Page < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >
Hindu
Epics in Bali, Indonesia
The
two epics, The Ramayana
(Story of Prince Rama) and The
Mahabharata
(War of the Bharata) originated from India where they still
enjoy tremendous popularity, and are recited in an act of great
merit to this day. These two classics spread in various forms
throughout Southeast Asia (especially Kampuchea, Indonesia and
Thailand) and have since been dear to the hearts of Asians over
a thousand years.
Translated from Sanskrit into Kawi,
these immortal poems continue to inspire the arts and stimulate
the imaginations of Indonesians with a world of heroism and
adventure. The heroes of the epics have thus become the heroes
of Java-Balinese theatre, dance and shadow play.
In Bali, artists re-interpret the epics in stone reliefs,
woodcarvings, ink drawings and paintings. Delighted crowds
gather to watch the wayang kulit puppets cast shadows of
mystical princes and monasteries across the screen, to the
chanting of a storyteller. In the classical play Wayang Wong, in
the contemporary Ramayana Ballet, and in the choral drama of the
modern Kecak, or Monkey Dance, the tales from these epics are
re-enacted with great enthusiasm and appreciated by viewers who
find beauty in their many interpretations.
The reason for the popularity of the Ramayana and Mahabharata
goes deeper than mere entertainment. One
main theme of Hindu literature in Bali is the constant and
symbolic struggle between absolute good and absolute evil.
The principal characters and their allies are defined on a
moral basis. Rama, hero of the Ramayana, is a reincarnation of
Vishnu, the Preserver, and embodies, the ideal of manly virtues:
strength, endurance, love and devotion to truth. His wife Sita,
is the ideal of womanly faithfulness and martial love, while his
companion and brother, Lakmana, personifies fraternal courage
and loyalty. Rama’s antagonist, Ravana, the many-headed
demon-king with a retinue of giants, revels in lust, deceit and
hatred.


Translated from Sanskrit into
Kawi,
these immortal poems continue to inspire the arts and stimulate
the imaginations of Indonesians with a world of heroism and
adventure. The heroes of the epics have thus become the heroes
of Java-Balinese theatre, dance and shadow play.
(For
more refer to chapter on Greater
India: Suvarnabhumi and
Sacred Angkor).
***
Whereas the Ramayana illuminates, the ethics of human
relationships, the Mahabharata sings of the glorious exploits
and deeds of battle in the war of the Bharatas. The verses ring
of dazzling feats of warriors unconquerable, tournaments of
princes, daring escapes from death, and merciless revenge in a
bloody feud between two rival royal houses.
The heroes of the epics are much more than fictional
characters to the people. Each of them define both a personality
and a way of behavior. Many times an Indonesian may describe a
friend by likening him to a hero, as “he is powerful and
strong willed, like the warrior Bhima
(of Mahabharata).
(source: Insight Guides – Bali –
created by Hans Hofer).
For more refer to chapter on Suvarnabhumi).
Refer to My
Bali Diary - By B Raman - saag.org.
Refer
to Who
Killed Our Culture? We Did
- By Youki
Kudoh
- time.com
May 3 1999.
Top
of Page
Chief
Rabbi hosts first Hindu-Jewish meet in London
The leaders of the Hindu and Jewish communities met in London on
Tuesday for the first time to discuss cooperation between the
two communities.
During the meeting between Chief Rabbi
Dr Jonathan Sacks and Ramesh
Kallidai, Secretary
General of the Hindu Forum of
Britain, the Chief Rabbi, said, "The
Hindu community had added so very much to British life. It
simply wouldn't be the same without your contribution. You've
added colour, grace and warmth and certain other
characteristics, which are so needed."
"Your gentleness, your dignity,
your joy of life is so welcome and so rare in a society and an
age that often seems so rushed, noisy and sometimes so abrasive
and aggressive. We are enriched by all you have given the
society we share," he said.
"The Jewish community is the most diasporised and modern of
communities in the world. The Hindu community is also
diasporised and The leaders of the Hindu and Jewish communities
met in London on Tuesday for the first time to discuss
cooperation between the two communities.
Speaking about the cooperation between the two communities,
Ramesh Kallidai explained, "The Hindu Forum of Britain,
which helped host the event, has established good very relations
with the Board of Deputies for British Jews and the Community
Security Trust, The Board of Deputies is helping the Hindu Forum
to organise community structures similar to the successful model
adopted by the Jewish community, while the Community Security
Trust will be helping the Hindu Forum to commission a project
for the security of Hindu temples."
Commenting on the traditions common to the Jewish and Hindu
faiths, the Chief Rabbi said, "We both honour our past
while living in the present. We both seek to honour our
traditions while contributing as members of British society. We
both cherish our communities, our families and our children.
"We both think we have something
more special than the individualism and consumerism of
contemporary culture. We have much in common. We also have many
things that are different between us. And what we have in
common, unites us, and what we have different enriches us."
(source: Chief
Rabbi hosts first Hindu-Jewish meet - hindustantimes.com).
Refer
to Christian
Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America
.
Top
of Page
The
Intolerance of Monotheistic religions?
Saudi
Religious Police Destroy Makeshift Hindu Temple and Deport
Worshippers
Saudi
religious police (The
Muttawah) have destroyed a clandestine makeshift
Hindu temple in an old district of Riyadh and deported three
worshippers found there, a newspaper reported yesterday. Members
of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of
Vice, or religious police, on Thursday stumbled
across a room converted into a temple while raiding a number of
apartments suspected of being used to manufacture alcohol and
distribute pornographic videos, pan-Arab Al-Hayat said.
"They were surprised to find that one room had been
converted into a Hindu temple," the newspaper said. A
caretaker who was found in the worshiping area ignored the
religious police orders to stop performing his religious
rituals, the paper added. He was deported along with two other
men who arrived on the scene to worship.
All
forms of non-Muslim worship are banned in ultraconservative
Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest shrines. The U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom, an advisory
panel, last month urged the Bush administration to impose
sanctions on Saudi Arabia, as well as Vietnam and Eritrea, for
violating religious rights.
Are
Hindu lives are less valuable than Muslim lives?
In Saudi Arabia, there is the
concept of blood money. If a person has been killed or caused to
die by another, the latter has to pay blood money or compensation,
as follows:
- 100,000 riyals if the victim is
a Muslim man
- 50,000 riyals if a Muslim woman
- 50,000 riyals if a Christian man
- 25,000 riyals if a Christian
woman
- 6,666 riyals if a Hindu man
- 3,333 riyals if a Hindu woman
That is, a Muslim
man's life is worth 33 times that of a Hindu woman. This is
clearly the view of the Indian
'intelligentsia'
as well; for they have made 33,000 times as much noise over the
death of even a Muslim rioter in Gujarat as over the torching of a
Hindu pilgrim woman in Godhra.(source:
After
the carnage: the predatory 'intelligentsia' - By Rajeev
Srinivasan and The
value of a Hindu life - By Rajeev Srinivasan -
rediff.com).
***
Indians warned against carrying
scriptures to Saudi
Indians
travelling to Saudi Arabia have been warned not to carry religious
scriptures, photographs or idols.
An official statement issued here Wednesday said that religious
activities in private residences or undertaking missionary or
preaching activities are banned in Saudi Arabia and could invite
stringent punishment.
(source:
Indians
warned against carrying scriptures to Saudi -
yahoo.com).
***
Hindu
American Foundations Welcomes Censure of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
and Bangladesh in Annual Religious Freedom Report
The
Hindu American Foundation (HAF) expressed support
over portions of the annual report released by the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
last week. HAF particularly appreciated the attention the USCIRF
report brought to the atrocities suffered by Hindus and other
minorities in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
Bangladesh. The foundation plans to release a report next month
on the status of Hindu human rights in
Bangladesh, Pakistan and India's
State of Jammu and Kashmir for 2004 that will
elaborate this issue beyond the scope of the USCIRF report. HAF
previously issued a condemnation after Saudi religious police
destroyed a Hindu temple and deported worshippers.
(source: Saudi
Religious Police Destroy Makeshift Hindu Temple and Deport
Worshippers - hinduismtoday.com and Hindu
American Foundations Welcomes Censure of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
and Bangladesh in Annual Religious Freedom Report
Top
of Page
US
denies visa to Modi
America's Double Standards?
Gujarat
Chief Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the US for revoking his
visa, saying it amounted to an "INSULT" to India and
reflected Washington's effort to show this country in a
"poor light". Maintaining that "no court had
given any decision" against his government or himself on
the Gujarat riots issue, Modi said "the one-sided US
decision amounts to insult to India's Constitution and self
respect." Modi added, "no
country can impose its laws on citizens of another country while
granting visas. If an America citizen wants to come to India,
are we going to question what Americans did in Iraq and deny
them visa?"
He
asked why Washington had maintained friendly relations with
Pakistan despite it being clear that terrorism perpetuated by
that country was responsible for the ouster of the entire
minority Hindu
community from Kashmir.
"Tomorrow if the American army
chief wants to visit India, should we look at the US
track record in Iraq (Abu
Ghraib and Guantanamo
Bay) and deny him a
visa," he asked.
Modi spoke of his visits to countries like the UK,
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland where
no one objected.
A interviewer
also asked Kennedy as to why the entry of the King
of Saudi Arabia (It
regularly hosts Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi
regime, for instance
) and President
of Pakistan who are no less guilty of human
rights violation were free to enter US. Among
its best friends, it counts the Saudi regime that continues to
deny religious freedom to its people as a matter of course. The
US has memorably played hospitable host to, among others, the
armed conspirators of Khalistan.
Refer to Kargil
War.
The
response to the US State Department's decision to rescind
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's tourist/business visa and
deny him a diplomatic visa, thus effectively debarring him from
entering America whose doors were flung open to welcome Sinn
Fein's leader Gerry
Adams the previous week, is enlightening.
Christian and Muslim organisations based in America and
comprising Americans of Indian origin have been effusive in
welcoming the US State Department's patent discourtesy and
callous disregard towards India's sensitivities as a sovereign
nation.
'Coalition
Against Genocide,' floated
by Indian Americans to block Mr Modi from entering the USA, can
eat crow. So can United States Congressman Joe
Pitts who has been going around bandying astonishing
lies to defame Mr Modi.
Nor
would General Pervez Musharraf have been a welcome guest in
Washington if the US administration had taken its freedom of
religion report on Pakistan as seriously as it has taken the
bunkum about religious freedom in India. General
Musharraf is wholly responsible for the ethnic cleansing in the
Kashmir valley that has led to the destruction of the Kashmiri
Pandit community. The fact that
President Bush is in the process of writing Pakistan's military
ruler, whose khaki is stained with the blood of thousands of
Hindus, including at the Akshardham
temple, killed by Islamic
terrorists sponsored by him, a cheque for $630 million, is
comment enough on American duplicity.
(source:
Callous
US, guilty Bush – By Kanchan Gupta - rediff.com.
For more refer to Carnage
in Godhra, Gujarat
and
Images
Of Godhra Carnage).
For more refer to Lies
catch up with Arundhati Roy - outlookindia.com.Refer
to My
People, Uprooted: "A
Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal"
- By Tathagata Roy. Refer
to A
crime worse than Modi's - By Saisuresh Sivaswamy - rediff.com
and American
Christian Fundamentalist Leader Calls for Global War
- By Yoginder Sikand - christianaggression.org). Refer
to Paris
Burning - Riots in France and
Intifada
in France and Cars,
windows smashed in Sydney race riots
-
Australia. For
the Plight of Hindus refer
to Hindus
in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kashmir
- By Hindu American Foundation HAF

Akshardham
means the “Abode of God”. Akshardham temple was attacked by
Terrorists in 2002. Forty-four people, including men, women and
children, were killed and another 100 seriously injured
India's secular media have succeeded in besmirching India's image as a
secular country where, despite Akshardhams
and Coimbatores,
the minorities flourish and prosper....
Watch
History
of Ayodhya - videogoogle.com.
***
Modi's visa denial: Who did it?
- By B Raman
If
Modi is guilty of violation of human rights of religious
minorities, as alleged by the US, so were Narasimha
Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, D P Mishra, and
Kamaraj. Why did the US, in
its hypocrisy, choose to act against Modi, and never in the past
against the others? There are several reasons for this.
One
of them is that the Christian influence on US policy-making and
its political leadership was not as strong in the past as it is
today. Another is that no Indian, whether living in India or in
the US, would have ever thought of seeking the intervention of
the US to teach a lesson to another Indian whom they disliked
strongly.
Who were the people who ganged up
against Modi to humiliate him and teach him a lesson?
Sections of the so-called secularists
in India and the US, many of them Hindus, who cannot stand the
sight of any party which seeks to articulate the feelings of
Hindus and give them a sense of pride in their identity as
Hindus. These secularists vie with one another in visiting
Islamabad and getting themselves photographed with President
General Pervez Musharraf as a certificate of their secularism.
Has any one of them ever condemned Musharraf for his murder of
democracy or for the continuing massacre of Shias and Balochis
under his rule? Never. For them, Musharraf, or for that matter a
Muslim or a Christian can do no wrong. All the wrongs in this
part of the world are done only by the Hindus.
For the so-called secularists of India
and of Indian origin in the US, Christian or Muslim
fundamentalism is all right but Hindu assertiveness is a sin.
The
Christian fundamentalist organisations in the US played an
important role in ensuring the re-election of President Bush and
he owes them a political debt. They have made it appear that
their action in demanding that Modi be barred from entry into
the US was motivated by their outrage at the plight of Muslims
in Gujarat. The real reason is their anger at his alleged action
to prevent foreign Christian missionaries from indulging in
proselytisation.
(source:
Modi's
visa denial: Who did it?
- By B Raman - rediff.com). For
more refer to Carnage
in Godhra, Gujarat
and
Images
Of Godhra Carnage). For
more refer to Lies
catch up with Arundhati Roy - outlookindia.com. For more refer to chapter on Conversion. Refer
to A
crime worse than Modi's - By Saisuresh Sivaswamy - rediff.com.
For
the Plight of Hindus refer
to Hindus
in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kashmir
- By Hindu American Foundation HAF Refer
to Paris
Burning - Riots in France and
Intifada
in France and Cars,
windows smashed in Sydney race riots
-
Australia.
Indian Americans will rally in America
to reverse American Visa decision and bring Modi to USA
In a
stinging snub to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the
United States on Friday denied him a diplomatic visa and revoked
his tourist/business visa under a law that bars such a privilege
to anyone who carries out severe violations of religious
freedom. Modi was scheduled to address the Asian-American
Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) in Fort
Lauderade, Florida, a public meeting in New York and meet
business leaders.
But the
issue does not stop here. The influential Indian American lobby
will try their best to reverse the decision to bring Modi to
USA. While pressure to deny visa may
have come from Musharraf regime and silent support from Sonia
Gandhi regime, Indian Americans in US will try to
convince the US State Department, Dr. Rice and even President
Bush to reverse the decision immediately.
According to
media release, BJP was upset at the decision. The Bharatiya
Janata Party on Friday slammed the United States for
not allowing its chief minister in Gujarat Narendra Modi to
enter the country. The BJP said the action was
''''unwarranted'''' and had caused '''insult''' to the entire
nation. "We do not need lessons in
religious freedom from anyone in the world, including the
US," BJP Vice-President and party spokesman Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi said.
Another BJP leader said if religious intolerance
was the criteria, the US should ban the
entry of Chinese leaders.
But
apparently Sonia Gandhi and her Government were happy at the
decision.
US
treats India as pushover - By Swapan Dasgupta
The Modi affair sums up the
predicament of the entire Indian-American predicament.
Here is a community of more than a million that equals the per
capita income of American Jews but which lacks any significant
political influence. This is not because the community does not
want to get involved but because it lacks articulate voices.
Those Indian-Americans like Bobby Jindal who have made a mark
have done so as individuals, not as representatives of a vibrant
ethnic group. Yet others, mainly
academics, mirror the ant-Hindu self-flagellation of India's own
secularists. Consequently,
confronted by pressure from influential Christian evangelists
who have been made unwelcome in Gujarat, the US political
establishment made Modi the fall guy.
The US hasn't insulted Modi. It has
signaled that Indians are a pushover.
(source:
US
treats India as pushover - By Swapan Dasgupta - sify.com).
For
more refer to Carnage
in Godhra, Gujarat
and
Images
Of Godhra Carnage). For
more refer to Lies
catch up with Arundhati Roy - outlookindia.com. For more refer to chapter on Conversion.
Refer
to Christian
Supremacy: Pushing the Dhimmitude of Non-Christians in America
.

Consequently,
confronted by pressure from influential Christian evangelists
who have been made unwelcome in Gujarat, the US political
establishment made Modi the fall guy.
***
The Full capacity at the Madison Square Gardens
was 5600. Despite the last minute confusion 5000 showed up. This
5000 included Hindus and Sikhs and Jains from all parts of India
This was a pan-Hindu event rather than a Gujarati Event.
As against the 5000 Hindu attendees,
there were 50 Commies and Islamists with protest banners
outside. Local Indian news
media was present, but probably they will put a negative spin on
it.
Based on the American Express withdrawal, many members of AAHOA
decided to cancel American Express and have a public card
cutting at Madison Square Gardens When American Express heard
this, they swiftly apologized abjectly. Overall the meeting went
off excellently with an overall Hindu ethos
March 20, 2005 will be
written in golden letters in the annals of Indian Americans
living in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and
Connecticut. On this day braving the rough weather, a sea of
humanity thronged at Madison Square Garden Theatre right in the
middle of New York City to listen to their beloved leader
Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat in India. Narendra Modi
spoke via satellite to a jubilant crowd consisting of more than
5,000 strong people, and answered their questions.
US
Congressman Frank Pallone got a spontaneous
uproarious applause from the audience when he said, “It
was a big mistake on the part of US to deny a visa to a
constitutionally and democratically elected Chief Minister.”
Dr. Mahesh Mehta, the Founder/Chairman of Vishwa Hindu Parishad
of America, lashing out at the anti-Hindu forces, emphasized
that it was incumbent upon us to identify the anti-India
elements and their sympathizers who have unleashed the hateful
campaign of vilification and denigration against peace loving
Hindu people, and expose their nefarious designs.
Dr. Mukund Mody, the Founder of the Overseas Friends of BJP
said, “The denial of visa was based on wild accusations and
distortions by those who indulged in a smear campaign against
the Indian leader.” He further stated
that The State Department had violated a fundamental principle
of the American justice “innocent until proven guilty.”
“India has not produced the slave-drivers but Lord Buddha.”
“India has not produced Hiroshama nuclear bombers but produced
Mahatma Gandhi, declared Dr. Mody.
(source:
Full
capacity at the Madison Square Garden - saag.org and
Narendra
Modi, A Man with Capital “M” - By Narain
Kataria - indiacause.com).
US
want religious freedom (freedom to convert), so denied visa to
Modi?
Christian and Muslim Organizations campaign
A
month-long campaign by Muslim and Christian organisations in the
US against Narendra Modi’s visit forms the backdrop to
today’s decision by the Bush administration to deny the
Gujarat chief minister a visa.
The
Council
on American-Islamic Relations has spearheaded
sustained lobbying of the US government and Congress members to
prevent Modi from visiting the country to attend a conference of
hotel owners of India origin, most of whom are Gujaratis.
Separately, but adding substantial religious-political muscle,
the Federation
of Indian-American Christian Organisations of North America has
been running an anti-Modi campaign. The
real reason is their anger at his alleged action to prevent
foreign Christian missionaries from indulging in proselytisation.
For
more refer to Carnage
in Godhra, Gujarat
and
Images
Of Godhra Carnage). For
more refer to Lies
catch up with Arundhati Roy - outlookindia.com. For more refer to chapter on Conversion. Refer
to Quotes
from The American Taliban. Refer
to A
crime worse than Modi's - By Saisuresh Sivaswamy - rediff.com.
For
the Plight of Hindus refer
to Hindus
in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Kashmir
- By Hindu American Foundation HAF.
Refer to Paris
Burning - Riots in France and
Intifada
in France and Cars,
windows smashed in Sydney race riots
- Australia. Refer
to My
People, Uprooted: "A
Saga of the Hindus of Eastern Bengal"
- By Tathagata Roy
***
Tendentious
reporting on
Gujarat
Editor,
Washington
Post.
Dear
Editors,
The
Report on
Gujarat
you published is seriously
unbalanced. There is an
eager acceptance of the thoroughly politicised explanation that
the Sabarmati train fire, sending
forty women and children to a horrible death and prompting
the Godhra riots, was an accident. Many who exult in this
improbable account also insist that President Bush engineered 9/11
to justify the invasion of
Iraq
. The violence that followed it stands condemned and the
State authorities must always bear moral responsibility for
such events on their watch. However, it was scattered across the
state of
Gujarat
and the army was summoned immediately, contrary to some malicious
accusations.
Criminal
responsibility has not yet been attributed to the Chief Minister
and smears to impute it are premature. The particular smear, for
the umpteenth time about the Nazi
sympathies of the RSS to
which Mr. Modi is affiliated, is a canard that is repeated
unfailingly to deliver a supposed coup de grâce. Let me
remind you that the particular unfortunate statement in question,
formally repudiated subsequently, served up to smear
was made before
Kristallnacht in November1938 and long before Hitler become
the murderous monster for which he is universally reviled.
At
the time, his Nazi party had countless sympathisers in Europe,
perceiving in him
Europe
's saviour from the perversions of Bolshevism. They included much
of the British Conservative Party,
among them Neville Chamberlain and
Lord Halifax.
The
RSS may deserve ignominy for all sorts of reasons, but not for
anti-Semitism because of one solitary statement approving what one
leader misguidedly regarded as German patriotism. And it remains
Israel
's staunchest supporter in
India
unlike the fiercely anti-Western and anti-Israeli commentators
whose account of alleged Hindu extremism your correspondent has
uncritically espoused.
Yours
truly, Dr. Gautam Sen -
Indo-Jewish Association (
UK
)
(source:
Tendentious
reporting on
Gujarat).
***
China Tightens the
Screws on Religion
Now, will the USA government deny visa to the senior Chinese
leadership?
In its Jan. 18 analysis of the new law, the
Norway-based rights group F18 observed that the regulations
maintain the requirement that Chinese religious organizations
should function independent of "foreign forces." This
places severe strains on Catholics in China, since it means
"they must either sever all ties with the Vatican or seek
papal recognition privately," F18 noted.
Recent events show the government's determination
to keep a firm control over religious activities. Amnesty
International also noted that Beijing was continuing
its hard-line policy against believers. AI commented that the
official China Daily had referred to the new law as "a
significant step forward in the protection of Chinese citizens'
religious freedoms." Action against these unofficial
churches has been common. The AI press release noted that in
July 2003 more than a dozen house churches were reportedly
destroyed and at least 300 Christians arrested, some ill-treated
and beaten. Moreover, "the new regulations do nothing to
reduce the restrictions on underground churches or the
persecution that accompany them," AI said. Religious
tolerance in China remains elusive.
China
broke ties with the Vatican in 1951 and demands
Catholics worship only in churches approved by the official
China Patriotic Catholic Association. The
official church claims 4 million believers but an equal number
worship in an underground church loyal to the Vatican and
relentlessly persecuted.
(source: China
Tightens the Screws on Religion - zenit.org). For
more refer to chapter on Conversion.
Top
of Page
Page < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 >
|