Hinduism's Conquest of the West

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

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Last month I was in Banares. We were cruising along the Ganga river in a huge boat on the Kartik Purnima night. We were singing Kirtans and reciting slokas. We passed by many boats full of pilgrims/tourists. Whenever we passed by a boat full of Western pilgrims, we greeted each other with full throated shouts of "Har Har Mahadev." Of course our group also consisted of mostly people form the west.

I was looking at my friend sitting near me. An 18 year old beautiful girl from U.S wearing ocher saree who spent most of her time in participating in our common Yagyas or doing Puja on her own in the ghats.She knew more about Pujas and Mantras than the average Hindu Brahmin. The religious fervor shown by her and all my friends (the temples reverberated with our chanting of Mantras and Slokas) from the west especially U.S showed me to what extent Hinduism has conquered the West. I am not talking about the Hare Krishna (ISKCON) people. They are only a small part of the phenomena.

In my next few postings I intend to trace the history of the spread of Hinduism in the West in the past, recent developments, and last the reaction of the Hindus both in the west and India to these developments.

First by Hinduism I mean the entire gamut of Hindu thoughts ranging from Advaita Vedanta, Yoga, Meditation, Tantra et.al. Some Hindus may not accept some of these as Hinduism, but for a Christian even the thought of these ideas means straying from the accepted Christian beliefs.

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

I always think that the philosophical teachings of our religion pertaining to Ashrama Dharma are extremely suited for the modern times where democracy and the resulting individualism are in vogue and form the basis for our modern civilization.

Western religions do not have a very effective way for an individual caught up in the whirlwind of fast changes occurring around them to deal with life adequately. More importantly, these religions have killed of the 'magic' element from their religions, which like in our religion still shows us to be a part of Jagat, not as masters. This is why I believe over time, religions such as Islam which do not cater to the myriads of individualistic variations will start to decline.

I am not talking about the religious validity of these religions. I am talking about their societal support roles and rigidity.

Regards,
KRS

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Yes. KRS. Hinduism has a lot of advantages. The main ones are

1. Lack of central authority. Hindus do what pleases them. No one can censure you. Everyone has his/her own interpretations.

2. No definition of what actually constitutes Hinduism. I am one of those people who believe that even the Supreme Court judgment which is often quoted is very narrow in its definition.

3. We go to the extent that we do not even have a name. Sanatana Dharma, Hinduism, Yoga with its various flavors Like Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Kriya Yoga, Sahaja Yoga and so on, then the Tantras, Kashmiri Shaivism, Shaiva Siddhanta, Nath Sampradaya and so on. Many of them even swear that they are not Hindus. Some claim it is not even a religion. But a way of life. Extremely flexible. Means all things to all people.

This is a weakness as well as a major strength.

It has evolved over thousands of years and is still evolving. Change is the essence of Hinduism.

4. Acceptance of all religions as valid paths. As someone put it "it is very difficult to argue with a Hindu. He accepts all that you say." Of course this is not applicable to Hare Krishna people who do not even accept other Hindus. Fortunately they are exceptions rather than the rule.

5. Basically it does not believe in proselytizing. Does not encourage Conversion. You could be a Hindu without any formal conversion and without breaking the ties with your existing religion. Of course some people do not agree. Then some people may not agree to my classifying many of the above as part of Hinduism.

 

[s007bala]

Sanathana Dharma

Dear Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji,

Why, if they are all created, why does a just and merciful God create one happy and another unhappy, why is He so partial? Nor would it mend matters in the least to hold that those who are miserable in this life will be happy in a future one. Why should a human be miserable even here in the reign of a just and merciful God?

Is it,Because God is not the doer of our happiness or sorrow,which is only a state of mind.
God is not someone outside of us.
Our own self is god.
You are god.
You are divine.
You are part of the whole you come from.
You become the whole finally.

Pursuit of happiness and the the fulfillment of happiness,occurs from good deeds done during your life time.When the body dies,sometimes due to good deeds done,in the past,enables one to be born with all happiness.
When bad karma is done,like harming someones mind,heart,body,they come back to haunt you.Sometimes Paramaguru absorb such karmas,and make you a free spirit.

The Sanathana Dharma religion does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but in realising - not in believing, but in being and becoming.

Brahman is the god residing in you and to realise Brahman within and outside of you,gives you mukti.

I remember, as a boy, hearing a Christian missionary preach to a crowd gathered in Orissa,India. Among other sweet things he was telling them was that if he gave a blow to their idol with his stick and broke the idol, what could the idol do? One of hindu hearers sharply answered, If I abuse your God, what can He do?..You would be punished, said the preacher, when you die. So my idol will punish you when you die, retorted the Hindu.

Today in India,still, Christians,Islamic preachers proselytise and take vicarious pleasure in converting hindus to christians,Islam-despite the truth being,that Judaism,Christanity,Islam stem from Lord Brahmaa and Goddess Saraswathi ( Creator Aspects of Trinity in Sanathana Dharma )( Abraham & Sara).The reason for adopting Brahmaa(Abraham) as originator,is because,Hindus do not worship Brahmaa like how they do towards Shiva and Vishnu.If in India,the hindus start to have at least one temple for Brahmaa,in every state as well as Union territories,then automatically over a period of time,the Christians,Islam,Judaism influence to convert,will be eliminated in its
totality,IMHO.The same way,if in the USA Brahmaa Temples sprung up,automatically Abrahamic faiths ( Judaism,Christians,Islam) will get protected,IMHO.
sb

 

[happyhindu]

Today in India,still, Christians,Islamic preachers proselytise and take vicarious pleasure in converting hindus to christians,Islam-despite the truth being,that Judaism,Christanity,Islam stem from Lord Brahmaa and Goddess Saraswathi ( Creator Aspects of Trinity in Sanathana Dharma )( Abraham & Sara).The reason for adopting Brahmaa(Abraham) as originator,is because,Hindus do not worship Brahmaa like how they do towards Shiva and Vishnu.If in India,the hindus start to have at least one temple for Brahmaa,in every state as well as Union territories,then automatically over a period of time,the Christians,Islam,Judaism influence to convert,will be eliminated in its
totality,IMHO.The same way,if in the USA Brahmaa Temples sprung up,automatically Abrahamic faiths ( Judaism,Christians,Islam) will get protected,IMHO.
sb

Dear S Bala-ji,

Reg the above post, no its not true that the Jewish faith, Christianity and Islam stemmed from Brahma-Saraswati. Neither is Abraham considered the 'originator'. Request you to read some texts of these 3 religions from sacredtexts.com. Neither will temples for Brahma eliminate conversions by Christians and Muslims, both of whom have a myriad reasons for doing what they do - it wud be really naive to assume temples for brahma will help reduce conversions

Regards.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda

The first serious attempt at explaining Hinduism to the west was done by Swami
Vivekananda who went to U.S. as a delegate for the 1893 Parliament of World
religions. Of course we all know about him and his works. But then what Swamiji
did was to establish an organization modeled on the Catholic Mission to spread
Vedanta. Today Ramakrishna Mission is the biggest Hindu mission in the world.
What helped the mission in the early days was the work of the early disciples of
Sri Ramakrishna who ranged from pure Bhaktas, Vedantists, service minded people
and Tantriks. This variety of disciples of Sri Ramakrishna covered almost
the entire gamut of Hinduism. This together with the organizational abilities of
some of the disciples helped the Ramakrishna Mission in its growth. Again
Swamiji himself had explored the various aspects of Hinduism. Though portrayed
as a Vedantist, he was also a Kali and Shiva Bhaktha who wrote poems on Maa
Kali and Shiva. He went on pilgrimage to Amarnath in the traditional attire of
the Saivaite Monk (clad only in Vibhuti). Then he did Kanya Puja to a Muslim girl
in Kashmir. I will come back later to explain how the different aspects of the
Ramakrishna mission helped the growth of traditional Hinduism in addition to
Vedanta.

The next big Acharya to go to the U.S was Paramahansa Yogananda of the
autobiography of a Yogi fame. He founded the Self-Realization Fellowship. His
particular school of yoga is called Kriya Yoga. Some of his disciples formed
organizations of their own like Ananda, near Nevada City, California, Song of
the Morning Retreat Center, near Vanderbilt, Michigan, The Center for Spiritual
Awareness, located in Lakemont, Georgia and others. SRF also sponsored the
visits of many Acharyas from India like Jagadguru Swami Sri Bharati Krishna
Tirtha The Sankaracharya of Govardhan math, Puri. Bharati Krishna Tirtha was
earlier the Sankaracharya of Dwaraka math. What many people do not know is that
Swami Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtha was in his purvashrama Venkatraman Iyer from
Thirunelveli. He is the discoverer of Vedic mathematics. He took part in the
freedom movement also and went to jail for that. He refused to bow before the
Judge saying he will bow only before God. Please read about this great Tamil
Brahmin whom very few Tamil Brahmins have heard of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagadguru_Swami_Sri_Bharati_Krishna_Tirthaji_Maharaja

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_mathematics

If Vedanta was introduced to the West by Swami Vivekananda it was Paramahansa
Yogananda who brought Yoga to the west.

Again Swami Sivananda played a major role in introducing Hatha yoga to the west.
His books on yoga became very popular. He has written more than 200 books in
English on Hinduism. His disciple Swami Vishnudevananda settled down in Canada
and established a number of centers all over North America. He was called the
Flying Swami. His other disciples also established centers all over the world.

=To be continued=

 

[s007bala]

shri hh and shri seshadri

http://www.viewzone.com/abraham2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham

Occupation of Lord Abraham is Patriarch in Judaism and Christianity; Prophet in Islam.
Born :2000 BC-1500 BC:Ur, Babylonia
Died:2000 BC-1500 BC:Machpelah, Canaan.

From the above details,its possible,that,the rejected Lord B R A H M A A ( Lord A B R A H A M ) by Sanathana Dharma,could have re-incarnated again,as explained by Lord Krishna to Shri Arjuna,

Chapter 4. Transcendental Knowledge

TEXT 7

yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham

SYNONYMS

yada--whenever; yada--wherever; hi--certainly; dharmasya--of
religion; glanih--discrepancies; bhavati--manifested, becomes;
bharata--O descendant of Bharata; abhyutthanam--predominance;
adharmasya--of irreligion; tada--at that time; atmanam--self;
srjami--manifest; aham--I.

TRANSLATION

Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O
descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that
time I descend Myself.

Chapter 4. Transcendental Knowledge

TEXT 8

paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge

SYNONYMS

paritranaya--for the deliverance; sadhunam--of the devotees;
vinasaya--for the annihilation; ca--also; duskrtam--of the miscreants;
dharma--principles of religion; samsthapana-arthaya--to reestablish;
sambhavami--I do appear; yuge--millennium; yuge--after millennium.

TRANSLATION

In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as
well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself
millennium after millennium.

When Lord Krishna says to Shri Arjuna,that i descend myself from time to time,he actually means he will re-incarnate again and again to protect dharma.Just as we die,then as per our Karma,we get a new body,to continue with another life form & identity.In majority of the cases,when we die,and when we take a new body,we do not remember our past lives at all.But our past lives memories,act as embedded gunas or embedded personalities.Even though,society shapes personalities,but in a society,all of us are independent personalities with independent thinking.......etc.

As per Puranas & Ithihasas,Lord Brahmaa,is supposed to have lied to Lord Shiva,when there was a contest between Lord Brahmaa & Lord Vishnu.Lord Brahmaa lied to Lord Shiva,that he has seen the begginning of the origin of light column,of Lord Shiva's effulgence.Whereas Lord Vishnu,who was asked to look for the end of the light column of Lord Shiva,told the truth to Lord Shiva,that he could not find the end of the light column.

The significance of this real-story is,creation of life itself,as we now are in Bhu-Loka ( Earth ).As per my theory,the earth was ejected from Sun.When the Sun erupted,our earth was a sphere of ball of fire.That is why even today our earth has magma,lava...etc at the core of our earth.Due to meteorites bombarding on earth,many layers started covering this molten ball of fire,and formed,the crust of the earth's surface.Today we have air,water,earth,fire,ether or the Pancha Bhoothas,known as Vayu,Jalam,Prithvi,Agni,Akaasha.These are our building blocks for our creation itself,now known in humanity.

As per Dasa Avataram or Ten Incarnations of the Lord Vishnu ( the sustainer aspect of trinity of, Lord Vishnu & Goddess Maha-Lakshmi,the desyroyer aspect of trinity Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathi,the creator aspect of trinity Lord Brahmaa & Goddess Maha-Saraswathi):

(1) The Matsya Avataram - The Great Big Whale ( or fish)

Life started only in Water,as per Lord's wish.

(2) The Koorma Avataram - The Great Big Tortoise ( sometimes the earth is assumed to be the shell of Tortoise)

Life started in Water as well as in Land.

(3) The Varaha Avataram - The Great Boar ( saved the world from submerging in water with his huge teeth)

Life started in Land,as animals.

(4) The Narasimha Avataram - The half man-half lion head

Life started in land,with half animal half human species.

(5) The Vamana Avataram - The Young Mighty Ones

Life started as humans.

(6) The Parashu-Rama Avataram - The Axe wielding Lord

Life to protect humans using weapons against Adharmic forces.

(7) The Rama Avataram - The Royal Incarnation

Life to live as humans,- a typical role model for humanity.

(8) The Krishna Avataram - Royal as well as Sampoorna Incarnation

Life to live as humans,- to come back to godhead.Spirit souls join the source of all.

(9) The Brahmaa or The Lord Abraham Avataram - Admixture of Dharma's.

Life as humans,- Love ,Compassion,Truth,Non-Violence.

(10) The Kalki Avataram - Middle/Poor Family Birth to prominence

Life as humans.,- Truth,Right Conduct,Peace,Love,Non-Violence.

The above ten are Yuga Yuga Avatarams.In between minor avatarams occur after Lord Brahmaa or Lord Abraham Avataram as - Moses,Jesus Christ,Mohammad,Shirdi Sai Baba,Sathya Sai Baba,Prema Sai Baba,Mahaswamigal,Amma......................etc a long line of small divine incarnations to guide humanity as Guru's or Sathgurus or Prophets.Now humanity is in the clutches of Christanity,Islam,Hinduism,Judaism...............etc broadly classified as Sanathana Dharma.

This is my own interpretation of Sanathana Dharma,as i perceive it.It's not my intention to proselytise or create a new religion or a New Age Way.In my Sanathana Dharma concept (Eternal - Sanathana ; Dharma - Righteous Conduct ) all religions come under it like Hinduism,Christanity,Islam,Judaism,Sikhism,Jainism,Buddhism,Zoroastrianism,.............etc.

Bharatham aka India,had its borders,much extended than what it is now shown in maps.All the religions known to humanity was born in Bharatham aka India only.Therefore wherever religions have been originated,its safe to assume,its Punya Bhoomi or Sacred Land with Punya Manushya or Sacred Humanity.

Therefore Nazareth,Mecca,Medina,Jerusalem,Iran,Iraq.......etc are all Bharatham Lands with Bharathians living there aka Indians.Due to ego,constant infighting,natural disasters....etc these lands have become Independent countries today.But this is the truth in my honest opinion.



sb

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Dear Sri s007bala,

Since your postings have no relevance to the article that I am writing could you please start a new thread and post there.

Thank you.

 

[Seshadri Subramaniam]

Shri Nacchi, just a small interlude, Swami Vivekananda's ideas seem to focus on the control of the "Prana"... as is evident from his book "Raja Yoga"... (where he deals with the psychic prana and patanjali's yoga aphorisms)

I have heard that he could just casually sift through a book quickly, but would remember every line in that... also, he could read through the minds of others.... so much so that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa put a mental lock on his mind...!!!

Any authenticity on this? Could you possibly shed any light on this...

 

[s007bala]

Sanathana Dharma

Dear Sri s007bala,

Since your postings have no relevance to the article that I am writing could you please start a new thread and post there.

Thank you.

Shri Nacchinarkiniyan,

You are writing about Hinduism,as branded by Islamic Terrorists for 800 years in Bharatham ( Mughals ) and subsequently branded by Christian Terrorists for 200 years as Hindus & Hinduism ( British Christians East India Company ),which is actually Sanathana Dharma in its original format.

The Native Americans aka Red Indians,who are the original inhabitants of USA,practiced Sanathana Dharma only,untill invaded by Christian terrorists ( British Christians ).Finally broke away from Britishers and became independent july 4,1776,as USA.

You are saying Swami Vivekananda was the original one to come to Chicago and preach,as branded as Hinduism.On the contrary Sanathana Dharma existed in these land USA ( Native American Tribes ),Mexico (Mayans )...etc even much earlier than him.Swami Vivekananda verbalised Sanathana Dharma in a manner,which was appealing to western conceptualised patterns of organised religion only.Its incorrect on your part,to suggest,whatever you are trying to suggest is my honest opinion.Plz do not mis-understand me.

Thanks for your suggestion for starting a new thread,let me think it over.



sb

 

[KRS]

Dear Sri s007bala Ji,

If you call the Mogul invasion and the British take over of India as 'terrorism' then any past actions of invasion by anyone, anywhere can be called 'terrorism'.

Miriam-webster defines terrorism as follows:
"the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion"

Terror is defined as follows:
"violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands"

One has to remember that during several Mogul emperors' rule in India (not all of Bharath either), the country as well as Hinduism flourished.

Same with the English rule. Our current 'spiritual' Hinduism came in to being, with Sufism based on Hinduism's principles of Bhakthi penetrating Islam and the revival of the Bhakthi worship and the redefinition of Hinduism for service to the unfortunate fellow Hindus as an answer to the British trying to propagate Christianity (their brand).

Let us be careful in calling everyone else a terrorist. You would surely agree that this word should not be thrown around carelessly.

One can not judge the world History by today's civilizational norms. Conquering other nations, getting tax money from the conquered were all the norms everywhere, including India. We all know that there were several mega rajyams within India, and they did not just came in to being peacefully. Would one call those 'terrorist' regimes?

Your thesis that Sanatana Dharma was in other countries till Islam and Christianity destryed those native practices, while though interesting, bears no relationship whatsoever with what Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji is trying to convey under this topic. What do we hope to acheive by saying today that once all over the globe only Sanatana Dharma existed?

If you do not mind, I would request you as Sri Nacchinarkinyan Ji did above to open a seperate thread and follow the topic of your interest.

Regards,
KRS

 

[s007bala]

Terror

Dear Sri s007bala Ji,

If you call the Mogul invasion and the British take over of India as 'terrorism' then any past actions of invasion by anyone, anywhere can be called 'terrorism'.

Miriam-webster defines terrorism as follows:
"the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion"

Terror is defined as follows:
"violent or destructive acts (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands"

One has to remember that during several Mogul emperors' rule in India (not all of Bharath either), the country as well as Hinduism flourished.

Same with the English rule. Our current 'spiritual' Hinduism came in to being, with Sufism based on Hinduism's principles of Bhakthi penetrating Islam and the revival of the Bhakthi worship and the redefinition of Hinduism for service to the unfortunate fellow Hindus as an answer to the British trying to propagate Christianity (their brand).

Let us be careful in calling everyone else a terrorist. You would surely agree that this word should not be thrown around carelessly.

One can not judge the world History by today's civilizational norms. Conquering other nations, getting tax money from the conquered were all the norms everywhere, including India. We all know that there were several mega rajyams within India, and they did not just came in to being peacefully. Would one call those 'terrorist' regimes?

Your thesis that Sanatana Dharma was in other countries till Islam and Christianity destryed those native practices, while though interesting, bears no relationship whatsoever with what Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji is trying to convey under this topic. What do we hope to acheive by saying today that once all over the globe only Sanatana Dharma existed?

If you do not mind, I would request you as Sri Nacchinarkinyan Ji did above to open a seperate thread and follow the topic of your interest.

Regards,
KRS

Allow me to answere you ,( as i am still thinking about the suggestion of new thread as per Shri Nacchinarkiniyan ) finally you have got around to conclude that Bharathians did influence people living in other parts of the globe thru Sanathana Dharma,and the Kings were titled Chakravarthis unlike smaller tracts of lands controlled were known as Maha Rajas.

What i hope to acheive by saying that once all over the globe only Sanathana Dharma existed,and it was the Dharma which we exported and continue to export,as Shri Nacchinarkiniyan is trying to explain,in this very post.

Even recently,the President of China or some high ranking dignitary like him,exclaimed,Bharathians aka Indians ,without conquering thru bloodshed,loss of lives,...taxation ..etc by sheerly thru their Dharma captivated the Chinese Civilisation.While it reflects the richness of Chinese culture to acknowledge what Bharathians aka Indians had done eons of years back,not all cultures of people from present day Israel,Mecca & Medina,Jerusalem,Nazareth,Iran,Iraq.....etc are acknowledging.Indian messengers were invited by various Kingdoms in Egypt,Jerusalem,Mecca,Medina.....etc

So,i am sort of amused,when people,project,that Sanathana Dharma was explained by Swami Vivekananda first time in Chicago- i thought it's my duty,to point this huge perception thats existing,and everybody tom tomming it,becoz its politically correct,under the present circumstances of geo-political power sharing in the world.

http://www.viewzone.com/phoenician.html

Gene Matlock,has already alluded to this perception,and its my fond hope,that learned forum members like you & Shri Nacchinarkiniyan & others of such pre-eminent personalities,say so and write so.

The bottomline,present day forefathers/foremothers of India are the roots of Dharma getting propagated in the entire world,IMHO.

Maybe in their over zealousness,there is a backlash,to prevent present living Indians and future living Indians and people of Indian origin living in various countries,to circumscribe to this fundamental truth.

The Abrahamic faith is no different from the roots,that they originally incarnate from,that is,Sanathana Dharma aka Hinduism popularly.As recent as 61 years back Bharathams aka Indias map itself was altered by British White Christian folks.I call this terrorist act and still terrorism continues on account of such disturbing division in the Indian sub-continent.Pakistanis are nothing but Indian Sanathana Dharma adherents aka Hindus.Who took to Islam becoz of forcible compulsion,and now are undergoing the famous Stockholm Syndrome.In 1971,when Bangla Desh was formed as a country,the premise on which undivided Bharatham got divided was negated,IMHO.



sb

P.S.I agree with you,that i am branding Mughals as Islamic Terrorists and branding British East India Company Christians as Christians Terrorists.I expressed my honest opinion,even though its politically incorrect to be so open about it.Sorry if i have hurt your feelings and people like you.

 

[happyhindu]

shri hh and shri seshadri

http://www.viewzone.com/abraham2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham

Occupation of Lord Abraham is Patriarch in Judaism and Christianity; Prophet in Islam.
Born :2000 BC-1500 BC:Ur, Babylonia
Died:2000 BC-1500 BC:Machpelah, Canaan.

From the above details,its possible,that,the rejected Lord B R A H M A A ( Lord A B R A H A M ) by Sanathana Dharma,could have re-incarnated again,as explained by Lord Krishna to Shri Arjuna,

Dear S Bala-ji,

Am not sure i understood what you were trying to convey with your above post at all. Speculation, of the completely blown-up kind, does no good while trying to draw parallels from various religions.

Regards.

 

[s007bala]

Root

Dear S Bala-ji,

Am not sure i understood what you were trying to convey with your above post at all. Speculation, of the completely blown-up kind, does no good while trying to draw parallels from various religions.

Regards.

Shri HH,

All i am concluding with my opinion is,Sanathana Dharma which has got branded as Hinduism,is the root of Judaism,Christanity,Islam too.Unless i am able to communicate this fundamental truth to people at large,otherwise only chaos will prevail,IMHO. As Linda Goodman wrote,maybe i am 40 years ahead of my time,and people will find my ideas too radical to implement.But then i need to keep on trying untill i succeed.

sb

P.S. Bhagavath Gita,Vedas,Upanishads,Brahma Sutras...etc don't even mention Hindu nor Hinduism!!

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

The basic idea of my article is Universal brotherhood. This clashes with the postings of s007bala.

There are more postings about that. The thread has been hijacked. I will post a new thread wherein I will copy my postings here.

 

[s007bala]

oops

The basic idea of my article is Universal brotherhood. This clashes with the postings of s007bala.

There are more postings about that. The thread has been hijacked. I will post a new thread wherein I will copy my postings here.

Shri Nacchinarkiniyan,

I apologise for your decision.I will not post further in this thread,as respect to you.

sb

 

[happyhindu]

Dear S Bala-ji,

Please do not mind my saying this. Your posts do come across without any connection to the topic being discussed, vague, and not making any sense really.

Regards.

 

[KRS]

Dear sri s007bala Ji,

You state:

Allow me to answere you ,( as i am still thinking about the suggestion of new thread as per Shri Nacchinarkiniyan ) finally you have got around to conclude that Bharathians did influence people living in other parts of the globe thru Sanathana Dharma,and the Kings were titled Chakravarthis unlike smaller tracts of lands controlled were known as Maha Rajas.

What i hope to acheive by saying that once all over the globe only Sanathana Dharma existed,and it was the Dharma which we exported and continue to export,as Shri Nacchinarkiniyan is trying to explain,in this very post.

I sir, never got around to conclude as you say that Sanatana Dharma existed all around the globe. What you are stating is a hypothesis and I suspect that it can not be difinitively proven.

Sri Nacchinarkiniyan Ji's topic here is about the spreading of Hinduism in the west in MODERN TIMES. Your hypothesis, again let me repeat, has no relevance to his topic.

When the originator of the thread has requested you to not to continue in this vein and if you do not comply with his request as you have done here, then the next step would be to ask the admins to take action.

By the way, I am not at all bothered if you are politically incorrect or otherwise and insist on calling all and sundry 'terrorists'. If you want to persist go ahead. But, unfortunately folks who read the postings will surely take this behaviour in to account when they judge your postings on their merits.

Regards,
KRS

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Shri Nacchinarkiniyan,

I apologise for your decision.I will not post further in this thread,as respect to you.

sb

Thank you. Please start another thread and copy your posts and the replies to that. I have done this in the past. This will enable you to continue the discussions.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

Emerson and Thoreau

Before I proceed further, I would like to point of certain factors which were responsible for the spread of Hinduism in the U.S.

Two great American Philosophers were deeply influenced by Hindu thoughts. Emerson and Thoreau.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was the first American to pioneer the serious exploration of Indian philosophy, and as his own thinking grew over time, Indian philosophy profoundly influenced the course of that growth.

He with Thoreau founded Transcendentalism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendentalism

The scriptures of India shaped the maturing Transcendentalism of this great American thinker.

Emerson went back to Harvard years later to make a major address to the Harvard community, in which he publicly resigned as a Christian minister and preacher, explaining how his new philosophy (based on Hinduism) made it impossible for him to continue to preach Christianity. For making this speech, Emerson was denounced by Harvard. A decision was made to block him from ever being allowed to come to Harvard. This ex-communication from a supposedly liberal champion of intellectual freedom lasted till he died.

Thoreau

Thoreau seems to have been introduced to Hinduism by his friend Emerson.

Thoreau went into seclusion for quite a long time. He called it the retreat. The retreat, however, was a very natural gesture on the part of a man who was temperamentally an ascetic, particularly one so imbued with Orientalism. He was at all times conscious of an affinity between his own conduct and that of a yogi. There is a self-revealing passage in his Journal:

"One may discover the root of a Hindoo religion in his own private history, when, in the silent intervals of the day or night, he does some times inflict on himself like austerities with a stern satisfaction."

"Free in this world as the birds in the air, disengaged from every kind of chains, those who practice the yoga gather in Brahma the certain fruit of their works. ... Depend upon it that, rude and careless as I am, I would fain practice the yoga faithfully. ... The yogi, absorbed in Contemplation, contributes in his degree to creation; he breathes a divine perfume, he hears wonderful things. Divine forms traverse him without tearing him, and, united to the nature which is proper to him, he goes, he acts as animating Original matter. ... To some extent, and at rare intervals, even I am a yogi."

--Thoreau's letter to H. G. 0. Blake in 1849

"What extracts from The Vedas I have read fall on me like light of a higher and purer luminary, which describes a loftier course through a purer stratum - free from particulars, simple, universal. It rises on me like the full moon after the stars have come out, wading through some far summer stratum of the sky."-- Journal II, 4.

"The Vedas contain a sensible account of GOD". "One wise sentence (from The Vedas ) is worth the state of Massachusetts many times over."

Thoreau's last words were "Now comes good sailing", followed by two lone words, "moose" and "Indian". He died on May 6, 1862 at age 44.

Mahatma Gandhi was influenced by the writing of Emerson and Thoreau. The idea of Sathyagraha rose from Thoreau's essay "Civil Disobedience".

T. S. Eliot's major works, including the poems, "The Wasteland" and "The Four Quartets" were profoundly influenced by Upanishadic thoughts, Gita, etc. In fact, large passages are almost direct translations from Indic sources.

Boston Brahmins was a term coined by one of the journalists though it's origin is not really known. Boston Brahmins, also called the First Families of Boston and cold roast Boston, are the class of New Englanders who claim hereditary and cultural descent from the English Protestants who founded the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and settled New England. This is during this period that someone called the Brahmins "The Intellectual Aristrocacy". I am not able to recollect where. If the Brahmins were considered only a priestly class, the term Boston Brahmin would have not come about. The term "The Intellectual Aristrocacy" has since been used to denote Jews and other groups.

As Sorokin put it
Brahmins are the world's poorest aristocracy.

An aside: When the English landed in India the Brahmins had been reduced to the level of priests of temples and Purohits. The days of Yagnavalkya, Parasara, Vashishta and other great Rishis was in the long past. No wonder they called us a priestly class. Of course the term stuck. Brahmins are not the priestly class like the priests of Egypt. We wrote the scriptures and the laws which all the Kings had to follow.

BTW Maharshi Mehesh Yogi called his Meditation Transcendental Meditation copying from the name Transcendentalism.

 

[Seshadri Subramaniam]

Dear S Bala-ji,

Please do not mind my saying this. Your posts do come across without any connection to the topic being discussed, vague, and not making any sense really.

Regards.

I do not think so... maybe the way he touches upon different topics probably gives the illusion of it being haphazard...

Think he is communicating his point very well... just my opinion... and Shri Nacchi, it is but natural to discuss related issues even though not directly related... please take it in the spirit of the discussion, though I understand that too much of side-tracking could hamper the original topic.

 

[happyhindu]

you are right Sesh-ji....just that am not used to diverse topics being squeezed into one post...no offence meant to S-Bala-ji at all..

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

As I said earlier I am writing an article for the information of the members and I would like the members to read and post their comments. Off track discussions however good they are take away the attention from the main article.

Another reason for the article was that I wanted a thread which is positive for a change from all the other general discussions. I do not know how far I have been successful.

I will post the next part after receiving some comments about my article.

Thank you.

 

[happyhindu]

Dear Sri N-ji,

Now that the distraction factor has been settled, please do continue. But must say this distraction factor is quite a character...however, rest assured, i do not think there will be any further disturbance here.

 

[Nacchinarkiniyan]

The age of the Guru/Hippies/Flower power

The early 1960s was a great period for Humanity. We had a sort of Renaissance in the west especially in the U.S. In the long run it affected all the countries. The Hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. It reached its peak around 1968. It was a sub culture. For the first time the Youth started having a hard look at their values inculcated by Christianity and Capitalism. The Hippies were basically Seekers. Seeking after what? Most of the times the Seeker does not himself know.

I would suggest reading the book "Drifters" by James Michner which is a beautiful book about the Hippies. This was the age of the Beatles, Woodstock Music festival, Bang (cannabis) and LSD. Psychedelic drugs, psychedelic music and psychedelic shirts. When the Hippies started looking for something totally different they found India and Hinduism. The great thing about India is that it is exotic. It is mysterious. It is a riddle and an enigma. This is true of Hinduism. You take away these and Hinduism and India will become pedestrian.

A number of Hippies came to India and many of them sought answers in Hinduism. There was a world wide publicity because of the when Beatles accepted Maharshi Mahesh Yogi as their Guru. Of course some of them ended by only taking Bhang. Though smoking of Bhang is an accepted practice in Hinduism, that alone does not lead to Spiritual progress. I too drifted and joined the Hippies. I was an active one only for a short time basically because the family ties in India are very strong.

The Hippies got integrated into the main society in the 1970s. But none of them forgot their experiences. This awakened interest in Hinduism was one of the factors for the progress in Hinduism in U.S. The concept of Guru became very popular and the age of the Gurus had arrived. I remember that long Kurthas used to be called Guru-shirt in India. Long Kurta, shoulder length hair and there you have me. The influence of the Hippie culture is seen in colleges in U.S even today.

I am sorry that my article is U.S. centric. That is the only country in the West I know about. Of course the U.S of the late 60s is not the U.S of today. Again though Indians have been living in U.K for long, the influence of Hinduism in U.K is limited. U.S is a more open society which has been more receptive to Hinduism.

The towering figure of this time was Maharshi Mahesh Yogi about whose immense contribution I will write in my next post.

I am still waiting for responses to my earlier posts.