SPARE A LITTLE TIME TO READ (Especially Youth)

SPARE A LITTLE TIME TO READ

(Especially Youth)

Bharata

https://ramamohanraocheruku.blogspot.com/2020/06/spare-little-time-to-read-especially.html

1.

Sindhu was the original name of a river in the Indian peninsula. The Greeks called it ‘Indos’, which got Romanised as Indus. When the Moghuls invaded India, they used the term ‘Hindus’ for the inhabitants of India based on the name of the river Sindhu which they pronounced as ‘Hindu’. These days, the followers of ‘Sanatana Dharma’ are called ‘Hindus,’ especially in the West and ‘Sanatana Dharma’ (which is not known to most non-Hindus) is called as Hinduism. Thus, for the sake of making the articles user-friendly, in this article, I am using ‘Hinduism’ instead of ‘Sanatan Dharma’. This BHARATA is our nation and originally it was called ‘Ajanabam’. Aja means he who has no birth (nor death) and Nabhi means novel. That means India serves as the Novel of the Globe Hence the name. Over a period this country was ruled by the great king Bharata, who was also known as Jada Bharata in his subsequent incarnation. Normally people mistakenly equates this name to Dushyantha and Sakuntala’s son. The said meaningless phrases “Hindustan’ ‘India’ coined by various foreigners due to their incapability of uttering our words as they are, we have taken these words on to our heads and created a record in the entire world, as a big nation with a meaningless name . In fact along with so many other n meanings of BHA has a distinguished meaning ‘PROGRESS’ and RATA means aptitude. It is pronounced in Devanagari as भ and रत. A small doubt may arise among the readers that if we write Rata we have to pronounce it as रट, but if we write it as Ratha we have to pronounce it to be रथ which is chariot. English is such a funny language where PUT is पुट and but is बट, cave is केव café is केफ़े. The reason is yet to be found by the English speaking wisdom.

It is shame on our part that even today we don’t venture to rename our country as prescribed by our ancestors proving that we are blind followers of English people and their tailored language. Moreover we have taken it as a reward from the foreign invaders, and consider that as our pride. But if someone says we should restore the ancient name of this land, the Pseudo-Secularists will say it is communalism” or religious fanaticism.

Most people relate the word Dharma (Righteousness) to religion. In fact religion and Dharma are two different aspects.  Srī Adi Shankaracharya defines ‘Dharma is that which accomplishes the three tasks of 1.Keeping the organisational setup of the society in excellent condition, 2.Bringing about the worldly progress of every living being, and 3.Facilitating their progress in the spiritual realm as well.’ This definition highlights the vastness of the concept of Dharma and its extraordinary importance in human life.

 A nation will become prosperous and immortal only if the lifestyle of its society is based upon the foundation of Dharma, as defined above by Adi Sankara. However, due to misconceptions weeded owing to lack of correct understanding about Hinduism (Dharma) people are aping so many other cultures which do not have a base. 

To be continued tomorrow..... 
2.

SPARE A LITTLE TIME TO READ -- 2

(Especially Youth)

Hindustan is the Persian name for India. If you look into the Zend-Avesta (the sacred texts of Zoroastrian religion), we can find they have borrowed many Sanskrit words but, for their vocal facility, they started pronouncing all word commencing with‘s’ they replaced with ‘h’. For example hapta-hindu is used instead of sapta-sindhu. “Ahura” is used instead of “asura”.

Let us see as to why the river ‘Sindhu’ became their target. Because all the invaders were initially stopped there. If you look at Alexander the Great’s invasion of India he turned back just after crossing the Sindhu river. The other reason is no foreigner to the other side of Sindhu has a language fit to pronounce Sindhu as Sindhu. Moreover that region doesn’t define the country, it defines the limit of their invasions. We do not even have access to the Sindhu River today, so why should the country be named after that landmark which no longer exists for us?

Hence I feel that, different regions to the other side of Sindhu River, could not penetrate deeper to the heart of the subcontinent at the time, and ultimately they named the entire subcontinent after the outer boundary they first encountered (at the Sindhu river) as Hind and the dwellers with-in as Hindus.

Though literally ‘Sindhu’ means ‘Sea’, as the river is so huge our ancestors named it as ‘Sindhu”. In fact there are Saptha Sindhus (7 Rivers) identified by them which are ‘Gangecha Yamunechaiva, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu Kauveri’ Hence naming a vast country after a single river can never be meaningful. It will be like naming China as ‘The Yellow River’ or ‘Huang He’ which flows east–west to an extent of about 1,900 kilometers (1,180 mi) and  north–south to an extent of about 1,100 km. Actually China means 1.a fine white or translucent vitrified ceramic material. 2. Informal British: a friend. As he Google dictionary says. It was named by its own people and not by foreigners.  In modern times, many Global Countries have restored their ancient names or chosen the name they want to identify with, with a view to freeing themselves from their British colonial past. Ceylon was changed to Sri Lanka. Burma was changed to Myanmar. Siam became Thailand. In the African continent Bechuanaland becoming Botswana, Rhodesia becoming Zimbabwe and Nyasaland became Malawi. Have we not to feel shame for not restoring the legendary name for our Country viz. Bharata. It is time for India to break free from its colonial past and restore the ancient name of the country, Bharata and keep our head high.

As a side note, we better adopt the name Bharata the Sanskrit version, as that being the mother of all languages that includes Hindi also, and not Bharat, the Hindi version that drops the final “a” which in Sanskrit is classified as Swara i.e Vowel. It can also be observed that this name exists in all of the local languages in the said form.

Hence I feel, it is imperative our part to restore the traditional ancient name of this country, Bharata, as has been in use from the time unknown by the ancient rishis, the indigenous residents of this land and forefathers of all modern Indians. This is neither communalism nor religious fanaticism, this is simply truth and history. People should be called by the name they themselves choose, and the name their ancestors chose, not the name imposed on them by foreign invaders like India or Hindustan.

Rest Tomorrow…….

.3.

Majority of Hindus are not following the teachings of Hinduism as they don't have inclination or interest towards the teachings of greats like ADI-SHANKARA, RAMANA. CHANDRA SEKHARA SARASWATI swamijis among so many others the soil has produced. Now a days, In fact, people use their wisdom to choose any thing to their advantage irrespective of the religion. What one should always remember is that ours is dharma and not religion. Foreign invasions, destroyed the treasure of knowledge in the form of books, temples, monuments, scriptures and great scholars etc. Thus the transfer of knowledge was crippled for the past few generations. As a result, the true understanding of Dharma and its various concepts is lost. Hence, we find widespread misconceptions, inaccurate practices in rituals, superficial definitions, contradictory interpretations and so on, which have affected the Dharmacharana (following of Dharma) by Hindus. All Muslim Rulers British Rulers and People like Macaulay, William Jones, and Max Muller contributed their mite for the destruction of our Dharma. 

Upon seeing the scale of ignorance and misconceptions about Hinduism it is impelled to implement the GURUKULA system of the ancient days by word and deed. This requires concern, commitment, devotion, dedication in its implementation of the system by those who are the governing authorities.

There are widespread misconceptions or misunderstandings about Hinduism all around the world, especially, in the West. Why west even among our own people who became totally ignorant of their origin and the reason for their ancestor’s conversions. Ironically, many followers of Hinduism also do not have complete understanding about the concepts of Hinduism. 

Rest Next Day.......

4.

In the initial stages of sadhana, ritualistic worship helps in developing anubhav (spiritual emotion) unto God. However, due to lack of understanding, most Hindus, especially the younger generation, defy ritualistic worship. They forget that in order to graduate from University, one has to start in Grade school. Hinduism has prescribed sadhana for every stage of a seeker so everyone can attain Moksha (Final liberation), and one of the beginning stages of sadhana is ritualistic worship. So Hinduism is not all about performing pujas and rituals. These are but a stage in the entirety of Dharma or Hinduism.

A majority of Hindus are not aware that the aim of our birth is to do sadhana and attain Moksha. They believe that visits to temples, holy places, performing puja, etc. are sufficient. All these things help the being to turn towards God enabling him to concentrate more on him leaving the mundane things aside. Working class Hindus may not even find time to do puja at home. Actually they were taught to find the God by devoting themselves to their work. Of late the basic sadhana of doing puja, lighting incense sticks, offering arathi to deity etc. at home are being lost. This is to be revived and the children be taught to keep themselves before God in their home for at least a few minutes, soon after their bath.

Majority of Hindus have not read Bhagwadgita, Ramayana, Mahabharata or other Scriptures of Hinduism. Hence they have very little knowledge about the basics of Hinduism. Parents Now a days have little time to introduce the children to Itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharatha  or to Bhagavata which inculcates bhakti in the tender minds of the children. There are some Hindus who are well versed with Holy Scriptures; but they lack in practical implementation of the teachings.

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5.

The concept of ‘all religions are equal or one’ is very popular amongst most Hindus. However, this concept is almost non-existent in the followers of other religions, as they believe their religion or God is the only God. Due to this belief, Hindus are adopting concepts that originated in other religions and cultures for example, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. Such festivals have no spiritual meaning or benefits, on the contrary, they lead to adharma due to their accruing demerits.

Below are just a few examples of the types of misconceptions and misunderstandings, which are rampant in the western world. These are so prevalent that it will be very difficult to address each of them;

Abrahamic religions, like Christianity, Islam, etc. forbid idol worship; probably due to this, the concept of idol worship is unacceptable to them. However, the cross and statues of Jesus and Mary are, of late, permitted in Christianity. They are calling, now a days a church as a temple also and went far ahead to construct a temple structure with a cross on the top. MECCA the most auspicious pilgrim center still contain broken 'Shiva Linga' and 'Panivattam'. MAKHA is yajna and God fire is invoked in that ritual and he is also called 'Sapta Jihva'. Hence even today the Muslims make 7 perambulations to the structure, but in anticlock direction. After the intruders smashed the stone in 683 Ad the Black Stone wasreassebled with a silver thread by Prophet Mohammad and kept it at a conspicuous secured place. It plays a central role in the ritual of istilam. Pilgrims used to kiss the Black Stone, touch it with their hands or raise their hands towards it,  repeating the takbir, "God is the Greatest". They perform this in the course of walking seven times around the Kaaba in a counterclockwise direction (tawaf), emulating the actions of Muhammad. At the end of each circuit, they perform istilam and may approach the Black Stone to kiss it at the end of tawaf. According to Hinduism, the Supreme God (Brahman) is all pervading and formless. Here I quote a sloka which some people may be knowing.

'Aakaashaath pathitam thoyam yathaa gacchati saagaram Sarvadeva namaskaaram keshavam prathi gacchati'
As every drop of water joining together converts into a stream, such streams into a river and the rivers ultimately into the sea, and all the seas into an ocean and oceans into a single entity.

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6.

However, to worship a formless God is very difficult for most people. The average spiritual level in current times is 20% whereas Supreme God is 100%. A person at the spiritual level of 20% would find it very difficult to worship a formless Supreme God as compared to a person at a spiritual level of 60%. Hence, if a person at a level of 20% worships idols, it will benefit him more, as he can relate to the form of God in the idol. Hindu Sages and Saints are at high spiritual levels, so they can undertake the spiritual practice of the un-manifest or formless Supreme God.

In the western world, this mischievous misconception is one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted concepts of Hinduism. The correct term in a spiritual context is ‘Varna’ (Class), and not ‘Jaati’ (Caste), as misused in the western world. – The social system of the four classes (Varanas) was created to assist everyone in society to behave as per their natural temperament, i.e. their constitution, which is composed of the three subtle components (trigunas) and to assist in their spiritual evolution. In other words, the system of the four classes is incorporated into Hinduism to provide guidance on behaviour and spiritual practice (sādhanā) according to one’s potential and requirement, to enable one to experience Bliss. Unfortunately, there is ignorance about this purpose of the social system and thus its portrayal is misleading. In Yajurveda there is a hymn which goes like this:

 ”Brahmanosya mukhamaaseeth, Bahoo rajanyah krutaH, uru tadasyadwaisyaH, padbhaayagam shudro ajaayatha" While knowledge belongs to mind or brain in the head it is Brahmana. This is eternal knowledge, unlike day to day changing scientific knowledge, and is to be protected from 

'Kshati' or injury. Hence it requires power to protect it. Therefore Kshatriya, who protects from kshati, is required. To take care of this community, money is required which is directly proportional to economy and economy is mostly dependent on Trade and 

Agriculture. This is controlled by 'Vaisyas'. This much is not enough for the progress of the country and hence there should be a community to take care of 'Services' to the society, and also various products for use in the society. Hence this is a multi-sector category. That is why to avoid confusion, all sorts of services are brought under one roof and that was named as 'Shudra and not ‘Kshudra’ as some ignorant people misinterpret it. The word ‘Sudra’ is specified in Veda itself. It was not termed as ‘’Kshudra’. Hence this word should not be mistaken to ‘Sudra’. No culture, no civilization, no society can progress without 'Services'. As a matter of common sense anybody who prostrates, touches the feet of the elders for blessings and not their head containing 

knowledge, for blessings. Any small injury that is caused to the feet will be first informed to the head and the head directs the remedies to implement to the King who is a Kshatriya. Now coming to Sudras the society will be drastically crippled once there are no Services. This is to be first realized by all those who criticize the concept of this Sanathana dharma or so called Hinduism. The word cast is derived from 'Portuguese' word ‘Casta’ which means a ‘race’. This is never equivalent to 'Varna'. It is unfortunate that these misunderstandings and misapprehensions created by the Occidentals lead to so many differences among ourselves.

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7.

Mr. Boulanger, the editor of Russian edition of The Sacred Books of the East Series, in the context of the commentary/translation of the Vedas by Max Muller, stated: “What struck me in Max Muller’s translation was a lot of absurdities, obscene passages and a lot of what is not lucid…. As far as I can grab the teaching of the Vedas, it is so sublime that I would look upon it as a crime on my part, if the Russian public becomes acquainted with it through the medium of a confused and distorted translation, thus not deriving for its soul that benefit which this teaching should give to the people”.

Today, the education system in India, instead of rejecting these Abrahamic, missionary and colonial templates and reviving India’s rich and ancient scientific and spiritual heritage, has on the contrary been manipulated by the Marxist professors and secular theorists (the successors to the colonial and missionary scholars) who under the guise of,

sophisticated and elite scholars denigrate the Hindu culture and propagate the theories of Max Muller and other missionaries, even reinforcing the caste divisions and the already refuted Aryan invasion theory.

Effects of Missionary activities:

1) Slow death of local languages and ancient language Sanskrit which is the mother of all universal languages.

2) Children and teenagers assume that those who cannot speak in English are inferior to those who can.

3) English speaking people are even perceived to be intellectually as well as morally better or superior, which is a foolish conclusion, as know3ledge, wisdom are above the barriers of language.

4) The debunked Aryan Invasion Theory and Dravidian Theory are still being preached and have caused immense divide in the Indian subcontinent.

5) Hinduism has been disconnected from the Vedas and self-opinionated people assume it to be a collection of absurd mantras, stories, superstitions and ‘religious’ dogmas.

6) Vote Bank politics divides the country further.

7) Divide and Rule: Converted Hindus start hating and abusing Hindus, though it is proved beyond any ambiguity that the DNA of all Indians is the same, irrespective of their religion..

8) Inferiority complexes instilled and psychological slavery to foreign ideals.

9) Setting western concepts as the ‘benchmark’ and ignoring the Indian concepts.

10. Last but not the least, our Rishis invented\ discovered in Mathematics, Astronomy, Medicine, Surgery, Metallurgy, Physics, Chemistry and Astrology and kept them in the form of Sastras, without minding for name and fame.

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8.

In conjunction there seems to be another group of assailants and offenders now who are well-disguised and in fact have infiltrated into the Hindu Society as supporters and promoters of Hinduism. They are the ‘Trojan Horse’. The pretentious new-age cults and individuals who parade the intellectual arena as accomplished Vedic scholars, yoga experts, healers, etc. to attract the gullibles  are more in number than the educated. Although there are many authentic new-age scholars, teachers and healers that propound Hinduism and do substantial work, there are also many con-artists and fraudsters that have pervaded the spiritual-business industry only for selfish gain and to promote themselves and their groups and it is often difficult for the unassuming Hindus to differentiate and separate the authentic and sincere teachers from the charlatans.

The Pathological Symptoms of the ‘Max-Muller Syndrome’:

Using their limited knowledge of Vedic scriptures to appoint themselves as experts on Indian philosophy and Hinduism only to make money, gain name and fame.

Pretending to be secular, believing in the ‘equality of all religions’ and preaching “oneness” while belittling Hinduism as a regressive religion and Hindus as fanatics.

Preferring to use the word Vedic or Sanatan Dharma instead of ‘Hindu’ and then going out of their way to divorce and disconnect Vedic literature, yoga, etc. as well as the terms ‘Vedic’ and ‘Sanatan Dharma’ from Hinduism.

These groups/individuals base their theories on Hindu/Vedic literature and concepts, mix it with other templates (sometimes Abrahamic or Eurocentric) and preach a new-world order that is to emerge. They place themselves on a heightened pedestal as special leaders who are on a special mission to help humanity.

Hijacking Hindu literature, creating their own theories and then aggressively promoting themselves while demeaning Hindu gurus, Indic sources of knowledge and disrespecting the Hindu society at large.

Verbal/physical/intellectual dominance over others resulting in either overt or covert fascism

Abuse/Slander/Disrespect of other sects, religions, cultures, gurus etc. who do not believe in their theories or oppose their cult.

Mental manipulation of others, threats or fear induction, to promote their agenda

Mental instability of members of the cult expressed through hyper-egomania, delusions of grandiosity, narcissism and attention-seeking.

Insistence that the cult and their theories/solutions is the “ONLY WAY”

Group-think, suppression of dissent and enforced conformity in thinking.

Feelings of being ‘more special’ and ‘aware’ than people outside the group and feelings of being chosen to fulfill a special, world-altering mission.

The tyrannical belief that their leader is always right (is extra-special), that they know better than others and that all others are always wrong.

The presentation of their worldview as a ‘sacred science’ with unquestionable dogma and infallible ideology.

Inability to tolerate criticism and personal and aggressive attacks on all their critics.

Irrational cloning- you become a clone of the cult leader or other cult members and imitate/parrot all their views.

The presentation of their ideology over experience, observation and logic.

Mystical manipulation or use of exotic words, ideas and views to mislead.

Cult leader is never held accountable for his/her actions.

False promises of greater powers or greater knowledge.

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9.

Today, this disease has induced extreme characteristics where one may find people unable to tolerate criticism and personal and aggressive attacks on all their critics. Missionaries can be openly found manipulating children and abusing the Hindu Gods and the Hindus whereas the new-age cults and preachers on the other hand are found speaking highly and intellectually about Hindu wisdom but undercover their only aim is to further themselves and their agendas while eventually denigrating and intellectually destroying Hinduism. They have subtly permeated the Hindu society like a virus and it is often difficult to recognize the malicious brainwashing they perpetuate on others. It is important for the Hindu society as well as others who have been targeted by such groups and individuals to develop more awareness on such cults, pseudo scholars and individuals as it will help in the differentiation between authentic groups and scholars and the frauds and charlatans who only seek self-promotion at the expense of harming the Hindu society and its heritage.

In the past, the educationist named Lord Macaulay wanted to do away with the spiritual heritage of India. He stated, “We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect.”

“I have no knowledge of either Sanskrit or Arabic. But I have done what I could to form a correct estimate of their value…. I have never found one among them (Sanskrit or Arabic scholars) who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.”

Lord Macaulay wanted Christianity to replace Hinduism. In a letter to his father, a Protestant minister, Macaulay declared: “Our English schools are flourishing wonderfully. The effect of this education on the Hindus is prodigious. …It is my belief that if our plans of education are followed up, there will not be a single idolator among the respectable classes in Bengal thirty years hence”.

Jones' zealots, Macaulay’s children and Max Muller’s successors now seem to be carrying forward this cancerous legacy with phenomenal zeal.

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10.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines mythology as ‘ideas that are believed by many people but that are not true’. This misconception means that all the beliefs in Hinduism are false. This is completely incorrect. If Hinduism were based on mythology, then it would not have survived for thousands or lakhs of years. 1 billion followers would not be following it today. In fact, Hinduism is the oldest religion in this world. Some do trace it back to ‘Indus Valley Civilisation’, but very few are able to trace its true origins i.e. from the emergence of Kaliyuga after pralaya by way of Mahabharata War. This implies that Hinduism was in existence before any other religions came into being.

Can people’s superstitions and tales develop into the third largest religion in the world which has almost 1 billion followers? We also need to ask the meaning of a ‘proper beginning’. Is it having a founder or a prophet? Hinduism’s beginning is not known to the Western world because of their inability to go back billions of years. All the other religions in this world came into existence only around 2000 years ago; before the commencement of Christian era.

According to the most revered Arch Bishop James Ussher, the world came into existance in 4004 B.C. 

  Please read the following:Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland James Ussher (1581-1656), Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland, and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College in Dublin was highly regarded in his day as a churchman and as a scholar. Of his many works, his treatise on chronology has proved the most durable. 

Based on an intricate correlation of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean histories and Holy writ, it was incorporated into an authorized version of the Bible printed in 1701, and thus came to be regarded with almost as much unquestioning reverence as the Bible itself. Having established the first day of creation as Sunday 23 October 4004 BC, by the arguments set forth in the passage below, Ussher calculated the dates of other biblical events, concluding, for example, that Adam and Eve were driven from Paradise on Monday 10 November 4004 BC, and that the ark touched down on Mt Ararat on 5 May 2348 BC `on a Wednesday'.

Taken from: https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/ussher.htm

 however, Hinduism already existed before these religions came into existence. In fact Hinduism’s existence in the form of Sanatan Dharma goes back billions of years, that is, ever since the Creation of the Universe happened.

This misconception emerges purely from those who have no understanding of Hinduism and those who single-mindedly believe in the superiority of their own religion or beliefs. According to science of Spirituality, God has two forms – the Saviour and the Destroyer; which means God saves His devotees and destroys evil. Due to a lack of understanding of this Hindu concept, these people cannot comprehend why Hindu Gods wield weapons or why they have different forms. To give an analogy, a farmer sows seeds and after the crop is ready; he cuts it, or when we grow plants in the backyard or garden; we have to remove the harmful portions of the plant, or in our society, where, criminals are punished to protect law-abiding citizens. So also, God destroys demons to protect His devotees as Bhagavadgitha says:

paritranaya sadhunam vinasaya ca duskrtam ।

dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge ॥

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम्‌ । 

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥

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When there are such misconceptions and misunderstandings about Hinduism, naturally, they have an adverse impact on society. As a result, not only Hindus but the whole society has to bear the consequences. Following are some examples of the impact –

1.    Full-fledged denigration of Hindu Deities; most denigrations of God involve Hinduism’s concepts/principles/Deities

2.  When a denigration happens, a majority of Hindus turn a blind eye towards it due to their lack of understand

3.  Large-scale conversion of Hindus into other religions

4.  Other religions have flourished and grown their presence all over the world; whereas, Hinduism’s presence is gradually reducing.

5.   Ramayana and Mahabharata are referred to as epics; whereas other religions’ scriptures are considered the ultimate truth

6.  Incorrect and misleading information about Hinduism in educational textbooks and reference books

7.   When people from other religions ask questions about Hinduism, majority of Hindus do not know the correct answers.

8.  When people from other religions make a mockery of Hinduism, majority of Hindus join the laughter and do not make efforts to stop it

9.  Disrespect given to the followers of Hinduism

10.      No due recognition of Hinduism as a major World religion

11. The followers of all major religions in the world have their own official countries, for example, Christians of various denominations have Vatican City, UK, Greece, etc. Muslims have Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc. Buddhists have Thailand, Cambodia, etc. Whereas there is not a single official Hindu nation in the world, of course barring Nepal which declared recently itself as Hindu Nation.

These are only a few examples for your perusal, however the adverse impact of the misconceptions about Hinduism and its followers is complex and multi-dimensional. The gravity of these examples will help us understand why we have to address the root cause, which is a lack of knowledge about Hinduism. Hence the need for Hinduism education! His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale has said, “If all Hindus have knowledge about Hinduism and they follow Dharma, then they will feel proud of Hinduism and they will be able to protect it.”

GREATNESS OF HINDUISM

Granting Sagehood and Incarnation status to opponents: Charvak (an ancient great intellectual) did not believe in either God or rebirth. Yet, far from being tortured, he was proclaimed a Sage instead!

Flexibility: ‘Hindu Dharma is so flexible that such extreme flexibility will not be found in any other religion. Hence, all other sects are derivatives and sub-derivatives of our Dharma.’ – Swami Vivekananda

Other ideologies and Hindu ideology: Boundless love unto the feet of God, and that love being in a state of continuous offering, is a mark of the Hinduism of Hindus. When asked ‘what ideology (Socialism, Communism etc.) do you advocate?’ Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay would answer, ‘It is Yathārthavād’ (Yathārtha is ‘just’ and vād is ‘ideology’). Actually, even in times when no ideologies existed on the face of the Earth, Hinduism existed. Though different ideologies have come into existence from time to time, Hinduism still exists and will continue to exist even when all ideologies will cease to exist. Hence, it is not an ideology. If at all it has to be called something, I would rather call it a happiness endowing conversation. It is a studious conversation or one done with full knowledge. A conversation of this type ends in happiness. Rest are all ideologies and fall in the category of argument provoking conversations. Quibbling with words is their characteristic. Hence, they end up in unhappiness.

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12.  

International identity of Hindu Dharma: Hinduttva (seeker qualities) is a permanent character of a human mind and hence, unless one imbibes those qualities, God-realisation, which is the ultimate aim of human birth, can never be achieved. It is through education on Dharma, the desired state of the human mind can be attained.

From amongst the foreigners who realised God, some were British, some Americans, while some were Germans. Irrespective of the sect (religion) they belonged to, they had primarily acquired Bhāratiyatva (Seekership quality), meaning they had rediscovered the original character of the human mind and hence, got themselves blessed. Max Muller (a German), Thoreau (an American) etc. did not convert to Hindu Dharma, but just by becoming Sanathana Guna mentally, they were blessed. Thoreau, in fact, fell madly in love with Shrīkrushṇa just by reading the Holy text Shrīmadbhagwadgītā. He considered Shrīmad bhagwadgītā as his mother. Dr. Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita were British women. Dr. Annie Besant had declared that, ‘there was no literature superior to the Upanishads that teach the human beings about their own welfare’.

Thus, in order that not only the Hindus by birth, but also the entire Human race to be happy, formation of a Hindu (seeker) Nation is of utmost importance. Only a Hindu Nation can protect human rights.

‘Everyone is striving for world peace, but without establishing a Hindu Nation, world peace is impossible’. –H.H. Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, District Pune, Maharashtra

Summary

The current state of Hinduism and its potential is evident from the above examples. The rampant misconceptions and misunderstandings about Hinduism insists on a call for an intense campaign to promote education about Hinduism, or I can say our Vedanta Saram. If correct education is not given at this stage, then the misconceptions and misunderstandings about Hinduism will grow to such an extent that it will become impossible to sustain Hinduism.

One stone each, by each follower of this Sanathana dharma can make a huge mountain making our Dharma vehemently indomitable to the recent born religions. I conclude the article with the following Santi Mantra.

As the mantras are in Sanskrit and as Telugu is highly preferred language due to its richness in Alphabets, I preferred writing these Mantras in Telugu for exact pronunciation.

ఓం భద్రం కర్ణేభిః శృణుయామ దేవాః

భద్రం పశ్యే మాక్ష భిర్యజత్రాః

స్థిరై రంగై స్తుష్ఠువాగ్‍ం సస్తనూభిః

వ్యశే మదేవ హితం యదాయుః

స్వస్తి న ఇంద్రో వృద్ధశ్రవాః

స్వస్తి నః పూషా విశ్వవేదాః

స్వస్తి నస్తార్క్ష్యో అరిష్టనేమిః

స్వస్తి నో బృహస్పతిర్దధాతు

ఈ శాంతి మంత్రం యొక్క భావము సమున్నతమైనది, ఇది భారత దేశము యొక్క సనాతన ధర్మం యొక్క ఔన్నత్యాన్ని చాటి చెబుతూవున్నది. భావమును గమనించండి:

ఓ దేవతలారా! మా చెవులు ఎల్లవేళలా శుభంకర వాక్యములనే వినుగాక! మా నేత్రములచే సర్వ కాల సర్వావస్థల యందు శుభప్రదమగు దృశ్యములే చూదబడు గాక ! మేము ఎల్లప్పుడూ మాకు ప్రసాదించిన ఆయుస్సు, దేహము, అవయవములతో మిమ్ము సదా స్తుతించుటకు మాకు తగినంత  ఆయుస్సు,  ధారుడ్యము,  అవయవ సౌష్టవము ను ప్రసాదించగలరు. ఆది కాలము నుంచి మహర్షులచే నుతింపబడిన ఇంద్రుడు మాకు శుభములు జేకూర్చుగాక! సర్వజ్ఞుడు మరియు  ప్రత్యక్ష దైవమగు సూర్యుడు మాకు శుభమును కలుగ జేయుగాక! ఆపదలనుండి మమ్ములను గరుత్మంతుడు రక్షించి మాకు శుభమును అనుగ్రహించుగాక! బృహస్పతి మాకు ఆధ్యాత్మిక ఐశ్వర్యమును కల్పించి సదా శుభాప్రదాతయగుగాక!

ఓం సర్వేషాం స్వస్తిర్భవతు. ఓం సర్వేషాం శాంతి ర్భవతు|

ఓం సర్వేషాం పూర్ణం భవతు. ఓం సర్వేషాం మంగళం భవతు||

 సర్వులకు సుఖము , సంతోషము కలుగుగాక. సర్వులకు శాంతి కలుగు గాక. సర్వులకు పూర్ణ స్థితి (completeness) కలుగుగాక. సర్వులకు శుభము కలుగుగాక.

ఓంద్యౌ శాంతిః అంతరిక్షగ్ం శాంతిః ఫృథ్వీ శాంతిః ఆపః శాంతిః ఓషధయః శాంతిః వనస్పదయః శాంతిః విశ్వదేవా శాంతిః బ్రహ్మ శాంతిః శాంతి రేవ శాంతిః సామా శాంతి రేధీ ఓం శాంతిః శాంతిః శాంతిః ll

ఇది అధర్వణ వేదము మానవ మనుగడకు మూలాధారంగా చెప్పిన సూక్తి. ప్రకృతితో మానవులకు గల సంబంధాన్ని తెలియజేయడమేకాక, సుఖమయ జీవనానికిగల పునాదులేవో నిర్వచించినారు మన పూర్వ ఋషులు.

స్వస్తి.

Swasti. 

Comments on my Article ‘Spare a little time’.

Ramachandra Rao Bhandaru: Thank you Ramamohana Rao Garu for taking lot of pains in studying the subject and making out a strong case for renaming our great ancient country as Bharata, after the great BHARATA

(Jada Bharata in later incarnation).

You have explained the genesis of so many words like Hindu, Hindustan,

Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma) and how the word India came into usage.

Your articles in three parts are thought provoking. I hope your case for renaming our great country will be examined by Government and law makers. You did a great service by studying the subject in greater depth .

Ramachandra Rao Bhandaru: Earlier, I have gone through 3 parts and today, I have seen the other 3 parts. You have given a very lucid narration about

SADHANA to attain MOKSHA, need for narrating Itihasas like Ramayanam , Bharatam, Bhagavatam etc., which our grandmothers used to narrate when we were young kids. I fully agree with you that we are simply importing western fashions like father’s day, mother’s day etc.

You have also properly explained the genesis of idol worship, concept of Varna as against Caste etc.

Please continue your good work.

Ramachandra Rao Bhandaru: Ramamohana Rao Garu

You are doing a great service by your painstaking study and presentation of the subject, so important and relevant to all our Hindus.

Particularly, I like and appreciate your findings on the impact of missionary activities and also 11 points on adverse impact of misconceptions on Hinduism explained in chapter 10. Please continue your good work and service.

GSV Subbarao: Rama Mohan you have ventured into a subject of depth of an ocean and was able to touch the bottom successfully. I am always one of the active supporters of the renaming of our country. If at all it is done it should be by Modi govt. only, as they are the ones who can take daring decisions. I was wondering at the beautiful presentation you made as I know you well as Telugu literary genius. Keep going on.

Ghorakavi Sreenivasa Venkata Subbarao what you have said is true if people understand in the right perspective. Chathurvarna is nothing new and no need understand as a discrimination. It is only told how important they are in the society in the eyes of the omnipotent and ubiquitous God. If somebody offers respect or devotion he will first fall on the feet irrespective of what and who he is. so that is the most sacred place where Lord keeps.in one way by falling on the feet the offering is going to the one who was given a place. In short the whole universe is purveyed by the Almighty with all the humankind. Let us understand how to invoke Him and seek his blessings. All the best Rama Mohan. Gsv Subbarao.

Ghorakavi Sreenivasa Venkata Subbarao:

IT is really a very great effort on your part to touch so many facets of Indian culture from different angles and at the same expressing your concern for the present generation not taking up seriously how to take care and nurture the intrinsic values embedded in our ancient teachings of Vedas or Upanishads. The edifice for any of the systems to be followed from the beginning i.e. childhood which is lacking due to the materialistic pursuits which have a higher priority than others. How to overcome this lacuna and match it with our culture is the present question people have to think. Let us hope for the best. Gsv Subbarao.

Srinatha Babu: Excellent narration. 👌👌🙏🙏🙏

Krishna Murthy: "Parents Now a days have little time to introduce the children to Itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharatha or to Bhagavata which inculcates bhakti in the tender minds of the children."-----Now-a-days people adopted western culture. Really it is time to spare a little time to know our culture and heredity. Thank you very much. Namaskaram._/|\_

Srikrishnasampathkumar Ghorakavi Very happy to know about important information through your research in rare subjects. With regards sir.

Rama Krishna Jupudy Sir You have gathered a lot information which the present generation does not know about our country.