धम र त र त: Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha

धम र त र त: Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha

Dharma Protects Those Who Protect It

Meenakshi Temple Pearland, TX

281-907-3608 http://www.meenakshi.org/

Barsana Dham Aus n, TX

512-288-7180 http://www.barsanadham.org/

Vallabh Pri Seva Samaj Houston, TX

832-646-4996 http://www.vpsshaveli.org/

Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir Houston, TX

281-565-8140 http://web.babamandir.org/

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands Woodlands, TX 281-292-8381

http://www.woodlandshindutemple.org/

D/FW Hindu Temple Irving, TX

972-506-9141 http://www.dfwhindutemple.org/

M A N D I R V A N I

HMEC Souvenir Issue Number V (2010) Vikram Samvat 2067

HINDU MANDIR EXECUTIVES’ CONFERENCE October 22-24, 2010

Sheraton North Houston Hotel, Houston, Texas

Editorial Board

Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey – Chief Editor Krishna Kirti Das

Amit Mehta Ravi Shetkar

Dr. Sharadanand Dr. Ashok Sinha

Dr. Umesh Shukla

Cover Design Aesha Mehta

HMEC Serving Mandirs Of America

Vishwa Hindu Parishad Of America, Inc.

P.O.Box 611, Iselin, NJ 08830 http://www.vhp-america.org

Notes:

1. The views expressed in the article included in Mandir Vani are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizers of HMEC.

2. ‘Hindu’ and ‘Mandir’ in HMEC are used in the broader context and include all religious places and spiritual

organizations of the philosophies that have originated in Bharat. Thus HMEC is for the executives of Sanatana Dharma Mandirs, Jain Derasars, Buddhists Mandirs, Sikh Gurudwaras and Spiritual Organizations.

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Table of Contents EDITORIAL ........................................................................................................................................... 5 CONVENTION PROGRAM .................................................................................................................. 6 MESSAGE FROM PUJYA SWAMI DAYANAND SARASWATI ..................................................... 11 MESSAGE FROM DR. PRANAV PANDYA ....................................................................................... 12 MESSAGE FROM HH SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR ............................................................................. 13 MESSAGE FROM SHRI RAMESH BHAI OZA .................................................................................. 14 MESSAGE FROM PUJYA SWAMI CHIDANAND SARASWATI .................................................... 15 MESSAGE FROM SWAMI MUKANDANANDA ............................................................................... 16 MESSAGE FROM THE HOST TEMPLES ........................................................................................... 17 MESSAGE FROM DR. UMESHA SHUKLA, CONVENER ............................................................... 18 MESSAGE FROM SHRI JYOTISH PAREKH, PRESIDENT VHP OF AMERICA ........................... 19 MESSAGE FROM SHRI ASHOK SINGHAL, PRESIDENT VHP-INTERNATIONAL .................... 20 TEMPLES AND PUJA - DR. KHYATI JOSHI ..................................................................................... 24 US LAW AND HINDU TEMPLES - KATHERINE NANDA .............................................................. 26 RATIONALE FOR GURUKULAM - KRISHNA KIRTI DAS ............................................................ 28 THE UNIQUE FLOOR DESIGN OF A HINDU TEMPLE - DR. SALIL CHANDRA TIWARI ........ 30 BAL VIHAR GRADUATION SPEECH - SHWETA SEN -9TH GRADE........................................... 32 DIVINITY IN HINDUISM - TEJ TANDEN ......................................................................................... 39 MODIFY THE ROLE OF MANDIRS IN OUR SOCIETY - MANJU SHRIVASTAVA .................... 42 GLOBAL DHARMA: HINDUISM MOVES WEST - RAMNARINE SAHADEO ........................... 44 THE NEW ROLE OF PRACHARAK IN MANDIRS - FRED STELLA.............................................. 42 HINDU CHARITIES FOR AMERICA - NEIL GUNDAVDA ............................................................. 44 HINDU SOCIETY IN USA - DR. HIRO BADLANI ............................................................................ 50 EXPECTATIONS FROM MANDIR MANAGEMENT - GAURANG G. VAISHNAV ..................... 52 RAM JANMABHOOMI - DR. SURENDRA PANDEY ....................................................................... 54 VASUDHAIV KUTUMBAKAM - GINA NATHWANI ...................................................................... 56 CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE - NISHA PATEL ............................................................................ 58 SRI MEENAKSHI TEMPLE SOCIETY PEARLAND, TEXAS ......................................................... 66 SPONSORS OF HMEC-2010................................................................................................................. 68 ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING IN HMEC-2010 ...................................................................... 69 LIST OF DONORS ................................................................................................................................. 71 ACCOMPLISHMENT OF VHP OF AMERICA ................................................................................... 72 MEMBERSHIP FORM (VHP OF AMERICA) ..................................................................................... 73 AFFILIATE MEMBERSHIP FORM ..................................................................................................... 74 HMEC-2010 GUIDING TEAM ............................................................................................................. 76 VHP OF AMERICA ORGANIZATION CHART ................................................................................. 77

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From the Editor’s desk

The theme of the fifth Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference, “Enhancing Hindu Community through Mandirs” is quite fitting since it conveys the message of expanding the role of Mandirs in the Western world, especially in North America. The constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion in the United States & Canada have allowed North America to become multiethnic society. However, Hindus, who make up of less than 2% of the population must build temples that serve not only as a place of worship, but also to edu-cate the Hindu youth and adults about their heritage. This should include history and culture of Bharat; languages including Sanskrit, Hindi and regional languages; Hindu scriptures, and explanation of various rituals and religious practices. Unlike Bharat where Mandirs serve as the place

of worship only, in USA, they must be religious, cultural and educational centers. They should organize and promote community service projects especially for the enhancement of the Hindu community as well as the community they live in. This edition of Mandir Vani includes a number of articles advocating the above concept. The readers will find articles that deal with the practical aspects of building and managing a Mandir, e.g. US laws that religious places must follow, and the effective and appropriate management practices. Several au-thors have discussed the types of services that Mandirs must offer such as focus on Hindu youth, role of Gurukulam for the youth development, collaborating with other Mandirs, engaging youth in charitable projects, and alternative staffing of Mandirs. Readers will find the article explaining the design of a tem-ple floor very interesting. We are delighted to include articles from our youth who have made special effort to give their understanding of some aspects of Hinduism –Santana Dharma and Vedic philosophy. HMEC provides an excellent venue for the leaders of Mandirs and Hindu organizations to meet and ex-change ideas. This meeting can be also utilized for discussing the ideas proposed by authors and present-ers and for developing a plan of action. May Sanatana Dharma guide our path! Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D. Ph: (229) 883-1687 E-mail: [email protected] Disclaimer Views expressed in Mandir Vani are those of authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the organizers of HMEC. They are meant to generate awareness about the needs of Hindu society as viewed by the authors.

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FIFTH HINDU MANDIR EXECUTIVES CONFERENCE Enhancing Hindu Community Through Mandirs

October 22-24, 2010 Houston, TX PROGRAM DETAILS

FRIDAY—10/22/2010 Session No. Time Topic Chair & Speakers

Meal 6:00 PM Dinner Austin Ballroom

Session 1 7:30 PM Inaugural Session Moderator - Ram Belagaje

Grand Ballroom Ekatmata Mantra, Bhavgeet Bal Vihar Deep Prajjwalan MD/DC Mandir Executives Invocation Through Shlokas and Bhajan Local Priests Sri Meenakshi Temple Society Gopal Krishna Barsana Dham Sunita Lal Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj Rasesh Dalal Shridi Sai Jalaram Mandir Chandra Gannavarapu Hindu Temple of Woodlands Beth Kulkarni D/FW Hindu Temple, Irving Anita Singhal Overview of the HMEC Program Agenda Sant Gupta Hum Sanatan Hindu, Mandir Hamari Pehchan—AV B.A.P.S

Taking Hindu Dharma to the Missing Generation in our Tem-ples Vishal Agrawal

The Role of Mandir Jignesh Patel Inaugural Address: All Religions are Not the Same Swami Nikhilanand 9:30 PM Closure

SATURDAY 10/23/2010 PRE-LUNCH PROGRAM Sadhana 6:00 AM Yoga, Meditation, Devotional Singing Salon A Patanjali Yoga Peetha - Yoga and Pranayam Shekhar Agarwal Salon C Bhajans - Devotional Singing Barsana Dham 6:45 AM Ends Meal 7:00 AM Breakfast Austin Ballroom

Session 2 7:50 AM Welcome Session Moderator - Dharmendra Dargan

Grand Ballroom Ekatmata Mantra & Bhavgeet Bal Vihar Deep Prajjwalan Host Temple Executives Opening Remarks Shri Jyotish Parekh

Keynote Address:Enhancing Hindu Community Through Mandirs

Swami Tavttavidananda Saraswati

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Session 3 8:35 AM HMEC Update and Report on Selected Projects Moderator - Umesh Shukla Grand Ballroom HMEC Update Umesh Shukla Project Report: Vivah Samskar Book Deepak Kotwal, Kumar Dave

Project Report: Geeta Distribution Ramnarine Sahadeo, Manish Puri

Project Report: Text Book Supplements Ravi Shetkar Projects: Prayer Book (CDs) for hospitals Bhakti Mehta Q&A All

9:45 AM Relaxation

Session 4 10:00 AM Sharing Hindu Community Presence Through Festivals & Seva Moderator - Nainan Desai

Grand Ballroom Community Outreach Through Festivals Paramacharya Palaniswami Small Steps, Big Impact - Bal Vihar Network Keya Dave Seva as part of and during festivities with examples Nangali Srinivasa Q&A All Session 5 11:00 AM It's All About Collaboration Moderator - Arjun Pradeep Grand Ballroom

The value of collaboration and networking: common core services (practical examples) Ravi Kunduru

Supply Chain Management for Mandirs: Providing Economies of Scale Sharma Tadepalli, Hari Murty

About the Coalition of Hindu Youth Samir & Preya Dave Q&A All Meal 12:00 AM Lunch

Austin Ballroom

Session No. Time Topic Chair & Speakers

PARALLEL TRACKS (6A, 6B, 6C, 7A, 7B, 7C) Session 6A 1:00 PM Coordinating Hindu Seva Activities Moderator - Animesh Sinha Salon A Annual Hindu Seva Diwas (October 1st week) Sudershan Pasupuleti

Organizing Community Feeding Programs for Temple Seva Craig Sastry

Hindu Charities for America Harish Kotecha Q&A All Session 6B 1:00 PM Education and Integration Moderator - Rishi Bhutada Salon B The New Role of Pracharak in US Mandir Fred Stella Series on Accurate Hindu History: Lessons #4 and #5 Sannyasin Senthilnathaswami

Getting rooted in the Hindu Heritage to strengthen Hindu Identity Kamlesh Kapur

Q&A All

FIFTH HINDU MANDIR EXECUTIVES CONFERENCE PROGRAM DETAILS

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Session 6C-7C 1:00: PM-3:00 PM

Expanding the Youth Portfolio: Creating oppor-tunities for youth participation in temples

Moderators - Keya Bhatt & Samir Asthana

Salon D Senior Youth Mentoring the Younger Students Priya

Radhakrshnan Finding a creative niche for students and youth Hirsh Shukla Workshop: the dialogue of the bal vihar network All

Session 7A 2:00 PM Making the Mandirs & Priests More Effective Moderator – Ganesh Ramachandran

Salon A Priests & Temple: A Self Analysis Pandit Surendra Shastri Experiences of a priest from India P.V.Narayanacharyulu Rethink Temple Prasad Yalamanchi Q&A All Session 7B 2:00 PM Expanding Mandir Services Moderator - Surendra Pandey Salon B Bringing Hindu Practices in Temple: Yoga & Med-

itation Shekar Aggarwal Yoga for Youth Shriram Sarvotham Samskrit Classes in Mandirs Vivek Shankar Natarajan

Promoting your charity with Web, Mobile, Digital & Social Marketing Mahendra Doobay

Q&A All

Workshop Break Out Sessions

Session 8A 4:00 PM Hindu Public Policy Moderators - Krishna Kirti Das & Divya L. Selvakumar

Salon A Public Policy for Hindu Americans Jay Kansara Role of Women in Creating Policitcal Awareness Surbhi Garg Education and Public Policy – A Hindu Perspective Gokul Kunnath Q&A All

Session 7D 2:00 PM Hot Topics Moderator - Suparna Salil Salon C

Who Are We? The Real Identity of Hindus and Hin-duism Kumar Nouchur

Hindu Under Siege Ram Rani

Ram Janmabhumi—The Verdict And Its Implica-tions Kalyan Vishwanathan

Q&A All Meal 3:00 PM Tea Break

Austin Ballroom Group Photo 1

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Session 8B 4:00 PM Spirituality that Women bring to Temple Programs & Management Moderator - Mythili Bacchu

Salon B Putting Women in Their Place Hansa Medley Mentorship Programs to Nurture Youth Role Models Sandhya Patel

Vision & Strength Women bring to the Executive Board: Shaping Discussions and Decisions Padmini Ranganathan

Promoting Spiritual Science of Hinduism through Mandirs Bhavna Shinde Role of Women in Increasing Spiritual Awareness in Youth Anuradha Gannavarapu Q&A All



Session 8C 4:00 PM Effectively Integrating Youth and Young Adults into Mandirs Moderator - Smeeta Patel

Salon D Youth Programs at VPSS Phalguni Kikani

Propagation of Hindu Dharma Through Pre-school Educa-tion Dev Mahajan

Chinmaya Youth Kendra: Spirituality, Seva, & Social Gaurav Khandelwal & Nehal Verma

Youth Programs at BAPS Temple Sejal Patel

Sports as a enjoyable medium for integration and network-ing; Summer games Rudranath Talukdar

Q&A All

Session 8D 4:00 PM Assimilating Non-Hindus Into the Hindu Tradition Moderator - Vinaya Vardhana

Salon E Educating our children (and adults too); the role of Man-

dirs. Lila Manjari Devidasi Welcoming Non Hindus in to the Mandir Environment Swami Ashwini Prajnaa Acceptance and adjustment, the road to happiness Dilip Amin Imbibing and Transmitting Samskars through Practice Satya Kalra Q&A All 5:45 PM Workshops End

Meal 6:30 PM Dinner Buffet Grand Ballroom Evening Program 7:30 PM Cultural Program & Invited Speakers - "Nivedana" Emcee -

Priya Ramachandra Grand Ballroom Welcome Remarks Tejas Dave Dance from Meenakshi Temple Mrs. Rathna Kumar Developing the Next Generation of Youth Leadership Krishna Maheswari Yeh Mandir Mera... Harta Andhera B.A.P.S. Kishores Mandir--Idol--Ideal Acharya Gaurang Nanavaty Scholarship Awards Tej Tanden Krishna My Love VPSS

State of Hinduism in USA? Our Future Hindus in USA? Swami Tattvavidananda Saraswati

Hindus of Houston and HMEC Girish Naik 9:40 PM A Vote of Thanks

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SUNDAY-10/24/2010 Sadhana 6:00 AM Yoga, Meditation, Devotional Singing Salon A Art of Living - Yoga and Meditation Shriram Sarvotham Salon C Bhajans - Devotional Singing Barsana Dham 6:45 AM Ends Meal 7:00 AM Breakfast Austin Ballroom

Session 9 7:50 AM Summary of the Workshop Sessions Moderator - Manju Shrivastava

Grand Ballroom Deep Prajjwalan, Bhavageet Bal Vihar Summary of Youth Session Youth Representative Summary of Workshop Sessions Workshop Representatives

Session 10 8:30 AM Management & Administration of Mandirs Moderator - Hymavati Mikkilineni

Grand Ballroom Experience in Building the "Guruvayyar" Temple Sasidharan Nair Growth/Sustenance Problems with Temples Harnek S Bains

Hindu Heritage Endowment / Estate Planning / Leaving wealth behind for Temples Rajkumar Manickam

Managing Growth: Sai Baba Temple in Houston Chandra Gannavarapu Q&A All Session 11 9:30 AM Community Involvement Through Mandirs Moderator - Sant Gupta Grand Ballroom Blood Donation Drive Across Hindu Mandirs in

North America Rahul M. Jindal From Braj to Fiji: Diverse Experiences in Seva Animesh Sinha Bhutanese Resettlement Project: Case History Venkata Subramanian S Q&A All FEED BACK FORM Session 12 10:30 AM Closure Moderator - Preya Dave Grand Ballroom Parting Thoughts - Blessings Swami Parmeshanand Ji Resolutions & Next Steps Sanjay Mehta 2011 HMEC Host's Acceptance TBD Vote of Thanks Subhash Mehta Prarthana Youth Group Photos II Meal 12:00 PM Lunch Austin Ballroom

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Message from HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar It is vital that different Hindu mandirs in North America come together and devise programs especially for the youth so that they maintain their ties with Indian culture and spirituality. I am glad that the Hindu Mandir Executive Committee is so active. Love and Blessings Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

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Message from the Host Temples

Welcome Aboard Dear Sisters and Brothers, It is our great honor to welcome you – the delegates representing temples in America, Canada and abroad – to the 5th Annual Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference 2010 – a historic event organized by following six temples in Texas with participation and co-operation of other area temples in the Lone Star State of Texas. We will be together over the weekend of October 22-24, 2010. During our stay in the One Hindu Family Environ-ment at Sheraton, IAH airpor t in Houston, we will discuss, deliberate and find solutions to the problems that our temples are facing so that our mission of HMEC may be fulfilled. Briefly, the mission of HMEC is to develop a network among the executives of all Hindu Mandirs of North Ameri-ca leading to the goal of ensuring the sustenance of Hindu Dharma and the role of the temples in achieving this goal; and exploring the ways of anchoring the spiritual values in the hearts and minds of our future generation. The other objectives of HMEC include networking, better interaction and collaboration among mandirs. It is our hope that each one of us will learn from each others’ experience and take new ideas from this conference and implement them in advancing the growth of their respective temples. We have tried our best to make this 2010 conference an incredible experience for all. Please do not hesitate to call on any of our volunteers to make your stay more comfortable. We hope to enjoy great weather, friendly and healthy environment and a memorable time in the Lone Star State of Texas, and in Houston. Welcome aboard! Sincerely,

Sharma Tadepalli Secretary, Board of Directors Meenakshi Temple Pearland, TX 281-907-3608 [email protected]

Maaji (Lakshmi B Thakkar) Founder and Chairman Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir Houston, TX 281-565-8140 [email protected]

Prabhakari Devi Vice President Barsana Dham Aus n, TX 512-288-7180 [email protected]

Beth Kulkarni Execu ve Commi ee Secretary Hindu Temple of Woodlands Woodlands, TX 281-292-8381 [email protected]

Suresh Patel Chairman Vallabh Pri Seva Samaj Houston, TX 832-646-4996 [email protected]

Sandhya Patel President D/FW Hindu Temple Irving, TX 972-506-9141 [email protected]

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Message from the Convention Convener It is a great pleasure and honor to welcome you all to the 5th Hindu Mandir Executive’s Conference in Houston and witness that nearly 10 months of hard work of so many volunteers on the team has come to fruition. Although still very young, HMEC has reached an important milestone in bringing together Hindu Mandirs/spiritual organizations in North America for the 5th consecutive year. This conference has pro-vided a wonderful platform to share and deliberate issues facing Hindu institutions, potential solutions and action plan to enhance and preserve Hindu identity and culture in North America for the generations to come. This is our common goal that has given birth to the HMEC. This can be achieved by educating our future generations about virtues of being a Hindu and connecting them with our roots in Bharat (India).

There has been a strong commitment to preserve Hindu identity by Hindus in North America. However, Hindus being a small (less than 2%), peaceful and quiet community in North America are not known to the politicians as a united strong community. The diversity of our culture and native languages also makes Hindus appear divided to an outsider. We need to overcome this issue by educating our next gen-erations about Hinduism, its vastness, tolerance, freedom of choice and respect for all beings including plants and animals. This is now being recognized in the Western Society in name of sustenance and “going green”. There have been some very important developments for Hindus recently. The Ram Janma Bhoomi ver-dict is a great opportunity for the 2nd and 3rd generation Hindus to connect with our roots, renew our commitment to preservation and propagation of Hindu values. I suggest guided tours be organized by the Mandirs for the youth to visit Hindu holy places in Bharat and learn about our heritage first hand. Mandirs should start classes on Hinduism and Hindu culture for the youth so that they embrace Hindu-ism and take leadership role in mandir activities. It is critical that the leaders of Hindu institutions display unity and resolve against external detractors of Hinduism who utilize modern communications to publicize distorted views about Hinduism and our spiritual leaders. We must not succumb to the detractors who try to influence our decisions on which Hindu spiritual leaders to invite for discourses on our premises. The purpose of holding Hindu Mandir Conference in different regions is to increase awareness about HEMC and its goals to institutions closer to the venue and increase participation in this divine cause. It has been largely successful as more mandirs are actively participating in organizing this conference and feeling ownership of the conference. We have also built on prior years’ experience to have host temples work together with VHPA in organizing the conference. We are pleased and thankful to the six Mandirs (Meenakshi temple, Barsana Dham, D/FW Hindu Temple, VPSS, Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Hindu temple of the Woodlands) for hosting this year’s conference --the partnership with these mandirs has been exemplary. Sanatan Dharma scholarship initiative of Om Temple with HMEC as well as the birth of Coalition of Hindu Youth group in the HMEC 2009 have sowed the seeds of involving the youth in the Mandir activities for preservation of Hindu Dharma. I urge more Hindu Institutions to get involved for the growth of HMEC and, our future generations to serve (perform seva) the Hindu community and the community at large. With prayers and best wishes to everyone, Dr. Umesh Shukla

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Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America Inc. (World Hindu Council of America)

President’s address: 37 Kimberly Rd, West Hartford, CT 06107 Tel.: 860-521-2173 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vhp-america.org

It is with great pleasure, I welcome you to the 5th Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference (HMEC). With this 5th HMEC we have crossed a milestone. Your overwhelming response over last five years signifies a great need for such a forum where the mandir executives can come together, deliberate and strategize upon the needs of American Hindu community. For nourishing the tree of Hindu Dharma in this adopted land (karma bhumi), we have collectively felt a need to focus strong-ly on the needs of 2nd generation Hindus and the greater US so-ciety. Mandirs are Hindu institutions in US that can address these very important needs in a tangible way. Mandirs need to be vibrant centers of activities that meet a variety of needs of the community. At the same time I must commend those vision-

ary leaders of mandirs who have successfully expanded the role of their mandirs to take up greater re-sponsibilities beyond being the places of worship. During last five years we have come to know each other and have developed working relationships. Working together for a divine cause has gradually instilled a confidence to find solutions for some of our problems. Now we need to go to the next phase – come out with bigger programs that can help the community and institutions in more concrete ways. We will need whole-hearted participation from many Mandir executives to accomplish this. Your proven leadership, rich experience with the community, and devotion for selfless service - with the synergy of many of us working together - will accomplish this mammoth task with ease. This year Texas has shown us a real team spirit. HMEC 2010 is graciously sponsored by six Mandirs - Sri Meenaxi Temple Pearland, TX, Barsana Dham, Austin, TX, D/FW Hindu Temple, Irving, TX, Hin-du Temple of The Woodlands, The Woodlands, TX, Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston, TX, and Val-labh Priti Seva Samaj, Houston, TX. We sincerely thank all of them for being wonderful hosts and demonstrating a way to unite for a divine cause.

Jyotish Parekh, President VHP of America.

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SRIPURAM - THE SPIRITUAL OASIS

Sri Narayani Peedam, Vellore

Visit us on web: www.sripuram.org; www.snhrc.org; www.narayanipeedam.org; www.divineloveworldcharity.org;

www.healingheartscharity.org (A 501(C) REGISTERED NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATION)

6 DEC 2010 – 6 Jan 2011

Join us at SRIPURAM!!!

Cathy & John invite all delegates of the HMEC-2010 to bring family and friends to SRIPURAM for blessings and

Divine Inspiration.

We will guide you through this amazing Spiritual Oasis and introduce you to the many charitable programs

initiated to help the poor and the needy.

SRIPURAM is yours to discover!!!

Sripuram Seva There are numerous large-scale social service programs at Sripuram that have been undertaken for the upliftment of the poor and needy. More than 30 charitable initiatives span across areas of education, health and family welfare, employment for rural youth, environmental conservation, promotion of arts, culture and heritage, waste management and many more noble causes that directly benefit the rural population.

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Hinduism Today 107 Kaholalele Road

Kapaa, HI 96746-9304 USA

Telephone: +1-808-822-7032

Fax: +1-808-822-4351 http://www.hinduismtoday.com

HINDU NEWS AND WISDOM FOR YOUR FAMILY, FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

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TEMPLES AND PUJAS: HINDUISM IN THE SECOND GENERATION

Khyati Y. Joshi, Ph. D.

Hinduism arrived on U.S. shores before Hindus did. America had its earliest encounters with Hinduism in the writings of the transcendentalists Ralph Wal-do Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, both of whose more philosophical works were significantly impacted by the Bhagavad Gita. By and large, how-ever, the story of "Hinduism in America" follows the immigration story of Indian immigrants and mi-grants of Indian origin from all parts of the globe in the years since federal reforms in 1946 and 1965 opened America's immigration doors to Asians. The immigrant or "first" generation built Hindu tem-ples across the U.S., motivated by the desire to build community and concerned in particular with the transmission of heritage, ritual, and culture to their children. Looking at the scholarship on Hinduism in America, one would be quick to identify gathering at temples as a major facet of American Hinduism, and the local temple has indeed been the major eth-nic and community center for immigrants; it is a source of social capital and a place where newcom-ers can find acceptance and familiarity. American Hinduism in the Second Generation While the first generation may have built temples with their children in mind, the fact, however, is that second-generation Indian American Hindus general-ly don't find religion in their local temples. For those members of the second generation who grew up in a temple community, the temples did serve as a major force in the lives of many second-generation Hindus. This is where they connected with co-ethnics and co-religionists their own age, and con-sciously and unconsciously learned about Indian culture and Hindu traditions. As grown adults in their 30s and 40s, however, few go to temples with any frequency; raised in the U.S., they have other sources of community and, con-sistent with the highly-mobile American culture, may now live far from the temples and communities in which they were raised. Rather, it is the continual stream of young adult immigrants to the U.S., like "H-1B" visa-holding high-tech workers in the 1990s, who are benefiting from the structures built

by their predecessors. Despite these trends, religion is present in the every-day lives of second-generation American Hindus in a myriad of ways. For example, Hinduism can play important roles in identity development as the source of "critical incidents" in peer interactions, which can shape the individual's ethnic identity; as a motivating factor in the academic choices of second-generation American Hindus during the college years, as they seek information about their home religion; and as a "moral compass" for Hindus raised in a Christian-normative country. The second generation learned from their parents that temple going is not central to practicing Hindu-ism; they grew up seeing, hearing, and sometimes participating in daily prayers and rituals and period-ic fasting, all performed in the home. Many who don't feel connected to the local temple find solace in the idea that temple attendance is not essential. Members of the second generation who continue to go to temple in adulthood often do so because they still reside in their home community and attend with their parents.

Lessons for Scholars

The fact that temple-going is less common must not lead scholars to believe that religion is less im-portant to young Hindus. Some studies have com-pared the involvement of second-generation Asian American and Hispanic Christian youth with their Hindu counterparts, and reached the conclusion that Hindu American youth participated less in religious activities. This conclusion betrays the researchers' failure to understand differences between Christian and Hindu practices. Christianity has, among other things, a weekly Sabbath on which it is traditional to gather for group worship; it also has houses of wor-ship in virtually every city, town, and village in the U.S. Hinduism, by contrast, has neither a day of the week widely recognized as holy in this sense, nor a tradi-tion of group gathering as a primary mode of wor-ship; and while in-home pujas are ubiquitous in the U.S., free-standing temples are not. Scholars, who

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conclude that Hindu youth "participate less" in their religion, while defining participation according to the Christian norm of weekly group worship as a primary mode of religious involvement, fail to un-derstand and appreciate how Hinduism is practiced and lived in America. Scholars and the popular me-dia must avoid making assumptions about belief based upon a Christian-normative understanding of what constitutes "religiosity." Lessons for Temples and Communities The second generation's decision not to participate in temple activities may offer lessons for their par-ents, who still form the governing bodies of most Hindu temples in the U.S. (Most temples are admin-istered by the immigrant generation, and often the second generation not only does not attend but can-not relate to how the temples are run.) Temples may wish to develop services and programming that re-spond to the interests and desires of the second gen-eration. For example, the second generation contin-ues to thirst for knowledge about Hinduism and its tenets; adult classes, conducted in English, might be popular. This is particularly true because the second generation often wants to know not only what to do but why it is done; they reject the idea of performing a ritual simply for the sake of doing so, without un-derstand what they are doing. (U.S. colleges and universities could respond to the same need by of-fering courses beyond the traditional "Introduction to Hinduism," to enable second-generation students to explore the regional, philosophical, and other var-iations in Hindu thought and practice.) The second generation also now finds itself as the parent of a third generation to which they want to impart their home culture but feel ill-equipped to do so because of their perceived lack of knowledge, their own lack

of capacity with the first generation's native lan-guage, and other reasons. What services could tem-ples offer related to parenting and the third genera-tion? Finally, none of the above should be taken as an in-dictment of the first generation or of temple commu-nities. The first generation wrote a vibrant new American immigration story, building temples and creating communities where none had existed be-fore. These facilities provided a sense of community for many in the second generation during their form-ative years, and are now an important social destina-tion for the Indian immigrant waves that have fol-lowed them and continue to arrive on American shores. As American Hindus think about their own experi-ences, and as scholars examine this growing and changing population, all need to understand the complex and different relationship that second-generation Indian American Hindus have with their religion.

About the author

Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey. She is the author of the book New Roots in America’s Sacred Ground: Religion, Race, and Ethnicity in Indian Amer-ica (Rutgers University Press, 2006), and several articles and book chapters. In March 2009, Dr. Joshi was invited to address the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on the matter of hate crimes, religion and immigrant communi-ties. The title of her address was the “Racialization of Religion.” For more information, please visit www.khyatijoshi.com.

Reproduced with the author’s permission

Peace Invocation (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Ishavasya Upanishad) ॐ पणूमदः पणू मदम ्पणूात ्पणूमदु यत े|

पणू य पणूमादाय पणूमेवाव श यत े|| ॐ शाि तः शाि तः शाि तः ||

oṃ pūrṇamadaḥ pūrṇamidam pūrṇāt pūrṇamudacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇamādāya pūrṇamevāvaśiṣyate

oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

Om ! That (Brahman) is infinite, and this (universe) is infinite., The infinite proceeds from the infinite. (Then) taking the infinitude of the infinite (universe), It remains as the infinite (Brahman) alone.

Om ! Peace ! Peace ! Peace !

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US LAW AND HINDU TEMPLES Meeting the challenges of operating under American laws and tax codes

Katherine Nanda (Courtesy of Hinduism Today magazine)

In an ideal world, getting together to build an edifice for the worship of God would be a very simple mat-ter of duty and dharma. Until that ideal world is in place, though, we are stuck with one in which the laws of society largely influence the enterprise of temple organization. The better prepared we are to deal with it, the more successfully we can spare our-selves the myriad of headaches that often arise for temples in the US today. The purpose of this article is to alert temple leaders and members to these issues in order that we antici-pate the potential problems and thereby avoid or mit-igate them. Some of the suggestions here are legal in nature, while many are based on simple common sense. While the discussion centers on US law, most of the same advice applies in other nations. And, nat-urally, with regard to a particular temple or situation, it is prudent to consult a lawyer familiar with the facts and circumstances of the specific temple group as well as the law of the particular state. Please note that this article should not be construed as legal ad-vice. Why incorporate the temple? There are three goals to keep in mind in establishing a temple organization: The organizational structure should serve the stabil-

ity of the temple, so that, The temple can serve the religious and spiritual

needs of the community, so that, The community can worship and serve God. Of course, there are many models of temple organi-zation, from huge temple complexes to simple shrine mandirs served by a single priestly family, to monas-tic societies, and everything in between. For any temple, the objectives of holding property and avoid-ing personal liability of directors are two paramount considerations. Formalizing the entity is critical in doing so. Hence, the incorporation is mandatory. Incorporation means adopting a formal structure and filing documents with the state's corporation office to recognize the entity. Unincorporated religious organ-izations are not recommended, as the risk of personal

liability is too high, although it may be technically allowed in some states. Specifically, anyone acting on behalf of an unincorporated association may be legally held personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the association, such as those arising from contracts or personal injuries. A temple is generally set up as a not-for-profit or nonprofit corporation under the laws of the state. There is no one set of rules governing all the 50 American states and the District of Columbia, so the temple's own attorney will be the best source of in-formation about this, as well as all other aspects of the operation. Being a nonprofit corporation means that no one can profit personally from the activity of the temple: any economic activity can only be for the tax-exempt purposes of the temple. The fact that no one can profit does not, of course, mean that the tem-ple cannot pay a reasonable compensation for ser-vices rendered, even by directors. If the temple ever closes, all of its remaining assets have to go to anoth-er similar organization or they will be taken over by the state. A temple also cannot intervene in political campaigns or employ a substantial part of its activity in attempting to influence legislation. By incorporat-ing, we formalize the institution of the temple, estab-lishing it as an entity with a certain set of relation-ships and responsibilities to the community. At that time we create a board of directors or trustees whose obligations to the temple and the community are stat-ed and understood. Incorporation gives members (if the temple has members), donors, the congregation and the community a reason to have confidence in the future of the temple. It sets up a fairly predictable decision-making process, and it protects the directors or trustees from personal exposure for the debts and liabilities of the temple. Even if the temple organiza-tion is starting out very small, it should be incorpo-rated from the beginning. It is also important to take the time to agree on an operating plan that will truly serve the temple's dis-tinct needs. When drawing up these instruments, or-ganizers should work closely with an attorney and be vigilant that nothing is taken for granted. Having rules in place and following them helps to avert con-flicts before they arise. The bylaws of an organiza-

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tion are especially important, as they state the de-tails of how it will operate, such as its governing structure, board and officers, election procedures, membership rules and methods for changing all the rules. The organization need not be set up as a democracy, with each member having an equal say in the elec-tion of the board. The Catholic Church, for example, is set up in a way that recognizes its internal hierar-chical nature. A Hindu temple set up under a domi-nant religious leader can adopt a set of rules and guidelines as a part of the constitution or articles of incorporation and bylaws of the temple that recog-nize the leader's preeminence in deciding matters of both religious teaching and organization. For exam-ple, bylaws of this type of temple organization can provide that its religious leader may appoint all or a certain number of members of the board. Or it may provide that the leader has veto power over all or certain decisions of the board, such as those entail-ing matters of religious principles. It is also possible to set up the temple with a self-perpetuating board that appoints new board members without a vote of the membership. A very small temple corporation may consist of two or three directors, and a large one may have dozens, depending upon state rules. The character of the temple and the desires of its organizers and support-ers will dictate its organizational framework and personality. In this regard, an organization that de-pends on public support may also find that it must be open to more inclusive decision-making than a smaller or more specialized one that may be able to function via a more exclusive system. After incorporating, the temple will be required to observe certain formalities of state law, including the annual meeting, which must be held, with for-mally recorded in minutes kept by the secretary. Although this and other rules might seem to be un-necessary to a small organization, compliance is the best way to protect the corporate good standing and public good faith of the temple. Most states also re-quire corporations to file certain basic information periodically to keep their registration current. Fail-ure to do so may result in suspension of the temple's corporate standing. The state also has the authority to suspend any corporation if it violates state law or policy.

Designate the temple as a "church "? When they hear the word church, many people do not realize that under American law and tax codes the term includes the institutions of all types of reli-gious faiths, not just Christian. In fact, the designa-tion of a Hindu temple as a "church " declares the truth of our existence as religious institutions on equal par with all others. We enthusiastically acknowledge our status as members of the rich di-versity of the American religious life. A religious organization doesn't have to use the word church in its name to be a church. A current example is the Hindu Society of Minnesota, whose new temple suf-fered extensive vandalism just before it was to open. The temple is a legal church, and its president would occasionally refer to it as "our church " when talking with the media about the attack. The language made it easier for the local people, mostly church-going Christians, to understand the significance of the temple for the Hindus. After incorporating, most temples in America obtain tax exempt status as a "501(c)(3) organiza-tion" (named for the section of the tax code regulat-ing them). The "church " designation can be request-ed when applying, or later. Section 501(c)(3) status is available to corporations that demonstrate that they are supported by the public for educational, scientific, religious or charitable purposes. Under the 501(c)(3) designation, the temple is exempt from real estate property taxes on land used for religious purposes, from sales tax in some states and can get nonprofit rates for postal mail. As a 501(c)(3), but without the "church " designation, the organization is required to file form 990 with the IRS each year detailing its revenue, expenses and activities, and answering questions about political activities, family or business relationships among directors and em-ployees, etc. The form is public record, available to anyone who requests it. There is also the little-known "corporation sole" structure as discussed in the next section. To be considered a church, the organization must have characteristics such as "recognized creed and form of worship, & distinct religious history; ordained ministers selected after completing pre-scribed courses of study; literature of its own; [and] established places of worship " (See IRS Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, http:/

(Continued on page 62)

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A RATIONALE FOR THE GURUKULA SYSTEM OF EDUCATION Krishna Kirti Das

A gurukula is a traditional school that is run by an acharya, a brahmana who teaches young boys both primary educational topics and moral behavior. Gurukula literally means the “house of the guru.” From the age of five, boys who have been accepted as students by the acharya go away from their own families to live in his ashram as members of his own family until they have completed their studies. The rationale for this system of education is to produce men who are thoroughly pure and moral in thought and behavior. Since moral behavior is best changed through close association with those who have the highest nature, and since the gurukula system utiliz-es this principle to a superlative degree, the guruku-la system of education is necessary for establishing a high degree of moral behavior throughout all clas-ses of society. The authority of the gurukula system rests on the idea that human nature is the primary basis of moral behavior. We can understand this from our experi-ence with petty theft. Although most people who walk into a store feel no urge to steal, a shoplifter for some reason has an irresistible urge. Even though he knows that stealing is wrong, he cannot help himself. Immoral behavior, however, is not limited to petty theft. Greedy business leaders in America have been responsible for much of the cur-rent American recession. They already had more money than most people could ever dream of, and they took ethics courses from all the best business schools. Yet like the petty thief, they also could not check their urges. This shows that although one should know the difference between right and wrong, that knowledge alone is not enough to pro-duce moral behavior. Those who are predisposed to act immorally will probably act immorally, however good their education has been otherwise. A primary education should thus also strive to improve the na-ture of its students. This goal is the fundamental ra-tionale for the gurukula system. To understand how the gurukula system changes and improves the nature of its students, it is neces-sary to understand the conception of human nature the gurukula system is based on. This conception is found in the sāńkhya system of philosophy. Accord-ing to the sāńkhya model, a particular combination of the three modes of material nature (the gu as) determines one’s psychological nature. The three modes are goodness, passion, and ignorance (sattva, rajas, tamas), and all three are always present in various proportions in all embodied living beings. Usually, one of the modes of nature is dominant,

and the dominant mode will significantly color one’s psychological predisposition. And this psy-chological predisposition will usually determine one’s place in society as an intellectual, an adminis-trator, a producer, or a worker (bramhana, kshatriya, vaishya, or shudra). All societies everywhere have these classes. Despite psychological predisposition, the modes of nature in any one person are subject to change. As explained by Lord Krishna in the Gita, the modes of nature one possesses change through association: puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuńkte prakṛti-jān guṇān, kāraṇaḿ guṇa-sańgo ‘sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu, “The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material na-ture. Thus he meets with good and evil among vari-ous species” (Bhagavad-gītā 13.22). The important words here are kāra am guṇa-sańgaḥ, that associa-tion with the modes of nature causes one’s psycho-logical predisposition. This explains why our petty shoplifters and greedy business leaders simply can-not help themselves. Asat-sańga, bad association, predisposes them to immoral habits of thought and action. Classroom instruction in ethics alone cannot help them. The remedy for asat-sańga is sat-sańga, or good association. Earlier in the Gita, Lord Krishna intro-duces this truth by saying, sańgāt sañjāyate kāma᷉ —from association develops desire (2.62). This is where the concept of satsang comes from. The gurukula system takes advantage of this principle by making mandatory the residence of students at the acharya’s ashram. Because the acharya is a brahma-na and therefore in the mode of goodness, or sattva-guṇa, his close association will improve the stu-dent’s own nature. According to the Gita (18.42), the qualities of a brahmana are peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness. Other mem-bers of society should adopt these qualities as far as possible. Politicians and military leaders should be wise and self-controlled. Business leaders should be fair and equitable in their business dealings. And workers should be honest, dilligent, and not given to stealing. Through the principle of satsang, the gurukula system systematically develops moral be-havior to the highest degree possible throughout all sections of society. Of course, day schools will always be the main kind of school. As per the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Nārada Muni himself in a former lifetime had attended a

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day-school run by a brahmana. The principle of satsang is valid in day schools, too. But Nārada, in narrating his life to Vyāsadeva, credited his spiritual advancement to close association with great saintly persons who he once served during the rainy season.

O muni, in the last millennium I was born as the son of a certain maidservant engaged in the service of brāhmaṇas who were following the principles of Vedānta. When they were living together during the four months of the rainy sea-son, I was engaged in their person-al service. Although they were im-partial by nature, those followers of the Vedānta blessed me with their causeless mercy. As far as I was concerned, I was self-controlled and had no attachment for sports, even though I was a boy. In addition, I was not naughty, and I did not speak more than re-quired. Once only, by their permis-sion, I took the remnants of their food, and by so doing all my sins were at once eradicated. Thus be-ing engaged, I became purified in heart, and at that time the very na-ture of the transcendentalist be-came attractive to me.

(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.23 – 25) Nārada’s example here nicely illustrates the efficacy

of satsang, which the gurukula u lizes to the high-est degree. The difference between day schools and gurukulas would be something like the difference between public schools and college preparatory schools, but at the level of primary educa on and more for the sake of producing morally stalwart members of society. Due to close associa on with the acharya, gurukulas will have an advantage over day schools in their ability to produce men who are pure in thought and habit. This is the ra onale for establishing gurukulas. This is not to say that the gurukula system will completely eradicate vice, but as a social ins tu on it will do much to help control it. Temple leaders and other important people in society should thus bear in mind this purpose and func on of the gurukula system. And according to this idea, they should establish gurukulas for the sake of crea ng a future class of leaders who are thoroughly moral in thought and habit.

About the author: Krishna Kirti Das is President of the Samprajña Institute, a public policy research center that focuses on areas where dharma and public policy meet. The Samprajña Institute’s website can be found at http://samprajna.org.

Peace Invocation

ॐ यौ: शाि तर त र ँ शाि त: Om dyauḥ śāntirantarikṣaṁ śāntiḥ

पृ थवी शाि तराप: शाि तरोषधय: शाि त: । pṛthivī śāntirāpaḥ śāntiroṣadhayaḥ śāntiḥ

वन पतय: शाि त व वे देवा: शाि त म शाि त: vanaspatayaḥ śāntirviśvedevāḥ śāntirbrahma śāntiḥ

सव शाि त: शाि तरेव शाि त: सा मा शाि तरे ध ॥ sarvaṁ śāntiḥ śāntireva śāntiḥ; sā mā śāntiredhi

ॐ शाि त: शाि त: शाि त: ॥ Om śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ

May peace radiate there in the whole sky as well as in the vast ethereal space everywhere. May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, trees and creepers.

May peace flow over the whole universe. May peace be in the Supreme Being Brahman. And may there always exist in all peace and peace alone.

Om, Peace, Peace, Peace !

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The floor of the Hindu Tem-ple of Mississippi in Bran-don, Mississippi, USA in unique...One of a kind...It tells the story of our universe as we know it today! Some temple floors incorpo-rate a design known as Shri Yantra, which is a mathemati-cally precise series of nine interlocking triangles, artisti-cally expressing the mascu-

line, the feminine, and the absolute with respect to the physical world. An additional uniqueness of the Hindu Temple located at 173 Vernon Jones Avenue in Brandon, Mississippi (USA)—besides being the only authentic Hindu Temple in our state—is the floor design layout, which depicts a complex geo-metric arrangement that illustrates the story of our cosmos --this unique geometric layout cannot be found in any other Hindu Temple. The polished black granite floor from Andhra Pradesh, India, out-side the Sancta Sanctorum generates a secondary reflection of the interior, invoking a sense of sus-pension between the inner world and the outer, physical world. Inspired by the first few slokas of the Purusha Sukta, Rig-Veda hymn 10.90, dedicated to the Purusha, the "Cosmic Being," Dr. Salil Tiwari designed the floor’s layout as a fusion of both the traditional and the modern view of our cosmos. An artistic attempt to bind consciousness of mankind with space, time, matter, and energy, this design consists of six discs arranged within a rectangular boundary. The Brahma-Disc, the first large disc, is located on the East side between the two entry gates and con-

tains a central axis which in-corporates the Mrigasira Nakshatra (Orion Constella-tion) that is pierced by an ar-row pointing to the North-west. The Mrigasira Nakshatra (Orion Constella-tion), placed next to Rohini

(Aldebaran), is a depiction of the oldest documented Indo-European story of creation. The arrow itself, piercing the Mrigasira Nakshatra (Orion Constella-

tion), symbolizes the initial symmetry. The multiple spokes arising from the central axis symbolize the sets of dimensional and non-dimensional constants of our Universe without which our Universe would not exist in its present condition. At the tips of the spokes are cloverleaf burst patterns representing the short-lived first generation stars in the early history of our Universe. The outer rim of the Brahma-Disc binds the early Universe into a single unit. Westward from the Brahma-Disc, the second largest Dhatu-Disc contains a star in its core, representing bursting second-generation stars that gave birth to the heavier than hydrogen elements present in our

Universe today. These elements are artistically depicted using radiating diamond shapes. Fur-ther westward is the Surya-Disc which rep-resents the Sun. The

two shades of the flames represent the force of grav-ity and the electromagnetic radiation that are re-sponsible for most of the apparent motion we expe-rience during our short lives on the surface of the Earth. While their number represents the basic three-unit code utilized by the fundamental molecule of life (DNA), the last three identical discs, arranged in a row along the North-South axis, are the Jiva-Discs and represent the tree of life on Earth. Notably, the

short segments placed on the outer rim of the Jiva-Discs are detached from the outer rim as a humble sym-bol of the human conscious-ness. The distance from the center of the Brahma-Disc to the western rim of the central Jiva-Disc represents the age of our Universe

while the distance from the Surya-Disc to the west-ern rim of the central Jiva-Disc represents the age of our Solar System. This distance as a measure of time is surprisingly mentioned in the ancient Hindu texts as Kalpa. The Dhatu-Disc and the Surya-Disc are placed along this timeline with mathematical precision.

A HINDU TEMPLE WITH UNIQUE FLOOR DESIGN

Salil Chandra Tiwari, MD

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The arrow in the center of the Brahma-Disc, which stretches from Mrigasira Nakshatra (Orion Constel-lation) through the Rohini (Aldebaran) and points towards Krittika (Pleiades), represents the time-span of the Sarasvati-Sindhu (Indus) Civilization. The changing appearance of the pre-dawn visible con-stellation at vernal equinox has been described in the ancient Hindu texts and is a result of the axial precession of our planet that has a cycle length of approximately 26,000 years. The floor pattern in-corporates numerous other hidden symbols waiting to be explored. All visitors are welcome.

The inauguration ceremonies for the Mandir were held on July 9 - 11, 2010. (http://www.htsm. or-g/2010Website/ htsm/index. htm)

About the author: Dr. Salil C. Tiwari ([email protected]) is a Neurologist who came to the US in 1969 at the age of 9 with his parents Dr. Suresh Chandra Tiwari, now a retired professor of Agronomy, and Dr. Shanti Pandey, who is practicing Family Medicine in Fayette, Mis-sissippi. His undergraduate degree is from Tulane University, and M.D. from University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He is board certified with residency training from University of California, Davis School of Medicine in Internal Medicine (1987), Neu-rology (1991), and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (1992). He is married to Sharmila Pathak-Tiwari and has three children (Tanya a senior at Duke University, Sonia a first year student at Tulane University, and Athena a rising 6th grader. The author is an avid aviator who has been flying since 1978 and has more than 1500 hours of flight time with multi-engine land instrument rating and owns a Cirrus SR22. The author loves sciences (particularly human cognition) and philosophy.

Best Wishes and Compliments HMEC-2010

South Texas Hindu Society S. V. Temple

Temple Hours:

8:00 AM - 12:00 AM & 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM Weekends & Holidays: 8:00 AM - 8:30 PM

Address: 10401 McKinzie Ln,

Corpus Christi, TX 78410 Phone: (361) 241 - 0550

Email: [email protected]

ॐ असतो मा स गमय । तमसो मा यो तगमय । मृ योमाऽमतृ ंगमय । ॐ शाि त: शाि त: शाि त: ॥ Om asato mā sadgamaya; Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya; Mṛtyormā’mṛtaṁ gamaya; Om śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ, śāntiḥ

Lead us from the unreal to the real; Lead us from darkness to light; Lead us from death to immortality; Om, Peace, Peace, Peace !

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About six years ago, before beginning Bal Vihar, I had always accepted my Indian culture, yet had an aversion to explaining it to my friends of different ethnicities and backgrounds. I had felt that I did not have the right knowledge to explain the true mean-ing of being an Indian and its values. Being a Hindu of Indian origin and raised in an American society always posed a dilemma to me as to how I should behave. I observed that when in school, I was more polite, reserved, and self-conscious. When in my familiar Indian surroundings, I felt free and more at ease. It remained a puzzle to me as to what my In-dian culture and background truly meant to me. Up-on starting Bal Vihar in fourth grade, I learned to appreciate my culture through its classes and my mindset and idealism changed as I began to under-stand my background. Bal Vihar has portrayed a new dimension in my life as I have grown and matured. I recall a few years ago, Swami Tadatmananda had asked my religion class the meaning of being a Hindu. The class gasped with a blank face, not knowing how to an-swer him. Swamiji then told us how, although we claim ourselves to be a Hindu, we do not have the slightest idea as to what our religion truly signifies. Swamiji then stated how Hinduism is not a faith like Christianity, Buddhism, or Islamism, but a way of life. Hinduism, also referred to as Sanatana Dhar-ma, is a means of leading life through the path of righteousness and goodwill. Sanatana Dharma de-clares that something cannot come out of nothing and, therefore, the universe itself is the manifesta-tion of the Divine being. We, as Hindus, believe that the universe was created by the divine being, and that everything that happens in this universe is due to the laws of the Divine. In addition to gaining a better understanding of my (Hindu) background, I have also learned the phonet-ics and basics of Hindi language. Being a frequent traveler to India, learning Hindi has expanded my means of communication and has provided addition-al insight into my culture. Bal Vihar experiences have helped me broaden my outlook and enable me to appreciate the diversities in the world we live in. Through Bal Vihar field trips, I have come to ac-quire knowledge about various aspects of Hindu re-ligion and the ways in which people follow it. Two years ago, Bal Vihar funded a trip to the Hindu American Religious Institute, commonly known as the HARI Temple, located in Harrisburg. The visit was of valuable experience to me as I witnessed var-

ious languages and activity classes being offered there, which included Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, reli-gion, yoga, tabla, sitar, folk dance, and Bharatnat-yam. The stories that I have learned in religion class over the past few years have also had a profound impact on me. One story Swamiji told us was about the significance of idol worshipping. During Satsang, he began with how one day a man asked him why he was worshipping a statue. Swamiji responded by saying why do you speak into a piece of a plastic, referring to a telephone. The man was bewildered by his comment. Swamiji stated, just as we convey our messages to the person on the other line, through a plastic equipment, we convey our prayers to the Lord through the idol or murtis. Additionally, he said how the murtis are no less than God Himself because of the Pran Prathistha ceremony. In another incident, Swamiji asked our class if we understand the meanings of our prayers. The class stared at him with no response; not directly understanding what the Sanskrit prayers we say mean. During these years, through the efforts of Swamiji, Raj Uncle, and my teachers, Bal Vihar has provided me the op-portunity to better understand the meanings of many prayers and appreciate the significance of the man-tras I recite. Bal Vihar has become a facet of my life that posi-tively resonates within me. Bal Vihar has taught and led me to evolve as an individual. After experienc-ing the Bal Vihar program, I have developed a sense of confidence in handling with the diversities around me. Over the past six years, Bal Vihar has provided me a precious learning opportunity in bet-ter understanding my religion, culture, and lan-guage. I earnestly hope that the enjoyment and spir-ituality that Bal Vihar has invoked in me will go a long way in guiding me through the years.

BAL VIHAR GRADUATION SPEECH Shweta Sen (9th Grade), Allentown Hindu Temple

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Best wishes for the HMEC 2010 success

For the benefit of Houstonians and to fulfill her dream of establishing a big worship center for 2 spir-itual saints of India, Mrs. Lakshmi Ben Thakkar (also known as “Maataji”), started weekly satsangs through a handful of devotees in 1996. Within 5-6 years, this center became popular and the number of devotees rose to over 300. The aim of this religious center is to promote the philosophy of Shri Sai Baba of Shirdi and Shri Jalaram Bapa of Virpur, through regular spir itual activities. Both these saints are great mystics and god realized persons who lived in India early 20th century. They promoted universal god, love towards humanity and practiced their principles through simple communal living and social service. As an organization, our goal is to reach out several people who also believe and practice philosophy of human love and spirituality that would improve human understanding and peaceful communal liv-ing. Following are some of the activities already in progress • Weekly evening Prayers and Ceremonies • Daily Aaartis (morning, afternoon, evening and night) • Frequent discourses and religious lectures on Indian spirituality • Social service activities for helping poor and needy people • Celebrate all the major Hindu festivals To formalize the activities and to keep her health in check, Maataji has requested some devotees to incorporate the organization. Accordingly, a non-profit organization called Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir (SSJM) was incorporated in the state of Texas in 2002. The SSJM since has been governing as an independent body providing a diverse range of religious and social service activities in the Hou-ston area. With the number of increasing to over 700 in since 2006, the need for expanding the SSJM religious center became necessary. A new temple of 20,000+ sq. ft. was constructed in a 7.5 acre land near Sugar Land, Texas and was formally inaugurated in August 2009. With the inauguration of the new temple, number of activities has increased by several folds as we look forward for more volunteers and devotees in making all these programs successful. Our ultimate goal as an organization is to create an environement that allows each of us to enrich our lives through spiritual living and contribute to community peace.

Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir 13845 W Bellfort St,

Sugar Land, Fort Bend Texas 77498

Daily visiting hours for temple visitation Mon-Wed, Friday : 8 AM – 12 noon; 5 PM – 9 PM Thursday, Saturday and Sunday : 8 AM – 9 PM

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About Hindu Temple of The Woodlands

Established in 2005 with land purchased in the same year, Hindu Temple of The Woodlands is currently under construction with the land cleared, the foundation nearly completed, and utility connections in pro-gress. It is located at South Forestgate and Woodlands Parkway. Because of its location in The Wood-lands in a wooded area adjacent to Forestgate Park, one of The Woodland’s one hundred parks, it will be one of the most beautiful temple sites in the area.

The temple will have Ganesha, Balaji, Shiva, Lakshmi, and Radha Krishna enshrined. The temple will have yagna facilities, classroom and library space, a large lobby and a kitchen.

Even though the temple is still under construction, it has an active educational program and has celebrat-ed a number of festivals. Community service is also a part of the temple’s mission. Services Available Spring 2011

Community Center Rentals Priest Services Puja Items Puja Services

Address:

Hindu Temple of The Woodlands P.O. Box 130307

The Woodlands, TX 77393 Phone: 281.292.8381 FAX: 281.292.8381

Web: http://www.woodlandshindutemple.org/

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Recently, a local Inter Faith organization I belong to, which has as its members some of the prominent Clergy of Christianity, Protestants & Catholics, Ju-daism, Islam, Buddhism & Hinduism, of the local religious institutions. It was requested if I could pre-sent the ‘Hindu concept of DIVINITY’ to the group. It struck me as a challenge and an opportunity, to teach and learn. This topic takes volumes of Vedas, Puranas, a big part of Gita, and a campaign of Adi Shankaracharya, and yet the concept is hard to understand. But when you look at the topic through the glasses of modern science, energy-matter equivalence, the concept is not only a lot easier to understand but also leaves one struck with an awe - how did the ancient Hindu Saints, grasped so well the modern scientific con-cepts, without the aid of any instrumentation, except for the shear intuition, imagination, observation and logic? In the process our ancient Saints, Rishies, and Yo-gies showed the ways via which the human being becomes capable of acquiring the “TRUTH” through the power of intuition. The seers had devel-oped the techniques of acquiring such knowledge, as a part of Sanatan Dharma. And that puts the followers of Hinduism and those of other major Faiths far apart. I saw herein an op-portunity for all Hindus and the Hindu Temples to learn, be proud of, and present such a critical knowledge to the communities around them, as to what is so special about Sanatan Dharma. THE PAPER “The Hindu concept of Divinity is explicit in the Hindu greeting of “Namaste”. It is a derivative of joining two Sanskrit words ‘namah’ (I bow) and ‘te’ (to you). The word “Namaste” is expressed with a gesture of bowing when two people meet. Each joins the palms of the two hands, bows, and states the word “Namaste”. In this gesture, the left palm represents the heart and the right the soul. The join-ing of hands means ‘from my heart and soul’. Through the spiritual meaning of the gesture and the words, each is expressing to other, “The Divinity in me bows to and greets the Divinity in you.” This concept of Divinity is explained in great details in the Hindu scriptures known as Vedas, Puranas and Bhagvad Gita that: All beings are Divine. BASIS: One wonders, what is the basis of the philosophy that all beings are Divine, and does the definition of beings include non-humans too?

According to the Vedic concept of ‘monism’, the answer would be implied affirmative. However a more Vedic and Scientific rationale is presented hereunder. Monism is found in the Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda, which speaks of the Creator as ‘One being-non-being that breathed without breath'. Due to the presence of a strong ‘ego’ in humans, monism was not easy to follow and accept. As a re-sult, systems began to develop that were based on the concept of duality, and the followers of such systems were known as ‘Dvaita Wadi’. They sepa-rated God and Humans, as two different parties, ex-clusive of each other, claiming that Atma (Soul) and Parmatma (God) were two entities. Yet true and pure monism is contrary to duality. Some Vedic scholars found ‘Dvaita’ to be unsus-tainable to the Vedic rationale and scientific princi-ples of monism. Among the monists, Saint Shanka-racharya was the most brilliant scholar and philoso-pher. His approach relied on the Vedic knowledge of the scientific fact that everything in the cosmic system is pure energy. His writings and discourses unequivocally explicated absolute monism, and the non-dualist philosophy of Advaita Vedanta has withstood many rebuttals and continues to be very influential. Upholding: “All is Brahma, the ultimate entity, a formless ‘Divine’ ground of all that exists.” The Vedic scholars understood the evolutionary pro-cess of the universe very well, and exactly how be-ings came to be, including humans. The state from which the universe started is explained in the Vedic statement: Prajapatir vai idam asit: In the beginning was Brah-ma. Tasya vag dvitya asit; With whom was the Word. Vag vai paramam Brahma; And the word was Brahma. One of the fundamental concepts of Hindu Dharma is that "the Reality is one without a second. This re-ality is beyond description by the human mind”. Hence it is indicated by a single word, "Brahma"; That is, "Infinite, eternal, changeless ex-istence is the All; from that All, All comes forth; to that All, All returns." Chandogya Upanishad (vi.2.1) All is Divine Brahma; because from that all ema-nates and unto that all merges. At one level every religiously enlightened self-realized Hindu sees his/her self being one with the Universal Self. The objective of attainment of ‘self-realization’ in yogic philosophy is to under-

DIVINITY IN HINDUISM: AN INTER-FAITH PRESENTATION Tej Tanden

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stand that we all are it and it is us, i.e. the ‘Divine’. The technique of achieving ‘self-realization’, one-ness with God, the sense of divinity in us, via prac-tice of deep meditation, is available to all. It is ex-plained in details in Gita (Ch. 6).

At a more worldly level, a Hindu also under-stands more than any other religionist in the world, the concept of a harmonious global society that should unite, prosper, love and live in peace with each other. ‘Lokasasmasta sukhino bhavantu’- meaning -Let happiness be to all the human beings; and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ - meaning -World is one family. These are not mere empty words spoken by Saints a long while ago; they are the derivatives of the same basic philosophy of Vedas that the Divinity exists everywhere and in all. The questions could be, ‘how to understand the ‘Vedic Basic’. For the common man, the answers to such questions are very well explained, rationally and logically, in ‘Bhagvad Gita’, which contains a gist of Scientific Concepts and Philosophy of Vedas. Gita simplifies the ideas via Lord Krishna’s answers to a series of questions posed by His devotee Arjun. The BASIC : First and foremost, how did the Universe start, and who is maintaining it? In Gita, Shri Krishna says regarding the creation of the universe:

Ê´É¹]õ¦ªÉÉ½þÊ¨ÉnÆù EÞòiºxÉ¨ÉäEòÉÆ¶ÉäxÉ ÎºlÉiÉÉä VÉMÉiÉÂ**10.42**

“Vishtabhyahmidam, kretsnmekashen sthito jagata.” “I pervade and sustain this entire universe with an

infinitesimal fraction of MySelf.” The modern scientific concept of the birth of our Universe, starting from a small singularity, is same as stated above, the “Infinitesimal fraction” of Om. Modern Scientists are amazed at the similarity be-tween science and ancient Gita on the subject of ‘Cosmic Origin’. Today this concept is easy for any science students to understand.

ॐ पूणमदः पूण मदम ्पूणात ्पूणमुद यते |

पूण य पूणमादाय पूणमेवाव श यते || That is whole; this is whole; From that whole this

whole came; From that whole, this whole removed, What remains

is whole. Mathematicians know it well that if you take any part or whole of infinity from infinity, remainder is still infinity. Applying this principle to the infinite Brahma, the divine, of which we are creation, in-

cluding any and all parts of this universe, would be divine.

According to Vedic Philosophy, the world started about 16 billion years ago. Carl Sagan, the western cosmologist, explains the Vedic concept of Cosmology, its cycles, and its age in a video of a TV series. (Cosmos by Carl Sagan, published in book format, and by PBS TV on DVD; URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo4b8EiY9Vk ) Since the beginning of this cycle, starting from the Big Bang, the Universe is undergoing a seamless activity of changes of forms shaping the world (for us this earth) as we see it today. This all space in which the Universe is contained, with all its con-tents, is in and a part of the Divine Brahma. According to Vedic concept, there were three basic forms of “OM” prior to the start of the formation of this Universe. The 4th is a derivative of the first 3: Shakti, i.e. Energy, is OM Prakriti, i.e Laws of Nature/Science, is OM. Akash, i.e. Space. That contains the Universe, is OM. Leela, Cosmic Script. (basis of Omniscient). The transitory state/drama, of changing (ever transform-ing) universe, is also OM. The Divinity of all is based on the fact that all are a result, or the Cosmic Drama is a result of the inter-action of divine factors “Shakti”, “Prakriti”, in “Akash”, starting from an infinitesimal fraction of the divine Brahma. From the beginning of this Uni-verse, and the earth contained therein, the divinity of everything within is unchanged. Thus all that we see, happening all around us, is by and in accordance with the rules of the Divine, Pra-kriti; in the structure of the divine, Space; by the forces of the divine, Energy; from the content of the divine, Matter, in accordance with the script of di-vine Leela --in other words, the divine Brahma. The Divine beings thus created, are playing their roles, without any control of one’s own, except that of Di-vine Brahma. And that is very succinctly clarified in Gita:

º´É¦ÉÉ´ÉVÉäxÉ EòÉèxiÉäªÉ ÊxÉ¤Érù& º´ÉäxÉ Eò¨ÉÇhÉÉ* EòiÉÖÈ xÉäSUôÊºÉ ªÉx¨ÉÉä½þÉiEòÊ®ú¹ªÉºªÉ´É¶ÉÉä%Ê{É iÉiÉÂ**18.60**

“O Arjuna, bound by thy own duty, born of thy own nature, that which from delusion thou wishest not to do, even that thou shalt do helplessly.” And further it states in the next verse:

<Ç¶÷÷́ É®ú& ºÉ´ÉÇ¦ÉÚiÉÉxÉÉÆ ¾þqäù¶Éä%VÉÖÇxÉ ÊiÉ¹`öÊiÉ* §ÉÉ¨ÉªÉxºÉ´ÉÇ¦ÉÚiÉÉÊxÉ ªÉxjÉÉ°üføÉÊxÉ ¨ÉÉªÉªÉÉ**18.61**

“The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings, O Arju-na, causing all beings, by His power of Prakriti (laws of nature) to act, as if the soul is mounted on a

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machine.” In simple words, ‘all are Divine, carrying out the Divine will’.

About the author: Tej Tanden is engaged in development and management of residential and commercial real estate. Currently, he is in the process of developing 8 acres of land at Concord River, Billerica, MA dedi-cated to creating better understanding and promotion of Sanatana Dharma. Email: [email protected]

BEST WISHES AND COMPLIMENTS HMEC - 2010

3671 Hyatts Road, P.O.Box 1466, Powell OH 43065-1466 740-369-0717

Temple Hours: Weekdays 9 am-12 noon & 6 pm-9 pm Weekends 9 am-9 pm

Universal Forgiveness and Friendship Prayer (Pratikaman Vandita Sutra)

खामे म स वजीवे, स वे जीवा खमतं ुमे | म ी मे स व भएुस,ु वेरम म झ ंन केणई ||

khamemi savvajīve, savve jīvā khamṁtu me | mittī me savva bhueesu, veram majjhaṁ na keṇaī ||

I grant forgiveness to all living beings. May all living beings grant me forgiveness.

My friendship is with all living beings. I have no animosity towards any living beings.

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Traditional role of Mandir is to provide a place of worship and darshan of one’s Iistdevta. We are liv-ing in a land, where the population includes people belonging to many different religions. Since Hindus make only less than one percent of the total U.S. population, it is imperatives that Mandirs must ex-pand and modify their roles to strengthen the Hindu community. Mandirs are not only the place for ritu-als and congregation; they should also be centers for dissemination of knowledge and philosophies of the Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism. Let us educate our-selves and others as well. The role of the Mandirs has to be expanded to include social services, reli-gious, and cultural education based on Hindu scrip-tures and priestly training. Hindus are very fortunate in this world, keeping the concept of self- realization alive through the philos-ophy of “Aham” (I am He) and “Aham Brahmos-mi” (I am Brahma –the Absolute Reality.) The Ve-das inspired goodness that includes a sense of uni-versal brotherhood and selfless services without any bias. The basic needs of Hindu community as a rou-tine are fulfilled by Mandirs. Hindu Mandirs can provide a support system to help the member of the community in their time of need such as terminal illness, separation or loss of loved ones, etc., which create a situation of helplessness. Without proper help the pattern of life could turn into severe depres-sion, feeling of acute loneliness, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and even lead to suicide. With other social obligations and due to peer pressure they are even ready to change their precious religion for an-other religion. The valuable role of proper information about “Hindu Dharma” to the new generation Hindus would create an environment for the youth to acknowledge, appreciate, and honor the greatness of their own Hindu culture. In future these new gener-ations of Hindus will be great representatives of their own precious Hindu culture, especially when they recognize appropriately the relationship be-tween scientific based concepts of Hinduism and its deep connection with human life. The dedicated leaders of Mandirs, priests, and pu-

jaris should become familiar with the concepts of modification of their role: to provide education to multi-lingual and diverse-culture-oriented classes in addition to coordination of the rituals and religious festivals. Cultural events and social celebrations should be performed without discrimination or bias. Organizing leadership workshops, addiction-prevention, and lectures on social issues can help to maintain a high standard of Hindu community. They can invite and set up the guidelines for the guest-speakers to speak to the community on various issues of common interest such as spiritual discours-es, social and Health-related topics, practical aspect of finance, employment, Health clinics, nutrition, etc. They could also help update and provide infor-mation about networking with HMEC, VHPA, UNESCO, Hindu-affiliated Indian organizations, Temples, Ashrams, Hindu-related training institu-tions, Senior citizens associations, shelter for abused and battered women and children, and locations for counseling. Participation in interfaith organizations at local and national levels to project a positive im-age by joining various seminars, conferences, de-bates, etc. from time to time would be further desira-ble functions the Mandirs should perform. Estab-lishment of academic Hindu Institutions would help the young and the adult alike for higher studies, re-search on Hinduism, developing Libraries in tradi-tional or electronic format. Utilization of media such as use of the press, television, radio, Internet, etc., would be helpful to pursue and publicize Hin-duism as our dream-goal. Hinduism should be intro-duced to non–Hindus in a simple language, and in a precise and informative way. The goal of expanding the role of Mandirs could be accomplished with sup-port from dedicated Hindu leaders, educators, retired resident and non-resident Indians, priests, Pundits, and volunteers.

MODIFY THE ROLE OF HINDU MANDIRS IN OUR SOCIETY Manju Shrivastava

About the author: Manju Shrivastava is the past President and Founder Member of DFW Hindu Temple “Ekta Mandir”, Irving, Texas. She is a Professor in the College of Nursing at Texas Woman’s University, Dallas ,Texas. E-mail: [email protected]

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P.O. Box 1059, Saylorsburg, PA 18353 Phone: 570-992-2339 Fax: 570-992-7150

Www.arshavidya.org Arsha Vidya Bookstore: http://books.arshavidya.org

1st and 3rd weekends of every month Bhagavad Gita Classes Yoga Sanskrit Meditation Workshops Pranayama Vedic Heritage for Children and Youth

Resident Vedanta Programs

Vedanta and Bhagavad Gita courses Holiday weekend family Vedanta retreats Week long family Vedanta retreats One- to two-month long Vedanta course

The Institute for the study of Vedanta, Sanskrit and Yoga founded by Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Workshops Yoga Ayurveda Classical Indian Music Astrology Classical Indian Dance (Summer only)

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Temple Service by our two priests Pujas Homas Samskaras

USHA HEADQUARTERS

5430 Jimmy Carter Boulevard Suite 234,

Norcross, GA 30093-1517. Phone: (678) 913-8484

Fax: (678) 969-0310 Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.ushaonline.org

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When the British Empire sent Indentured Servants from In-dia to various places across the globe to replace slaves on the plantations, little did they know that they were sending not only physical labour but the spirit and wisdom of thou-sands of years of Indian herit-

age. The successful experience with indentured servants to Mauritius in 1834 encouraged the movement to the West. On May 5, 1838, two ships, Whitby and Hesperus, ar r ived in Guyana (former ly Br itish Guiana) with 396 workers from Calcutta; 18 had died during the long trip across the kala pani. The conditions on board the ships that took several months to reach the Caribbean, forged new bonds and made them all Jahaji Bhais as the caste relations slowly lost significance and survival took prece-dence. This process continued until 1917 when op-position by Indian National Congress, including Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and oth-ers put an end to the system forever. However be-tween 1838 and 1917 about half a million Indian nationals came to Guyana and the Caribbean.

A fact that has not attracted adequate scholarship or research is that while they came from different reli-gious backgrounds most of them were Hindus tak-ing with them the values of the ancient Vedic Saras-wati civilisation. Stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were consistently read that gave guidance to a life of constant struggle. These epics influence many even today.

These children of India lived in several countries, learnt English, French, Dutch and Spanish. Some of the countries include Trinidad, Guadeloupe, Jamai-ca, Surinam, Martinique, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, French Guyana, St. Croix and Belize. Some have totally lost the ways of their fore parents and can be connected to India only by physi-cal appearance. Others like Guyana, Trinidad and Surinam have created “LITTLE INDIAs” in most of their villages and plantations.

There are numerous forces that are persistently de-manding that they forget all things Indian and be totally Western in their values. Unless these forces are countered, the concern is that the few survivors will also be deprived of the opportunity to contrib-ute their heritage to the development of the global village. THE ROLE OF NORTH AMERICAN TEMPLES It is because we believe that the ancient values of Sanatana Dharma are still relevant to the world to-day, we continue to teach and practice them wherev-er we go. It is the temples, the ashrams, our daily spiritual rituals and regular festivals that continue to inspire and motivate us. Unfortunately, wealth and knowledge are not dis-tributed equally among nations. However, in the same way in which rich nations assist the poor ones, the temples with more money, manpower and knowledge in North America, should assist those that are less fortunate in the developing nations. This is quite consistent with their primary function to provide leadership globally and promote a philos-ophy and a way of life that is universal and not re-stricted by geography or national boundaries.

The majestic buildings like the Angkor Wat (pictured above) in Cambodia must have played a major role in the survival of the people who inherit-ed their spiritual strength from India. The Swa-

minarayan and other Hindu temples that are now gracing the landscape of many countries is another example of how these structures have given hope and left many in awe as they are rapidly rising tak-ing the place of what were once forests, hills, swamps, bushes or even industrial wastelands.

GLOBAL DHARMA: HINDUISM MOVES WEST Ramnarine Sahadeo

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These inspiring architectural wonders are absent in the Caribbean where they will serve as appropriate monuments, not only to remind us of our glorious heritage, but also to celebrate the struggles, survival and success of the former citizens of Mother India, thus bridging the past and the future. GUYANA One country which should have Vedic landmarks is Guyana, since it was there on May 5, 1838 that the culture was introduced to the Western Hemisphere. The Parliament of Canada has also recognized this initial date by celebrating May as Heritage month; provinces like Ontario enacted similar legislation. It was decades later on September 1893 that Swami Vivekananda came to Chicago to speak about San-atana Dharma and its potential of unifying humani-ty. Guyana is mostly covered with virgin forests; a place where 3 rivers meet with wild life and several waterfalls. The population on these 83,000 square miles never reached one million. With comparative-ly cheap land, labor, materials and natural sources in abundance it is an appropriate place to establish temples and other learning institutions that reflect the spiritual heritage of Bharat Mata. It would be helpful if North American counterparts can form a partnership with others in Guyana to establish land-marks in the form of temples that inspire devotees, private colleges and gurukuls where children can experience the early life described in the Mahabha-rat. They can live with their gurus away from their parents, in a remote ashram with cattle, fresh fruits, vegetables, tropical flowers and sunshine year round. Such projects can also persuade significant numbers to relocate inland, a move that is necessary for their survival. The majority of the people live along the Atlantic Coastland which is below sea level and has regularly experienced the inevitable disaster that comes with excessive rainfall and inadequate drain-age. Although Guyana and India shared the same coloni-al master, the educational system in Guyana empha-sizes Western and Judeo-Christian values. Hindi or

Sanskrit was not taught in the public schools nor spoken at home, unlike neighboring Surinam. However those parts of the population that can trace their ancestry to India have not totally lost the val-ues of their fore parents. A little help from North American partners with resource centers, leadership experience and capital , can go a long way in ensur-ing the survival of a culture thousands of years old. Such initiative should be considered our DUTY be-cause it is consistent with the overall objective of building temples and educational institutions in or-der to strengthening, preserving and maintaining Dharmic values globally. The country is now starting to recognize the im-portance of private Hindu learning institutions so that culture, including music and language, can be learnt in the classroom but much overseas help is needed and we know it is available. www.bushlotmandir.com Guyana is only a few hours from Miami, hence our energetic youths who seek a unique adventure to add to their experience, excitement and resume can spend a few months each summer assisting a temple or private Hindu learning center. Those with IT skills can even participate in distance education. There are also tremendous opportunities for those engaged in environmental studies. For those considering this challenge more infor-mation can be obtained from the Indian High Com-mission in Georgetown.

About the author: Ramnarine Sahadeo resides in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. A lawyer by profession, he is a founding member and President of Sanatan Dharma Educational Foundation of Canada which, in cooperation with HMEC, initiated the project: A GITA IN EACH HOME. Contact information: [email protected] 905 671 9233

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THE NEW ROLE OF PRACHARAK IN U.S. MANDIRS Fred Stella

Imagine a civic ceremony in your hometown that might be convened by a progressive mayor who wished to have as many representatives of the city’s various religions as possible. We can assume that there would be a number of ministers and priests of various Christian stripes, one or two Rabbi(s), and perhaps an Imam if there is a local mosque. But who would represent the Sanatana Dharma? Well, there might be several possibilities. If the community had an Ashram nearby, perhaps we’d see a Swami on the dais. Another option would be someone from the Board of Directors of the local Mandir. However, it is very doubtful that we’d see the pundit of that tem-ple. In most cases, the priests of local temples do not have a public face. Their duties are almost exclu-sively at the temple, and that, often coupled with a lack of proficiency in English, does not allow the kind of exposure to the general community that oth-er clergies enjoy. While many temple board mem-bers and other volunteers have done, and continue to do, a wonderful job at representing their spiritual family in the context of the general community, it is the opinion of the West Michigan Hindu Temple that we need to establish a greater visibility in, and serve, the cities and towns where we have a pres-ence on a more formal level. About two years ago, a small group of devotees from the West Michigan Hindu Temple met to dis-cuss a proposal that would create a position similar to what would be called a “Lay Minister” in Chris-tian terms, or “Para-Rabbi” by Jews. These are trained individuals who assist their church or syna-gogue in a variety of ways. What differentiates them from others in their faith families is that they are ordained to perform certain sacramental functions. We decided to investigate the possibility of creating a volunteer position that would be at par with what the clergy of other religions do, placing them at the same level as their counterparts--an Outreach Minis-ter. We agreed that congregations (from all religions) made up chiefly of the first generation immigrants tend to be somewhat insular. We wished to avoid this pitfall. So it was decided that a person in this post would be the “face” of the temple. It would be his or her job to operate media relations, connect with other clergies in inter-faith settings, be the point-person for lectures in schools, churches, etc., and also offer pastoral care in hospitals.

Another area that has been talked about is prison-ministry. While we are very proud to say that Hin-dus are “poorly” represented in jails and prisons, it is still important to have spiritual advisors available, not only for born Hindus, but also for those of other religions, or of no religion, who might wish to bene-fit from the teachings of the Sanatana Dharma. One issue that was suggested is that the Outreach Minister be empowered to officiate weddings. This initiated a very healthy discussion, with interesting results. This move was in no way made to diminish the role of the pundit-in-residence. Official Hindu weddings would continue to be conducted by priests. But it was felt by some that we could offer a great service to the larger community in a unique way. As you know, there are great numbers of Americans who are estranged from their religion of birth. Many of these have adopted Hindu practices such as Hatha Yoga, meditation, bhajan-chanting, guru-discipleship, etc., many without fully embracing the Hindu tradition. Some refer to themselves as “spiritual-but-not-religious.” When the time comes for people like this to get married, a full-blown Hin-du ceremony may not be appropriate for such cou-ples. If neither party has Indian roots, the service would be completely foreign to both parties as well as their families. So it was agreed that the Outreach Minister would be able to perform marriage ceremo-ny for people who had an affinity for Santana Dhar-ma but are not “charter members” or not a Hindu in traditional sense. The wedding would include cer-tain aspects such as prayers, chants, readings from the Vedas, a sermon based on our teachings and per-haps a short ritual with explanation. Most, if not all, of this ceremony would be conducted in English. The last thing that needed to be negotiated was a title. “Outreach Minister” is how the job was talked about as we hammered the fine points out, but there was strong consensus that we give this position a Sanskrit name. The closest we could come up with is Pracharak. When dealing with people outside the Hindu community, we often add Outreach Minister parenthetically. It has been a year since a Shiva Abishekam Puja ini-tiated my own work as the temple’s First Pracharak. These past months have offered much opportunity for seva (service), and I am so grateful. Under the

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guidance of the Temple Board, I have officiated about half a dozen weddings; conducted a memorial service; led several churches, schools and other groups on temple tours; lectured at various church-es, high schools and colleges; partnered with a church in hosting a Diwali celebration; and offered spiritual counsel to those who requested it. By all accounts, this noble experiment is fulfilling and exceeding expectations. It is our hope that someday more devotees will also be ordained in the

role to answer even more calls from the community.

About the author: Fred Stella is President of Interfaith Dialogue Association, an adjunct instructor on the faculty of Muskegon Community College, and an actor for stage, film, TV and audio books. He has been a devotee of the Sanatana Dharma for over 25 years. He will gladly serve any Mandir that wishes to learn more about the West Michigan Hindu Temple Pracharak Program, and perhaps institute one of their own. E-mail: [email protected]

SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA TEMPLE OF AUSTIN

P.O. Box 877, Cedar Park TX 78630 2509 W. New Hope Dr, Cedar Park, TX 78613

Temple: 512-260-2721; Office 512-528-0807

http://www.saiaustin.org/

SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA TEMPLE OF AUSTIN

Om mani padme hum

Om, symbolize one's impure body, speech and mind

Mani, the jewel, symbolizes factors of method, compassion and love, the altruistic intention to become enlightened.

PADME means lotus and symbolizes wisdom. Hum, means inseparability; that can be achieved by the unity of method and wisdom

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Sanatana Dharma Foundation 6823 Windrock Road, Dallas TX 75252

http://www.sanatanadharmafoundation.com/

Thank all volunteers

for their dedicated support in successfully organizing HMEC-2010

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About the Author: Neil Gundavda is a third-year Political-Science major at the University of Florida from Jacksonville, FL and an observer of the efforts of Hindu Charities for America.

HINDU CHARITIES FOR AMERICA: A NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR INDO-AMERICAN YOUTH

Neil Gundavada

Hinduism is one of the most misunderstood reli-gions in the United States today. Despite the prom-ulgation of a so-called “global culture,” very few Americans, including Hindu-Americans themselves truly understand what it means to be Hindu. Most American Hindu youth have little exposure to the “seva” segment of Hinduism. There is a revolution-ary new idea brewing in Austin, Texas that promis-es to preserve some semblance of cultural unity whilst giving back to local communities at the same time. This idea seeks to bring together American Hindus in charitable action. The relative newcomer to the Indian not for profit scene is called “Hindu Charities for America” (HC4A), an organization armed with a mission like no other before it. The charity’s inaugural event was successfully complet-ed over a two day period on August 12th and 13th. The event culminated in a donation drive and volun-teer efforts that benefited 230 students in four entire elementary campuses within the Round Rock Inde-pendent School District (ISD) of the Austin metro-politan area. Over 35 Volunteers teamed up with the Round Rock ISD, local businesses and non-profits in assembling backpacks full of school supplies to give to students on the National School Lunch Pro-gram. The next day, HC4A volunteers actually par-ticipated in handing out the school supplies to indi-vidual students Harish Kotecha, the founder of the charity continu-ally stresses the “for America” in the name. It is a unique concept; Indians in the United States have long been sending justifiable aid to India, whether it be through donations for specific projects or remit-tances. Hindu Charities for America does not seek to replace or supplant such efforts. Rather, the goals are two-fold. First, such an organization can con-structively connect Hindu Americans. A charity in this manner can also advertise Hindus as a charita-ble group and promote awareness, the first steps to-wards tolerance and acceptance. By benefiting local American communities and making strides towards a total concerted effort by all American Hindus and their neighbors through charitable action, Hindu Charities for America has struck a unique chord in Indo-American society. Any effort that seeks to promote Hindu-wide collab-oration across the United States can easily be dis-

missed as overly ambitious and unfeasible. Howev-er, such criticism of HC4A is muted by the sheer simplicity of the organization’s charitable goals. Instead of a complex and abstract program, the charity has incorporated the provision of school supplies to students on the National Free and Re-duced Lunch Program as its flagship project. This federally assisted program is an excellent indicator of students who need school supplies and can bene-fit greatly from drives that provide them with tools for education. As Kotecha put it, "education is im-portant to us and is a passion for us, and we will continue to support students in our local communi-ties." The ultimate goal for Hindu Charities for America is to expand this project of handing out school supplies to disadvantaged children all across America. Ambitions are big and the goalposts are high, but the Round Rock ISD donation project can be considered a positive step towards achieving such goals. The large amount of volunteers that helped to assemble and distribute the school sup-plies demonstrated the great deal of interest generat-ed by Austin Hindus and their zeal for charitable action. Hindu Charities for America represents a perfect way for Indian youth in America to connect with their heritage. They can assemble school supplies in their local communities and distribute them within school districts eager for their help. Also, the tem-ples, civic organizations, and other cultural groups can spur their own youth participation by participat-ing in HC4A events. Younger individuals who are more service oriented can then look at their reli-gious organization in a new light. “At the end of the day, we are all a product of the American communi-ties that we live in whether we were born here or immigrated here,” Kotecha said. “By giving back to those communities in the area that matters most----—education—we can enable change at an unparal-leled level.”

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There are nearly 3 million Hindus living in USA. It will perhaps not be wrong to say that USA has be-come the preferred second home for Hindus. In some ways the present US culture may be compared to the ancient culture of India, which too attracted people from all over the globe to reach there to ben-efit from the highly advanced civilization. Like what is America now, ancient India also had become the chief hub of education. The first university in the world was established in Takshila in 700 BCE, where scholars from other countries would come for higher studies. The University of Nalanda in the fourth century CE was one of the greatest achieve-ments in the field of education in Hindu civilization. They came from far lands, and many chose to settle there permanently, contributing in significant man-ner toward the cultural as well as corporal growth of India. Today the two countries are the largest de-mocracies of the world, and are also marching shoulder-to-shoulder in many common projects. In USA, Hindus have made special mark in the field of medicine, engineering, computers, business, etc. Their presence in NASA, Boeing and Microsoft is noteworthy. Many have climbed to the top positions in the corporate world. They are also now showing their skills in the White House top administrative jobs. Hindus have acquired a good reputation as law abiding community with very low crime rate. Those who are more fortunate and have made good wealth may take the attitude of trusteeship, Visvastha. Earning money with righteous means is highly com-mendable, but only when the same is spent for good cause. It is mentioned in scriptures that we may earn with two hands, but we may spend with hundred hands. Giving Dana is valued in Hindu society. We may also remember not to ignore the local causes here in this country, both in our own Hindu and In-dian community as well as in the general populace. We may not neglect our sacred duty to the country of our origin, but now our responsibility lies more with the new country of adoption. A proper balance may be needed. Hindus may also always maintain positive rather than negative attitude toward other communities. Hindus form less than 1% of the population of USA, a ratio that is not likely to change significantly in the near future. Hindus have come from India where they have enjoyed the position of majority, and may need to learn to accept this minority status and con-duct themselves with utmost grace, humility and

deference. As a minority community, it will be more prudent to maintain harmony and goodwill with the mainstream population, while not giving up rights granted to other citizens. In USA, there are very or-ganized methods of protesting against any grievanc-es, including the legal avenues. In this respect, it will also be worthwhile to maintain healthy and cor-dial relations with local council members, congress-men, senators, and executive authorities at all levels. Shri Sarda Devi, spouse of Shri Ramakrishna laid the dictum of the Mahabharata: tasmat tikshnataram mridu, meaning “by gentleness one can overcome the greatest difficulty in the world.” New survey has shown that about 38% of Hindu, Jain, and Sikh young adults in America are married to Christians, Jews, or Muslims. The children of these mixed marriages are likely to visit both Hindu as well as other non-Hindu places of worship. Since this section is likely to be a very large portion of future Hindu community, their special needs should be kept in mind now itself and develop plans to ca-ter to their special requirements in the future. The settings in Hindu temples may also need to be modi-fied to suit and comfortably accommodate the non-Hindu spouses. Lengthy rituals performed without any understanding may be better molded to make them precise and purposeful. In America, at present, the Hindu priest usually explains the meaning and significance behind each step of the ritual associated with most wedding ceremonies. A similar approach may be adopted in all rituals, when the original pur-pose and meaning of the ritual is explained. This new method has won much appreciation, not only from the Hindus, but also from non-Hindus, who attend these ceremonies as guests. A judicious com-bination of ancient Sanskrit as a traditional culture, along with the regional language, Hindi, or English as a practical language, may become a prime re-quirement in years to come. In America the first im-migrants from different European countries did con-duct their proceedings in their respective native lan-guages like French, German, Spanish etc but later most have changed over to English for practical rea-sons. Hindus are much more family-oriented than most other religious communities. Starting and maintain-ing a family is considered a religious duty, which is well defined in the Grahastha Ashram. Sacrifice is the bedrock of good living. Hindus basically en-dorse the family lifestyle in preference to an individ-

HINDU SOCIETY IN USA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Hiro G. Badlani, M.D.

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ualistic one. Sharing and caring are virtues of great-est importance in Hindu society. Children are often given the highest attention in their formative years. Elders have enjoyed very respectful position in Hin-du society for millennia. The Vedic teachings “Treat your mother as God, and treat your father as God” gave high status and dignity to the elderly. Tradi-tionally, it is considered auspicious for Hindus to live under the shade of the elders. Family commit-ments are highly valued. Even though the parents don’t usually live with children now, they often ar-range to live near each other. In USA Hindu society, there are reports, although not frequent, of elderly being not treated with dignity that they deserve. This needs attention by the community. In present times, Hindus have acquired a new posi-tion of respect in world stage, thanks to their rapidly increasing affluence and growth in India and many other parts of the world, including the USA. Synthe-sizing modern society with traditional religious ac-tivities may bring forth challenges as well as golden opportunities previously unimagined. Hindus would do very well to build modern, places of worship, where they may spend most of their spare time in search and practice of higher values of the Divine.

The mega temples of yore are clear inspiration in this direction. Hindus must also adopt the modern ways of life in other social and religious activities to their great benefit. They must learn punctuality, speech economy, and many other similar exercises that would impart an avant-garde image to their spiritual and secular projects. They may even accept the good practices of other faiths without feeling embarrassed. Learning from any source is always a sign of progress; not learning is shameful ignorance. Human evolution is a saga of such endeavors, where the good and worthy is accepted and the harmful and unworthy is dropped.

Dr Hiro Badlani is the author of “Hinduism: Path of the Ancient Wisdom” www.hinduismpath.com. He is a retired physician and lives at Los Angeles.

He may be contacted at [email protected], Phone 562-865-5880.

Peace Invocation (Taittiriya Upanishad) ॐ शं नो म ः शं व णः । शं नो भव वयमा । oṃ śaṃ no mitraḥ śaṃ varuṇaḥ | śaṃ no bhavat-

varyamā | शं न इ ो ह प तः ।शं नो व णु मः । śaṃ na indro brihaspatiḥ |śaṃ no viṣṇururukramaḥ|

नमो मणे । नम ते वायो । वमेव य ं मा स। namo brahmaṇe | namaste vāyo |tvameva pratyakṣaṃ bhrahmāsi |

वामेव य म ् म व द या म । tvāmeva pratyakṣam brahma vadiṣyāmi |

ॠतं व द या म । स यं व द या म । ṝtaṃ vadiṣyāmi | satyaṃ vadiṣyāmi

त मामवतु ।त व तारमवतु । tanmāmavatu |tadvaktāramavatu |

अवतु माम ्।अवतु व तारम ्। avatu mām |avatu vaktāram |

ॐ शाि तः शाि तः शाि तः ॥ oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ ||

Om May Mitra be blissful to us. May Varuna be blissful to us. May Aryaman be blissful to us. May Indra and Brihaspati be blissful to us. May Vishnu, of long strides, be blissful to us. Salutation to Brahman. Saluta-tion to you, O Vayu. You, indeed, are the immediate Brahman. You alone I shall call the direct Brahman. I shall call you righteousness. I shall call you truth. May He protect me. May He protect the teacher. May He

protect me. May He protect the teacher. Om, Peace, Peace, Peace !

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More than 400 Mandirs across USA are a testimony to the desire of the first generation Hindus to pre-serve and pass on their cultural and religious herit-age to the future generations. The Mandirs fulfill this role in various ways- by offering daily Puja, performing religious rituals, celebrating festivals, running Bal Vihars and other youth programs, offer-ing opportunities for community outreach through Seva projects, arranging discourses and presenta-tions by learned and revered spiritual leaders from Bharat and elsewhere. Mandirs are seen by the devotees as public institu-tions managed by trustees and elected or appointed executives, who give their time, talent and other re-sources. The trustees/executives conduct the busi-ness of the Mandir as a service to the Hindu com-munity. Their decisions on the special activities of the Mandir have direct impact on the image of the Mandir and its constituents because the Mandir is a reflection of the Hindu society and its values as seen from population within and without. When a trustee starts treating the Mandir as a personal fiefdom and takes decisions, it may have far reaching negative impact on the society. This is especially critical when a decision is made to cancel a discourse by a saint or spiritual leader. Saints, spiritual leaders and learned guest speakers add value to the overall pro-grams at the Mandir because they have attained cer-tain status of reverence in the Hindu society. The devotees derive tremendous benefits from their lec-tures and discourse that enhance their knowledge and understanding of the Dharma. Hence, it is im-perative that due diligence and objectivity must be exercised before trustees/executives decide to re-scind an invitation to the revered guest speakers. As an elaboration to the above concerns, one needs to discuss a recent incidence that created unpleasant feelings among many and almost tarnished the im-age of the Mandir. A highly publicized five-day Bhagvat Katha by Sadhvi Ritambhara Devi was or-ganized at a Mandir. However, it was cancelled at the last moment due to pressure from some external groups that can at best be described as detractors of Hinduism. Furthermore, the basic principles of dem-ocratic process were totally disregarded in reaching the decision, thus depriving the devotees of a won-derful opportunity for a religious discourse by the world renowned Sadhvi ji. Indian Muslim Council (IMC), a Muslim organiza-

tion that has been in forefront of spreading vicious lies about Hindu saints and leaders sent letters to several places where Sadhvi Ritambharaji’s pro-grams were planned. They insinuated that Ritambharaji was the instigator in the demolition of so called Babri mosque in 1992, which now Allaha-bad High Court has ruled was not a mosque accord-ing to tenets of Islam. They see a clear threat in Ritambharaji’s capacity to unite Hindus wherever she goes because of her clear and logical reasoning, her ability to juxtapose nationalism with Dharma and her tremendous service to the society through her Vatsalyagram project. In spite of their dogged efforts, IMC failed misera-bly elsewhere as the organizers were strong willed, united and had the support of the society. However, one trustee at this particular Mandir fell victim to the IMC’s fear mongering. Efforts by several well meaning Hindu leaders to resolve the issue failed because of adamancy of one individual and the event organizers were forced to find a new venue at the eleventh hour –only four days before the pro-gram. Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America and a few other Hindu organizations pointed out to other trustees of the Mandir that the decisions for the Mandir opera-tions must not be influenced by IMC, an anti-Hindu organization which clearly does not have the best interest of the Hindu society and Sanatana Dharma at its heart. This may also give an impression that the Mandir trustees are partnering with an anti-Hindu group, which may have serious consequences for the Mandir including loss of revenue (donations) and even boycott of the Mandir by the devotees. Though the discourse could not be shifted back to the Mandir, the thinking trustees and executives could see the impact of their horrendous mistake; they extended a public apology to Sadhvi Ritambha-raji which they tendered in front of 400 people, and invited Ritambharaji at the end of her five-day dis-course to visit the Mandir and give a discourse, which she graciously accepted. Thus, a disaster was averted. However, this incident should serve as an eye open-er to the executives and trustees of all Mandirs, small and big who serve in a fiduciary capacity to the temple. The lessons learned from this incident are summarized below:

EXPECTATIONS FROM THE MANDIR MANAGEMENT Gaurang G. Vaishnav

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The trustees/executives should never forget that they are not the “owners” of the Mandir, regard-less of the size of their contributions. Their primary responsibility is to act in the best interest of the Mandir and the Hindu society and not succumb to the detractors of Santana Dhar-ma. A Mandir must not refuse a Hindu spiritual lead-er from speaking at a Mandir because of unsub-stantiated allegations from non-Hindu groups. When in doubt, the trustees must consult with various Hindu organizations to learn the facts. The trustees/executives must embrace and prac-tice the democratic principles of governance.

The primary purpose of this article is to make Man-dir executives aware of the unfortunate incident which could have caused permanent damage to the Mandir and the welfare of the Hindu society.

HMEC should give due consideration to this serious matter so that devotees of other Mandirs are spared the ignominy of witnessing insult of their revered saints and religious leaders at the hands of very peo-ple who are supposed to protect Dharma and Dhar-mic institutions.

Editor’s note: The author is the Executive Vice President of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA). He may be contacted at : <[email protected]>

4200 Airport Rd. Allentown PA 18109

610-264-2810 www.hindutemple-allentown.org

Ek Ong Kaar The Creator of all is One ੧ਓ

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The Ram Janmabhoomi-Babari Masjid issue is the longest running legal dispute in India dating back to 1885 and has its genesis in the 16th century. To un-derstand the sentiments attached to this dispute, one must know a little bit about the ancient history of Bharat as it relates to the origin of Ram Janmabhoo-mi located in the present day city of Ayodhya, dis-trict Faizabad in the State of Uttar Pradesh. HISTORY About seven thousand years ago, Shri Ram Chan-dra, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord Vishnu, came to earth as the son of Queen Kaushalya and King Dashrath of Ayodhya. Shri Ram is worshipped not only as an incarnation but also because He is the personification of all that is unique and noble. He is the Maryada Purushottam, who embodies the digni-ty, unity, honor and pride of Hindus and Bharat. In fact, Shri Ram is the eternal symbol of our nation-hood. Ramayan describes the life of Shri Ram. A huge temple was built at the birthplace of Bhagwan Shri Ram which we came to know as Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir or simply Ram Mandir. It ex-isted for many years until 1528 when it was de-stroyed by the commanders of the Muslim invader Babar, and a mosque was built over the site using materials from the demolished Mandir; the mosque became known as Babri Masjid. The reference of Ram Mandir is found in a number of writings pre-dating 1528. Several years before its destruction, the highly revered Sikh Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1469–1539), a contemporary of Babar, had visited the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir for Ramlalla’s darshan, which he described to his followers as “the Mandir at the birth place of Shri Ram Chandra.” The ac-count of the atrocities that Babar had committed against Hindu men and women and the destruction of the Hindu holy places is found in the Sikh holy book Guru Granth Sahib. LEGAL RECOURSE After the British Raj was established in India fol-lowing the defeat of Mughal rulers, the Hindu spir-itual leaders started appealing to the British to allow access to the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir. The first such appeal was filed in 1885 by Mahant Raghubar Das to Faizabad court requesting permission to build a canopy over the Ram Chabutara. The appeal was denied by the English Judge who stated that: “It is most unfortunate that a Masjid should have been

built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus. But as the event occurred 358 years ago, it is too late now to remedy the grievance.” In December 1949, a murti of Bhagwan Ram sur-faced inside the mosque. Muslims claim that it was kept there by Hindus. Both parties filed civil suits. The government declared the premises a disputed area and locked the gates. In January 1950, in re-sponse to a suite filed by Gopal Singh Visharad ask-ing for the right to worship the murties installed at ‘Asthan Janmabhoomi’, the court allowed the wor-ship to continue. A series of claims and counter claims were filed in the courts that were eventually transferred to the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court (HC), the State’s highest court, for de-finitive answer. But the court cases were moving at crawl pace to the extreme dissatisfaction of all par-ties, especially the Hindu devotees who, on 6th De-cember, 1992 demolished the disputed structure. This was undoubtedly the single event that forced the HC to take decisive actions to resolve the dis-pute expeditiously. The HC directed the Archeologi-cal Survey of India (ASI) to excavate the site to de-termine if a temple lay underneath the site. In its finding, ASI stated in no uncertain terms that the foundation of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid is indeed that of a large Hindu temple. After years of delays, the HC finally delivered its decision on September 30, 2010. THE VERDICT The three-judge panel consisted of Honorable Jus-tices Sibghat Ullah Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharam Veer Sharma. In a nutshell the following is the HC verdict: The most noteworthy outcome of the legal dispute is that the court has agreed unanimously that the loca-tion in question (the Sanctum Santorum of the temple) is indeed Bhagwan Ram’s birthplace and that there was a Hindu temple prior to the con-struction of the mosque over it. The disputed land where the Ram Lalla murti is placed now has been given over to the Hindu Mahasabha thus en-suring that the Ram Lalla murti remains at the spot where it is currently installed. In a two-to-one split decision, the HC ordered that the total land is to be divided one-third each to Hindu Mahasabha, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhada. Summary of the decisions on which the Honorable

RAM JANMABHOOMI Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D.

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justices differed: Justice Sharma agreed that the Mandir was demol-ished to build the mosque over the site; hence the entire site belongs exclusively to Hindus. Justice Khan stated that the mosque was built over the ruins of a Hindu religious place (not over a de-molished temple.) His decision is to award Sunni Waqf Board, Hindu Mahasabha and Nirmohi Akha-ra each one-third share in property, with the stipula-tion that the central dome must go to Hindus, and Ram Chabutra and Sita Rasoi to Nirmohi Akhara. Justice Agarwal agreed that the Mandir was demol-ished to build the mosque over the site. His decision is to award one-third of the disputed area to each party: Sunni Waqf Board to get outer courtyard; inner courtyard (central dome) belongs to Hindu Mahasabha; Ram Chabutra, Sita Rasoi and bhandar (warehouse) to Nirmohi Akhara; with the stipulation that each party have separate entry and exit points. THE FUTURE Not all parties are satisfied by the HC judgment; hence the appeal to the Supreme Court is a strong possibility within the 90-day period allowed by the HC. However, intense negotiations are taking place behind the scene to resolve this issue amicably. There are some interesting comments made by vari-ous parties that may lead to a negotiated settlement.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, ( http://www.vhp-america.org ) issued a statement express-ing limited satisfaction with the court verdict, stating, “While the majority of the court has agreed with Hindu viewpoint on Sri Ram Janmabhoomi, we respectfully disagree with High Court's decision to allocate 1/3rd of the land to Sunni Waqf Board. VHPA sees such a decision as inconsistent with the fundamental principles of justice and contrary to the corollary flowing out of High Court's very own consid-ered determination: that the disputed land is Bhagwan Sri Ram's birthplace to begin with and the mosque was built over a razed-down pre-existing grand Hindu temple. …..VHP of Amer-ica appeals to everyone for religious harmony, peace and respect for the rule of law irrespective of differences over the verdict. We hope that the democratic process and institutions which we faithfully cherish are respected and the limits of decency are not transgressed. Bhagwan Sri Ram's virtues of Truth, Duty, Strength and Hu-

mility shall forever remain the hallmark of Hin-du history.” Shia Hussaini Tigers, a Shia Youth Group offered a donation of Rs.15 lakh for starting the construc-tion of the much-debated temple at Ayodhya. The group has clearly made known that it is opposed to any move to appeal against the HC verdict. Shia Hussaini, the leader of the group said that he would make a formal request to the Sunni Central Waqf Board. Various political parties are weighing in on how to turn this dispute to their political advantage. Several leaders have proposed that the Sunni Central Waqf Board give up their court-awarded one-third por-tion of the land at the Ram Mandir in exchange for at least twice the land at another location within or near Ayodhya.

An appeal to the Supreme Court will only prolong the communal disharmony which will be detri-mental to peace in the region and across the nation. It is time that all parties negotiate a settlement as per suggestion in the last bulleted item above. Since Ram Mandir is at the birth place of Bhagwan Ram, it cannot be relocated. But, the mosque has no such constraint hence it can be built any where. This would allow both, the Hindus and Muslims to build their holy places of worship at independent sites thus eliminating perpetual friction and religious dis-harmony that may emanate from sharing the com-mon ground. Additionally, separate sites will help in keeping up with the modern needs –increase in pop-ulation, motorized vehicles, etc.; both will be able to build large structures with all the modern facilities, wide roads for easy access and parking spaces to meet the increasing demands.

Editor’s Note: This report has been compiled from various sources summarizing the key points of the judgment with a brief histori-cal account of the dispute.

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The concept that the diverse individuals that make up our world coexist as one mutual family is a core idea of Hindu philosophy. Vasudhaiva Kutumba-kam; “vasudha” meaning the Earth, “eva” represent-ing emphasis and “kutumbakam” meaning family, is a widely renowned phrase in Sanskrit that appears in the Vedas. The values and morals instilled in the younger generation of Hindus by the older are sug-gestive of the idea that the well-beings of others is the mission of Indians and Hinduism. To exist as one entire family, no matter what your race, religion or beliefs, is something that the scriptures of Hindu-ism promote extensively. The Ramayana, Bhagwad Gita and the Vedas all include quotes on Vasudhai-va Kutumbakam. The most accepted and rarely criticized view on Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam comes from the Vedas. Vedic literature is the oldest documented spiritual and philosophical text in the world. Ideally, it doesn’t preach superiority of one religion over the other, but rather sanatana dharma; the eternal path for all living things with the basis on the nature of the soul. The belief in the Vedas had to do with uni-versal brotherhood, or universalism in short. Mod-ern science has concluded that from the writings of the Vedas, the human race spawned from one com-mon mother and father millenniums prior to the world as we know it now. Race, creed, color and other less significant features were developed later on. This Sanskrit idea is found not in the Rig Veda, Mahabharata, not even in the Puranars or the Manusmriti, but rather the Hitopadesha. The Hito-padesha, a collection of Sanskrit fable in prose writ-ten in the 12th century BC, is a Vedic scripture with an infamous shloka that speaks to the world being one family: “This is my own and that a stranger- that is the calculation of the narrow-minded; for the magnanimous hearts however, the entire earth is but a family.” Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, essentially a spiritual and cultural topic, speaks to the central idea that one may perceive if they are a part of a family. Love, co-operation, harmony and mutual support are just a few of the various aspects that make a family whole. Why not then, apply this sense of family to the en-tire world? Hinduism is a complex religion, based on certain morals and values that we have learned from our gurus and scriptures. However, our philos-ophies are heavily centered around the core idea of

peace; peace of mind, peace of heart and soul, and finally, peace amongst people and the world. Various organizations based in India have been and are starting to introduce the idea of Vasudhaiva Ku-tumbakam to their specific communities and be-yond. The literature of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gives us a sense of the roots of the idea of the world living as a family, stresses that this is a main-ly Indian belief, and incorporates the effects and drastic changes that could occur if the people in the world existed as one: “This gigantic idea, Vasudhai-va Kutumbakam, is an exclusively Indian contribu-tion to world peace. This ancient nation evolved a world-view based on the motto “Loka samasta su-khnina bhavantu”, meaning “Let the entire world be happy” long before any League of Nations or Unit-ed Nations was thought of to avoid global strife. The Indian nation evolved this grand vision not by marching its armies and conquering the rest and of-fering peace; but by the inner-directed pursuit of universal values by the Rishis living in the forests and mountains of India.” Science, however, can correlate to the idea of the world being one family. Darwin’s theories of evolu-tion and natural selection seem to argue against this fact. After the discovery of Pangea, we now know that the seven continents had indeed been one whole unified pasture of land. Continental drift and the process of plate tectonics had shifted the Earth’s crust, altering the massive piece of land and placing the smaller sections in the arrangement they are to-day. Now if Pangea did exist, who are we to say that all humans at one point had not been equal? They all lived on the same stretch of land, so why could-n’t they all be the same in race, beliefs and habits? And lastly, if they could coexist mutually back then as a family, then why not now? The idea of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam can be shown through this point; that the world could have been living in har-mony at one point in time. Who is to say that it can-not happen again? The philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam is one that is debated on controversially and is sometimes not taken seriously. However, making the world in-to one family could in fact solve everything that is wrong. Race, religious beliefs, values and morals are a few things that separate the people that inhabit this Earth. However, all of this separation does have grave consequences. War, conflict, hatred, greed,

VASUDHAIV KUTUMBAKAM Gina Nathwani

Sanatan Dharma Scholarship Winning Essay (High School)

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lust, suffering, envy, the list could go on. The phi-losophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam is a Hindu be-lief, but it should be the belief of every single per-son, everything and everyone, whether they are reli-giously affiliated or not. To make the world a better place, and for us Hindu’s to experience the path of sanatana dharma, Vashudhaiv Kutumbakam is something that we must continue to pursue no mat-ter what the circumstances.

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Man, in his quest for the knowledge about his own origin and the origin of the universe, has propound-ed many theories and countless hypotheses. He may be from the field of science or from the world of spirituality. These hypotheses continue to be the re-sult of serious in-depth observations. On the one hand Scientists have been trying to find out the se-crets of the creation of universe and on the other hand the Vedic Philosophers and some of the Phi-losophers of yore from Bharatvarsh and abroad, have been speaking about the creation of the uni-verse on the basis of their intuitive knowledge they seem to have discovered. Before the rishis of Sanatan Dharma thought of the creation of the universe, they discovered the basic physical laws. One of the main concepts the rishis realized was that not a thing or no life could come from nothing. The recent advancement that Dr. Stephan Hawking spoke of propounded that the world was not a crea-tion of God – which even the Brahmakumaris Spir-itual studies believe. The argument goes like this-The soul and the supreme soul are immortal and their roles too are cyclic in nature and hence the platform, on which they play, too, has to be immor-tal. Hence the world in which we live is not the cre-ation of God. He rejuvenates it or restructures it as and when required with the help of men. The world in that sense has no beginning nor any end because the law of physics states that matter is indestructi-ble, it only transforms into something different-again a part of universe. Vedic philosophy and the theory of evolution go hand in hand. The Nasadiya hymns explain when there was neither asat nor sat also known as non-existence and existence all the way through the cre-ation of the universe. Nasadiya hymns refer to what the scientific commu-nity knows as the Big Bang Theory. The hymn speaks of a time when there was neither light nor dark, no existence nor non-existence and of course - no life. The fourth verse tells of when tadek or god created kama or the Big Bang. First there was oblivion which preceded the creation of the universe by the Big Bang. The Vedic philosophers knew that matter

could not come from nothing; philosophers believed that a supreme being had to have accomplished this great creation. Early Vedic philosophy believed that Hiranyagarbha created the universe and he was the “golden embryo” that being came from. Sanatan Dharma believes that the holy trinity or Trimurti of Hinduism consists of Brahma, Vish-nu, and Shiva also known as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer. It is said that Brahma created the universe; the Upanishads also introduce the ambigu-ity of the creation. Vishnu preserves the universe and keeps watch over creations, and Shiva is the destroyer, the only one with power to obliterate cre-ations. Hindus believe that every creation should be respected because the manifestation of god is seen in every one of his creations, whether it be other people, animals, or the earth itself. The creator, they say, resists change in the world, and the world has no influence on the creator. To Hindu philosophy, the world goes through a cy-clic time period rather than linear. The earth goes through the cycle of four Yugas which are time pe-riods with certain characteristics. Christians, Mus-lims and Jews, too believe in the Holy Trinity. They had one ancestor and were children of different mothers. Most of the theologies have the concept of creator, preserver and the destroyer. This reveals the ambiguity and multiplicity of the theories. However, their efforts have been bringing about many changes in the world of science and in the world of Spirituality. They have chanced upon innu-merable discoveries which have helped men live a better life – on the physical plane and also on the spiritual plane – the theories of science and si-lence continue to find out newer and newer secrets of both nature and spirit. A point of convergence has come where both – the theologians and the sci-entists – converge and seem to play complementary roles.

CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE Nisha Patel

Sanatan Dharma Scholarship Winning Essay (College)

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Sanatan Shiv Shakti Mandir of Houston

5645 Hillcroft St # 701 Houston, TX 77036-2253

(713) 278-9099

13944 Schiller Rd, Houston, TX 77082

713-234-0786 Daily: 9AM - 11AM, 4PM-7PM. Sandhya Arati : 6:30 PM. Temple closes at 7 PM

Sunday Special : 9 AM - 7 PM http://www.durgabari.org/

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527 Old Hickory Blvd.(In Bellevue area) Nashville TN 37209

615-356-7207

Sri Siva Vishnu Temple

6905 Cipriano Road, Lanham MD-20706

Phone: (301) 552 3335 Fax: (301) 552 1204 http://www.ssvt.org/

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Sanskruti Parivar U.S.A. 156 Anderson Parkway, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009

Inspired and Guided by Pujya Bhaishri Rameshbhai Oza

Bhajan is sung by heart not only by lips. Bhajan is sung by Jiva not only by tongue. Bhajan transforms mortal world into Ocean of Bliss.

-- Pujya Bhai Shri

Seven Sanskruti Parivar Centers in New Jersey Massachusetts, California and Texas regularly conduct weekly/monthly satsang sessions. To participate in activities or open a new center in your area, please contact Arvindbhai or Ranuben Patel, 973-256-2472, 973-580-6925. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

2010 Hindu Mandir Executives’ Conference

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www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf). Although the Sanatana Dharma does not track these features as closely as some other religious traditions, it is well within the definition, and Hindu places of worship easily qualify as churches. As a church, a temple is not required to file the IRS form 990 annual infor-mation returns. A church does not have to disclose finances. And although church records are not en-tirely inaccessible by the authorities, it is much more difficult for the government to audit a church. The IRS may only initiate a church tax inquiry if the authorities reasonably believe that the organization: (a) may not qualify for the exemption; or (b) may not be paying tax on an unrelated business or other taxable activity. Board functions and responsibilities If the temple has a board of directors or trustees, the confidence of the membership in that board depends on its functioning strictly according to its authority. Its highest priority is its fiduciary duty, that is, the special care it must take with the resources and trust of others. Conflicts of interest, self-dealing, willful misconduct, and recklessness are all violations of fiduciary duty and must be strenuously avoided. A system that places great importance on transparency in the board's work will help tremendously. It is important that the temple board pay close atten-tion to paperwork, for so much depends on written documentation as to the existence, health, financial condition, liabilities and, especially, the accountabil-ity of the temple. A board must always act by way of resolutions--proposed, debated and passed--with the secretary keeping a record in the minutes of eve-ry step. By clarifying up front what it intends to do through carefully chosen language in a resolution, the board avoids later conflict and misunderstand-ings, and the action becomes an official act of the board. It is also a good idea to institute and to follow rules for the conduct of board and membership meetings. These may or may not be included in the bylaws but should be formally adopted by the board. At the same time, temple leaders must be flexible in their leadership styles without being capricious or arrogant. Members of the temple board should recognize that their membership is a matter of service and respon-sibility, not status or privilege. They must be active-

ly involved in the temple's life, be interested in solv-ing problems and be able to work with the other members and the temple's management. Accounta-bility, to the best interest of the temple must always be the goal of each board member. For instance, the temple must always pay its debts, as the payment of debts is part of the purpose of any organization that serves the public trust. This is an example of ac-countability to others. The board's accountability to donors and members can be demonstrated through a practice of keeping all books of the temple open for inspection by mem-bers and, if necessary, the public, as to salaries, do-nations, debts, assets, etc. This is an excellent way to preserve the community's trust in the temple's leadership. Especially in these days of public mis-trust, a temple can protect its public image by demonstrating that it is open to scrutiny. It is espe-cially incumbent upon the temple board to keep the administrative and financial books and records open to reasonable inspection by members and in excel-lent condition to ensure confidence of the member-ship and the community. Great care should be taken to avoid financial misconduct by the board, and the best way to accomplish this is to keep the process scrupulously accurate and transparent. Receipts must be given for all donations over $250 and should be given for donations over $100. Above all, it is critical to avoid abusing the eligibil-ity rules for tax exemption. The organization must be organized and operated exclusively for religious or other charitable purposes; net earnings may not go to benefit any private individual, and the purpos-es and activities may not be illegal or violate funda-mental public policy. And while it might appear to be flouted by many highly visible American reli-gious organizations, perhaps the most stringent rule is the prohibition against attempting to influence legislation or intervening in political campaigns. Accountability of the board to the temple itself is greatly aided by directors' avoiding any activity that might possibly be a conflict of interest. Temples are particularly susceptible here, because those in posi-tions of authority are so eager to help, including as-sisting in the many business transactions that keep a temple going. Even when this motivation is above reproach, as it generally is, a profit motive can occa-sionally come into play--or appear to do so (which may be just as dangerous). And, unfortunately, even

(Mandir Management… Continued from page 27)

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situations that begin in good faith can go bad as well, if we are not careful. An example of a conflict of interest would be a situ-ation where Director X, who has volunteered to get the temple roof repaired, gives his brother-in-law's roofing company the contract at a good price. Later it is discovered that another company would have beat that price if it had been allowed to bid. Of course, it's more common for temple members and directors to give selflessly and without regard for gain in matters concerning their temple, but that makes it even more important that not only the con-flict but even the appearance of a possible conflict must be avoided. In the roofing illustration, Director X can avoid the conflict by disclosing his relation to the roofing company, telling the board it needs to receive a number of competitive bids and removing himself from consideration of the contract. Then the board is able to weigh all the factors--including the fact that the brother-in-law is a good friend of the temple--before granting the contract to him or an-other. As another illustration that is not so obvious, temple fund-raisers often casually suggest to potential do-nors that their gifts to the temple might be advanta-geous for their tax situation, without realizing that they are 1) giving unqualified tax advice and 2) in a position of a direct conflict of interest. The conflict is that their unqualified tax advice is being used to encourage the donation. Solicitors should always tell potential donors to obtain independent tax ad-vice. If board members act with a reasonable standard of care, most states' laws shield them from personal liability. A simple limitation of liability provision in the temple's charter or articles of incorporation will help in giving a sense of security to would-be direc-tors. The most common kinds of liability in temples are claims for personal injuries occurring on temple premises or accidents involving temple automobiles driven by temple employees or volunteers on temple business. Legitimate claims like these are part of doing business and are covered by the temple's ordi-nary liability insurance. Unfortunately, it is not un-heard of for people to name directors individually in an attempt to speed up a settlement. On the other hand, a board that recklessly hires a manager with a known criminal history could, in fact, incur consid-erable financial difficulty for the temple if the man-

ager causes harm to, say, a festival bystander. To avoid such possibilities, it is wise to work with the temple's insurance agent and attorney to put into place a complete system of risk management steps for the board. Actual misconduct or gross negli-gence of board members is not generally covered by a limitation of liability/indemnity clause in the char-ter or articles of incorporation. If a board member strongly disagrees with a board course of action to such a degree that he feels the board is no longer acting in the best interest of the temple, it is im-portant to create a clear record of the disagreement in order to avoid potential personal risk. He should have his dissent explicitly recorded in the board's minutes. It is good to remember at all times the fact that a temple board is supporting the religious life of its congregation and that it owes a high duty of care to the temple and its resources. Practical Temple Management In dealing with management, a few good practices will help keep the temple running smoothly and demonstrate integrity for all to see:

State the manager's authority clearly in terms of the nonprofit purposes of the temple. Set out in writing job descriptions, ethics rules and conflict-of-interest prevention policies for board members and officers, management, em-ployees and volunteers. Create and work within an annual operating budget and have regular independent financial audits; annually prepare cash flow and income projections and a financial statement. Plan fund-raising programs in compliance with the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Stand-ards for Charity Accountability (see http://www.give.org/standards/newcbbstds.asp ). Follow a set procedure for hiring and evaluating managers. Devise a procedure for reporting and disclosure by the manager to the board on matters such as employment problems, potential or threatened litigation by anyone, illegal or criminal acts of employees and any violence or threats of vio-lence.

If a manager is ineffective, the temple board should take steps proactively to help improve his or her performance before the situation becomes difficult. Likewise, if board members are ineffective or im-

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pede the work of the board, the best course is al-ways to strive to improve by discussing, asking questions and seeking to find alternatives with the person involved. Of course, the fact that someone frequently has objections might not mean that the person is just being troublesome. Maybe there are significant problems with how the board operates. The board leaders should be open to considering these matters in light of the mission of the temple and treating everyone concerned with the greatest respect and dignity possible. The process and out-come will thus elevate everyone. It should be remembered that while the courts are extremely reluctant to look into the internal affairs of a church, this privileged status is not absolute. A court will accept a dispute that can be decided on "neutral principles of law, " such as a real estate or contract matter, in which the temple is acting as a business corporation, even if it may concern purely internal matters, but not with respect to issues where the decision depends on doctrinal matters. While they would refuse to examine whether a priest's qualifications made him unsuitable for hiring, they might consider whether his contract allowed for ter-mination without cause. While they would avoid issues regarding disciplining members for doctrinal reasons, they might look into allegations that certain activities violate the rule against assets benefiting individuals. My advice is to stay out of courts as much as possible by using alternative methods of dispute resolution. Volunteers Volunteers are a tremendous asset to a temple and should be treated as such. For their benefit--and the temple's as well--volunteers' duties should be care-fully delineated. Set forth the expectations of volun-teers in writing and give them clear guidelines for the work to be done. The volunteer should know the extent of the commitment in advance so that there is a clear understanding on both sides. Again, for the protection of all, volunteers should be included in the temple's liability insurance and should be ad-vised to speak with their own insurance agents to determine whether they have any personal risk that should be covered under their own policies. This particularly applies for those volunteers who drive a temple vehicle or drive their own vehicle on temple business or who work with children. In the process of working to carry out the mission of service to the

temple, volunteers do, after all, often have quite a lot of contact with the public. It is a good idea for frequent volunteers to consider buying an inexpen-sive umbrella policy to supplement their ordinary homeowners' liability policy. Zoning disputes There can be nothing as contentious as initially ob-taining land for a temple. In 2000, President Clinton signed the Religious Liberty Land Use and Institu-tionalized Persons Act, which gave religious institu-tions a special status vis-a-vis local land use regula-tions. In the past, zoning and planning obstacles could be placed in the way of religious groups meet-ing in everything from private homes to storefronts and rented theaters to large complexes. It often seemed that this treatment was reserved for minority religions, but Christian groups frequently had the same complaint. Under this new law, government units making land use determinations must treat reli-gious organizations at least equally with secular ones, and cannot exclude or limit religious uses just because they are religious.

This law is in response to neighborhood conflicts over land use, often the source of difficult disputes and a huge obstacle for many--if not most--new temple projects. While the law is a valuable aid and certainly will help in intractable situations, it is a better idea to take a positive, proactive approach with activities like neighborhood events, open hous-es, distribution of sweets to neighbors at festival times, and even facilitated meetings where both the temple body and the prospective neighbors can make their feelings known in order to minimize the potential animosity. Forcing the temple's way into the community through legal means found in this act may result in decades of disharmony with the sur-rounding community. Conflict resolution Numerous relationships exist within a temple, be-tween and among the board, the management, the priests, volunteers, donors, members, temple devo-tees and the outside community. In each combina-tion there is the potential for disagreements, disputes and full-blown conflict. I strongly recommend that difficulties affecting any of these relationships be handled first through a type of process called

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"alternative dispute resolution " or "ADR." These are methods other than the system of lawyers and courts. The most widely used methods are mediation and arbitration. Litigation, unfortunately, seems to bring out the worst in people, is costly, and tends to freeze people's positions, leaving little chance of reaching a truly amicable resolution or settlement. ADR, on the other hand, is a way of resolving dis-putes that honors both sides and aims to reach a win-win solution. It is a good idea to include a clause providing for disputes to be submitted to arbitration or mediation in all organizational documents, in-cluding bylaws, as well as in all contracts and agree-ments to which the temple is a party. In this process, which is less formal than litigation, a religious elder or other individual respected by both parties may act as the arbitrator/mediator, or it can be done by a per-son trained in ADR. The American Arbitration As-sociation (AAA) has offices in most every city and has experienced people who will get acquainted with the basic facts of the situation and then allow both sides to present their case as part of the process of arbitration or mediation. Temple leaders should be comfortable calling upon them to assist when there are disputes, for the mutual benefit of all in-volved. The AAA has guidelines for "Drafting Dis-pute Resolution Clauses " at http://www.adr.org/ Conclusion

Temples generally operate without problems. People work together smoothly to serve God and the con-

gregation, but difficulties can arise, so it is advisable to prepare for such difficulties in advance. To pro-tect the assets of the temple is the first responsibility of those involved in temple work. It is thus im-portant to be up front. Don't shy away from these issues because they embarrass you or make you un-comfortable. Set up the rules by which everyone will play and then follow them yourself most care-fully. Keep in mind the tremendous responsibilities entailed in operating a public institution and ensure that they will all be adequately met. As you may know, the US is perceived as a highly litigious soci-ety. But there is another reason for stressing, as I have, this strict way of doing business in your tem-ple. It is common for US temples to be built with the contributions of a large number of people and with broad public interest. There is a lot at stake. Not-withstanding the nature of our own personal in-volvement in temple work, the mission must be un-affected. Remember, the temple is the place where we leave our egos at the door seeking darshan and to worship God.

About the author: Katherine Nanda, now retired, practiced in a number of fields of law in Colorado for almost 20 years. She was a founding member of the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of the Rockies near Denver, Colorado, USA.

Peace Invocation (Taittiriya Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishad)

ॐ सह नाववत ु| om saha nāvavatu

सह नौ भनु त ु| saha nau bhunaktu

सह वीय करवावहै | saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai

तजेि वनावधीतम त ुमा व वषावहै || tejasvināvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai

ॐ शाि तः शाि तः शाि तः || oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective;

May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any). Om ! Let there be Peace in me ! Let there be Peace in my environment ! Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !

Om, Peace, Peace, Peace !

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Art and worship are matters of the state-of-the-HEART. They both spring from the same source of human emotions. Nobody could have said it better than John Keats – “Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty” – in his “Ode on a Grecian Urn” or in the alliteration of the Smithsonian phrase “The Sensuous and the Sacred” in describing the Chola bronzes. It is therefore no won-der that our Hindu temples are a repository of both art and worship. The actions of the past and current boards of the Sri Meenakshi Temple Society, Pearland, have made it possible to have artisans from India come and reside here in Pearland to build this temple from very humble beginnings in the 1970s to this edifice that we see today, so that our Indian community of the Greater Houston area has this beautiful and sacred space creat-ed for them to worship. Our temple’s commitment to art and worship will help continue this ancient tradition that keeps our religion and art alive for generations to

come.

History of the temple: The past three decades have seen several Hindu temples being built in the U.S., based on Indian traditional architecture and ancient Hindu Agama texts. The first two such temples are the Maha Vallabha

Ganapati Devasthanam in Flushing, New York, and the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-vania. The third, the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pear-land (a suburb of Houston, Texas), is the first ‘Shakti’ temple in the US, with Goddess Meenakshi as the main Deity. This is the only temple for the Goddess off the

shores of India, and is the world’s second temple for the Goddess. The original temple for Sri Meenakshi is in the city of Madurai in southern India, with a two thousand year history and tradition. The Sri Meenak-shi Temple in Pearland, styled after the Madurai tem-ple, was built near the modern city of Houston, with Goddess Meenakshi as the presiding diety of the tem-ple and Her consort, Sri Sundareshwarar and Her brother, Lord Venkateshwara as the other two main deities.

On five acres of land purchased in 1978 in Pearland, a small temple for Lord Ganesha was inaugurated in Au-gust 1979. A trailer home was used as the Assembly Hall. The construction of the main temple began in 1980, with sculptors and artisans from south India. Statues of deities were specially sculpted in India un-der strict spiritual discipline on the part of the sculptors during the weeks and months of sculpting. In 1982, the main deities were installed as per Vedic guidelines. Expert priests who specialize in the Vedic tradition performed the consecration (Kumbabhishekam) cere-monies for the deities. Kumbabhishekam invokes all divine qualities into the statues of deities by elaborate chants and rituals, thus ‘bringing them to life’ to repre-sent the divine for the worshippers.

A community facilities center built in 1985, children’s play ground in 1986, priests’ quarters in 1987, and ac-quisition of more land in 1992 and 1994, all marked the steady growth of the temple. Further constructions per Agama Vedic guidelines were resumed in 1994, to build the outer “Prakaram” wall and the “Rajagopuram” tower at the east entrance. To foster a sense of community, and to accommodate those accus-

tomed to worshiping other dei-ties, several other deities were installed in shrines in the four corners around the main temple. The next phase of construction in 1999 established a wedding hall (‘Kalyana mandapam’) for wed-dings and other auspicious cere-monies, and a small library.

More deities were installed and consecrated the same

Sri Meenakshi Temple Society 17130 McLean Road, Pearland, TX 77584-4630

Web: h p://www.meenakshitemple.org Phone: 281-0489-0358

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year, for guarding the outer walls of the main temple, (Koshta Vigrahas).

In 2001 Lord Nataraja (Lord of Dance of Creation) was installed in a corner mandapam, and the Dwaja-sthambham (‘flag post’) and Bali Peetam (where one surrenders one’s ego and all negative attitudes before entering the temple), were erected and consecrated by Kumbabhishekam. This completed the temple layout as per Agamas. In 2002 a spacious Youth center building was constructed to accommodate the educa-tional and other cultural activities. In 2006 Staff quar-ters were built to provide accommodation to all full time employees. In 2010 a Visitor Center was built to house the temple archives and finally a magnificent silver clad ratham was built to have Rathotsavam cele-brations at the temple.

Typical activities at our Temple: The Sr i Meenak-shi Temple in Pearland serves all members of the Hin-du community, although the majority of those in-volved in its creation are south Indian, and it is south Indian in architecture and worship methods. The sculptures other than those of Deities are created in cement concrete in contrast to South Indian temples where all sculpture is usually of granite. During festi-vals (Utsava), images of each of the deities made of metal alloy, are taken ceremoniously around the tem-ple, in remembrance of such practice in south Indian

temples where the Deity is taken through the streets to ‘visit the dev-otee’ on special occasions when the devotee is physically unable to go to the temple.

Trained priests conduct daily wor-ship and special ceremonies with guidelines established by senior

priests belonging to the traditional priest families of the Madurai Sri Meenakshi Temple. Worship ceremo-nies and traditions of the main Deity follow the 2000-year-old practice in Madurai, South India.

However, in keeping with the spirit of Hindu civiliza-tion, viz., “Unity in Diversity” with so many religious paths, and sects and yet a single “Brahman” (Godhead), the temple established by the Saivite (Siva Agama) tradition also celebrates other traditions. Thus this temple has become a confluence of several traditions of worship, the Vaishnava (Paancharaatra Agama) tradition of worship of Lord Venkateswara (Sri Balaji), a form of Lord Vishnu, the

worship of Sri Ayyappa, Sri Kanyakaparameswari, Sri Durga, and Sri Jyoti, Lord Ganesa, Hanuman and oth-er deities. Thus, we affirm the teachings of Vedas, that devotees see the Divine as many manifest forms: “Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudah Vadanti” – “Truth is one, the wise speak of that One in many ways”.

Apart from individual and group worship rituals for hundreds of regular temple goers, expert priests cele-brate the several Hindu festivals and perform the rites of passage called Samskaras, -the life-cycle rites- such as prenatal, birth, childhood, student, and marriage rites etc. These traditional rites are supplemented with new rituals such as the annual Graduation Puja for new graduates, the Mother’s Day Puja etc.

The “Vedic Heritage School” brings young people together for weekend classes and summer camps. The seniors and adults meet weekly to discuss various spir-itual topics. The temple offers religious discourses workshops and spiritual expositions by experts from India regularly. The Indian classical arts, which richly reflect man’s spiritual yearnings, find a place at our temple in the form of performances and education. With all these activities, a cafeteria serving authentic vegetarian fare was added to the temple complex. The temple houses a Library offering books and audi-ovisuals of ancient and contemporary spiritual works in all Indian languages and English.

The Houston Chronicle in their entertainment section, “Eat Pray Love in Houston” describes “Sri Meenakshi Temple, 17130 McLean in Pearland, makes you forget you live in Texas. Open to all, the Hindu temple offers three different public tours. But take time to attend one of the annual festivals, where you can sample tradi-tional food, bask in the beautiful architecture and, if you’re lucky, meet an elephant”.

We look forward to your visit to our great temple.

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What is Sanatan Dharm The religion which eternally exists in God, which is revealed by God, which describes the names, forms, virtues and the abodes of God, and which reveals the true path of God realization for all the souls is called Sanatan Dharm, the universal religion for the whole world. The word dharm is formed from the root word dhryan, it means such actions and spiritual or religious practices that finally result in all good for a soul.

YATOBHYUDAYANIH SHREYASAIDHDHIH

SA DHARAM Such actions, thoughts and practices that promote physical and mental happiness in the world and ensure God realization in the end, are called dharm. There are two kinds of Dharm: 1) Apar Dharm :-- The word dharm means the reli-gious practices and thoughts that are aimed to fulfill a pious goal in life. It is the religious discipline and in-junctions of do’s and don't that are explained in the scriptures for uplifting the pure qualities of a human being in general. The disciplines and rules of apar dharm vary according to the state of spiritual con-sciousness of a person, and its rigidness also varies from age to age that is from Satyug to Kaliyug. Thus all kinds of good deeds and philanthropic works that are beneficial to the society and sincere observance of the religious discipline of the order of life are accepted, provided they are done with Sattvic or pure motivation.

Pure motivation means baring faith in God and then doing all the good actions only to please God and not to appease a person. Apar dharm means good actions where these good ac-tions pacify the mind of the doer in the existing life and in the next lifetime, they create a good destiny which is called a “abhyudaya” that brings physical and mental well-being in a person’s life. 2) Par Dharm or Bhagwat Dharm:-- This is the main Dharm which brings the absolute good of a soul resulting in God realization thru the direct devotion to God in his personal form. It is called Bhakti or devo-tion. Bhakti is above all the religious formalities, rituals and practices of meditation. It is for every person, uni-versal, age and revealed by God Himself. Thus Sanatan dharm is established in God and resides in God as a divine power. It represents all aspects and forms of God. Another amazing thing is that the path of attainment of any of these forms of God is only one, and that is ‘Bhakti’ which is loving remembrance of your most beloved God with a yearning heart and a desirous mind, aspiring for His vision and love.

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Phone: 856-768-3134 http://indiatemple.org/

Wishing the HMEC-2010 Conference all the success

and a wonderful time to all the delegates.

Thanks to all the devotees across North America who have revered SV Temple as the

Tirumala of America.

May Lord Venkateswara and Godess Padmavati be upon us all the time.

Web: http://www.svtemple.org/

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HMEC-2010 List of Sponsors

Mandir City State President 1. Nithyananda Vedic Temple Montclair CA 2. Param Shakti Peeth Of America Anaheim CA 3. Hindu Temple Of Atlanta Inc Riverdale GA Dr. Hyma Mikkileneni 4. U S Hindu Alliance (USHA) Norcross GA 5. Sri Siva Vishnu Temple Lanham MD Mythili Bachu 6. India Temple Association/ Berlin Hindu Mandir Berlin NJ Divyakant Parikh 7. Sanskruti Parivar NJ Cedar Grove NJ Arvindbhai R. Patel 8. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Saylorsburg PA 9. Hindu Temple Society Allentown PA Pattabhi Neelkanthan 10. Sri Venkateswara Temple Pittsburgh PA Murthy Hari 11. Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of SC Columbia SC 12. Ganesh Temple Nashville TN Kunda Vaikunth 13. Arya Samaj Greter Houston Houston TX Devinder Mahajan 14. Barsana Dham Austin TX Siwakar Devi 15. Dalls/Fort Worth Hindu Temple Irving TX Sandhya Patel 16. Hindu Heritage Foundation of America Pearland TX 17. Hindu Temple Of The Woodlands Conroe TX Shashi Bellar 18. Houston Durgabari Society Houston TX Partha Sarathi Chatterjee 19. ISKCON Houston TX Saranga Thakur Das 20. Sanatan Dharma Foundation Dallas TX Kalyan Viswanathan 21. Sanatan Shiv-Shakti Mandir Houston TX Dhirendrabhai Kotak 22. Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir Sugar Land TX Lakshimi B. Thakkar 23. Shri Guruvayurappan Temple Houston TX 24. South Texas Hindu Society S.V. Temple Corpus Christi TX 25. Sri Meenakshi Temple Pearland TX 26. Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Austin Cedar Park TX 27. Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj (VPSS) Houston TX 28. Durga Temple Fairfax Station VA Canada 1. Bhartiya Hindu Temple Columbus OH 2. Hindu Heritage Centre Mississauga ON Bharat Sripuram, Narayani Peedam Vellore Tamil Nadu, Bharat

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HMEC-2010 List of Registered Organizations

1. Institute for the Study of American Religion Santa Barbara CA 2. Nithyananda Vedic Temple Montclair CA 3. Param Shakti Peeth Of America Anaheim CA 4. Path To Anandam Danville CA 5. Arya Samaj Florida Inc. Miramar FL 6. Hindu Society Of America Miami FL 7. Hindu Temple of Florida Tampa FL 8. Shiva Mandir—Florida Hindu Organization Inc., Ft. Lauderdale FL 9. South Florida Hindu Temple Davie FL 10. Vishnu Mandir Inc. Tampa FL 11. Hindu Temple of Atlanta Inc. Riverdale GA 12. Sankat Mochan Mandir Adairsville GA 13. U S Hindu Alliance (USHA) Norcross GA 14. Hinduism Today / Himalayan Academy Kappa HI 15. Chinmaya Mission Chicago Willow Brook IL 16. Global Hindu Heritage Foundation Addison IL 17. Sri Venkateshwara (Balaji) Temple Aurora IL 18. Hindu Temple of Central Indiana Indianapolis IN 19. Hindupedia Waltham MA 20. Om Temple N. Billerica MA 21. Sadhu Vaswani Center Dracut MA 22. Sri Lakshmi Temple Ashland MA 23. Vidya Publishers Newton MA 24. American Hindu World Service (AHWS) Silver Spring MD 25. Braj Dham Seva Columbia MD 26. Hindu American Foundation Kensington MD 27. Sri Siva Vishnu Temple Lanham MD 28. BAPS Beltsville MD 29. West Michigan Hindu Temple Ada MI 30. Hindu Society of Minnesota Maple Grove MN 31. Hindu Center Charlotte Charlotte NC 32. Forum for Hindu Awakening Mount Laurel NJ 33. Gayatri Chetna Center Piscataway NJ 34. Hindu Students Council Edison NJ 35. India Temple Association/ Berlin Hindu Mandir Berlin NJ 36. Interfaith Shadi Org Bridgewater NJ 37. JAINA N. Brunswick NJ 38. Sanskruti Parivar Cedar Grove NJ 39. Neem Karoli Baba Ashram and Hanuman Temple Taos NM 40. Samprajña Institute Albuquerque NM 41. Bharat Sevashram Sangh Jamaica NY 42. Geeta Mandir Corona NY 43. Bhartiya Hindu Temple Columbus OH 44. Hindu Temple of Toledo Sylvania OH 45. Devdham of North America Cincinnati OH 46. Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Saylorsburg PA 47. Hindu Jain Temple Monroeville PA 48. Hindu Temple Society Allentown PA 49. Sri Venkateswara Temple Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA 50. Hindu Temple and Cultural Center of SC Columbia SC 51. Ganesh Temple Nashville TN

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52. Arya Samaj Greater Houston Houston TX 53. Austin Hindu Temple & Community Center Austin TX 54. Austin Sikh Temple Austin TX 55. Barsana Dham Austin TX 56. Dallas/Fort Worth Hindu Temple Irving TX 57. Hindu Association of West Texas Midland TX 58. Hindu Heritage Foundation of America Pearland TX 59. Hindu Swyam Sevak Sangh (HSS) Richmond TX 60. Hindu Temple of The Woodlands Conroe TX 61. Houston Durgabari Society Houston TX 62. ISKCON Houston TX 63. Sanatan Dharma Foundation Dallas TX 64. Sanatan Shiv-Shakti Mandir Houston TX 65. Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir Sugar Land TX 66. Shri Guruvayurappan Temple Houston TX 67. South Texas Hindu Society S.V. Temple Corpus Christi TX 68. Sri Meenakshi Temple Pearland TX 69. Sri Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Austin Cedar Park TX 70. Vallabh Priti Seva Samaj (VPSS) Houston TX 71. Durga Temple Fairfax Station VA 72. Rajdhani Mandir Chantilly VA 73. Sarda Mandir & Sanskrit Pathshala Chesapeake VA 74. Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America USA Canada 1. Hindu Heritage Centre Mississauga Canada 2. Sanatan Dharm Educational Foundation Mississauga Canada Bharat 1. Sripuram, Narayani Peedam Vellore, Tamilnadu (List as of 10/17/2010)

HMEC-2010 List of Registered Organizations

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HMEC-2010 List of Donors

Anuj Gupta $2,000.00 Hindus of Greater Houston $2,000.00 Kalyan Viswanathan $1,001.00 Yogesh Naik $501.00 Ramesh Gupta $150.00

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Accomplishments of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America 1970 Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America founded 1974 VHPA office incorporated in New York State 1974 Bal Vihar program offered 1974 Children’s Book project started in New Hampshire 1975 Lecture tour program started 1978 Seva projects started 1979 First Youth camp held in Rhode Island 1982 Emporium established 1983 Samskar Bharti - A/V services established 1983 First Regional conference held in Florida 1984 First International Hindu conference held in NY 1984 First Youth conference held in New York 1984 Cultural Exhibition: India’s contribution to World 1985 Support-a-Child Program started 1985 Hindu University of America project announced 1989 Hindu Unity Year Celebrations held in 107 US cities 1990 Hindu Students Council launched 1993 Two-year long Global Vision 2000 Programs in DC 1998 First Dharma Samsad held at Arsha Vidya Gurukul 1999 Dharma Prasaar Yaatra conducted across the country 1999 Ekal Vidyalaya started as a project of VHPA 2000 Dharma Ganga & U. N. Millennium Peace Summit 2001 Re-built earthquake affected Lodai village in Gujarat 2002 Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA established 2003 Hindu Student Council became autonomous 2004 Vanaprasthi Seminars Started 2006 1st Hindu Mandir Executives conference held in GA 2006 Hindu Awareness Yaatra started 2007 2nd Hindu Mandir Executives conference held in NJ 2008 3rd Hindu Mandir Executives conference held in MI 2009 Ashraya, Bhutanese Refugees settlement project started VHPA Chapters and Activity Centers: Antioch, CA, Orange County, CA; Hartford, CT; Metro DC; Broward-Palm Beach County, FL; Miami, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Detroit, MI; Merrimack Valley, NH; Central & Northern New Jersey, NJ; Southern New Jersey, NJ; Lindenhurst (Long Island), NY; Queens, NY; Staten Island, NY; Cincinnati, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Houston, TX

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Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Inc. (World Hindu Council of America)

VHPA Membership Application Form (Fields marked with * cannot be left blank)

__________ _______________________________ _____ _____________________________ Salutation *First Name M.I. *Last Name Spouse’s Name: _____________________ *Street/P. O. Box No.: _________________________________ *City:______________________________ *State_______________________ *Zip Code________________ *Home Telephone:_______________________ *Email Address:_______________________________ Cell Phone:_______________________ Work Telephone:__________________________ *Age Group 18-35 [ ] 36-50 [ ] 51-65 [ ] 65+ [ ] (Minimum age for becoming a member is 18 years) Membership Desired: (select one) [ ] Patron $1000 [ ] Life Membership $500 [ ] Primary Membership, Five years $100 [ ] Primary Membership, Three years $70 [ ] Primary Membership, One year $25 Please accept my Additional Contribution of $______ for [ ] General Use [ ] Seva in USA [ ] Seva in Bharat [ ] Support A child [ ] Youth Development Programs [ ] Publications [ ] Media Outreach and PR [ ] Liaison with Hindu Mandirs & Hindu Institutions [ ] Hindu Awareness Yaatra I am 18 years or above.I agree with the aims and objectives of Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America. I believe in, practice and/or respect the spiritual and religious principles and practices having roots in Bharat (India). ____________________________________________ _________________________ Signature Date Check No._______________ (Check Payable to VHPA) OR Charge it to a credit card

(Name and address must match with that on the credit card, for using the credit card.) ) Credit Card Name: [ ] VISA [ ] MASTER CARD [ ] DISCOVER

Credit

Card Number Month Year Expiration Date

___________________________________ _______________________________ Signature Date

Mail to: VHPA, PO Box 441505, Houston, TX 77244-1505 Contact Tel.: 732-744-0851

OR Become member using your credit card on our web site: www.vhp-america.org

Institutional Membership is available; fist year dues are $201 ($90 Initiation fee + $111 membership). Call 732-744-0851 or email to [email protected] for application form and more information.

National Office: P.O. Box 611, Iselin, NJ 08830 Tax ID # 51-0156325 Tel.: 732-744-0851 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vhp-america.org

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Why your Mandir/Organization should become an Affiliate member of VHP of America?

The Mandir gets the following benefits by affiliating with the VHPA.

A complimentary copy of Hindu Temples of North America, a pictorial, coffee table book, val-ued at $35 and listed at $75 at Amazon.com A Membership Plaque

Recognition in our Quarterly magazine, Hindu Vishwa as an affiliate Institution Ready access to VHPA’s Executive Board for issues of concern

Priority in arranging programs for VHPA invited religious and social leaders under its Hindu Awareness Yaatra (HAY) program

10% discount in the registration fee for the Hindu Mandir executives’ Conference (HMEC), a yearly event

Five copies of Hindu Vishwa, our quarterly magazine

Membership of Coalition to Protect Hindu Institutions (CPHI)

Membership of American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD)

Invitation to two executives to VHPA’s annual Governing Council meeting where you can give valuable input and take part in VHPA’s policy making deliberations

Monetary considerations apart, there is strength in joining forces to provide a secure future for our Mandirs and spiritual institutions, the Hindu society and the second and future generations of Hindus in the USA.

The first year contribution for the Affiliate Membership is $201 and there after, yearly renewal is at $111. Long term discounted membership is also available. The membership is contingent on at least two, and if possible three (or more) of the Mandir execu-tives/Trustees becoming Life member ($500) or Patron ($1000) of VHPA so that a strong bond may be formed between VHPA and the Mandir. We expect these life members/patrons to be ac-tively involved in VHPA to represent interests of the Mandir community. Other members of the Mandir Board should consider long term membership of VHPA (5 years for $100) to express their support to VHPA. (Membership Application form is on the reverse side.)

Strength in Unity! We are all Hindus first, then anything else. Won't you join us?

"Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached" - Swami Vivekananda

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Affiliate Membership Application Form (Fields marked with * cannot be left blank)

Name of the Mandir/ Spiritual Organization_____________________________________________________________ *Street/P. O. Box No.: ______________________________________________________________ *City:____________________________________________________________________________ *State_______________________ *Zip Code____________________ *Telephone:_______________________ Web site:______________________________________ *Email Address:____________________________________________________________________ *Contact Person: First Name:_______________________________________________ Middle Initial _____ *Last Name:__________________________________ Telephone:____________________________ Affiliate Membership: [ ] First year dues $201 [ ] Yearly Renewal $111 Additional Contribution, if desired: $__________ Check No._______________ (Check Payable to VHPA) OR Charge it to a credit card. (If Name and address above do not match with that on the credit card, , fill out the following.) _______________________________________________________________________________ First Last (Name as it appears on the card) ________________________________________________________________________ Street (Address must match on your credit card) ________________________________________________________________________ City State Zip Code -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Credit Card Name: [ ] VISA [ ] MASTER CARD [ ] DISCOVER

Cred- it Card Num-

ber MO YY (Expiration Date)

___________________________________ _______________________________ Signature Date

Mail to: VHPA, PO Box 611, Iselin, NJ 08830 Contact Tel.: 732-744-0851

National Office: P.O. Box 611, Iselin, NJ 08830 Tax ID # 51-0156325 Tel.: 732-744-0851 Email: [email protected] Website: www.vhp-america.org

Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Inc. (World Hindu Council of America)

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HMEC Guiding Team Convener:

Dr. Umesh Shukla (908) 240-7720

Co-Convener:

Yogesh Naik (281) 433-1321

Executive Team: Dr. Sharma Tadepalli (281) 907-3608 Mythili Bachu (301) 526-5135 Lalit Goel (408) 732-9587 Renu Gupta (248) 320-7281 Sant Gupta (703) 980-7487 Ravi Kunduru (614) 404-2400 Amit Mehta (484) 695-8963 Dinesh Modh (516) 935-0002 Dr. Vipul Patel (484)-664-9420 Dr. Siva Subramanian (301) 983-9699

Team Members: USA Hosting State: Texas TX Rasesh Dalal (832)-646-4996 TX Janeshwari Devi (512) 965-4590 TX Anuradha Gannavarapu (832)-512-7582 TX Girish Naik (281) 851-6866 TX Urmil Shukla (936) 348-1500 TX Manjula Shrivastava (972) 495-0868 TX Prakasarao Velagapudi (601) 918-7111 TX Pravin Vyas (281) 380-5585

USA

CA (N) Bhagwandas Lathi (916) 485-7403 MA Sanjay Kaul (781) 330-1691 CA (N) Vijay Ruikar (925) 354-6657 MI Arjun Soorya (248) 703-3754 CA (N) Shyam Shukla (510) 770-1218 NC Keya Bhatt (371) 679-5408 CA (S) Sheela Kene (949) 786-1364 NJ Arvind Patel (973) 256-2472 CA (S) Deven Patel (858) 231-3156 NJ T. V. Srinivasan (732) 549-5814 CA (S) Ramjibhai Patel (562) 659-4353 NY Ram Suchdev (917) 776-4365 CO Rajkumar Manickam (808) 822-3012 NY Dr. Ila Sukhadia (347) 886-6302 FL Suresh Gupta (407) 529-3040 OH Krutarth Jain (513) 884-1259 FL Vijay Narang (954) 559-7969 PA Navin Kadakia (412) 494-4091 FL Dr. Chandra Shaykher (305) 310-0106 PA Sanjay Mehta (412) 251-9133 GA Sneha Mehta (770) 394-1353 PA Srinivasa Nangali (412) 726-7009 GA Karthik Subramanian (706) 650-8158 SC Arunima Sinha (803) 781-9054 IL Raja Babu (630) 325-1775 TN Ravi Shetkar (615) 557-4502 IL Kaushik Joshi (630) 886-4789 CANADA

IN Rama Belagaje (317) 815-5524 BC Brahma Swaroop Varma (604) 585-7656 LA Vijay Shertukde (225) 654-6313 ON Dwarka Persaud (519) 650-1337

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President Jyotish Parekh 860-521-2173 E-Mail: [email protected]

General Secretary Dr. Abhaya Asthana 508-875-0432 E-Mail: [email protected]

Executive Vice President Gaurang G. Vaishnav 732-744-0851 E-Mail: [email protected]

Chapters, Joint General Secretary Sanjay Mehta 412-276-2670 E-Mail: [email protected]

Treasurer Jyesh Mehta 856-745-7657 E-Mail: [email protected]

Asst. Treasurer Vasav Mehta 770-394-1353 E-Mail: [email protected]

Seva (Social Service), Vice President Girish Gandhi 973-689-5479 E-Mail: [email protected]

Publications, Vice President Shyam Tiwari 678-557-9582 E-Mail: [email protected]

Media Relations, Director Vijay Narang 954-559-7969 E-Mail: [email protected]

American Hindus Against Defamation (AHAD), Director Dr. Ajay Shah 858-442-5668 E-Mail: [email protected]

Chairperson, Advisory Board Dr. Nand Kishore Sharma 603-893-3490 E-Mail: [email protected]

Founder & Mentor Dr. Mahesh Mehta. 781-744-7313 E-Mail: [email protected]

National Office Manager

Sharad Patel

VHP of America P. O Box 441505

Houston, TX 77244-1505

713-261-9400 [email protected]

Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America, Inc. World Hindu Council of America

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N o t e s

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N o t e s

Hindus of Greater Houston

धम र त र त: Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitaha

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