiencing on a daily basis. Even our top business leaders are not safe as a terrorist group consisting of Indian and Pakistani muslims who were planning Parliament attack type suicide mission against Bangalore IT firms were shot down in New Delhi. If we don’t resettle muslims by 2060 the fast breeding muslims will become majority in India and cycle of genocide of Hindus will start again. The christians who are now converting with gun the Hindus to Christianity in the northeast should be declared as anti-nationals and there should be a complete ban of conversion of any kind in India to prevent disintegration of our nation..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5220Created: 8th February 2000 The Taj MahalThe Taj Mahal, located near the Indian city of Agra, is one of the world's greatest architectural treasures. The almost supernatural beauty of the Taj Mahal and its grounds transcends culture and history, and speaks with a voice of its own to visitors from all over the world of feelings that are common to all humanity.There are two stories of how the Taj came to be.The Taj's Love StoryIt has been called the most beautiful temple in the world, despite the fact that it was built at the cost of much human life. The Taj Mahal is a real monument of one man's love for a woman. The story is a sad one, told many times. But it never hurts to tell it again.In 1631, when his wife died in childbirth, the emperor Shah Jahan brought to Agra the most skilled craftsmen from all Asia and even Europe, to build the white marble mausoleum that is the Taj Mahal. He intended to build a black marble mausoleum for himself, and the link between the two was to be a silver bridge. This fantastic plan suffered a dramatic and permanent setback when the Shah himself died.Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond description, particularly at dawn and at sunset when it seems to glow in the light. On a foggy morning, it looks as though the Taj is suspended in mid-air when viewed from across the Jamuna river.This is, of course, an illusion. The Taj stands on a raised square platform with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.If you don't want the huge crowds to distract you from your view, try arriving just as it opens or is about to close. A few minutes alone in the perpetually echoing inner sanctum will reward you far more than several hours spent on a guided tour. Especially if your tour guide is Murbat Singh, who makes it his job to find a new comic slant on the Taj story every time he tells it.To really do the Taj Mahal justice, you should plan to spend at least a full day in the grounds, to see this stunning piece of architecture at dawn, midday, and at dusk. The colours and atmosphere of the gardens and the Taj itself constantly change throughout the day. Under moonlight the marble glows.The Taj's Other StoryIf you have ever visited the Taj Mahal then your guide probably told you that it was designed by Ustad Isa of Iran, and built by the Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Indian children are taught that it was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000 artisans brought to India from all over the world.This story has been challenged by Professor P.N. Oak, author of Taj Mahal: The True Story, who believes that the whole world has been duped. He claims that the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya), worshipped by the Rajputs of Agra city.In the course of his research, Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. Shah Jahan then remodelled the palace into his wife's memorial. In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai Singh for Mumtaz's burial. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur is said to retain in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for the surrender of the Taj building.The use of captured temples and mansions as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example, Hamayun, Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions.Oak's inquiries begin with the name Taj Mahal. He says this term does not occur in any Moghul court papers or chronicles, even after Shah Jahan's time. The term 'Mahal' has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria.'The usual explanation that the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal is illogical in at least two respects. Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani,' he writes. 'Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters from a woman's name to derive the remainder as the name for the building.'Taj Mahal is, he claims, a corrupt version of Tejo-mahalaya, or the Shiva's Palace. Oak also says that the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists. Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates the love story.Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting that the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era: Professor Marvin Miller of New York took samples from the riverside doorway of the Taj. Carbon dating tests revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European traveller Johan Albert Mandelslo, who visited Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of the city in his memoirs, but makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of Mumtaz's death, also suggest that the Taj was a noteworthy building long well before Shah Jahan's time.Oak also points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies that support the belief that the Taj Mahal is a typical Hindu temple rather than a mausoleum.Many rooms in the Taj Mahal have remained sealed since Shah Jahan's time, and are still inaccessible to the public. Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Shiva and other objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples.Fearing political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Oak's book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition with dire consequences.The only way to really validate or discredit Oak's research is to open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal, and allow international experts to investigate.

Mithra was an ancient Indo-Iranian Sun-god after the religion Mithraism went from Indian subcontinent to the Arabian peninsula at around Persia about 400 BC. . In the early centuries of the Christian era, Mithraism was the most wide-spread religion in the Western World, and its remains are to be found in monuments scattered around the countries of Europe, which then comprised the known civilised world. Mithra was regarded as created by, yet co-equal with, the Supreme Deity. Mithraists were Trinitarian, kept Sunday as their day of worship, and their chief festivals were what we know of as Christmas and Easter. Long before the advent of Jesus, Mithra was said to have been born of a virgin mother, in a cave, at the time of Christmas, and died on a cross at Easter. Baptism was practised, and the sign of the cross was made on the foreheads of all newly-baptised converts. Mithra was considered to be the saviour of the world, conferring on his followers an eternal life in Heaven, and, similar to the story of Jesus, he died to save all others, provided that they were his followersUp until the time of the Emperor Constantine, it was the latter religion which was more popular within the framework of the Roman Empire, and Christianity was regarded as being only one sect amongst numerous other sects. It was only when Constantine decreed that Christianity was to be the state religion, that Mithraism, together with a host of other religions and sects, was put into the melting pot, and ideas of that religion, most suited for the Christian purpose, were absorbed into the new state-approved religion.For three centuries both religions ran parallel, Mithraism first becoming known to the Romans in 70 BC, Christianity following a century later, and it wasn't until AD 377 that Christianity became sufficiently strong to suppress its former rival, although Mithraism was to remain a formidable opponent for some time after that, only slowly being forsaken by the people. It was only the absorption of many Mithraist ideas into Christianity which finally saw its downfall.
The big turning point was brought about by the Congress of Nicaea in AD 325. Constantine, a great supporter of the Christian religion, although not converting to it until the time of his decease, gathered together 2,000 leading figures in the world of theology, the idea being to bring about the advent of Christianity as the official state religion of Rome. It was out of this assembly that Jesus was formally declared to be the Son of God, and Saviour of Mankind, another slain saviour god, bringing up the tally of slain god-men to seventeen, of which Mithra, together with such men as Bel and Osiris, was includedJust as Nicaea can be regarded as the birthplace of Christianity, so too it can be regarded as the graveyard of what we imagine Jesus taught. From that time onwards, Christianity was to absorb the superstitions of Mithraism, and many other older religions, and what was believed to have happened to earlier saviour gods, was made to centre around the Nazarene. The coming of Christianity under state control was to preserve it as a religion, and was the death knell of all other sects and cults within the Roman Empire.
Had Constantine decided to retain Mithraism as the official state religion, instead of putting Christianity in its place, it would have been the latter that would have been obliterated. To Constantine however, Christianity had one great advantage, it preached that repentant sinners would be forgiven their sins, provided that they were converted Christians at the time of their Passing, and Constantine had much to be forgiven for, He personally did not convert to the new religion until he was on his death bed, the reason being that only sins committed following conversion were accountable, so all sins committed by a convert, prior to conversion, didn't matter, and he could hardly have sinned too much whilst he was lying on his death bed. Mithraism could not offer the same comfort to a man like Constantine, who was regarded as being one of the worst mass-murderers of his time.
The Emperor Julian, who followed Constantine, went back to Mithraism, but his short reign of only two years could not change what Constantine had decreed. His defeat, and death, at the hands of the Persians, was used by the Christians as an argument in favour of the new, against the old, being looked upon as an omen that Christianity had divine approval. If Julian had been spared to reign some years longer, the entire history of international religion would almost certainly have been different.
Under Emperor Jovian, who followed Julian, the substitution of Christianity for Mithraism made further progress, and old Pagan beliefs, like the Virgin Birth, Baptism and Holy Trinity, became generally accepted as the basis of the state religion. The early Christian idea of Unitarianism was quickly squashed in favour of Trinitarianism, and those who refused to accept the Holy Trinity were put to the sword, the beginning of mass slaughter in the name of religion, which was to go on for centuries. The origin of the cult of Mithra dates from the time that the Hindus and Persians still formed one people, for the god Mithra occurs in the religion and the sacred books of both races, i.e. in the Vedas and in the Avesta. In Vedic hymns he is frequently mentioned and is nearly always coupled with Varuna, but beyond the bare occurrence of his name, little is known of him (Rigveda, III, 59). It is conjectured (Oldenberg, "Die "Religion des Veda," Berlin, 1894) that Mithra was the rising sun, Varuna the setting sun; or, Mithra, the sky at daytime, Varuna, the sky at night; or, the one the sun, the other the moon. In any case Mithra is a light or solar deity of some sort; but in vedic times the vague and general mention of him seems to indicate that his name was little more than a memory. In the Avesta he is much more of a living and ruling deity than in Indian piety; nevertheless, he is not only secondary to Ahura Mazda, but he does not belong to the seven Amshaspands or personified virtues which immediately surround Ahura; he is but a Yazad, a popular demigod or genius. The Avesta however gives us his position only after the Zoroastrian reformation; the inscriptions of the Achaemenidae (seventh to fourth century B.C.) assign him amuch higher place, naming him immediately after Ahura Mazda and associating him with the goddess Anaitis (Anahata), whose name sometimes precedes his own. Mithra is the god of light, Anaitis the goddess of water. Independently of the Zoroastrian reform, Mithra retained his place as foremost deity in the north-west of the Iranian highlands. After the conquest of Babylon this Persian cult came into contact with Chaldean astrology and with the national worship of Marduk. For a time the two priesthoods of Mithra and Marduk (magi and chaldaei respectively) coexisted in the capital and Mithraism borrowed much from this intercourse. This modified Mithraism traveled farther north-westward and became the State cult of Armenia. Its rulers, anxious to claim descent from the glorious kings of the past, adopted Mithradates as their royal name (so five kings of Georgia, and Eupator of the Bosporus). Mithraism then entered Asia Minor, especially Pontus and Cappadocia. Here it came into contact with the Phrygian cult of Attis and Cybele from which it adopted a number of ideas and practices, though apparently not the gross obscenities of the Phrygian worship. This Phrygian-Chaldean-Indo-Iranian religion, in which the Iranian element remained predominant, came, after Alexander's conquest, in touch with the Western World. Hellenism, however, and especially Greece itself, remained remarkably free from its influence. When finally the Romans took possession of the Kingdom of Pergamum, occupied Asia Minor and stationed two legions of soldiers on the Euphrates, the success of Mithraism in the West was secured. It spread rapidly from the Bosporus to the Atlantic, from Illyria to Britain. Its foremost apostles were the legionaries; hence it spread first to the frontier stations of the Roman army.Mithraism was emphatically a soldier religion: Mithra, its hero, was especially a divinity of fidelity, manliness, and bravery; the stress it laid on good fellowship and brotherliness, its exclusion of women, and the secret bond amongst its members have suggested the idea that Mithraism was Masonry amongst the Roman soldiery. At the same time Eastern slaves and foreign tradesmen maintained its propaganda in the cities. When magi, coming from King Tiridates of Armenia, had worshipped in Nero an emanation of Mithra, the emperor wished to be initiated in their mysteries. As Mithraism passed as a Phrygian cult it began to share in the official recognition which Phrygian worship had long enjoyed in Rome. The Emperor Commodus was publicly initiated. Its greatest devotee however was the imperial son of a priestess of the sun-god at Sirmium in Pannonia, Valerian, who according to the testimony of Flavius Vopiscus, never forgot the cave where his mother initiated him. In Rome, he established a college of sun priests and his coins bear the legend "Sol, Dominus Imperii Romani". Diocletian, Galerius, and Licinius built at Carnuntum on the Danube a temple to Mithra with the dedication: "Fautori Imperii Sui". But with the triumph of Christianity Mithraism came to a sudden end. Under Julian it had with other pagan cults a short revival. The pagans of Alexandria lynched George the Arian, bishop of the city, for attempting to build a church over a Mithras cave near the town. The laws of Theodosius I signed its death warrant. The magi walled up their sacred caves; and Mithra has no martyrs to rival the martyrs who died for Christ.

Given a chance, the secular bastard-vatican slave-islam-slave sonia gandhi-ass-fucking Indian Media would like us to believe that the Dargah in Vadodara even older than Islam itself!!

Long Live Pujyashri Mahatma Narendra Modi. May You Rule Gujarat for 100000 years!!

The Indian media has magically increased the age and antiquity of Vadodara's illegally encroached dargah from: “many decades” to “100-year-old” to “200-year-old” to “more than 200-year-old” to “300-year-old”, all within 24 hours.At this rate, just wait a week and you will see that this Islamic dargah is bound to be declared (by the India media) as having been built before the birth of Islam (7^th century).Read on:“He said no-one knows exactly how old the dargah is but 'it has been here for *many decades'*.”http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/may/01guj1.htm“*100-year-old* dargah”:http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060503/main3.htm“*200-year-old* dargah”http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200605021860.htm“*more than 200-year-old* dargah”http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200605021001.htm"*300-year-old* structure"http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060503/asp/nation/story_6176317.asp
"One strong Hindu can change the thought-current of the whole world.""Hindus should have Fearlessness - the first prerequisite of a spiritual life.""Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah"
Long Live Narendra Modi – The Future President of Independent Hindustan!!

1. Hinduism Today Magazine Launches Free Digital Edition_www.hinduismtoday.com_ (http://www.hinduismtoday.com/digital/) KAUAI, HAWAII, April 1, 2006: Hinduism Today magazine is pleased to announce the launching of its free digital edition. The entire April/May/June, 2006, issue is available in full-color PDF format via a free subscription. Click on "source," follow the directions and download a simple interface program to manage your subscription.You'll be able to download to your computer and view in Acrobat program the digital duplicate of the color print edition, but with added "rich media" features. That means if you click any web address URL in the magazine, your browser will launch and take you right there. Then there are the really cool features. On page 10, you can click the "play" button and hear Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami read his Publisher's Desk piece, "The World is an Ashram." On page 23, you can click and watch a movie on Delhi's new Akshardham temple. This issues's Insight section is detailed instructions on a home puja to Lord Ganesha. With rich media, we're able to make available via page I-5 an authoritative recitation of the Sanskrit chanting for the entire puja. And, of course, you get the spectacular photographs and graphics that have always made Hinduism Today one of the best religious magazines in the world. As with the print edition, our idea is to uplift and inform Hindus around the world. The digital edition will reach those unable to subscribe to the print edition. If you want to help, you can share this link with all who would be interested in receiving Hinduism's only global spiritual magazine. We especially hope to engage the computer-savvy youth in this way. So, spread the word.

Dear Friends,Check out this new website - www.burningcross.net - it is a brief, butvery serious look at our western world history, with original andcollected articles supporting the premise that "Christianity and Jesus",is an elaborate construct (like the Gnostic Church of 2 - 400CE assertedwas an allegory), which has borrowed very obviously and heavily fromprevious stories/tales, philosophies and personalities familiar to orwell known amongts the people of their day, but got well out of hand,and became irreversible when it assumed the mantle of an officialreligion under the Romans' patronage and sponsorship. Worldy ego isviolent in response to a threat to its' own existance. I am not at allsurprised if that same reaction is generated by these revelations.I know for some this may provoke some very deep reactions, as it doesnot leave a question mark, and fully inculcating this thesis haspermanent ramifications for the theist, agnostic and atheist alike.Irrespective of faith, the issue of "the truth of history" underpins ourcollective learnings and imaginings more heavily than we can imagine.What we now hold to be true started as a lie; and what we now considerto be myth (lie) is truth itself. The "dumbing down" of religiousthought has been an ever expanding work which continues to this day, yetthe high thinkers remain aloof from their contrivances and see them forwhat they are - bold, calculative lies! Who is the real devil?You will find much to think about at _www.burningcross.net_ (http://www.burningcross.net) .

Mammoth Hindu Resurgence meet in Erode_http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=125&page=35_ (http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=125&page=35) A report by R.S. NarayanaswamiA mammoth gathering of Hindus has called for a total ban on conversions and cow slaughter, enactment of a uniform civil code and crushing of Islamic terrorism. The Hindu Resurgence Conference organised by the Tamil Nadu Vishva Hindu Parishad in association with the Grama Kovil Poojaris Conference at Erode on March 19 demanded a legislation to facilitate the reconstruction of Shri Ram temple at Ayodhya. The conference strongly opposed reservation on religion basis. The conference also demanded the release of Hindu temples from the government control in southern states and autonomous boards to manage them. Over three lakh people, including thousands of Grama Kovil Poojaris, attended the conference, which was presided over by Shri Vishvanath Kakkan, a harijan advocate.The conference exhorted the Hindus to vote only for those parties and leaders who promised protection of Hindu rights. Though we are 85 crore, we are humiliated and neglected since we take pride in our caste identity and not in our Hindu identity. Hindus would be strong only if all think themselves as Hindus and as belonging to the greatest civilisation of the world,” said Shri Ashok Singhal, VHP president while addressing the conference.Shri Singhal said for over 1000 years the Hindus had been invaded, humiliated and ruled, their sacred temples had been destroyed, their women had been molested and properties plundered and sacred cows butchered in lakhs. Because of the weakness of Hindus, a ‘secular’ state have the guts to take over only the Hindu temples. Hindus have to launch a struggle to get their Ram temple back, he added. “Our religious books do not recognise untouchability or discrimination. The time has come for eliminating untouchability by going from village to village and preaching against it. These social evils had crept into our life and weakened Hindus and impaired their unity over the centuries,” he said. Shri Singhal exhorted every Hindu to think, speak and act as Hindus and thereby make the majority strong, powerful and proud and end the humiliation, which is showered on the Hindus by the secularists. “This Erode conference sounded the awakening call to a sleeping Hindu society. Hindus must wake up to know the threats and meet them,” he added.The head of Perur Mutt, Santhalinga Ramaswami Adigal, Kumara Gurupara Swamigal of Kumara Mutt, the head of Tirupanandal Mutt, Kasi Vasi Muthukumara Swamigal, Swami Kamalathmananda of Ramakrishna Mutt, Sathyajotha of the Art of Living movement and Narayani Amma of Narayani Amma Siddhar Peetam were the prominent religious leaders who graced the conference by their presence. The massive conference obtained great significance by the presence of RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan and Dr Subramanian Swamy.In his speech, Shri Sudarshan averred that there is no equal to the Hindu civilisation. Our great seers thought and spoke in terms of the soul (atma) while the westerners thought in terms of man’s body only. Body was concerned with materialistic needs and the West started catering to them resulting in great competition between societies and nations. This materialistic competition might also lead to another war, he said. The power of the soul is great and the Hindus must stand untied to meet the challenges and threats, he added.Dr Subramanian Swamy was forceful in condemning the discriminatory policies of the central and state governments in the name of secularism. It is a pity that the majority has to hold conferences for protection. He deplored that every effort is being made to release Madani of Kerala, but not one in Parliament spoke for Shankaracharya. He condemned the distorted teaching of Indian history by a blackout of Muslim atrocities for 700 years. He said a council of religious heads must be formed and its views must be sought by the secular state while changing Hindu laws.Addressing the gathering, Dr Pravin Togadia, VHP general secretary, said that lack of unity among Hindus has weakened the Hindus. He strongly condemned conversions to Christianity. Instead of conversion of Hindus, the Christian world should join hands with the 90 crore Hindus to fight against Islamic jehad, which posed a greater threat to both Hindus and Christians. Dr Togadia said in all other nations the government goes by the interests of the majority but in India, the majority’s interests and rights are ignored and the minorities are appeased. Hindus must decide the destiny of the nation and this could happen only when the Hindus stood united and asserted.Smt Chandraleka, former IAS officer and president, State Janata Party, came down heavily on the minority appeasement policies of the governments and political parties. Earlier S. Vedantam, vice president of VHP, referred to the plight of Hindus and emphasised the need for creation of a Hindu vote-bank. The conference culminated in a mammoth procession through the main roads of Erode, which was witnessed by a large number of people. A sight for godsThe conference began in a very huge tin sheet pandal after homam and yajna. Men and women in colourful costumes came from all parts of the state by all modes of conveyance, unmindful of the hardships.The conference area was well illuminated. The massive dais had wonderful and artistic decoration.The delegates were peaceful and disciplined when many of the speeches were made in Hindi.The greatest significance lay in the Hindu conference taking place in the fountain spring of the atheistic Dravidian ideology, Erode.The venue looked like an Indra Durbar, a sight for gods.

Namaste,Just as we had discovered the sacredness of the Rudraksha beads and the significance of its different shapes few weeks ago, in this posting we will uncover why the Tulasi tree is so sacred, and the legends in connection with her. To best view this posting, spread your viewing screen and the article will appear more appropriately formatted. To view it in html, you can also find this, with a special section on taking care of the Tulasi plant along with photos of her and the Deity of Vrinda Devi at: _www.stephen-knapp.com/tulasi_devi_the_sacred_tree.htm_ (http://www.stephen-knapp.com/tulasi_devi_the_sacred_tree.htm) . Hari om and Hari bol,Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana dasa)Tulasi Devi: The Sacred TreeCompiled by Stephen KnappThe Tulasi tree is a most important plant, and is often seen at numerous Hindu temples,especially those dedicated to Vishnu and Krishna. At such temples you are likely to find one ormore in the courtyard wherein pilgrims circumambulate it, water it, or even offer prayers to it.Some temples will even have Tulasi groves, wherein you will see numerous Tulasi plantsgrowing in a garden. Some temples will even have a special greenhouse just for taking care ofTulasi plants. At such temples, they may even prepare large garlands of Tulasi leaves andmanjaris (the ends of the branches) for the deity of Lord Krishna to wear. It is said that Tulasiwill not grow well where there is no devotion to the Lord. In fact, how well Tulasi grows is saidto be like a barometer that indicates how high the devotional attitude is of the devoteecommunity around the temple. Vaishnava devotees also use the wood to make neck beads and wear two or three strands ofthem around their necks signifying their devotion to the Lord. They also make their japa mala orchanting beads from wood of the Tulasi tree as well. Tulasi is considered to be a pure devotee ofthe Lord who has taken the form of a tree. Therefore she is given the utmost respect. This is alsowhy many devotees and Hindus in general also grow Tulasi in their homes. In this way, theTulasi plant plays an important part in the spiritual life of many devotees. So what is thesignificance, history and legends behind this little tree? To begin with, the Basil plant (Ocimum sanctum) is commonly called Tulasi (pronouncedtulsi). In some accounts of the Puranic story of the Churning of the Ocean (samudramathana), theTulasi is added to the list of articles which emerged from it, and is sacred to Krishna (accordingto Wilson's Vishnu Purana p, 67. n.8). It is also sacred to his Lord Vishnu's consort Laksmi, andhence it is itself an object of worship.The Tulasi plant also possesses curative properties and is said to be an antidote tosnake-venom. It destroys mosquitoes and other pests and purifies the air. It even is said to wardoff the messengers of Yama, the ruler of the dead, who will not enter a house containing a sprigof Tulasi. This is also one of the reasons why devotees wear the Tulasi as neck beads. Whendeath occurs, the funeral pyre should be constructed of Tulasi, palasha, and sandal-wood. There is further Puranic background for Tulasi attaining this spiritualistic importance. In factit is Mahalaksmi, wife of Visnu, who had herself taken the form of Tulasi. There is a story aboutit in the Devi Bhagavata. The Puranic Encyclopedia summarizes these legends. 1) The curse of Sarasvati. Sarasvati, Ganga and Laksmi were all, in the beginning, wives ofMahaVishnu. The Lord loved all the three equally. One day all the four were sitting togetherwhen Ganga sent lustful glances at Vishnu which was immediately noticed by both Sarasvati andLaksmi. Sarasvaii got angry and rising up caught hold of the hair of Ganga and dragged her to theground. Laksmi then caught hold of Sarasvati to prevent farther assault but Sarasvati then pouredall her rage on Laksmi and cursed her to be born as a plant on earth. Gangadevi could not bearthis and she cursed Sarasvati to be born as a river on earth. Sarasvati retorted with a curse thatGanga also would be born as a river. When the whole tumult was over Vishnu called Laksmi tohis side and said, "Oh Devi, do not worry. Things have happened as predestined. You go and beborn as the daughter of Dharma-dhvaja and grow up there. From there by divine grace you willbe transformed into a plant sacred enough to make all the three worlds pure. That plant will benamed Tulasi. When you will be thus living as Tulasi, a demon named Sankhacuda with part ofmy virile strength will be born and he will marry you. Then you can come back to me. The holyriver Padmavati will also be another form of your spirit."2) The story of Dharmadhvaja. Who was this Dharma-dhvaja to whom was born Mahalaksmias a daughter? In times of old there was a Manu called Daksasavarni who was extremely virtuousand a part of Vishnu. Descending from Daksasavarni wereBrahmasavarni-Dharmasavarni-Rudrasavarni-Devasavarni-Indrasavarni Vrsadhvaja. This lastnamed was a great devotee of Shiva and because of his great affection for this devotee Shivalived a whole period of a devayuga in the ashrama of Vrsadhvaja. King Vrsadhvaja by an edictprohibited the worship of any other deity than Shiva in his country. Even the worship ofMahalaksmi ordained by the Vedas during the month of Bhadra (September) became extinct. AllYagyas and worship of Vishnu came to a stop. Surya (Sun-god) got angry al this belittling ofother gods than Shiva and cursed the King Vrsadhvaja that he would cease to be prosperous.Shiva did not like it and he went to punish Surya holding his trident in his hand. Surya wasfrightened and he approached his father Kasyapa. Kasyapa and Surya went to Brahma andacquainted him with all details. Brahma also was helpless in the matter and so all the three ofthem went to Mahavishnu. They prostrated before Vishnu and told him all. At that time Shivaalso came there. Addressing all of them, Vishnu said "Oh. Devas, wilhin this half an hourtwenty-one yugas have passed by on the earth. He about whom you have come to speak to me isdead and gone. Even his son Rathadhvaja is dead. The latter has two sons named Dharmadhvajaand Kusadhvaja. They are dull and splendorless now because of the curse of Surya and are nowworshipping Laksmi." Saying thus Vishnu disappeared.3} Birth of Tulasi. Dharmadhvaja and Kusadhvaja did penance to propitiate Mahalaksmi.Kusadhvaja had a wife named Malavati. She bore a daughter named Vedavati. Sita, wife of SriRama, was a rebirth of this Vedavati.King Dharmadhvaja had a wife named Madhavi. Mahalaksmi entered her womb as anembryo and after a hundred years Madhavi gave birth to a daughter. Even at the time of birth thechild looked like a matured girl and was extremely pretty. She was therefore, called Tulasi,meaning matchless. (Tula= match). This Tulasi, abandoning all worldly pleasures, went toBadarikashrama and started doing penance there with the prayer that MahaVishnu shouldbecome her husband. She did penance for twenty-four thousand years sitting amidst fire in thehot season and sitting in water in the cold season and taking only fruits and water as food. Thenshe did penance for another thirty thousand years eating leaves only, another forty thousand yearstaking air only as food and another ten thousand years without any food. At this stage Brahmaappeared and asked her the object of her penance. She replied she wanted MahaVishnu to be herhusband. Hearing this Brahma said thus: "Devi, you know the cowboy Sudama born of a part ofSri Krishna. That brilliant cowboy has now been born on earth, due to a curse of Radha, as ademon named Sankhachuda. He is matchlessly eminent and has once fallen in love with youseeing you at Goloka. You will become his wife and later you can become the wife of Narayana.At that time a part of your divine body will remain on earth as a plant named Tulasi. Tulasi willbecome the most sacred of all plants, dear to Vishnu, and all worship without using Tulasi leaveswould be ineffective."4) Marriage of Tulasi. Due to a curse of Radha, Sudama, the cowboy, was born on earth as ademon named Sankhachuda. He did penance sitting at Badarikashrama and obtainedVishnukavaca. Another object of his was to marry Tulasi. He obtained a boon from Brahma thathis death would occur only when the Vishnu Kavaca was removed from his body and the chastityof his wife was lost. At that time Sankhachuda and Tulasi met each other in the forests and weremarried. Sankhachuda, brilliant and majestic, went about with Tulasi in amorous sports creatingjealousy even among the devas. His arrogance gave innumerable troubles to the devas and theyalong with Brahma and Shiva approached MahaVishnu for a remedy. Vishnu then sent Shivawith his spike to kill Sankhachuda and he himself started to molest the chastity of his wifeTulasi. Sankhachuda took leave of Tulasi to go and fight with Shiva. When Tulasi was thus leftalone, MahaVisnu in the form of Sankhachuda approached Tulasi and after some preliminarytalks entered into sexual acts. Tulasi found some difference in the usual affairs and suspectingfoul play jumped up to curse the impostor. At once MahaVishnu appeared in his true form andsaid "You have been doing penance for a lone time to get me as your husband. Your husbandSankhachuda was the chief of my Parsadas, Sudarna. It is time for him to go back to [the spiritualabode of] Goloka getting himself released from the curse. By this time Shiva would have killedhim and he would have gone to Goloka as Sudama. You can now abandon your body and comewith me to Vaikuntha to enjoy life as my wife.Your body will decay and become a holy river named Gandaki; your hair will become theTulasi plant, the leaves of which will be held sacred in all the three worlds."Tulasi then changed herself into the form of Laksmi and went to Vaikuntha withMahaVishnu. (9th Skandha, Devi Bhagavata).5) The greatness of Tulasi. Everything of the Tulasi plant, leaves, flowers, fruits, roots, twigs,skin and even the soil around is holy. The soul of a dead one whose dead body is cremated usingTulasi twigs for firewood would attain a permanent place in Vishnuloha [the spiritual abode].Even great sinners would be absolved of their sins if their dead bodies are cremated with Tulasitwigs [or are wearing Tulasi beads]. If at the time of death one thinks of God and mutters Hisname and if his dead body is later cremated with Tulasi twigs, he would have no rebirths. Evenhe who has done a crore of sins would attain moksha [liberation] if at the time of cremating hisdead body a piece of Tulasi twig is placed at the bottom of the funeral pyre. Just as all watersbecome pure by the union with Ganga water, all firewood is made pure by the addition of a smallpiece of Tulasi twig. If the dead body of one is cremated using Tulasi twigs alone, one's sins for acrore of Kalpa years [1 kalpa is 4,800,000 years] would be washed away. Yamadutas [thesoldiers of Lord Yama, the king of death] would keep away from one whose dead body iscremated with Tulasi twigs and servants of Vishnu would come near. If a light is burnt forVishnu with a Tulasi stick it would be equal to burning several lakhs of lights for Vishnu. If onemakes the Tulasi leaves into a paste and smears it on one's body and then worships Vishnu forone day, one would be getting the benefit of a hundred ordinary worships and also the benefit ofdoing a hundred godanas (gifts of cows). (Chapter 24, Padma Purana)It is also accepted that if ever a person leaves his or her body while wearing Tulasi beads,either around the neck or elsewhere, it creates the same affect as described above as having one'scremation fire burnt using Tulasi. The Marriage of TulasiAnd Significance of Shalagrama-shilas[As Elaborated from Brahma-Vaivarta Purana, Prakriti-Khanda, Chapters 21 & 22]This explains the marriage between Lord Vishnu and Tulasi, how Tulasi became both theGandaki River and the sacred Tulasi tree, and how Lord Vishnu accepted the form of the sacredstones found in the Gandaki River known as shalagram-shilas. CHAPTER 21Narada said: "O Lord, please narrate how You (Lord Narayana) impregnated Tulasi".Narayana answered: "Hari, in order to accomplish the design of the gods, took the formof Sankhachuda and cohabited with Tulasi. He took the amulet of the demon and approached thehouse of Tulasi. At the threshold he played upon a drum and through a spy announcing thesewords, 'May victory crown the King,' he convinced Tulasi of the success of her husband. Tulasi,through a window, gladly looked at the royal road. She made gifts to the Brahmins, the bards andthe mendicants and caused the performance of many auspicious deeds. Lord Hari subsequentlydescended from his car and entered into the lovely house of Tulasi constructed with invaluablegems. When Tulasi saw her tranquil husband (whose form Hari had assumed), she wept with joy,washed his feet with water and bowed low to him. She entertained him with betel-leavesrendered fragrant with camphor and considered herself truly blessed, inasmuch as she saw herlord returned victorious from the battle. The licentious Tulasi, filled with joy cast arch glancesupon him and sweetly or gently asked him thus: 'My gracious king, how could you conquerShiva who destroys numberless worlds? Reveal to me the matter.' Hari in disguise smiled andconcocted a lie thus: 'O my lady, O my love, this fight lasted for a year and all the demons havebeen destroyed. Brahma himself came to the scene of fight and reconciled us both. By hiscommand, I returned to the gods their jurisdiction and came home. Shiva likewise returned to hisdomain.' So saying, Lord Hari slept. O Narada, Hari cohabited with Tulasi but owing to thetransgression of the former method of sexual intercourse she became suspicious and said, 'OLord of dissemblers, who are you? You have violated my chastity. I must, therefore, curse you,whoever you are.' Afraid of a curse, Hari assumed a very lovely form. Tulasi beheld in herpresence the Eternal Lord, the god of gods, dark like a new cloud. His eyes were like autumnallotuses. His face was beaming with smiles. He was decked with gems and yellow garments. Hisgrace was like that of ten millions of Cupids."The woman at His sight was excited with lust and fainted, but immediately recoveringsaid to Hari, 'Lord, you are unkind to me and possess a heart of stone. You have fraudulentlyviolated me and killed my husband. As you are hard-hearted like a stone, you will be worshipedin the world in the form of a stone (shila). Those who call you merciful are deluded. Tell me whyYou killed an innocent votary of Yours for the sake of others. You are the soul of all and, thoughall-knowing, You do not realize the pain of others. Therefore, when You will assume a certainincarnation, You will forget Yourself.' So saying, the chaste Tulasi fell at his feet and weptbitterly in sorrow. The merciful Hari consoled her, using words fraught with counsel thus: 'Ochaste lady, you prayed for me for a long time in Bharata-varsha (India). The lustfulSankhachuda had prayed for you and thereby obtained you as his spouse, and thus he enjoyedyour society for a long time. I should now give you the fruits of your devotion. "'You should now quit your body, take a celestial form and travel with Me like Rama.You will now be converted into a sacred river called Gandaki. Let the clusters of your hair beconverted into a plant called Tulasi or the holy basil. Fair one, the flowers and the leaves of thisplant will be consecrated to the worship of the gods. In the course of my worship, Tulasi flowerswill be held superior to other flowers in the three worlds and even in Vaikuntha. This sanctifyingplant will grow in Goloka on the coast of the Viraja River, on the site occupied by the sphere ofthe Rasa, in Vrindavana, in the forest of the holy fig tree, the wood of the sandal tree, or theChampak flower, or in the groves of the jasmine, and the screw-pine tree, or in the grove of theclimbing plants called Madhavi. All the shrines of the world will converge at the root of Tulasi.'"'Fair one, all the gods will preside there to secure the fallen leaves of the holy basil.Anyone who will be anointed or moistened with the waters of the holy basil will reap the benefitsof ablutions in all sacred rivers and the performance of all sorts of yagnas or sacrifices. Hari willnot be so much pleased with the gift of a thousand jars full of honey as with the offer of a Tulasileaf. The gift of one such leaf will bring the reward secured by the gift of millions of cows.Anyone who, dying, will get the water of the Tulasi leaf will be redeemed from all his sins andproceed to Vaikuntha. Whoever constantly drinks such water will be redeemed in his lifetime andget the fruits of a dip in the Ganges. Anyone worshiping Me with this leaf every day will reap thebenefits of a hundred thousand horse sacrifices. Anyone dying with the Tulasi leaf in his hands[or also in one's mouth, as is commonly practiced] will be redeemed. Anyone putting on a wreathof the wild Tulasi will get at every step the fruit of a horse sacrifice. However, whoever with theholy basil in his hand will break his vow and perjure himself will go to hell. But anyone who, atthe time of his death, will get a drop of the water of the holy basil will proceed to Vaikuntha.Hari will cut off the head of that person who, on the lunar day of the dark night (Amavasya) orthe full moon, or on the twelfth or last day of the lunar month, or being anointed with oil justbefore bath, or in the noon, night, or at day break or sun down, or in a state of impurity, or in hisnocturnal dress [sleep clothes] will cull or pluck the Tulasi leaf. "'O chaste one, if such a leaf is stale for three nights, it can still be used on the occasionof funeral ceremonies, in connection with vows, gifts, consecration of temples and the worship ofgods. Tulasi leaves dedicated to Vishnu, even if they drop to the ground or water, if properlywashed may still be used for other holy purposes. The presiding deity of the Tulasi plant willalways sport in solitude with Krishna in Goloka which is free from diseases. The presiding deityof the Gandaki River will be the wife of the salt ocean, born of my digits. And personally, Ochaste goddess, you will ever remain by My side and enjoy My company like Goddess Lakshmi.I, too, by your curse, will turn into a stone on the coast of the Gandaki. At that place the wormscalled Vajra-kita will construct [carve] my wheel within the stone. That stone, dark like a newcloud, which contains at one gate four wheels and which is decorated with a wreath of wildflowers will be known as Lakshmi-Narayana. But the stone of the like nature without beingdecked with a wreath will be called Lakshmi-Janardana. A stone without a wreath but impressedwith marks of cow feet will be called Raghunatha. A stone of two wheels, auspicious to thehouseholders, will be called Dudhi-bamana. Such a stone, if decked with garlands, will be calledSridhara and give grace to the householders. A stone without a wreath, but thick and circular andcontaining two wheels will be called Damodara. A stone, fairly round, assailed by arrows, havingquivers and two wheels will be called Rana-rama. A stone of moderate size having seven wheelsassociated with quivers will be called the king of kings and give royal prosperity to the people. Astone, thick, dark like a new cloud and associated with fourteen wheels will be called Ananta andgive four kinds of redemption. "'A stone which looks like a cloud and contains two wheels, which is spherical, gracefuland moderate in size will be called Madhu-Sudana. A stone which will bear the mark of theSudarshana on one of its wheels and whose other wheel will remain concealed will be calledGadadhara. The two-wheeled stone with the face of a horse will be called Hayagriva. Thetwo-wheeled stone whose face is expansive and hideous will be called Narasimha. Thetwo-wheeled broad-faced stone, decked with wreaths and pleasing to the people will be calledLakshmi-Narasimha. The stone whose gate is conspicuous by two graceful wheels of equal sizewill be called Vasudeva fulfilling all desire. The stone having a slender wheel and many holes atthe threshold, dark like a new cloud, will be called Pradyumna, and the worship of this stone willgive happiness to people. The stone whose wheels are united and whose back is excellent, whichbrings joy to the householders, will be called Sankarshana. The yellow, beautiful, circular stonedelightful to the house-holders, will be styled Aniruddha by the Savants. Fair one, the placewhere this stone will be discovered will be the resort of Hari and Lakshmi with her attendantshrines and holy places. Nay, Brahmin-slaughter and all other sins of the world are expiated bythe worship of this stone. This stone, if it is in the shape of an umbrella, bestows a kingdom; ifround, it gives prosperity; if like a cart, it causes pain; if like the front of a spear, it brings aboutdeath. If deformed, it causes poverty; if tawny in color, it destroys happiness; if its wheels arejoined, it causes disease; if broken or split into fragments, it causes death. All holy deeds,consecration of a temple, performance of a funeral ceremony, worship of gods, etc., can beperformed through this Holy stone. Deeds of charity, circumambulation around the world, bath inthe sacred rivers, all can be attained by a person by ablution in the waters [the have bathed orwashed] of this stone. The touch of such a person will be desired even by the streams. He will beconsecrated and redeemed in his lifetime. The worship of the stone will give the same fruit as thestudy of the Vedas or asceticism. "'Whoever will drink the immortalizing water of this stone will sanctify by his touchresorts for pilgrims and be redeemed in his life. He will be the slave of Hari and witnesscountless dissolutions of the world. Sins as heinous as the murder of a Brahmin will fly at hissight like snakes at the sight of Garuda. The earth will be consecrated by the dust of his feet. Byhis birth, he will redeem millions of his ancestors. Anyone who, while dying, will drink thiswater will be emancipated and go to the Vaikuntha. He will be free from the influences of karmaand, being redeemed, will merge into the feet of Vishnu. Whoever, by laying hands on the stone,perjures himself or breaks his vow will remain in hell for millions of years. My beloved, whoeverwill separate the holy basil leaves from this holy stone, will suffer the pangs of separation fromhis wife from birth to birth. Whoever will dissociate the conches from the Tulasi will be deprivedof his wife and health for seven births in succession. A wise person who will maintain the Tulasi,the conches and the stone at one and the same place will be dear to Hari. It is painful for a personto part from his beloved whose society he once enjoyed. You were the favorite of Sankhachudafor one Manvantara. Therefore separation from him has been a source of trouble to you.'" "As Hari affectionately said so, Tulasi quit her body and went to Vaikuntha in a celestialform. Tulasi frequented the heart of Narayana like Kamala. O Narada, thus Hari happened tohave four wives viz., Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganga and Tulasi. When Tulasi died, her body wasimmediately turned into a river called Gandaki; and on the coast of this stream, a sanctifying hillout of the digits of Hari came into existence. The worms on the hill are constructing stones ofvarious sorts. A stone that drops down into the river from the hill assumes the hue of clouds. Astone that drops from the rock on the dry land becomes tawny-colored through the heat of thesun. Now I told you everything. Please let me know what you want to hear."CHAPTER 22Narada said, "Lord, I gather how Tulasi became the favorite of Hari, how she becameholy and was adored throughout the world. Now I want to hear the account relating to her form ofworship and her hymn. In olden times, who worshiped her and recited her ode? How did shebecome adorable in the world? Kindly narrate these matters to me."Suta said, Naryana smiled at these words and said, "Hari sported with Tulasi as soon asHe got her and made her as blessed and glorious as Rama. Ganga and Lakshmi bore this newacquisition to their society patiently. But it was intolerable to Saraswati. Once the dignifiedSaraswati in vain quarreled with Tulasi in Hari's presence and hurt her. Tulasi in shame anddisgrace disappeared. That accomplished, wise and adept Tulasi became invisible to Hari also outof anger. Hari thereupon took permission of Saraswati and went to the forest of Tulasi plants.There he bathed and with holy basil leaves reverentially adored Tulasi with the mystic formula often letters containing seeds of germinating principles of Lakshmi, Maya, Kama and Vani."O Narada, that mantra prepared by Hari ends thus: 'Swaha to Vrindavani.' After havinguttered this mantra which is efficacious like the Kalpa tree, whoever will worship Tulasi with thelight of the ghee lamp, frankincense, sandal flowers and sacrificial offerings will attain allperfection. Tulasi, pleased with the worship, emanated from the plant and took refuge in the lotusfeet of Hari. Hari blessed her saying, 'You will be adored throughout the world', and said,'Beloved, I shall hold you on my head and in my heart. All the gods, therefore, will wield you ontheir heads.' So saying, Hari took her home."Narada said, "Now tell me about the Dhyana or meditation appropriate to Tulasi, her ode,and her plan of worship." Narayana answered, "When Tulasi disappeared, the afflicted Hari wentto Tulasi-vana (the forest of holy Tulasi), worshiped her and adored her with the hymn, "I adoremy beloved Vrinda who in one place grows in the form of plants. I adore the blessed nymph whosprang at first from the forest of Vrindavana and is hence styled Vrinda-vani."I worship that goddess, all adorable in the universe, who is so-called as she is adoredthroughout the world. Being afflicted by Cupid I adore the all-sanctifying goddess so-called asshe is always adored in the three worlds. I want to see Pushpa-sara, the goddess, the essence offlowers, without whom the gods are not satisfied with the offer of any number of flowers. I cravethe favor of that goddess, also called Nandini, as attainment of Tulasi brings faith and joy. I seekthe protection of this goddess called Tulasi, as she is incomparable in the world. May shepreserve my life, the goddess who is also called the life of Krishna. Krishna having worshipedher thus manifested Himself to Tulasi who was lying prostrate at His feet. When He saw that thedignified Tulasi was weeping on account of her susceptibilities being wounded by Saraswati, heclasped her to his breast, took her to Saraswati and reconciled them both. He blessed her saying,"You will be adored throughout the world and sustained (carried) by every one on the head. Youwill be adored and honored by Me as well."When Tulasi was propitiated, Saraswati embraced her and seated her by her side.Lakshmi and Ganga also embraced her smiling and took her home. Whoever will adore Tulasi bythe above eight names, pregnant with meaning, viz., Vrinda [one who has thousands of sakhis,associates], Vrinda-vani [one who never leaves Vrindavana], Vishwa-Pavani [sanctifier of thewhole world], Vishwa-Pujita [whole world worships her], Pushpa-sara [essence of all theflowers], Nandini [gives happiness to everyone], Krishna-Jivani [the life and soul of LordKrishna] and Tulasi [one with an incomparable form] will reap the fruits of a horse sacrifice. Thebenefactress Tulasi was born on the lunar day of the full moon in the month of Kartika, henceHari has prescribed this day for her worship. Whosoever will worship her on this day will beredeemed from all sins and go to Vaikuntha. Whoever gives Tulasi leaves cut in reverence toVishnu in the month of Kartika will reap the fruits secured by the gift of ten millions of cows.Nay, the recollection of her hymn gives a son to the sonless, a wife to the wifeless, health to thediseased, liberty to the prisoner, sanctity to the sinner, courage to the frightened and a friend tothe friendless. "O Narada, I told you about her hymn, now listen to the subject relating to her meditationand form of worship. You know the meditation (Dhyana) as mentioned by Kanwa-sakha.Without invoking the goddess, reverentially meditate on her and adore her with sixteeningredients. Now listen to her Dhyana or meditation which destroys sins. 'The chaste Tulasi, thebest of flowers, adorable and lovely, destroys the fuel of sins like a flame of fire, O Muni, she ismost sacred of all the goddesses. Being incomparable she is called Tulasi. I adore the goddesswho is solicited by all; who crowns the head of all; who is known as the consecrator of the world;who gives emancipation and the bondage of Hari; and who has been herself redeemed in herlifetime.' Wise men, after this meditation and worship, should read her eulogies and bow to her."

This article clarifies as much as any that I've read the threat that Islam (at least its fanatic elements) has on Bangladesh and India, as well as the rest of the world. This article coincides with another that I have written called "The Seeds of Islamic Fundamentalism" which you can find in the archives of this newsgroup, and which points out the very quotes from the Koran itself that advocate a terrorist attitude toward all non-Mulsiims. Most Mulsims are certainly peace-loving, but the atrocities that go on against Hindus in Bangladesh and other areas of the world against non-Muslims cannot by denied. And, as this article points out, that seems to be a part of their agenda.http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=125&page=21Elimination of minorities in BangladeshThe Wall Street Journal (April 6, 2002) had stated: “Islamic fundamentalism, religious intolerance, militant Muslim groups with links to international terrorists, a powerful military with ties to the militants, Islamic schools churning out radical students, middle-class apathy, poverty and lawlessness — all are working to transform the nation.” This very aptly describes Bangladesh.Violence against kafirs (non-Muslims) has been a permanent feature of Islamic States all over the world. What Pakistan did to the Hindus, the Buddhists and the Christians in Pakistan before 1971 is being continued on a greater scale at present in Bangladesh. What is happening to the non-Muslims in Bangladesh is genocide, which is a result of the abdication of responsibility by the Government of India towards the minorities there, according to the author. Bangladesh, except for a few years, has been an Islamic State. Since 1947, it has been seen to deliberately commit atrocities, gruesome killings and carnages on their religious minorities, thus facilitating the Islamists to transform the country to a monolithic Islamic State.The book under review is a compilation of 22 articles written by renowned journalists and experts in an effort to present the views of national and international media on the atrocities and genocide of minorities in Bangladesh. Though there are many articles worth quoting, only some are being referred to in detail.Bertil Lintner, writer and journalist, of Wall Street Journal, has quoted from Gen. Zia ur-Rehman’s posthumously published article in which the latter has listed seven factors which form the basis of Bangladeshi nationalism—territory, people irrespective of religion, Bengali language, culture, economic life, religion and the legacy of the 1971 liberation war. The author says that Bangladesh’s Islamic identity has strengthened over the years, and the marked increases in the attacks on non-Muslim population groups is prompted by a desire to build a “nation State” free from minorities and motivated by political revenge. That Islam will play an even more important role in the shaping of Bangladesh’s future identity is also evident from the increased role of madrasa education in the country, where “after finishing their education, the students are incapable of taking up mainstream professions, and the mosques and the madrasas are the main sources of employment”. In the light of such a development, “there is every reason to watch developments in Bangladesh carefully, especially as its government remains vehemently in a state of denial—which means that it is not going to do anything to stop the spread of extremism, fanaticism and attacks on the country’s religious and ethnic minorities.”A 38-year old Bangladeshi writer, Salam Azad had advocated three options for Bangla Hindus—“they can embrace Islam, leave the country or commit suicide”. He made his observations at the Kolkata Book Fair in 2002 in the wake of the unprecedented atrocities committed on hapless Hindus by the armed cadres of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its electoral allies. Many had believed that the agony of the Hindus would cease and they would regain their lost honour with the liberation of Bangladesh. It was a mistaken notion. By and large, successive governments and liberated Bangladesh have followed the same policy as was pursued and practiced by Pakistan towards Hindus and other minorities.Dr Sisir K. Majumdar has rightly clubbed together Pakistan and Bangladesh into “two soddy, sick, soggy seeds of Islamic fundamentalism in the same bond of banality. This offers us a sad similarity. Pakistan is an artificial construct with an unreal sense of hollow nationalism and without being a nation—a truncated product of British ‘divide and rule’ policy of the colonial days. On the other hand, Bangladesh—a product of the ugly womb of Pakistan born in 1971 and a victim of crisis of identity—stands as a stark testimony of the dismal failure of Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s now defunct two-nation theory and of fractured Islamic brotherhood. Both Bangladesh and Pakistan are confused, disoriented and dislocated in their thought and action.”Thus it stands absolutely clear that Bangladesh is in a desperate search for identity as a nation with its progenitor, Pakistan, wallowing in fake nationalism. Pakistan is flaunting its garb of Talibanisation while Bangladesh is reincarnating itself as a neo-Taliban through a theo-democratic illusion of illiterate masses.Kanchan Gupta of The Pioneer has vehemently criticised the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islamic Oikya Jote, which share power with the BNP under the leadership of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, masquerading as ‘Islamic moderates’.Ram Gopal has said that the “secular world must first realise that all these terrorist acts are in pursuance of a larger goal of establishment of ‘Nizam Mustafa’—kingdom of God—a Quranic order throughout the globe.” Thus it goes to show that Islam is not merely a religion; it is a unique political thought whose ultimate aim is to bring the entire mankind under the Islamic flag. He has suggested adoption of two steps—non-Muslim and non-Marxist nations must “make a common cause” and enact a resolution in the Security Council requiring every non-Muslim State to delete all passages from the Quran and the Hadith which sanctify religious war called jehad, terrorist activities, including suicide bombings and killings of kafirs (non-Muslims).”All the articles in the book express genuine concern over the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh and elsewhere and explicitly warn about its repercussions on the integrity, sovereignty and future of India.

The Institute of Philosophical Studies of Saltillo, Mexico held a two day conference on March30-31st 2006. The First International Congress on the Philosophy of Religion in a Postmodern andGlobalized World convened at UPN, The National Pedagogical University of Mexico, Saltillo,Coahuila branch. Attendees from Mexico, USA, India, Columbia and the UK presented papers on manykey and relevant issues. Some of the Papers included “Religion and Bioethics,' 'Religious Systems and Globalization,''Religion and Human Rights,' 'Hindu and Buddhist Contributions to the World,' 'Magic andReligion,' 'Eastern Religion and Medicine,' 'Hindu-Mexico: An Authentic and Ancient CulturalNexus,' 'Indian Historical Paradoxes,' 'The Need for a Code of Ethics in Religious Studies,''Studies into the Antiquity of the Ramayana,' 'In the Footsteps of Lord Krishna,' 'Religion andHealth Recovery' and 'Benefits of Religion in Overcoming Addictions.”Professor Elio Masferrer Kant, permanent secretary of the Latin American Association for theStudy of the Religions, emphasized that the great challenge for Catholicism in the 21st century isfor the Church leadership to approach the parishioners in order to understand and satisfy theirspiritual needs. Recognizing that not only in Mexico but throughout Latin America, people areturning from Catholicism he stated,” "The statistics verify it. In the last 60 years, thenumber of Catholics in Mexico has dropped from 98% to 80%." Professor Kant affirmed that sections of the Mexican population are looking for other religious options, mainly due to thestructure of Catholicism. It is very centered on the clergy while the Evangelical groups have moreadvantages, "Because their structures are much more participative, the laymen have more ability tostand up for their needs and this allows a much more efficient development. More and more peopleare going to voluntarily choose their own religious paths. The Catholic Church should look intoall the possibilities of becoming more diversified and adapt with changes in its practices andculture".Author of the book, “Imprints of the Bhagavat Purana in the Works of Chanakya,”HoracioFrancisco Arganis Juárez, a Professor in Theology, Philosophy and Religion of Ancient India spokeon “The Need for a Code of Ethics in the Study of Religion and Culture.” Hehighlighted various instances where religion, spirituality and culture have been analyticallystudied without any thought or recognition for cultural and religious sensitivities. Using theexample of the recent State of California's Board of Education Textbook issue, hesaid,”While great strides have been made regarding the ethical treatment of animals, I findit puzzling that no similar ethical approach is taken in regards to religious studies. Withoutpractitioners, religion is just a concept. Yet while studying the concepts of religion no ethicalapproach is applied when dealing with the sensitivities of the practitioners of the faith inquestion. This is a violation of a basic Human right” Dr. Arganis thus urged the application of a code of ethics in the study of religion. In this way religious studies can becomea tool for social development rather than an antagonistic field used to discredit religion.Swami Amarnathananda of the Bharat Seva Ashram Sangh gave a talk on the integral role of SriKrishna's Bhagavad Gita in Hindu life. He stated,”Krishna spoke the Gita on a battlefieldbecause life is like a battle. So in the battle of life, Krishna's Gita is there. It is not justfor Indians but it is for the benefit of the whole world.” Swamiji was pleased to see thepublics great interest in Hinduism and Buddhism in Mexico and appreciated the honor he was givenas a visiting Hindu monk.Independent Researcher Mohini Sarin's paper ' Hindu-Mexico: An Authentic and Ancient CulturalNexus' was well received and generated much curiosity. She pointed out the similarity between theHindu Trinity - Brahma-Visnu-Shiva and the Mexican Trinity - Ho-Huizilopochtli-Tlaloc as well asthe likeness between South Indian temples and American pyramids. She quoted Donald A. Mackenzie's book, Myths of Pre-Columbian America: Tezcatlipoca, was like the Hindu god Kubera, was also a godof the north. The story of Yappan appears to be of Indian origin. The story of the temptation andfall of Yappan is too like that of the temptation and fall of his Indian prototype to be ofspontaneous origin in the New World. The conclusion drawn from the evidence of the Yappan myththat Hindu cultural influences reached America is greatly strengthened when we find Acostainforming us that certain Mexican ascetics, who assisted the priests, "dressed in white robes andlived by begging." The wandering Brahmin and Buddhist pilgrims in India similarly begged theirfood." Games such as the pachisi of India and the Mexican patolli, the valador game, mirror ofpyrite, betel and coco-chewing, with lime and tobacco, as well as gourd containers for the lime;shell money; birchbark shelters and canoes; and the identical containers of birchbark withcurvilinear scraped design from Siberia; string crosses as prayers from Tibet, India, Assam,Mexico, and Peru; and last, but not the least - the cultivation of cotton, practiced since earlytimes in Asia. Many Mexican Indian words are the same in Tamil and Sanskrit such as Catamaran.Other examples included chinkat (jaguar) sinha (lion) mita (time)mita (step passage of time) nana (sister)nanda (sister) paksa (the moon)paksa (the full moon) kakarpa (tent)k'arpara (parasol) chirau (resplendent)sura (to shine)huakra (horn)vakra (curved)Monsignor Jose Raul Side Lopez, Bishop of the Diocese of Saltillo, Mexico and Human rightsactivist presented a paper entitled,”Religion and Human rights.” The Bishop urgedReligious leaders to seriously apply the built-in standards of human rights that is a part of allauthentic religious traditions. “No longer should people be forced to fit into the letter ofreligious doctrine but religion must adapt itself to the needs and spiritual necessities of thepeople. It is unacceptable for religions to remain neutral to the sufferings of humanity.” WAVES, World Association for Vedic Studies committee member and Independent researcher, RamenNandi's paper,”Studies into the Antiquity of the Ramayana” posed serious questionsregarding the ability of researchers to accurately date the Ramayana. Despite vast evidences,including geological, linguistic and textual, scholars have not yet been able to confirm the exactdate of the Ramayana. However, there are many key scientific findings that seem to confirm a veryancient date for the Ramayana and its vast influence on Indian civilization since antiquity.Vrndavan Brannon Parker, International Co-coordinator for the VFA, the Vedic Friend's Associationand member of WAVES attended as well. His paper entitled 'Indian Historical Paradoxes' concludedthat only through modern scientific investigative techniques combined with traditional culturaldata can a researcher find conclusive results. Parker said,”It is a paradox that despite thefact that Indian civilization represents the ancient world’s most voluminous source ofscholarly research into science, religion, philosophy etc. this treasure house of knowledge isnot considered as an authentic source for information regarding humanities’ ancient past. On the other hand, stray artifacts from random discoveries have become the foundation of theoriesthat contradict most evidences validated by the traditional Hindu perspective.” Mr Parkerpointed out that one of the world's leading experts on South Asian Archeology, Professor Jim GShaffer an American archaeologist and Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve Universityfound evidence of extemely ancient cultural continuity in India. He stated that the traditionalHindu perspective on Indian history fits better into the archaeological evidence. ProfessorShaffer was quoted as saying that by including traditional views and cultural belief systems intoscientific research, one can develop a more accurate and complete picture of the ancient past.Parker concluded by praising the inclusiveness of Indian civilization. Throughout history, Indiahas welcomed Jews, Parsis and other oppressed minorities. In modern times, India is preserving theancient Tibetan culture and is the only country in the world to host all 72 schools of Islamicthought. No Muslim nation can boast of such Islamic diversity. It is India's Vedic Hindu idealsthat have allowed India to be the home of over a billion people yet still have plenty of room fora variety of wildlife, including the world's last remaining Asian lions. Professor Heber Ramos from IBCH of Cali Colombia had a presentation entitled, “In theFootsteps of Lord Krishna.” Tracing all the various evidences confirming the antiquity ofthe worship of Lord Krishna, Professor Ramos concluded,”There is vast scientific evidenceregarding the life and times of Krishna that correlates with the traditional Hindu perspective. Awealth of archaeological, textual, astronomical, geological and historical evidence is availableto the honest and unbiased researcher. No longer should academia treat Krishna as just a meremythological figure. The imprint of Lord Krishna on the history of the world is an obvious,authentic and tremendous one.”William Henricks, a lecturer on Eastern religions and Director of the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Science and the Humanities presented a paper called 'Hindu andBuddhist Contributions to the World.' He spoke on the development of Buddhism within theVedic-Hindu framework. Rather than presenting Buddhism as a separate religion, Henricks clarifiedthat Buddhism developed in India in the fertile ground of Vedic India. Buddha simplifiedspirituality for the ancient Indians and never claimed to be founding a new religion. He alsospoke on the development of modern Hinduism, clarified the difference between the modern Castesystem and the ancient Vedic Varna and Ashram system. “Throughout ancient Indian history,Varna was decided by qualification and carachter and not by birth. Only as time progressed didbirth become the main prerequisite. But the application of Varna based on birth is not trueHinduism.” He stated. The conference audience was a diverse group consisting of Scholars, Catholic Priests and Nuns,Evangelical Christians, Hindus of India, Mexico, USA and UK and local University students, amongothers. All found interest in each other's perspectives and called for respect, tolerance andunderstanding amongst the various religions. A common call for an ethical approach in the studiesand practices of religion and science was issued.The two day conference was closed with a presentation of traditional Hindu music and song. Theentire audience joined togheter in the chanting of Hindu-Vedic hymns and enjoyed the Hindu musicaldemonstration. During the closing ceremonies, the Institute of Philosophical Studies of Saltillo,Coahuila, Mexico honored all Presentors with Certificates of Appreciation and Recognition.

VFA Conference--August, 2006Dear Friends, Namaste! We are very happy to invite you to the 3nd VFA (Vedic Friends Association) conference scheduled for the weekend of August 26, 27. This will be open to everyone. What we are proposing is a series of lectures by noted personalities and discussions on various Vedic topics, whether they may be various practices that we can incorporate into our lives to reach our highest potential, or issues that affect the global Vedic community. The authors and presenters will also display their books for sale and everyone else can also network and present any information on projects in which they are involved. Please let us know what topics you may be interested in discussing so we can add it to our schedule of topics, since we are forming the agenda right now. We are open to suggestions. These topics and the presentations will be more clearly announced as we move closer to the date of the conference. The conference will also have two days of closed sessions for VFA Board members and special guests on the 28 and 29 to discuss the accomplishments of the VFA over the past year and future projects and our direction for the next year in the VFA. The conference will be held at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, the ashram and teaching center of Pujya Swami Dayananda Sarasvati, one of the foremost Hindu thinkers and teachers today, who will be hosting the event and participating in the programs. Swamiji has always graciously showed special interest in our activities. The location is in Saylorsburg, PA, which is a drivable distance from New York City or Philadelphia, in a beautiful and quiet forest setting. More information about the ashram and directions can be found at their website:(_http://www.arshavidya.org_ (http://www.arshavidya.org/) ) . The conference is sponsored by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and all accomodations and vegetarian food is provided free of charge. Of course, donations for the support of the ashrama are gladly accepted. We welcome your participation and would be very grateful if you could arrange to attend this important event. We think that the program will be of great interest to you and that your contribution will go very far to aid in making it a resounding success. You are welcome to bring your own ideas and suggestions into the forum. If you can attend, please make a note of it on your schedule and let us know so that we can begin making arrangements. We need this information now so we can develop our plans accordingly. Thank you for your kind consideration in our efforts to work for the dharma together. Hari Om and Hari bol, Stephen Knapp

Here is another example of how in Kali-yuga the governments does not allow the Vedic process freedom to continue without persecution, and that to continue working to preserve and protect it, what to speak of expanding it in some countries, becomes increasingly difficult. Da: Silk Road Foundation < director@palaceofthesoul.com>Data: 18 aprile 2006 3:33:05 CETA: Sri Lalita dasi dasi < srilalita@libero.it>Oggetto: Kazakhstan - Palace of the Soul UpdateDear Friends, Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada. In 1999 the devotees in Kazkhstan purchased a beautiful farm outside of the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Since that time substantial strides have been made in creating an agricultural community, a home for many vaisnavas, and the venue for a wonderful summer yearly festival attended by devotees from Central Asia and Russia. Since October 2004 there have been many attempts from the government of Kazakhstan to push us from this property. This has been done by smear campaigns in the media and ongoing litigation in the courts.On March 29, 2006 a case was conducted in the Almaty Oblast Court. Prior to issuing the ruling the judge declared that the legal arguments of the government land agency had no substance and that the arguments presented by the advocates representing our society were correct and in accordance to the Kazakhstan legal code. But after private discussion in their chambers the judges emerged and issued a ruling againstour society in which it is stated that the land be confiscated and returned to the government. This ruling was illegal and not based on legislation of the government of Kazakhstan. We purchased the land at the market value in 1999. In 2004 we privatised the land according to the laws of Kazakhstan in. Since this time the value of this land has increased dramatically. The situation we have is that the powerful government land barons want to eliminate us by any illegal process that they may possess the land, again sell, and make astronomical profit. We have neither time nor options left. Our last option is the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan, but need-less-to-say, the legal system does not work in this country. It is either a matter of paying for the decision or having a powerful person order the decision. Thus we are requesting devotees throughout the world to assist us in different ways:First, we are requesting you to send this letter to all the contacts you have.Second, we are requesting you to print the following letter and send to the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan requesting him to intervene in this case. Third, we are requesting you to contact the heads of religious organisations, as well as the foreign ministries in your countries, and register an appeal that they will voice concern to the government of Kazakhstan. And at last, we are humbly requesting that you will all pray that this situation may be reversed and our farm, Sri Vrindavan Dham, will not be stolen by the government of Kazakhstan.The President of Kazakhstan has gained international respect for having hosted an international religious forum in 2003. Yet, despite the talks of religious equality and openness, he is allowing a religious society to be illegally evicted from their legally acquired property. It is an injustice performed in the name of religious equality. With affectionate regards,BB Govinda SwamiStreet addresses: Government:To the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Nazarbayev N.A.Government palace, Levoberezhye,Astana, 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan.President Residence:To the President of the Republic of KazakhstanMr. Nazarbayev N.A. Akorda, Astana, 010000, Republic of Kazakhstan.President?s e-mail: sitePRK@global.kzDear President Nazarbayev,It is with deep regret that we have been informed of the legal situation regarding the attempted confiscation of the land possessed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The properties of the society have been legally purchased and privatised according to the land codes of Kazakhstan. Yet, since 2004 there has been ongoing litigation in an attempt by government officials to steal the land legally owned by the society. On March 29, 2006 a hearing was conducted in the Almaty Oblast Court. The judge in charge of the case explained that he had carefully studied the case and that there was no substance in the arguments of the Government Land Committee. Yet, when the decision was read it was ruled that the land of the Krishna Society be returned to the land reserve of Kazakhstan. The decision was illegal, not based upon the legislation of your nation, but enacted due to pressure from some powerful individual. Mr. President, you want that your fine country come into the rank of the leading nations of the world. You have shown your open mindedness by conducting your International Religious Forum in 2003. Yet in this case we have a glaring example of a religious society being destroyed by greedy and self motivated officers of your government. Sir, we are respectfully appealing to you to intervene in this case. Please stop the abuse and destruction of the one element of Indian religion which is active in your nation. Please allow these people to live peacefully on their property in accordance to the vision of religious equality that you have presented for the nation of Kazakhstan. Sincerely,-- ys.advaita.a.d. visit gitanagari.com

A new study suggests the Ganga plain has been agrassland with human activity for 15,000 years, and was not an uninhabitedzone of dense forests where humans didn't venture until 3,500 years ago, asgenerally believed.The study by scientists in Lucknow with collaborators in Germany andthe USis the first to reconstruct variations in monsoon and vegetationin theGanga plain in prehistoric times and connect the climatic changes to humanactivity.The scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany and LucknowUniversity analysed pollen and chemical signatures in mud dug up from atwo-metre-deep hole in the dry lake bed of Sanai Tal, between Rae Bareli andLalganj in eastern Uttar Pradesh.Ancient pollen yields information about vegetation, while changes in themonsoon are reflected in the signatures of chemical elements buried in lakesediments."Our findings suggest that people lived in the Sanai lake region 15,000years ago," said Mohan Singh Chauhan, a scientist at Birbal Sahni Institute.Shikha Sharma, a scientist with the University of Wyoming in the US, was thelead investigator of the study published in the latest issue of the journal*Current Science*."This is bound to change ideas about human settlements in the Ganga plain,"said Indra Bir Singh, a geologist with Lucknow University who collaboratedin the study."It has been assumed that the Ganga plain was covered by dense forests thatprevented people from settling there until about 3,500 years ago, by whichtime they had developed tools to clear forests and move in," Singh said.But the Sanai lake bed tells a different story: of a seesawing monsoonaffecting vegetation and human activity.The pollen analysis shows that the Ganga plain was a savannah grassland witha few pockets of forests. The scientists also found "cultural pollen" —pollen from plants that grow at sites of human habitation."Cultural pollen is indirect evidence for human presence and we found itthroughout the 15,000-year history of Sanai Tal," Chauhan said.The lake itself formed about 12,500 years ago, during a period when themonsoon gained in strength. But the region experienced a 1,000-year spell ofdry weather between 11,500 years and 10,500 years ago. During the period,there was a clear decline in the growth of trees around the Sanai Tal, thescientists said.The levels of cultural pollen — in other words, human activity in the region— also dramatically declined during this dry spell.The studies show the largest expansion of the lake occurred between 10,000years and 5,800 years ago, a period corresponding to heavier monsoons. Earlyduring this period, Chauhan said, the region witnessed the beginnings ofagriculture.Excavations at some 9,000-year-old sites in Pratapgarh district, about 100km east of Sanai Tal, had earlier shown evidence of farming.From 5,000 years ago to the present, the levels of cultural pollen —including pollen from cultivated plants — increases significantly. Duringthis period, the Ganga plain is believed to have witnessed a largescaleinflux of people.http://www.telegraphindia.com//1060418/asp/nation/story_6113029.aspFull report at http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/apr102006/973.pdf<http://www.telegraphindia.com//1060418/asp/nation/story_6113029.asp>RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONSCURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 90, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 2006 973*For correspondence. (e-mail: shikha@uwyo.edu)*Correlative evidences of monsoon**variability, vegetation change and**human inhabitation in Sanai lake**deposit: Ganga Plain, India**S. Sharma**1,***, M. M. Joachimski**2**, H. J. Tobschall**2**,**I. B. Singh**3**, C. Sharma**4 **and M. S. Chauhan**4*1Department of Renewable Resources, University of Wyoming,Laramie, WY 82071, USA2Institüt für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg,Schlossgarten-5, D-91054, Erlangen, Germany3Department of Geology, Lucknow University, Lucknow 226 007, India4Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 58, University Road,Lucknow 226 007, India

# posted by Anandkumar_V @ 11:05 PM 0 comments links to this post

i have a simpler explanation. this is yet another fabrication.see how desperate the church is to create an impression of authenticity and truth around the character of jesus. remember the bone-casket with 'james, brother of jesus'? a fake. remember the shroud of turin? a fake. every 'relic' of jesus is a fake, not surprising since he did not exist. their marketing instincts are still superb. not for nothing is the vatican the biggest and richest MNC around. a couple of years ago, they timed the film 'the passion of jesus' for easter. this year, it is this alleged judas manuscript for easter, to get some press and interest in their declining religion. why don't they go ahead and publish the essene gospels and submit them to full scrutiny? because that would show that a great deal of what is attributed to the mythical jesus is swiped from the essene texts. dominican monks spirited away the documents as soon as they were found. there is nothing inauthentic about them -- the dead sea scrolls from kirbat qumran have been carbon-dated to 200 years before the alleged jesus. i do agree with sandhya says about totalitarian christists. the council of nicea in 365 ce or thereabouts -- after the convert constantine had become king of rome -- codified the bible (choice of gospels meant to bolster their own power) and declared as heretics (to be hunted down and burned at the stake) everyone who didn't worship those texts. this included the gnostics, the albigensians, so on and so forth. christism is as bloody as mohdanism, only the most bloody parts happened a long time ago, and what was are seeing today is the marketing version of the same: 'perfuming the pig' as they say. ---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Sandhya
Pioneer 18 April 2006
Judas: haunted heretic

Sandhya Jain

Imagine a scenario in which Ravana was no villain, but a beloved brother of Rama. Such a fundamental transformation in the portrayal of a key character in an epic could hardly occur without an equally elemental alteration in the status of other lead players. More crucially, this would necessitate a critical makeover of the narrative's basic plot.

It cannot be otherwise with Jesus of Nazareth, or Bethlehem, or Galilee, whichever location scholars finally agree is the hometown of the Son of Man. Indeed, one of the greatest historical denouements of our time may be a scholarly verdict that Jesus was involved in a seditious intrigue which failed, and that the Roman governor acted in consonance with the law. The recently unveiled Gospel of Judas reveals that this long-reviled disciple was a pawn in a political conspiracy; once we learn the plot, we may understand why the early Church fathers went to such great lengths to conceal the truth.

The Gospel of Judas makes it impossible for scholars to evade the issue they dodged when the Gnostic Gospels surfaced at Nag Hammadi three decades ago. This concerns the nature and purpose of Jesus' apparent leadership of a band of followers, and the authenticity of his teachings as preserved in the Bible. Given the grudgingly acknowledged importance of Mary Magdalene, who was not merely Jesus' wife but an important priestess of the cult of Isis, and her relationship with wealthy Jewish families, it seems logical that some of the shadowy figures in the story played a far more important role than previously thought.

The role of the Sanhedrin (Jewish clergy) requires re-evaluation. We need to know why Jesus challenged the Temple authorities at Jerusalem by overturning the tables of the moneychangers, a key episode which has never been explained properly. If he wanted to reform Judaism, he should have solicited community support like other prophets. If he was emerging as the religious leader of a non-Jewish community, our difficulties increase.

Superficially, Christianity emerged as the majority of Jews rejected Jesus and his Gentile followers went their own way. Yet this cannot explain the determined support he received from rich Jewish families at critical junctures. We also do not know if Jesus was truly the leader of this nascent sect, or just the public face of an organization whose mission eludes us.

Some scholars say John the Baptist was the charismatic leader of the era. Leonardo da Vinci belonged to a secret society that revered John; he is believed to have faked the Turin Shroud to depict a man beheaded, not crucified. This society (the church denies the Priory of Sion exists) believes Jesus was a junior who appropriated the legacy of John; others think Mary was the real leader. We do not know if Mary was present at the Last Supper, but Leonardo's classic shows a woman seated next to Christ, unless one Apostle was a feminine-looking cross-dresser. However, if Jesus was not the leader of this group, the mystery of the creation of the Roman church deepens.

More seriously, the Gospel of Judas removes the fig-leaf by which Christianity justified its anti-Semitic bias for two millennia. Anti-Semitism led to the Inquisition, which coexisted with the Renaissance and Enlightenment, reaching even India; it is unlikely to disappear with the moral resurrection of Judas.
Pope Benedict XVI owes the international community an explanation for this crude racism rooted in Christian theology since St. Peter; he must open the archives and reveal the truth. As the Vatican is a member state of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan should take up the matter of its crimes against humanity with the same urgency as he espoused the cause of an Afghan convert to Christianity.

Conversions bring us to what I call the Christian Conundrum. Christianity pressurizes peoples to renounce their natal faith, but while negating the old civilizational experience fails to present a meaningful spiritual alternative. Hence, many Christians feel a vacuum in their lives. The authentic doctrine of Christ is unknown; at least fifty gospels existed in the early centuries, each rooted in a Judaeo-Pagan environment. Then, in the world's first grand experiment with a totalitarian ideology, a group of church fathers notarized the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as official (canonical). They declared all other texts heretical and attempted to destroy them and their adherents. The Gospel of Judas did not suit their political purposes; it was condemned by Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (180 CE), as the work of a sect which revered the biblical murderer Cain, the Sodomites, and Judas, believed to be a keeper of secret mysteries.

The impugned Gospel suggests the disciples were seeking a temporal kingdom of the Messiah; that Judas followed Jesus' instructions to have him arrested; and that they probably hoped for a public uprising that would place Jesus on the throne. This validates the view that the kingdom Jesus sought was an earthly one, and that his core mission was political. Perhaps he did hail from the clan of King David, as some early literature suggests.

Some scholars say Judas helped Jesus to die on the cross so he could fulfill his theological obligations. However, such a remote-controlled religious suicide seems a bizarre way to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. It is more likely that a guerilla action was foiled, with devastating consequences for the conspirators, the bitterness of which engendered the Jewish-Gentile divide that dogged the Jews for two millennia wherever Christianity spread.

According to some accounts, after betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, Judas felt guilt-stricken and committed suicide two days later. However, silver pieces had been discontinued some centuries previously. According to Matthew (Acts 1:18), Judas bought a field with his money, called the "Field of Blood" because his guts burst open there. It seems likely that Judas was murdered, either as revenge for the death of Christ, or to cloak a deeper conspiracy. It is pertinent that bloodshed has always accompanied the march of the church. Despite this, in an era when heresy-hunting made dissent a suicidal pursuit, the Gospel of Judas was preserved by people with a commitment to truth. The Vatican should explain the political reasons for expunging all but four gospels from the public domain. It should also, like the former Soviet Republics, open its archives to international public scrutiny.

The Hindu scriptures, puranas, and ithihasas are windows into the past. One such masterpiece is the Peria Puranam (I have mentioned this a few times in the blog), which only talks about kulam ( and not Jaathi ) -- which is a vocational classification, in fact there are clear references of vocational communities (pulayar, kuyavar etc.) in villages or hamlets. Caste was originally devised as a social security scheme -- remember communities were in harmony with nature, there was no mass production at that time, it was only production by the masses!! Charity and sharing were the hallmarks of those who were blessed with plenty, charity was most always to the temple, which was the common community center for all in the society, that is why each temple in TN has so much in endowment (now misapproriated by the Govt. machinery in the name of Hindu Religious Charity and Endowment board -- most land are leased on 99 year leases to party and vested interest groups). The produce from these lands, where the community toiled were distributed back to the community under the aegis of the temple trustees (who were mostly the endowing and well to do Vysyas -- Nagarathars, Vellalars, Mudalaiyars, etc.) -- the model of empowerment was at the local level. The Kshatriyas (Thevars, Naiakers, etc.)provided security to the communities by virtue of thier control over the kingdom and as part of the model, each locally empowered community would also contribute a share to the central coffers besides the temple. So the temple was the center of the society, where besides worship and religious activities, many local art forms such as (theru koothu,, karagam, pulli vesham etc.) flourished. Since vocations were mostly handicrafts ( such as neyavar - weavers, kuyavar - potters, shirpi - sculptor, etc.) it was necessary to create a social structure to not only foster and protect this intellectual proterty, but also to guarantee a source of income for generations to come. Also since such handicrafts took years to perfect, the model was to start the apprenticeship/education program at an early age -- one can pick up things easier at that age and then be ready to inherit the trade and its guaranteed income upon "graduation". The teacher was invariably the father, who else could be a better aasan (the adage "thanthai bin solbikka manthiram yethu" -- there are no words wiser than your father's, has its roots in this tranfer of information)! This vocational structuring simply created a rural economy model where the local communities could fulfill one another's day to needs, using local raw materials and produces -- a self-sutainable model. This is the same model that Gandhiji (and J.C. Kumarappa) in his later years talked about and advocated as Gram Swaraj -- as this was a time tested model (please read Hind Swaraj). The model was not wrong, as a self-sustaining and environmentally responsible structuring, it guaranteed the lively hoods of millions of our forefathers, for thousands of years, protected the culture, encouraged arts and music, provided social harmony -- hence the underpining our our society as a socialistic democracy in our "modern" consitution! With the passage of time, as the model was proving to be working there were some additional policies, to prevent unnecessary and unhealthy competition that can break the status quo of a working self-sustainable model, these were: do not covet the property and industry of another, respect your vocation and its core values and principles, such as a Brahmin should not aspire for wealth but must perform for the spiritual benefit of the community, in return the community would feed them and be respectful of them, "Ayyar" is a consequence of that, "Ayyan" is a reference to God, "Ayyar" is a reference to one level below God, and "Ayya" is another level below that, but all are respectable terms. While the original intent was noble, along the way the system did get corrupted.
The model was working fine even during the Mughals and Islamic rule of India -- the Tamizh kings were smart, they made a deal with Malik Kafur to not destroy (physically and culturally) TN, instead they would pay the taxes thru the vasals, the Naiaks! The Tamizh kings must have known that the Islamic rule was in decline and the Islamic rulers also must have knonw the logistically nightmare of managing such large number of people from so far away in Delhi -- also there were many uprisings in the North which consumed thier time and resources; a deal was reached between the Tamizh people and the Islamic rulers in Delhi. In this agreement TN was the one state that did not see a discontinuity in Hindu traditions (which was pretty much prevalent all over India at one poin in time) -- as BBC's 7 part "Legacy" also states in its program "Empire of the Spirit". Such is the special place of TN in Indian history but the post-independence politians of India (especially of TN) with their perverse Davidianism have destroyed the very Hindu culture that was protected by the great kings and people of TN, with the Hindu Religious Charity and Endowment board!
Why did I say all the above...
The model of caste as a social security structure was not wrong, it was apt for a socially, environmentally, culturally concious society. It was also protected to an extent during Islamic rule but was firmly destroyed by the nexus of the colonial powers and the christist missionaries. They destroyed the locally empowered economic model ("there was even a movie called 'Lagaan"), did destroyed the local manufacturing bases, developed city/port centers (Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, etc.), to transport the raw materials from the corners of India to fuel the Eurpoean Industrial revolution!! This incidently caused the exodus of the people from the villages to the cities for livlihood (The railways were a beneficial consequence but much damage was done to the culture, society and the social harmony). The early migrants were the Brahmins and the Vysyas, leaving behind the Kshatriyas and the laborers -- now rural India became a fertile breeding ground for unscrupulous politicians, commies, Islamists, and christists. The system was further erorded by appropriation of Hindu wealth (temples), and vote bank politics. Now, not only are the rural Hindus upset with the Brahmins and the Vysyas (atleast the latter contribute economically), they are in search of thier own lost identities -- the Hindu society has lost its spirit and soul, and have made itself vulnerable to "harvest"!! The anti-brahminism plank with which Dravidianism was able to thrive was more only based on this feeling of let-down by the "non-Brahmin" folks, rather than the much touted "social injustice" caused to them (I understand their feelings perfectly, having visited/worked in rural TN). In other words, change in demographics and econmic models have displaced India and Hindu society from its moorings and harmony -- perhaps that was the grand strategy! Today what the overt military campaigns started are being completed by our own politicians.
The need of the hour is Hind Swaraj, were there has to be production by the masses, first to guarantee a sustainable income, and secondly to rejuvenate and restablish the working village economies (not the dysfunctional panchayat Raj initiatives of the Rajeev Gandhi Govt., albeit a step in the right direction). This will insure the destruction of the chrisist/commie/mullah nexus and stranglehold on Hindu society, much to the benefit of all, including Christians, Muslims, et al. We will finally be able to provide for all Indians, without these gimmicks of vote bank politics, such as mindless reservations, minorityism, etc.
To sum up, caste was not bad but has been made irrelevant by successive administrations, both foreign and local. Unless there is a tangible social security alternative (please do not claim that the social security system in the US can be a model!), let us not blindly bad mouth a model that worked for thousands of years, based on propaganda. Who knows we may come back in a circle and adopt the caste model again!

Janina Gomes, in her 'Central Mystery of the Christian Faith' (Speaking Tree – 31st July 2004), fails to unravel the greatest Christian mystery of all: the myth of 'Jesus Christ' himself! For, as it now appears from contemporaneous sources, no single person known by that name ever existed!
'Jesus' is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew 'Yehoshua' (literally, 'Jehovah Delivers'), while 'Christ' is the more recent form of the Hellenic 'Christos', mistakenly given by early Greek translators of the Aramaic Testaments to the Jewish expectation of 'messiah' or 'saviour'.
The crucifixion and resurrection that form the very basis of the faith are fraught with inconsistency and controversy. It seems there were several people strutting around in Palestine at that time claiming to be 'messiahs'.
Barabbas, who was apparently tried along with 'Jesus Christ' but acquitted in deference to the wishes of the Jews, also enjoyed the prefix 'Jesus' according to an older version of the gospel of Matthew. In Hebrew, 'Bar' means 'son of' and 'abba' means 'father' or, in a wider sense, 'God'. So, there were two people with the same claim! Is Ms. Gomes sure who was released and who was crucified? The Quran states at 4:157 that 'Jesus' was never crucified! 'Resurrection', according to Gnostic writings (now bolstered by the long-suppressed Dead Sea Scrolls) was strictly meant symbolically, NOT literally.
We need to urgently reconcile ourselves to the truth that the record was doctored and suppressed – some even invented - to suit Pauline 'Christianity'. Otherwise, like Ms. Gomes in her otherwise convoluted piece, one would be forced to engage in verbal calisthenics to fit inconvenient fact to untenable doctrine!
Indeed, wasn't it Pope Leo X (1513-21 C.E.) who is reputed to have remarked, "It has served us well, this myth of Christ"!

The Unified field theory of Physics is well-known. It co-relates all energy forces to a common source. It is my contention that history and archaeology too need to be traced to a single starting point. Currently historical and archaeological studies form a confused medley. We talk of Aryans, Dravidians in India and Druids in Europe, Hittite, Mittani, Phoenicians, Scythians, Sryians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Mongolians, Semetics, Etruscans, Judaists etc. without correlating them. Another glaring drawback in current historical studies is that countries turned Christian are unaware of their pre-Christian history. That is to say they are conscious only of a 1000 to 1500 years of their history though humanity has been on this globe for multi-million years.
Likewise regions where Islam holds a full sway draw a complete blank of their pre-Mohammad history. That is to say they are taught an history of only a 1000 to 1370 years. Since during the last millennium it was the European Christians and West Asian Muslims who controlled world affairs, they confusedly referred to the various ancient communities mentioned above as indistinct, incoherent echoes of a deleted past which need not be taken seriously. That a multi-million year stretch of human history has been merrily written off and only the fag-end of 1300 to 1600 years of history is allowed to masquerade as a substitute is a great academic tragedy. Even that truncated bit of history has been trimmed and twisted to suit the needs and moods of Christian and Muslim fundamentalists. For instance, all spectacular buildings such as Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa in Jerusalem, Cardoba's so-called mosque and Alhambra in Spain, even the Kaaba in Mecca, the Shah-i-zind monuments and the so-called Tamerlain mausoleum in Russia, the Ghazni Tower in Afghanistan and the Tajmahal etc. in India are all captured pre-Islamic property. A whole false concept of Islamic architecture has been formulated on the assumption that those edificed were built by Muslim invaders. It is conveniently forgotten that intruders do not invade to build but to occupy and lord it over in ready mansions and palaces. Islamic graffiti scrawled on captured buildings and cenotaphs raised inside them misled scholars into misbelieving those edifices to be muslim. Scholars of so-called Islamic, Saracenic or Mogul architecture who are holding high positions in colleges, universities and museums have never even cared to ascertain whether Muslims ever had any architectural texts or schools of architecture or a hereditary tradition of builders. What is more surprising is that Muslims do not have any units of measurement of their own such as the inch, foot and yard. In Muslim desert lands distances are mentioned from one water-hole to another. The traditions and terminology of Islam are all Vedic, Sanskrit. That is not surprising since 1370 years ago there was no Islam. Take the term Islam itself. That is the Sanskrit term "Ishalayam" meaning the Temple of God viz. The Kaaba which housed 360 icons of Vedic deities. Mohammad was born in 570 A.D. He proclaimed Islam in 622 A.D and died in 632 A.D. That is to say out of a span of 62 years, Mohammad himself was a muslim for the last 10 years. For the earlier 52 years he was a non-muslim. Since Muslim literacy is confined largely of reading the Koran, there could be a number of questions regarding Islam itself which even so-called muslim scholars may not be able to answer, such as: 1.No Arab before prophet Mohammad was named Mohammad. That is to say Mohammad is not an Arabic name. How then did the prophet get the name ? 2.Why does the Muslim era originate in the inconspicuous, inglorious retreat of Mohammad from Mecca instead of in some other conspicuous, auspicious event such as his birth, or the day of his victorious return to Mecca, or the day he proclaimed Islam or the day he died ? 3.The word Musalman does not figure in the Koran; why then are the Mohammedians known as Musalmans ? This is just to illustrate how even the 1300 to 1600 year fag-end of history that we profess to learn or teach is all a confused hodge-podge of half-cooked ideas.
The same is the case with Christian history. Had Christianity been a religion founded by Jesus Christ, it should have been known as Christism or Jesusism like Buddhism or Communism. Moreover its later syllable " nity" is not a European word at all. Therefore it needs to be realized that Christianity is a mal-pronunciation of the Sanskrit term Chrisn-nity also spelled as Krishna-neeti. Since Bhagavad Geeta is the book of Krishna-neeti, what we know as Christianity is a fossiled, broken branch of the Vedic tree, and in fact the ancient Bhagavad Geeta cult. Consequently, the Papacy in Rome was a Vedic priesthood until a haughty neo-convert Roman Emperor Constantine pounced on the Vatican around 312 A.D, slew the Vedic pontiff and installed in his place a representative of the tiny Christian sect. That is how the Christian Pope came to inherit the inherent authority of the Europe-wide sacred sway of the holy hoary Vedic priest known as the Shankaracharya. The icons of Lord Shiva which the slain Vedic priest and his Vedic predecessors used to worship are still in display in the Vaticans Etruscan museum. The fancied European word Papa (spelled as Pope only in English) is the Sanskrit term "Papa-ha", i.e., Absolver from Sin. The word Vatican is Sanskrit Vatica meaning a Hermitage. Even the Archbishop in Canterbury (U.K.) was a Vedic Shankaracharya priesthood which was invaded, captured and converted into Christianity in 597 A.D. Until then Canterbury was known as Shankerpury. Thus Christianity in Europe is only 1000 to 1600 years deep. Earlier for millions of years Europeans spoke Sanskrit and practised Vedic culture. Biblical stanzes are known as "psalm" (pronounced as "Saam") because they have been substituted for the Saamveda. The white Friars and the Black Friars are the Shukla (White) Yajurvedis and Krishna (Black) Yajurvedis of the Vedic tradition. Friar is the malpronounciation of the Sanskrit term Pravar meaning a sage. This should impress upon all scholars and readers the necessity to look under the veneer of Christianity to discover the grand old, sacred, holy Vedic Sanskrit past of Europe. Both Muslim West-Asia and Christian Europe had the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Ayurved (Vedic Medical Science), Vedic sculpture and all other precious Vedic arts and sciences. But Islam and Christianity have suppressed all that multi-million year Sanskrit Vedic history. Likewise, unknown to modern Muslims, Islam too retains its Vedic roots. Vedas are known as "Sruti" in Sanskrit, meaning "heard" since Lord Brahma coached the first generation of godly human beings to recite the Vedas exactly as they heard from Him. The Arabic synonym for "Sruti" is "Sunah" also meaning heard.Sunnis constitute the first Arabic sect of Islam because Mohammad's ancestors were followers of "Sunah" alias Sruti i.e., the Vedas. Mohammad himself says in the Koran that he is telling nothing new but is reiterating all that is recorded in the ancient most scriptures. Those ancient most scriptures, as all know, are the Vedas. Like the Saamvedic tradition consecrated in the Biblical psalms, the muslim call for prayer articulated five times a day from all mosque-tops too follow the Saamvedic style of incantation in its entirety.
Yet modern Muslims and Christians through their total studied ignorance of their Vedic past have cut themselves off from their Vedic roots. This should serve to underline the need for setting up a World Vedic Heritage University not only to acquaint humanity of its single source, continuous, consistent history from the very first generation up-to-date, but also to bring about greater cohesion, peace and unity through the realization that all humanity belongs to common Vedic brotherhood. Islam, of course, effectively bars any probe into the pre-Islamic past of Muslim regions.
But Christians too surprisingly, though perhaps unwittingly, frown on any study of the pre-Christian history of Christian regions. Christians are generally believed to be very progressive, since unlike Muslims, they permit a discussion on the relevance of their religious practices or doctrines. Christians also have made great studies in space technology, nuclear research and medicine. Yet somehow the Christian ecclesiastical wing has succeeded in effectively preventing its scholars from any probe into their preChristian history. That is why Christian archaeologists who often find the relics of Vedic culture tuck them away as freak objects not amounting to any coherent, consistent finding. I had a taste of the built-in Christian aversion to any preChristian history of Christian countries, a couple of years back. Since Christianity in France is only about 1600 years old while human habitation of France has a multi-million-year history, I was imaginative to know the pre-Christian civilization of France. So I wrote to the mighty, weighty Department of French civilization of the Harvard University, USA to find out any information they may have on the pre-Christian life of France. And the stunning answer I received was that Harvard does not at all study France as a preChristian country. That epitomizes the attitude of all Christian European scholars to the pre-Christian post of the Western scholars. That Islam and Christianity should have such a baneful influence on the psyche of the so-called scholars as to make them impervious to all earlier history is a very horrific academic situation indeed. I once met a young French teacher attached to a language institute in Pune. When I opened the topic of the pre-Christian past of France he flared up. He refused to discuss or divulge anything. For him France was wedded and welded to Christianity from the dawn of time. And that was that he was not ready to hear anything which detracted from that belief. But how long can such studied adamance last ! After all the human mind keeps thirsting for more and more knowledge and in that quest many bastilles have to be stormed and mowed down on the way to supreme knowledge in every field. In the matter of history I have a unified field theory which starting from a single source leads to a continuous, consistent history of mankind. My 1315-page illustrated volume titled 'World Vedic Heritage' expounds that finding of mine. History is always a record, oral or written of past events. Christianity and Islam being recent creations have not only no history themselves beyond 1600 and 1400 years respectively, but they also have done their worst in suppressing and befudging or destroying all earlier accounts to leave nothing for invidious comparison. But luckily for us Vedic records such as Shreemad Bhagvatam, the Brahmand Puran, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat and number of other Sanskrit texts have preserved for mankind a meticulous history from the very first generation of human beings, nay, even from before the creation - an account of almost 2000 million years! The Brahmand Puran stated that before the creation it was all dark. There was no sound and no movement. Then there arose a gentle breeze. The word OM reverberated through the high heavens. Lord Vishnu, the mainstay of all creation, appeared in the firmament floating on a milky, frothy ocean reclining on the coils of a huge serpent. From his navel emerged Brahma on a lotus stem carrying the (written) Sanskrit texts of the Vedas. After him were created some founding fathers known as ' Prajapatees' and 27 founding mothers known as 'Matrukas'. From them human procreation started. That initial stock of men and women were of godly calibre. They were reciters of the Vedas as bees are congenital experts in honey making. The language of the Vedas being Sanskrit became humanity's first God-given language. That is how human procreation started exactly in the manner in which one starts a poultry farm by procuring an initial stock of hens, roosters and eggs. The above Vedic account has its echoes in the Bible too. For instance, the Brahma of Vedic tradition is spelled as Abraham in Jewish and Christian and Ibrahim in by Muslims. The very first line of the Genesis chapter of the Bible stated "The Spirit of God was seen floating on water." That was Lord Vishnu (The Undestructible, Undiminishing Divinity) floating on the milky ocean exactly as recorded in age-old Vedic scriptures. The Bible also records "first there was the word." That was the OM mentioned in the Vedic tradition. Vedic tradition states that the Sanskrit was mankind's first God given language. The Bible also records "At first the world was of one speech." That language was Sanskrit. Unlike Darwin's speculation about the evolution of the diverse species from a proto-plasm, Vedic tradition clearly records that humanity started from a state of divine-excellence and expertise as a full-fledged on-going concern with a perfect Godly-language Sanskrit and a book of knowledge of all highest technologies, sciences and arts and of moral guidance. The beginning of human life was like a drama begun by drawing aside the curtain. Consider a drama. One doesn't know how the dramatist conceived the plot, how and when did he write it, when did he collect the actors, how did he train them and so on. The audience only sees a full-fledged play being enacted before it. Similarly, humanity is unaware of the behind-the-scenes preparation that divinity made. An occasional Darwin indulging in idle, fanciful speculation as to how the world began and how life and speech began is absolutely of no use. The first era of the drama of life on earth (including human) opened as a full-fledged on-going concern. The first act of that drama featuring men, women and children of a divine calibre, lasting 1,728,000 years is rightly known as the Kruta Yuga. Kruta in Sanskrit implies ready-made. The next era lasting 1,296,000 years was known as the Treta because it started with only three parts of its original goodness. Lord Rama emerged as the hero of the world-war fought in that era, against Ravan, a coercive demoniac world-sovereign. The era after that was known as Dwapar (from 'dwi' in Sanskrit meaning 'two') because it started with only two parts left of the original divine excellence. That era lasted for 864,000 years. The Kaurava Pandava World War was fought at the end of the Dwapar era. Now humanity is passing through its last era of 432,000 years duration, of which 5090 years have already elapsed. The present era is known as Kali i.e., a period of rising and crime and strife. We already see its all round baneful effects in the breakup of families and rising unconcern even between father and son and husband and wife. It may be observed that the cosmic machine created by divinity is like any other machine which gives a trouble-free service for a long initial period. Succeeding era's are comparatively shorter (each by 432,000 years). Yet the deterioration in the quality of human life decelerates with every passing era. In the succession described above, Vedic culture and Sanskrit language pervaded the whole world under the unitary rule of Vedic sovereigns. Kauravas and Pandavas were the last Vedic sovereigns in that time. They fought a very devastating internecine war with highly destructive biological and nuclear weapons. That war starting on November 15 (in modern terms) of 5561 B.C lasted just 18 days. But the war was so devastating that it shattered, tattered and battered the global Vedic-Sanskrit social, cultural, administrative and educational system that pervaded the pervaded the world for millions of years earlier. As a result, there followed a long period of chaos and ignorance. Far flung prosperous communities trapped distant lands such as Australia and Fiji became isolated when communications broke down and gradually sunk into an aboriginal condition. Later as things settled down broken regional such as Syria, Assyria, Egypt, China and India surfaced, limping along following a broken Vedic tradition. At that stage being bereft of the uniform Vedic teaching (of the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Ramayan and Mahabharat) humanity broke-up into a number of cults such as Romans i.e., Ramans (followers of Rama); Chrisnans (followers of Chrisn) now malpronounced as Christians; Samaritans (followers of Smrutis such as Manusmruti); Stoics i.e., Staviks (those believing in meditation); Essenese (followers of Isan, the father-god Lord Shiva); Palestinians (followers of Pulastin); Judaists i.e., Yedu's of Lord Krishna's clan; Sadduceans (i.e., Sadhujan meaning monks) and Malencians (i.e., Mlenchhas meaning those who lapsed into undisciplined behaviour). That in the broad outline is World history from the very first generation of human beings to our own. All communities such as Scythians and Phoenicians were splinters of the world Vedic society shattered by the Mahabharat War. Similarly all modern languages and dialects spoken around the world are fragments of Sanskrit. Recently, I have published a book titled 'Fowlers' Howlers' pointing out how the etymology set out in the Oxford English Dictionary by its editors H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler has gone awry because they are unaware of English being a branch of Sanskrit. Any Englishman would simply blink if asked why London has only has Upminster but no Downminster? And why an expert mathematician is called a Wrangler? Problems such as these can be solved only by recourse to Sanskrit. Under the Vedic system, boys when 5 to 8 years old were sent to Sanskrit hermitage schools. There they studied for 12 to 20 years in a celibate state. They were known as Brahmacharis (i.e., Bachelors). The consonants 'B-ch-r' common to both are proof that the English (European) word Bachelor is a malpronounciation of the Sanskrit word Brahmachari. Not only that the modern 'Bachelor' degree is incongruously conferred even on married or unmarried women though even the English dictionary rules out the use of the word Bachelor in relation to a woman. There are many such emphatic proofs indicating that the network of Sanskrit-Vedic Hermitage schools covered the whole world in ancient times. Those schools were known as Guruculams. And since the Sanskrit word 'Gow' is pronounced as 'Cow' in English, it should be apparent that the modern word 'curriculum' is an hangover of the Vedic 'guruculam'. Another major indication of the Vedic social system having been in vogue all over the ancient world is found in the so-called Christian marriage procedure which is entirely Vedic. The word Wedding is in fact 'Vedding' since the union is solemnized through Vedic chants. The Vedic term is "Pani-Grahan" meaning (the groom) clasping the hand (of the bride). The European term 'taking the bride's hand in marriage' is an exact translation of the Vedic Sanskrit term Pani-grahan. Likewise covering the bride's face with a Muslin veil, lining up bride's maids, an elderly relation formerly 'giving away the bride' (Vedic Kanyadaan),, tying the apparel of the bride and the groom into a knot, the showering of the newly-weds with rice-grains is all total Vedic procedure. When the groom clasps the hand of the bride a sacred thread is tied around their wrists indicating a hust-band (in Sanskrit) i.e., a hand-tie. The word 'husband' in English is that Sanskrit word 'hust-band' (with the letter 't' missing') indicating that the male whose hand is being tied to that of his bride, has no right thereafter to run after another women. It is hoped that this brief account will induce some scholars to undertake an in-depth study of human history from the very first generation of godly human beings millions of years ago in a continuous sequence coming down to our own times. The present archaeological sequence of an ice age, a Pleistocene age, a stone age etc. seems to be sheer untenable speculation like Darwin's theory of evolution of life. Historic relics found in Carthage, Egypt, the British Isles, Denmark, Italy etc. all indicate the prevalence of Vedic culture throughout the world. Muslim hands craftily suppressed all archaeological investigation and try their best to keep the world uninformed of any pre-Islamic relics in their regions. Any such finds a quickly destroyed. Kaaba, the main muslim shrine in Mecca itself contains a number of closely guarded secrets. The very through manner in which Christian and Muslim religious tutoring and training has rendered the minds of Christians and Muslims totally impervious to all earlier history is all appalling. For instance, Muslims and Christians are totally unaware of even the very meaning of the names of their own cities and regions since those are all Sanskrit. How many Muslims would know that Arabia alias Arvasthan and Turkey alias Turagasthan are Sanskrit words signifying a land of horses ? Likewise Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, was Bhagawad-nagar i.e., The City of God. European countries still retain their Sanskrit names. Russia is Rishiya (land of sages), Siberia is Shibiria (land of temporary hutments), Austria is Astriya (land of missiles), Hungary is Sringery (signifying a scenic country), Romania is Ramaaneeya (i.e., enchantingly beautiful region), Denmark gets is name from Danu and Mark (two leading members of the Vedic Daitya clan), Bulgaria is Bul-gareeya (i.e., strength of high order), Belgium is Balam-Ajeyam (i.e., invincible strength). All this points the need to reopen and reorientate the study of all history and archaeology. What has hitherto been understood to be mere Hindu or Indian culture or at best Southeast Asian culture has been in fact Universal Vedic culture of all humanity from the very down of creation. Only when that culture got gradually eclipsed from other regions (due to Christian and Muslim coersions) and got confined to the Sindhu (Indus) region, then it acquired the regional name Sindhuism pronounced as Hinduism.That is how universal Vedic culture got the regional name Hinduism.That is why the word Hindu does not figure in any basic Vedic scriptures. Hinduism alias Vedic culture does not pin down a person to any scriptures, prophet or mode of worship or prayer. Because being a universal culture of all mankind it embraces all human beings from Staunch theists to Stark atheists. As much Muslim and Christian modes of worship and prayer could happily form part of Vedic culture provided Muslims and Christians give up their penchant for conversions through coercion or temptation. Because the basic rule of the Vedic club is non-interference in anybody's theological and spiritual thinking. It is hoped that the analysis presented above would induce serious scholars all over the world to found an Academy alias University of World Vedic Heritage, with centres in major state capitals to train teachers, writers, speakers and researchers in Universal Vedic history. Such centres should display large sketches or sculptures of Lord Vishnu reclining on the eternal serpent, as the main stag of all creation. All activities at such centres should begin early every morning with Vedic recitations. At such centres there will be no distinctions of cast or creed, high or low. Sanskrit should be a compulsory subject for all since all Vedic scriptures are in Sanskrit. Sanskrit will also be promoted as a conversational language. It will be made clear to all that the term Vedic times signifies the day of the creation and nothing less. The Vedic slogan "Krunwanto Vishwam Aryam" implies training every human being to lead a life of dutiful selfless service like a mother devoted to the service of her household. The serious and age long lapse in proper study of Vedic history as explained above has also resulted in misinterpretation of the word Arya as a haughty overhearing person denouncing others as non-Aryans and therefore inferior. This should underline the need for universal study of Vedic history.

Readers eager and willing to actively work for and promote the establishment of World Vedic Heritage Academy with centres in all regions may correspond with the writer at:
Prof.P. N. Oak
Plot no.9,
Goodwill Society,
Aundh,
Pune 411 007India

Purpose and Function of Government According to Mahabharata By Stephen Knapp By studying this information we will understand how our present governments areinefficient in various methods of operation that they employ, or in the idealistic foundation uponwhich they build the country. We should also be able to perceive how to improve them.Furthermore, these Vedic principles that are found in the ancient text of the Mahabharata areapplicable for any leaders, whether they be local, state or national. First, before any ruler should take any position of authority, there should be a properconstitution which the king or leader must follow and upon which the whole country must baseitself. This constitution must outline the real purpose of government and the ruler of the country,which is to protect Dharma and all those Truth seekers who follow the principles of Dharma.Dharma means the path that helps bring and maintain harmony, balance and peace, bothindividually and socially, and the Truth which can free us from illusion and bring us to thetopmost reality, the spiritual strata. PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT The government's purpose should first be outlined in order to establish the direction itwill take for the citizens of the country. This is the reason for having a constitution. It isexplained that the main objective of the constitution of the country must be for the protection ofDharma and the propagation of righteousness among the subjects according to the law ofDharma. The citizens must know how to live in an atmosphere of goodness or with a sattvikmindset [that which is in the mode of goodness and is beneficial for everyone]. A constitution must be written only after a thorough review of the holy Vedic texts whichcontain a universal standard for spiritual development and an uplifting society. Only such aconstitution in which Dharma is protected can there be the manifestation of a progressivecountry. By progressive we mean in consciousness where humanity is reaching their highestpotential in growth, maturity, morals and spiritual knowledge and awareness. In the Vedicstandards this is called Ramarajya, or the kingdom of Lord Rama's rule of righteousness. This isconsidered a time when the ruler, namely Lord Rama, worked for everyone's ultimate benefit,and everyone cooperated together in progressive harmony. When the constitution and the countryare based on righteousness, the probability of it being affected by calamities, crime anddiscontent are low. But a country devoid of righteousness (Dharma) is lifeless, like a corpse,meaning that the deterioration of such a country is practically guaranteed. Without thepreservation of Dharma through educational programs, then the positive future of the state isdestroyed. It may go through the motions of existence, but its real purpose, values, and heart areempty. The citizens themselves will become like hollow shells compared to what they could be ifthey could reach their true potential in a spiritually advanced society. This is the importance offollowing the path of Dharma and that the rulers observe and protect it. HOW THERE BECAME A NEED FOR A KING In ancient times, king Yudhishthira asked how there ever came to be a need to have aking. He asked: "How did the word 'RAJAN' come into use when a king is addressed? A king islike any other human being on the earth. His body and limbs are like those of anyone else. Hisunderstanding and his senses are similar to those of many others. He has the same joys and griefs,the same number of years to live on the earth, like anybody else. How then did it happen that heis considered different? This world is made up of men who are far superior to him in intelligence,bravery and all accomplishments. And yet, this one man rules the others: though they are superiorto him. Why should it be the rule that one man is worshipped by all the others?" Bhishma replied: "I will tell you. In the beginning there was no king. There was nopunishment. These two were not needed then. Men were all righteous and each man protected theother. As time passed on, however, the hearts of men began to be invaded by errors. Once errorenters the heart, the mind gets clouded and the sense of right and wrong begins to wane. It waseven so with the men of distant times. "Covetousness was the first guest in their hearts. When covetous-ness came into life, menbegan to want things which did not belong to them. The next passion to be born was lust. Lustcan never exist alone. It has to have a companion and so wrath came into existence. As soon asthese terrible passions found places in the hearts of men, righteousness had to beat a hasty retreat.Along with this confusion happened another great calamity. The Vedas disappeared.Righteousness was completely lost to the world. The gods were then overcome with fear. Theywent to Brahma Pitamaha [great father] and said: 'Look on the world you have created, my lord!It is threatened with destruction. Please save it and save us!' "Brahma assured them that he would find a way. He then composed a treatise of ahundred thousand lessons. He treated [on the subjects] of Dharma [righteousness], Artha[economic development], Kama [sensual enjoyment] and Moksha [spiritual liberation]. He dealtwith them in great detail. He formulated the rules for chastisement. The main features of thistreatise on chastisement dealt with punishment of two kinds: open and secret punishment. Ittreated of conservation of wealth by traders and merchants, growth of penance of the ascetics,destruction of thieves and wicked men. There was a branch dealing with all the religiousobservances, and another dealt with the extensive subject of legislation and the behavior that isexpected of counselors, of spies, of secret agents, envoys, and conciliation. All the many waysand means by which men may be prevented from deviating from the path of righteousness andhonesty were described in it. "After composing it, Brahma said: 'For the good of the world and for the establishmentand propagation of Dharma, Artha and Kama I have composed this. Assisted by chastisement thiswill protect the world. Men are mostly led by chastisement and so this treatise will be calledDandaneeti.' "It was studied and abridged by several of the gods, the first of them being Shankara.Finally, when it was to be given to the world, Sukra of great wisdom thought of the brevity of thelife of men on earth and made the work much shorter. It contained just a thousand lessons. Thegods then appeared before Vishnu and said: 'Lord! Indicate to us a man on the world whodeserves to be superior to the rest'. "Narayana said: 'I will enter the body of one man and he, as well as all those who areborn in his line, will be lords of the world'. "There was a king called Vena. From his right arm was born a man who was like asecond Indra [King of heaven] in his looks and godliness. He was born with a coat of mail and allthe weapons. He was proficient in all the arts and the Vedas. The rishis made him the ruler of theworld. Sukra was his priest. There was current among men the feeling that he was the eighth sonof Vishnu himself. "His name was Prithu. He made the surface of the earth level. Vishnu and the deitiesassembled to crown Prithu king. The earth took a form and came to him with tributes of gemsand jewels. Prithu milked the earth in the form of a cow and made her yield seven kinds of cropsfor the food of all living creatures. He made all men regard Dharma as the foremost of all things. "Because he pleased all the people he was called 'RAJAN'. Because he healed thewounds of afflicted people he was called 'KSHAT-RIYA'. And again, because the earth becamecelebrated for the prevalence of virtue during his reign, she was called 'PRITHIVI'. "Vishnu entered the body of that monarch. A pure man, when his punya [karmic merit]becomes exhausted, descends from heaven to earth and is born as a king. Such a person is indeedgreat and is a portion of Vishnu on earth. He has a heritage of divine intelligence and he issuperior to all the others. He is established by the gods and he is not to be slighted. This is thereason why the world cannot command him but he can command the world. This is why themultitude has to obey his words of command though he is like anybody else." In this regard, even the great Greek philosopher Plato recognized that the ideal ruler oradministrator is the philosopher king. In such ancient cultures found in North and SouthAmerica, or Egypt and Japan and many others, it was the sun that was worshiped and wasconsidered the ultimate ruler. The king was considered the earthly representative of the sun, andhis dynasty was the solar dynasty. It is a fundamental principle of government that the authority of the ruler is ultimatelyderived from God. The form of government that is the oldest, most prevalent down through theages, and most widely found around the globe is that of the divine monarchy. These were foundin India, China, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Ur, Egypt, Ethiopia, theSudan, in ancient Greece, as well as in Scandinavia and Celtic Europe. In all these civilizationsthe king was spoken of as divine representatives. Thereafter, Yudhishthira asked: "What are the principal duties of the subjects?" Bhishma responded: "Their first duty is to elect a [properly qualified] king and performhis coronation. For the sake of the treasury, the subjects should give one fiftieth of their animalsand precious metals and a tenth part of their grains. From among them they should choose thosewho are proficient in the use of weapons, and help the king in the maintenance of the army. Afourth part of the merits of the people will go to the king and a fourth part of their evil also. Adisciple behaves with humility in the presence of his preceptor. Even so a subject should humblehimself before his king. A king who is honored by his subjects will naturally be respected andfeared by his foes." 1 ANARCHY WITHOUT A PROPER RULER As the morality of humanity declined through the ages, the need for proper rulers becameincreasingly evident. As it is further explained, when there is no ruler or proper administratorover a country, there will be anarchy in the region. In this regard the Ramayana (2.67.18) says:"In a state without a king the wealthy are insecure. Even farmers and cowherds cannot sleeppeacefully with their doors open." So the above description is a sure sign of improper leadership, or when a ruler has noability to handle the situation in the appropriate way. When there is an abundance of crime andthievery, then the wealthy are especially vulnerable because those with less or who are in needwill look at them with envy. Of course, the poor are even more vulnerable because they havelittle means to defend themselves from marauders and vandals who come through to do as theywish. Thus, the property of the weak will be forcefully taken away by those who are morepowerful or clever. And the abduction of women will become common. Without goodleadership, then even the police will not come forward to protect the people in an efficientmanner. Furthermore, on a social level, religious principles will disappear, relationships likemarriage will begin to become extinct, and crime and chaos will manifest even in the areas ofbusiness, banking, agriculture, and health care or pharmaceuticals. Even a simple and peacefullife will be increasingly difficult to find. This is further elaborated in the Ramayana (2.67.17): "In a state where anarchy prevails a group of young women embellished with goldornaments do not go to the garden in the evening for recreation." This may have been the sign ofanarchy in the times of the Ramayana, but where I live in Detroit a group of women simply donot go out, embellished with gold or not. And in Africa and other parts of the world , the samesituation is there that if any women are seen, they are vulnerable to rape, torture and murder. Isthis not anarchy? So, according to these descriptions from the Vedic texts, a country with acrooked ruler where anarchy prevails is as good as a country with no ruler at all. "No soul is peaceful in a state without a ruler. In such a state men exploit one another likefish who swallow each other." (Ramayana 2.67.31) So a good government and qualified leader is essential for a progressive society. But whois a good leader? WHO CAN RULE THE COUNTRY In the Vedic system, a king is called a Raja. This means one who shines. But it alsomeans one who rids his subjects of obstacles. This indicates that only one who ideally considersthe welfare of his subjects should be a king or ruler. If the ideal king follows the laws of Dharma, then the people will also follow.(Mahabharata abbreviated as Mb.12.75.4) This also means that if the king is unrighteous, he willhave little ability to lead people and keep them from crime and dishonesty. They will follow hisown character. Thus, as rulers become more and more crooked, the same character will naturallytrickle down to the general populace. This illustrates why corruption is so rampant today. Theonly way to escape from this situation is to have moralistic and righteous leaders, if there are anywho can be found. Crowning an ideal person as a king is the chief duty of a nation because eventually if astate is without a proper administrator, it becomes weak and subject to the attack of its enemies.(Mb.12.67.2) This means that a dynamic country and the code of punishment for wrongdoers canonly blossom with strong leadership. When the code of punishment deteriorates or when rulersbegin to behave unjustly, then corruption will spread unabated. Consequently people will becomeunhappy and social unrest will increase. The nurturing of the subjects, and displaying the means to endow them with happinessand contentment, protecting the righteous, and giving the citizens the means of prosperity and topunish the wrongdoers, are the chief duties of a king. (Vishnusmriti) "The kingdom of that monarch who looks on while a Sudra [those who are unqualified orill-trained for positions of rulership] settles the law, will sink (low), like a cow in a morass. Thatkingdom where Sudras are very numerous, which is infested by atheists and destitute of thetwice-born (inhabitants) [those born a second time by spiritual knowledge], soon entirelyperishes, afflicted by famine and disease." (Manu-samhita, 8.21-22) Recognizing the Character of a Proper Leader The prime protector of the citizens in the Sanskrit language is called a Kshatriya. Thisword means warrior, but primarily as one who protects people from kshat or unhappiness. Such a Kshatriya is said to display the characteristics of bravery, courage, vigilance,charity, the ability to display his prowess, and not retreating from battle. (Mb. 6.42.43) A proper kshatriya has the ultimate duty to protect all beings (Mb. 12.120.3) along withfostering the righteous, destroying those who are cruel, and not fleeing from the enemy.(Mb.12.14.16) Kshatriyas should take up their weapons only to protect others, such as individuals andthe community at large. (Ramayana 3.10.3) However, a Kshatriya who does not display his strength according to his capacity due tofear of losing his life deserves to be called a thief. (Mb.5.134.2) A Kshatriya must exhibit the appropriate conduct toward his subordinates. He canexercise control of the other classes in society and is thus called a statesman. He thus mustexhibit impartiality in executing his duties without favoritism or disdain toward anyone. He musthave consideration for the benefit of all. He naturally must personally follow the laws as set byothers. He must be able to punish evildoers regardless of their own status or position in society.He must be willing to seek counsel from others who are able to advise him. A Kshatriya's own spiritual progress is determined by his ability to protect the saintly anddestroy evildoers. Philosophers have stated that a warrior who is brave enough to be killed on the battlefieldacquires the state of an ascetic who has been devoted to the practice of yoga. In other words, heattains heaven after this earthly life. Again it is emphasized that only the rulers who can always protect the righteous and driveaway the evildoers should be crowned as king. The entire universe lives on his support.(Mb.12.78.44) The strength of the downtrodden and the desolate lies in the king. (Ramayana7.59) This means that those who are poor depend on the king for their welfare. Without that theyare forever doomed to poverty and without condolence. A Qualified King Must Be Self-Controlled "A wise man should learn good behavior, good words and good acts from every side, as agleaner collects grains of corn from the field abandoned by the reapers. Virtue is preserved bytruthfulness: learning by application: beauty by cleansing the body: high lineage by goodcharacter. Mere lineage, in the case of one whose behavior is not good, cannot command respect.A king or a man who envies another's wealth, beauty, might, high lineage, happiness, goodfortune and honor, suffers from an incurable disease. Good behavior is essential to man.Intoxication of wealth is much more to be censured than wine; for a man intoxicated withprosperity can never be brought to his senses unless and until he meets with a fall."Like the moon during the lighted fortnight, calamities increase for him who is a slave to hissenses. The king who wishes to control his counselors before controlling his own self, or the kingwho wishes to subdue his adversaries before controlling his counselors, fights a losing battle,losing his strength. A king should first subdue his own self, regarding it as his foe. He will thennever fail to subdue his counselors and later his enemies. Great prosperity waits upon him whohas subjugated his senses, or controlled his soul, or who is capable of punishing all offenders, orwho acts with discernment, or who is blessed with patience. "One's body is the chariot: the soul within is the driver; and the senses are its steeds.Drawn by those excellent steeds when they are well trained, the wise man pleasantly goesthrough the journey of life in peace. The horses, however, if unbroken and incapable of beingcontrolled, lead the unskilled driver to destruction in the course of the journey. Many evil-mindedkings, because of their want of mastery over the senses are ruined by acts of their own, lust forkingdom being the cause of their sin." 2 The Strengths Kings Should Have "Kings are said to have five different kinds of strength. Of these the strength of arms isconsidered to be the most inferior kind. The acquisition of good counselors is regarded as thesecond kind of strength. The acquisition of wealth is the third kind of strength. The strength ofbirth which one naturally acquires from one's sires and grandsires is the fourth kind of strength.That, however, by which all these are won, and which is the foremost of all kinds of strength, iscalled the strength of the intellect. "Illustrious and mighty kings have ruled this mighty earth so full of wealth and glory andjoy. All of them have become victims of the Universal Destroyer. They went away leavingbehind them their kingdoms and their immense pleasures. The son, brought up with anxious care,when dead, is taken up and carried away by men to the burning grounds. With disheveled hairand with piteous cries they cast the body into the funeral pyre as though it were a piece of wood.Others enjoy the wealth of a dead man while birds and fire feast on the elements of his body.Only two things go with him to the other world: his merits and his sins. Throwing away the body,relatives, friends, and sons retrace their steps like birds abandoning the tree without flowers orfruits. The man cast into the funeral pyre is followed only by his own actions. Therefore shouldmen, carefully and gradually, earn the merit of righteousness." 3 Yudhishthira further asked: "How should a king behave?" Bhishma answered: "Righteousness is the watchword of a king. Nothing is greater thanthat in this world. A righteous king can easily conquer the entire world. His counselors should allbe pure in heart and pure in mind. Malice should have no place in the heart of a king. His sensesshould be perfectly under control. He should use his intelligence and he will then be glorious:swelling in greatness like the ocean fed with the waters of a thousand rivers."4 Characteristics That A King Should Possess "Poison kills but one man: so does a weapon. But wicked counsels destroy an entirekingdom with kings and subjects. The highest good is righteousness. The one supreme peace isforgiveness. Supreme contentment is knowledge. Supreme happiness is benevolence. A king caneasily become great by doing just two things: refraining from harsh speech and disregardingthose that are wicked. Three crimes are considered to be terrible: theft of another's property,outrage of another man's wives and breach with friends. Three things destroy the soul: lust, angerand covetousness. Three are essential: a follower, one who seeks protection and one who hascome to your abode. These should be protected. A king, although powerful, should never conferwith these four: men of small sense, men that procrastinate, men who are indolent and men whoflatter. Five things have to be worshiped: father, mother, fire, the preceptor and the soul. Sixfaults should be avoided by a king who wishes to be great: sleep, drowsiness, fear, anger,indolence and procrastination. These six should not be forsaken: truth, charity, diligence,benevolence, forgiveness and patience. A king should renounce the seven faults [which arewomen, dice, hunting, harshness of speech, drinking, severity of punishment, and waste ofwealth]. Eight things glorify a king: wisdom, high birth, self-restraint, learning, prowess,moderation in speech, gifts given with discrimination, and gratitude. This human body is a housewith nine doors, three pillars, and five witnesses. It is presided over by the soul. The king whoknows this is wise. These ten do not know what virtue is: the intoxicated, the inattentive, theraving, the fatigued, the angry, the starving, the dejected, the covetous, the frightened and thelustful." 5Further Descriptions of the Character and Duties of a King Here is the advice given for one to be a proper Dharmic king: Bhishma was immensely pleased with the humility and eagerness of Yudhishthira. Hesmiled at him and said: "My child, I am only too eager to tell you all that you want to know. Aking's first duty is to worship the gods and the brahmins [those spiritually advanced individualswho are meant to work selflessly for the spiritual upliftment of all others]. A king shouldessentially be a man of action. You might have heard from many that destiny rules a king. It is afallacy in reasoning if you think so. Destiny does play a part. I grant that. But without action aking can never help destiny to play her part. Destiny is powerful but action is equally powerful.Both are potent. But to me, it seems that action is the more potent of the two. It is action whichshapes the destiny. "The next equally important duty of a king is Truth. If you want to inspire confidence inthe minds of your subjects, you should always be truthful. "All accomplishments find a home in a king. His behavior should be above reproach.Self-restraint, humility and righteousness are qualities which you have to look for in a king if hehas to be successful. He should have his passions under perfect control. "Justice should be the second nature of a king. There are three more things which a kingshould cultivate. He should know how to conceal his own weaknesses carefully. By weakness ismeant the weaknesses in his kingdom. He should take the trouble to find out the weaknesses inhis enemies and he should be very careful to be secretive about his plans. "A king's conduct should be straight forward. Another danger for a king is mildness. Heshould not be too mild. He will then be disregarded. The subjects will not have enough respectfor him and his words. Again, he should avoid the other extreme. He should not be too fiercebecause then the subjects will be afraid of him, and that is not a happy state of affairs. "A king should know the art of choosing servants. He should have compassion as part ofhis mental make-up, but he should guard against too forgiving a nature. The lowest of men willtake advantage of him and his nature if they are considered weak. "Alertness is a great necessity for a king. He should study his foes and his friends too,incessantly." "Skill, cleverness and truth are all three necessary in a king. Old and fallen buildings andliving-houses should be renovated by him if he has to win the good opinion of his subjects. Heshould know how to use his powers in inflicting corporal punishments and fines on miscreants."6 A KING MUST PROTECT HIS SUBJECTS Time and again the Mahabharata and other Vedic texts stress that a ruler must be able toprotect and care for the citizens. This is done in a variety of ways, which are briefly explained inthe many quotes that follow. But if a ruler cannot look after his subjects with concern andfirmness, then it is obvious that such a person is unfit to continue in any position of leadership.As it is described: "Having thus arranged all the affairs (of) his (government), he shall zealously andcarefully protect his subjects. That (monarch) whose subjects are carried off by robbers (Dasyu)from his kingdom, while they loudly call (for help), and he and his servants are quietly lookingon, is a dead and not a living (king). The highest duty of a Kshtriya is to protect his subjects, forthe king who enjoys the rewards is bound to (discharge that) duty. (Manu-samhita 8.142-144) "A king should protect his subjects just as a pregnant women nurtures the foetus in herwomb." (Mb.12.56.44) In this way, as a pregnant woman sacrifices her own interests for the sakeof the child in her womb, so also a king should be able to give up his own interests to address theneeds of the citizens. "Just as a father helps his son rise over a crisis, so also a king should deliver his subjectsfrom difficulties." (Bhagavata Purana 11.17.45) "If a king is too gentle, then people disobey him. And if he is authoritarian they fear him.Hence, depending on the situation he should be authoritarian or gentle." (Mb.12.140.65) "Keeping the subjects happy on this earth itself is the code of righteousness (Santana-Dharma) of a king." (Mb.12.57.11) "Punishing evildoers, honoring the righteous, enriching the treasury lawfully, deciding thecases of petitioners, and protecting the nation are the five sacrificial fires (yajnas) or spiritualduties of a king." (Atrismruti 28) "The king who nurtures his subjects on the best possible way is certainly knowledgeablein righteousness. Why does such a king require penance? Why at all does he need to performsacrificial fires?" (Mb.12.69.73) The feeble and downtrodden, blind, dumb, crippled, orphaned, old, widowed, diseasedand distressed should be provided with food, clothing, medicines, shelter, etc. (Mb.12.86.24) Provisions of facilities such as lakes and water canals, distribution of seeds, control ofrodents, elephants, and those things which destroy harvests, augmenting farming by developingmeadows for cattle to graze, etc., are all part of the assortment of ways meant to be overseen bythe king and his government for the protection and continued development of the citizens. "A king must consider that his first duty is to his subjects. He should guard them as amother guards the child in her womb. Will any mother have thoughts of pleasing herself whenher child is in her womb? All her thoughts will be bent only on the child and its welfare. Even so,a king should subordinate his desires and wishes to those of his subjects. Their welfare should behis only concern." "The best king is one whose subjects live in freedom and happiness as they do in theirfather's house. Peace will be theirs, and contentment. There will then be no wickedness, nopretense, no dishonesty and no envy. "The very core of a king's duty is the protection of his subjects and their happiness. It isnot easy. To secure the happiness of his people he should use diverse methods." 7 Taxes One of the primary functions of a ruler is to oversee and design the development of hiscountry, and one of the means he uses for this is taxes. But how he collects tax must besystematic and with proper consideration of his subjects. As it is described: "Just as a bumble-bee sucks nectar from flowers without harming them, so also a king should collect money fromhis subjects without hurting them." (Mb.5.34.17) "Just as a bumble-bee sucks nectar from flowers delicately without harming the plant soalso a king should collect money by levying taxes on his subjects, without hurting them. Onewho milks a cow does not milk it dry but takes care to see that some milk is left for its calf.Similarly a king should levy taxes on the people carefully after considering that they will besufficiently provided for." (Mb.12.88.4) "Like a leech, a king should gently take money from the state by levying taxes. A tigresslifts its cubs with its teeth yet does not harm them. Similarly a king should levy taxes on hissubjects without causing them distress." (Mb.12.88.5) "O king, it is the ruler's great folly if despite taking one sixth of the income of hissubjects he does not nurture them like his children." (Ramayana 3.6.11) "It is said that a king who without protecting his subjects takes one sixth of their income(in the form of taxes) acquires their sins." (Mb.1.213.9) "A king should become a gardener, not a coal manufacturer. A gardener takes care ofplants to obtain flowers and fruits from them. Similarly a king should guide his subjects towardsprosperity and then secure one fourth of their income from them in the form of taxes. A coaltrader uproots a tree and then chars it completely. A king should not uproot his subjects likewiseplundering their wealth totally." (Mb.) "Just as one who cuts off the udders of a cow with the hope of getting milk never acquiresit, so also a state in which taxes are levied inappropriately, thus harrassing the subjects, does notprosper." (Mb.12.71.16) "Most of the authors of the Smritis have stated that taxes should not be levied upon theBrahmanas (priests) who have mastered the Vedas. This is because the king gets one sixth of themerits acquired by a Brahmana following the righteous path." (Vishnu Dharmasutra 3.26-27) The point is that it is the duty of the king to support and look after the worldly andspiritual needs of learned Brahmanas, ascetics and scholars and teaching institutions. This wouldaugment a king's prestige. The king would treat them with a great respect since they are meant toassist in the preservation of Dharma and social balance whereby the whole society can work inharmony and continue their spiritual development by which all can be content and happy. . "The king should levy taxes, but they should never be so high as to hurt the subjects. Heshould know how to milk his kingdom. He should be like a bee gathering honey from theflowers. He should be a leech which draws blood mildly without the victim being conscious of it.He should behave like a tigress with her cubs while handling his subjects: she catches them withher teeth and yet never hurts them." 8Therefore, the king must also adopt the attitude that he is the servitor of the citizens. Acrooked government must fear the citizens who will sooner or later revolt against a dishonestleader. Otherwise, what value is there in the citizens paying high taxes to a crooked leader who isnot ruling them properly, and not being able to protect them, either militarily, economically,educationally, etc. A leader is meant to get a salary from the taxes collected only when he or shecan do the proper job. Otherwise the taxes collected for such purposes are wasted. Use of the Treasury The main purpose of how a king is meant to use the treasury is also explained: "Thetreasury of a king is meant for the protection of the army, his subjects and of righteousness(Dharma). If it is used for these purposes, it will prove beneficial. On the other hand, if thetreasury is misused, it will prove disastrous. Should the king use the royal treasury for his wifeand children and to fulfill his own sensual pursuits, it will bring him unhappiness and he willattain hell." (Shukraniti 4.2.3-5) The ruler must use only his personal account for any of his own interests, but must neverdivert any administrative accounts and finances for inappropriate purposes. Not only will heaccrue the bad karma that will take him to hell, but often his own life, private and political, alongwith the future of his subjects and country, becomes doomed in due time. "The king should remember that his treasury should always be full. Supervision of thework of all his officers should be done by the king himself. He should never trust the guardiansof the city or fort implicitly." 9 Defending the Country Being Aware of the Enemy In protecting the citizens from obstacles, overseeing the safety of the country fromenemies is certainly a prime concern that must be addressed by the ruler. Herein it is furtheradvised: "O king, it is neither written on one's countenance nor engraved in words that so-and-sois an enemy or a friend. The one from whom one experiences harassment is termed as an enemy."(Mb.2.55.10) "Despite being feeble those who are cautious are not slain by the enemy, as against this isa powerful one who is not vigilant about the enemy is annihilated even by a weak enemy."(Mb.12.138.198) "Even if an enemy is weak when its strength rises, even a powerful man cannot afford toignore it." (Mb.5.9.22) "Even if one is powerful one should not consider a weak enemy inferior because though aflame is small it is sufficient to burn, and even a minute quantity of poison is enough to snuff outlife." (Mb.12.58.17) "In this world there is nothing more dangerous than being inadvertent. All wealth desertssuch a careless individual and then he has to face catastrophes." (Mb.10.10.19)Dealing with an Enemy Once an enemy has been recognized, there are specific ways of dealing with them,according to one's position. "One should befriend an enemy by conciliation with a false air offriendship but should fear him constantly like a snake that has entered the house."(Mb.12.140.15) "One should speak (to the enemy) meekly but should actually be heartless. One shouldspeak with a smile but never reveal one's true nature by performing a harsh act." (Mb.1.140.66) "One should win the enemy's trust by convincing him with valid reasons and aftersometime when his position becomes unstable, one should attack him." (Mb.12.140.44) Lord Vishnu told the deities before the churning of the ocean of milk, "O deities, toaccomplish a great task, you may even have to befriend the enemy. Do that and once youaccomplish your mission, just as a rattlesnake swallows rodents, destroy the demons."(Bhagavata Purana 8.6.20) "A king who does not annihilate his enemy will not gain fame on this earth, will notacquire wealth and his subjects too will remain insecure. Even Indra was accorded the status ofMahendra after he slew the demon Vritrasua." (Mb.12.15.15) "A person who foolishly disregards a flourishing enemy is totally vanquished by it, akinto an ailment in its terminal stage." (Mb.2.55.16) "One should not let an enemy realize one's weaknesses. However, one should certainlyfind out the enemy's weaknesses. Just as a tortoise keeps all parts of its body hidden beneath itsshell, a king should keep all the strategies of the state a secret and should be careful about hisweaknesses." (Mb.12.140.24) "One who trusts an enemy and sleeps peacefully after making a truce with the latter isakin to a man sleeping on a treetop who wakes up only after he falls down." (Mb.12.140.37) "One does not acquire the great Lakshmi bestowing governance (Rajalakshmi) withoutstriking the enemy at its strategic points, exhibiting tremendous valiance and without slaying theenemy like a fisherman kills his catch." (Mb.12.140.50) "When the enemy becomes weak, wise men do not hesitate even for a moment to destroyit. An enemy should be slain specially when it is facing a calamity. If a clever one annihilates anenemy in such circumstances, not only is he called righteous but he also becomes famous."(Mb.8.90.71) An enemy in this regard is also considered to be an enemy of Dharma, thedestruction of which destroys all means of peace and stability in society. Thus, Dharma must bedefended at all times. Sri Krishna to Yudhisthira explains: "O Dharmaraja, vanquisher of enemies, so long asyou continue to reconcile with them (the enemies of the Kauravas) they will continue to rule yourkingdom." (Mb.5.73.8) "Despite being intelligent, if a king does not attack his enemies, then like a non-venomous snake he will always fall prey to his enemy." (Mb.12.58.16) "If one finds an enemy who deserves to be killed, then one should never let him go."(Mb.5.38.29) "Just as a debt keeps growing even if a fraction of it is unpaid, if the lives of yourenemies are spared, then because they have been insulted, in the future they will generate terrorjust as neglected diseases become dreadful later." (Mb.12.140.59) "Even if the enemy who charges with a weapon on the battlefield is a scholar of theVedanta, a king who observes righteousness (Dharma) should wage a righteous war and defeathim." (Mb.12.56.29) "One should speak to him (the enemy) sweetly both when contemplating an attack on himand also during the attack. In fact, even after the attack one should show sympathy and grief andshed tears as well." (Mb.1.140.56) "One should not fight several enemies alone. One should resort to the four methods ofreconciliation, compromise with money, breaking the amity of allies and punishmentappropriately and annihilate them one by one. Even if very powerful, the wise should never makethe folly of fighting several enemies simultaneously." (Mb.3.52.22) "Do not attempt to swim across when the opposite bank is beyond one's reach. Neverseize anything that will later be snatched away by someone else. Never dig at something whichcannot be uprooted. Never strike one who cannot be beheaded." (Mb12.140.69) "A king should first win over his own mind, then it becomes easier to gain victory overhis enemy. How will one who has not won over his own mind vanquish his enemies?"(Mb.12.69.4) "A king should be wise in dealing with six problems. The first is making peace with a foewho is stronger. The next consideration is making war on one who is equal to him in strength.Invading the country of one who is weaker in his next problem. He should use his discriminationwhen he makes a decision about these things. He should be prepared to seek protection in his fortif his position is weak. The most important work of a king is to cause dissensions among thechief office-bearers in his enemy's country. He should have clever spies at his service and findout the secrets of the enemy. He should bribe and cajole the officers of the enemy and win themover to his side. "A king should be pleasant in speech. He should have about him men who are all like himin nature and in noble qualities. The only difference between the king and his officers should bethe white umbrella. 10 "He [the king] must produce disloyalty among the people in a hostile country and he musthave friends and allies there. "He should amass troops, and this should be done in secret. A king can never protect hiskingdom by candor and by simplicity. A king should be both candid and crooked. He mustemploy crookedness and wrong acts when he wants to subdue the enemy. All these things shouldbe concealed behind a candid and open exterior." 11 The king is expected to have control over his mind and senses if he is to have control overhis enemies and subjects. He must rise above the influence of the six defects, namely desire,anger, greed, pride, and the desires for fame and happiness. Otherwise both the king and hiskingdom are doomed. We have often seen that rulers who exhibit weaknesses, whether towardwomen, liquor, gambling, or hunting and other vices which stem from desire; or otherunbalanced mindset regarding criticism, misappropriation of money, or being overly cruel withpunishment, etc., all of which originate from excessive anger and pride, lead to a downfall ordisaster. Thus he must avoid these issues and weaknesses in order to rule pleasantly over hissubjects. In this age of Kali-yuga, rulers in any part of the world fail to lead properly because theyare filled with their own weaknesses and unable to control their own minds and senses properly.The leader must be focused without the distractions of the senses, or the tendency to giveprivileges to political groups because of an attraction to the money they offer. When the senses ofa ruler are controlled, then the state can become prosperous in all aspects and as a result, wealthy.When the ruler is not able to control his senses, then the citizens suffer the results of a leader whois too easily swayed and distracted with the result of a lack of impartial justice and leadership.Thus, the government itself becomes the home of corruption and thieves. When the leaderbecomes a thief, then the citizens become beggars.The Army The army is, of course, the main agency through which the king handles enemies. Hereinare a few statements in how the army must be guided, not necessarily by the king himself, butthrough farsighted military leaders. "A military organization functions best if it is well guided. The army is blind andignorant. Hence farsighted leaders should guide it appropriately." (Mb.2.20.16) "Soldiers brimming with enthusiasm for battle is the prime sign of achieving victory."(Mb.6.3.75) Responding Rather Than Reacting Herein it is explained that any response by a king to an enemy or someone in the worldwho should be curbed should be done after a well thought out plan, rather than merely by anemotional reaction, which is often based on an impulsive and prideful basis rather than wisdomand focus. [As Bhishma said to Yudhisthira] "Great men do not express hostility towards those whoinsult them all at once. Nevertheless they display their prowess gradually, with time."(Mb.12.157.10) DUTIES OF A KING IN DISTRESS There are times and circumstances in which a ruler will find himself in a weaker positionthan another, or in comparison with an enemy. Thus, the situation may dictate a different strategyfor the survival of the country, or for maintaining peace among neighboring countries. In thisregard, Bhishma explained: "I will tell you about the duties of a king when in distress. A foe thenbecomes a friend, and a friend will most probably turn out to be a foe. Circumstances will soconspire that the course of human actions becomes uncertain. This is where intelligence comes toone's rescue It helps you to decide whether one should make war on the foe or make peace withhim. It all depends on the time and place, and, at times, it is even necessary to make friends withthe enemy. You should make friends with intelligent men who are desirous of your welfare. Ifyour life cannot otherwise be saved, then you should certainly make peace with the enemy. If youare foolish enough not to consider this, then you will never succeed in achieving things for whicheveryone strives so hard. A king, who makes a truce with the enemy, and quarrels with hiserstwhile friends after considering the situation to the utmost, its pros and its cons, will certainlybe able to succeed. "Friends should be examined to the utmost before accepting them as friends. Foes should bewell studied and their strength and weakness known. Friends appear as foes, and foes assume theguise of friends. When friendly compacts are undertaken, it is not possible to be sure if thefeelings of the other are really friendly or if it is just selfishness which prompts him to accept thepact. The words 'friend' and 'foe' are, after all, relative terms. A man considers another to be hisfriend so long as he is assured that his interests are safe; so long as he is sure that it is profitablefor him to do so. If he is sure that this state of things will continue as long as the other man isalive, he allows the friendship to continue for life. "Self-interest [the instinct to survive] is the most powerful factor in the life of everyone. Theentire world is pivoted round only this one factor and it ever revolves around it. No one is dear toanother unless there is some gain involved. No affection is evident unless there is a motive ofself-interest. One man is popular because he is very liberal-minded, another because he speakssweetly and a third because he is very religious. Generally it is the rule rather than the exceptionthat a man is dear because of the purpose he serves: nothing more. The friendship terminates assoon as the reason for the friendship dies. "An intelligent man should know when to make peace with a foe. Remember, when twopersons who were once enemies become friends it is obvious that each is only biding his timewhen he can get the better of the other. The wiser of the two will necessarily succeed. The policyis that, while you are afraid of the other man, you should appear as though you are not. Youshould appear as though you trust him implicitly and all the time you should be mistrusting him.When the time demands it you should make peace with your foe and at the earliest opportunityyou must wage war. This rule should apply even for a friend." 12 A KING SHOULD TRUST NO ONE Unfortunately, a king or ruler, due to his position, must be careful regarding who he trusts. There may be so many who are envious, or who are enemies set to take over the ruler's position,or who are enemies who wish to take control over the country. Thus, placing trust in the wrongpeople can have devastating effects. Thus, confidentiality must be observed in many areas of theruler's activities. Future plans must not be jeopardized by allowing too many or the wrong peopleto know too much. "A king should be careful not to place implicit confidence in anyone. His innermost thoughtsmust be concealed from even his nearest and dearest and he should not tell anyone about hisdecisions." 13 "One should always attempt to make others trust in oneself. However, one should not trustothers." (Mb.12.138.195) "One should acquire the trust of others but should never trust anyone. O King, never trusteven one's own son completely." (Mb.12.85.33) "One should not undertake a mission depending on another's strength as opinions of twopeople generally do not match." (Mb.2.56.8) In determining what kind of person a king can trust, Yudhishthira asked: "Nothing, not eventhe smallest act can be accomplished by a single man. He has to have assistance. This is all themore true when one thinks of ruling a kingdom. So much of it depends on the minister of theking. Tell me, what are the characteristics of a minister and his duties? Which kind of mandeserves the king's entire confidence?" Bhishma replied: "A king has friends and these can be classified into four types. The first isthe man whose object coincides with that of the king. The second is the man who is devoted tothe king. The third is one related to the king by birth. The fourth is one whom the king hasplacated by gifts. There is a fifth and that is a righteous man who firmly serves one and not bothsides. He belongs to the side where there is righteousness. To this man the king should neverconfide plans which are in danger of being disapproved. A king who wants to be successful hasto be righteous and unrighteous too according to circumstances. And so, he cannot be too carefulin regard to these friends. A wicked man may appear to be honest and an honest man is likely tobecome dishonest. No man can always be of the same mind all the time. No one should betrusted completely. Entire reliance on the ministers is not wise. And again, a want of trust is alsowrong. A king's policy, therefore, should be trust as well as mistrust. "A king should fear his kinsmen as he would death himself. A kinsman can never bear to seethe prosperity of the king. At the same time, a king without kinsmen is unfortunate indeed. Thepolicy is: mistrusting them at heart, but behaving with them as though he trusts themcompletely."14 A KING SHOULD TAKE COUNSEL The power of government should be overseen and monitored by different people ororganizations because if only one person or class controls it, it will create a monopoly thatgenerates fear and suspicion in the general mass of people. Furthermore, a ruler is never meant tomake unilateral decisions without counsel as this leads to tyranny and dictatorship. [Rama asked Bharat] "Do you take decisions by yourself or do you seek the counsel ofseveral others? Does your policy get published much before it is implemented?" (Ramayana2.100.18) A ruler, no matter how clever or intelligent he may be, is never meant to make decisions onhis own without consulting his ministers. It has been seen time and time again that any leaderwho draws his own designs without consultation with his advisors is soon on his way to ruin. As it is explained: "The one who judges the strength of the enemy and that of his own state,who contemplates intelligently on the present status, growth and destruction of his army and thatof the enemy's army and suggests the required measures for the welfare of his master can truly becalled a minister." (Ramayana 6.14.22) "A king should be proficient in the art of choosing honest men to hold important offices." 15 Character of the Legislators Yudhishthira asked: "What should be the characteristics of the legislators, the ministers ofwar, the courtier, and the counselors of a king?" Bhishma responded: "The legislators should be men who are modest, self-restrained, truthfuland sincere, and they should have the courage to speak what is proper. The ministers for warshould be those who are always by the side of the king. They should be very brave. They shouldbelong to the higher caste, and be learned and affectionate to a fault as far as the king isconcerned. A courtier should be of high lineage. He should always be honored by the king. Heshould be a man who has the king's interests always at heart. He should never abandon the kingwhatever the circumstances may be. "The officers of the army should again be of high lineage, born in the country of the king;possessed of wisdom, great learning, and beauty of form and features. They should be ofexcellent behavior, and they should be devoted to the king." 16 The Need for Secrecy "Both poison and a weapon kill only one person at a time, but discrepancy in a king's planbecomes the cause for destruction of all the subjects along with the king." (Mb.5.33.45) "Just as a peacock maintains silence in autumn, so also a king should always keep his policiesa secret." (Mb.12.120.7) [Sage Narada explains to Yudhisthira] "The main cause for victory of a king is secretcounsel." (Mb.2.5.27) Spies A ruler must hear of the intentions and actions of the people, both within and outside hiscountry, and of both honest and dishonest people. Not that this is expected to take away the rightsof the people, but only so the king will understand how things are going on amongst his subjects.By understanding the intentions of the citizens, a king can propose proper plans to his legislatorsfor counsel. Herein it is explained: "A king keeps an eye on his subjects through his spies."(Mb.5.34.34) "It is said that spies are the support of a state and secret counsel is its strength."(Mb.12.83.51) A KING SHOULD UNDERSTAND CHARACTERISTICS OF A WISE MAN AND FOOL The Mahabharata also explains how a king should understand the characteristics of both awise man and a fool. This would also have an affect on the character of the king. This is from theVidura-neeti section of the Mahabharata in which Vidura addresses King Dhritarasthra. Vidura said: "I will tell you what a wise man should be like. A man should aspire for thehigher things, ideals, in life. The assets of such a man are self-knowledge, exertion, forbearanceand steadiness in virtue. Such a man is wise. Neither anger, nor joy, nor pride, nor false modesty,nor vanity, can distract him from his purpose. His actions are always done with the thought thatthey should serve both the worlds. Desire does not tinge his actions. Honest deeds delight himand he loves what is good. He is unaffected either by honors or by slights. Like a lake in thecourse of the river Ganga, he is calm, cool and unagitated. "On the other hand, the qualities of a fool are also easy to enumerate. Scripture is a closedbook as far as he is concerned. He is vain: he is proud and, when he wants to have something, hewill never hesitate to employ unfair means. He has a knack of desiring what he has no right todesire. Those who are powerful make him envious. Let me tell you about a peculiar attribute ofsin. One man commits a sin and several reap the fruits resulting from his sin. But in the end, thesin attaches itself ONLY to the one man, while those many who enjoyed the fruits of his sinescape unscathed! "A wise king should discriminate the TWO with the help of the ONE. He must control theTHREE by means of the FOUR. He has to conquer the FIVE. Know the SIX. Abstain from theSEVEN and be happy. By ONE is meant the intellect: by TWO, right and wrong: by THREEfriend, stranger and enemy; by FOUR is meant gift, conciliation, disunion and severity: by FIVEthe senses: by SIX, treaty, war, etc.: by SEVEN, women, dice, hunting, harshness of speech,drinking, severity of punishment, and waste of wealth. This means that one should know how todiscriminate between right and wrong by the use of the intellect. Friend, foe or stranger can bewon over by one of the four: gift, etc. The senses must be under control and a king should hefamiliar with treaty, etc., which are essential. The seven have naturally to be avoided if a kingaspires to be wise." 17 DEALING WITH CRIMINALS There is definitely a need for a king and ruler in any position to take a stern stance oncriminals. Outlaws and wrongdoers are a prime source for fear and disruption in the lives ofhonest citizens. So, they must be dealt with firmly. However, the king must also be of soundcharacter or he will not possess a mental disposition in which he will be able to take a proper orpowerful stand against such criminals. This is why from the very start, a suitable king must beput into office and not someone who is ill-suited for the position. "Whether he be punished or pardoned, the thief is freed from the (guilt of) theft; but the king,if he punishes not, takes upon himself the guilt of the thief." (Manu-samhita 8.316) "But men who have committed crimes and have been punished by the king, go to heaven,being pure like those who performed meritorious deeds." (Manu-samhita 8.318) If one who has acted unrighteously is slain, then it does not amount to unrighteousness [forthe slayer]. (Ramayana 2.96.24) No sin arises out of killing a terrorizing enemy. On the contrary, pleading before it for mercyor tolerance is unrighteous and a stigma on one's reputation. (Mb.5.3.21) One who has to protect his subjects should not hesitate if sometimes he is compelled to bea little cruel or to perform slightly wrong actions in order to protect them. (Ramayana 1.25.18) Purpose of Punishment Without punishment in the universe, the subjects would have become extinct, just as big fishin the water swallow the small ones, powerful people would have destroyed the weak. (Mb.1215.30) Due to fear of punishment some animals do not devour each other. If people are not protectedby the experience of punishment, then they would bring about darkness through the destructionof each other. (Mb.12.15.7) It is punishment alone which disciplines all subjects and protects everyone. It remainsvigilant even when all are asleep. That is why learned men have opined that punishments arewhat maintains Dharma. (Mb.12.15.2) Everyone keeps themselves under control because of the threat of punishment. A basicallypure individual is rarely found. It is the fear of punishment that makes one act properly andperform the task allotted to him. (Mb.12.15.34) If there was no protection by the means of punishment, then everything would be reducedto ashes, all rules would be violated and no one would own anything. (Mb.12.15.8) Learned men consider that it is punishment that brings unethical people onto the righteouspath and punishes those who are uncivilized because of its two characteristics of control andmeting out punishment. (Mb.12.15) When the punishing authority is highly efficient, people are very cautious. Hence, a kingshould keep all beings in his control through the code of punishment. (Mb.12.140.8) "Punishment should be given to offenders according to the immensity of the offence. Thewealthy should be fined and their property should be confiscated, while loss of liberty should bethe punishment for the poor offender. Wicked conduct should be punished by inflicting corporalpunishment." 18 CONSEQUENCES FOR THE KING A ruler can never do whatever he wants, whether it be in acting overly harsh, or in not beingfirm and decisive enough, or in being too liberal and soft. There are always consequences if aruler does not act appropriately or if he neglects his duties. If he proves to be unfit, he is and mustbe rejected by the people. But there are also karmic consequences for someone who is a ruler butdoes not govern the people with a spiritual regard. For example, it is explained that a king wholevies taxes on his subjects without teaching them about righteousness (Dharma) has to suffer fortheir sins and loses his opulence. (Bhagavata Purana 4.21.24) This is why, especially in this ageof Kali-yuga, it is said that hardly any ruler attains anything but a dark future after death. Unableto direct his subjects properly, or even being infected with crooked desires himself, a ruler isforced to endure a hellish afterlife because of not being able to lead his subjects properly or allowthem to be trained in the ways of Dharma. Such understanding of Dharma is what frees themfrom sinful life, and which also frees the king from accepting one-sixth of the reactions of hissubjects. "An arrogant king in whose kingdom innocent people are tormented by evildoers loses hisfame, longevity, fortune and a meritorious place after death." (Bhagavata Purana 1.17.10) "Undoubtedly a king who does not perform his duties toward his subjects regularly goes tohell, a place which is devoid of air." (Ramayana 7.53.6) "A king who (duly) protects (his subjects) receives from each and all the sixth part of theirspiritual merit; if he does not protect them, the sixth part of their demerit also (will fall on him).Whatever (merit a man gains by) reading the Vedas, by spiritual practice, by charitable gifts, (orby) worshiping (God), the king obtains a sixth part of that in consequence of his duly protecting(his kingdom)." (Manu-samhita 8.304-5) "A king who protects the created beings in accordance with the sacred law and smites thoseworthy of corporal punishment, daily offers (as it were) sacrifices at which a hundred thousands(are given as) fees." (Manu-samhita 8.306) "A king who does not afford protection, (yet) takes his share in kind, his taxes, tolls andduties, daily presents and fines, will (after death) soon sink into hell. They declare that a kingwho affords no protection, (yet) receives the sixth part of the produce, takes upon himself all thefoulness of his whole people. Know that a king who heeds not the rules (of the law), who is anatheist, and rapacious, who does not protect (his subjects, but) devours them, will sink low (afterdeath)." (Manu-samhita 8.307-9) "The subjects reject a king whose administration is faulty." (Yogavasistha 6.84.27) "None, not even his kith and kin rush to the rescue of a king who behaves cruelly (with hisministers, etc.), pays them very low emoluments, behaves arrogantly, is conceited and secretlyharms people in times of a calamity." (Ramayana 3.33.15) "Even if the one who harasses living beings is cruel and a sinner becomes the master of allthe three regions, he does not remain in power for long." (Ramayana 3.29.3) "The king who does not organize a network of spies (to get news about the kingdom), or doesnot grant the subjects an opportunity to express their woes to him, who is controlled by others(whether by women for sense enjoyment or by political groups), is rejected by the people just aselephants abandon a river seeing the mud in it." (Ramayana 3.33.5) The Manu-samhita (7.46-52) also explains that "For a king who is attached to the vicesspringing from love of pleasure, loses his wealth and his virtue, but (he who is given) to thosearising from anger (loses) even his life. Hunting, gambling, sleeping by day, censoriousness,(excess with) women (or illicit sex), drunkenness (intoxication), (an inordinate love for) dancing,singing, and music, and useless travel are the tenfold set (of vices) springing from love ofpleasure. Telling of tall tales, violence, treachery, envy, slandering, (unjust) seizure of property,reviling, and assault are the eightfold set (of vices) produced by wrath. That greediness which allwise men declare to be the root even of both these (sets), let carefully conquer; both sets (ofvices) are produced by that. Drinking (intoxication), playing dice (gambling), (illicit connectionwith) women, and hunting (unnecessary killing and eating of animals), these four in succession,he must know to be the most pernicious in the set that springs from love of pleasure. Doingbodily injury, reviling, and the seizure of property, these three he must know to be the mostpernicious in the set produced by wrath. A self-controlled (king) should know that in this set ofseven, which prevails everywhere, each earlier-named vice is more abominable (than thosenamed later)." MORE DUTIES OF THE KING Yudhishthira asked: "What other special duties should a king discharge?" Bhishma replied: "A king should first know how to bring himself under subjugation. Whenhe has achieved this he should then try to subdue his foes. The conquest of the five senses isconsidered to be the greatest victory. It is only such a king that is capable of conquering hisenemies. "A king should have an immense number of soldiers in his forts, cities, frontiers and allimportant spots. "A king's thoughts, actions, decisions and spies should be kept secret from everyone,specially the enemy. His spies should look like imbeciles. Or they should seem as though they areblind and deaf. They should be capable and they should be wise. The king should ascertain thatbefore employing them. They should be hardy, able to bear privations like cold, heat and hunger.Theking should set spies on his counselors, on his friends and even on his sons. His spies should bestrangers to each other. The moment a king realizes that his foe is stronger, he should strive tomake peace. If he is sure of his strength, he should collect a large army and march against theperson who has no allies and friends or who is engaged in war against another. The king shouldknow how to take them by surprise. He should not hesitate to afflict the kingdom of the enemywith weapons, fire and poison. "The king should take a sixth of the income of his subjects. This is for the maintenance ofthe army for their protection. A king's subjects are his children. But he should guard againstcompassion while punishing them for their wrong behavior. "Honest men who are absolutely trustworthy should be appointed to administer justice. Thestate has her strong foundation only upon the proper administration of justice. "There need be no doubt whatever about the truth that it is the king that makes the age [oryuga] and not the age which makes the king. When a king rules relying entirely and strictly onthe science of chastisement, Kritayuga or Satyayuga, the foremost of ages, is said to set in.Righteousness is prevalent during Kritayuga. Unrighteousness does not even exist then. The earthyields crops without even waiting to be tilled. Herbs and plants grow luxuriantly and inabundance. Diseases are not found at all and all men live long. The seasons are all delightful.There is peace and nothing but peace on earth. When the king relies on three of the four parts ofthis Dandaneeti [the treatise of a hundred thousand lessons composed by Brahma that deals withthe subjects of Dharma (righteousness), Artha (economic development), Kama (sensualenjoyment) and Moksha (spiritual liberation)] Tretayuga sets in. A fourth part of Dharma is goneand an equal portion of Adharma sets in. The earth does yield crops but she waits for the tillage.The herbs and plants need to be nurtured. The yield is not spontaneous. When the king followsthe Dandaneeti only by half, the age that sets in is Dwaparayuga. [At that time] Righteousness isdiminished by half and the void is filled up by unrighteousness. The earth, even when tilled,yields only half her crop. When the king ignores the edict of Brahma and begins to oppress hispeople, the age is Kali. Unrighteousness becomes rampant and nothing of righteousness is seen.The world becomes the home of anarchy. Diseases appear and men die prematurely. The cloudsdo not rain in season and the crops fail. The king is the cause of the yugas." Yudhishthira again asked: "Of whose wealth is the king said to be the lord?" Bhishma replied: "The Vedas have declared that the wealth of all persons belongs to the king,with the exception of the brahmins. The king's duty is to support all the brahmins." 19 A KING'S PRACTICE OF WORSHIP Without a doubt, a ruler must also practice the ways of Dharma like anyone else. He is notfree to avoid it or do without it. Besides the basic ways of Dharma that have been discussed, hereare a few more that are outlined in the Mahabharata: Yudhishthira asked: "The path of duty is very long. It has a hundred branches. Tell me, whatare the duties that have to be practiced?" Bhishma answered: "The worship of mother, father and preceptor: these are the mostimportant duties. Attending to this duty fits a king to acquire great fame and the heavens. Thesethree should be worshiped and their commands should be obeyed implicitly. They are like thethree fires that have to be worshiped daily. Serving the father helps one to cross this world.Serving the mother transports him to the heavens. Serving the preceptor one attains the region[the heavenly planetary system] of Brahma." 20 "The person, to whom the gods ordain defeat, has his senses taken away from him and itis because of this that he stoops to ignoble deeds. When the intellect becomes dim anddestruction is near, wrong, looking like right, strikes the heart firmly. The clouded intellectcauses defeat. "Ablution in all the holy spots and kindness to all creatures: these two are equal. Perhapskindness to creatures surpasses the former. As long as man's good deeds are spoken of in thisworld, so long is he glorified in heaven. "The gods do not protect men taking up clubs in their hands after the fashion ofherdsmen. Unto them they wish to protect, they grant intelligence. There is no doubt that one'sdesires meet with success in proportion to the attention he pays to righteousness and morality.The Vedas never rescue a deceitful man from sin. Gold is tested by fire: a well-born person istested by his deportment: an honest man by his conduct: and a brave man is tested during aseason of panic: he who is self-controlled, in times of poverty: and friends and foes are tested intimes of calamity and danger. Sacrifice, study, asceticism, gift, truth, forgiveness, mercy andcontentment constitute the eight different paths of righteousness. The first four of these may bepracticed from motives of pride but the latter four can exist only in them that are truly great. "Do that during the day which may enable you to pass the night in happiness; do thatduring the eight months of the year which may enable you to pass the rainy seasons happily. Dothat during youth which may ensure a happy old age: do that during your whole life here whichwill enable you to live happily in the hereafter. "Untying all the knots of the heart by the aid of tranquility, mastering all the passions,observing true religion, one should learn to regard both the agreeable and the disagreeable likehis own self. One should not return the slanders or reproaches of others. Strange to say, when asilent man suffers these reproaches, it is the slanderer that is consumed and the virtues, if any, ofthe slanderer find a home in the other man." 21 These are just a few of the additional ways of continuing to travel the road of Dharma.And within this article is the brief guidelines of how a king should conduct himself and how agovernment must act for the benefit of the people. NOTESMahabharata is abbreviated as Mb throughout the article. 1. Mahabharata, translated by Kamala Subramaniam, published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,Bombay, 1982, pages 710-12 2. Ibid., pages 354-355 3. Ibid., page 357 4. Ibid., page 714 5. Ibid., page 354 6. Ibid., pages 708-709 7. Ibid., pages 7098. Ibid., page 709 9. Ibid., page 70910. Ibid., page 709 11. Ibid., pages 70