Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in Dec. 2019
When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).
To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.
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Very happy to know this. As a resident and citizen of India, I heartily welcome these Hindu refugees from Pakistan (fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan), living in India since 2000, to Indian citizenship. They are my fellow Indians now. Great!
[Shared article: Eight Pakistani refugees granted Indian citizenship in Rajasthan's Kota, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/jaipur/eight-pakistani-refugees-granted-indian-citizenship-in-rajasthans-kota/videoshow/73041352.cms]
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Sourav Ganguly sent me food: Inzamam says cricket and religion don’t mix, rubbishes Danish Kaneria claims, https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/sourav-ganguly-sent-me-food-inzamam-rubbishes-danish-kaneria-claims-says-religion-and-cricket-don-t-mix/story-K4VHZVVhWV2y30CGdesy3J.html
Inzamam-ul-Haq is a very respected and gentleman cricketer of Pakistan who also was captain of Pakistan cricket team. I give value to his words. I have seen him playing international cricket on TV quite often in the days I used to follow cricket. Good to see his view of the Danish Kaneria matter.
Note that Mohammad Yousuf whom Inzamam refers to in this article was earlier Yousuf Yohana (a Christian, I believe). I recall seeing Yousuf Yohana playing international cricket (on TV). Later Yousuf Yohana seems to have converted to Islam and adopted the name of Mohammad Yousuf.
Perhaps at the topmost levels of Pakistani cricket there was no discrimination against non-Muslims.
But perhaps at lower levels in Pakistani society there is some level of discrimination against non-Muslims.
It would be great if celebrities and respected figures like Inzamam-ul-Haq work towards removal/reduction of discrimination against non-Muslims in lower rungs of Pakistani society.
I feel it is appropriate to state my belief:
Ishwar Maalik! Allah Maalik! Yesu Maalik! Sabka Maalik Ek!
[Ishwar is the Lord! Allah is the Lord! Yesu (Jesus) is the Lord! The Lord of all is one!]
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Note that this report is about an old video. But it is still relevant as it captures an intolerant/bigoted attitude of a Pakistani celebrity cricketer towards Hindus and Hindu modes of worship of God.
I am sharing these articles as I would like to contribute to people knowing about how some Pakistanis, including some celebrities, view Hindus and Hindu modes of worship of God. I think it is undeniable that there is a lot of bigotry and intolerance towards Hindus and Hindu ways of worship of God, in Pakistan. Better to know such realities rather than have deluded notions about freedom of religion in Pakistan especially for Hindus.
[Shared article: Shahid Afridi smashed TV after daughter imitated 'arti', https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/shahid-afridi-smashed-tv-after-daughter-imitated-arti/articleshow/73029451.cms]
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In Hindi, about Shirdi Sai Baba - 6 min. 44 secs.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/BhaktiSagarTseries/videos/2483575055224466/]
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Wonderful to see & hear Kasturi garu talk about Swami - around a minute.
"Swami has come with a smile. That is the weapon with which he conquers"... "Swami said, 'I am a Sathya Bodhaka. I am a teacher of truth. He has come as a teacher. And he teaches so softly and ..'"
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/uae123000/videos/10158122793268846/?t=0]
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Wonderful to know about Danish Kaneria's, former Pakistan cricketer's, devotion to his Hindu faith in the face of discrimination in Pakistan; May God bless him!
Ravi: Firstly I would like say that my strong belief is as follows:
"Ishwar Maalik! Allah Maalik! Yesu Maalik! Sabka Maalik Ek!"
[Ishwar is the Lord! Allah is the Lord! Yesu (Jesus) is the Lord! The Lord of all is one!]
So I am not anti-Muslim. I respect peaceful and law-abiding Muslims.
And I am against extremist violence (different from violence in self-defense) irrespective of which religious group commits it.
Shoaib Akhtar Exposes Pak; Danish Kaneria Mistreated For Being Hindu | India First, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ouso6lSLU, 21 mins. 40 secs.
Danish Kaneria, former Pakistan cricketer who is a Hindu, says around 4 min. 25 secs. in the video, "Against all odds I am still a proud Hindu & I will die a Hindu."
Ravi: I am just bowled over to hear Danish Kaneria say these words. Years ago, I have watched Danish Kaneria in cricketing action for Pakistan (on TV). At that time, I was not much into reading up/viewing up on such matters like discrimination of Hindus in Pakistan, as I was too busy earning a livelihood and fulfilling home responsibilities, and doing some individual spiritual pursuit.
May God continue to give strength to Danish Kaneria to follow his Hindu traditions and faith even if he faces further discrimination in Pakistan because he is a Hindu.
Never ever in my life in India have I had to worry about discrimination because I am a Hindu (as India is a Hindu majority country and I have lived all the time I spent in India (most of my life) in Mumbai and surrounding areas, and in Puttaparthi now, that are Hindu majority)! The issues that I faced were lack of knowledge about Hinduism and doubt about some Hindu traditions and beliefs (due to lack of knowledge).
I bow down in reverence to Danish Kaneria for having stayed true to his Hindu faith even as he faced discrimination in Pakistan.
This shows how blessed and fortunate Hindus are to live in India (which includes me), where there is no discrimination against Hindus (as they are the majority), and so Hindus are free to practise their faith and traditions.
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BITTER TRUTH !!! | Danish Kaneria, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25dkl3Vtgyw, 8 min. 22 secs
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Update: Shoaib Akhtar gives his view of the matter here: Pakistan is Home for Hindus,Muslims and all Minorities | Shoaib Akhtar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6K5011Hvxc, around 10 mins., published on 28th Dec. 2019.
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My vehement disagreement with views of June 2019 article about a biologist arguing for elimination of religion for good of humanity
I vehemently disagree with the view expressed in the short extracts given below of the article: A Biologist Proposes To Eliminate Religion For The Good Of Humanity, http://www.physics-astronomy.com/2019/06/a-biologist-proposes-to-eliminate.html, 5th June 2019
The American biologist Edward Osborne Wilson known as "the father of sociobiology" argues that the Earth is suffering "a death through a thousand injuries" because of religion and that it should disappear for the benefit of human progress.
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"All ideologies and religions have their own answers for the big questions, but these are often linked as a dogma to some kind of tribe," he said. "Religions in particular present supernatural elements that other tribes, other religions, can not accept ... And every tribe, no matter how generous, benign, loving and charitable, disparages all other tribes. What drags us is religious faith ".
Ravi: I have not read the article. But the extracts provided above indicates that it may be on the lines an article by a Professor of Physics in IISc Bangalore that appeared in The Hindu in 2013 titled "Let’s aim for a post-theistic society". It generated a lot of comments (including from me) and later response articles that challenged his views. My blog post: Science Fanaticism and Anti-Religion Fanaticism displayed in Post Theistic Society Article, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2013/09/science-fanaticism-and-anti-religion.html, Sept. 2013 gives the details.
Another relevant post of mine in this context is this one: Fantastic Espousal of the Good of Religion by Honourable Mr. Tony Blair in Nov. 2010 Debate, https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/fantastic-espousal-of-the-good-of-religion-by-honourable-mr-tony-blair-in-nov-2010-debate/amp/, Aug. 2012
A relevant extract from the post is given below:
d) He [Blair] pointed out that removing religion from the picture, if at all that is possible, is no guarantee of such problems disappearing. He gave the example of Hitler and Stalin whose reigns of terror did not have any religious background.
e) He acknowledged that certain wrongs had been issued from the pulpit like in Christian Rwanda problem of Hutu & Tutsi. But he also stated that in the same problem many religious people had defended people of the other tribe and some even lost their lives doing it.
f) He advocated, if I recall correctly, focusing on the common good of religions and encouraging that.
g) He said Darwin and Christian religion can go together.
h) I felt that Mr. Blair presented the sober, moderate religious faithful view, which perhaps is the majority of religious believers in the Western world. He boldly took a stance which may not be supported by some rigid religious believers.
Hitchens was brilliant at his vitriolic criticism of religion. But then I felt he was playing to the gallery by using his brilliant command of the English language, his wit and his book-knowledge about religion (as against experiential-knowledge). He did not really respond, if I recall correctly, to Mr. Blair’s moderate religious faithful view. Maybe the structure of the debate was such that you don’t try to arrive at a meaningful solution but just attack the other party. So as a debater he perhaps did an excellent job in ensuring he ‘scored’ over the opponent.
But I felt Mr. Blair was the statesman looking for a solution rather than wanting to simply ‘score’ over his opponent.
--- end extract ---
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It is in teaching and practice of religions that we need to see whether extremist violent ideologies, and hatred of people of other religions, are being encouraged. That's the problem area.
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Tribalism is the main issue. It has its good and bad aspects. Tribalism is how some groups (tribes) seem to have survived over centuries and millennia. Now the challenge is to remove the negative aspects of tribalism like nepotism and encourage give-and-take in a plural society.
Is religion the only source of tribalism? Will removal of religion (if at all that is possible, which I certainly doubt very much) remove all sources of tribalism? I think not. Communists have no religion - both Stalinist Soviet Union and Maoist China had no religion. But I think the particular brand of communist ideology (Stalinism or Maoism) became the new tribe. A lot of dissenters were simply killed! Some got sent to detention centers like the Gulag (Solzenitsyn being the famous one).
So I think that human society grouping itself into tribes is unavoidable - whether it is based on religion or not.
Religion does not play a major role in many parts of Western Europe today. But language and nationality have come to the fore in Western Europe as shown in Brexit. Isn't that a form of tribalism, even if the tribe is a larger level tribe?
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Further to my post of yesterday showing pics of a small duck or duck like creature, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2702459083303985, today afternoon I saw three of them but on the Chitravathi Harati side of the checkdam on Chitravathi river.
I thought of trying to take a video of them as they moved around (at a distance). They are small and I am far worse as a video camera guy with my low-cost smartphone, than as a still pic guy where I am just amateurish. But I thought of sharing the video just in case some readers would like to see it. On uploading the video to Facebook, the resultant Facebook video was somewhat messed up and it was almost impossible to spot the little black water birds swimming. So I uploaded it to youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg689nEtGlU, where the video shows as it shows on video player on my desktop computer (as far as I can make out). It is 22 seconds long.
It is hard to spot them - 2 of them are swimming together roughly around the centre of the video and 1 is slightly apart to their lower left and comes into view only a little into the video.
Some browsing on what these small birds could be, led me to this wiki page of list of birds in Andhra Pradesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Andhra_Pradesh. The page lists a Little Grebe (water)bird, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_grebe. Maybe these birds I saw are Little Grebes!
http://bnhsenvis.nic.in/Database/2016_17603.aspx says that Little Grebe in Telugu is called "Munugudi-kodi, Chinna munugu".
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Wonderful to see Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's name and message (Love All Serve All) on a USA TV channel! Great service and nice of Fox4 channel to show this service activity of Sathya Sai Baba center of Dallas.
I took 3 screenshots from the video as I think the video comes up slowly in India and so some readers may prefer just to see the screenshots. I cannot include the screenshot pics in this post as it is a share. But I will show the pics in comments in this post.
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=869758560105785&id=100012149461697]
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The parents, it seems, were doing it out of hope & love for their physically handicapped children. So I will not say it is child abuse (though I recognize that some may say so). But ....
Hmm. I don't know what to say. Matters of faith in the context of parents seeking weird cures for physically handicapped children, is something that I, who am unmarried and have no children, perhaps have no right to say anything on. But I think I have to say that I am supportive of the "progressive" group's and district child protection officer's action that extricated the kids from this mess.
[Shared article: Karnataka: Hoping miracle during solar eclipse, parents bury physically challenged kids neck-deep in cattle dung in Kalaburagi, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/karnataka-hoping-miracle-during-solar-eclipse-parents-bury-physically-challenged-kids-neck-deep-in-cattle-dung/articleshow/72981488.cms]
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Yesterday (Christmas day) afternoon I saw a small black duck or duck like creature swimming in the water on the Karnatakanagapalli bridge side of the checkdam on Chitravathi river. My low cost (cheap :-) ) LYF LS 4505 smartphone with an amateur photographer (me) could not capture it well from a distance. The first pic is without zoom. The second one is with zoom but with great loss of clarity.
I thought I should share it as I don't recall seeing any pics of such ducks or duck like creatures swimming in the checkdam/river (now more like a lake) water in Puttaparthi (this year).
Hopefully this may lead to some other persons who are better photographers and have better cameras to take good pics of it or its fellow creatures (I saw only one such creature) and share it on Facebook.
[FB post (with pics): https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2702459083303985]
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"May Emmanuel bring light to all the suffering members of our human family.May He soften our often stony and self-centred hearts,and make them channels of His love.On this joyful day,may He bring His tenderness to all and brighten the darkness of this world. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/urbi/documents/papa-francesco_20191225_urbi-et-orbi-natale.html" - Pope Francis, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209805991891656705 (today)
Amen!
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Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Live), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKo3T0j9qqo, 5 min. 47 secs.
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A different type of Amazing Grace song: Phil Wickham - This Is Amazing Grace (Official Music Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFRjr_x-yxU, 4 min. 38 secs.
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BYU, I believe, is a Mormon faith university.
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) | BYU Noteworthy (Chris Tomlin A Cappella Cover), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Mtpk4jeVA, 4 min. 30 secs.
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Hindi Christmas song: Aha Yesu Aya Zameen Par, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IokucR-xmM, 4 min. 52 secs.
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New Christmas Song - Asmaan Pe Ik Sitara - Christian songs in Urdu and Hindi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWLee4RVW8E, around 3 mins.
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Anand Zhaala | New Marathi Christmas Dance Song | Grace Fellowship Youth's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdZmQKhSMXk, 5 min. 43 secs.
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Marathi Christmas song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7fS0Z73ltY, close to 10 mins.
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Jewel - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PURr2u0HKGE, 3 min 20 secs.
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Tamil Christmas song 2019 | Immanuvel Neerae | 4K | Digital 5.1 Surround | Benny Pradeep, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSl-5xHMo1g, around 6 mins.
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Thalaelo | Tamil Christmas Song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIEFA4a75w, 4 min. 46 secs.
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Ratchagar Pirandharae - Tamil Christmas Song - Benny Joshua, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA-X1Gh88lM, 5 min. 32 secs.
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Sharing this song just to show some forms of dance that Christian music can take in India (may not to appeal to some but may appeal to some young folks): NEW TAMIL CHRISTMAS SONG 2019 | GG3 | PUTHUSU | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO | FULL HD, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYVnwwwvQO0, 3 min. 40 secs.
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Super Hit Christmas Song💫Aby Vettiyar Latest Carolsong💫Anna Baby✨, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyYiVZ7izdA, 5 min. 44 secs.
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ജനകോടികളുടെ ഇഷ്ട ക്രിസ്മസ് കരോൾ ഗാനം | Kando Doore |Super Hit Christmas Carol Song |Renjith Christy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVWmaVO9Os, 4 min. 49 secs.
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Yehoodhiyayile Oru Gramathil Old Super hit Malayalam Christmas song by K J Yesudas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFOSv6lzukI, 5 min. 18 secs.
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"Tonight, in the beauty of God's love, we also discover our own beauty, for we are beloved of God. In His eyes we are beautiful: not for what we do but for what we are." - Pope Francis on Christmas Eve, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209609698288132097
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"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God" - C.S. Lewis, https://twitter.com/CSLewisInst/status/1209638930829713408
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"Tonight the love of God has been revealed to us. In Jesus, the Most High made Himself small, so that we might love Him. In Jesus, God made Himself a Child, so that we might embrace Him.", Pope Francis on Christmas eve, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209605923569750017
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Enjoyed seeing this today. Love going beyond limitations of religions and religious doctrine, and which love is eternal having no birth & no death! Revived happy memories of enjoying watching Bhagavan speak in this manner, live in Sai Kulwant Hall on so many occasions, and being inspired by it. What an inspirational spiritual teacher Bhagavan in physical form was, while delivering such public discourses! So wonderful that now we have such videos for posterity.
[Shared video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzWQw17-l5U&feature=youtu.be]
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Desi touch Jingle Bells from folks in US Embassy in India! Around a minute.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/India.usembassy/videos/589798151784967/?t=0]
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I enjoyed it (around 51 seconds). This had been passed to me as a private message on FB earlier. Good that this was publicly shared.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/uma.ragunathan.1/videos/2473027649621507/?t=0]
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Jewel - Face Of Love, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXypqfDeMa4, 3 min. 29 sec.
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Hindi Christmas Song, Chamka sitara by Neelu Nissi,.Watch our new song PRAISE PRAISE by NISSI ELENA., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kUPnTY6cck, 4 min. 4 secs.
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Hindi Christmas song: Kya Din Khushi Ka Aaya, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-jvEOC3ifo, around 7 mins.
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HAPPY CHRISTMAS ||JK Christopher || Sharon sisters || JK P Kumar,Latest Telugu christmas songs-2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D2diw3xXBk, 8 min. 13 secs.
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Latest New Christmas Song | Telugu Jesus Songs 2019 | Anjana Sowmya | Koti Kaanthula Velugulatho, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsvDl-dY7MQ, 6 min. 33 secs.
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Live At The Helix In Dublin..., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw38pGhPXIk, 4 min. 44 secs.
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Silent Night - Jim Reeves, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz8VYzyXpRQ, 3 min. 14 secs.
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Jim Reeves - Mary's Boy Child, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4QfW3WRp6g, 3 min. 10 secs.
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Boney M - Mary's Boy Child (with lyrics), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHTCldo7uw4, 5 min. 44 secs.
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Mariah Carey - O Holy Night (Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJmP8T07JU, 4 min. 47 secs.
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Mariah Carey - Joy to the World (Live at St. John The Divine), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtRgKvLkLHM, 5 min. 31 secs.
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I had seen this news elsewhere yesterday but not this Nature article which gives vital background info. on the matter.
Panch sir is very devoted to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and has done great service work for the blind, if I recall correctly, through his and his team's research work. I have had the privilege of interacting with him while I was serving in the Sai university, which he used to visit regularly as a Visiting Faculty. Wonderful to know that he will be heading NSF, a premier science research and education body of the USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Foundation.
Here's a relevant article from The Hindu: Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan to lead National Science Foundation in US, https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/trump-picks-indian-american-computer-scientist-dr-sethuraman-panchanathan-to-lead-national-science-foundation/article30356604.ece, 20th Dec. 2019
Note that the US Senate has to confirm the nomination.
I pray to Bhagavan to shower His Grace on Panch sir to get the support of the US Senate and do a wonderful job as NSF head, and I wish Panch sir all the very best.
[Shared article: Trump picks computer scientist to lead National Science Foundation, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03924-3]
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Very nice and soulful! Touches the heart. Swami sharanam! Ayyappa sharanam! Video is 5 min. 37 secs.
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The post of Shri V. V. Sarachandran that shared this has this intro text (I did not get an option to share that and so I am copy-pasting that below):
This is the season for those making pilgrimage to Sabarimala to receive the blessings of Swami Ayyappa, who welcomes all devotees regardless of their religion, caste or creed. Tradition dictates one needs to observe fasting over more than 40 days, and abstain from any form of sexual activity as well when undertaking this pilgrimage.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/srilalitha.bhamidipati.54/videos/1325955600924546/?t=0]
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"Chart: Hindus and Buddhists are concentrated in Asia, while Christians are more evenly scattered globally. https://pewrsr.ch/2PDH1v9", https://twitter.com/pewresearch/status/1207164344984915968
The above tweet has a chart giving the key data at one glance.
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Revered Kasturi garu: "This white ash is a bandage to remove the bondage"!
For readers, who may not know the (usually 3 finger-thick lines/curves of) white ash tilaka (mark) on the forehead that is seen on revered Kasturi garu's forehead, here's some background on it. It is traditional for some Saivite (Shiva devotee) Hindus (including my Iyer community) to have that on the forehead. It was a must for me too whenever I participated in priest (Vadhyaar) officiated Hindu rituals at home. Besides the forehead, the tilaka would be on the arms and chest, which would be visible while doing the function as the main male participants in the ritual had to be bare chested. But I did not wear that tilaka/mark other than for such rituals, as that was quite uncommon in and around Bombay/Mumbai where I was living then. I mean, I would have been quite uncomfortable then with the stares that I would have got in my place of study (school/college) or work, with my forehead having that tilaka/mark. But I must also mention that there were a few people, usually elders, who would wear that regularly in Bombay/Mumbai then (1970s to early 2000s).
There is a wiki page for this tilaka/mark which is called Tripundra (I did not know this name and I don't know how accurate the wiki page is): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripundra.
But these lines in the wiki page, resonate with my understanding of Saivite Hinduism:
Tripundra, to those who apply it, is a reminder of the spiritual aims of life, the truth that body and material things shall someday become ash, and that mukti is a worthy goal. Tri means three, pundra means one which is released. There are three horizontal lines of vibhuti (holy ash) on the brow, often with a dot (bindu) as the third eye. Holy ash, usually produced from burnt cow dung, is a reminder of the temporary nature of the physical body and the importance of spiritual attainment and closeness to Shiva (Atman-Brahman).
--- end wiki extract ---
I don't recall wearing a dot mark in addition to the three lines/curves for the rituals I participated in, at home.
However, at a more mundane level and which I guess is probably the reason, at least in part, for which most of the Saivite Hindus that use it regularly, do so, is to identify themselves (to others) as Saivite Hindus, and I guess that is the case with Vaishnavite Hindus and their symbol of Urdhva Pundra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdhva_Pundra, too.
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3088107151202897&set=a.333626916650948&type=3
'In Whitefield, Swami wanted Kasturi to speak to the students.
Kasturi was sitting in a corner where there was not much light.
Swami said, "Come under the light.
Otherwise people will think you have a bandage!"
(Kasturi usually drew ashes on his forehead).
The white ash (vibhuti) all over his forehead looked like a bandage. Kasturi came under the light and told the students,
"This white ash is a bandage to remove the bondage."']
Shri Chettiar (of Paduka/Paduga fame in Sathya Sai devotee circles) says, "I want to emphatically state that there is no connection whatsoever between Sri Nithyananda and Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba or the Sai Trusts / Sai Organisations."
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/saimemories/photos/a.633010493412194/2731028160277073/]
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Didn't give Nithyananda refuge, he could have gone to Haiti, says Ecuador, https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ecuador-denies-refuge-rape-accused-nithyananda-says-he-left-haiti-113584
The article says that the embassy of Ecuador stated: "The Embassy of Ecuador categorically denies the statement, wherever published, that self-styled Guru Nithyananda was given asylum by Ecuador or has been helped by the government of Ecuador in purchasing any land or island in South America near or far from Ecuador."
So it seems that Swami Nithyananda is not in Ecuador.
The embassy suggested that he may have gone to Haiti, which is a Caribbean island.
Note that while there are one or more court cases against Swami Nithyananda in India, none of them, as far as I know, have judged Swami Nithyananda as guilty. So he is innocent until proven guilty. I think the Govt. of India spokesperson should have said alleged crimes instead of crimes in the following article.
‘Nithyananda wanted for crimes’: India alerts other countries, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nithyananda-wanted-for-crimes-india-alerts-other-countries/story-bEs63cdIpcj37yGo7nJBtK.html states, "India on Friday dismissed reports that self-styled godman Nithyananda had created his own country on an island near Ecuador and said the external affairs ministry had alerted other nations where he might seek shelter that he is wanted for several crimes."
I think that cuts off the media hype and gives us the ground reality picture.
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In response to a comment in above FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2679206385629255, I wrote (slightly edited):
I have shared the appropriate authorities views.
I also inserted the following in the post:
Note that while there are one or more court cases against Swami Nithyananda in India, none of them, as far as I know, have judged Swami Nithyananda as guilty. So he is innocent until proven guilty. I think the Govt. of India spokesperson should have said alleged crimes instead of crimes in the following article.
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I wrote (slightly edited):
Do you think there is anything else in my above post that is inaccurate/untruthful? If so, I will be glad to review it and correct it if necessary.
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In response to a comment, I wrote (slightly edited):
I think he has been granted permission to be absent in person for the rape allegation case against him, and have his lawyers represent him. So, as far as that case is concerned, he cannot be viewed as absconding from justice. Is that case a smear campaign against him? I don't know. But what is clear is that he has not been judged guilty so far.
But the Indian media's question about where he is now, given the case against his Ahmedabad school where two of his disciples continue to be under police/judicial custody, is a valid one, I think. The habeas corpus petition filed by Janardhan Sharma for access to his adult young daughters is being heard by Gujarat High Court. The Gujarat High Court has asked the daughters to come before court before 12th December (or before Indian missions abroad after taking prior permission from court). And the next question too is valid which is that he appears to be abroad and is doing live-stream events but he does not have a valid Indian passport! So how is he abroad? If he has gone abroad without a valid Indian passport then I don't know what exactly his status becomes vis-a-vis Indian government and Indian courts with respect to court case(s) against him.
Is the Indian media hounding him? To some extent, Indian media seems to have sensationalized this case. But it is Janardhan Sharma the father who appears in these media interviews/panels and makes allegations against Swami Nithyananda. So those accusations are there. Whether true or not, especially given the adult daughters' counter-allegations against the father, is very difficult to figure out based only on these media interviews and youtube video put up by the daughters.
The Gujarat High Court seems to be proceeding well on this and hopefully in the next few weeks we will have clarity on the adult daughters' situation.
About Nithyananda doing a miracle at your home: Omnipresent is a ***huge*** word (and so is omnipotent). I rarely use those words in the context of devotion as I am not sure about whether they can apply in situations that I write about/talk about (and that's due to me having no psychic 'I am everywhere' kind of experiences at all).
So I am not in a position to differentiate between somebody who just has siddhis and who is ***omnipresent***.
But I have some views about how paranormal events happen in the context of devotion to Guru/God, which, if I recall correctly, I have written on my main spiritual blog. I can dig that up and share that with you if you are interested.
----
===================
6th Dec. 2019 update
The news18 report is false (it had said unconfirmed reports). The government (embassy) of Ecuador has rejected the claim of Swami Nithyananda having bought an island that it owns. Govt. of India has dismissed away the claim of any nation being created by Nithayananda. For more see https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2679206385629255.
--- end 6th Dec. 2019 update ---
Hmm. This is extraordinary!
https://www.news18.com/news/india/on-the-run-from-law-nithyananda-establishes-his-own-nation-called-kailaasa-near-ecuador-2410593.html
The article states: "According to unconfirmed reports, Nithyananda has bought an island in Ecuador in central Latin America and has started calling it an independent, new nation."
I had a quick look at its website https://kailaasa.org/ (loads slowly). I have attached a screenshot of the "country's" government departments. [FB post has pic: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2675530135996880&set=a.1616532491896655]
Hmm. I had not expected this. What twists & turns!
======================
Should young lady spiritual aspirants be allowed to take sanyas (become sannyasinis) only after parents, if living, give permission?
In the case of the two young sannyasini ladies Nanditha (Ma Nithyananditha - 18 year old) and Lopamudra (Ma Nithyatattvapriya Ananda - 21 year old) who say they have become sannyasinis following their Guru Swami Nityananda, the parents are raising strong objections and claiming that they have been abducted, are in danger, and have been brain-washed (the father even mentions Vashikaran in this context) by Swami Nithyananda and (some of) his followers.
The abduction and danger parts are being dealt with by the police & court authorities.
But what about the brain-washing charge? We will have to wait and see how this is dealt with.
And I think there is the social contract part of it which is important too, which I don't think has been mentioned in this case in media reports (at least the many that I read). And that is that the parents invest time & money to raise their children and expect their children to take care of them in their old age. If the children become sannyasinis of some spiritual group, especially one that the parents are against, then the parents have to forget about their sannyasini-children taking care of them in their old age.
Also, is it proper for a girl as young as 18 or even 21 for that matter, to be made a sannyasini! I think in established Hindu traditions, there is a prior stage of Brahmacharini (female celibate novitiate) which may be for many years which serves as both a preparatory phase and also as a testing phase to see if the person is really ready for sannyasini (female monk) life. In this case, there does not seem to have been any such preparatory/testing period.
What if the ladies regret this step 5 or 10 years into the future? Will they then be like prisoners of the system as they will not be able to easily come out of the spiritual group and earn a livelihood for themselves in the world outside the spiritual group.
Perhaps it is due to some of these reasons that the father of these two young ladies is in great anguish.
But one also needs to give importance to any genuine spiritual urges that the two young ladies may have.
This is a complex situation with no easy answers/solutions.
Having a mandatory requirement (as against it being desirable but not mandatory) that young lady spiritual aspirants who want to be sannyasinis/monks, should have permission of living parents (which seems to be followed by some Hindu monastic traditions), may be a possible solution but will that be going too far?
-----
In response to a comment on above FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2672921409591086, I wrote:
I think different sannyasi sampradayas follow different traditions. Sannyasis staying in the same place/ashram/matha for years is also fine in many traditions, I think.
----
In response to a comment, I wrote (slightly edited):
I think most ancient rishis were married though there have been brahmachari (unmarried) rishis too like the famous Shuka Maharshi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuka, who narrated the Bhagvata Purana.
But sannyasi tradition goes back among Hindus to before Adi Shankara, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara, who is said to have lived in the early 8th century.
Also, here is a relevant extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannyasa :
Jamison and Witzel state[13] early Vedic texts make no mention of Sannyasa, or Ashrama system, unlike the concepts of Brahmacharin and Grihastha which they do mention.[14] Instead, Rig Veda uses the term Antigriha (अन्तिगृह) in hymn 10.95.4, still part of extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role.[13] It is in later Vedic era and over time, Sannyasa and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept along with Vanaprastha emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as Yājñavalkya left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their Pravrajika (wanderer) lifestyle.[15] The explicit use of the four stage Ashrama concept, appeared a few centuries later.[13][16]
However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC, mentions Muni (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy man), with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. Rig Veda, for example, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions munis as those with Kesin (केशिन्, long haired) and Mala clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron) engaged in the affairs of Mananat (mind, meditation).[17] Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati (वति, monks who beg).
केश्यग्निं केशी विषं केशी बिभर्ति रोदसी । केशी विश्वं स्वर्दृशे केशीदं ज्योतिरुच्यते ॥१॥ मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । वातस्यानु ध्राजिं यन्ति यद्देवासो अविक्षत ॥२॥ He with the long loose locks (of hair) supports Agni, and moisture, heaven, and earth; He is all sky to look upon: he with long hair is called this light. The Munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue; They, following the wind's swift course, go where the Gods have gone before.
— Rig Veda, Hymn 10.CXXXVI.1-2[17]
These Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of Munis were associated with Rudra.[18] Another were Vratyas.[citation needed]
[Wiki Refs:]
13. Jamison and Witzel (1992), Vedic Hinduism, Harvard University Archives, page 47
14. JF Sprockhoff (1981), Aranyaka und Vanaprastha in der vedischen Literatur, Neue Erwägungen zu einer alten Legende und ihren Problemen. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens und Archiv für Indische Philosophie Wien, 25, pages 19-90
15. JF Sprockhoff (1976), Sanyāsa, Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus I: Untersuchungen über die Sannyåsa-Upaninshads, Wiesbaden, OCLC 644380709
16. Patrick Olivelle (1976), Vasudevåśrama Yatidharmaprakåśa: a treatise on world renunciation, Brill Netherlands, OCLC 4113269
17. GS Ghurye (1952), Ascetic Origins, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 162-184;
For Sanskrit original: Rigveda Wikisource;
For English translation: Kesins Rig Veda, Hymn CXXXVI, Ralph Griffith (Translator)
18. Arthur Llewellyn Basham, The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, OCLC 19066012, ISBN 978-0807073001
--- end wiki extract ---
-----
In response, I wrote:
I think there is a mix of good and not-so-good or bad Hindu spiritual leaders in India today. Sannyasi or not sannyasi is not the issue, IMHO. I think you seem to be anti-sannyasis. I am NOT anti-sannyasi. I respect good sannyasi Hindu spiritual leaders as well as good non-sannyasi Hindu spiritual leaders.
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In response, I wrote (slightly edited):
There are sannyasis who live simple lives too. Some sannyasi-leaders live in luxury - that's true. Such is life in early 21st century India! Perhaps the sannyasi-leader feels that as so many Indians now live in luxury, some of whom would be his followers, why should he not live in luxury! But I don't consider the sannyasi-leader to be a bad guy just because he is living in luxury.
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In response, I wrote (slightly edited):
Excess money is very dangerous for spiritual leaders and spiritual missions as it tends to corrupt the spiritual core and the excess money attracts money-minded people instead of genuine spiritual aspirants.
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[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.
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Very happy to know this. As a resident and citizen of India, I heartily welcome these Hindu refugees from Pakistan (fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan), living in India since 2000, to Indian citizenship. They are my fellow Indians now. Great!
[Shared article: Eight Pakistani refugees granted Indian citizenship in Rajasthan's Kota, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/city/jaipur/eight-pakistani-refugees-granted-indian-citizenship-in-rajasthans-kota/videoshow/73041352.cms]
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Sourav Ganguly sent me food: Inzamam says cricket and religion don’t mix, rubbishes Danish Kaneria claims, https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/sourav-ganguly-sent-me-food-inzamam-rubbishes-danish-kaneria-claims-says-religion-and-cricket-don-t-mix/story-K4VHZVVhWV2y30CGdesy3J.html
Inzamam-ul-Haq is a very respected and gentleman cricketer of Pakistan who also was captain of Pakistan cricket team. I give value to his words. I have seen him playing international cricket on TV quite often in the days I used to follow cricket. Good to see his view of the Danish Kaneria matter.
Note that Mohammad Yousuf whom Inzamam refers to in this article was earlier Yousuf Yohana (a Christian, I believe). I recall seeing Yousuf Yohana playing international cricket (on TV). Later Yousuf Yohana seems to have converted to Islam and adopted the name of Mohammad Yousuf.
Perhaps at the topmost levels of Pakistani cricket there was no discrimination against non-Muslims.
But perhaps at lower levels in Pakistani society there is some level of discrimination against non-Muslims.
It would be great if celebrities and respected figures like Inzamam-ul-Haq work towards removal/reduction of discrimination against non-Muslims in lower rungs of Pakistani society.
I feel it is appropriate to state my belief:
Ishwar Maalik! Allah Maalik! Yesu Maalik! Sabka Maalik Ek!
[Ishwar is the Lord! Allah is the Lord! Yesu (Jesus) is the Lord! The Lord of all is one!]
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Note that this report is about an old video. But it is still relevant as it captures an intolerant/bigoted attitude of a Pakistani celebrity cricketer towards Hindus and Hindu modes of worship of God.
I am sharing these articles as I would like to contribute to people knowing about how some Pakistanis, including some celebrities, view Hindus and Hindu modes of worship of God. I think it is undeniable that there is a lot of bigotry and intolerance towards Hindus and Hindu ways of worship of God, in Pakistan. Better to know such realities rather than have deluded notions about freedom of religion in Pakistan especially for Hindus.
[Shared article: Shahid Afridi smashed TV after daughter imitated 'arti', https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/off-the-field/shahid-afridi-smashed-tv-after-daughter-imitated-arti/articleshow/73029451.cms]
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In Hindi, about Shirdi Sai Baba - 6 min. 44 secs.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/BhaktiSagarTseries/videos/2483575055224466/]
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Wonderful to see & hear Kasturi garu talk about Swami - around a minute.
"Swami has come with a smile. That is the weapon with which he conquers"... "Swami said, 'I am a Sathya Bodhaka. I am a teacher of truth. He has come as a teacher. And he teaches so softly and ..'"
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/uae123000/videos/10158122793268846/?t=0]
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Wonderful to know about Danish Kaneria's, former Pakistan cricketer's, devotion to his Hindu faith in the face of discrimination in Pakistan; May God bless him!
Ravi: Firstly I would like say that my strong belief is as follows:
"Ishwar Maalik! Allah Maalik! Yesu Maalik! Sabka Maalik Ek!"
[Ishwar is the Lord! Allah is the Lord! Yesu (Jesus) is the Lord! The Lord of all is one!]
So I am not anti-Muslim. I respect peaceful and law-abiding Muslims.
And I am against extremist violence (different from violence in self-defense) irrespective of which religious group commits it.
Shoaib Akhtar Exposes Pak; Danish Kaneria Mistreated For Being Hindu | India First, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3ouso6lSLU, 21 mins. 40 secs.
Danish Kaneria, former Pakistan cricketer who is a Hindu, says around 4 min. 25 secs. in the video, "Against all odds I am still a proud Hindu & I will die a Hindu."
Ravi: I am just bowled over to hear Danish Kaneria say these words. Years ago, I have watched Danish Kaneria in cricketing action for Pakistan (on TV). At that time, I was not much into reading up/viewing up on such matters like discrimination of Hindus in Pakistan, as I was too busy earning a livelihood and fulfilling home responsibilities, and doing some individual spiritual pursuit.
May God continue to give strength to Danish Kaneria to follow his Hindu traditions and faith even if he faces further discrimination in Pakistan because he is a Hindu.
Never ever in my life in India have I had to worry about discrimination because I am a Hindu (as India is a Hindu majority country and I have lived all the time I spent in India (most of my life) in Mumbai and surrounding areas, and in Puttaparthi now, that are Hindu majority)! The issues that I faced were lack of knowledge about Hinduism and doubt about some Hindu traditions and beliefs (due to lack of knowledge).
I bow down in reverence to Danish Kaneria for having stayed true to his Hindu faith even as he faced discrimination in Pakistan.
This shows how blessed and fortunate Hindus are to live in India (which includes me), where there is no discrimination against Hindus (as they are the majority), and so Hindus are free to practise their faith and traditions.
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BITTER TRUTH !!! | Danish Kaneria, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25dkl3Vtgyw, 8 min. 22 secs
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Update: Shoaib Akhtar gives his view of the matter here: Pakistan is Home for Hindus,Muslims and all Minorities | Shoaib Akhtar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6K5011Hvxc, around 10 mins., published on 28th Dec. 2019.
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My vehement disagreement with views of June 2019 article about a biologist arguing for elimination of religion for good of humanity
I vehemently disagree with the view expressed in the short extracts given below of the article: A Biologist Proposes To Eliminate Religion For The Good Of Humanity, http://www.physics-astronomy.com/2019/06/a-biologist-proposes-to-eliminate.html, 5th June 2019
The American biologist Edward Osborne Wilson known as "the father of sociobiology" argues that the Earth is suffering "a death through a thousand injuries" because of religion and that it should disappear for the benefit of human progress.
..
"All ideologies and religions have their own answers for the big questions, but these are often linked as a dogma to some kind of tribe," he said. "Religions in particular present supernatural elements that other tribes, other religions, can not accept ... And every tribe, no matter how generous, benign, loving and charitable, disparages all other tribes. What drags us is religious faith ".
Ravi: I have not read the article. But the extracts provided above indicates that it may be on the lines an article by a Professor of Physics in IISc Bangalore that appeared in The Hindu in 2013 titled "Let’s aim for a post-theistic society". It generated a lot of comments (including from me) and later response articles that challenged his views. My blog post: Science Fanaticism and Anti-Religion Fanaticism displayed in Post Theistic Society Article, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2013/09/science-fanaticism-and-anti-religion.html, Sept. 2013 gives the details.
Another relevant post of mine in this context is this one: Fantastic Espousal of the Good of Religion by Honourable Mr. Tony Blair in Nov. 2010 Debate, https://iami1.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/fantastic-espousal-of-the-good-of-religion-by-honourable-mr-tony-blair-in-nov-2010-debate/amp/, Aug. 2012
A relevant extract from the post is given below:
d) He [Blair] pointed out that removing religion from the picture, if at all that is possible, is no guarantee of such problems disappearing. He gave the example of Hitler and Stalin whose reigns of terror did not have any religious background.
e) He acknowledged that certain wrongs had been issued from the pulpit like in Christian Rwanda problem of Hutu & Tutsi. But he also stated that in the same problem many religious people had defended people of the other tribe and some even lost their lives doing it.
f) He advocated, if I recall correctly, focusing on the common good of religions and encouraging that.
g) He said Darwin and Christian religion can go together.
h) I felt that Mr. Blair presented the sober, moderate religious faithful view, which perhaps is the majority of religious believers in the Western world. He boldly took a stance which may not be supported by some rigid religious believers.
Hitchens was brilliant at his vitriolic criticism of religion. But then I felt he was playing to the gallery by using his brilliant command of the English language, his wit and his book-knowledge about religion (as against experiential-knowledge). He did not really respond, if I recall correctly, to Mr. Blair’s moderate religious faithful view. Maybe the structure of the debate was such that you don’t try to arrive at a meaningful solution but just attack the other party. So as a debater he perhaps did an excellent job in ensuring he ‘scored’ over the opponent.
But I felt Mr. Blair was the statesman looking for a solution rather than wanting to simply ‘score’ over his opponent.
--- end extract ---
...
It is in teaching and practice of religions that we need to see whether extremist violent ideologies, and hatred of people of other religions, are being encouraged. That's the problem area.
...
Tribalism is the main issue. It has its good and bad aspects. Tribalism is how some groups (tribes) seem to have survived over centuries and millennia. Now the challenge is to remove the negative aspects of tribalism like nepotism and encourage give-and-take in a plural society.
Is religion the only source of tribalism? Will removal of religion (if at all that is possible, which I certainly doubt very much) remove all sources of tribalism? I think not. Communists have no religion - both Stalinist Soviet Union and Maoist China had no religion. But I think the particular brand of communist ideology (Stalinism or Maoism) became the new tribe. A lot of dissenters were simply killed! Some got sent to detention centers like the Gulag (Solzenitsyn being the famous one).
So I think that human society grouping itself into tribes is unavoidable - whether it is based on religion or not.
Religion does not play a major role in many parts of Western Europe today. But language and nationality have come to the fore in Western Europe as shown in Brexit. Isn't that a form of tribalism, even if the tribe is a larger level tribe?
======================
Further to my post of yesterday showing pics of a small duck or duck like creature, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2702459083303985, today afternoon I saw three of them but on the Chitravathi Harati side of the checkdam on Chitravathi river.
I thought of trying to take a video of them as they moved around (at a distance). They are small and I am far worse as a video camera guy with my low-cost smartphone, than as a still pic guy where I am just amateurish. But I thought of sharing the video just in case some readers would like to see it. On uploading the video to Facebook, the resultant Facebook video was somewhat messed up and it was almost impossible to spot the little black water birds swimming. So I uploaded it to youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg689nEtGlU, where the video shows as it shows on video player on my desktop computer (as far as I can make out). It is 22 seconds long.
It is hard to spot them - 2 of them are swimming together roughly around the centre of the video and 1 is slightly apart to their lower left and comes into view only a little into the video.
Some browsing on what these small birds could be, led me to this wiki page of list of birds in Andhra Pradesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Andhra_Pradesh. The page lists a Little Grebe (water)bird, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_grebe. Maybe these birds I saw are Little Grebes!
http://bnhsenvis.nic.in/Database/2016_17603.aspx says that Little Grebe in Telugu is called "Munugudi-kodi, Chinna munugu".
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Wonderful to see Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's name and message (Love All Serve All) on a USA TV channel! Great service and nice of Fox4 channel to show this service activity of Sathya Sai Baba center of Dallas.
I took 3 screenshots from the video as I think the video comes up slowly in India and so some readers may prefer just to see the screenshots. I cannot include the screenshot pics in this post as it is a share. But I will show the pics in comments in this post.
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=869758560105785&id=100012149461697]
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The parents, it seems, were doing it out of hope & love for their physically handicapped children. So I will not say it is child abuse (though I recognize that some may say so). But ....
Hmm. I don't know what to say. Matters of faith in the context of parents seeking weird cures for physically handicapped children, is something that I, who am unmarried and have no children, perhaps have no right to say anything on. But I think I have to say that I am supportive of the "progressive" group's and district child protection officer's action that extricated the kids from this mess.
[Shared article: Karnataka: Hoping miracle during solar eclipse, parents bury physically challenged kids neck-deep in cattle dung in Kalaburagi, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/karnataka-hoping-miracle-during-solar-eclipse-parents-bury-physically-challenged-kids-neck-deep-in-cattle-dung/articleshow/72981488.cms]
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Yesterday (Christmas day) afternoon I saw a small black duck or duck like creature swimming in the water on the Karnatakanagapalli bridge side of the checkdam on Chitravathi river. My low cost (cheap :-) ) LYF LS 4505 smartphone with an amateur photographer (me) could not capture it well from a distance. The first pic is without zoom. The second one is with zoom but with great loss of clarity.
I thought I should share it as I don't recall seeing any pics of such ducks or duck like creatures swimming in the checkdam/river (now more like a lake) water in Puttaparthi (this year).
Hopefully this may lead to some other persons who are better photographers and have better cameras to take good pics of it or its fellow creatures (I saw only one such creature) and share it on Facebook.
[FB post (with pics): https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2702459083303985]
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"May Emmanuel bring light to all the suffering members of our human family.May He soften our often stony and self-centred hearts,and make them channels of His love.On this joyful day,may He bring His tenderness to all and brighten the darkness of this world. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/urbi/documents/papa-francesco_20191225_urbi-et-orbi-natale.html" - Pope Francis, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209805991891656705 (today)
Amen!
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Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (Live), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKo3T0j9qqo, 5 min. 47 secs.
...
A different type of Amazing Grace song: Phil Wickham - This Is Amazing Grace (Official Music Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFRjr_x-yxU, 4 min. 38 secs.
...
BYU, I believe, is a Mormon faith university.
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) | BYU Noteworthy (Chris Tomlin A Cappella Cover), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6Mtpk4jeVA, 4 min. 30 secs.
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Hindi Christmas song: Aha Yesu Aya Zameen Par, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IokucR-xmM, 4 min. 52 secs.
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New Christmas Song - Asmaan Pe Ik Sitara - Christian songs in Urdu and Hindi, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWLee4RVW8E, around 3 mins.
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Anand Zhaala | New Marathi Christmas Dance Song | Grace Fellowship Youth's, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdZmQKhSMXk, 5 min. 43 secs.
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Marathi Christmas song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7fS0Z73ltY, close to 10 mins.
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Jewel - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PURr2u0HKGE, 3 min 20 secs.
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Tamil Christmas song 2019 | Immanuvel Neerae | 4K | Digital 5.1 Surround | Benny Pradeep, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSl-5xHMo1g, around 6 mins.
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Thalaelo | Tamil Christmas Song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uIEFA4a75w, 4 min. 46 secs.
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Ratchagar Pirandharae - Tamil Christmas Song - Benny Joshua, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA-X1Gh88lM, 5 min. 32 secs.
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Sharing this song just to show some forms of dance that Christian music can take in India (may not to appeal to some but may appeal to some young folks): NEW TAMIL CHRISTMAS SONG 2019 | GG3 | PUTHUSU | OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO | FULL HD, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYVnwwwvQO0, 3 min. 40 secs.
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Super Hit Christmas Song💫Aby Vettiyar Latest Carolsong💫Anna Baby✨, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyYiVZ7izdA, 5 min. 44 secs.
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ജനകോടികളുടെ ഇഷ്ട ക്രിസ്മസ് കരോൾ ഗാനം | Kando Doore |Super Hit Christmas Carol Song |Renjith Christy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVWmaVO9Os, 4 min. 49 secs.
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Yehoodhiyayile Oru Gramathil Old Super hit Malayalam Christmas song by K J Yesudas, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFOSv6lzukI, 5 min. 18 secs.
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"Tonight, in the beauty of God's love, we also discover our own beauty, for we are beloved of God. In His eyes we are beautiful: not for what we do but for what we are." - Pope Francis on Christmas Eve, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209609698288132097
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"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God" - C.S. Lewis, https://twitter.com/CSLewisInst/status/1209638930829713408
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"Tonight the love of God has been revealed to us. In Jesus, the Most High made Himself small, so that we might love Him. In Jesus, God made Himself a Child, so that we might embrace Him.", Pope Francis on Christmas eve, https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1209605923569750017
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Enjoyed seeing this today. Love going beyond limitations of religions and religious doctrine, and which love is eternal having no birth & no death! Revived happy memories of enjoying watching Bhagavan speak in this manner, live in Sai Kulwant Hall on so many occasions, and being inspired by it. What an inspirational spiritual teacher Bhagavan in physical form was, while delivering such public discourses! So wonderful that now we have such videos for posterity.
[Shared video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzWQw17-l5U&feature=youtu.be]
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Desi touch Jingle Bells from folks in US Embassy in India! Around a minute.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/India.usembassy/videos/589798151784967/?t=0]
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I enjoyed it (around 51 seconds). This had been passed to me as a private message on FB earlier. Good that this was publicly shared.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/uma.ragunathan.1/videos/2473027649621507/?t=0]
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Jewel - Face Of Love, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXypqfDeMa4, 3 min. 29 sec.
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Hindi Christmas Song, Chamka sitara by Neelu Nissi,.Watch our new song PRAISE PRAISE by NISSI ELENA., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kUPnTY6cck, 4 min. 4 secs.
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Hindi Christmas song: Kya Din Khushi Ka Aaya, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-jvEOC3ifo, around 7 mins.
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HAPPY CHRISTMAS ||JK Christopher || Sharon sisters || JK P Kumar,Latest Telugu christmas songs-2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D2diw3xXBk, 8 min. 13 secs.
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Latest New Christmas Song | Telugu Jesus Songs 2019 | Anjana Sowmya | Koti Kaanthula Velugulatho, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsvDl-dY7MQ, 6 min. 33 secs.
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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Live At The Helix In Dublin..., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw38pGhPXIk, 4 min. 44 secs.
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Silent Night - Jim Reeves, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz8VYzyXpRQ, 3 min. 14 secs.
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Jim Reeves - Mary's Boy Child, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4QfW3WRp6g, 3 min. 10 secs.
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Boney M - Mary's Boy Child (with lyrics), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHTCldo7uw4, 5 min. 44 secs.
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Mariah Carey - O Holy Night (Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJmP8T07JU, 4 min. 47 secs.
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Mariah Carey - Joy to the World (Live at St. John The Divine), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtRgKvLkLHM, 5 min. 31 secs.
-------------------------------
I had seen this news elsewhere yesterday but not this Nature article which gives vital background info. on the matter.
Panch sir is very devoted to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and has done great service work for the blind, if I recall correctly, through his and his team's research work. I have had the privilege of interacting with him while I was serving in the Sai university, which he used to visit regularly as a Visiting Faculty. Wonderful to know that he will be heading NSF, a premier science research and education body of the USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Foundation.
Here's a relevant article from The Hindu: Indian-American scientist Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan to lead National Science Foundation in US, https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/trump-picks-indian-american-computer-scientist-dr-sethuraman-panchanathan-to-lead-national-science-foundation/article30356604.ece, 20th Dec. 2019
Note that the US Senate has to confirm the nomination.
I pray to Bhagavan to shower His Grace on Panch sir to get the support of the US Senate and do a wonderful job as NSF head, and I wish Panch sir all the very best.
[Shared article: Trump picks computer scientist to lead National Science Foundation, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03924-3]
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Very nice and soulful! Touches the heart. Swami sharanam! Ayyappa sharanam! Video is 5 min. 37 secs.
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The post of Shri V. V. Sarachandran that shared this has this intro text (I did not get an option to share that and so I am copy-pasting that below):
This is the season for those making pilgrimage to Sabarimala to receive the blessings of Swami Ayyappa, who welcomes all devotees regardless of their religion, caste or creed. Tradition dictates one needs to observe fasting over more than 40 days, and abstain from any form of sexual activity as well when undertaking this pilgrimage.
[Shared video: https://www.facebook.com/srilalitha.bhamidipati.54/videos/1325955600924546/?t=0]
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"Chart: Hindus and Buddhists are concentrated in Asia, while Christians are more evenly scattered globally. https://pewrsr.ch/2PDH1v9", https://twitter.com/pewresearch/status/1207164344984915968
The above tweet has a chart giving the key data at one glance.
--------
Revered Kasturi garu: "This white ash is a bandage to remove the bondage"!
For readers, who may not know the (usually 3 finger-thick lines/curves of) white ash tilaka (mark) on the forehead that is seen on revered Kasturi garu's forehead, here's some background on it. It is traditional for some Saivite (Shiva devotee) Hindus (including my Iyer community) to have that on the forehead. It was a must for me too whenever I participated in priest (Vadhyaar) officiated Hindu rituals at home. Besides the forehead, the tilaka would be on the arms and chest, which would be visible while doing the function as the main male participants in the ritual had to be bare chested. But I did not wear that tilaka/mark other than for such rituals, as that was quite uncommon in and around Bombay/Mumbai where I was living then. I mean, I would have been quite uncomfortable then with the stares that I would have got in my place of study (school/college) or work, with my forehead having that tilaka/mark. But I must also mention that there were a few people, usually elders, who would wear that regularly in Bombay/Mumbai then (1970s to early 2000s).
There is a wiki page for this tilaka/mark which is called Tripundra (I did not know this name and I don't know how accurate the wiki page is): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripundra.
But these lines in the wiki page, resonate with my understanding of Saivite Hinduism:
Tripundra, to those who apply it, is a reminder of the spiritual aims of life, the truth that body and material things shall someday become ash, and that mukti is a worthy goal. Tri means three, pundra means one which is released. There are three horizontal lines of vibhuti (holy ash) on the brow, often with a dot (bindu) as the third eye. Holy ash, usually produced from burnt cow dung, is a reminder of the temporary nature of the physical body and the importance of spiritual attainment and closeness to Shiva (Atman-Brahman).
--- end wiki extract ---
I don't recall wearing a dot mark in addition to the three lines/curves for the rituals I participated in, at home.
However, at a more mundane level and which I guess is probably the reason, at least in part, for which most of the Saivite Hindus that use it regularly, do so, is to identify themselves (to others) as Saivite Hindus, and I guess that is the case with Vaishnavite Hindus and their symbol of Urdhva Pundra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdhva_Pundra, too.
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3088107151202897&set=a.333626916650948&type=3
'In Whitefield, Swami wanted Kasturi to speak to the students.
Kasturi was sitting in a corner where there was not much light.
Swami said, "Come under the light.
Otherwise people will think you have a bandage!"
(Kasturi usually drew ashes on his forehead).
The white ash (vibhuti) all over his forehead looked like a bandage. Kasturi came under the light and told the students,
"This white ash is a bandage to remove the bondage."']
=============
Good to see this. Alike is the Loka Seva Trust school whose management, for some time, had come under the spell of spiritual fraud Madhusudan Naidu, but eventually broke away from him publicly in early 2017.
Good to see Tyagajeevi Gangadhar Bhat sir in these pics of inauguration of some new school building.
For readers who do not know the background, I dug up some old posts of mine (Jan to Mar 2017) related to Alike school breaking away from spell of spiritual fraud Madhusudan Naidu. The horrible Muddenahalli group fellows tried to use legal tricks to take over Alike school and remove Gangadhar Bhat sir from Alike! Things had got that bad at one time, and it was determined fight back against the Muddenahalli group spiritual fraudsters that saved Alike school from falling into their control. Here are some posts of mine that share some info. about those events.
1) Shri Gangadhar Bhat of Alike school asked to leave premises; I appeal to Karnataka Sai orgn. and Central Trust to welcome and accommodate him (and any others), http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/01/shri-gangadhar-bhat-of-alike-school.html, 25th Jan. 2017
2) I support Sri Gangadhar Bhat sir of Alike school in his effort to RESCUE Alike school from Madhusudan Naidu & Narasimhamurthy HIJACK, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/i-support-sri-gangadhar-bhat-sir-of.html, 4th Feb. 2017
3) GB sir and other Tyagajeevis of Alike school publicly say they don't believe in "Subtle Swami" and request Muddenahalli group to not interfere in their affairs, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/gangadhar-bhat-sir-of-alike-school.html, 6th Feb. 2017
4) Alike, Karnataka, Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva trust school bank account 'unfrozen', http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/alike-karnataka-sri-sathya-sai-loka.html, 21st Feb. 2017
5) Tyagajeevi and Chairman of Loka Seva Trust, Gangadhar Bhat, regrets illegal 12/9/2012 trust deed amendment action, in court affidavit, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/03/tyagajeevi-and-chairman-of-loka-seva.html, 8th Mar. 2017
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/Alikeonline/posts/3401831023192915]
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Firstly, I should say that my putting up this post should in no way be seen as me being biased towards the Conservatives in UK. I am publicly neutral in UK politics (and also in Indian politics).
But that neutrality in UK politics does not come in the way of me being appreciative of Boris Johnson's warm words towards British Hindus in general and the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in London in the video shared below. As an Indian Hindu, I am deeply touched by these words of his and what seems to me to be genuine affection for British Hindus. It was good to see his partner also being present for this visit and being given due honour by the temple management. And it was good to see British Home secretary (minister) Priti Patel accompanying the British PM to the temple, and being given due honour.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Visits Neasden Temple in London, UK, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fLK6tSrCfU, 7 min. 2 secs, published on 13th Dec. 2019 by BAPSChannel.
...
Prime Minister Boris Johnson Visits Bhaktivedanta Manor December 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueKvxrfVuKI, around 3 mins.
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https://twitter.com/museumofBible/status/1205568230401728513
The New Testament passage found in 1 Timothy 6:10 actually says: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
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2 Missing Sisters From Nithyananda Ashram Say They Will Depose From US, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-missing-sisters-from-nithyananda-ashram-say-they-will-depose-from-us-2147369, 12th Dec. 2019
Good to know that the young sannyasini sisters are willing to depose before Indian High Commission either in West Indies or USA. But the court wants them to depose in person (at Ahmedabad in Gujarat state in India).
The shocking thing is that the young sannyasinis are saying through their lawyer that they cannot appear in person before the court as they (percieve) a threat to their life from their father!
This is horrifying! But that's what fighting in court sometimes leads to, at least in India. The father initiated this matter by lodging a petition that his young but adult daughters have been "illegally confined" by Swami Nithyananda and his followers and, at least in media interviews, he said that he fears for their safety implying danger to them from Swami Nithyananda and his followers. The daughters in turn are saying that they fear for their safety due to threat to life from their father!
The court has assured the young ladies full protection and wants a reply from them as an affidavit by December 19th. The next hearing for the case is on Dec. 20th.
...
Earlier (Dec. 8th) remarks by Ministry of External Affairs (Foreign Ministry) spokesperson on Swami Nithyananda passport and message to Indian missions abroad about him: MEA Raveesh Kumar Speaks On Self-Styled Godman Nithyananda's Sovereign Nation 'Kailaasa', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4nYOVqAwGE, 5 min. 15 secs.
==================================================Good to see this. Alike is the Loka Seva Trust school whose management, for some time, had come under the spell of spiritual fraud Madhusudan Naidu, but eventually broke away from him publicly in early 2017.
Good to see Tyagajeevi Gangadhar Bhat sir in these pics of inauguration of some new school building.
For readers who do not know the background, I dug up some old posts of mine (Jan to Mar 2017) related to Alike school breaking away from spell of spiritual fraud Madhusudan Naidu. The horrible Muddenahalli group fellows tried to use legal tricks to take over Alike school and remove Gangadhar Bhat sir from Alike! Things had got that bad at one time, and it was determined fight back against the Muddenahalli group spiritual fraudsters that saved Alike school from falling into their control. Here are some posts of mine that share some info. about those events.
1) Shri Gangadhar Bhat of Alike school asked to leave premises; I appeal to Karnataka Sai orgn. and Central Trust to welcome and accommodate him (and any others), http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/01/shri-gangadhar-bhat-of-alike-school.html, 25th Jan. 2017
2) I support Sri Gangadhar Bhat sir of Alike school in his effort to RESCUE Alike school from Madhusudan Naidu & Narasimhamurthy HIJACK, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/i-support-sri-gangadhar-bhat-sir-of.html, 4th Feb. 2017
3) GB sir and other Tyagajeevis of Alike school publicly say they don't believe in "Subtle Swami" and request Muddenahalli group to not interfere in their affairs, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/gangadhar-bhat-sir-of-alike-school.html, 6th Feb. 2017
4) Alike, Karnataka, Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva trust school bank account 'unfrozen', http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/02/alike-karnataka-sri-sathya-sai-loka.html, 21st Feb. 2017
5) Tyagajeevi and Chairman of Loka Seva Trust, Gangadhar Bhat, regrets illegal 12/9/2012 trust deed amendment action, in court affidavit, http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2017/03/tyagajeevi-and-chairman-of-loka-seva.html, 8th Mar. 2017
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/Alikeonline/posts/3401831023192915]
-------------
Firstly, I should say that my putting up this post should in no way be seen as me being biased towards the Conservatives in UK. I am publicly neutral in UK politics (and also in Indian politics).
But that neutrality in UK politics does not come in the way of me being appreciative of Boris Johnson's warm words towards British Hindus in general and the BAPS Swaminarayan temple in London in the video shared below. As an Indian Hindu, I am deeply touched by these words of his and what seems to me to be genuine affection for British Hindus. It was good to see his partner also being present for this visit and being given due honour by the temple management. And it was good to see British Home secretary (minister) Priti Patel accompanying the British PM to the temple, and being given due honour.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Visits Neasden Temple in London, UK, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fLK6tSrCfU, 7 min. 2 secs, published on 13th Dec. 2019 by BAPSChannel.
...
Prime Minister Boris Johnson Visits Bhaktivedanta Manor December 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueKvxrfVuKI, around 3 mins.
-----------
https://twitter.com/museumofBible/status/1205568230401728513
The New Testament passage found in 1 Timothy 6:10 actually says: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
------------
2 Missing Sisters From Nithyananda Ashram Say They Will Depose From US, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-missing-sisters-from-nithyananda-ashram-say-they-will-depose-from-us-2147369, 12th Dec. 2019
Good to know that the young sannyasini sisters are willing to depose before Indian High Commission either in West Indies or USA. But the court wants them to depose in person (at Ahmedabad in Gujarat state in India).
The shocking thing is that the young sannyasinis are saying through their lawyer that they cannot appear in person before the court as they (percieve) a threat to their life from their father!
This is horrifying! But that's what fighting in court sometimes leads to, at least in India. The father initiated this matter by lodging a petition that his young but adult daughters have been "illegally confined" by Swami Nithyananda and his followers and, at least in media interviews, he said that he fears for their safety implying danger to them from Swami Nithyananda and his followers. The daughters in turn are saying that they fear for their safety due to threat to life from their father!
The court has assured the young ladies full protection and wants a reply from them as an affidavit by December 19th. The next hearing for the case is on Dec. 20th.
...
Earlier (Dec. 8th) remarks by Ministry of External Affairs (Foreign Ministry) spokesperson on Swami Nithyananda passport and message to Indian missions abroad about him: MEA Raveesh Kumar Speaks On Self-Styled Godman Nithyananda's Sovereign Nation 'Kailaasa', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4nYOVqAwGE, 5 min. 15 secs.
Shri Chettiar (of Paduka/Paduga fame in Sathya Sai devotee circles) says, "I want to emphatically state that there is no connection whatsoever between Sri Nithyananda and Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba or the Sai Trusts / Sai Organisations."
[Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/saimemories/photos/a.633010493412194/2731028160277073/]
-----------
Didn't give Nithyananda refuge, he could have gone to Haiti, says Ecuador, https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ecuador-denies-refuge-rape-accused-nithyananda-says-he-left-haiti-113584
The article says that the embassy of Ecuador stated: "The Embassy of Ecuador categorically denies the statement, wherever published, that self-styled Guru Nithyananda was given asylum by Ecuador or has been helped by the government of Ecuador in purchasing any land or island in South America near or far from Ecuador."
So it seems that Swami Nithyananda is not in Ecuador.
The embassy suggested that he may have gone to Haiti, which is a Caribbean island.
Note that while there are one or more court cases against Swami Nithyananda in India, none of them, as far as I know, have judged Swami Nithyananda as guilty. So he is innocent until proven guilty. I think the Govt. of India spokesperson should have said alleged crimes instead of crimes in the following article.
‘Nithyananda wanted for crimes’: India alerts other countries, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nithyananda-wanted-for-crimes-india-alerts-other-countries/story-bEs63cdIpcj37yGo7nJBtK.html states, "India on Friday dismissed reports that self-styled godman Nithyananda had created his own country on an island near Ecuador and said the external affairs ministry had alerted other nations where he might seek shelter that he is wanted for several crimes."
I think that cuts off the media hype and gives us the ground reality picture.
...
In response to a comment in above FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2679206385629255, I wrote (slightly edited):
I have shared the appropriate authorities views.
I also inserted the following in the post:
Note that while there are one or more court cases against Swami Nithyananda in India, none of them, as far as I know, have judged Swami Nithyananda as guilty. So he is innocent until proven guilty. I think the Govt. of India spokesperson should have said alleged crimes instead of crimes in the following article.
====
I wrote (slightly edited):
Do you think there is anything else in my above post that is inaccurate/untruthful? If so, I will be glad to review it and correct it if necessary.
----
In response to a comment, I wrote (slightly edited):
I think he has been granted permission to be absent in person for the rape allegation case against him, and have his lawyers represent him. So, as far as that case is concerned, he cannot be viewed as absconding from justice. Is that case a smear campaign against him? I don't know. But what is clear is that he has not been judged guilty so far.
But the Indian media's question about where he is now, given the case against his Ahmedabad school where two of his disciples continue to be under police/judicial custody, is a valid one, I think. The habeas corpus petition filed by Janardhan Sharma for access to his adult young daughters is being heard by Gujarat High Court. The Gujarat High Court has asked the daughters to come before court before 12th December (or before Indian missions abroad after taking prior permission from court). And the next question too is valid which is that he appears to be abroad and is doing live-stream events but he does not have a valid Indian passport! So how is he abroad? If he has gone abroad without a valid Indian passport then I don't know what exactly his status becomes vis-a-vis Indian government and Indian courts with respect to court case(s) against him.
Is the Indian media hounding him? To some extent, Indian media seems to have sensationalized this case. But it is Janardhan Sharma the father who appears in these media interviews/panels and makes allegations against Swami Nithyananda. So those accusations are there. Whether true or not, especially given the adult daughters' counter-allegations against the father, is very difficult to figure out based only on these media interviews and youtube video put up by the daughters.
The Gujarat High Court seems to be proceeding well on this and hopefully in the next few weeks we will have clarity on the adult daughters' situation.
About Nithyananda doing a miracle at your home: Omnipresent is a ***huge*** word (and so is omnipotent). I rarely use those words in the context of devotion as I am not sure about whether they can apply in situations that I write about/talk about (and that's due to me having no psychic 'I am everywhere' kind of experiences at all).
So I am not in a position to differentiate between somebody who just has siddhis and who is ***omnipresent***.
But I have some views about how paranormal events happen in the context of devotion to Guru/God, which, if I recall correctly, I have written on my main spiritual blog. I can dig that up and share that with you if you are interested.
----
===================
6th Dec. 2019 update
The news18 report is false (it had said unconfirmed reports). The government (embassy) of Ecuador has rejected the claim of Swami Nithyananda having bought an island that it owns. Govt. of India has dismissed away the claim of any nation being created by Nithayananda. For more see https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2679206385629255.
--- end 6th Dec. 2019 update ---
Hmm. This is extraordinary!
https://www.news18.com/news/india/on-the-run-from-law-nithyananda-establishes-his-own-nation-called-kailaasa-near-ecuador-2410593.html
The article states: "According to unconfirmed reports, Nithyananda has bought an island in Ecuador in central Latin America and has started calling it an independent, new nation."
I had a quick look at its website https://kailaasa.org/ (loads slowly). I have attached a screenshot of the "country's" government departments. [FB post has pic: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2675530135996880&set=a.1616532491896655]
Hmm. I had not expected this. What twists & turns!
======================
Should young lady spiritual aspirants be allowed to take sanyas (become sannyasinis) only after parents, if living, give permission?
In the case of the two young sannyasini ladies Nanditha (Ma Nithyananditha - 18 year old) and Lopamudra (Ma Nithyatattvapriya Ananda - 21 year old) who say they have become sannyasinis following their Guru Swami Nityananda, the parents are raising strong objections and claiming that they have been abducted, are in danger, and have been brain-washed (the father even mentions Vashikaran in this context) by Swami Nithyananda and (some of) his followers.
The abduction and danger parts are being dealt with by the police & court authorities.
But what about the brain-washing charge? We will have to wait and see how this is dealt with.
And I think there is the social contract part of it which is important too, which I don't think has been mentioned in this case in media reports (at least the many that I read). And that is that the parents invest time & money to raise their children and expect their children to take care of them in their old age. If the children become sannyasinis of some spiritual group, especially one that the parents are against, then the parents have to forget about their sannyasini-children taking care of them in their old age.
Also, is it proper for a girl as young as 18 or even 21 for that matter, to be made a sannyasini! I think in established Hindu traditions, there is a prior stage of Brahmacharini (female celibate novitiate) which may be for many years which serves as both a preparatory phase and also as a testing phase to see if the person is really ready for sannyasini (female monk) life. In this case, there does not seem to have been any such preparatory/testing period.
What if the ladies regret this step 5 or 10 years into the future? Will they then be like prisoners of the system as they will not be able to easily come out of the spiritual group and earn a livelihood for themselves in the world outside the spiritual group.
Perhaps it is due to some of these reasons that the father of these two young ladies is in great anguish.
But one also needs to give importance to any genuine spiritual urges that the two young ladies may have.
This is a complex situation with no easy answers/solutions.
Having a mandatory requirement (as against it being desirable but not mandatory) that young lady spiritual aspirants who want to be sannyasinis/monks, should have permission of living parents (which seems to be followed by some Hindu monastic traditions), may be a possible solution but will that be going too far?
-----
In response to a comment on above FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2672921409591086, I wrote:
I think different sannyasi sampradayas follow different traditions. Sannyasis staying in the same place/ashram/matha for years is also fine in many traditions, I think.
----
In response to a comment, I wrote (slightly edited):
I think most ancient rishis were married though there have been brahmachari (unmarried) rishis too like the famous Shuka Maharshi, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuka, who narrated the Bhagvata Purana.
But sannyasi tradition goes back among Hindus to before Adi Shankara, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Shankara, who is said to have lived in the early 8th century.
Also, here is a relevant extract from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sannyasa :
Jamison and Witzel state[13] early Vedic texts make no mention of Sannyasa, or Ashrama system, unlike the concepts of Brahmacharin and Grihastha which they do mention.[14] Instead, Rig Veda uses the term Antigriha (अन्तिगृह) in hymn 10.95.4, still part of extended family, where older people lived in ancient India, with an outwardly role.[13] It is in later Vedic era and over time, Sannyasa and other new concepts emerged, while older ideas evolved and expanded. A three-stage Ashrama concept along with Vanaprastha emerged about or after 7th Century BC, when sages such as Yājñavalkya left their homes and roamed around as spiritual recluses and pursued their Pravrajika (wanderer) lifestyle.[15] The explicit use of the four stage Ashrama concept, appeared a few centuries later.[13][16]
However, early Vedic literature from 2nd millennium BC, mentions Muni (मुनि, monks, mendicants, holy man), with characteristics that mirror those found in later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. Rig Veda, for example, in Book 10 Chapter 136, mentions munis as those with Kesin (केशिन्, long haired) and Mala clothes (मल, soil-colored, yellow, orange, saffron) engaged in the affairs of Mananat (mind, meditation).[17] Rigveda, however, refers to these people as Muni and Vati (वति, monks who beg).
केश्यग्निं केशी विषं केशी बिभर्ति रोदसी । केशी विश्वं स्वर्दृशे केशीदं ज्योतिरुच्यते ॥१॥ मुनयो वातरशनाः पिशङ्गा वसते मला । वातस्यानु ध्राजिं यन्ति यद्देवासो अविक्षत ॥२॥ He with the long loose locks (of hair) supports Agni, and moisture, heaven, and earth; He is all sky to look upon: he with long hair is called this light. The Munis, girdled with the wind, wear garments of soil hue; They, following the wind's swift course, go where the Gods have gone before.
— Rig Veda, Hymn 10.CXXXVI.1-2[17]
These Munis, their lifestyle and spiritual pursuit, likely influenced the Sannyasa concept, as well as the ideas behind the ancient concept of Brahmacharya (bachelor student). One class of Munis were associated with Rudra.[18] Another were Vratyas.[citation needed]
[Wiki Refs:]
13. Jamison and Witzel (1992), Vedic Hinduism, Harvard University Archives, page 47
14. JF Sprockhoff (1981), Aranyaka und Vanaprastha in der vedischen Literatur, Neue Erwägungen zu einer alten Legende und ihren Problemen. Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens und Archiv für Indische Philosophie Wien, 25, pages 19-90
15. JF Sprockhoff (1976), Sanyāsa, Quellenstudien zur Askese im Hinduismus I: Untersuchungen über die Sannyåsa-Upaninshads, Wiesbaden, OCLC 644380709
16. Patrick Olivelle (1976), Vasudevåśrama Yatidharmaprakåśa: a treatise on world renunciation, Brill Netherlands, OCLC 4113269
17. GS Ghurye (1952), Ascetic Origins, Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 1, No. 2, pages 162-184;
For Sanskrit original: Rigveda Wikisource;
For English translation: Kesins Rig Veda, Hymn CXXXVI, Ralph Griffith (Translator)
18. Arthur Llewellyn Basham, The Origins and Development of Classical Hinduism, OCLC 19066012, ISBN 978-0807073001
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In response, I wrote:
I think there is a mix of good and not-so-good or bad Hindu spiritual leaders in India today. Sannyasi or not sannyasi is not the issue, IMHO. I think you seem to be anti-sannyasis. I am NOT anti-sannyasi. I respect good sannyasi Hindu spiritual leaders as well as good non-sannyasi Hindu spiritual leaders.
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In response, I wrote (slightly edited):
There are sannyasis who live simple lives too. Some sannyasi-leaders live in luxury - that's true. Such is life in early 21st century India! Perhaps the sannyasi-leader feels that as so many Indians now live in luxury, some of whom would be his followers, why should he not live in luxury! But I don't consider the sannyasi-leader to be a bad guy just because he is living in luxury.
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In response, I wrote (slightly edited):
Excess money is very dangerous for spiritual leaders and spiritual missions as it tends to corrupt the spiritual core and the excess money attracts money-minded people instead of genuine spiritual aspirants.
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[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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