Vinayaka-Urdhvapundra

Vinayaka-Urdhvapundra

In Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya there is no Ganesha. The trust Vishvaksena. There Jiyyars also do not even see Ganesha.Let me not be mistaken that I am finding fault with them.
I have a doubt honestly. Why Ganesha is, especially now-a-days, being drawn with 'Urdhwa Pundra' in almost all the images. WHY?
I am trying to substantiate my stand that the idol should always be according to Agama Shastra and Stapatya Siddhantha. 
Here is a comment by Shri VVS Sharma garu.

Vvs Sarma In Bangalore we have many Vinayaka temples. Once I was going in a car with Guruji Sivananda Murty garu We passed by one such temple. He observed that there are two pujaris there. One was Vishnava and the other a Madhva. He smiled and I inquired why he smiled. He said - Some day they will put Urdhvapundra to Vinayaka. He said - in Siva Parivara Ganapati is Vishnu, and quoted the above sloka. But under the same argument Anjaneya and Sri Krishna who said Kalosmi, and I am Sankara in Rudras, can also have Vibhuti, if a Smarta or Saiva is worshiping them and quote Annamacharya

The above comment left by Sri VVS Sarma garu, Sadguru Shivaanandamurthy Garu's prediction clearly says the practise to be in correct.

As regards the comments beneath my posting, I feel, can not substantiate for Ganesha's Urdhva pundra. Actually I wanted any Evidence. In almost all the puranas we find a mention of Ganesha. Pouranic tales can not substantiate the issue. in SAHASRA NAMAS every God will have the names or titles of other God. Saying God is unique. When we consider a special form it should only depict the stature of the idol as mentioned in the scriptures.

The significance of the name Ganesha can be understood by learning about the meaning of each syllable in the name.

Gam stands for jnana, eternal knowledge.

Nam means mukti pradata or nirvana pradata meaning one who grants liberation.

Isha means the Divine Father who rules.

Thus Lord Ganesha is Nirakara Para Brahma Svarupa, the embodiment of the formless Supreme Consciousness, who grants jnana and nirvana.

It is in Shiv purana and the like we find Ganesha as son of Parvathi Parameshwara, Vishnvamsha etc. Lord Anjaneya being said to be Shivamsha is not seen wearing vibhuthi. In sahasra naamaas there are so many names related to shiva, given to Vishnu and vice versa. More over there is no vedic or Smruthi evidence for this. This sloka can be seen in Ganesha poorvataaparishopanishath as I got the information From Bra.sri. Samavedam Shanmukha Sharma.

As regards the shloka

Shuklambaradharam vishnum shashivarnam chaturbhujam

prasanna vadanam dhyaayeth sarva vighnopashaanthaye

Shuklambaradharam = Externally we find the meaning spotless white clothed but the intricate meaning is the universe spread by the eternal light (Ambara= Akaasha) Vishnu = All pervading, Shashi varnam = sterling white colour chaturbhujam = The four directions and the four Vedas,

Prasanna vadanam =The normal meaning people adduce is with charming or enchanting smile but the inner meaning is 'Prasanno GajayudhapaH' says 'Niruktha' the Vedanga. The meaning of which is Gaja yudha means, in this case, the entire group of elephants in the universe and 'PA' means Lord. So gajayudhapa means the lord of all the elephants. Vadanam = The face of that lord dhyaayeth = worshiping sarva vighnopashaanthaye = Who will eliminate all the hurdles. We always adduce the quality of eliminating the hurdles to the lord in the form of Ganesha.

In rudra namaka of Yajurveda 5th mantra of fourth anuvaka says 'namo Ganebhyo Ganapathibhyaschavo namaH.' He is praised as Pranavaswaroopa . So no human relationships are to be attached to Gods. As Vanadeep said these are all the gimmicks of the artists. No where in Shastras Puranas or even in Vedas as far as my little knowledge goes ,both by hearing from elders and reading to a little extant no where it is mentioned that Ganesha wears URDHVA PUNDRA.

My intention to rake up this point is to bring to the knowledge of the readers that let them not be carried away by the idols of Ganesha according to the fancies of the artist. There are Ganapatya Agamas, like Shaiva and Vaishnava Agamas, which clearly narrates the structure of Ganesha where we don't find Urdhva Pundra. Hence please stick to the traditional Ganesha Idol for worship and not fancy idols.

Shubham Bhuyath

The saffron color of Dharma dhwaj

The saffron color of Dharma dhwaj 

The saffron color of Dharma dhwaj symbolizes the ever illuminating sun and fire; it denotes sacrifice which has inspired many to devote their lives for others. In brief, Bhagwa Dhwaj is a symbol of sacrifice; selfless service and righteousness. It stands for sustained effort to uphold dharma through self-sacrifice. It reminds us of our duty towards the Hindu community and the society as a whole. The color exhorts that man should forsake his self-centeredness, by offering himself in the service of others, performing the true yagna, sacrificing body, mind and atmã in the service of mankind. One has to lives not for oneself but to give. Each second of his life is a yagna. Such is our culture!

Funny WorldLike Page

August 16, 2013 at 8:00pm · 

Daring letter written B.Tech IIT bombay to Rahul Gandhi..

#share to #abuse & #like to #anger

A REPLY LETTER WRITTEN BY:
NITIN GUPTA (RIVALDO)
letter fromm a B.tech student IIT bombay

ON Rahul Gandhi: "I feel ashamed to call myself an INDIAN after seeing what has happened here in UP".

Dear Rahul,
YOU REALLY WANT TO FEEL ASHAMED???????
But don't be disappointed, I would give you ample reasons to feel ashamed… You really want to feel Ashamed..?

* First Ask Pranav Mukherjee, Why isn't he giving the details of the account holders in the Swiss Banks.

* Ask your Mother, Who is impeding the Investigation against Hasan Ali?

* Ask her, Who got 60% Kickbacks in the 2G Scam?

* Kalamadi is accused of a Few hundred Crores, Who Pocketed the Rest in the Common Wealth Games?

* Ask Praful Patel what he did to the Indian Airlines? Why did Air India let go of the Profitable Routes?

* Why should the Tax Payer pay for the Air India losses, when you intend to eventually DIVEST IT ANYWAY!!!

* Also, You People can't run an Airline Properly. How can we expect you to run the Nation?

* Ask Manmohan Singh. Why/What kept him quiet for so long?

* Are Kalmadi and A Raja are Scapegoats to save Big Names like Harshad Mehta was in the 1992 Stock Market Scandal ?

* Who let the BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY Accused go Scot Free? (20,000 People died in that Tragedy)

* Who ordered the State Sponsored Massacre of SIKHS in 84?

* Please read more about, How Indira Gandhi pushed the Nation under Emergency in 76-77, after the HC declared her election to Lok Sabha Void!

* WHY ONLY HIGHLIGHT THIS ARREST?

Dear Rahul, to refresh your memory, you were arrested/detained by the FBI the BOSTON Airport in September 2001.

You were carrying with you $ 1, 60,000 in Cash. You couldn't explain why you were carrying so much Cash.

(Incidentally He was with his Columbian girlfriend Veronique Cartelli, ALLEGEDLY, the Daughter of Drug Mafia. 9 HOURS he was kept at the Airport. Later then freed on the intervention of the then Prime Minister Mr. Vajpayee... FBI filed an equivalent of an FIR in US and released him.
When FBI was asked to divulge the information, by Right/Freedom to Information Activists about the reasons Rahul was arrested …

FBI asked for a NO OBJECTION CERTIFICATE from Rahul Gandhi. So Subramaniyam Swami wrote a Letter to Rahul Gandhi, “If you have NOTHING to HIDE, Give us the Permission" HE NEVER REPLIED!)

Why did that arrest not make Headlines Rahul? You could have gone to the Media and told, "I am ashamed to call myself an INDIAN?".
Or is it that, you only do like to highlight Symbolic Arrests (like in UP) and not Actual Arrests (In BOSTON)

Kindly Clarify…..In any case, you want to feel ashamed, Read Along…

YOUR MOTHER'S SO CALLED SACRIFICE OF GIVING UP PRIME MINISTERSHIP in 2004.

According to a Provision in the Citizenship Act, A Foreign National who becomes a Citizen of India, is bounded by the same restrictions, which an Indian would face, If he/she were to become a Citizen of Italy. (Condition based on principle of reciprocity) Now since you can't become a PM in Italy, unless you are born there.

Likewise an Italian Citizen can't become Indian PM, unless He/She is not born here!

Dr. SUBRAMANIYAM SWAMI (The Man who exposed the 2G Scam) sent a letter to the PRESIDENT OF INDIA bringing the same to his Notice.
PRESIDENT OF INDIA sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi to this effect, 3:30 PM, May 17th, 2004.
Swearing Ceremony was scheduled for 5 PM the same Day. Manmohan Singh was brought in the Picture at the last moment to Save Face!!

Rest of the SACRIFICE DRAMA which she choreographed was an EYE WASH!!!
In fact Sonia Gandhi had sent, 340 letters, each signed by different MP to the PRESIDENT KALAM, supporting her candidacy for PM.
One of those letters read, "I Sonia Gandhi, elected Member from Rai Bareli, hereby propose Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister."

So SHE was pretty INTERESTED! Until she came to know the Facts! She didn't make any Sacrifice, It so happens that SONIA GANDHI couldn't have become the PM of INDIA that time.

You could be Ashamed about that Dear Rahul!! One Credential Sonia G had, Even that was a HOAX! THINK ABOUT YOURSELF.

You go to Harvard on Donation Quota. (Hindujas Gave HARVARD 11 million dollars the same year, when Rajiv Gandhi was in Power) Then you are expelled in 3 Months/ You Dropped out in 3 Months…. (Sadly Manmohan Singh wasn't the Dean of Harvard that time, else you might have had a chance… Too bad, there is only one Manmohan Singh!)

Then why did you go about lying about being Masters in Economics from Harvard... Before finally taking it off your Resume upon questioning by Dr. SUBRAMANIYAM SWAMI (The Gentlemen who exposed the 2G Scam)

At St. Stephens.. You Fail the Hindi Exam. Hindi Exam!!!
And you are representing the Biggest Hindi Speaking State of the Country?

SONIA GANDHI's EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Sonia G gave a sworn affidavit as a Candidate that She Studied English at University of Cambridge
According to Cambridge University, there is no such Student EVER! Upon a Case by Dr. Subramaniyam Swami filed against her, she subsequently dropped the CAMBRIDGE CREDENTIAL from her Affidavit.

Sonia Gandhi didn't even pass High School. She is just 5th class Pass! In this sense, she shares a common Educational Background with her 2G Partner
in Crime, Karunanidhi.
You Fake your Educational Degree, Your Mother Fakes her Educational Degree. And then you go out saying, “We want Educated Youth into Politics!"

WHY LIE ABOUT EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS?

Not that Education is a Prerequisite for being a great Leader, but then you shouldn't have lied about your qualifications! You could feel a little ashamed about Lying about your Educational Qualifications. You had your reasons I know, because in India, WE RESPECT EDUCATION!

But who cares about Education, when you are a Youth Icon!! YOUTH ICON
you traveled in the Local Train for the first time at the Age of 38.
You went to some Villages as a part of Election Campaign. And you won a Youth Icon!! … That's why you are my Youth Icon.

For 25 Million People travel by Train Every day. You are the First Person to win a Youth Icon for boarding a Train.

Thousands of Postmen go to remotest of Villages. None of them have yet gotten a Youth Icon. You were neither YOUNG Nor ICONIC!
Still you became a Youth Icon beating Iconic and Younger Contenders like RAHUL DRAVID. SURNAME

Shakespeare said, what’s in a Name?

Little did he knew, it’s all in the Name, Especially the Surname!
Speaking of Surname, Sir DO YOU REALLY RESPECT GANDHI, OR IS IT JUST TO CASH IN ON THE GOODWILL OF MAHATMA?
Because the Name on your Passport is RAUL VINCI. Not RAHUL GANDHI.. May be if you wrote your Surname as Gandhi, you would have experienced,
what Gandhi feels like, LITERALLY (Pun Intended) You People don't seem to use Gandhi much, except when you are fighting Elections. (There it makes complete sense).

Imagine fighting elections by the Name Raul Vinci… You use the name GANDHI at will and then say, “Mujhe yeh YUVRAJ shabd Insulting lagta hai! Kyonki aaj Hindustan mein Democracy hai, aur is shabd ka koi matlab nahin hai! YUVRAJ, Itna hi insulting lagta hai, to lad lo RAUL VINCI ke Naam se!!! Jin Kisano ke saath photo khinchate ho woh bhi isliye entertain karte hain ki GANDHI ho... RAUL VINCI bol ke Jao… Ghar mein nahin ghusaenge!!!

You could feel ashamed for your Double Standards.

YOUTH INTO POLITICS.
Now you want Youth to Join Politics. I say First you Join Politics. Because you haven't Joined Politics. You have joined a Family Business.

First you Join Politics. Win an Election fighting as RAUL VINCI and Not Rahul Gandhi, then come and ask the youth and the Educated Brass for more involvement in Politics. Also till then, Please don't give me examples of Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora and Naveen Jindal as youth who have joined Politics. They are not Politicians. They just happen to be Politicians.

Much Like Abhishek Bachchan and other Star Sons are not Actors. They just happen to be Actors (For Obvious Reasons)
So, We would appreciate if you stop requesting the Youth to Join Politics till you establish your credentials…

WHY WE CAN'T JOIN POLITICS!

Rahul Baba, Please understand, Your Father had a lot of money in your Family account (in Swiss Bank) when he died.
Ordinary Youth has to WORK FOR A LIVING. YOUR FAMILY just needs to NETWORK FOR A LIVING
If our Father had left thousands of Crores with us, We might consider doing the same. But we have to Work. Not just for ourselves.
But also for you. So that we can pay 30% of our Income to the Govt. which can then be channelized to the Swiss Banks and your Personal Accounts under some Pseudo Names.

So Rahul, Please don't mind If the Youth doesn't Join Politics. We are doing our best to fund your Election Campaigns and your Chopper Trips to the Villages.
Somebody has to earn the Money that Politicians Feed On. NO WONDER YOU ARE NOT GANDHIs. YOU ARE SO CALLED GANDHIs!!
Air India, KG Gas Division, 2G, CWG, SWISS BANK Account Details… Hasan Ali, KGB. FBI Arrest...

You want to feel ashamed..?

Feel Ashamed for what the First Family of Politics has been reduced to… A Money Laundering Enterprise.

NO WONDER YOU ARE NOT GANDHI'S BY BLOOD. GANDHI is an adopted Name. For Indira didn't marry Mahatma Gandhi's Son. For even if you had one GENE OF GANDHI JI in your DNA. YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN PLAGUED BY SUCH 'POVERTY OF AMBITION' (Ambition of only EARNING MONEY) you really want to feel Ashamed?

Feel Ashamed for what you ' SO CALLED GANDHI'S' have done to MAHATMA'S Legacy..
I so wish GANDHI JI had copyrighted his Name! Meanwhile, I would request Sonia Gandhi to change her name to $ONIA
GANDHI, and you could replace the 'R' in RAHUL/RAUL by the New Rupee Symbol!!!

RAUL VINCI: I am ashamed to call myself an Indian. Even we are ashamed to call you so!

P.S: Popular Media is either bought or blackmailed, controlled to Manufacture Consent! My Guess is Social Media is still a Democratic Platform. (Now they are trying to put legislations to censor that too!!).

Meanwhile, let’s ask these questions, for we deserve some Answers.

YOURS SINCERELY
NITIN GUPTA (RIVALDO)
B. Tech, IIT Bombay

Top of Form

Cast System and Church

Discrimination based on caste system is illegal in India but it has proved almost impossible to eradicate [within the Church].  A Capuchin Franciscan priest, Father Nithiya Sagayam, told Crux that the Church should speak out more on the caste system: “The silence of the official Church is criminal.” – Ruth Gledhill

The Catholic Church hierarchy in India has been accused of ignoring an attack on a Dalit bishop after three of its own priests were arrested in connection with the attack.

Bishop of Cuddapah Prasad Gallela, of the so-called “untouchable” Dalit caste, and his driver Vijay Kumar were kidnapped in April this year, blindfolded and beaten and taken to an undisclosed place where £50,000 was demanded in ransom.

Three high-caste [Reddy] priests were among those arrested for the crime.

The South India Dalit Catholic Association has now condemned the Catholic hierarchy’s “silence”, UCA reported. In a statement, the association condemns the “silence of the official church on the kidnapping and assault of Bishop Prasad Gallela by three priests of the Cuddapah Diocese on 25 April.”

A. J. X. Bosco Jesuit Priest Father A. X. J. Bosco, a Dalit activist in the area, sent an open letter to the president of the national Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of Trivandrum, criticising the silence.

“The sad and criminal event has been published in the media,” he wrote, asking why there had been “no significant response condemning the culprit priests or supporting Gallela” in the national media.

He said: “Are all the prayers, statements, promises and assurances of the hierarchy and Church leaders only in words? Is the Church leadership afraid of their caste communities; or do they not care about the Dalits even if they happen to be bishops?

“You can very well imagine what the people, especially the Dalit Catholics, would think and feel about the significant silence on the part of the official Church.

“We know that there is caste discrimination in the Church, and it is a great challenge to the Christian Community in India.

“The question to ask is—If Jesus were here, what he would have done?”

Bosco called for a “concrete” plan of action, including transfer of bishops to other dioceses when they refuse to treat Dalits as equals.

In May this year, Gallela was supported by a rally in Cuddapah city in south-east India, Crux reported.

Nithya Sagayam Discrimination based on caste system is illegal in India but it has proved almost impossible to eradicate.

A Capuchin Franciscan priest, Father Nithiya Sagayam, told Crux that the Church should speak out more on the caste system: “The silence of the official Church is criminal.”

He added: “Our socially discriminatory society is vigorously condemned by secular leaders who work for social justice. It is shocking that the Catholic Church and its official organisations have not responded effectively to end this evil, in spite of clear indications of caste discrimination within the Church leadership.”

Gallela’s attackers took three ATM cards, a silver chain with the bishop’s holy cross and his iPhone.

From 2000 to 2004, Gallela served as a priest in the diocese of San Angelo, Texas, before returning to India to teach in a local seminary. – Christian Today, 21 July 2016

Excerpts of the article of Megha Varier (The News Minute 8th August 2016)

"Sr. Mary filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission and Women’s Commission alleging that she was facing physical and mental harassment at the hands of her superiors. But after she approached Women’s Commission, the Church, she alleges, has found new ways of taunting her. – Megha Varier

Sr. Mary approached the Church to grant her 3 years of exclaustration ( Exclaustration is official authorization for religious bound by perpetual vows to live for a limited time outside their religious institute, usually with a view to discerning whether to depart definitively.) that allows a nun to stay outside the convent as a common citizen and return to the convent after the designated period.
However, she was denied permission as the Church feared that granting her this would encourage other nuns to follow suit.
When the Church deliberately delayed the proceedings, Sr. Mary approached the Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement, an organization that works for rehabilitation of ex-priests and ex-nuns. Matters went haywire after the organization intervened.

Renji Njellani, organizing secretary of KCRM ( Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement), points out that any priest or nun who wishes to quit the Church is entitled to be given money according to the canon law. The Church refused to pay the sum of Rs.30 lakh that Sr. Mary demanded and offered to pay Rs.1 lakh, after months of negotiation.

Sr. Mary’s decision to leave the Church citing harassment is not a unique instance. Only a few years ago, Sister Jesme, who had been a nun for over 33 years, quit the Church alleging harassment by her superiors. Her leaving and the subsequent release of her autobiography Amen: The Autobiography of a Nun (Malayalam PDF) had created a huge controversy at that time. Sr. Abhaya’s murder, in which priests are the prime accused, is yet another example of how things are not exactly holy in the Church."

The Church, in question, is fabulously wealthy with about 4.5 million members, and thinks it can do exactly as it pleases outside the law as a minority religious institution.
As the Church identifies its founder as the apostle St Thomas, then its bishops might reflect on the claim that Thomas was executed by a Persian king for his practise of black magic, brazen forging of accounts, and cruel ill-treatment of women he had enticed away from their families (as recorded in the Acts of Thomas).

Try to compare our Sanaathana dharma and realise its greatness. Any religion without a strong foundation can not sustain too long. once the ripples are started and the bubbles start bursting the water will not take time to evaporate.

KARMA

KARMA

What is Karma? This is a complicated question for my calibre. Moreover i can not assess 

myself whether i can do justice to my explanation but still I shall try to keep myself 

explicit on my views on the subject. I am using the words'Introverts' and 'Extroverts' in a 

slightly different sense.I would like to catigorise the people who are contemplative as 

'Introverts' who follow jnaana yoga where as the extroverts are inclined to action, we can 

catigorise them as 'actives' and hence they take the path of 'karma yoga.' I take the help 

of 'Bhagavadgeeta' to express myself. 

We are now concerned with the actives. These actives have many vasanaas i.e. desires 

as they are active the come across so many things and get attached or detached on 

account of their impulses. Life consists of three main activities:

1. Receipt of stimuli from the world.

2. Reaction of stimuli from within.

3. Response back to the world.

In a nut shell it is like a chemical reaction. The combination gives a new product which 

may be useful or may be useless.These are based on three prime qualities or 

'Gunas' which are 1) Satwa 2) Rajas and 3) Tamas. We start from Tamas. It is the state of 

ignorance and inertia.The Tamasik will be indolent, indifferent and indisposed to activity. 

Rajas is the state of passion,desire and agitation.He evinces his interest and attention 

mostly on the acquisition and enjoyment of worldly objects. Satwa is the state of 

equanimous,serene and poised thoughts. His mind never strays from the Supreme Truth.

But it is very very rare to come across a person with a single guna but he will be an 

admixture of all the three qualities or gunas in its own proportions. and hence we find 

infinite number of people with infinite number of qualities. If one quality is in greater 

proportion it absorbs the remaining two and dominates the person concerned.

यस्त्विन्द्रियाणि मनसा नियम्यारभतेर्जुन

कर्मेन्द्रियैः कर्मयोगमसक्ताःस विशिष्यते

యస్త్వింద్రియాణి మనసా నియంయారభతేర్జున

కర్మెన్ద్రియైః కర్మయోగామసక్తాఃస విశిష్యతే

But he who restraining the senses by the mind O Arjuna, engages his organs of action in 

the yoga of action without any attachment and he excels.

Sita's father maharaja Janaka is the fittest example of this kind of human being. Hence 

he is called a great 'Karmayogi' and was respected as 'Janaka Maharshi.'

These are the 7 principle points that I have read about ‘KARMA’...

1. One can not be without action, even for a second.

2. One should not make inaction one‘s goal.

3. Certain actions are obligatory, therefore we cannot escape them.

4. One should not desire the fruits (or the consequences) of one‘s actions.

5. One should not be attached to the action itself.

6. One should not consider oneself as being the author of the action.

7. Any action, regardless of its nature, will not enchain its performer, if it is done in this 

way.

శుభం భూయాత్ (Shubham Bhuyath)

Mother Teresa and the truth

Mother Teresa and the truth

It will be very much astounding to the readers to the facts about Mother Teresa who was depicted as a Goddess of sympathy, solicitude, piety and so on and   so forth. But if the reality is dug people can see a different picture of her. Read this article written by Adrian Asis, a freelance writer from the Philippines with patience.

Mother Teresa is commonly depicted in such a saintly manner that it’s difficult for most people to imagine she has even one bad bone in her body. After all, the religious sister is responsible for founding the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that provides free care for the sick, the hungry, the orphaned, and the dying. Moreover, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was beatified as “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta” by the Catholic Church in 2003. And yet, to this day, eighteen years after her death, numerous critics still insist that Mother Teresa is not the saint many people believe her to be.

Of course it’s easy to dismiss the criticisms against Mother Teresa as the biased ratings of anti-Catholic skeptics who aim to discredit her. But perhaps, it is wiser to look into the evidence these critics present before making a judgment on the life of a woman once dubbed “the living saint.” Here are ten of the most serious accusations that have been brought up against Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

10. Forced Catholicism on others

Because Calcutta (now “Kolkata”) is composed predominantly of Hindus, they are responsible for many of the criticisms against Mother Teresa, most especially with regard to her conversion of Calcuttans into Catholics. An example of such a critic is head of an Indian Hindu nationalist group Mohan Bhagwat who, in a public speech, said, “It’s good to work for a cause with selfless intentions. But Mother Teresa’s work had ulterior motive, which was to convert the person who was being served to Christianity.” In support of Bhagwat’s claim, researchers revealed that nuns at Mother Teresa’s institution secretly baptized the dying regardless of the patients’ religious affiliation. More specifically, Mother Teresa was said to have taught nuns how to ask the dying if they wanted a “ticket to heaven,” after which a positive reply would be followed by cooling the dying’s head with a damp cloth while the nun softly uttered the words for Catholic baptism.

9. Substandard quality of medical care

Mother Teresa established the Kalighat Home for the Dying in 1952 by converting an abandoned Hindu temple into a free hospital. As the name of the facility suggests, its main purpose is to provide its patients with an opportunity to die with dignity. However, in 1991, the editor of the medical journal The Lancet paid a visit to the hospice and observed that conditions there were far from ideal. More specifically, Robin Fox described the quality of the care provided to dying patients as “haphazard,” including unacceptable practices like the reuse of needles and the mixing of tuberculosis-infected patients with the uninfected. Worse, no distinction was made between the dying and the curable, thus leaving even curable patients to waste away. Furthermore, other critics pointed to the hospital’s disregard for modern medical practices, including the most basic of diagnosis procedures. However, Mother Teresa’s defenders countered the accusations by pointing out that the facility was only meant to serve as a refuge for the dying.

8. Support for the suspension of civil liberties

“The Emergency,” which took place from June 25, 1975 until March 21, 1977, is one of the most controversial intervals in India’s history. During the period, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a dictatorship whereby civil liberties were suspended and most of her political enemies were imprisoned. Furthermore, the press was heavily censored, and a shocking mass-sterilization campaign was said to have been carried out by the Prime Minister’s son. Mother Teresa, however, seemed to have failed to recognize the oppression present at that time. Of the period, she commented, “People are happier. There are more jobs. There are no strikes.” Well, the Indians of the time certainly seemed to disagree with Mother Teresa as during elections in 1977, Gandhi and her son lost their seats in parliament, and the opposition was overwhelmingly swept into power.

7. Warped understanding of suffering

The Catholic Church is often criticized for allegedly teaching its followers to revel in suffering, and Mother Teresa is said to have been among the teaching’s most prominent purveyors. During a Washington, D.C. press conference in 1981, for example, Mother Teresa was asked, “Do you teach the poor to endure their lot?” and she replied,

I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.

This response is said to exemplify the crooked mentality behind Mother Teresa’s insistence on keeping her facilities substandard despite the availability of funding to improve their services.

6. Inconsistency in teachings and actions

Perhaps even worse than allegations of her warped understanding of suffering are accusations of Mother Teresa’s hypocrisy. These are rooted in the advanced treatments she received for her illnesses despite her supposed appreciation for the value of suffering. More specifically, in 1985, Mother Teresa underwent cataract surgery, including the implantation of an artificial lens, at the St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. Then later, in 1989, the “Saint of the Gutters” received a pacemaker at the Woodlands Nursing Home in Calcutta. Furthermore, Mother Teresa has been accused of being selective in her values, such as when she openly opposed the legalization of divorce but supported Princess Diana when she divorced Prince Charles.

5. Questionable associations and silence on abuse

Mother Teresa has been documented to have associated with several individuals whose records of uprightness are questionable at best. In 1981, for example, she visited Michèle Duvalier, then the wife of Haiti president Jean-Claude Duvalier, who was later overthrown by popular uprising because of the terrible abuses of his regime. However, Mother Teresa instead ended up singing praises for the people’s familiarity with the First Lady and even accepted a national award from the government — all the while remaining silent on the numerous human rights violations of the regime. Another similar encounter took place in 1989, when Mother Teresa visited communist Albania. At that time, the government there was widely perceived to be openly oppressive to anyone who opposed it, and yet, Mother Teresa met with the nation’s leaders without commenting on their abuses.

4. Accepted donations from criminals

Connected to Mother Teresa’s questionable associations is her practice of keeping donations from criminals. One example involved Robert Maxwell, a British Member of Parliament who donated to Mother Teresa’s charities but was later found to have misappropriated the pension funds of his media company. Even more infamous was the case involving Charles Keating, a moral crusader who donated millions of dollars to Mother Teresa’s charities and even had her use his private jet. Later though, despite Mother Teresa sending the court a letter to attest to Keating’s kindness and generosity, he was found guilty of multiple counts of fraud that deprived thousands of people of their life savings. Then, after Keating had been convicted, the Deputy District Attorney wrote Mother Teresa a letter asking that the money she had received from Keating be returned. She did not reply.

3. Lack of transparency with funding and expenses

With all of the positive attention that Mother Teresa commanded and still commands, it is uncontested that her charities have received millions in donations from various sources. And this has led her critics to ask, “Where is all the money?” In fact, even Susan Shields, a former nun at the Missionaries of Charity, has asked the question. Shields claims she was assigned to record donations at the institution, and despite the fact that she regularly wrote receipts for donations of up to $50,000, the nuns continued to beg for supplies and reuse syringes. Furthermore, Stern, a German magazine, exposed that despite Indian laws requiring charitable organizations to publish their finances, the Missionaries of Charity never did. Stern also reported that only 7% of the 5.3 million Deutsche Marks donated in England in 1991 had been used for charitable purposes. The rest? Head of the Missionaries chapter in England, Sister Teresina, insisted, “Sorry, we can’t tell you that.”

2. Doubtful miracle attributed to her

This item is not an accusation directed at Mother Teresa but rather at those responsible for her beatification. However, the issue does raise doubts on the integrity of those defending her legacy. The matter in question has to do with Mother Teresa’s beatification, which like all those before her, required the documentation of a miracle performed with the candidate’s intercession. In the case of Mother Teresa’s beatification, the “miracle” certified by the Vatican as genuine involves the healing of Monica Besra, a woman from Calcutta.

On September 5, 1998, exactly one year after Mother Teresa’s death, Besra applied a medallion bearing Mother Teresa’s image over what she believed was a tumor in her stomach, and this act purportedly caused the growth and the pain it caused to disappear instantly. However, the doctors who handled Monica’s case over several months claim that the growth in Monica’s stomach was not a full-grown tumor and that treatments they had administered could have been responsible for the cure. In fact, even Monica’s husband, Seiku, believes that his “wife was cured by the doctors and not by any miracle.” Adding to the mystery, the medical records of Besru’s case were taken away by a certain Sister Betta of the Missionaries of Charity, and a call to her by Time magazine simply had her responding, “No comment.”

1. False claims about the impact of her work

Even the harshest critics of Mother Teresa concede that she had a positive impact on some people’s lives, but how many lives, really? Aroup Chatterjee, an atheist who performed extensive research on Mother Teresa, claimed that “the living saint” deliberately misled the public several times about how many people the Missionaries of Charity were helping. For example, Chatterjee noted that Mother Teresa repeatedly changed the figures—from as low as 1,000 to as many as 9,000—relating to how many people her charities in Calcutta had fed, sometimes in speeches delivered within just days of each other. Then there’s Mother Teresa’s claim of a “modern school [in Motijheel]. . . with over 5,000 children in it” even if no such school established by her with such a large number of students actually exists. – The Richest, 7 May 2015

» Adrian Asis is a freelance writer from the Philippines.

THINK ONCE

THINK ONCE

Hate has 4 letters
so does Love.............

Enemies has 7 letters
so does Friends........

Lying has 5
so does Truth..........

Negative has 8
so does Positive.......

Under has 5
so does Above.......

Cry has 3 letters
so does Joy..........

Anger has 5 letters
so does Happy.......

Right has 5 letters
so does Wrong.......

Are they by Coincidences ?

It means Life is like a Double edged Sword,
We should choose the BETTER SIDE OF LIFE......!!