Vedic rituals lower water, soil contamination: Scientists

Vedic rituals lower water, soil contamination: Scientists: "The initial findings of a scientific study carried out during the Vedic ritual in Kerala show that the ancient Sanskrit chants, rites and smoke from the sacred fire accelerate germination of seeds in the vicinity and lower the level of microbe contamination in water and ambient soil, scientists said."

Why fighting corruption is important ? : Dr. Swamy

Why fighting corruption is important ? : Dr. Swamy: "The entire world is watching as Indians attempt to purge India of corruption using classically Indian means of protest. Hindutva and Sanatana Dharma represent the only viable cures to the cancer of corruption which is destroying the entrails of our civilisation."

One of the worst problems with corruption in India is the creation of “black money”— money that is used in such transactions and is obviously unreported, hence is neither taxed nor is spent openly. It travels to secret bank accounts abroad, or, worse, is used by the corrupt to indulge in gross luxurious consumption and bribery. Such black money stock also creates inflation by enabling easy finance for hoarding of supplies even as the GDP growth rate accelerates.

Corruption, therefore, impacts on economic development of a nation in five dimensions:

1. Decisions taken for corrupt motive sub-optimises the allocation of scarce national resources and hence in the long run lowers the rate of growth in GDP. It also encourages buccaneers instead of innovative entrepreneurs.

2. By the use of bribe money which escapes the tax net and is mostly stashed away in banks abroad or in trunks in safe houses, is deployed in luxury goods purchase, ostentatious life, splurging in five star hotels, real estate, and on partying. This raises demand for luxury production and services, and in turn distorts investment priorities. In India, 70 per cent of the investment goes directly or indirectly to sustain the luxury sector.

3. Unaccounted bribe money is lent to hoarders and speculators who then cause artificial shortages and thus inflation and property bubbles.

4. Since the most in corrupt activities would be in public office, they enact laws to not only to safeguard the booty by lax criminal investigations and prosecutions, but to enable earning interest or return on the bribe money. The invention of Participatory Notes (PNs) and the Mauritius Tax & Capital Gains exemption treaties is aimed at that sordid objective (see below).

5. Corruption enables beneficiaries to involve foreign governments seeking influence and criminal gangs resident abroad to launder money and provide protection.

The view of Integral Humanism as propounded by Deendayal Upadhaya or what we have for centuries have called as Sanatana Dharma is that a society is healthy only if there is a harmonisation of material pursuits and spiritual advancement in a human being. The social structure called Varna, till it degenerated into a birth-based social cartel, was designed to downgrade wealth as the indicator of status and elevate sacrifice and simplicity as a desirable value.


Our goal has to be thus the efficient use of resources, human and physical, hardware and software by an able and human spiritually guided and ethically organizational leadership in a framework of competitive market economies.

Hence, concisely stated, for a corruption free society to be achieved on a long term basis the Indian economy should be founded on a harmonisation of efficient organisational leadership and abiding spiritual values which we call as Sanatana Dharma. That can be nurtured only bottom up i.e., educate our growth accordingly — to synthesise material pursuits with spiritual values which lauds simplicity and eschews greed.

Ultimately it will also be decided by how we vote in elections. But we need a new ideology to combat the cancer of corruption in our system. For this we need a new breed of Indian leaders-educated, courageous, and rational risk takers. That we can get only if the ethos of our people changes from the purely individualist pursuit of material pleasures and goals, to an integral outlook. Corruption is the cancer today in our society but Hindutva (Hinduness) or Sanatana Dharma imbibed character is the cure.

The writer is president, Janata Party

Alert Shiv Sainiks and Hindus freed cattle from a Muslim

Alert Shiv Sainiks and Hindus freed cattle from a Muslim: "Attempts to take cows to abattoir by Muslims by tying their legs were foiled by alert Shiv Sainiks and devout Hindus at Nanded, Maharashtra"

Analyzing Hindu Philosophy: Hindu Gods, Nudity and MF Hussain

http://analytic-philosophy.blogspot.com/2011/06/hindu-gods-nudity-and-mf-hussain.html

Here is a link to MF Hussain paintings: 

http://budhan.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/m-f-hussains-paintings/

I often encounter people that defend Hussein's nude goddess art saying something along one of these lines:

1. We have nude sculptures in erotic postures in Khajuraho & elsewhere. 
2. We have nude gods sculpted in Hoysala temples 
3. Ours is the land of Kamasutra. Nudity is celebrated 
4. There are statues of nude Bahubali worshipped.  

I would like to remind everyone that none of these arguments make sense.

1. Khajuraho, Hoysala temple sculptures do not depict the gods and godesses. They are demi gods (like angels for instance) meant to convey a few spiritual points. They are NOT worshiped. 
2. Kamasutra has never used Gods to depict sexual postures. 
3. Bahubali is not a God. Jains dont believe in God. He is also not one among their 24 thirthankaras. His nudity indicates complete renunciation. 

Nudity has always been associated with renunciation in spirituality not just in India, but elsewhere too.

1. Lord Krishna's story when Gopis clothes were stolen by Krishna to drive home the point that one has to rise above bodily inhibitions to attain God. 
2. Bible quotes Jesus saying one has to go nude to the God.  
3. Dattatreya the first Aghora was a Digambara.
4. Jains and Aghoras, the epitome of worldy renunciation might bear no robes as a symbolic gesture and their own spiritual sadhana. 
5. In Tantra, a few of the Dasha-MahaVidya godesses Kali, Tara, Bhairavi etc. are depicted nude. Bhairavi depiction is with blood smeared over the breasts.  

In these cases the nudity and the graphic nature symbolizes certain deep spiritual nature (Interested folks should read David Frawley's Tantric Yoga and Wisdome Godesesses http://amzn.to/kBJs7G ).

Can you recall how many of the stotras describe the beauty of Goddesses in very very graphic nature? I have lost count.

I'd quote one example. Adi Shankaracharya - one of the foremost monks and spiritually enlightened saint describes the Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari as "Latha Phala Kucha Dwayi". That means the one with breasts with the size of the firm and right sized fruit on a creeper.

Nudity and nude descriptions, graphics have a place when done right. Normal nude paintings and sculptures do not use Gods and Goddesses.  When Gods and Godesses are depicted nude, it is strictly in a spiritual context.

Vivekananda said "Unless you are spiritually mature  enough, don't read Raslila, because you are going to mis read it". 

That's exactly happening In MF Hussain's context. He has no maturity, no class and applies nudity to the Hindu Gods in a totally wrong context in a wrong manner with the intention of generating controversy.

We all know bikini has its place in the sunny beaches. But one cannot walk into the corporate board room in bikini in the name of freedom of expression and not alienate folks and not generate controversy. 

While I do believe in freedom of expression, there is a saying in legal circles : "If one shouts 'Bomb' in a packed movie theater, one surely has exercised their freedom of expression but is responsible for the mayhem"

MF Hussain said in an interview 8 years ago that he has depicted Hitler naked to humiliate him and as he deserves it.  But then he depicted all of Hindu goddesses and even India nude and claimed nudity is a symbol of purity. Why this hypocrisy?  Did he paint his mother nude? Why not? He also painted his daughter clothed.


For all his nude art, India has been really tolerant towards him. There had been no attempts on his life. Few protests and attempts to destroy his nude art and a dozen lawsuits were filed against him.

Compare it with the case of

1. Kerala professor whose hands got chopped off
2. Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who lives in permanent fear with 3 attempts on his life due to his one cartoon 
3. Salman Rushdie when our government rushed to ban his books, never allowed back to India and lives in permanent exile in UK 
4. There was lot of push to ban DaVinci Code (I dont know if it materialized finally).
5. Denying the stay of Taslima Nasreen in India

You be the judge.

I am no fan of modern art, but going by experts opinion, he was best among Indian modern art and should have just sticked with that. All his artistic talent is belittled by his "taking for granted" attitude and sheer mockery of faith of billions in the name of art. Mutual respect and respect of other's faith is the cornerstone of social human relationships. MF fails badly in that litmus test.

 

Those who express solidarity with him should apply the same rule always and express solidarity with the Danish cartoonist and others. I am sure none of them do for the fear of arm, limb, life or votes.

As they say in Sanskrit

Ashwam naiva, Gajam naiva, Vyagram naiva cha. 
Ajaputram balim dadhatu devo durbala ghatakaha

which translates as

Even the Gods are against the weak.When it come to sacrifice, we do not sacrifice a horse or an elephant or even for that matter a tiger. What ultimately is used for sacrifice is the poor goat

While the above statement is literally not true, it figuratively indicates the state of mind of Hindus today.

For me it is simple: No religion should be violated. Neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian nor Jew.

Sarve Janah Sukhino Bhavantu (Let all people live happily and prosperously)

But then that is only a mirage as long as we have people like MF and minority appeasing parties drooling for the votebank.

An open letter to our Prime Minister

An open letter to our Prime Minister: "This article is a piece of fearless writing by a fearless Indian Citizen. It is eye opening article for every Indian and hope that this would open eyes of our 'honourable' Prime Minister. The letter is regarding Ramlila agitation crushed by Govt."