Kanchi Sankaracharya launches 'spiritual' party

Kanchi Sankaracharya launches 'spiritual' party: "Lighting a traditional lamp in Chennai, the seer officially launched a party called Tamil Nadu Desiya Aanmiga Makkal Katchi ( Tamil Nadu National Spiritual People's Party), under the aegis of the Kanchi Sankara Math."

The pontiff holds no post in the party — Avadi Ravichandran, a businessman associated with the Kanchi Math, is designated the founder-leader. The party, for the time being, has no plans to contest elections, but it does have a manifesto: A law banning religious conversions, another one to ban cow slaughter and shifting of administrative powers over temples from government to private organisations.

"This is not merely a party," said the Sankaracharya, showering flowers on the party flag that shows a raised fist on a saffron circle against a red backdrop. "This is a movement to get people to practise divine bhakti, to alienate all the evils surrounding us and let people lead a clean and happy life," he said.

Rajiv Malhotra: European Misappropriation of Sanskrit led to the Aryan Race Theory

Rajiv Malhotra: European Misappropriation of Sanskrit led to the Aryan Race Theory

Rajiv Malhotra

It is not widely known that the European quest to appropriate the highly prized library of Sanskrit's ancient spiritual texts motivated the construction of the "Aryan" race identity, one of the ideological roots of Nazism. The Sanskrit word "arya" is an adjective that means noble or pure. For example, the famous Buddhist Four Noble Truths are described as the Four Arya Truths or catvāri āryasatyāni in Sanskrit. Arya does not refer to a race, but a cultural quality venerated in Sanskrit texts.

German nationalism turned this word into a noun, "Aryan," and capitalized it to refer to an imaginedrace of people that were the original Sanskrit speakers who had composed its great texts. Early romantic claims that Indians were the ancestors of the Europeans were gradually replaced by the new myth that a race called "Indo-Aryans" was the common ancestors to both. Their origin was thought to be in the Caucasus Mountains, hence the term "Caucasian." Later, the "Indo" was dropped and the white Aryan Race Theory emerged. Thus, from the European desire to be seen as the inheritors of the Sanskrit civilization, the notion of a European super-race was born, with Germany as its highest manifestation.

With European nations competing among themselves for civilizational legacy, many rival theories emerged regarding the origins of the original Sanskrit speakers and their civilization. German nationalists found in the affinity between Sanskrit and German the possibility of a newly respectable pedigree vis-à-vis the French, and claimed the heritage of the treasure trove of Sanskrit literature to bolster their cause. The British interpreted India and Sanskrit in a manner that would strengthen their own role as empire-builders, with India as the jewel in the crown. Because Indians were not participants in European forums, there was widespread plagiarism of Indian texts, as well as much distorted interpretation.

By "becoming" the Aryans, Europeans felt that they were the rightful custodians of the massive corpus of Sanskrit texts that were generating new breakthroughs in the humanities and liberal arts. Germans took their newly adopted Aryan identity to extremes, and most of the influential European thinkers of the time colluded. Their racist theories often had an anti-Semitic dimension, seeking to reconstruct the Bible in Aryan terms.

Today, the Western mainstream has made special efforts to remove the notion of an Aryan race from the vocabulary and the public psyche. However, as my recently released book, Breaking India, explains, the damage in India has worsened. The Dravidian Race Theory was formulated by British missionaries in the 1800s in parallel with the Aryan theory, and it divides the peoples of India into racial categories of "Aryans" and "Dravidians." Western scholars and institutions continue to support Dravidian racism, which is dependent upon acceptance of the Aryan race construct. In a future blog I will explain how Christian missionaries are now exploiting these dangerous constructs.

Cable Viewer

Cable Viewer

SUBJECT: RAHUL GANDHI: LACKLUSTER LEADER    REF: 04 STATE 136184    Classified By: DCM Robert O. Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)   ¶1.  (S) In a March 1 conversation with Poloff, influential columnist and political insider Saeed Naqvi commented on Rahul Gandhi at some length.  Naqvi prefaced his remarks by noting that he was a personal friend of Rahul's father, Rajiv Gandhi, and a well-wisher of the Gandhi family.  Naqvi was initially delighted when Sonia Gandhi projected Rahul as the heir apparent, but has since lost faith.  He claims that the word among Congress insiders, including those in the coterie surrounding Sonia Gandhi, is that Rahul will never become Prime Minister for several reasons.  Saying that he ""refused to indulge in gossip,"" Naqvi claimed that it is increasingly common knowledge that Rahul suffers from ""personality problems"" of an emotional or psychological nature that are severe enough to prevent him from functioning as PM.   ¶2.  (S) Naqvi also claimed that his Congress contacts tell him that Rahul has failed as an MP representing the Gandhi pocket borough in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.  Congress purportedly hoped to create a revival campaign in UP based around Rahul and his appeal as a member of the Gandhi dynasty, but has now given up, as he ""is causing more harm than good"" and operates at cross-purposes to the state Congress leadership.  According to Naqvi, Rahul has done nothing for UP except to make pro-forma appearances in Amethi, and has ""made no impression on the people of the state.""  This is leading to growing discouragement that Congress will be able revive and take over the state from Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party (SP) any time in the near future.  This growing impatience is reportedly fueling internal debates as to whether it would be better for Congress to accept a junior partner status and cultivate an appropriate regional ally, such as Mayawati and her Dalit-based BSP party.   ¶3.  (S) Naqvi stated that the Gandhi family always preferred that Rahul's sister, Priyanka, enter politics, as she was judged to be more intelligent and savvy.  Arguing that Sonia Gandhi is an Italian mother, and ""like an Indian mother,"" has a protective feeling regarding her son, Naqvi speculated that Sonia apparently went against her better judgment and selected Rahul over his sister as ""heir apparent.""  Naqvi claimed that Gandhi dynastic politics had no future, as the family has run out of prime ministerial candidates with appropriate charisma.  Indira Gandhi was the last member of the dynasty capable of being an effective PM and Rajiv would never have won re-election had he not been assassinated. Naqvi implied that the common impression among Congress insiders is that Rahul is far below even his father in political ability.    ¶4.  (C) Comment: Naqvi offered an unusually sharp commentary of views we have heard elsewhere.  While our Congress contacts invariably hail Sonia as a ""visionary leader"" with a special feeling for India's ""common man"" there are few in the party who are willing to offer such glowing comments on Rahul.  Rahul disdains the Delhi social scene, in contrast to most of his political peers.  In the few instances we have come across Rahul, he has kept a very low profile and kept mostly to himself or close friends.  Despite signs of growing unhappiness from Congress insiders regarding Rahul, however, he continues to be the subject of press reports that  rave about his participation in the early January Congress Youth training camp and suggest that he is preparing to take the mantle of the ""leader of young India"" and ""blossoming into a leader with mass acceptability.""  During the two-day youth training session, Rahul engaged in interactive discussions ranging from pesticides in cola products -- he was against closing the plants -- to defending the GOI,s globalization policy and economic reforms.  Given this publicity machine that Rahul enjoys, we, unlike Naqvi, are not yet prepared to write him off just yet.   MULFORD

those magnificent, honorable japanese: 10 things to learn from Japan

those magnificent, honorable japanese: 10 things to learn from Japan: "

mar 23rd, 2011 CE

i have always been in awe of their sense of honor and dignity. this email talks about the same thing. this is why i think japan will rise again.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: A
Date: 2011/3/24
Subject: 10 things to learn from Japan
To: rs <rajeev.srinivasan@gmail.com>

　

1. THE CALM

Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY

Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.

3. THE ABILITY

The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.

4. THE GRACE

People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.

5. THE ORDER

No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.

6. THE SACRIFICE

Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. THE TENDERNESS

Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.

8. THE TRAINING

The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.

9. THE MEDIA

They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.

10. THE CONSCIENCE

When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly

"