B R A H M A V A N I World Brahman Convention 2007 Crowne Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, Herndon, Virginia, USA Convention Souvenir Issue No.XII, May 2007 Table of Contents … ... 1 BSNA and WBO Officers … ... 2 Editorial … ... 3 Message from the Convention Director ... ... 4 Message from the President of WBO ... ... 5 Message from the Presidnt of BSNA ... ... 6 Message from the Chair of BOT ... ... 7 Message from General Secretary of BSNA ... ... 8 Message from the President of Youth Group ... ... 9 Messages from Well Wishers ... ... 10-13 Acknowledgement and Thanks ... ... 14 Convention Organizing Committees ... ... 15 WBC 2007 Program ... ... 16-17 Our Viewpoint ... ... 18 History of BSNA—Surendra N. Pandey et al. ... 19 Religion and Science—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... 24 Bhagvan Vishnu—Ankur Misra ... ... 27 Material Life and Beyond—Anand Mohan Chaturvedi ... 31 The Hindu Scriptures—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 34 Bhagwat Darshan (Hindi Poem)—Amar Purohit ... 36 A Whole New World—Hirsh Shukla ... ... 37 Brahmanism and its Responsibilities—L. N. Chaturvedi 52 Who Is a Hindu?—Shriharsha Sharma ... ... 55 The Vedas—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... ... 57 The Devanagari Script of Bharat—Amar S. Pandey ... 59 Seva—Umesh Shukla ... ... 61 Finding a Life Partner—Janeshwar Upadhyay ... 62 Celebration (English Poem)—Satish Misra ... ... 65 Mahabharat (Hindi)—Naresh Sharma and Krishna K. Pandey 66 Vastu Shastra (Hindi)—Manjul Kant Dwivedi ... 69 Vedic Sanskriti and Brahman (Hindi)—Uma Nath Sharma 72 Poem (Hindi)—Archana Mohla ... ... 74 Poem (Hindi)—Hari Sharma ... ... 75 Poems (Hindi)—Bhagyashri Kulkarni ... ... 76 Poems (Hindi)—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 77 Poems (Hindi)—Sumitra Sharma ... ... 79 Poem (Hindi)—Surendra N. Pandey .. .... 80 BSNA/WBO Organization Charts ... ... 81-82 WBO Affiliate Organizations ... ... 83 BSNA Membership Form ... ... 84 - 1 - TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial Board Surendra Nath Pandey--Chief Editor Shyam Narayan Shukla Umesh Shukla Om Sharma (NJ) Satish Misra Cover Design Surendra N. Pandey Shyam N. Shukla Graphic Artist Era Sharma Managing Editor Tej N. Pandey @Brahman Samaj of North America P. O. Box 716 Belle Mead, NJ 08502 Phone: 248-853-4076 Disclaimer: BSNA or the editors takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions.
88
Embed
B R A H M A V A N I - Brahman Samaj of North Americabsna.org/pdf/BV07.pdfB R A H M A V A N I World Brahman Convention 2007 Crowne Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, Herndon, Virginia,
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
B R A H M A V A N I
World Brahman Convention 2007Crowne Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, Herndon, Virginia, USA
Convention Souvenir Issue No.XII, May 2007
Table of Contents … ... 1
BSNA and WBO Officers … ... 2
Editorial … ... 3
Message from the Convention Director ... ... 4
Message from the President of WBO ... ... 5
Message from the Presidnt of BSNA ... ... 6
Message from the Chair of BOT ... ... 7
Message from General Secretary of BSNA ... ... 8
Message from the President of Youth Group ... ... 9
Messages from Well Wishers ... ... 10-13
Acknowledgement and Thanks ... ... 14
Convention Organizing Committees ... ... 15
WBC 2007 Program ... ... 16-17
Our Viewpoint ... ... 18
History of BSNA—Surendra N. Pandey et al. ... 19
Religion and Science—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... 24
Bhagvan Vishnu—Ankur Misra ... ... 27
Material Life and Beyond—Anand Mohan Chaturvedi ... 31
The Hindu Scriptures—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 34
Bhagwat Darshan (Hindi Poem)—Amar Purohit ... 36
A Whole New World—Hirsh Shukla ... ... 37
Brahmanism and its Responsibilities—L. N. Chaturvedi 52
Who Is a Hindu?—Shriharsha Sharma ... ... 55
The Vedas—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... ... 57
The Devanagari Script of Bharat—Amar S. Pandey ... 59
Mahabharat (Hindi)—Naresh Sharma and Krishna K. Pandey 66
Vastu Shastra (Hindi)—Manjul Kant Dwivedi ... 69
Vedic Sanskriti and Brahman (Hindi)—Uma Nath Sharma 72
Poem (Hindi)—Archana Mohla ... ... 74
Poem (Hindi)—Hari Sharma ... ... 75
Poems (Hindi)—Bhagyashri Kulkarni ... ... 76
Poems (Hindi)—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 77
Poems (Hindi)—Sumitra Sharma ... ... 79
Poem (Hindi)—Surendra N. Pandey .. .... 80
BSNA/WBO Organization Charts ... ... 81-82
WBO Affiliate Organizations ... ... 83
BSNA Membership Form ... ... 84
- 1 -
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Editorial Board
Surendra Nath Pandey--Chief Editor
Shyam Narayan Shukla
Umesh Shukla
Om Sharma (NJ)
Satish Misra
Cover Design
Surendra N. Pandey
Shyam N. Shukla
Graphic ArtistEra Sharma
Managing Editor
Tej N. Pandey
@Brahman Samaj of North America
P. O. Box 716
Belle Mead, NJ 08502
Phone: 248-853-4076
Disclaimer: BSNA or the editors takes no responsibility
for any errors or omissions.
Board of Trustees
Mr. Purushottam Sharma
--President
Dr. Umesh Shukla
--Executive Vice-President
Mr. Bharat Mohla
--Vice-President
Mrs. Rita G. Pandey
--Vice-President
Dr. Om Sharma (NJ)
--General Secretary
Mr. Shri Niwas Sharma
--Treasurer
Dr. Ajay K. Pandey
--Assist. Treasurer & Editor Brahmakulum
Dr. Surendra Pandey
--Editor, Brahma Bharati & Brahma Vani
Dr. Tej Pandey
--Editor Home Page
Dr. Satish Misra
Mr. Ankur Misra, President
Mr. Prasun Mishra, Vice President
Ms. Ruby Tiwari, Secretary
Dr. Shiva Bajpai
Dr. Onkar P. Dwivedi
Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra
Mr. Mahendra Pal Misra (Chair)
Dr. Shri Kant Mishra
Mr. Kanwal Prashar
Mr. Nitin Purohit
Dr. Dharam P. Salwan
Mr. Jagar Sharma
Dr. Naresh D. Sharma
Mrs. Mamta Tiwari
Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay
Youth Group:
Convention Director:
Executive Committee: Executive Committee:
President
Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla
Vice Presidents
Sh. Rameshwar Dayal Dixit
Dr. Sangam Mishra
Dr. Dharam Singh Kaushik
Sh. Shashikant Tiwari
Dr. Prakash Narayan Shukla
Sh. Anand Kalapnat
Sh. Vishnu Mahadew Panday
Sh. Vijay Kumar Tripathi
Sh. Ramagya Chaturbedi
Sh. Arvind Misra
Sh. Kampta Maharaj
Sh. Balram Sharma
Sh. Damodar Toolsee
Secretary General
Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey
Treasurer
Dr. Tej Narayan Pandey
Board of Trustees
Dr. Govind Bajpai
Sh. Girdhari Doobey
Col. Dewinder Djwalapersad
Sh. Jagdish Prasad Maharaj
Dr. Shri Kant Mishra (Chair)
Acharya Prabhakar Mishra
Sh. Jagprasad Pandey
Sh. Mahesh Dutt Sharma
Smt. Rama Devi Sharma
Sh. Jagar Sharma
Sh. Surendre Sharma
Dr. Umesh Shukla
Sh. Joganan Dutnath Tiwari
Sh. Dharanidhar Trivedi
Officers of World Brahman Organization (WBO) and
Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA)
BSNA Officers WBO Officers
- 2 -
I am delighted to welcome you, the most distinguished group of Brahmansfrom all around the world. As you grace the venue of the World BrahmanConvention by your presence, it has turned into a holy ground. Yourpresence is a testimonial to the fact that a common bond exists among us.We stand here united because of the common goals and values we proudlyshare.
During the next two days, we have an excellent opportunity to discuss,exchange ideas, talk and listen to fellow Brahmans for developing a plan ofaction that will help in the enhancement of Brahmans, Hindus and theSanatan Dharma globally. This must be done because there are external
forces that we cannot, and must not ignore. They are not sparing any tactics to diminish theinfluence of Vedic culture and Sanatan Dharma, especially in India, where proselytization is at itsmaximum speed reducing the percentage of Hindu majority there. They use all tactics including,but not limited to, inducement, intimidation, deception, false promises and propaganda, and arefully supported by anti-Hindu politicians, proselytes, and foreign money. They exploit thecomplacent nature of Hindus who choose not to respond to the negative and false propaganda aboutHinduism, and who continue to put anti-Hindu politicians in power by their vote. Unless webecome proactive, as well as reactive in refuting the misinformation about Hinduism, India’s Hindumajority will witness its gradual decline, eventually reaching a minority status.
This issue of Brahma Vani is produced to commemorate the World Brahman Convention 2007 thatis jointly sponsored by BSNA and WBO. In this issue, we have included articles from scholars fromall over the world, and published the same in English or Hindi as per the author’s choice. You willalso find articles from our youth group, and a number of thought provoking poems and a few justfor your reading pleasure. I am thankful to all authors.
I take this opportunity to thank the members of the Editorial Board, Drs. Shyam Narayan Shukla,Umesh Shukla, Om Sharma (NJ), Satish Misra, and Dr. Tej Pandey, the Managing Editor. I extendmy special thanks to Mrs. Era Sharma (Jaipur, India), Graphic Artist, who has given such animpressive appearance to the BV cover. I would also like to express my deep appreciation for thegenerosity of those who have given financial support to help defray the cost of publication and theconvention. You can see the names of a few of those making the donations in the form of messagesand advertisements, while many chose to remain anonymous since, only return they wish for theirgenerosity is to derive the pleasure of seeing this fine publication in the hands of our members.
I also wish to express my appreciation for the encouragement and support I have received from themembers of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of all Brahman organizations affiliatedwith the World Brahman Organization.
With best regards,
Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D.2303 West Alberson Dr., Albany, GA 31721, U.S.A.Ph: 229-883-1687, E-mail: [email protected]
“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,
Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”(O morning breeze, have you heard that guests will be coming?
Please do not spread flower petals on their way, we are going to lay our eyes there.)
- 4 -
Dear Friends;
I started out with a Sher (poem) used by the 2005 BSNA ConventionDirector, Mrs. Mamta Tiwari, in her message because this is how theconvention committee truly feels about the delegates attending thisconvention and our friends world-wide. I am deeply honored and gratefulto have led this effort of organizing the World Brahman Convention 2007jointly sponsored by the Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA) as its13th annual convention and World Brahman Organization (WBO) as its 4th
biennial convention. On the way I made friends world-wide and also madesome mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly. I regret my mistakes. My
sincere hope is that you will look at the positive aspects of the convention, thought provoking sessions,wonderful cultural programs, entertainment, bhajan, sandhya, yoga and health sessions, youthprograms, and above all networking, making new friends, renewing friendship and cherishing thisfriendship forever. My heartfelt thanks to you for making this thrilling convention a splendid success.
I am grateful to the convention co-directors, Mrs. Mamta Tiwari, Dr. Gopesh Sharma, Dr. ParmeshDwivedi, Dr. Lalji Mishra, and Dr. Om Sharma for their cooperation and support. I am also grateful toMrs. Manisha Tewari, the cultural program director for working hard to showcase the cultural talentsworld-wide. Our youth president, Mr. Ankur Misra worked impressively in bringing BSNA/WBO to theattention of youths.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Shyam Shukla, President, WBO, and Chair of the programcommittee and immediate past president of BSNA for giving me this opportunity and also for providinga program consistent with the theme of the Convention – “The Current Challenges: Global BrahmanUnity and Preservation of Vedic Culture”. He is responsible for bringing the WBC-2007 to the attentionof global Brahman community. I am thankful to Mr. Purushottam Sharma, BSNA President, Dr OmSharma (NJ), General Secretary, BSNA, Convention Treasurer & Registrar, Dr. Umesh Shukla, ExecutiveVice President, BSNA, Dr. Surendra Pandey, Editor of this beautiful cherished annual publication,Brahma Vani (BV), Dr. Tej Pandey, managing editor of BV, Mr. R. D. Dixit, National President BrahminSamaj of India and Secretary General, AIKB (India), Dr. Sangam Mishra (Udaypur, India), Mrs. EraSharma (Jaipur, India)-designer of this beautiful BV cover page, for their immense help in thisconvention. I also thank many people who helped tremendously for the success of this convention asreflected on the committee list.
I am grateful to the Crowne Plaza Hotel and its management, especially, Mr. Jay Bhalla, CateringDirector and Ms. Melissa Geter, Sales Manager for their help. Last, but not the least, I thank the familiesof all the volunteers, my wife Sheela and my children, Savita, Kavita and Ankur for their support andenthusiasm.
Satish C. Misra, Ph. D.Director, World Brahman Convention-2007
- 5 -
WBO President’s Message
Dear Fellow Brahmans,
The World Brahman Organization (WBO) was formed only two years ago, in 2005,at the third World Brahman Convention in London. In the meantime it has gainedpopularity very fast. Now WBO has member organizations in almost all thecountries where there were already Brahman organizations. During my travel toDubai, India and Mauritius in November-December 2006, I felt that Brahmans arevery eager to be part of a strong cohesive worldwide organization so that they maydiscuss and solve their common problems together. Wherever I went, Brahmansshowed a great enthusiasm and appreciation that a worldwide Brahmanorganization has been formed now on democratic principles. More than 300
Brahmans from India alone have applied for US visas to attend the World Brahman Convention atWashington, D.C.
Today the most worrisome issue for Brahmans in India is the reservation policy of the Government of India.The irony is that on one hand the government wants to eliminate caste system to remove discrimination on thebasis of caste. On the other hand it wants to perpetuate the caste system by forming laws favorable to thepeople belonging to certain castes. The government is thus dividing the Hindu society, just to create a vote-bank. According to the reservation policy even the children of ministers and high-ranking IAS officers of Dalitcastes will be getting preferential treatments in admissions to institutions of higher learning and in jobs,against the poor and meritorious Brahman children. This is unjust and in violation of the principle of equalrights to all the citizens. This policy of the government will create inferior grade scientists, engineers, doctorsand administrators in India. It will also frustrate the country’s talented youths who could be the pride of thecountry. It hurts to see the plights of Brahmans in India everywhere. The Brahmans, who were the authors ofthe scriptures and propagators of high philosophies, were leaders in the freedom fights of India and were oncethe brainpower of India, have become the pariah of the Indian society today. Even the villages have been badlyaffected by this vote-bank politics. There is so much anti-Brahman sentiment created by the politicians thatthe Brahman families do not feel safe to live in their own villages any more. The Brahmans, who are priests andSanskrit scholars, after having moved to the cities, find that they can find no jobs other than as coolies atrailway stations, rickshaw pullers on the streets or as public toilet cleaners. Nobody is there to help them. It isreally a shame!
Because of the incompetence of the government, the Kashmiri Pundits had to flee from their homes in Kashmirand are now refugees in their own country. The Government of India doled out millions of dollars to Pakistaniearthquake victims, but it does not care to improve the living conditions of the Kashmiri Pundits, who live indilapidated houses in Delhi and Jammu for more than two decades.
I frequently receive letters from Brahmans in India, asking if BSNA/WBO could help them. I think the Brahmanorganizations should help poor Brahmans in the education of their children and in starting small businesses,so that they should not be dependent on the government. I am proposing to create a special fund to help needyBrahmans anywhere in the world.
With warmest regards,Shyam Narayan Shukla, Ph.D.; P.E.; Fellow, ASCEPresident, World Brahman Organization
It gives me immense pleasure to host this World Brahman Convention inWashington D.C. USA. The World Brahman Organization and BrahmanSamaj of North America jointly sponsor this Convention. For BSNA this isalso their 13th Annual Convention. Over these years BSNA has contributedtremendously to unite and bring together the families who believe andrespect the Brahmenic values. Through these Conventions we have mademany new family friends and have found long lost friends.
Now BSNA has grown to be a teenager. This Organization of yours is determined to continuegrowing and now from its teen ages wants the young adults actively involve and participate inBSNA. I am very confident they can make a difference and a big impact. We have already startedupdating our database and have a separate section of database for young adults. These are the adultswho have completed their studies and are now the well accomplished members of the society. Theyounger adults could get the guidance from them to pursue a career for themselves. I have been thePresident of BSNA only for a few months and this is my strong desire and goal to involve the youngadults into decision making of BSNA.
BSNA is a social and cultural organization and is not associated with any political organization. Nowthat BSNA has joined World Brahman Organization we should concentrate more on local affairs andgive its full support to WBO for International causes. BSNA should increase its membership andcontinue doing charitable work for the society we live in.
The Michigan Chapter very recently conducted a charitable dance drama “ Aisi Lagi Lagan “ onMeera Bai’s life and raised over $10,000.00 and donated all the proceeds for the local BhartiyaTemple building expansion project. My best wishes to the Michigan Chapter and its dedicatedmembers. I expect more and more chapters take such a lead and show their presence as anOrganization in the society they live.
I congratulate Dr. Satish Mishra, Mrs. Mamta Tewari, Dr. Om Sharma, Dr. Gopesh Sharma and theother members of their dedicated team to organize such a wonderful Convention. Also Irespectfully honor all the delegates who have come from all over the World, without theirparticipation WBC would not have been possible.
With Best Regards,
Purushottam Sharma M.S., DABR, DABMPPresident, Brahman Samaj of North AmericaTel: 248-853-4076
From the Chair of Board of Trustees
- 7 -
It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the third World BrahmanConvention and Thirteenth Annual Convention of BSNA in WashingtonDC area. Dr. Satish Misra and his entire team worked hard to makeyour stay comfortable and it is our sincere hope that you will go backwith fond memories of the convention. The convention theme“Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture” is an appropriateone for the current conditions of Brahmans. Historically Brahmans havebeen leaders in their communities. They are also independent thinkers.It is not easy to unite such leaders. However we live in democraticsocieties where numbers count and it is important that the Brahmans allover the world unite around common goals for their own survival.
Most of the BSNA members are highly educated professionals whose work has made a difference inthe lives of people here and abroad. They are also keeping the Brahman tradition alive by servingsociety.
To borrow a phrase from the famous book “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, we live in thebest of times and the worst of times. Extraordinary progress in science and medicine has wiped outmany diseases like malaria and polio from the face of earth and given us 500 TV channels forentertainment. Information travels at the speed of light. Governments are loosing control over whatpeople see on TV and read on internet. It has given the individuals unprecedented power to do well.At the same time it has empowered them to misuse it for negative activities. A person sitting in aremote cave can cause untold destruction of life and property. People like Bill Gates and WarrenBuffet are doing more and more service to the humanity. It is heartening to see the same trend inIndian community here and abroad. Organizations such as Ekal Vidayalaya, is serving people inremote parts of India and I sincerely urge you to join such organizations and help them with yourmoney and time.
On the other hand there seems to be general sense of decay of family and moral values. Intoleranceand violence are on the rise. Old values which served us well over a long period of time are beingincreasingly questioned. It seems that the two of the largest religions of the world are heading for areligious war and which could be a making of the third world war. Principles of Sanatan Dharmawith its tolerance and respect for all religions seem to be the need of the hour. Brahmanstraditionally were moral keepers of the society and led others by example. By following brahamanicvalues, we can be the example for others in the society we live.
In the end on behalf of BSNA Board of Trustees and myself, I thank all the people who have giventheir valuable time to make the convention a grand success.
SincerelyMahendra MisraChairman Board of Trustees BSNA
- 8 -
Message from the General Secretary
Dear WBO and BSNA Members:
It is a pleasure to extend my greetings and welcome you to the WorldBrahman Convention 2007 jointly sponsored by the World BrahmanOrganization (WBO) and the Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA).Tireless efforts of the organizers, Washington, DC Chapter and variousconvention committees have produced a program filled with fun andeducational activities. These conventions are a wonderful vehicle to bringBrahmans from all over the world under one umbrella to renew ourcommitment to betterment of the world. Also, this is an excellent forum to
make new friends and an opportunity for networking. The beautiful city of Washington, DC andneighboring areas provide additional opportunities to enjoy a few extra days of vacation for bothforeign and US delegates.
We are facing new challenges every day as we can see basic human values eroding all over the world.Through these conventions and meetings we plan to exchange ideas to help ameliorate such socialproblems. If we really want to serve society, the first and foremost commitment we have to make isto rise above the local and insignificant issues and join hands in uplifting society as a whole. In thepast few years the WBO and BSNA have been truly striving to bring Brahman families andorganizations around the world together. Organizing this convention with the theme “The CurrentChallenges: Global Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture” is an example of these efforts.
One of the most important needs of the time appears to be unity among various Brahmanorganizations and individuals. Multiple organizations may be needed to achieve the same goals indifferent geographical reasons. However, splitting organizations and competing with each other doesnot serve the purpose, i.e., serving a society/community in general. A focus needs to be maintainedon our main objective, which is to serve the society in different ways. BSNA has been financiallysupporting certain educational, cultural and charitable organizations in India. Also, BSNA is in theprocess of establishing endowment funds and scholarships for qualified students worldwide in nearfuture. These are good opportunities for the members who would like to support these worthycauses through BSNA.
I sincerely hope that along with a lot of fun, networking and a sense of togetherness this conventionwill emerge as a forum to discuss serious social issues and their resolutions.
Dear fellow Brahmin Youths of America and World-Wide,
I want to start by thanking you for the opportunity to be Presidentof the Youth wing of Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA) andparticularly for this World Brahmin Convention on Memorial Dayweekend in 2007. I would especially like to thank my committeemembers Prasun Mishra, Ruby Tiwari, and Bhavana Pathak fortheir help and efforts along the way.
As we youth progress on our personal timeline, we tend to look back and forward andisolate what really matters on our journey. As an American born Brahman, who frequentstrips to India, I feel that my niche is with all of you. Most of the time we come from a verysimilar background perhaps a village in India, as one of the local Brahmans in that village,from a long bloodline reaching back to our ancestors. Now we are in different places, but atthis moment we are together. Thank you for this as I hope we can discuss our personalthoughts with this extended family that has gathered here this weekend. We all desire goodtimes as wells as a stimulating discussion and I hope my committee and I will provide youthis as well as memories for times to come.
Yours truly,
Ankur Misra
Message from the President of Youth Group
HIS HOLINESS JAGADAACHARYA SRI
SRI SRI GANESAANANDA BHARATHI MAHASWAMYPoorva Peethadheswara
SRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRUPUPUPUPUPAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAM
1/18 Brodipet, Guntur
Camp Office: 1-9-52/F/3, Road No 19, Ramnagar, HYDERABAD 500020
Health Care – Modern, Ayurveda,Yoga and Alternate MethodsDr. Shri Kant Mishra, Dr. GopeshSharma, and Acharya PrabhakarMishra (Co-chairs)
Education, Social, Marriage andMarital IssuesDr. Janeshwar Upadhyay, Mr. R. D.Dixit, Dr. Surendra Pandey, Mr.Umesh & Mrs. Suman Shukla (Co-chairs)
Record Keeping/ConventionSecretaryMr. Nalin Shankar Mishra (Chair)
AwardsDr. Shyam Shukla and Mr. R. D. Dixit(Co-chairs)Dr. J. P. DubeyDr. Madan PathakMr. Nitin PurohitMr. Jagar Sharma
Mr. Mahendra Misra
WORLD BRAHMAN CONVENTION 2007
PROGRAM
Theme: The Current Challenges--Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture
Friday, May 25, 2007
4:00 – 6:30 PM WBO EC/BOT Joint Meeting (Dulles-Reagan Meeting Room)1. Veda-mantra, Introductions of Brahmans present2. Report on WBO - Dr. Shyam N. Shukla3. Overview of WBC-2007 - Dr. Surendra Pandey4. Presentations on WBC-2009 by probable hosts5. Other Business and Concluding Remarks
7:00 – 8:00 PM Dinner —Courtesy of BSNA DC Chapter (Room to be decided)
8:00 – 10:00 PM Entertainment Program (Dulles-Reagan)Bhajans or other singing (Salon A)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
6:30 to 7:30 AM Yoga and Meditation (Dulles-Reagan)
7:30 – 9:00 AM Breakfast ((Pre-Function area)7:30 – 9:00 AM Bhajan (Salon A)7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Registration (Pre-Function area)
8:00 – 9:30 AM BSNA EC-BOT-Chapter Presidents’ Joint Meeting (Dulles-Reagan)
9:30 – 10:00 AM Inauguration with Veda Mantras & Ganesha Stuti (Grand Ballroom)10:00 – 10:30 AM Welcome – Dr. Satish Misra, Mr. Purushottam Sharma, Dr. Shyam N. Shukla10:30 – 11:00 AM Greetings by leaders of various Brahman Organizations--(Introduced by Dr.
Surendra Pandey)11:00 – 11:30 AM WBO President’s Address, Dr. Shyam N. Shukla
(Dulles)2. Plights of Kashmiri Pandits, Chair: Mr. Jeevan Zutshi (Reagan National)3. How to Impart Study of Scriptures to the New Generation, Chair Dr. P.V. Sesha Sai;
Dr. Ram Chandra Pandey, & others (Salon A)4. Youth program: Art of Prarthana (Prayer) (Salon C)
2:30 – 3:30 PM Interpretations of Vedic Mantras and Preservation of Vedic CultureSpeaker: Acharya Saadhvi Dr. Chaitanyaji
3:30 – 4:00 PM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)
4:00 – 6:00 PM Cultural Programs (Grand Ballroom)
- 16 -
Saturday, May 26, 2007 (cont’d)
6:00 – 7:00 PM Parallel Sessions:(1) Health Topics: Dr. Shri Kant Mishra, Dr. Gopesh Sharma, & Dr. Alka Sharma(Salon A)(2) Matrimonial Topics: Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay & Shri R.D. Dixit (Reagan)
7:00 – 8:30 PM Dinner (Grand Ballroom)
8:30 – 11:00 PM Kavi Sammelan /Antakshari (Dulles-Reagan)DJ dance & Entertainment for Youth (Salon A)
Sunday, May 27, 2007
6:30 - 7:30 AM Yoga and Meditation (Dulles-Reagan)7:30 – 8:30 AM Breakfast (Pre-Function area) 7:30 – 8:30 AM Bhajan (Salon B)
8:30 – 10:30 AM WBO & BSNA Business Meeting & Awards Ceremony (Grand Ballroom)1. Reports of WBO & BSNA Presidents2. Reports of WBO Secretary General & Treasurer3. Reports of BSNA General Secretary & Treasurer4. Introduction of New WBO President & his address5. Awards Ceremony
10:30 – 11:00 AM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)
11:00 – 12:00 Noon Speeches by Scholars (Dulles, Reagan)Speakers: Dr. Ram Chandra Pandey, Dr. Manjul Kant Dwivedi, and Others
12:00 – 1:00 PM Parallel Sessions:1. Reservation Policy of India, Its Effect and Possible Solutions, (Chair: Dr. Surendra
Pandey, Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay, Dr. Sangam Mishra & Mr. R.D. Dixit)(Salon A)
2. How to prevent conversion of Hindus to other religions? Chair: Dr. Naresh Sharma,Co-Chair: Mr. Mahendra Misra (Salon C)
1:00 – 2:30 PM Lunch (Grand Ballroom)
2.30 – 3.30 PM Speeches by Brahman Leaders from abroad (Grand Ballroom)
3:30 – 4:00 PM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)
4:00 – 6:00 PM Cultural Programs (Grand Ballroom)
6.00 – 7.00 PM Summary of Parallel Sessions (Grand Ballroom)Acknowledgements and Announcements
7.00 – 8.30 PM Dinner (Grand Ballroom)
8:30 – 10:00 PM Entertainment Program (Grand Ballroom)
10:00 PM Adjournment
Monday, May 28, 2007 For guests who may overstay
7:30 – 9:00 AM Breakfast—Courtesy of BSNA DC Chapter (Room to be decided)
NOTE: Please note that this program is subject to change to include other speakers and/or change of roomassignment. The final program is available at the registration desk.
- 17 -
World Brahman Organization has concerns on the current issues affecting Brahmans all over theworld. They are:
Reservation Policy of the Government of India
World Brahman Organization (WBO) supports merit-based education and employment policies. Weare not against reservations per se, but we strongly believe that it should not be discriminatory anddivide people of India based on their castes and religions. The present reservation policy is based onthe 1931 census, which has no reference to caste-based classification of the population. There is noproper identification of OBCs (Other Backward Castes) or that of creamy layer for exclusion fromthe benefits of reservation. No reservation should be provided without determining the social,financial and educational backwardness of each and every beneficiary. Kashmiri Hindus
World Brahman Organization is very much concerned about the plights of the Kashmiri Hindusand, therefore, believes that the Government of India should facilitate in obtaining justice forKashmiri Pandits along with other Hindus of Kashmir. The Government of India should also takeappropriate measures for their safe return to their homeland and provide adequate support andsecurity for their re-settlement. Preserving Family Values and Unity
Brahman families throughout the world are becoming more and more westernized and forgettingour age-old values and customs. WBO promotes family values and emphasizes unity within theextended family. We should work together, help in developing self-esteem and be proud of ourHindu heritage, foster friendship and help all the needy Brahmans. We should develop efficientways of communicating our concerns through websites, e-mails or personal contacts. We shouldalso help Brahman families all over the world in their quest for excellence in life, finding appropriatelife partners and livelihood through our collective efforts.
Youth Participation
WBO will make special efforts to attract youths and make our platform easily accessible to them. Italso should help out youths if help is sought both financially and socially through educationalscholarships, jobs, and in matters of marriages, especially to the girls, who are economicallydeprived in India
Conversion of Hindus
WBO is very concerned about the conversion of Hindus to other religions. WBO will make specificefforts to educate Hindus and support other organizations who are making efforts to prevent theconversion of Hindus.
Shyam Narayan Shukla, Ph.D.President, World Brahman Organization
World Brahman Organization: Our Viewpoint
- 18 -
Editor’s note: The history of BSNA has been compiled with input from several members who have hadlong association and/or have been actively involved with BSNA. It is based on their best recollections; anyerrors or omissions are unintentional. This article is the result of major efforts by the following:
Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D.Tej Narayan Pandey, Ph. D.
Shyam Narayn Shukla, Ph. D.Umesh Shukla, Ph. D.
History of Brahman Samaj of North America
Arrival of Brahmans from India
In the decades of 1940’s and 1950’s engineers and
scientists from India came to North America prima-
rily for graduate studies or advanced training. After
completion of their studies/training they would usually
go back to India. However, with a change in the immi-
gration policy of the US government, a large influx of
immigrants from India came to North America in late
1960’s and early 1970’s. Among these immigrants were
a large number of well-educated Brahmans, most of
whom were engineers, doctors, scientists and profes-
sors. They came here with an intention of making North
America their homeland. Within a decade most of the
Brahmans became U.S. and Canadian citizens.
Need for a Brahman Organization
The first attempt to establish a Brahman association in
USA took place during Dr. Shri Kant Mishra’s visit to
Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1979 to perform the marriage
of Mr. Dwarka Prasad Mishra’s daughter. Although some
25 Brahman families from all over US joined the group,
the movement lost its momentum in about two years.
By 1990’s the new generation of Brahmans, born and
brought up here, was in high schools and colleges. Their
parents were concerned that this young generation of
Brahmans should preserve the Brahmanic values and
should not lose their rich culture. With this objective in
mind, several Brahmans in the United States felt the
need for networking with other Brahmans giving birth
to an idea of compiling a directory of Brahmans living in
the USA and Canada. Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla of
Fremont, CA was collecting names and addresses of
Brahmans in order to publish a directory of Brahmans.
Inspired by Dr. Rama Raksha Shukla of Massachusetts,
to start an organization of Brahmans, Mr. Nirmalendu
Choubey of Manlius, NY independently took the initia-
tive of locating and contacting Brahmans for this pur-
pose. Later, Mr. Choubey and Dr. Shyam Shukla found
about each other’s work and decided to collaborate. Af-
ter several telephone calls, e-mails, and meetings held at
the residences of several Brahmans in different cities, a
directory of 108 Brahmans, edited by Dr. Shyam Shukla,
was published in June 1994. The following Brahmans
helped on this initiative:
Mr. Gajendra Mohan Mishra, Fremont, CA
Dr. Arvind and Bhama Pathak, McLean, VA
Mr. Awadh Kishore Pandey, Plainville, MA
Dr. Ganesh Pandey, Canada
Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra, Toronto, Canada
Dr. Ramesh Agnihotri, Freehold, NJ
Dr. Ram D. Chaudhari, Oswego, NY
Dr. Ramanath Sharma, Honolulu, HI
Dr. Suresh C. Tiwari, Fayette, MS
Dr. Kashi Nath Upadhyay, Honolulu, HI
Prof. BhuDev Sharma, Metarie, LA
Dr. Satya Sheel Panchori, Jacksonville, FL
Dr. J. P. Dubey, Greenbelt, MD
Dr. Ajay Pandey, Yorktown, VA
Mr. Rajiv Dixit, Baltimore, MD
Formation of BSNA
The publication of the first directory of Brahmans pro-
vided motivation to other Brahmans who became ac-
tively involved in expanding the network by holding meet-
ings at their residences, at which Brahmans from the
surrounding areas were invited. Among those who par-
ticipated in these meetings held in different cities are Dr.
Ghanshyam Pandey, Dr. Shyam Shukla, Dr. Suresh
Tiwari, Mr. Pooran Tripathi, Dr. Hans Upadhyay, Mr.
Kanwal Parashar, Mr. Triyambak Bajpay, Dr. Prabhakar
Mishra, Dr. Anita Dubey, Dr. Vinod Tewary, Mr. Kailash
Sharma, and Mr. Dhirendra Shukla. This is only a partial
list of many Brahmans who participated in the meetings
- 19 -
and telephone conversations. Thus the original idea of
developing a directory of Brahmans expanded into
establishing a formal organization giving birth to the Brah-
man Samaj of North America (BSNA), which was for-
mally established on 3rd September, 1994 with the adop-
tion of an ad hoc constitution. BSNA was registered as
a not-for-profit organization in the state of New York.
The ad-hoc officers were:
Mr. Nirmalendu Choubey, President
Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla, General Secretary
Mr. Bhaw Dutt Shukla, Treasurer
BSNA Logo
The BSNA logo was created by Vivek Shukla, then a
High School student, and son of Dr. Shyam and Mrs.
Nirmala Shukla
Board of Trustees
It was decided to establish a Board of Trustees consist-
ing of Brahmans who have made contribution to the for-
mation of BSNA and are respected members of the com-
munity. The following were appointed to the first BOT:
Dr. Suresh C. Tiwari, Chair
Dr. Satya Sheel Pachori
Dr. Ram Das Chaudhari
Dr. Onkar P. Dwivedi
Dr. Bhudev Sharma
Dr. Ramanath Sharma
Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey
The subsequent Chairs of the Board of Trustees are: Dr.
Uday C. Naval (2000-02) and Dr. Shri Kant Mishra (2003-
06).
Executive Committee
Additional offices were created to perform various func-
tions. This led to the establishment of an Executive Com-
mittee consisting of all officers. The new additions to the
EC in 1997 were: Mr. Nitin Purohit, Vice President, Dr.
Satchidanand Mishra, Assistant Treasurer and Editor of
Brahmakulum, the BSNA directory.
Annual Conventions
The purpose of the conventions is to bring together mem-
bers from different parts of the continent and develop
bond of brotherhood among them. They facilitate shar-
ing views on different issues, exchange of ideas and con-
cerns, providing cultural education to youth and children.
The first convention of BSNA was held in July 1995. The
following list covers all conventions held so far in differ-
ent parts of North America during the 4th of July week-
end:
BSNA Constitution
The ad hoc BSNA constitution was replaced by aformal constitution written by the ConstitutionCommittee consisting of Dr. Vinod Tewary(Chair), Dr. Surendra Pandey, Prof. RamanathSharma, Mr. Jagar Sharma and Dr. Anita Dubey.The General Body approved the new constitutionin September 1997 to be effective January 1,1998.
BSNA Elections
The first election of BSNA was held in 1997, following
the approval of the constitution, to elect its new officers
with Dr. Satish Tripathi as the Chair of the Nominations
and Election Committee (NEC). Mr. Nirmal Choubey
submitted a slate of his proposed EC. Since no other nomi-
nations were submitted by the deadline, the NEC declared
them elected. The members of the first elected Execu-
tive Committee for the term 1998-2000 were:
President –Mr. Nirmalendu Choubey
Executive Vice President – Mr. Mahendra Misra
Vice President – Dr. Anita Dubey
Vice President – Mr. Manoranjan Mishra
General Secretary - Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey
Treasurer – Mr. Bhaw Dutt Shukla
Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor – Dr.
Satchidanand Mishra
Some time during the year 1999, Mr. Abhaya Nand
Maharaj became the General Secretary when Dr.
Surendra Pandey resigned from the position, and Mr. Jagar
Sharma became Executive VP when Mr. Mahendra Misra
also resigned.
The second election was held in 2000. The Nominations
and Election Committee (NEC) consisted of Dr. Suresh
Tiwari (Chair), Dr. Shri Kant Mishra and Dr. Rama Nath
Sharma. Since only Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla agreed
to submit the names of members who would be on the
EC, the NEC declared Dr. Shukla and the following EC
members elected for the term 2001-2003:
- 20 -
BSNA Conventions held Over the Years
Assistant Treasurer & Editor, Brahmakulum -Dr. Arvind SharmaThe new officers were to take over effective January 1,
2001. However, Mr. Nirmal Choubey resigned as Presi-
dent on September 30, 2000 and Mr. Jagar Sharma be-
came President for the remaining period as per BSNA
constitution. After the 2001 convention Mr. Nirmal
Choubey resigned from BSNA as a member. Mr.
Purushottam Sharma was selected as Executive Vice
President to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Jagar
Sharma’s resignation in July 2002.
The third election took place under the direction of the
Nominations & Election Committee consisting of Dr.
Surendra Pandey (Chair), Mr. Nitin Purohit and Dr.
Satchidanand Mishra. Although there were other candi-
dates who had expressed their desire to contest the elec-
tion, only Dr. Shukla submitted full slate of names of his
EC by the deadline. Therefore, NEC declared the
following as elected officers for the 2004-2006 term:
President - Dr. Shyam N. Shukla
Executive Vice President - Mr. Purushottam Sharma
Vice President – Mrs. Renu Sharma
Vice President - Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra
General Secretary- Dr. Umesh Shukla
Treasurer - Dr. Shrigopal P. Sharma
Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor - Dr. Arvind
Sharma
A few months later Dr. Shrigopal Sharma resigned as the
treasurer, and Dr. Om Sharma was appointed to fill the
Year Place Convention Director Convention Theme
1995 Allentown, PA Mr. Kailash Sharma —-
1996 Reading, PA Dr. Satish Tripathi Brahmans of the Twenty First
Century
1997 Troy, MI Mr. Purushottam Sharma Family Values
1998 Reading, PA Mr. Mahendra Misra Samskaras
1999 Sacramento, CA Mr. Abhaya Nand Maharaj Brahmanatva
2000 Valley Forge, PA Mr. Jagar Sharma Brahman of Yesterday, Today and
Tomorrow
2001 Long Beach, CA Mr. Bharat Bhargava Brahmanatva Revisited
2002 Toronto, Canada Mr. Hari Krishna Panday Brahmanic Heritage of Intellect,
Service and Humility
2003 San Jose, CA Dr. Chandra M. Dwivedi Contributions of Women to Hindu
Culture
2004 East Windsor, NJ Dr. Umesh Shukla Challenges for the Youth in Twenty
First Century
2005 Washington DC Mrs. Mamta Tiwari Brahmans in the 21st Century
2006 Detroit, MI Mr. Nitin Purohit Challenges of Growing Up in Two
Cultures
May-07 Washington D.C. Dr. Satish Misra The Current Challenges: Global
Brahman Unity and Preservation of
Vedic Culture
- 21 -
vacancy. The last election was conducted in 2006 by the
NEC consisting of Dr. Surendra Pandey (Chair), Dr.
Satish Misra and Mr. Nitin Purohit. The following EC
members were elected unopposed to take office from
January 1, 2007:
President - Mr. Purushottam Sharma
Executive Vice President - Dr. Umesh Shukla
Vice President – Mrs. Rita Pandey
Vice President - Mr. Bharat Mohla
General Secretary- Dr. Om Sharma
Treasurer - Mr. Shri Niwas Sharma
Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor - Dr. Ajay
Pandey
BSNA Publications
There are three publications of BSNA: (1) Brahma
Bharati, a quarterly, newsletter, (2) Brahma-Vani, an
annual souvenir magazine, published at the time of con-
ventions, and (3) Brahmakulum, the BSNA Directory.
In addition, BSNA also publishes a Homepage on the
web as www.bsna.org.
1. Brahma Bharati
The first issue of Brahma Bharati, BSNA’s quarterly
newsletter, was published in December 1994 with Dr.
Vinod Tewary as its editor. Subsequent editors of Brahma
Bharati are Mrs. Nirmala Shukla (1999-2000) and Dr.
Surendra Pandey (2000-present).
2. Brahma Vani
After the first BSNA convention it was decided that a
souvenir magazine called Brahma Vani be published ev-
ery year at the time of the convention. Dr. Satish Misra
was appointed Editor of Brahma Vani and the first issue
was published at the time of the second convention (Read-
ing, PA, July 1996.) The magazine included scholarly ar-
ticles related to the theme of the convention and a few
advertisements to raise funds for BSNA. Dr. Misra con-
tinued to serve as the editor of Brahma Vani until 2006,
with the exception of the issue in year 2000, which was
edited by Prof. Ramanath Sharma. In 2000, Dr. Tej
Pandey was appointed as the Managing Editor of Brahma
Vani to handle the printing and distribution responsibili-
ties. In November 2006, Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey was
appointed as the Editor-in-Chief with Dr. Tej Pandey
continuing as the Managing Editor.
3. Brahmakulum
After publication of the first BSNA directory, compiled
by Dr. Shyam Shukla, in June 1994, the directory was
renamed as Brahmakulum with Dr. Satchidanand Mishra
as its editor who published it annually until the year 2000,
when the EC decided to print it alternate years as a cost
saving measure. Dr. Arvinda Sharma became the editor
in 2001 and continued till 2006. It was also decided to
print a supplement of Brahmakulum listing the names of
new members only during the years the complete edition
was not published. In 2006, Brahmkulum was published
in a CD format for the first time making it easier to up-
date and distribute.
4. BSNA Home Page
The BSNA homepage was first established by Dr. Vinod
Tewary in early 1996. A year later Dr. Surendra Pandey
and Mr. Chakradhar Sharma gave it a new face. Later
on Mrs. Ranjana Sharma was appointed as the homepage
editor. In early 2003 an editorial committee consisting of
Drs. Tej Pandey, Surendra Pandey and Umesh Shukla,
working with a web master from India redesigned the
entire homepage giving it the present format. Dr. Tej
Pandey continues to serve as the Homepage editor.
Educational Program
In order to develop an educational program for youth and
children, BSNA appointed an Education Committee in
1998 with Dr. Surendra Pandey as its first Chair. Later,
the education Committee’s work was transferred to one
of the Vice Presidents of BSNA, Dr. Ramesh Paliwal,
who has developed a set of lectures on Hinduism for
youth and children. He has visited several chapters in the
east coast where he conducted classes for children. Dr.
Shyam N. Shukla has also developed a series of lectures
on Hinduism. They are on different topics, namely, His-
tory of Sanatana Dharma, Unique Gifts of Hinduism, Four
Purusharthas, Social Structures, Sanskaras, Deities, and
Festivals.
Global Networking with Brahmans Overseas
The BSNA Convention held at Troy, MI, witnessed an-
other historic moment when Dr. Surendra N. Pandey,
General Secretary of BSNA and Mr. Rameshwar Dayal
Dixit, Secretary General of All India Kanyakubja Board
(AIKB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
forming an official affiliation between the two organiza-
- 22 -
tions. The members of the BSNA Executive Committee
witnessed the signing ceremony on July 5, 1997, and the
General Body approved the MOU the following day.
Using the first MOU as the guiding document Brahman
Samaj of Nepal signed a similar agreement with BSNA
in the year 2000. Since then, Dr. Shyam Shukla, BSNA
President has interacted with many leaders of Brahman
organizations in India, Australia, New Zealand, The Neth-
erlands, etc. forming informal alliances with BSNA.
In 2005, BSNA joined World Brahman Organization as
one of its affiliate organization along with some 19 world-
wide organizations. Thus BSNA continues to grow stron-
ger on its own while expanding its collaboration with other
Brahman organizations. Currently, BSNA has about 600
members.
Best Wishes and Warm Welcome to all the Delegates
From North America and Around the World
Attending
2007 World Brahman Convention
Sponsored by BSNA and WBO
and Hosed by Washington, DC Chapter
Sharma Family of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA
Purushottam and Kusum
Vikas and Manisha & Vinay and Priya
Meghna, Karina, Naveen, Aneesh and Annika
- 23 -
Man has some basic needs, namely, food, cloth
ing and shelter to survive on this earth. When
these needs are fulfilled he looks for recre-
ation. Then he needs mental peace and security of a well
knit society. After acquiring all this he has to quench his
intellectual thirst. In his mind arise many questions, such
as: “Who am I?”; “What is the purpose of this life?”;
“How do I get peace and happiness in this life?”; “What
happens to me after this life?” etc. This gives birth to
religion. The search for the answers to these questions
leads him to spirituality. The human history indeed is the
history of search for God.
Thousands of years ago the Rishis of India, like scien-
tists, were engaged in search of answers to the above
questions. They made the mind itself the subject of their
research. Through Dhyana-yoga, by meditating on the
mind itself, the Rishis discovered that within the layers of
mind lies Atman, the divine element within a human be-
ing. The Vedic Rishis had also discovered that Atman
permeates everything in this vast universe. That is why
“Just as fire grows even more if one tries to extinguish it
by ghee, so does the desire grow more if one tries to
quench it by enjoying it.”
Therefore, one should avoid attachments to pleasures
when one is on the path of God realization. The last part
of the first mantra of Ishavasya Upanishad strongly
recommends that one should lead a life of renunciation
and be happy with whatever one has (t;en; ty;kt;en; B;u]j;Iq;;). Inthe Bhagavadgitaita, Lord Krishna too emphasizes on
renunciation and unattachment repeatedly.
In ancient India Dharma and Science had no conflict and
were developed side by side. Many discoveries in the
fields of Mathematics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Metallurgy,
Health and other sciences, which were published by Eu-
ropean scientists and mathematicians as their original dis-
coveries, had been developed thousands of years ago by
Indian Rishis. Knowledge of Trigonometry and the so
called Pythogorus’s theorem are explained in the
Shulbasutra and the Satpatha Brahmana. The famous
Professor of Astronomy, Karl Sagan has mentioned that
the ancient Indian astronomers could calculate the move-
ment of planetary bodies with an utmost accuracy. F. Max
Muller had arbitrarily picked up 1,500 BCE as the time
when the Rigveda was written, without providing any
proof. Later, on the basis of the planetary positions de-
scribed in the Rigveda, astronomers determined that the
Rigveda was written earlier than 6000 BCE.
The 22 feet high steel pillar near Kutub Minar in New
Delhi has been standing there without rusting since third
century BCE. Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor
of atom bomb, started remembering Vishvarupadarshan
(Vision of the Universal Form) as described in the Elev-
enth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita, when he saw the
nuclear explosion of the first atom bomb. He believed
that the Brahmastras described in the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata were actually atomic weapons. Indian
Rishis developed zero, decimal system and quadratic
equations. In Panchavnisha Brahmana there is a sen-
tence which states that the distance of Swargaloka from
the earth is about the same as 1,000 earths placed one
above the other. This shows that the Rishis knew that
the earth is round, much before Galileo observed it.
There should be no conflict between Dharma and Sci-
ence even today, yet it is Science which challenges
Dharma to prove without any doubt whether God exists
and whether the miracles described in the scriptures can
occur today also. The Rishis of the Upanishads, who
realized Brahman (or Atman), mentioned that God is be-
yond reach of the mind and the Indriyas (senses). He is
only an object of self experience. Therefore, the exist-
ence of God can never be proven by experiments in any
laboratory.
It is the miracle of science that the world has shrunk so
much today. Even the outer space is within man’s reach.
In the past twenty five years we have seen many new
gadgets, namely, personal computer, Fax machine, mi-
crowave oven, internet, cellular phone, digital camera,
CD, HDTV etc. Now that we have them, we wonder
how we lived without them earlier. Science has perhaps
made our life more luxurious. At the same time, life has
become very fast due to these ‘luxuries’, which have
also made our daily life more stressful.
The Rishis gave three very valuable treasures to the world.
They are Yoga, Vedanta and the concept of Reincarna-
tion. Today we all know that the entire world is reaping
the benefits of the Yoga. According to the Vedanta phi-
losophy, man is made up of two main elements, namely,
the body which is so fragile and destructible and the ev-
erlasting divine element called Atman, residing within the
body. Atman is beyond birth, aging, death and any kind
of changes. One can become Brahman oneself by real-
izing the divinity within. I believe that one day the Vedanta
will be the only religion acceptable to the modern man of
the twenty first century. The concept of reincarnation
explains why we are born with different fates. Our ac-
tions and thoughts of previous births form our sanskaras,
which get us appropriate births. The sanskaras are car-
ried by the sukshma sharira or the subtle body from the
present body to the next body.
About four years ago I read an interesting news item
which proves that sukshma sharira does exist. A per-
son dying of heart attack was brought to the emergency
room of a hospital in Brussels (Belgium). The doctors
declared him dead after examining him and finding that
- 25 -
the man had no heart beat, was not breating and had no
activity in his brain. His relatives, however, begged that
something be done to revive him. The attending doctor
asked his staff to massage the man’s chest and give him
oxygen. When a nurse wanted to insert an oxygen tube
in the man’s mouth she found that he was wearing den-
tures, which were preventing her from inserting the tube
in his mouth. She tried hard to remove the dentures and
open his mouth. Finally she succeeded in inserting the
oxygen tube in his mouth. After a few minutes the man’s
heart started beating and he even started breathing on
his own. When he was brought to intensive care unit, the
man gained consciousness. He looked at the nurse and
thanked her for saving his life by giving oxygen to him.
The nurse said, “I can’t believe this. How could you see
that I gave you oxygen, when you were clinically dead
and your eyes were closed?”
He said, “Yes, I was perhaps dead, because I felt as if I
was hovering at ceiling level watching everything that
was going on down there in that emergency room. I saw
you struggling to open my mouth to insert the tube. You
saved my life. I am so thankful to you.”
By the way, in another similar incident a man was revived
in a San Francisco hospital and later the man married
the nurse, who gave him oxygen.
In Hindu Dharma there is a belief that after one’s death
the sukshma sharira (subtle body) separates itself from
the sthula sharira (gross body) and hangs around the
near-and-dear-ones until the tenth day, when it is formally
asked by the priest performing his death rites to break
attachment and depart to its journey for its next birth.”
Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla of Fremont, California, U.S.A. is the
President of World Brahman Organziation and past president of
Brahman Samaj of North America. He is a retired engineer and a
scholar who has published a number books and articles on Sanatan
Dharma and other topics.
WBC-2007 Delegates
GreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetings
from
Umesh, Prabha, Devesh & Hirsh Shukla
Belle Mead, NJ, U.S.A.
- 26 -
Bhagvan VishnuCompiled and Edited by Ankur C. Misra, North Potomac, MD
Six Incarnations of Vishnu Darwin’s Theory of EvolutionMatsya (Fish) Life starts in water (600 million-400 million years ago)Kurma (Turtle) The first amphibians emerge (100 million years ago)Varaha (Boar) The first mammals evolve (60 million years ago)Narasimha (half man-half lion) Half man-half animal appear (30 million years ago)Vamana (short man) Dwarflike and without tool (5 million - 2 million years ago)Parashurama (warrior priest) Tools and human evolution. (350,000-100,000 years ago)
Bhagvan Vishnu’s picture graces the cover ofthis magazine. Bhagvan Vishnu representsthe aspect of the Supreme Reality that
preserves and sustains the universe. Although thereare variations in images and pictures of BhagvanVishnu, He is generally symbolized by a humanbody with four arms. In his hands he carries aconch (shankha), a mace (gada), lotus (padma),and a discus (chakra). He wears a crown, twoearrings, a garland (mala) of flowers, and a gemaround the neck. He has a blue body and wearsyellow clothes. The Bhagvan is shown standing ona thousand-headed cobra like snake (Shesha Nag),and the snake stands with its hoods open directlyover the head of the Lord.
The four arms indicate Lord’s omnipresence andomnipotence. The two front arms signify the lord’sactivity in the physical world and the two backarms signify His activity in the spiritual world. Theright side of the body represents the creativeactivities of the mind and the intellect. The left sidesymbolizes the activities of the heart.
A conch in the upper left hand indicates that theBhagvan communicates with his devotees. Theconch blow reminds His devotes to live in a worldwith kindness and compassion. He uses thecharka, the ultimate weapon for the protection ofHis devotees, and destruction of evil forces. Themace in the Lord’s lower left hand signifies that hesustains the manifest world by the energy that Heholds in Himself. His front right hand bestowsgrace on his devotees.
The snake denotes the mind and the thousandheads of the snake signify innumerable desires andpassions of any one individual. Just as a snake
destroys its victim by its venom, an uncontrolledmind destroys the world by the venom of itspossessiveness. The Bhagvan has controlled alldesires, and this is symbolized by showing himseated on the two coils of the snake. The twoearrings signify the dual nature of creation, suchas knowledge and ignorance, happiness andunhappiness, and pleasure and pain. The bluecolor symbolizes infinity. The blue body of theBhagvan signifies that He has infinite attributes.He is nameless, formless, and immeasurable. Thecolor of his clothes, yellow, is associated withearthly existence.
The worship of Bhagvan Vishnu is very popularamong Hindus, especially among the followers ofthe Vaishnava tradition (Vaishnavism). He is thesecond member of the Hindu Trinity, withBhagvan Brahma and Bhagvan Shiva respectivelyas the other two.
The Supreme Lord Vishnu is the protector andsustainer of the universe. Hence, He hasincarnated Himself in various life forms throughdifferent yugas (ages or eons) in situations toprotect His devotees and restore virtues over theevils and destructive forces. The first sixincarnations of Lord Vishnu throughout time areremarkably comparable to the Darwin’s theory ofevolution as illustrated in the table below:
1. The Story of MATSYA (Fish)In MATSYA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a fish. In the earliest yuga (era) of Sata-yuga, a King Manu was performing acts ofworship for thousands of years. One day as hewas washing in river water, a small fish came intohis hands and just as he was about to throw the
- 27 -
fish back into the river, the fish requested the kingto save its life. Heeding its request, the king putthe fish into a jar of water but the fish startedgrowing and the jar was not big enough for it. Thenthe king threw it into the river, but it soon it
outgrew the river and theking then threw it intoGanges and then into theocean. When the kingrealized who the fishreally was, Lord Vishnublessed him with anappearance and thenBhagvan Vishnu toldsomething to the king:He predicted that theworld would come to anend by a huge flood inseven days and thenrequested the king tobuild a huge boat and
take along with him the seven sages, seeds of allplants, one animal of each type and also told himthat he would appear as a fish to propel the boat toMount Himavan to survive into the next yuga(era).True to his word, after seven days the floodappeared and the king tied the boat to the fish byusing the royal serpent Vasuki and the fish tookall of them to Mt Himavan and kept them theretill the flood was over and in the new era, the kingstarted procreation for the new era.
2. The Story of KURMA (Turtle)
In KURMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himselfas a turtle. It is an interesting story involving boththe gods (devtas) and asuras (demons). In theongoing battle between the gods and demons, onone occasion the gods suddenly lost all their
strength due to a curse bythe short-tempered sageDurvasa. Durvasa had oncepresented a garland offlowers to the king of godsIndra, who carelessly gave itaway to his elephant whichtrampled it.
The Devtas approachedVishnu for help. Vishnuthen asked them to churnthe ocean after adding
medicines into the ocean. Mount Mandara couldbe used as the churning stick he said. He requestedthem to ask them help of Asuras in lifting themountain in exchange for the nectar of immortalitythat would ensue from the churning. Both theGods and the Asuras churned the ocean using theserpent Vasuki as the rope. At the start, playing aMachiavellian trick, Indra (king of the gods) askedthe Asuras for the head end of Vasuki. But Asurassuspecting foul play took the head end, only to bedeceived as the poison from Vasuki was slowlyweakening them mentally. But as churning wasproceeding the mountain was sinking and thenLord Vishnu took the form of the turtle KURMAand kept the mountain afloat. As soon as the bowlof amrita (the ambrosia, prepared by the Hindugods, that bestows immortality) was out, the Asurasgrabbed it. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of anApsara as he bellowed out of the turtle, a beautifulmaiden, and seduced the mentally weakenedAsuras into letting her control the distribution ofthe amrita. As soon as the Gods were served themaiden disappeared thus totally deceiving theAsuras and making them totally weak. 3. The Story of VARAHA (Boar)
In VARAHA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a boar. A demon Hiranyaksha, hadprayed to Lord Brahma and got awarded a boonthat no beast nor man norgod could kill him. He thenstarted a campaign ofplunder across the worlds.He pushed the world to thePataal loka, or the under ofthe sea. He stole the Vedas,the Holy Scriptures fromLord Brahma, while he wasasleep and performed hugeatrocities. To retrieve theVedas and to save theworld Lord Vishnuassumed the role of a boar.This was a form of beastthat was missing fromHiranyaksha’s boon. VARAHA then brought outthe earth from the under of the ocean, using itstwo tusks. It then killed Hiranyaksha and retrievedthe Vedas from the Asura and brought it back tothe safe custody of the Lord Brahma.
- 28 -
4. The Story of NARASIMHA (Half Man/HalfLion)
In NARASIMHA Avatar,Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a semi-man,semi-lion in this world. Theking of demons (asuras),Hiranyakasyapa, wanted tobecome immortal andwanted to remain youngforever. To this end, hemeditated for Lord Brahmaand because of his severepenance; the gods were
frightened and asked Brahma to pacify the king.Brahma was impressed by his austerity andgranted him a wish. HiranyaKasyapa wished thathe be neither killed by a man or beast, nor indaylight or at night and neither inside or outside abuilding. After being granted the wish heconsidered himself the supreme God and forbadeall worship of gods by anyone.
But his son Prahlada, was an ardent devotee ofVishnu. This enraged Hiranyakasyapa very much.He ordered numerous ways to kill Prahladaincluding asking his sister Holika to sit withPrahlada in the fire. But every time Prahladaescaped unhurt. Enraged, he asked Prahlad toshow him Lord Vishnu. Prahlad said, “He iseverywhere”. Further enraged, Hiranyakasyapasmashed a pillar to the ground, and asked if Lordwas present there. Lord Vishnu then emerged asa half lion, half man from the pillar which wasneither inside the house nor outside, and the timewas evening, neither night nor day. He then killedHiranyakasyapa thussaving the life of hisdevotee Prahlada. 5. The Story ofVAMANA (Dwarf)
In VAMANA Avatar, LordVishnu incarnates himselfas a dwarf priest in thisworld. Bali, the grandsonof Prahlada was a veryvalorous and mightyAsura. By his penance andmight, he conquered the
whole world. The Gods feared that Bali and theAsuras would conquer all the three worlds, sowent to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu wasthen born as a dwarf Vamana in the household ofa Brahman (priest). He went to Bali when growingup and asked for alms. Bali was delighted to offerhim anything he requested.
Vamana then requested for the amount of landthat could come under his three feet. Baligracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in sizeand covered the earth and heaven in two stride.And due to lack of space, he put his third foot onBali himself and crushed him to the undergroundworld, thus helping the Gods out. 6. The Story of PARASHURAMA (WarriorPriest)
In PARASHURAMA Avatar, Lord Vishnuincarnates himself as aBrahmana (priest). He wasbrought in this world toavenge all warriors whohad become arrogant andwere suppressing thepriests in the world. He wasborn to Jamadagni andRenuka, and belonged tothe Brighu clan.Parashurama was alwayscarrying an axe presentedto him by Lord Shiva ofwhom he was an ardentdevotee. A powerful kingKartavirya, once went tothe home of Jamadagni, Parashurama’s father,while he was away, and after a meal, he stole theKamadhenu cow, which was supposed to give anendless quantity of milk. Jamadagni was enragedand he went and killed the King Kartavirya andbrought Kamadhenu back. On hearing this, theson of King Kartavirya came back and killedJamadagni. Parashurama was enraged at hisFather’s death so went and avenged the death ofhis father by killing all of the warriors in 21 battles. 7. The Story of RAMA (show the world thecharacteristics of an Ideal Person)
In RAMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himselfas Rama, the central character in the Ramayana.
- 29 -
In the epic, the characterRama is expected to showthe world thecharacteristics of an idealperson including ideal son,ideal husband, ideal kingand an ideal human. Ramawas incarnated upon thisplanet to get rid of theAsura named Ravana whowas granted a boon by LordBrahma to receiveimmunity from gods, andother celestial beings.Ravana was too proud andvain to think he could bedefeated by man. Hence
Rama and his wife Sita (incarnation of LordVishnu’s wife, Lakshmi) were born. The story ofRamayana is an exciting story of Rama’s victoryover evil elements of the world and in the end thesin of Ravana.
The Ramayana epitomizes the ideal behavior ofman, with focus on man-wife relationship, son-father relationship and the rules for idealgovernance by a king.
8. The Story of KRISHNA (politics, humannature, human weaknesses)
In KRISHNA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as Krishna, thecentral character in theepic Mahabharata. In thebiggest epic of Indianmythology a myriad oftopics are covered,including war, love,brotherhood, politics etc.It is essentially the storyof two warring groups ofcousin brothers, thePandavas and the
Kauravas. As a part of the Mahabharata, duringthe war Krishna, gives a long discourse to hisdisciple and devotee Arjuna, collectively termedas Bhagvad-Gita.
Unlike Ramayana, Mahabharata deals with moredown to earth issues like politics, human nature,
human weaknesses, and does not attempt to idolizethe characters as in Ramayana.
9. The Story of BUDDHA (path of inner peace)
In BUDDHA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as Budha, the ascetic prince whorenounced the throne to lead the world on the pathof peace. He is the founder of the Buddhismreligion quite prominent across the world. Incertain sects of Hinduism, he is considered to be adivine incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
He was born the crown prince of the Kapilavastuto Suddhodana and Maya. He was namedSiddhartha, meaning “All things fulfilled” by theking. But his Queen Mother died soon after hisbirth. Buddha was saddened by the death of livingcreatures since his childhood days and used toquestion: “Alas! Do all living creatures kill eachother?” He wasn’t satisfied by any of the answersprovided to him. So he decided to find out themeaning and the absolute truth. He left his wifeand child to a Monk’s life in the forest andmeditation and penance became the enlightenedone. His preaching spawned off the religion ofBuddhism now popular across the whole world.
10. The Story of KALKI (Recreation of GoldenAge)
In KALKI Avatar, which isyet to come, Lord Vishnu isbelieved to be incarnatingHimself as Kalki, themachine-man, who willcome riding a white horseand with a blazing sword inhis hands. This is a futureavatar of Lord Vishnu, atthe end of Kali Yuga(present era). He willpunish and destroy all evilsin this world and recreate agolden age again.
Bibliography: http://www.yogausa.com
http://www.balagokulam.org/kids/stories/
dashavatara.php#parashurama
Ankur Misra is the President of Youth Group of Brahman
Samaj of North America, and is the son of Dr. Satish Misra of
Potomoc, Maryland, U.S.A.
- 30 -
There are two kinds of knowledge: (1) materialknowledge and (2) spiritual, transcendentalknowledge or Adhyatama vidya. In this age
of Kaliyuga, even the learned people are moreinterested in materialism than spiritual knowledge.The Vedas herald that the human form of life ismeant ONLY for acquiring spiritual knowledgeabout the Supreme Absolute Truth. “Athaatobrahma jijnaasaa,”(Brahma.sutra.1-1). Materialknowledge is meant to sustain this material body.Therefore, as the material body is perishable so isthe material knowledge after one’s death.Contrarily, spiritual knowledge is not perishable.It goes along with the soul into his next life becauseit is cumulative. Therefore at the end of severallives one attains perfection, so says Lord Krishna,“anek janma samsiddhim tato yaati paraamgatim” Bh.G. 6-45, “One attains perfection in thespiritual knowledge and reaches the supreme goal afterthe continued efforts of many, many lives.” This isthe importance of spiritual knowledge. AgainBh.G. 5-38, “nahi jnaanena sadrashah pavitramiha vidyate.” “There is nothing as sublime andpurifying (from material contamination) as thistranscendental knowledge”. Ramayana says, “nahikacchu durlabh jnaan samaanaa,” and “bhayejnaan binu mitai na mohu.”and so on.“Transcendental knowledge is very difficult to obtainand without that the illusion cast by maayaa doesnot leave the living entity.”
The material knowledge: The illusory potency(called maayaa) of the Lord is manifested in theform of material knowledge and matter itself, bothof which are made up of the three modes ofmaterial nature: (1) mode of goodness (satoguna),(2) mode of passion (rajoguna), and (3) mode ofignorance( tamoguna). The entire universe,comprising of the Heavenly planets, Earth and theNether world (patal lokas), is made up of these 3modes. Bh.G. 18-40 and”tribhir gunamayairbhaavair ebhihi sarvam idam jagat”Bh.G.7-13.These modes cast a deluding effect like a veil ofignorance on the soul, which is transcendental innature. The soul therefore suffers two agonies (1)it forgets its original nature of being transcendental
Material Life and BeyondAnand Mohan Chaturvedi, M.D.
and superior to matter but considers himselfmaterial body and therefore suffers all the agoniesof the body, like pain and pleasure, sorrows andhappiness, miseries of old age, diseases and death.This is described as aavarnaatmik effect of maayaa.Original nature of the soul is full of bliss, “ishvaramnsh jeeva avinaashi, chetan amal sahajasukh raashi”, Tulsidas, and “mamaivaanshojeva loke jeeva bhutah sanaatanah”. Bh.G. 15-7. “The soul is eternally part and parcel of LordKrishna. Since Lord Krishna is total bliss so is the soul,but due to this ignorance cast by maayaa, soulconsiders himself separate from the Lord and strugglesto lord over the material nature.” (2) The souloriginally belongs to the transcendental planetswhere, along with the Lord Krishna, he is supposedto enjoy all the opulence, as proclaimed by theShwetashvatar Upnishad, “shrannvantu vishveamritasya putraah aa ye dhaamaani divaanitastuh.” HEAR ME! The entire living entities of theuniverse, that all of you are sons of the immortal Lordand all of you belong to His transcendental abode,”but due to association with the material naturethey are thrown in this material world. This effectof maayaa is called as prakshekatmika effect.”
The nature of the living entity is to enjoy bliss.Therefore, even in this material world it searchesfor pleasure. Unfortunately, the pleasures of thematerial world are different from thetranscendental pleasures. Material pleasures arefleeting, declining in intensity, and perishable. Forexample, one may find pleasure in eating sweetsbut the intensity of pleasure declines as one goeson eating sweets and after some time one cannoteat any more and the taste becomes nauseating.Furthermore, 3-4 hours later the effect wears offso after sometime he feels dissatisfied again.Material pleasures are limited and associated withdispleasure in due course of time. Mahatma Vidursaid in Bhag.G. 3-5-2, “sukhaay karmaani karotiloko, na taih sukham vaanyadu paarmam vaa,vindet bhuyah tat eva duhkham , yadatra yuktambhagavan vadennyah..” “For the sake of pleasureeveryone endeavors but one neither gets any pleasurenor any satisfaction despite all efforts.” One may
- 31 -
accumulate millions of dollars and possess bigmansions with all the material opulence, yet hemay suffer mentally from anxiety, tension, worriesand depression. Lord Krishna has proclaimed,“that the very nature of the material world is to befull of miseries, devoid of any real pleasure, andtemporary.” “anityam asuhkham lokam imam.”Bh.G. 9-33
Material miseries are of three kinds: (1)Adhyaatmic- those pertaining to the physicalbody in the form of diseases and mental anxieties,(2) Adibhoutik- those caused by the surroundingenvironment i.e. friends, foes, thieves andneighbors relatives, animals, etc. (3) Adidaivik :miseries cased by nature in the form of excessiveheat, rain, snow, tornado, fire, flood, draught etc.People find temporary solutions but that is not theend of it. Worst of all is the fear of death andseparation from beloved ones. The soul or the livingentity is thus in a very helpless situation in thismaterial world. These problems exist even in theheavenly planets.
The three modes of material nature modify furtherinto six components as: (1) kama –endless desiresfor which the living entity works day and nightso that one may experience some pleasure. If thedesires are fulfilled one develops (2) greed—adesire to acquire more and more. If the desire isunfulfilled then one develops (3) anger- which isdirected towards the cause of obstruction. (4)Attachment and delusion (moha): If an objector a thing appears to please the senses then onegets attached to it therefore living entity tries toacquire that by any means right or wrong. (5)False pride (mada): one is proud of his possessionslike the body, beauty, wealth, power, prosperityetc. (6) jealousy ( matsar): If some one is superioror better than himself then jealousy manifests.Bhag.G. 11-24-1 states, “parasvabhaavahkarmaani na prashansena na garhayet vishvamekaatmakam pashyan prakrityaa purushena cha”meaning that one should not indulge in criticism ofany one in any form thinking that the entire creationis raised from the same ingredients of matter and thespirit soul..” The mind is always active whether oneis awake or at sleep, “na hi kashchid kshanam apijatuh tishthati akarmakrit,” Bh.G. 3-5. The abovemodification of material modes act on the mindconstantly. All these factors and the above threefoldmaterial miseries are absent in the transcendental
world because there the soul does not have thematerial body, but spiritual one. Vedas say, “…savaa esha brahma nishtha idam shariram martyamati srajya , brahmnaabhisampadya brahmanaashranoti brahmanaa pashyatai, brahmanai vedamsarvamanubhavati.” After liberation one gets thetranscendental or spiritual body and senses then hecan see, hear, and experience everything divine”
0ne may ask that with these miseries prevailingin the life of living entities, how do they survive?Very often one notices that a living entity is betteroff dead rather than living in a miserableabominable condition, yet that individual keepson hoping for the best. This is another effect ofthis maayaa potency of the Lord..Bhag.G. .3-30-5, “naraka-stho ‘pi deham vai, na pumaanstyaktum ichchhati, naarakyaam nirvrattausatyaam deva maayaa vimohitau.” While living inthe most abominable conditions of life one finds littlereason to cast off that body because of the deludingeffect of illusory potency of the Lord one takes delighteven in the hellish conditions.”
How does the transcendental soul fall into thismaterial world and how can that position berestored?Mahatma Vidur has pointed out that cause as“janasya krishnaad vimukhasy, daivaad adharmshilasy suduhkhitasya.” Bhag.G. 3-5-3 “the livingentity has been averse to the subordination of theSupreme Lord Krishna and has been engaging intoirreligious activities for sense gratification.” Further,in Bhag.G. 11-2-37 the Yogendras have replied toMaharaja Nimi,” “Bhayam dvitiyaabhiniveshatah syaat ishaad apetasy viparyayohsmritih, tan maayayaato budha aabhajet tam,bhaktyaik yesham guru devataatmaa.”. “that theliving entity has turned away from Krishna andmisidentified himself as the material body and notthe soul and therefore running after the pleasures ofthe body. He has forgotten his transcendentalrelationship with Lord Krishna and therefore issuffering,. If he turns himself towards the Lord andthe spiritual master and serves both of them equally,he will be relieved of these material miseries.”
The Vedas say the same thing,”Jushtam yadaapashyati annyamishmasya mahimaanam iti veetshokah Shwet..Up.” “The material miseries will besubdued if one turns towards Lord Krishna.” Theactual constitutional position of the living entity is
- 32 -
that he is an eternal servant of the Lord. “daasbhuto harer eva na annyasaiva kadaachana.”Therefore the most beneficial way for the livingentity to get rid of this maayaa is to engage in theloving devotional services or bhakti yoga of LordKrishna. Then maayaa will leave us and we canbe happy and blissful even in this material body.Lord Krishna says, “Daivi hi esha gunamayi mammaayaa duratyayaa, maam eva ye prapadyantemaayaam etaam taranti te.” Bh.G7-14. Tulsidassays similarly, “hari maayaa krit doha guna binuhari bhajan na jaanhi, bhajiya raam taji kaam sabaus vichaari mana maanhi.” Therefore, though thematerial life is full of material miseries yet it is theonly gateway to the transcendental blissful abodeof Lord Krishna through the “BHAKTI-YOGA”,
which one learns through transcendentalknowledge. It is, therefore, rightly said in theScriptures that “saa vidyaa yaa vimuchyate.”
About the author: Dr.Anand M. Chaturvedi was born and
brought up in USA. He is a keen student of Indian philosophy.
He has contributed articles and spoken on Vedic philosophy
at various meetings. He is a life member of International Society
for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He has a keen interest
in Indian classical music. His medical practice is in the field of
Out of these the Bhagwat Puran is the mostimportant. It describes the life and divine attributesof Lord Krishna.
Mrs. Nirmala Shukla of Fremont, California is an authorand poet. She is retired software professional who haspublished a number of articles and poems on a variety of
This past winter break, I traveled alone toIndia by myself for the first time. Forwhatever reason (and I hope it is a
combination of my maturation and tremendousprogress India has made in the last several years),my most recent trip to India opened my eyes to anumber of issues that had never truly struck mein my prior visits with my parents. From themoment my plane touched down in New Delhito the time I settled for the flight back to the USA,there were countless opportunities for learningabout India and its people, which I will attempt tocapture in this piece.
Excited to have finally arrived in India, I brisklymade my way to the Immigration where I noticed,to my surprise, that the system has improved tocompare with the US system. Arriving passengerswere being processed very quickly. After such apleasant experience, it was somewhatdisappointing to have to wait for the luggage forabout 40 minutes. After receiving my luggage, itwas a smooth sailing through Customs andsecurity. This was totally unexpected based onwhat I had observed on prior trips, where aCustoms officer would approach us and requestus to put the luggage into a scanning machine forinspection before we could exit the area. Thisexperience was like European countries where onewalks out of the Customs area without having tobe inspected.
My father’s college friend, who lived about 45minutes outside of Delhi, in Gurgaon was waitingwith his family to welcome me to the Capital ofIndia. I was again pleasantly surprised that it wasjust about midnight and still the entire family cameto pick me at the airport. With such a welcome Iimmediately felt like part of their family. The nextday, on our way to New Delhi, Mahesh (my dad’sfriend’s son) told me about the ongoing projectsto improve the highway system. I was surprisedto learn about the slow progress of constructionof about half a dozen flyover bridges due topolitical instability. We take such bridges for
A Whole New WorldA reflection on my first solo trip to India
Hirsh Shukla
granted in the US. I noticed that nearly all of theongoing work was being done by hand, whichcertainly wasn’t accelerating the process. Basicinfrastructure is obviously a critical area that Indianeeds to develop; but I have a solution. Gatherup all the impoverished people in the area andoffer them government jobs in construction,waste disposal, and any of the other needs thecountry has. Buy the machinery they need towork efficiently, set up training centers ifnecessary, and absolutely flood the program withmoney. Where does that get us? Well, thegovernment spending stimulates all facets of theeconomy; offering jobs to the homeless gets themoff the streets and puts food in their mouths; andthe work they do will push India into modernityand further economic prosperity.
Though I have my gripes about the maintenanceand management of many of the Delhi-arealandmarks, there is no taking away from theiroriginal beauty. In the case of the Lotus Templeand its surrounding gardens, they make for oneof the most beautiful oases in the world. Thesublime sense of tranquility that one experiencesat the temple (especially when compared to therush of New Delhi) is comparable to few othersthat I have ever experienced. SwaminarayanAkshardham features architecture and sculpturethat should be considered among the world’sfinest. It is truly a hidden gem that deserves muchmore recognition than it gets; I would argue thatit should be considered one of the major wondersof the world. Lastly, the fact that Qutab Minar isstill standing is an amazing feat in itself,showcasing the solid construction of the ancientrulers of India. I was very impressed to read thatit is the tallest standing brick minaret in theworld.
Our journey into New Delhi that day ended atHumayan’s Tomb, a beautiful resting ground thatwas used as a template for the world famous TajMahal. It was great to know that the complex’ssecurity was tight, as we had to walk through
- 31 -
metal detectors and get screened by guards toenter it. However, there will still some things thatI could not bare about it. It was painful to see somuch trash all over the place withstray dogs running around at thisnational historic site. One knowsvery well that these things aretremendously easy to fix(especially with the vast availabilityof cheap labor), yet somehow donot get done in India. The secondissue that really bothered me is thefact that they charge foreigners2500% of the price that “Indian-looking” people do. Sure, that only means $5.00USD as opposed to $0.20 USD for people whoobviously can afford the airfare to travel across theworld. But it makes them feel discriminated,disrespected and unwelcome. The Indiangovernment is taking advantage of the foreigntourists solely because the currency conversiondoes not favor India. Same thing is practiced inHotels and transportation (air travel as well railtravel).
After doing a healthy amount of sightseeing in NewDelhi, we went for a three day trip to Jaipur. Thehighway we took was just like one in the US, andthe entire four hour drive through the countrysidewas very scenic. Upon reaching Jaipur, we walkedthrough several forts that offered great aerial vistasof the city. We saw the world’s largest cannon onwheels, and prayed at temples that are thousandsof years old. I don’t mean to digress, but I feel likeancient India does not get sufficient credit for allof its beauty and its architectural wonders in theAmerican education system. Iremember spending weeksstudying all facets of ancientGreek and Roman culture,history, and architecture, butmere hours on that of ancientIndia. What I saw in Indiafirsthand is without a doubt onpar with what is in Europe, butis not fully appreciated herebecause of India seems soremote in comparison to Greece and Italy.
My next excursion was an overnight trip with mycousin (Sushil Bhaiya) to Mathura-Vrindavan,where we met my mother’s side of the family and
stayed in an ashram. We visited Shri KrishnaJanmasthana as well as several other temples inthe area. Though it was very quiet, staying at the
ashram was a bit of a surrealexperience. My cousin and I couldnot grasp how boys training tobecome priests could adjust to lifein the ashram. They have to wakeup at 4 am daily, wash their ownclothes, do a number of chores,and study around the clock, withlittle recreational activity—allwhile barely seeing their families.Being around them made me feel
inadequate, as they are so much more learned inthe Hindu religion at a younger age than I mayever be. The ashram, itself, was beautiful, wellmaintained, had great accommodations, andsimple but delicious food. Overall, the ashramprovides an ideal environment for spiritual growth.
My time in the New Delhi-area came to an endwith a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai, which wasone of the most pleasant experiences of my life.The plane seemed new, the crew was incrediblyfriendly, and (most importantly) the food wasdelicious. It’s amazing how much of a difference asimple “Good afternoon” with a legitimate smilecan do to make one forget about the weather-related flight delays. It’s even more amazing howmuch of a rarity it is to get that on a US carrier.
Upon arriving in Mumbai, we headed home byauto-rickshaw. The traffic situation in Mumbai isremarkably better than in New Delhi, where itappears that logic and patience are both in
extremely short supply. Beingin an open-air vehicle mademe realize how much airpollution there really is in thatmetropolis, and how big of ahealth hazard it is. Mumbaiwould become one of themost beautiful cities in theworld if they can simply cleanit up a bit. As it is, the QueensNecklace skyline is
breathtaking to view at night, and observing itfrom the promenade at Marine Drive makes it allthe more attractive.
- 38 -
Perhaps because I was on vacation, but I wasshocked at how much energy the people of Indiahave. I would get fatigued each day from travelingaround the city and enjoying myself—I don’t knowwhere my cousins find the energy to make theirdaily commutes, get through a long workday, andthen come home to yet more stressors. They runoff a maximum of six hours of sleep and are activeconstantly from daybreak until midnight. In thatsense, it was great to stay with my grandmother inMumbai; she would wake everybody else in thehome up hours before bothering with me.
It seemed like everyone I stayed with went to suchlengths to look after me, that I cannot put it allinto words. Jaju Uncle stayed up until 3 am on NewYear’s Eve, awaiting my return from Delhi as it tookover three hours because of dense fog. Maheshbasically sacrificed his entire break from school totake me into, out of, and around Delhi to hit allthe major landmarks. Their whole family tookthree full days to go on vacation just to show meJaipur. Sushil Bhaiya took a week off from work totake me around Mumbai. Uncles, Aunts, and closefamily friends all gave up their time to see me, oroffer me a meal and roof over my head. The kindof hospitality that I experienced from everyone whoI spent time with was something that is rarely seenin this country. These people did not and do notowe me anything, yet treated me so well simplyout of the graciousness of their hearts—somethingwhich I will appreciate and remember for the restof my life.
The biggest differences that I found between lifein America and life in India were in the intra-familyrelationships. In India, it seemed that childrenconstantly try to find the approval of their elders,and will do whatever it takes to please them. Theywill not present their elders with the issues theyhave from day to day. Instead, they will try to solvethem on their own to avoid concerning the rest ofthe family. Clearly, it is very different here inAmerica. Parents and children have much moreopen relationships, and children here areundoubtedly able to share their feelings withoutshame. They may still try to please their elders, buttheir own aspirations also come into play in a muchmore collaborative effort. It also feels like there isno such thing as a compromise in India: everyoneneeds everything done in their own way, and thereis no wavering on the dominant individual’s part.
Here, on the other hand, I can say first hand that Ihave plenty of experience in negotiating with myparents.
I do agree that the respect children have for theirelders is something that the US could use a lotmore of. I also feel, however, that elders in Indianeed to give younger folk more respect than theycurrently do. Though they may be wiser, in myexperiences, elders do not take into account thepoint of view of their children when makingdecisions. Certainly, this can lead to huge blunders,such as marriage against one’s will. Furthermore,the lack of respect that people in service jobs inIndia get sickens me. Children my age andyounger are treated like they are less than humanbecause they are waiters or maids. For all the talkabout Indian people being very respectful ofothers, I simply cannot believe how educatedpeople have such a grand sense of entitlementalong with their money.
I feel that one of the major things holding Indiaback is the lack of civic sense of its inhabitants. Itis amazing how some people can act soprofessionally while in the workplace, then switchtheir minds off and behave like children thesecond they exit. Sometimes it seems like theyhave no regard for others, and stereotype all sortsof people. It’s a shame that one of the last images Ihave in my head from this trip was in a taxi on theway to the airport, where my cousin and Iwitnessed a collision between two motorcyclists.The taxi driver stopped immediately and ran outto help the bikers, and my cousin grabbed a waterbottle to offer to them. After witnessing aboutfifteen seconds of great citizenship andcamaraderie, I heard horns from the peoplebehind us. They were yelling at us to get out ofthe way, and wanted us to call the police becausethey assumed that the taxi driver had hit themotorcyclists.
This trip was an eye opener for me in learningabout beautiful historical parts as well as verymodern parts of India, its culture, and livingconditions of different people in India.
About the author: Hirsh Shukla is a second yearcollege student attending Cornell University. Hirshis the younger son of Umesh and Prabha Shukla.
From Devender and Alka Sharma, Alameda, California, U.S.A.
Warmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best Wishes
to the
Delegates of
2007
World Brahman Convention
From the
New Jersey Chapter of BSNA
Compliments of:
Anupam & Meena Choubey
Virendra N. Pandey
Brahm Om Sharma
Hari & Kaushal Sharma
K. J. & Renu Sharma
Naresh & Karuna Sharma
Om & Manju Sharma
Rajendar K. Sharma
Umesh & Prabha Shukla
Color page
Bhargava Foundation
Color page
Om Sharma
Color page
Shyam & Nirmala
Shukla
Color page
Om Sharma (DC)
The Competitive Prices with Unbeatable Service.
We are Proud to Be:
The travel professionals with a proven record.
Fully automated operations - for immediate confirmation.
INDIA, EUROPE. OR THE WORLD OVER, We are connected
We arrange Personalized Tours, Escorted or Unescorted,
The Indian Holidays in Europe, with Indian Escorts, Meals,
The highlights of one of the cultural program, Bhagvan Shivji
Vivah, by the Youth of Michigan Chapter are given below. It
was a wonderful and highly motivating performance.
Thank you Michigan Chapter!
The participants of the program
accepting the applause of the
audience
- 51 -
In this modern world of the twenty first century,the so called era of Science and Technology, aperson has to realize that no one can stand alone
with one’s individual identity based on caste,religion, community or society. One has to be apart of the world as a whole, and ask how one canbe useful to the entire humanity. This is true forHinduism as well as for Brahmanism. We have tosee what we can realistically contribute to the worldso that the world would be grateful toBrahmanism. Then only can Brahmanism survive.This is the issue before us.
The highly technologically advanced countries ofthe West have provided all sorts of physicalcomforts and unlimited sense enjoyment to theirpeople. But alas! These are the countries wheremental unrest and dissatisfaction are the highestleading to crimes. This occurs despite the teachingsof The Bible and the efforts of its teachers like BillyGraham. Not surprisingly, these same people havefound the greatest satisfaction in Vedic philosophyas obviously seen in the recent Ardha-Kumbh-melaof Allahabad. These Westerners are willing to liveas real Vedic students and followers. They do notlaugh or ridicule the Sannyasis or even the “naked-baabaas”, which even many Indians do.
Why so? The answer is very simple. The mentalpeace and tranquility of these “sadhus” attracts andimpresses them. They sleep on the floor, take bathwith cold water, do not eat meat, and do not haveany craving for indulgence. They get up at 4 O’clock and engage in worship of Lord Krishna. Theyhave shaved heads, wear Tulsi beads on their necks,and chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra sixteenrounds rigidly everyday. These devotees ofInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness,(ISKCON) have multiplied rapidly all over theworld. Their late spiritual master, SwamiPrabhupaada, has been recognized as one of thegreatest Vedic scholars and teachers of this century.Presently His Holiness Jagatguru Shri KripalujiMaharaj is a well known Vedic teacher. Manyforeigners are seen in his ashram today. India is a
Brahmanism and Its ResponsibilitiesL. N. Chaturvedi, M.D.
poor country, with so many limitations, yet theWesterners are attracted to it. Why? They arewilling to accept physical discomforts for mentalsatisfaction, which they find only in the Vedicculture of India. This proves India still has something most valuable to share with the rest of theworld.
In the past it was the Brahmans who wereentrusted with the dissemination of thisknowledge. The word Brahman means one whoknows Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth.There is a saying in Hindi, “Brahman so jo brahmavichaare, aap tare aur sakale tare.” (Brahman isone who knows Brahman and who seeks salvationfor self and for others.) The four Vedas, sixShashtras, eighteen Puranas, Gita, Mahabharat andVedanta Sutra were all memorized by theseBrahmans. They were living a life of austerities,observing the principles of Varnaashram dharmaas grahasthas (householders). They hadtremendous spiritual powers, so they were honoredand worshiped even by the kings and rulers. Thiswas the value and the status of the Brahman’sspiritual power which comes by living a life ofausterity and refraining from sinful activities,described in the scriptures as meat eating,gambling, and indulging in illicit sex andintoxication- Dyutam paanam striyoh sunaa, yatraadharmah chaturvidhah (Bhag.1-17-38)
Today, the society as a whole and Brahmans inparticular, have degraded. Sinful living is thewatchword of this age of Kaliyuga. With materialadvancement, spirituality has evaporated.Bhagvatam (1-1-10) says - People have a short lifeof a maximum of 100 years (though active life isshorter than that), poor memories, lazy,quarrelsome and minds that are preoccupied withanxieties, worries, and tensions. (Praayenaalpaayushah sabhya kalaav asmin yuge janaah,mandaah sumanda matayoh manda bhaagyaa hyupadrataah.) Under these conditions what can beachieved and how can we be still proud of theBrahmanism? I wish there was an answer to this
- 52 -
question. No! Nothing comes without a price.There is no short cut or any alternative except togo back to the old principles of living withausterities, which the modern society will notaccept.
Human life is the most precious and rare gift fromthe Almighty Lord. Even the demigods of heavenaspire for it. Jagatguru Adi Shankaraacharya hassaid, “On this earth this human body is veryprecious. It is not available even to the Godsmeditating on Him.” (Manuja dehamimam bhuvidurlabham, Samadhigamya surairapi vanchhitam.)In the Mahabharata it has been mentioned: Afterwandering through 8,400,000 species of lives,several times one gets this human form of life{Janmaantara sahasreshu manushyatvam hydurlabham.) Further, the purpose of human life isto attain liberation from material entanglementsby realizing the Absolute Truth, i.e., Krishna,There is none other important objective of thishuman form of life. (Kaamasy nendriya pritirlaabho, jivet yaavataa jeevasya tattva jijnaasaanaartho yeshcheha karmbhih). (Bhag 1-2-10).
People are seeking pleasure, joy, or happiness inthis material life but fail miserably because realpleasure or bliss is Krishna Himself, which peopleignore totally. Vedas declare repeatedly that onlyLord Krishna is total bliss,(Aanandamayo’bhyaasaat, Brahma Sutra). Also(Aanando brahmeti vyajaanaat, - Taittariyaupnishad 3-6.) And (sa vai rasaanaam rasa samah”Vedant Sutra). Again Taittariya Upnishaad says,That Supreme Lord Krishna is total bliss. Onebecomes totally blissful only when one isassociated with Krishna by total surrender. (Rasovai saha rasam hy evaayam labdhvaa nandi bhavati.-2-7.)
In this Kaliyuga, Vedic study is difficult andausterities cannot be performed as stated above.Therefore, the easiest way for Krishna realizationis by constant (1) hearing, (2) chanting or (3)remembering Lord Krishna’s name. However, thisshould be devoid of any selfish motives as ismentioned in the Bhagavatam (2-2-36): O King,the Lord is present everywhere all the time,therefore, one should hear about BhagavanNarayan, praise and remember Him all the time.(Tasmaat sarvaatmanaa raajan, hari sarvatra
sarvadaa, shrotavyaha keertitavyashcha smartavyobhagavaan nranaam.). There are severalquotations like this throughout the Bhagavatam,so liberation is not that difficult. The first and theforemost necessity is to cleanse the heart frommaterial contamination i.e., desires of materialsense enjoyments. This is done by constantlyfocusing your mind and serving the lotus feet ofLord Krishna, as advised by Shri AdiShankaraacharya to his mother. He said, “Theconsciousness will not be purified withoutdevotion to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.”(shudhhayatihi na antaraatmaa Krishnapadaamboja bhaktimrite.) It is astonishing that afollower of nirguna nirakara Brahman hassuggested to his mother to engage in service of apersonal Brahman or saguna saakaara Brahman,Krishna to purify the consciousness. Without thisall efforts will be unsuccessful.
Besides this, one has to follow some rules andregulations as well. The mind is materialistic.Unless it is purified it will not be possible to engageit in the Lord’s spiritual service. The Vedasemphasize that by eating sanctified food the veryexistence becomes purified and so does the mind.This purified mind can then be easily engaged inthe service of the Lord as stated above. (Aahaar-shuddhau sattva shuddhih, sattva shuddhau dhruvaasmritih, smriti lambhe sarva granthinaam vipramokshah.) Similarly, one should eat only that foodwhich is offered first to Lord Krishna, (Bh.G.3-13). One should refrain from the sinful activitieslisted before.
The surest and the most potent and guaranteedway to achieve liberation is through lovingdevotional services to Lord Krishna, i.e. Bhakti-yoga. Without this no method is perfect.(Dharamah satya dayopeto vidyaa vaatapasaanvitah, mad-bhakti apet maatmaanam nasamyak parpunaati hi. Bhag.11-14-22.) Krishnasays to Uddhava that even those religious activitieswhich are performed with sincerity, kindness, andknowledge acquired through penances can notpurify his consciousness if he is bereft of lovingdevotional services unto Me (Krishna). And againin Bh.Gita 18-55 Lord Krishna says, “Through theloving devotional services, i.e., .bhakti one canknow Me and then can one enter into My abode.”(Bhaktyaa maam abhijaanaati yaavaan
- 53 -
yashchashaasmi tattvatah, tato maam tattvatojnaatvaa vishate tad anantaram.
If Westerners can live such a life why can’t weIndians? Thus a person will become a trueBrahman and can teach the world the Vedicknowledge which he has learnt by living himselfin that way. He will be a role model for the worldand can do the good for the world and himself.Thus the Brahman and Brahmanism will beidentified, appreciated, and accepted by the peopleof the world. This is the foremost necessity of thetime.
About the author: Dr. L.N. Chaturvedi is a Physicianand practices at Akron, OH. He a Life Members ofBrahman Samaj of North America ever since BSNA wasformed. He is also a Life Member of International Societyfor Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. Dr. Chaturvedihas been contributing to “Brahma Vani” for the pastseveral years. He is author of a book , The Teachings of the
Who is a Hindu? This question arises allthe time in various situations andHindus are unable to answer it exactly,
precisely, satisfactorily and with confidence. I haveasked this question to many people includingeminent Hindu scholars, Sadhus, religious leaders,professors and Pundits but without a satisfactoryreply. Fortunately I have found the most fitting,exact, precise and above all satisfying definitionof a Hindu by a great revolutionary, author, orator,poet and patriot Veer Vinayak Rao Damodar RaoSavarkar. In 1905 while in the prison at Andaman-Nicobar Islands he thus wrote:Asindhu Sindhu Paryanta yashya Bharat Bhoomika,Pitribhu Punya Bhuschaiva Sa vai Hindu RitiSmritah
There is a vast land between river Sindhu and HindMahasagar (Indian Ocean) called Bharat and thosewho accept that this is their fatherland or / and aholy land, land of pilgrimage are all Hindus.
This is worth mentioning that acceptance of theVedas with reverence, recognition of the fact thatthe means or ways to salvation are diverse; andrealisation of the truth that number of gods to beworshiped is large, that indeed the distinguishingfeatures of the Hindu religion. (Shri BalgangadharTilak; Quoted by Supreme Court of Bharat on 2July 1995.)
Hindus believe in One God. Hindus are trulymonotheist but worship many gods andgoddesses and see the same God in them. Thisneeds to be realised at intellectual level by othersbut they have failed to understand this fact. Forexample snow, ice, icicle, dew, and vapour are allforms of water but we call them by different namessimilarly Hindus see the same God in all the godsand goddesses as well as in all the living and nonliving things this is the most simple thing. Hindusunderstand this and appreciate this. Hinduscriptures say it boldly, clearly, distinctly and mostbeautifully: Ekam Sadhvipra Bahuda Vadanti,meaning that He is one but we call Him by variousbeautiful names.
Further to this it may be appropriate to mentionthe following verse which also gives clear messagethat Hindusthan means place of Hindus or landof Hindus or Hinduland, e.g. England for land ofEnglish people, Ireland for land of Irish people,etc. India’s ancient names are Aryavarta andBharatvarsh.Uttare cha Samudrashya Himadreshu chaDakshinam,Tadvarsha Bharat Nama Bharati Tatra Santati.The land which is north to the Hind Mahasagar(Indian Ocean) and south of the mighty,magnificent Himalayas is Bharat, sons anddaughters of this ancient land are called Bharatior Bbharatiya. What unites us is our spiritual andcultural heritage and its inner and most powerfulstrength since beginning of our civilisation.
Origin of the word Hindu has been traced froman ancient scripture called Brihanardi Puran:Himalayan Samabhya Yavat Bindusarovaram.Hindusthanmati Gyatam Hii AntaraksharAyogatah.It means the country between the Himalayas andBindu Sarovar is Hindusthan so combining thefirst letter Hi of Himalayas and last compoundletter Ndu of word Bindu forms Hindu so purelyand simply this is a Sanskrit word. This verse isalso mentioned in the Nardeeya Puran which is ashort version of original Brihannardi Puran.
Hiram Nashyati Iti Hindu, meaning those whouphold righteousness and fight ignobleness areHindus. Dharma, culture, civilisation, traditions,philosophy,Yoga, vidya, Ayurved, music, literature,arts , fine arts, dance, and languages had developedover thousands of years in total harmony withnature and eternal laws. All the religions ofHindusthan are branches of Sanatana Dharmawhich is generally known as Hinduism. Hinduismhas the capacity and capability to accommodateall those who believe in the freedom of individualin thought, and action following the eternal lawsof equality, justice and freedom in humandevelopment.
- 55 -
Anybody can become a Hindu according to theabove definition so you do not have to be a bornHindu. Swami Dayanand Saraswati first startedre-conversion of Muslims and Christians who wereconverted from Hinduism. Later SwamiVivekanand, and recently Swami Chinmayanand,and Sivaya Subramaniya swami came in favourof this.
The world has changed a lot and for Hindus tosurvive they have to put a stop to conversion ofHindus to Islam and Christianity which has beengoing on in Hindusthan by force, coercion,intimidation, and deception. These conversionshave been going on since arrival of Musliminvaders, and later by Christians who aredestroying everything native.
I know who I am==============
I am a Hindu, no matter what people say,I will be Hindu until my dying day.
I can be Hindu what else,My parents were Hindu, my ancestors too,
That makes me Hindu, through and through.I am proud of Hindusthan, the land of Hindus,
This land of mine, land of my parents and their parents,Where all our holy places are.For us Hindus, it suits us fine.
Come on Hindus, fly the Bhagwa flag,It is our pride, not old rag,
Hindusthan of Hindus, for Hindus.Parmatma bless our Holy land, people and flag.
To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007
GreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetings
From Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila Pandey
Salutations to that effulgent Being, whom Brahma and other gods praise with divine hymns; whom the
singers of the Sama glorify by the Vedas and their auxiliaries, repeating the words in a particular order along
with the Upanishads; whom the Yogins realize through deep meditation with their mind wholly absorbed in
Him; and whose extent neither the gods nor demons know. (Bhagavata, XII, 13, 1)
- 58 -
Thousands of years ago the mankind evolveda revolutionary technique of communicatingwith others and that was by writing. This
was a method of communication with people whowere away from him or who would be born muchlater. In different parts of the world different scriptswere developed as man became civilized. In Bharat(India) the script that evolved was called‘Devanagari’. The Devanagari script, according tosome linguists, evolved in the period of 4000 BCto 1000 BC. It is one of the best scripts in the worldbecause there is no ambiguity in pronunciation ofwords. In other words this is the most phoneticscript. The Vedas, the most ancient literature ofthe mankind, were written in this script. The Vedascontain hymns and mantras, which are so potentthat with their help, one can change the
environment. For example, they include mantrasto create rain, to light a lamp and even to conquerdeath.
The Devanagari script has mainly two kinds ofletters or varnas. They are: (a) Vowels and (b)Consonants. Some consonants are semi-vowels, asshown below.
(a) Vowels or sv;r - Those letters which can bepronounced independently are called vowels (sv;y;]
The Devanagari Script of BharatAmar S. Pandey (Bhusawar, Rajasthan, India)
r;j;it; wit; sv;r/). They are: a (a), a; (aa), w ( i ), w* (ee ) W(u), ~ (oo), A (e), Ae (ai), a;e (o), a;E (au), a}] (am), a/(aha) and P (ri).
(b) Consonants - The consonants can be dividedinto three classes –
The regular consonants are divided scientificallyinto five ‘sound groups’ of five letters in eachsound group. The first group is called gutturalconsonants, which are pronounced from thethroat. When the second group of letters calledpalatals are pronounced the tongue touches the
roof of the mouth. When the third group of lettersis pronounced the tongue touches the roof justbefore the teeth. The fourth group called dentalletters are pronounced with the tongue touchingthe teeth. Lastly, the fifth group of letters ispronounced with the upper and lower lipstouching each other. Then there are irregularconsonants and combined consonants. The
Aadami is written as: a;dm;I = a; + d< + a + m;< + w* =a; +d + m; + I.
The Devanagari script has five nasal sounding
letters (an;un;;is;k:) corresponding to each of the first
five groups as shown in the last column of theregular consonants. There are only four letters inthe sixth and seventh groups each without any
corresponding nasal letters. y;, r<, l< and v;< are
semivowels corresponding to w, P, D;& (only in
Sanskrit) and W. The nasal sound is represented
by either half the nasal letters corresponding tothe letters in the group or by an anuswar (matra
of a] which looks like a dot at the top of the letter).
For example, Kambal (blanket) may be written as
k:]b;l (k:< + a} + m;< + b;< + l< + a or k:mb;l (k:< + a + m;< +b;< + a + l< + a ). The matra of the vowel a/ looks like
semicolon and is pronounced as aha. For example,
sv;t;/ (swatah) is pronounced as swatah and is: s;< +v;< + a + t;< + a + a/ . Also Amrit a + m;<
+ P + t;< + a.
The Devanagari scipt is a very scientific and themost phonetic script. That is why many computerscientists believe that Sanskrit, the motherlanguage of Devanagari, will prove to be the mostsuitable language for computer.
Irregular Consonants:
(a) Semi Vowels
y; Y r< R l< L v;< V ant;sq; (Intermediates
or semi-vowels)
(b) Sibilants (Producing hissing sound)
x; Sh {; Sh s; S h H ~{m; (Sibilants)
(c) Combination of Two Letters
Z;< Ksh F;< Tr N Jn
While Roman script is analytic (iv;ixl{! )
Devanagari is synthetic (s;]ixl{!). A consonant in
Devanagari script cannot be pronounced withoutadding a vowel to it. When a consonant iscombined with a vowel, the corresponding Matra
(m;;F;;) representing the vowel, in stead of the vowel
itself, is written before, after or below theconsonant. The list of the Matras with theircorresponding vowels is given below:
Vowels: a a; w w* W ~ A Ae a;e a;E a}a/ PMatras: - ; i I u U e E ;e ;E ]For example, Kamala is written as k:m;l;, which is
combination of k:< + a + m;< + a + l + a; and
- 60 -
The purpose of human life is to attain spiritualgrowth and eventually achieve Moksha(salvation). There are many ways one can
achieve spiritual growth. For example in Satyuga,Tapa was the primary route for achieving spiritualgrowth, in Tretayuga, Gyan was the primary routefor achieving spiritual growth, in Dwaparyuga,Yagya was the primary route for achieving spiritualgrowth. Today in Kaliyuga, Dan (donation) orSeva (i.e. serving the needy without anyexpectations), is considered the primary route forachieving spiritual growth.
== g;It;; 17.25 ==Uttering “Tat”, without aiming at fruits, are the various acts of
Yajna, austerity, and gift performed by the seekers of Moksha.
The motto of Ramakrishna Mission founded bySwami Vivekananda was, “Atmana mokshattamjagat dhwitayacha.” Which means, to achieveone’s own salvation, one must work for the world’swelfare.
In Bhagvad Gita, Bhagwan Krishna also explainsthat a true Sanyasi (enlightened person) is the bestSevak (person who performs seva) as one gives upone’s individuality, ego, agenda and puts other’sneeds ahead of one’s own needs.
Bhagwan Krishna further explains that aKarmayogi (a sevak) is the person who performsone’s duty with devotion and helps others for doinggood to the world. But in reality such an attitudehelps the Sevak in his/her spiritual growth. Theworld is there with or without you. Hence to thinkthat you can do good to the world is a false notion.We want to do good to others because we want toimprove ourselves. Therefore, we should bethankful to those who help us improve ourselvesor allow us to do Seva. Humans should behavelike trees. Trees always do good to others (providefruits to those who throw stones at them, provideshade and even after death the wood from the tree
Seva (Selfless Service) – A Path to Attain Spiritual GrowthUmesh Shukla, Ph.D.
Belle Mead, NJ
is used for building houses, providing fuel etc).We can perform Seva by offering any one or moreof the following to the needy: Advice, Attention,Health, Hope, Knowledge, Love, Laughter,Leadership, Life, Money, Skills, Time, etc.
Although Time and Money are the mostrecognized forms of Seva, all forms of Seva directlyor indirectly require Time. Seva needs to beperformed throughout the life and not just in laterparts of life to assure continued spiritual growth.It is easy to say that one does not have time toperform seva, but it is the attitude of seva that isimportant. Once the attitude of seva is developed,it will have a priority in your lives and finding timewill no longer be an issue. One can performdifferent kinds of Seva depending up on one’sexpertise and interest. There are countlessorganizations through which one can performSeva, such as the local or international programsfor supporting the handicapped, educationalinstitutions for the needy, etc. Only selfless service(seva) can purify our mind and only then we canrealize that God is the indwelling spirit of us all. Itis a great privilege that GOD has given us theopportunity to serve others. If we remember thisand serve even one single person in all humilityand with deep reverence, without being promptedby ego and arrogance, our life will be blessed. Sevafrom financial support can also be providedthrough the organizations listed below:
USAArsha Bodha Center (www.arshabodha.org); BrahmanSamaj of North America (BSNA); Vishwa Hindu Parishad ofAmerica (www.vhp-america.org); Ekal Vidyalay(www.ekalvidya.org); American Red Cross(www.redcross.org); United Way(www.unitedway.org)
IndiaAim for Seva (www.aimforsevaindia.org); KrishnaBhakti Seva Sangh, Vrindavan (Tel 001-91-565-2540257);Support a Child program of VHP; Jyoti Foundation for
Handicapped Children (www.jyotiforchildren.org)
About the author: Dr. Umesh Shukla is theExecutive Vice President of BSNA –Editor.
- 61 -
Matrimony is a union between a man andwoman as husband and wife. Accordingto Hindu scriptures marriage is a sacred
lifelong commitment by spiritually merging thetwo souls and opening the doors to Grihasthashram(household life). According to Manu marriage isthe thirteenth of the sixteen Hindu samskaras(sacraments), and it is the most important of all. Itis considered the strongest social and spiritualbond. It is meant to fulfill the physical, social,spiritual and biological needs of a man and awoman. Marriage is a highly auspicious occasionin Indian culture. Conducted according to the6,000 year-old Vedic Hindu tenets, marriage isindividually, socially, culturally, spiritually,genetically, and economically the most importantpart of human life as a householder. However, thisrelationship must be devoid of greed, enhancingprestige in society, political or economic arena,fulfilling a desire to secure a job, climbing a ladderof position or status or obtaining a foreignemployment or residency or any such other desires.It should be based simply and purely on the futurelife and happiness of the couple; health, happinessand future of their children and their familyrelationship.
FINDING A MATCH
There are several ways of searching a suitablematch for a girl and a boy for a matrimonialrelationship, some of which are listed in this article.Finding a suitable match for a bride and a groom,who would spend their whole life with each other,have progeny and raise them together, is not onlya difficult task but also a very tricky and chancetaking as well. This is why many people leave it toindividual’s luck and say that marriage is made inheaven. In majority of cases, we look foreducation, employment, wealth and status of theboy and his family and overlook his nature, familyor genetic background, health or criminalbehavior. This should be considered for the girlside also. In choosing a lifelong partner to live withand to have progeny from, we do not investigateand analyze these characteristics. Here are some
Finding a Life Partner For MatrimonyJaneshwar Upadhyay, Ph. D.
Member, Board of Trustees, BSNA
of the searching methods practiced in the past and/or present. One is explained in detail that I havebeen using for the last six years for finding matches:
1. Arranged Marriage:
The parents and relatives find a suitable match.In this case it is assumed that they know theindividuals, their hopes, desires, and relevantbackground. This has been done in India for along time and is considered to be one of thebest for a stable marriage. Due to the fact thatparents make the selection of a bride or agroom from similar family backgrounds andtraditions, it is expected to producecompatibility and harmonious relationship. Inmajority of the cases, the boy and the girl maynot see or know each other before marriage.All decisions are left to the families of the twosides. Knowing each other, love and bondingcomes after marriage and develops gradually.Their children become a strong bond betweenthe couple and the extended families.Everything gets tied up with the family andtheir responsibilities to the household and thefamily.
2. Love Marriage
It is a randomly selected emotional marriage.Generally a boy and a girl meet each other atwork or social events, or are introduced by afriend or a relative. They pursue therelationship, which may or may not lead tomarriage, depending on their compatibilityand criteria they seek in a partner.
3. Introduced and Mediated Marriage
This is a combination of arranged and love marriage.During the search, the parents, relatives or friendsintroduce the boy and girl directly, or through letter,photo, telephone or E-mail. They communicate, see and/or talk and know about each other. Then they expresstheir wishes directly or through their parents, relative,friend or a third person and get married.
- 62 -
4. Advertised Marriage
The candidates’ parents, relative, or a friendplace an advertisement in newspapers,magazines, or other media giving a briefphysical description, qualification and the kindand quality of marriage partner they are lookingfor. Someone may contact them by telephoneor letter and the communication, and contactsmay lead to marriage. This method may beexpensive, time taking and frustrating at times.
5. Talent Tested Marriage
This kind of marriage used to be in practice inthe past, especially in the Kshatriya familieswhere the parents or the candidates used tolook for a man with certain talent. One exampleis Ram vivah where king Janak was lookingfor a man who could lift a particular bow inorder to marry Sita. During Mahabharataperiod, king Drupad was looking for the mosttalented person in the art of archery for themarriage of his daughter Draupadi. This maybe compared to the present day Indian parentslooking for a doctor, engineer, computerscientist or a rich man for thier daughter.
6. Gandharva Vivah
This kind of marriage used to be acceptableduring the Vedic period, or even later, whenthe boy and girl would like each other and insome cases, would be engaged in intimaterelationship, like in the case of king Dushyantand Shakuntala. Also, it was in practiced beforethe social marriage system started. Perhaps theGandharvas were people of superhumanqualities, who served as witness or priest.Therefore it was called the Gandharva Vivah.
MODERN DAY SEARCH FOR MATRIMONY
These days, most marriages in India and in theIndian societies abroad are the Introduced andmediated marriages. In this, case before marriagethe bride and the groom may meet each other, theirfamilies get to know each other and thus themarriage should be a long lasting one. Since girlsmature physically and emotionally sooner thanboys, therefore, generally the girls’ parents initiatethe search and boys’ parents wait to be contacted.
In the past, parents used to let their friends andrelatives know that they were looking for a groom/bride. In some societies they had an annualweeklong matrimonial fair, where parents used tomeet and arrange marriages. One such a fair inBihar called Saurath or Shaurastra Sabha wherethe Maithil Brahmans with the help of theprofessional Panjikars (family record keepers) usedto find grooms and match for marriage. These days,to find a desired match the parents, relatives orcandidates advertise in newspapers, magazines,World Wide Web, etc. or seek help from computermatching agencies. Some groups have annualmatrimonial convention. Some who want tomaintain certain degree of privacy andconfidentiality, contact individuals (like me)directly or through an organization, who areproviding voluntary services by facilitating contactsbetween the brides and the grooms.
INTERNET MEDIATED MARRIAGES
I am personally involved in coordinating a mixtureof introduced and mediated marriages with a touchof advertisement as mentioned earlier. I make alist of brides and grooms giving a brief descriptionof their name, date of birth, height, weight, somephysical features, personal preferences like food,drink; place of residence, education, employmentand what special qualities one is looking for in themarriage-partner. I list the information (“bio-data”), for each bride and groom. In a separateparagraph, I list the name, address, phone numberand E-mail address of the “contact” person. SinceI am associated with Brahman Samaj, almost allbrides and grooms are from Brahman families andthose receiving the list are also Brahmans. When Ireceive a request for the contact information, I sendthe requested candidate’s bio-data and contactinformation to the requesting individual with acopy to the other party for information. I leave therest up to the two parties.
DIFFICULTIES
Most Indian parents, brides and grooms are shyby nature. Some parents do not want to give theirown or the candidate’s name to be listed. Also,some parents and candidates who have notdiscussed the matrimonial matters with each otheror those who may be afraid of criticism of one kindor another from their friends and relatives do not
- 63 -
want to put their names in the bio-data or incontact information. However, the name isimportant for contact and the preliminarycomparison of the candidates’ horoscope beforemaking contacts. This is also the case with thosewho have been on the list for long time withoutbeing contacted by a serious candidate or thosewhose inquiry results have been negative orignored.
Another difficulty is that everyone waits to becontacted rather than taking the initiative to makethe contact first. One reason for not contactingfirst is the fear of rejection. A big complaint that Ihave heard is that those who are contacted do notrespond, despite my general request to respondpositively or negatively. Some of the reasons forno response may be the following:
a) The parents’ and candidate’s disagreements onthe matrimonial issue
b) Not feeling comfortable to give a negativeanswer
c) Not considering it as a priority item in theirdaily routine
d) Listed E-mail addresses have changed and Iwas not informed.
e) Got married or engaged and I was notinformed
f) Changed their mind about marriage and I didnot get that information.
I can help resolve the first and the second problemif I am requested to do so. However, many parentshave never discussed or even mentionedmatrimonial matters with their children or areembarrassed and shy of talking to them aboutmissing their prime sexual and reproductive age.Also, after reaching maturity, having a job andleading an independent life, they do not want toloose their freedom and take the familyresponsibility. Not only that, if they have seen fights,arguments, separation or divorce in their familiesor friends, they are scared to be married and latterface the same problems.
Some people have suggested to me to place all theinformation on a website or send the complete listwith contacts to all who are interested. However, Ihave not done so to protect the trust, privacy, non-serious contacts and possibility of unnecessaryharassments to the candidates or their families.
There are several matrimonial issues; such asadvantages and disadvantages of differentmatrimonial searches, how to condition thechildren for marriage, what to teach them aboutmarriage, how to contact the candidates and theirparents, what to look for in a bride and a groomduring the first meeting, what questions to askduring the interview, difficulty in mixed marriagesand how to prevent early separation and divorce. Iwould like to discuss these issues in detail in asession of the World Brahman Convention.
- 64 -
BSNA Conventions–Celebration of Scholarship,
Friendship, Love and SmilesSatish C. Misra, Ph. D., North Potomac, Maryland
BSNA conventions are celebration of our heritage;To welcome scholars,To welcome delegates,
To welcome an opportunity to forget enmity,To welcome an opportunity,
To renew friendship and make new friends,To welcome an opportunity,
To fill atmosphere with tender love and care.
If you have a smile to show,Show it now!
Make hearts happy and roses glow,Let friends around you know,
The love you have for them before they go,Show it now,
Hug them now.
If you have some kind words to say,Say them now!
Tomorrow may not come your way,Do a kindness while you may,
Loved ones will not always stay;See them now!
If you have a song to sing,Sing it now!
Let the tones of gladness ring,Hear a song of birds in the spring,
Let each day some music bring;Sing it now!
If you have hard work to do,Do it now!
Today the skies are clear and blue,Tomorrow clouds may come in view,
Yesterday is not for you;Do it now.
If you want to spread the message of Love,Do it now!
Love is glorious promise, true and sincere,If you want Love,
Show it now,Share it now,
Hug your friends and delegates now,Welcome the opportunity