Nirmala Devi Srivastava
was born on March 21, 1923 in Chindawara, India to Christian
parents, Prasad and Cornelia Salve. The Salve surname is one of a number
included in the Satavahana Maratha clan. Her parents named her Nirmala, which
means "immaculate."
She says that she was born self-realized. Nirmala Srivastava passed her
childhood years in the family house in Nagpur. In her youth she stayed in the
ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. Like her parents, she was involved in the Indian
independence movement; as a young woman she was a youth leader, and participated
in the Quit India Movement. She also studied at the Christian Medical College in
Ludhiana and the Balakram Medical College in Lahore. Nirmala was jailed for
participating in the Mahatma Gandhi-led Quit India Movement.
Shortly before India
achieved independence in 1947, Nirmala married Chandrika Prasad Srivastava. They
have two daughters, Kalpana Srivastava
and Sadhana Varma.
Sahaja
Yoga
Sahaja Yoga is a new religious movement
founded by Nirmala Devi which says Sahaja Yoga is a process of Kundalini
awakening which produces Self Realization and results in an experience of
thoughtless awareness or mental silence (Nirvichar Samadhi). People trying it
even for the first time have been independently reported to experience a cool
breeze on their hands and on top of their head. Other sensations include a
dilation of the pupils and deep physical relaxation.
Sahaja Yoga started in
India and England (where Nirmala Srivastava moved in 1974 with her husband)
Nirmala Srivastava worked on seven London hippies who became the first Western
Sahaja Yogis. In 1979 Nirmala Srivastava declared herself to be the complete
incarnation of the Adi (Primordial) Shakti or Holy Spirit to her devotees. She
has also claimed to be Maitreya and the Mahdi. Nirmala Srivastava has been
described as "a simple Indian housewife... with a motherly and compassionate
personality". There are now Sahaja Yoga centers in almost 100 countries
worldwide. The Sahaja Yoga organization is known as Vishwa Nirmala
Dharma (Universal Pure Religion) or Sahaja Yoga
International.
In 1980 Nirmala
Srivastava first toured Europe spreading Sahaja Yoga and in 1981 she toured
Malaysia, Australia and North America - many other countries were to follow. In
1989, after the lifting of the Iron Curtain, Nirmala Srivastava began visiting
Eastern Europe where Sahaja Yoga spread quickly.
In 1995, Nirmala Srivastava was awarded an honorary doctorate in Cognitive and
Para psychological Sciences by the Ecological University of Bucharest, Romania.
Also in 1995, Nirmala Srivastava gave a speech at the Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing.
Until 2004, during her
travels, Nirmala Srivastava gave numerous public lectures, pujas, and interviews
to newspapers, television and radio. In 2004 the official website of Sahaja Yoga
announced that Nirmala Srivastava had completed her work.
She continues to give talks to her devotees and allows them to offer her puja.
Nirmala Srivastava has
spoken on a number of occasions recently about the evils of alcohol. In
Australia in October 2007 she spoke at length about the problems associated with
alcohol, both in relation to society, its effects upon people and the dangers it
poses to the family. In March 2008, the newly elected Australian government
announced a national strategy to address the epidemic of alcohol abuse among
young Australians.
Caning of Muslim
Model
Even Nirmala Devi would
not condone the punishment of caning to a young woman for consuming a little
alcohol. But soon a part-time Muslim model will become the first woman in
Malaysia to be caned under Islamic law, after she pleaded guilty to drinking
beer. An Islamic court ordered that Kartika Sari Devi Shukarno, 32, be lashed
six times with a rattan cane after she was caught drinking alcohol in a raid on
a hotel night club in eastern Pahang state last year.
Under Islamic law this is
not the only indignity women have to suffer. What follows are some other
humiliations in store for the Muslim women.
Women's
Status
-Islam
teaches that men are superior to women "... And women shall have
rights similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable; but
men have a degree (superiority) over them" Surah 2:228
-Islam
teaches that women have half the rights of men
a. In
court witnessSurah
2:282 b. In inheritanceSurah 4: 11
-Islam
considers the wife a possession. "Fair in the eyes of men is the love
of things they covet: women and sons, heaped-up hoards of gold and silver;
horses..." Surah 3: 14
-Islam
teaches that women are unclean. "If a Muslim man touches' a woman
(even his wife) before praying, he is consider unclean for prayer".
Surah 4:43
-Islam
instructs women to veil themselves always, when they are outside their
homes "and say to the believing women...that they should draw their
veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty" Surah
24:31
-Mohammed
teaches that women are lacking in mind and religion "have not seen
anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than women" Al
Bukhary vol. 2:541
-Mohammed
teaches that women are a bad omen. "Bad omen is in the women, the
house and the horse" Al Bukhary vol. 7:30
-Mohammed
teaches that women are harmful to men "After me I have not left any
affliction more harmful to men than women" Al Bukhary vol.
7:33
Women
in Marriage
-Islam
allows polygamy: A man may marry up to four wives at one time. "Marry
women of your choice, two, or three, or four..." Surah
4:3
-A
man can divorce his wife by oral announcement; the wife has no such
right. "divorce is permissible twice" Surah
2:229
-When a
husband has pronounced divorce three times on his wife, she then may not
lawfully remarry her husband until she has married and been divorced by another
man (including having sexual intercourse with him}. "...So if a
husband divorces his wife he cannot after that, remarry her until after she has
married another husband, and he has divorced her" Surah
2:230
-Islam
teaches that a wife is subject to punishment by her husband, beating a wife or
abstaining from sexual relations with her is allowed, "As to those
women, on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them, refuse
to share their beds, beat them..." Surah 4:34
Conclusion
For too long have the
Muslim fundamentalists been allowed to perpetrate violations against women and
followers of other religions. Without proper education, leadership and lay alike - will remain philosophically
unprepared against the threat of radical Islam. Objective knowledge - properly
taught and disseminated - is the first step to formulating any long-term
strategy. When knowledge is unshackled from the bonds of political correctness
and wishful thinking, strategies will naturally present themselves as common
sense. Bottom line: if children are sheltered from ugly truths today, how can
they ever be expected to confront them as adults tomorrow? The obvious answer
that seems to eluding the Indian leadership is twofold. Firstly, the Koranic
teachings that are against Indian constitution and the Charter of Human Rights
ought to be taught in all schools as the teaching that has harmed India for the
last one thousand years. Secondly, expose madrassass to yogic teachings like
Sahaj Yoga for the coming generations to learn about the bliss of
Self-realization.
Gurudeva was born in California and grew up near Lake Tahoe. Orphaned
at age 11, he was raised by a family friend who had spent years in India and who
brought him into the culture and beliefs of Hinduism. Trained in classical
Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga, he became the premier
danseur of the San Francisco Ballet Company at age 19. Then, at the height of
his career, he suddenly renounced the world.
In 1947, as a young man
of 20, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniaswami journeyed from the USA to India and Sri
Lanka and two years later was initiated into sannyasa by the renowned siddha
yogi and worshiper of Siva, Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Sri Lanka, regarded as one of
the 20th century's most remarkable mystics. For over five decades
Subramuniyaswami, affectionately known as Gurudeva, taught Hinduism to Hindus
and seekers from all faiths. In the line of successorship, he was the 162nd
Jagadacharya of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's Kailasa Parampara and Guru
Mahasannidhanam of Kauai Aadheenam (also known as Kauai's Hindu Monastery), a
458-acre temple-monastery complex on Hawaii's Garden Island on a river bank near
the foot of an extinct volcano
Gurudeva was lauded as
one of the strictest and most traditional gurus in the world. His Hindu Church
nurtures its membership and local missions on five continents. The Academy
serves, personally and through its magazine, books, courses and travel/study
programs, serious seekers and Hindus of all denominations. Gurudeva's mission,
received from his satguru, was to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite
Hindu religion as expressed through its three pillars: temples, satgurus and
scripture.
Hinduism Today is an
influential, award-winning, international monthly magazine founded by Gurudeva
in 1979. It was created to strengthen all Hindu traditions by uplifting and
informing followers of the Sanatana Dharma everywhere. Gurudeva was author of
more than 30 books unfolding unique and practical insights on Hindu metaphysics,
mysticism and yoga. His Master Course lessons on Saivism, taught in many
schools, are preserving the teachings among thousands of youths.
Hindu Heritage Endowment
is a public service trust founded by Gurudeva in 1995. It seeks to establish and
maintain permanent sources of income for Hindu institutions worldwide. In 1986,
New Delhi's World Religious Parliament named Gurudeva one of five modern-day
Jagadacharyas, world teachers, for his international efforts in promoting and
chronicling a Hindu renaissance.
Then in 1995 it bestowed
on him the title of Dharmachakra for his remarkable publications. The Global
Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival chose
Subramuniyaswami as a Hindu representative at its unique conferences. Thus, at
Oxford, England, in 1988, Moscow in 1990 and Rio de Janeiro in 1992, he joined
hundreds of religious, political and scientific leaders from all countries to
discuss privately, for the first time, the future of human life on this
planet
Chicago's historic centenary Parliament
of the World's Religions in September, 1993, Gurudeva was elected one of three
presidents, along with His Holiness Swami Chidananda Saraswati of the
Rishikesh-based Divine Life Society and Kerala's Ammachi, Mata Amritanandamayi
Ma, to represent Hinduism at the prestigious Presidents' Assembly, a core group
of 25 men and women voicing the needs of world faiths.
In 1998, the Vishva Hindu
Parishad of Kerala sent an envoy to Kauai to honor and recognize Gurudeva as the
"Hindu Voice of the Century."
In the last few years of
his life Gurudeva was a key member of Vision Kauai 2020, a small group of
community leaders that includes the Mayor, former Mayor and County Council
members. They met monthly to fashion the island's future for twenty years ahead,
based on moral and spiritual values. If you ask people who know Gurudeva what
was so special about him, they may point to his great peace, presence and
centeredness, to his incredible power to inspire others toward their highest
Self, to change their lives in ways that are otherwise impossible, to be an
unfailing light on their path, to be a voice of Indian spiritual life, to bring
the best of the East and the best of the West together, to be a father and
mother to all who draw near, a living example of the pure path taught by his
guru and followed by his devoted shishyas.
In 1999 at Anchorage,
Gurudeva founded the first Hindu temple in that state, calling together the
native American Indian leaders to participate in the event.In August he
traveled to Malaysia and Mauritius, where he met with the nations' leaders on
several family-related topics, opened his Spiritual Park for 3,000 special
guests, spent precious time with his Church members
On August 25, 2000, he
received the prestigious United Nations U Thant Peace Award in New York
(previously bestowed on the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope
John Paul II and Mother Teresa). He addressed 1,200 spiritual leaders gathered
for the UN Millennium Peace Summit, with the message, "For peace in the world,
stop the war in the home." Upon his return to Kauai, 350 citizens and county and
state officials gathered to herald his accomplishments on the island and beyond.
Governor Benjamin Cayetano wrote: "I am especially grateful for your efforts to
promote moral and spiritual values in Hawaii. May our people forever embrace the
message of peace you have so eloquently supported in your gracious
wisdom."
In August of 2001
Gurudeva took 72 devotees on an incredible journey through Northern Europe,
founding new Hindu temples along the way and visiting the Tamil communities in a
dozen nations. It was a fitting end to his remarkable life. Just before
departing for the European Innersearch, he completed his last legacy book,
''Living with Siva.'' Only weeks after returning from that dynamic odyssey, he
attained his Maha Samadhi.
His
Teaching
Gurudeva
imparted ancient wisdom in a lesson from Merging with Siva on Karma and
consciousness:
The Hindu does not have to die to
have a final judgment or to enter into heaven, for heaven is a state of mind and
being fully existent in every human being this very moment. There are people
walking on this Earth today who are living in heaven, and there are those who
are living in hellish states as well. All that the Hindu has to do is go to the
temple. As soon as he goes to the temple, to a puja, he is contacting the divine
forces. During the puja, he is totally judged by the Deity. All of his karma is
brought current, and he goes away feeling good. Or he might go away feeling
guilty. That is good, too, because then he performs penance, prayashchitta, and
resolves unseemly karma quickly.
It might be said that every day that
you go to the temple is judgment day. Isn't it a wonderful thing that in our
religion you can either go to heaven or hell on a daily basis, and the next day
get out of hell through performing penance and ascend to heaven? The Hindu sees
these as states existing in the here and now, not in some futuristic and static
other-worldly existence. There are certainly inner, celestial realms, but like
this physical universe, they are not the permanent abode of the soul, which is
in transit, so to speak, on its way to merger with Siva.
It is not
necessary for the Hindu to wait until the end of life to become aware of the
results of this particular life. Because he knows this and does not wait for
death for the resolution of the results of his accumulated actions and reactions
in life, his evolution is exceedingly fast. He lives perhaps several lives
within the boundaries of a single lifetime, changing and then changing again. If
he errs, he does not worry inordinately. He merely corrects himself and moves on
in the progressive stream of human evolution. He is aware of the frailties of
being human, but he is not burdened by his sins or condemning himself for
actions long past. To him, all actions are the work of the Gods. His life is
never static, never awaiting a judgment day; whereas the Western religionist who
believes there is an ultimate reckoning after this one life is spent is piling
up everything that he has done, good and bad, adding it to a medley in his mind
and waiting for the Grim Reaper to come along and usher in the Day of Judgment.
Hinduism is such a joyous religion, freed of all the mental encumbrances
that are prevalent in the various Western faiths. It is freed of the notion of a
vengeful God. It is freed of the notion of eternal suffering. It is freed from
the notion of original sin. It is freed from the notion of a single spiritual
path, a One Way. It is freed from the notion of a Second Coming. Why, I think
some of the devas in this temple are on their, let me see,... 8,450,000th coming
now! They come every time you ring the bell. You don't have to wait 2,000 years
for the Gods to come. Every time you ring the bell, the Gods and devas come, and
you can be and are blessed by their darshan. They are omniscient and
omnipresent, simultaneously there in every temple on the planet as the bell is
rung. That is the mystery and the power of these great Gods who exist within the
microcosm.
Oppositon to Quranic
Lessons
Turkish Cypriot teachers
want authorities to stop optional Quranic lessons for schoolchildren, which they
say threaten their community's secular culture. Education officials in breakaway
northern Cyprus sanctioned courses on Islam's holiest book this summer at a few
schools that cater mostly to the children of Turkish immigrants.
The ongoing saga of Rifqa
Bary - the teenager who fled from Ohio to Florida, citing fears that her Muslim
parents would murder her for becoming a Christian - has underlined the dangers
associated with Quranic lessons. A 2008 Islamist Watch article summarizes the
problem:
All major schools of
Islamic jurisprudence stipulate that a sane adult male must be put to death for
abandoning Islam, though varying interpretations persist on whether females
should be killed or merely imprisoned. Many Islamic states outlaw apostasy and
seven list it as a capital offense. However, freelancers such as angry relatives
present the greatest danger to ex-Muslims, as Sunni and Shiite scholars largely
agree that Shari'a empowers individuals to punish converts. This tradition has
followed Muslims to the Western world.
A related menace is that
Islamists often employ accusations of apostasy as weapons against moderate
Muslims. Given the perils faced by converts from Islam, such charges are meant
to intimidate anti-Islamist Muslims into silence - or worse.
Islamic scholar Khalid
Durán was an early Western target; in 2001 a Jordanian cleric deemed him an
apostate following an attack on one of his books by CAIR. Two recent events
indicate that Islamists continue to use similar tactics against those whom Durán
would term "critical Muslims":
•·Taj
Hargey - a British imam who has opposed the niqab, endorsed the marriage of
Muslim women to non-Muslim men, and promoted gender equality in mosques - won a
lawsuit in April against the Muslim Weekly, which had asserted that he
belongs to a splinter sect whose members are considered by Islamists to be
apostates. Hargey lamented that "iconoclastic thinkers, liberals, and
non-conformists who dare to challenge this self-assumed religious authority in
Islam by presenting a rational or alternative interpretation of their faith are
invariably branded as apostates, heretics, and non-believers."
•·Souad
Sbai, an Italian MP and prominent activist for Muslim women's rights, went to
court in June to testify against a man charged with appealing for her death. "I
have heard very bad things about you and you have thus been exposed as a
Christian," he wrote. "The claim by Akrane is an accusation of apostasy,"
Adnkronos International reported, "which under Islamic law calls for the death
penalty, which can be carried out by any Muslim at any time." Sbai also
criticized anti-terrorism police for "underestimating the 'Islamic value' of his
words."
Why do
Islamists label Durán, Hargey, Sbai, and other moderates as apostates? Because
they fear them and they follow Quranic lesson of the verses like 85-88 of Surah 3 Al-
Imran (quoted below) literally.
85. And whoever seeks a religion other
than Islâm, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be
one of the losers. 86. How shall Allâh guide a people who
disbelieved after their belief and after they bore witness that the Messenger is
true and after clear proofs had come unto them? And Allâh guides not the people
who are Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers). 87. They are those
whose recompense is that on them (rests) the Curse of Allâh, of the angels, and
of all mankind. 88. They will abide therein (Hell). Neither will
their torment be lightened, nor will it be delayed or postponed (for a while).
Conclusion
The world must respond by
working not only to protect anti-Islamist Muslims from violence, but also to
support and amplify their vital message of reform. This reform must commence in
all democratic and secular countries by replacing Quranic lessons in madrassas
with the teachings of Saints like Saivaya Subramuniaswami which are free from
the notion of a vengeful God.
ENLIGHTENMENT OF
MUSLIMS BY SWAMI RAMA TIRTHA
Swami Rama’s Life
Rama Tirtha was born in Murariwala, Gujranwala
district, in Punjab (now in Pakistan)
on October 22, 1873. When he was a few days old his mother died, and he was
raised by his elder brother Gossain Gurudas. After receiving his Masters degree
in mathematics from Government College of Lahore, he became Professor of
Mathematics at FormanChristianCollege
in Lahore. A
chance meeting with Swami Vivekananda in 1897 in Lahore inspired his later decision to take up
the life of a sannyasi.
In the late 19th century, he became well known in Punjab for his speeches on
worship of Krishna and later through lectures
and essays on Advaita Vedanta. He eventually entered the monastic swami order
in 1901, leaving his life as a math professor, husband, and father. A maharaja
sponsored a trip by Rama Tirtha to Japan to teach Hinduism. From Japan he traveled in 1902 to the United States,
where he spent two years lecturing on the essence of Hinduism and other
religions, and a philosophy he called "practical Vedanta."
He frequently spoke about the inequities of the caste system in India and
the importance of education for women and the poor, stating that,
"Neglecting the education of women and children and the labouring classes
is like cutting down the branches that are supporting us, nay, it is like
striking a death-blow to the roots of the tree of nationality." Arguing
that India
needed educated young people—and not missionaries—he began an organization to
aid Indian students in American universities.
Upon his return to India
in 1904 he was received with great acclaim—large crowds thronged to his
lectures. In 1906, weary of the adoration, he completely withdrew from public
life and moved to the foothills of the Himalaya.
There he prepared to write a book giving a systematic presentation on practical
Vedanta, which was never finished. He died on October 17, 1906 on the day of
Diwali—drowning while bathing in the Ganges.
Paramahansa Yogananda was a great admirer of Rama Tirtha, translating many
of Rama Tirtha's poems into English, and putting some of them to music. One of
Rama Tirtha's poems, titled "Marching Light", appeared in Yogananda's
book of Hindu chants, Cosmic Chants as "Swami Ram Tirtha's
Song".
Swami Ram Tirtha Mission Ashram is located at Kotal Goan Rajpur, near Dehradun
in Uttarakhand, India where his teachings are practiced.
His Dialogue with Muslims
Swami Rama happened to be in Lucknow
in 1905 when some Muslim Maulanas came to him to get enlightened on Hinduism
and their own religion. What follows is a segment of Swami Rama’s dialogue with
them.
On their arrival they did Adabarz to
which God-intoxicated Rama replied by Om.They
wanted to know the meaning of Om. The truth
was (he said) that a person can give to others only what he possesses and that
Rama himself only possessed OM and that alone. That OM,
which was Rama’s sole possession, represented the non-duality of Vedanta. By
pronouncing it properly the heart and mind are filled with peace, tranquility
and bliss. You can feel the limitless ocean of power and energy within you.
Rama then invited the Muslims to join him in chanting ‘om’ three times, which
they did and felt instant peace.Swami
Rama went on to expound the special place of OM as a universal name of God, but
the Muslims objected that they had never seen any mention of OM in their own
holy scriptures and asked him (if what he said was true) whether he could quote
any reference to OM in their Koran.
Rama replied gently: ‘Please listen to what is now being said. In the very
beginning of your Koran, at the top, are three letters, alif (A), lam
(L) and mim (M). Can any of you or any learned Mulawi of Islam explain
what these three letters mean?’ The Moslems replied that this was a secret
which Allah had kept to himself. Swami Rama laughed heartily at this remark and
said: ‘When God has revealed the entire Koran for the benefit of mankind, as
the Muslims claim, it is very strange that he has kept its very heading a
secret. No. It is not so. If you, the Muslims who put full faith in the Koran
do not know the secret of the letters A, L, M, Rama will tell you what they
signify. Alif, lam and mim are nothing but alif (A), wao
(O) and mim (M), that is, AOM or OM.’
The Muslims objected that the letter L is not the same as the letter O, but
Swami Rama pointed out to them that in Arabic grammar L is pronounced O when it
falls between a vowel and a consonant, as in the names Shamsuddin, which is
written Shamsaldin, or Nizamuddin, which is written Nizamaldin. The letter lam
(L) becomes silent and gives the sound of the Arabic letter pesh (O or
U). Therefore ALM is no secret; it is clearly and unambiguously OM and nothing
but OM. It is Kufra, heretical or a
sin, to blame God for keeping it a secret.
Swami Rama went on to point out to them with great love that Islam literally
means ‘religion of peace’, but that instead of preaching love for God seated in
the heart of each man and the brotherhood of all men, the so-called leaders of
Islam, on account of their superficial knowledge or ignorance, had injected a
spirit of hatred and alienation into the hearts of the ignorant Muslims. As a
result, the history of the Muslims testified to the fact that thousands of
non-Muslims had been butchered in wholesale massacres in the name of Islam.
Instead of teaching mankind how to live in peace with others, Islam had earned
a bad name for itself in world history by spreading its religion by tyranny,
oppression and despotism. This was because of the selfishness, love of personal
gain and narrow outlook of the Muslim autocrats, intoxicated with their own
domination and conquest in the name of Islam. It was all due to the wrong
interpretation of the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’.
Dear friends, [he said], the meaning of Kufra [sin or
heresy] is to hide. What? To hide the truth or reality is Kufra, and he
who hides the truth is Kafir [infidel]. But how does a Kafir hide
the truth? He hides it behind the curtain of his Khudi or ego, which has
its roots in selfishness. In other words the person who asserts his ego or
selfishness as against truth is a Kafir. And what is this truth? Truth
is that which remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. But truth or
reality is only one. It is only God who is immortal, eternal and imperishable.
Therefore the person who does not implement this truth in daily life and who
instead lays stress on his ego or selfishness in his worldly dealings is as if
hiding God, the truth, behind the curtain of his egoism. In other words, he
remains unconcerned with God, as if there is no God for him. By such an
attitude he commits Kufra and deserves to be called a Kafir.
It is very painful to note that the protagonists of Islam, due to their
blind faith and bigotry, have brought a bad name to their simple and unostentatious
religion, causing havoc and devastation in the world, on account of their
misinterpretation and the wrong use of the words ‘Kufra’ and ‘Kafir’.
According to them, a non-Muslim is a Kafir, however God-intoxicated or
truly religious-minded he may be. As such, it is said that a so-called Muslim
has every right to do away with a non-Muslim, if the latter does not believe in
the prophet Mohammed or the Koran...as if the non-Muslim had not been made by
the same God. It is also said that a Muslim will be forgiven by God for his
sins just because he is a formal Muslim. All this misbelief or blind faith is
against the fundamental principle of Islam.
It is now for you to say how reasonable, just and fair it is to preach to
the ignorant Muslim masses segregation in the name of Islam, which is obviously
done for political reasons with vested interests. Religion, you will concede,
teaches universal love, sympathy, fellow feeling, unity, etc., and not disunity
or hatred. It is, therefore, most essential for all of us, Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Buddhists and so forth, to live together with love and unity...
Swami Rama Tirtha was next asked about the Kalma, which may be called
the Muslim creed. And he said that the original Kalma consisted simply of the
phrase: ‘La Ilah Ill Illah’, which means ‘there is nothing but Allah or
God.’ It expressed (said Swami Rama) that God is limitless. Nothing can limit
his limitlessness. Nothing could be beyond God. He is everything, and
everything is in him. The Koran also says that God is nearer to you than your
own aorta. The interpretation of the Mulawis that it means ‘there is only one
god’ is not correct; it really means that there is nothing but one omnipresent
God in this universe.
The present Kalma has two portions. The second part is ‘Mohammed Rasool
Allah’ meaning that ‘Mohammed is the prophet of God.’ Swami Rama said to
the Muslims: You may or may not agree with Rama, but it is generally felt that
this portion has been added after the death of Mohammed Saheb... As you all know,
Hazrat Mohammed Saheb was a very simple God-intoxicated person. He never liked
ostentation and individual advertisement. He himself belonged wholly to God.
And he had totally surrendered himself to him. He was all God’s. Nothing of his
was separate from God. As such, he could not have allowed during his life-time
his individual name or identity to be added to the original Kalma, but emphasized
‘there is nothing but Allah.’
Then again, according to Islam, God is ‘Wahduhoo-La-Sharik’, that is,
he is one without any partner or sharer. How then could Hazrat Mohammed have
allowed his name to be added to God, even as a friend or prophet, when God is
all in all, when he is said to be limitless?... It therefore appears that the
latter part of the Kalma has been added by his devotees and admirers out
of their intense love for Mohammed Saheb after his death in order to perpetuate
his memory, so long as Islam continues to flourish in this world.
The Muslims were impressed by Swami Rama Tirtha’s
exposition, but they said to him: Being a Sufi, the flight of your vision is
high. Therefore you measure the life incidents of Hazrat Mohammed with the same
yardstick. Our intellect may accept your version, but our hearts are reluctant
to do so. As Muslims, we cannot go against what our forefathers have been
telling us. You may call it blind faith, but Hazrat Mohammed deserves all our
respect... You are a Sufi (Vedantin), and, as such, you may be entitled to say
‘Hamaost’ (I am He). But we have not yet been able fully to define our
relation with God, as his devotees. Will it not be a sin or Kufra for us
to say ‘Anal hacq’ (I am God) as the Sufis (Vedantins) do? We cannot
even dare to change the present form of the Kalma.
To this Rama replies: The truth is that Rama, being a Vedantin,
is convinced that there is nothing but God and that ‘I am God, as all others
are.’ The reality is only one. God is infinite. That which is infinite cannot
be rendered finite by anything separate from him. He covers everything, and
therefore it is not a sin to say: ‘I am God’; but it is certainly a great sin
to reject the reality just to project yourself as separate from or other than
God.
In discussions which he had with the Muslims over two days
in 1905 the holy Paramahansa demonstrated clearly the truth of a portion of the
message of Mohammed and its identity with the essential truth of Advaita
Vedanta: ‘Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman’ (Verily, all this world is nothing
but a phenomenal creation of God the Absolute).
Islam – A century later
Case 1 – child suicide
bombersA top Taliban leader in Pakistan is buying and selling
children for suicide bombings, Pakistani and US officials say. Taliban leaders
increasingly use the children in attacks. A video released by Pakistan's
military shows the children training for the task. In the video of a training
camp, children can be seen killing and going through exercises. Taliban leaders
sell the children, once trained, to others $6,000 to $12,000, Pakistani
military officials say. Some of the children are as young as 11. The young
suicide bombers may be able to reach targets unnoticed, the military said. If
he is approaching on foot, there is a possibility he will bypass security. In
certain areas, there is a possibility in the population centers everyone can
not be checked physically, so he can create havoc there.
If Muslim leaders had heeded Swami Rama’s words they would have
been chanting ‘Alm’ (pronounced Om) as written
in the beginning of Koran and living in peace, tranquility and bliss. Muslims
would then have accepted the principle of non-duality and would have had no
hatred and enmity towards others. There would have been no thought of training
their own children dying to kill others - Christians, Jews, Hindus – and other
Muslims.
Case 2 – Genocide of
Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan
Sitting on a broken chair outside a Sikh temple in a crowded part of Peshawar, Aman Deep Singh
is frantic about his future after losing his business in the tribal district of
Khyber. When the Taliban gave Sikhs and
Hindus an ultimatum — leave the land of your forefathers or pay an Islamic tax
in protection money — Singh packed up and left his native Tirah valley for Peshawar. ‘We were living
under fear. Fear of militants, fear of Lashkar-e-Islam and fear of other armed
groups,’ said Singh, his hair swept up in a turban, a long beard touching his
abdomen and thick moustache covering his upper lip. He swapped a general store
in the mountains for unemployment in the northwest capital, where he struggles
to feed the nine members of his family. Aman Deep is a fake name. He wants his
real name hidden for his security.
‘I am not the only one. About 400 Sikh and 57
Hindu families migrated from the town of Bara and Tirah,’ said Singh. Sikhs and
Hindus are tiny communities in Pakistan.
In the last year, hundreds have fled their homes after receiving death threats
from the Taliban and other militant groups in an increasingly unstable
northwest. The vulnerable non-Muslims are easy prey. In the region of Orakzai,
the Taliban demanded the tax of adult male Sikhs, forcibly occupying Sikh-owned
shops and houses. After two months, the tax spread to Khyber, the legendary
tribal region on the main supply line to Afghanistan. It was there that
Lashkar-e-Islam, a group headed by Mangal Bagh, announced Sikhs and Hindus
would be free to live anywhere — as long as they paid jizya.
But threats
made the situation increasing tense. Hundreds of Sikh and Hindu families fled
to nearby areas, especially Peshawar.
‘Minorities in Orakzai and Khyber were warned by some militant groups to become
Muslims or leave the area. This was a real threat,’ Singh said. ‘They’re
running a parallel government. Hindu and Sikh families did not feel safe, in
Orakzai, in Bara and in Tirah. We preferred to migrate, at least here we can
breathe in peace and feel safe,’ he said.
If the Muslims
had heeded Swami Rama’s interpretation of Kuran, millions of ignorant Muslims
would not have been full of hatred and alienation of Hindus and Sikhsand would not try to exterminate them.
Rather, they would have been working in peace for the betterment of the country
Case 3 – Understanding
Mohammed
What follows are the
extracts of a book review by Sujit Das of “Understanding
Muhammad a Psychobiography by author Dr Ali Sina.
Muhammad knew that a direct
self-promotion would be seen as repulsive and hence would be rejected. So he
invented his God, the Allah. In Islam, Allah took the centre stage and Muhammad
remained ‘only’ a messenger of Allah. But at the same time Muhammad demanded
absolute obedience by cunningly calling his followers to obey ‘Allah and his
messenger’. But since nobody could see or hear Allah, naturally all the
obedience was to Muhammad. It was not God who needed Muhammad, but it was
Muhammad who needed a God to serve him and certify him as a messenger.
Throughout his prophetic carrier,
Muhammad never brought anything good to others but only death and destruction.
He encouraged human sacrifice to his cause, ie, martyrdom. The Paradise is assured for the martyrs. But only belief in
Allah is not enough to gain entry in the Paradise
unless Muslims believe in the prophethood of Muhammad. So the religion of
Muhammad survived at the cost of the ‘liberal human values’ of his followers.
Unfortunately today more than a billion people still put their trust in
Muhammad.
A Byzantine historian, Theophanes
(752-817) recorded that Muhammad suffered from epilepsy, which started when he
was just five years old. Author’s findings from authentic Islamic sources
confirm the opinion of the above historian. Amazingly, the Hadith
collections have enough mention about Muhammad’s epileptic fits. Today with the
help of science, we can confirm that Muhammad suffered from Temporal Lobe
Epilepsy and the epileptic seizures were caused from the medial or lateral
temporal lobe. The patients of TLE often sense a ‘presence’, hear sounds, see
divine lights even see ‘Gods’. So when Muhammad claimed to have mystic
experience, it was actually his diseased mind which was playing tricks to him.
Hallucination is very common amongst people. The International Census of Waking
Hallucinations recorded in 1984 that 10 to 25 percent of normal healthy people
have experienced at least once in their lifetime a vivid hallucination [Carl
Sagan; "The Demon Haunted World", page. 104]
Now since the sacred aura of the
Prophet is gone and the big lie of Islam is fully exposed; the author very
logically concluded, “Islam is like a house of cards, sustained by lies
… It rests on nothing but lies” [Pages, iv, 260]. We should not forget
that narcissists are pathological liars.
Today it is useless to be angry with a
deluded person like Muhammad who died centuries ago. He not only suffered in
his whole life, but founded such a dangerous cult which brought untold misery,
death and destruction equally to Muslims and non-Muslims, for which history
will never forgive him. It was Muhammad’s fate. He was gravely disturbed both
physically and mentally. In fact he was also suffering from Acromegaly and most
probably from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Bipolar Disorder and even
from Schizophrenia.
Now, since the real face of Muhammad is
exposed by strong evidence, and medical science has spoken out the truth, and
because we cannot see any difference between Islam and other notorious cults;
it is high time, our Muslim brothers should give way to logical thinking. The
author lamented “Muslims are genuinely incapable of questioning Islam”
[page 5]. Today Muslims must understand that there is better life beyond Islam
and the infidels (particularly the Jews) are not really that bad so that they
should be killed as the Qur’an said. Real God has nothing to do with Islam,
Allah, Muhammad and Qur’an altogether. The author himself is coming from Muslim
background and some of his relatives were even Ayatollahs.
Author concluded, “Islam is an
epidemic of mental illness bequeathed from one man to his followers” [Page
254]. The mental sickness of Muhammad implanted to his followers has cost
hundreds of million lives, “The wounds caused by Muhammad and his benighted
followers have been bleeding for 1400 years. They are still bleeding and will
continue to bleed endlessly, until Islam is eradicated.” [Page 255]
It is no wonder that Swami Rama had told that the original kalma had only one part “There is
nothing but God” and the second part “Mohammed is his prophet’ ought not to be
there. It is the prophethood of Mohammed that is continuing to cause
destruction and mass murders of Muslims and non-muslims alike. It is still not
too late for Muslims to delete the second part of the kalma and live like normal enlightened human beings.
Conclusion
Not a day goes by in India – and, in the wider world -
without some atrocity being committed by Muslims on others and on themselves.
It has now become imperative for the authorities to ensure modification to the
syllabi of madrassahs where the violence-encouraging verses are taught. Till
such time we get a Government that has guts to implement this modification, it
is the duty of every Hindu, nay every non-Muslim, to try and enlighten the
Muslims as Swami Rama had done to bring about peace on the earth.
Born on February 22,
1856, at village Talwan in Jalandhar district of the Punjab province, Swami
Shraddhanand Saraswati was named as Brihaspati and Munshiram. His father, Lala
Nanak Chand, was a police officer in the East India Company administered United
Provinces. The young boy, a pampered child, moved from place to place on his
dad's transfers and was bereft of formal education in the formative years of
life.
After a long intellectual
discourse with Swami Dayanand Saraswati at Bareilly there was a gradual change
of heart in Munshiram. The seed sown in the United Provinces germinated and
flowered in the Punjab. Munshiram was transformed into a man with a mission. It
was also a turning point in the religious and political history of India which
was struggling for freedom from the British Empire. He became a successful
lawyer, was quite active in the Arya Samaj circles and took the Reformation
movement seriously. When he saw his own daughter, Ved Kumari, coming under the
influence of Christianity while studying in a Christian Mission run school, he
made up his mind to wean away children of his compatriots from the external
influence by providing them good education in schools run by the Arya
Samaj.
When it was decided in
Lahore to launch a scheme for the Gurukul system of education, Munshiram
spearheaded the movement. The Gurukul was officially inaugurated on 16 May 1900
at Gujaranwala in the West Punjab, now in Pakistan. Their missionary zeal to
make the novel project a success was of immense help when the infant Gurukul
moved from Gujranwala in the Punjab to Kangri- Haridwar in the United
Provinces.
Munshiram entered the
Sanyas ashram of his own volition. It was the call of his conscience. In his
life span of three scores and ten, half of which he lived as a widower; he wore
ochre clothes of an ascetic and lived like one for nine years. He owned no
property. However, the cause of upliftment of the downtrodden and the Shuddhi
movement, that is , bringing back to the Vedic Dharm those men and women who had
strayed into other religious folds, was very dear to his heart.
He surmised that it was
the duty of every Indian to free the motherland from the British rule. It was
this mission that saw him leading processions in Delhi's Chandni Chowk area
against the oppressive Rowlett Act. In 1919 the Mahatma emerged as an intrepid
leader of the masses. His undaunting behaviour and reaction to the menacing
soldiers of the Raj when he bared his chest inviting the soldiers to fire on him
first made him a darling of the masses, both Hindus and Muslims
On 4 April 1919 a huge
congregation of Muslims had gathered at Jama Masjid, Delhi to mourn the dead and
provide succor to the living patriots who were protesting against oppressive
policies of the British rulers. On the pulpit of the mosque stood the Arya
sanyasi in ochre clothes. He had been invited by the Muslim leaders to encourage
them in their mission of freedom. The Sanyasi recited a Ved mantra invoking
blessings of the Almighty and praying for success of the just struggle. The
Rigved mantra ran thus: AUM tvam hi nah pita vaso tvam mata shatkrato babhuvith.
Aghate sumnimahe. The address to the congregation ended with the words, AUM
SHANTIH SHANTIH SHANTIH. The congregation responded with the word AAMEEN.
Malkana Rajputs in the
Mathura-Agra belt of the United Provinces had been forced by the Moghuls to
convert to Islam. Yet they had retained their cultural distinctiveness. Swami
Shraddhanand Saraswati saw a golden opportunity to encourage them to return to
the religious fold of their forefathers. The mission of Shuddhi of the Malkana
Rajputs was a roaring success, notwithstanding strong opposition of Mahatma
Gandhi himself. Maharana of Mewar and Pundit Madan Mohan Malviya rallied to the
support of Swamiji.The movement gained momentum. One Asghari
Begum of Sind, along with her children and relatives, requested Swami Ji to
convert them to the Vedic Dharm. Swami ji accepted her request and admitted her
along with others to the Vedic fold in March 1926. She was renamed Shanti Devi.
The Muslim ex-husband of Shanti Devi fought a legal battle to take her away to
reconvert to their fold but lost. The great Swami, his son, Indra and
son-in-law, Sukh Deo were all acquitted of charges of abduction and
conspiracy.
Swami Shraddhanand
was at his Naya Bazar (now Shraddhanand Bazar) residence in Delhi on 23 December
1926. He was convalescing after an attack of bronchial pneumonia. Moreover after
an exhaustive and successful election tour in support of G D Birla, he felt a
little drained out. At 4 PM came a man of Islamic background to discuss some
religious matters with the Swami. The attendant, Dharmsingh, admitted him with
great reluctance. The man, blinded by Islamic fanaticism, whipped out a
revolver, when the attendant was away to fetch a glass of water for him, and
fired two rounds at the swami pointblank. As the attendant came in, the murderer
fired the third round at him. Swami's secretary, Dharmpal, came running and
overpowered the assassin and held him. until the police arrived. The assassin
was tried and hanged.
First Blow of
Islam
This was the continuation
of blows of Islam on Hinduism which began in 986 AD. The first blow has been
very graphically described by Joseph Campbell in his book Oriental Mythology
which needs to be quoted at length:
The scimitars of the
warriors of Allah - Praise and Glory be to his name, the Most High, Who is full
of Grace and Mercy - had already broached the ramparts of the Indian timeless
dream when Jayadeva was celebraing his vision of Radha. Five centuries earlier -
in the time of Harsha's reign (606-647 AD) - Mohammed, the messenger of the
unity of God, had announced, for guidance of those in whom God's is great, the
revelation of Islam, the path that is straight. And one of the wonders of the
world history is the miracle of rapid spread of his one true community under God
from the moment of its founding (date of the Hegira: 622). All the North Africa
had succumbed by the year 710; Spain was entered 711; the Pyrenees were crossed
718, and the gates of Paris itself were at stake when Charles Martel met and
broke the onrush in the battle of Poitiers, 732. Blazing eastward like a fire on
a plain of sun-dried grass, the glory of the peace and blessing of Islam had
taken Persia by 651, and the gates of India were at stake by 651. However India
had no Charles Martel. Allah's curse o the uncircumcised was delayed for two
hundred years by internal struggles for power within the fold of Islam itself,
but when it fell there was no let to His chastisement.
In the year 986 AD a
former slave from Turkestan, Sabuktijin by name, who may or may not have been of
Sassasian royal blood, led a raid for booty into the Punjab, and annually
thereafter, in the cooler months commencing in October, raids of this kind into
wealthy India became the rule. The leading Rajput prince of the area, Jaipal,
managed by 991 to bring an army together, which was overwhelmed; Peshawar fell,
and the raids went on.
In the year 997,
Sabuktigin was succeeded by his son Mahmud al-Ghazni, who, continuing the custom
of the raids, in the year 1001 delivered the coup de grace to Jaipal - and to
India therewith. There is an Islamic chronicle of his deed:
The enemy of God, Jaipal,
together with his children, grandchildren, nephews, the chief men of his tribe
and his relations, were taken prisoners, and being strongly bound with robes
were carried before the Sultan, like as evildoers on whose faces the fumes of
infidelity are evident, and who being covered with vapours of misfortune, are to
be bound and carried to hell. Some had their arms forcibly tied behind their
backs, some were seized by the cheek, and some were driven by the blows on the
neck. A necklace was taken from the neck of Jaipal. Composed of large pearls,
shining gems, and rubies set in gold, of which the value was two hundred
thousand dinars; and twice that value was obtained from the necks of those of
his relations who were taken prisoners, or slain, and had become the food for
the mouths of hyenas and vultures. Allah had bestowed upon his friends such an
amount of booty as was beyond all bounds and calculations, including five
hundred thousand slaves, beautiful me and women. The Sultan returned with
followers to his camp, having plundered immensely, by Allah's aid having
obtained the victory, and thankful to Allah, the Lord of the Universe. For the
Almighty had given him victory over the province of the country of Hind, broader
and more fertile than Khurasan.
Jaipal was released,
but burnt himself to death on a funeral pyre. The city of Kangra fell,
Bulandshahr, Mathura, Kanauj, and the temple city of Shiva at Somanath. At
Somnath fifty thousand Hindus were put to the sword; others tried to escape by
sea and were drowned. The treasure taken exceeded two million dinars in value.
According to one story, the Brahmins who had submitted begged to be allowed to
ransom the lingam, but Mehmud would not listen. He refused, he said, to appear
before the Judgment Seat as one who had taken money to spare an idol. The stone
was broken in pieces and a portion of it buried in the threshold of the mosque
at Ghazni, to be trodden under foot of true believers...
The holy Hindu city of
Benares fell in 1194 and the entire Buddhist province of Bihar in 1199, where
the university of Nalanda was utterly destroyed, its population of some 6000
monks summarily put to the sword, and the last ember of the Buddhist light
therewith quenched in India. In neighbouring Bengal, the aging raja
Lakshmanasena, the patron of Jayadeva, was so taken by surprise that he was at
dinner when the officers of the army of Allah walked into his palace.
And having conquered
thus the whole north, the scimitars of Islam began to carve their way southward,
until the year 1565, when the brilliant city of Vijaynagar, the last remaining
Hindu capital, collapsed... Pursued in every direction, Hindus were slaughtered
"till the Kistna ran red with blood and the plunder was so great that every
private soldier was loaded with jewels, arms, horses and slaves." In the city
they killed and plundered without mercy, and it is said that the work of
destruction went on for three months. The magnificent stone-carving was smashed
to pieces with crowbars and hammers, and where it defied human efforts; fires
were lit to burst it open And so perished forever the fabulous Hindu Empire of
Vijayanagar, which, in its time, had stretched from sea to sea.
Rolling Back of
Islam
Hindus have suffered
enough from the blows of Islam that continue today. If Islam is not rolled back
Hindus might find themselves in a minority in India within a century. Just as
Pakistan is producing suicide bombers, Hindu organizations should produce Swamis
like Shraddhananda who would mount campaigns for carrying out Shuddhi of the
Muslims in all states. And these campaigns should be supplemented by exposition
of weak points of Islam vis-à-vis Hinduism as shown in the following
comparisons:
Violence:
Islam is
very violent. Hinduism is very peaceful. Proselytizing: Muslims
proselytize aggressively and are intolerant towards all other religions. Hindus
don't proselytize at all and meld harmoniously with all other religions they
encounter. Reconversion or Shuddhi is altogether a different matter.
Body/Mind:
Islam is a
religion centered on bodies and seeks to control bodies (submission). Men sport
beards without moustaches. Hinduism is centered on the mind and seeks to control
the mind (liberation). Some Hindus display tilaks or bindis.
Clothing:
Islam is all
about putting Arabic dress of middle ages - Burqas or Hijabs for women and
pajamas above ankles and long shirts for men. Hinduism is not tied to
clothing.
Hierarchy/Egalitarianism:
Islam is a
hierarchical, legalistic religion controlled by old, bearded men (Ayatollahs).
Hinduism has no hierarchy that reinforces dogma.
Religion/Spirituality:
Islam is for
people who are religious but not spiritual. Hinduism is for people who are
spiritual but not religious. In fact, some say that Hinduism isn't even a
religion. Race/Ethnicity:
Muslims dislike white people. Black Muslim converts hate
white people. White Muslim converts especially hate white people. Hinduism is
totally race- and ethnicity-neutral. Demand level: Islam is a
high-demand religion that controls every aspect of a person's life. Hinduism is
a low-demand religion and you can pick and choose which aspects to
follow. Gender/Sexuality:
Islam is puritanical, patriarchal and persecutes people,
whereas Hinduism is progressive and welcoming.
Science/Modernity: Islam is anti-science and
medieval. Hinduism is forward-facing and connected to discoveries in psychology
and quantum physics.
Reproduction:
Muslims are polygamous, overly fertile and threaten to overwhelm
the nation on a demographic level. Hindus are monogamous, sub fertile, declining
and play the role of victims.
Sri Ramanuja’s Perpetuation of Religion and Faithfreeedom for Muslims
In the year 1017
A.D., Ramanuja was born in the village of Perumbudur, about twenty-five
miles west of Madras. His father was Kesava Somayaji and his mother was
Kantimathi, a very pious and virtuous lady. Ramanuja's Tamil name was
Ilaya Perumal. Quite early in life, Ramanuja lost his father. Then he
came to Kancheepuram to prosecute his study of the Vedas.
About the end of
the tenth century, the Visishtadvaita system of philosophy was well
established in Southern India and the followers of this creed were in
charge of important Vaishnavite temples at Kancheepuram, Srirangam,
Tirupathi and other important places. The head of the important
Vaishnavite institution was Yamunacharya, a great sage and profound
scholar; and he was also the head of the Mutt at Srirangam.
About this time
Ramanuja abandoned the life of a householder and became a Sannyasin.
Now Yamunacharya had become very old and was on the look-out for a
young person of ability and character to take his place as head of the
Mutt at Srirangam. He had heard of Ramanuja through his disciples, made
up his mind to install Ramanuja in his place and sent for him. By the
time Ramanuja reached Srirangam, Yamunacharya was dead; and Ramanuja
saw his body being taken by his followers to the cremation ground
outside the village. Ramanuja followed them to the cremation ground.
There he was informed that Yamunacharya, before his death, had left
instructions that he had three wishes which Ramanuja was to be
requested to fulfill, viz., that a Visishtadvaita Bhashya should be
written for the Brahma Sutras of Vyasa which hitherto had been taught
orally to the disciples of the Visishtadvaita philosophy and that the
names of Parasara, the author of Vishnu Purana, and saint Sadagopa
should be perpetuated. Ramanuja was deeply touched, and in the
cremation ground itself, before the dead body of Yamunacharya, he made
a solemn promise that, God willing, he would fulfill all the three
wishes of Yamunacharya. Ramanuja lived for 120 years, and in the course
of his long life, fully redeemed his promise by fulfilling all the
three wishes of Yamunacharya.
Ramanuja's fame spread far and wide. He wrote his commentary on the Brahma Sutras known as the Sri Bhashya.
The Visishtadvaita system is an ancient one. It was expounded by
Bodhayana in his Vritti, written about 400 B.C. It is the same as that
expounded by Ramanuja; and Ramanuja followed Bodhayana in his
interpretations of the Brahma Sutras. Ramanuja's sect of Vaishnavas is
called by the name Sri Sampradaya. Ramanuja wrote also three other books--Vedanta Sara (essence of Vedanta), Vedanta Sangraha (a resume of Vedanta) and Vedanta Deepa (the light of Vedanta).
His conversion of people to the path
of BhaktiRamanuja traveled throughout the length and breadth of India to
disseminate the path of devotion. He visited all the sacred places throughout India including Kasha, Kashmir
and Badrinath. Ramanuja then visited all the Vaishnavite shrines in South India and finally reached Srirangam. Here he
settled himself permanently and continued his labours of preaching the
Visishtadvaita philosophy and writing books. Thousands of people flocked to him
everyday to hear his lectures. He cleansed the temples, settled the rituals to
be observed in them, and rectified many social evils which had crept into the
community. He had a congregation of 700 Sannyasins, 74 dignitaries who held
special offices of ministry, and thousands of holy men and women, who revered
him as God. He converted lakhs of people to the path of Bhakti. He gave
initiation even to washermen. He was now seventy years old, but was destined to
live many more years, establish more Mutts, construct more temples and convert
many more thousands of people.
Ramanuja, with a few followers reached the foot-hills of the Western Ghats,
about forty miles west of Mysore.
There, after great difficulties, he established himself and spent some years in
preaching and converting people to the Visishtadvaita philosophy. The king of
the place was Bhatti Deva of the Hoysala dynasty. The Raja's daughter was
possessed of some devil and nobody was able to cure her. Ramanuja succeeded in
exorcizing the devil and the princess was restored to her former health. The
king was very much pleased with Ramanuja and readily became his disciple and he
was converted by Ramanuja into a Vaishnavite. Thereafter Ramanuja firmly
established himself in the Mysore
king's dominions, constructed a temple at Melkote, and created a strong
Vaishnavite community there. The Pariahs or depressed classes (now called
Harijans) of the place were of great service to Ramanuja; and Ramanuja gave
them the right of entry inside the temple which he constructed at Melkote--on
some fixed days and with some limited privileges--which they enjoy to this day.
Ramanuja constructed a few more Vishnu temples in and about Mysore, set up a strong Vaishnavite community
and put them in charge of his disciples to continue his work and spread the
Visishtadvaita philosophy and Vishnu worship throughout the king's dominions.
Thus he continued his labours here for nearly twenty years and his followers
numbered several thousands.
He was welcomed by his friends and disciples at Srirangam after the death of
Kulothunga Chola I where Ramanuja continued his labours for thirty years more
and closed his long active career after attaining the remarkable age of 120
years.
According to Ramanuja's teachings, Lord Narayana or Bhagavan is the Supreme
Being; the individual soul is Chit; matter is Achit. Ramanuja regards the
attributes as real and permanent, but subject to the control of Brahman. The
attributes are called Prakaras or modes. Lord Narayana is the Ruler and Lord of
the universe. The Jiva is His servant and worshipper. The Jiva should
completely surrender himself to the Lord. The oneness of God is quite
consistent with the existence of attributes, as the attributes or Shaktis
depend upon God for their existence.
Continuation of the blow of Islam
In the same century
that Ramanuja died, destruction of his followers began on a large scale further
north. Hasan Miami writes that after the suppression of a Hindu revolt at Kol
(modern day Aligarh)
in 1193 AD, Aibak raised "three bastions as high as heaven with their
heads, and their carcases became food for beasts of prey. The tract was freed
from idols and idol worship."
In 1194 AD Aibak destroyed 27 Hindu temples at Delhi and built the
Quwwat-ul-lslam mosque with their debris. According to Nizami, Aibak
"adorned it with the stones and gold obtained from the temples which had
been demolished by elephants". In 1195 AD the Mher tribe of Ajmer rose in revolt, and
the Chaulukyas of Gujarat came to their assistance. Aibak had to invite reinforcements
from Ghazni before he could meet the challenge. In 1196 AD he advanced against
Anahilwar Patan, the capital of Gujarat.
Nizami writes that after Raja Karan was defeated and forced to flee,
"fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and
"more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell
into the hands of the victors".
The city was sacked, its temples demolished, and its
palaces plundered. On his return to Ajmer,
Aibak destroyed the Sanskrit College of Visaladeva, and laid the foundations of
a mosque which came to be known as 'Adhai Din ka Jhompada'.
Conquest of Kalinjar in 1202 AD was Aibak's crowning
achievement. Nizami concludes: "The temples were converted into mosques...
Fifty thousand men came under the collar of slavery and the plain became black
as pitch with Hindus."
A free-lance adventurer, Muhammad Bakhtyar Khalji, was
moving further east. In 1200 AD he sacked the undefended university town of Odantpuri in Bihar and
massacred the Buddhist monks in the monasteries. In 1202 AD he took Nadiya by
surprise. Badauni records in his Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh that "property and
booty beyond computation fell into the hands of the Muslims and Muhammad
Bakhtyar having destroyed the places of worship and idol temples of the
infidels founded mosques and Khanqahs".
Shamsuddin Iltutmish who succeeded Aibak at Delhi invaded Malwa in
1234 AD. He destroyed an ancient temple at Vidisha. Badauni reports in his
'Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh':
"Having destroyed the idol temple
of Ujjain which had been built six hundred years previously, and was called
Mahakal, he leveled it to its foundations, and threw down the image of Rai
Vikramajit from whom the Hindus reckon their era, and brought certain images of
cast molten brass and placed them on the ground in front of the doors of
mosques of old Delhi, and ordered the people of trample them under foot."
Muslim power in India suffered a serious setback
after Iltutmish. Balkan had to battle against a revival of Hindu power. The
Katehar Rajputs of what came to be known as Rohilkhand in later history had so
far refused to submit to Islamic imperialism. Balkan led an expedition across
the Ganges in 1254 AD. According to Badauni,
"In two days after leaving Delhi, he arrived in the midst of the territory of Katihar
and put to death every male, even those of eight years of age, and bound the
women."
Escape from the Paradise
under the shade of Swords A quotation from the book of Jihad
in Sahihbal Bukhari states: Narrated
Abdullah bin Abi Aufa: Allah’s messnger (may peace be upon him) said, ‘Know
that Paradise is under the shade of swords’.
It is this spirit of Jihad in Islam that has caused so much havoc to Muslims
and Non-Muslims alike in the world, especially in India. The contrast between the
gentle and civilized method of conversion used by Ramanuja to the barbaric
sword of Islam is stark. Unfortunately, the Jihad still continues. The time is
ripe for checking it. In Pakistan
and some other Muslim countries suicide bombers are being trained – sometimes
with their Governments’ support – to gain paradise by killing infidels and
‘apostates’. If this barbarian, criminal and unlawful activity can carried out
by Muslims with impunity, it is perfectly in order for Hindus to establish
centres with teachings of saints like Ramanuja and reconvert Muslims to
Hinduism or at lest free them from the shackles of Islam.
It is heartening to note that an
Iranian ex-Muslim, Ali Sani, has launchedwww.faithfreedom.org site to echo
the voice of ex-Muslims who want to stop the spread of Islam, expose its
violent nature, and help Muslims to understand it and leave it. They believe in
the oneness of humanity and oppose Islam for inciting hatred against non
Muslims. Muhammad instructed his follower to conquer the world by the sword and
to rule it with terror. They are determined to not let that happen.India
and the Hindus should support this site wholeheartedly and open its branches in
all the cities of India to
help Muslims escape the ‘Paradise under the
shade of Swords’, which in reality is hell for them as well for their victims.
The Government, if unwilling to support this endeavour of saving humanity,
should not, at least, oppose the proposal.
Early
Life Gyaneshwar was born in the year 1271 in a small village near the Godavari
River. His father, Vithalpant, found married life annoying and deserted his wife
to seek refuge in the holy city of Benaras. However, the Guru who had initiated
him came to know about his wife and sent him back to his village. Later, four
children were born to them. The first was Nvrittinath, then Gyaneshwar (in
1271), another boy Sopana and a daughter Muktabai. All the siblings became great
spiritual leaders in their might.
Initiation into
Spirituality Sant Gnaneshwar was initiated by his elder brother,
Nvrittinath. Soon after his initiation, he realized that the Bhagvad Gita is the
best text in satisfying the spiritual needs of people. At the same time, he
appreciated the fact that it is difficult for the common people to comprehend
the great text, since it was written in Sanskrit. It was then that he took the
decision to translate the great text into a common language. His
interpretation of the Gita, which is called the 'Gnaneshwari' and is read today
by millions, was a miracle. Young Gnaneshwar took mahasamadhi, while he was
still a young lad. Miraculous stories are connected with the above episode and
site. The book was completed at Nevasa, a town on the banks of the Prainara
River in the district of Ahmednagar. The actual writer was Sachidananda Pava.
Gyandev's commentary on the Gita is considered as one of the best. In a big
assembly of Sanskrit Pundits in Benaras Gyandev was elected as the
President.
Gyaneshwar is to
Maharashtrians what the Ramayana of Tulsidas is to the Hindi-speaking people.
Though Gyandev lived for only a few years, he did wonderful work. He was a
Yogi of deep spiritual experiences and a sage of Supreme Order. He boldly
criticized his predecessors. He was a great social and religious reformer and
laid the foundation of the great Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.
Gyaneshwar is to Maharashtrians what the Ramayana of Tulsidas is to the
Hindi-speaking people. Though Gyandev lived for only a few years, he did
wonderful work. He was a Yogi of deep spiritual experiences and a sage of
Supreme Order. He was a great social and religious reformer and laid the
foundation of the great Bhakti movement in Maharashtra.
Meeting with Chang
Dev
Gyandev met Chang Deva. He was a
famous saint who had managed to defy death by his yogic powers for a thousand
and four hundred years. He used to live at Bateshwar. He was proud of his yogic
attainments. He had Bhuta siddhi or complete control over all living
beings and used to travel on a tiger with a serpent as a whip. Chang Deva had a
curiosity to see Gyaneshwar. He started with a large number of followers. Chang
Deva rode on his favorite tiger and drove it with a serpent whip. As Gyandev saw
Chang Deva coming, he asked the wall to move on which he was seated. Chang Deva
was surprised to see Gyandev's power and in bitter shame he prostrated before
him and accepted him as his Guru.
Mukta a mere girl of
fourteen gave illustrations to Chang Deva, an old man of thousand and four
hundred years. She said, "O Chang Deva! Listen. If you want to attain salvation,
the first step is sincere devotion. Devotion will bring Vairagya,
Vairagya will lead to Gyana. Therefore, you again should be Gyani
and your first foot must be on devotion." Nivritti was really the Guru of
Gyandev, Nivritti asked Gyandev to write an independent book embodying
[if !mso]>
Foundation of Warhari Sampradaya
Gyandev was the founder of an institution called Warhari Sampradaya
which is still alive in all its glory in Maharashtra.
It is called, ‘Warito Pandharpur’. All who have accepted this Wari
undertake to go to Pandharpur on a sadh Ekadasi (June-July) and Kartik
Ekadasi (October-November) days every year. They must visit Pandharpur at
least once annually if not on both these days. It is considered to sacred that
except in the event of physical illness, they continue to go to Pandharpur,
year after year through the whole life and from generation to generation.
Nirvana
Gyandev made it known to his
friends and brothers that it was his desire to enter into Sanjivani
Samadhi while alive. This he did at Alandi on the 13th day of the dark half
of the Kartik month, about the end of October 1296 in his twenty-second
year. He drew up all the Prana to the Brahuraramadhasa and gave up the
physical body. Even today, if anybody reads Gita by the side of his
samadhi, his doubts are cleared.
He firmly established the path of
Bhakti and jnana and made people realize that all were equal and
that it was the action which counted for the glory and excellence of a man and
not the accident or birth or the mere study of Vedas and Vedanta.
Among the followers of Gyandev were Namdev, a tailor; Jani, a maidservant of
Namdev; Narakari a goldsmith; Chokamala, a Mehar; Seva, a barber; Gora, a
potter; Savanta a gardener and Bhagu a Muharrin who was respected as great
devotee of Krishna.
Blows by Khijlis
While Sant Gyaneshwar was
involved in such lofty acts Muslims were continuing their rape of India in the
same decade.
Jalaluddin Khalji
led an expedition to Ranthambhor in 1291 AD. On the way he destroyed Hindu
temples at Chain. The broken idols were sent to Delhi to be spread before the
gates of the Jama Masjid. His nephew Alauddin led an expedition to Vidisha in
1292 AD. According to Badauni in Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh, Alauddin "brought much
booty to the Sultan and the idol which was the object of worship of the Hindus,
he caused to be cast in front of the Badaun gate to be trampled upon by the
people. The services of Alauddin were highly appreciated, the jagir of Oudh (or
Avadh - Central U.P.) also was added to his other estates."
Alauddin
became Sultan in 1296 AD after murdering his uncle and father-in-law,
Jalaluddin. In 1298 AD he equipped an expedition to Gujarat under his generals
Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan. The invaders plundered the ports of Surat and
Cambay. The temple of Somnath, which had been rebuilt by the Hindus, was
plundered and the idol taken to Delhi for being trodden upon by the Muslims. The
whole region was subjected to fire and sword, and Hindus were slaughtered en
masse. Kampala Devi, the queen of Gujarat, was captured along with the royal
treasury, brought to Delhi and forced into Alauddin's harem.
Reversing
Radical
Islam
Rulers of India are like
the three Buddhas who see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing even as the
press reports that Pakistani Talibans are now being threatened with jail unless
they infiltrate India for Jihad. They have to prepare to fight and eliminate
them by firepower and have to dry up support for them from local jihadis who
were so crucial for 27/11 attack in Mumbai. One way to achieve this is by
creating an organization like Quilliam Foundation of the U.K.
The Quilliam Foundation
is a counter-extremism think tank and campaign group. Its first objective is to
demonstrate how the Islamist ideology is incompatible with Islam. Secondly, it
wishes to develop a Western Islam that is at home in Britain and in Europe. We
want to reverse radicalization by taking on their arguments and countering them.
The Quilliam Foundation believes that Islam is not an ideology but a religion,
namely "Islam is not Islamism." The Foundation opposes Islamists, in particular
the group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The primary
recommendation of the Foundation is the establishment of rehabilitation centres
in which to "detox" extremists, based on the success of Egyptian and Saudi
programmes of this kind. These centres would expose extremists and terrorists
who wish to leave their organizations to the work of Islamic scholars whose work
has been recognized as sound and legitimate.
Other goals include
instructing and urging communities, groups, scholars and leaders to identify and
eject Islamists/extremists from their midst. The organization's ultimate
audience is British Muslims, with a particular focus on extremists and radicals.
To date the organization has engaged with audiences through presentations,
interviews and discussions across Europe and the Middle East.
all his
experiences in Gyana. Gyandev wrote ‘Amritanubhava', which
contains the highest experiences of Gyandev in 800 couplet
Regarding the French ban
on hijab, Maajid Nawaz said Muslims can only oppose it based on this condition;
"If Muslims object to the French ban on the hijab, we must also object to the
"Islamist" plan to impose the hijab and ban women uncovering their hair"
The Quilliam Foundation
argues that "[Islamists] are extreme because of their rigidity in understanding
politics". "The modernist attempt to claim that political sovereignty belongs to
God, that the Shari'ah equates to state law, and it is a religious duty on all
Muslims to create a political entity that reflects the above... Islamism is the
belief that Islam is a political ideology"
The Quilliam Foundation
is undertaking theological revisionism in line with its views on modernity to
support its objective of creating a Western Islam. The Quilliam Foundation
partly condemns Muslims for not doing enough to combat the development of
political extremism within their community
A similar foundation - call it
Chagla Foundation - ought to be established in India with the objective of
creating an Indian Islam that would be non-violent. Even if the Koran says in verse 39 of Surah 2 "those who disbelieve and belie
Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)
such are the dwellers of the Fire, they shall abide therein forever", let the
Indian Muslims live and let live peacefully in India and let Allah do his job in
Hell! Their attacks must be answered by massive retaliation.
It is shameful that the
Government is bowing to Muslim parliamentarians and is hesitant to even
constitute a Board of secular intellectuals for overseeing the madrassas
curriculum. On the contrary, efforts should be made expose Muslim children to
the teachings of saints like Sant Gyaneshwar.It is instructive
that a study of Brookings Institution, Washington has praised madrassas in West
Bengal where vocational training is imparted and where many Hindus enroll. That
clearly points towards a path which can remove violent teachings of Koran.
A recent study by Pew Research
Forum states: ‘Most people think of the Muslim
world being Muslims living mostly in Muslim-majority countries.' The study said.
‘But with India ... that sort of turns that on its head a bit.' India should pay
heed and the tyranny of the Muslim minority should be put to a stop now
lest it becomes unstoppable by its demographic assault as this century
progresses.
Invitation of the RSS Chief,
Mohan Bhagwat, to Muslims to join the RSS should be followed up by gentle
persuasion so that these people move a step nearer to reconversion. And in this
field we rejoice to observe that a man converted from Islam has been awarded
2009 Nobel Peace Prize and the man, United States President, Barack Obama, has
accepted the award as “a call to action to confront challenges of the 21st
Century”. And there is no greater challenge in the Century than the reformation
of Islam. There are no quick fixes, but there are
long-term goals that we need to plan for now.
20. SHRI RAVIDAS ‘UNIVERSAL
BROTHERHOOD, TIMUR’S WAR AGAINST HINDUS AND LEAVING ISLAM
His Life
Sri Guru Ravidass was born in the 14th century (1377 most of the scholars
say) at Kashi (Vanarasi), Uttar Pradesh, in a humble family: Baba Santokh Dass
being his father and Mata Kalsa Devi his mother. From childhood Guru Ravidass
was inclined towards spirituality. Guruji used to go to attend holy discourses
and showed great respect and devotion to holy men. This worried guruji's
parents and they tried to divert his attention by engaging him in their family
profession of shoe making and repairing. Guruji learned the profession, yet his
love and devotion for God continued undiminished. With a view to make him more
interested in worldly affairs, his father got him married to Mata Lona Devi ji
at an early age. But even that didn't change his attitude. Thoroughly
disgusted, his father separated him from the family and asked him to manage his
own affairs without his share of the family property. He was made to stay in
the backyard of his house.
At that time the social system was rather cruel and low caste people were
not allowed to visit temples for prayers, to schools for study, to enter
villages in daylight and were forced to live in huts far away rather than in houses
in village. Guruji was completely devoted to searching God in the cruel world,
which only created obstacles in the path of his goals of spreading God’s
message of everybody being equal in all respects, irrespective of caste, color
or a belief in any form of God and to spread a message that "God created
man and not man created God". Guru Ravidass taught lessons of universal
brotherhood and tolerance.
Influenced by Guru Ravidass’ teachings, the Maharaja and the Rani of Chittor
became disciples of Guru Ravidass and so did the famous saint poetess, Mirabai.
Guru Ravidass disappeared from this planet, leaving behind only his
footprints, in 1527.
Invasion of Timur
in 1399 AD.
While Guru Ravi Das was preaching brotherhood of man, Timur
began his invasion of India
by quoting the Quran in his Tuzk-i-Timuri: "O Prophet, make war upon the
infidels and unbelievers, and treat them severely."
He revealed: "My great object in invading Hindustan had been to wage a religious war against the
infidel Hindus...[so that] the army of Islam might gain something by plundering
the wealth and valuables of the Hindus." To start with he stormed the fort
of Kator on the border of Kashmir. He ordered
his soldiers "to kill all the men, to make prisoners of women and
children, and to plunder and lay waste all their property". Next, he
"directed towers to be built on the mountain of the skulls of those
obstinate unbelievers". Soon after, he laid siege to Bhatnir defended by
Rajputs. They surrendered after some fight, and were pardoned. But Islam did
not bind Timur to keep his word given to the "unbelievers". His
Tuzk-i-Timuri records:
"In a short space of time all the people in the fort were put to
the sword, and in the course of one hour the heads of 10,000 infidels were cut
off. The sword of Islam was washed in the blood of the infidels, and all the
goods and effects, the treasure and the grain which for many a long year had
been stored in the fort became the spoil of my soldiers. They set fire to the
houses and reduced them to ashes, and they razed the buildings and the fort to
the ground."
At Sarsuti, the next city to be sacked, "the entire
infidel Hindus were slain, their wives and children were made prisoners and
their property and goods became the spoil of the victors". Timur was now
moving through (modern day) Haryana, the land of the Jats. He directed his
soldiers to "plunder and destroy and kill every one whom they met".
And so the soldiers "plundered every village, killed the men, and carried
a number of Hindu prisoners, both male and female".
Loni, which was captured before he arrived at Delhi, was predominantly
a Hindu town. But some Muslim inhabitants were also taken prisoners. Timur
ordered that "the Musulman prisoners should be separated and saved, but
the infidels should all be dispatched to hell with the proselytizing
sword".
By now Timur had captured 100,000 Hindus. As he prepared
for battle against the Tughlaq army after crossing the Yamuna, his Amirs
advised him "that on the great day of battle these 100,000 prisoners could
not be left with the baggage, and that it would be entirely opposed to the
rules of war to set these idolaters and enemies of Islam at liberty".
Therefore, "no other course remained but that of making them all food for
the sword".
Tuzk-i-Timuri continues:
"I proclaimed throughout the camp that every man who had infidel
prisoners should put them to death, and whoever neglected to do so should
himself be executed and his property given to the informer. When this order
became known to the ghazis of Islam, they drew their swords and put their
prisoners to death. One hundred thousand infidels, impious idolaters, were on
that day slain. Maulana Nasiruddin Umar, a counselor and man of learning, who,
in all his life, had never killed a sparrow, now, in execution of my order,
slew with his sword fifteen idolatrous Hindus, who were his captives."
The Tughlaq army was defeated in the battle that ensued
next day. Timur entered Delhi
and learnt that a "great number of Hindus with their wives and children,
and goods and valuables, had come into the city from all the country
round".
He directed his soldiers to seize these Hindus and their
property. Tuzk-i-Timuri concludes:
"Many of them (Hindus) drew their swords and resisted...The flames
of strife were thus lighted and spread through the whole city from Jahanpanah
and Siri to Old Delhi,
burning up all it reached. The Hindus set fire to their houses with their own
hands, burned their wives and children in them and rushed into the fight and
were killed...On that day, Thursday, and all the night of Friday, nearly 15,000
Turks were engaged in slaying, plundering and destroying. When morning broke on
Friday, all my army ...went off to the city and thought of nothing but killing,
plundering and making prisoners....The following day, Saturday the 17th, all
passed in the same way, and the spoil was so great that each man secured from
fifty to a hundred prisoners, men, women, and children. There was no man who
took less than twenty. The other booty was immense in rubies, diamonds,
garnets, pearls, and other gems and jewels; ashrafis, tankas of gold and silver
of the celebrated Alai coinage: vessels of gold and silver; and brocades and
silks of great value. Gold and silver ornaments of Hindu women were obtained in
such quantities as to exceed all account. Excepting the quarter of the Saiyids,
the Ulama and the other Musulmans, the whole city was sacked."
Leaving Islam
With a history like that a time
had to come that sensible people would begin leaving Islam. That time has arrived
now and Hindus should not shy away from their responsibility of righting the
wrong that their ancestors suffered.
Pope Benedict’s choice to publicly baptize, in April 2008,
the most prominent Muslim in Italy,
Egyptian-born Magdi Allam, highlights a quiet worldwide exodus from Islam. In
recent years, millions have moved on. Allam writes that his mind “has been
freed from the obscurantism of an ideology that legitimizes lies and deception,
violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind submission to tyranny”.
In Iran
as many as 1 million people have surreptitiously converted to Evangelical
Christianity in the last five years. Pastor Hormoz Shariat claims to have
converted 50,000 of them through his U.S.-based Farsi-language satellite
ministry.
After years of al-Qaeda war on Iraq, a similar phenomenon is
growing there. The New York Times March 4 reported: “After
almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant
firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown
disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they
preach.” A high school girl tells Times reporters: “I hate Islam and
all the clerics because they limit our freedom every day and their instruction
became heavy over us. Most of the girls in my high school hate that Islamic
people control the authority because they don’t deserve to be rulers.” A
19-year-old man says: “The religion men are liars. Young people don’t believe
them. Guys my age are not interested in religion anymore.” A Baghdad law professor explains that her
students “have changed their views about religion. They started to hate
religious men. They make jokes about them because they feel disgusted by them.”
A 24-year-old female college student says, “I used to love Osama bin Laden. Now
I hate Islam. Al-Qaeda and the Mahdi Army are spreading hatred. People are
being killed for nothing.
An IBN Live report dated 25 September 2006 is worth quoting
at some length in this connection:
Are
Muslim youth in urban India
junking their religion for fear of being branded as terrorists? While
many stressed out Muslims, weary of being targeted or racially profiled, are
increasingly taking to spirituality and seeking solace in religion, educated
youth are today consciously or unconsciously distancing from Islam to showcase
their secular credentials. Rather than asserting their identities and removing
the many misconceptions about the religion, they are dissociating themselves
from anything and everything Islamic.
As Gulnar Mirza, a media
professional in Bangalore,
said,” To avoid the tag of 'Muslim', they are trying to be ultra modern and
cosmopolitan, as if this will hide their Islamic roots, which is like some
uncomfortable baggage." Aiman Mustafa, a postgraduate student at the Delhi
School of Economics, says there is tension between one's original identity and
the identity one may feel forced to adapt as a result of socialization.
So why are Muslim youth
going out of their way to make a show of their secular credentials? Senior
psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh explained, "Tight and closed boundaries make
living very taxing. Widening the circumference provides flexibility and
therefore greater relief!" But this fear of being branded can lead to some
deeper psychological problems, warns Chugh. "Branding someone is almost
like labeling a person with very rigid and fixed characteristics that become
their definition forever or for most part of their lives. This leaves very
little room for change. "It is a stamp by which people identify you and
judge you. This can be very limiting and adds to feelings of alienation,"
he says. "People who get branded or labeled might perceive themselves as
'different' and this could perhaps lead to inferior feelings, low self-esteem,
self-hatred and anger directed towards self and society."
Hindu organizations should exploit the present ‘Islamophobia’ and
actively work to persuade young Muslims to accept secular and a much gentler
Hindu religion. This is the best remedy for preventing future Jihads in India.
Mahendra Mathur
About the author:
Col.
(Retd.) Mahendra Mathur commanded an Engineer Regiment of the Indian
Army in peace and war. After his military service he served as Director
of Tobago's Claude Noel Highway Project in 1975, Coordinator for
development of Lower Scarborough
and realignment of Steele and Cooke’s Rivers for flood prevention,
Technical Officer of
Tobago Road Construction, and first Director of National Emergency
Management Agency. Colonel Mathur spent four months at Oxford
Polytechnic in 1992 doing research on Hazard Assessment. He organized Disaster Management Workshops for senior officials from public and private sectors in conjunction with the University of West Indies twice a year. In 1998 he retired from NEMA and was elected to be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Premix Concrete Limited. He resigned from that post in 2002.
He now lives in Trinidad
writing fiction and non-fiction. He also devotes some time to spiritual studies and
writings and contributes to various publications.
SANT
TULSIDAS AND BAN ON BULDING OF MOSQUES BY AKBAR
His Life
Tulsidas was born during the reign of Akbar to Hulsi and
Atmaram Dubey in Rajpur, in Uttar Pradesh in 1532 CE. When he was a child the
first word he ever uttered was “Ram” and hence he was called RamBola (literally
translated to “he said Ram”) by all the villagers. He married a devout and
pious woman called Ratnavali. Tulsidas was extremely attached to his wife. One
day his wife went to her parents’ home to a neighboring town across the river Yamuna.
That night, Tulsidas felt very lonely. It was a stormy night and Tulsidas,
experiencing an unexplainable longing for his wife, decided that he had to see
her right away.
It was a dark night and it was raining heavily. Unconcerned,
he took a short cut through a Shamshan, crossed
the Yamuna by holding on to the tail of a crocodile, climbed the first floor
bedroom of his wife with the help of a python (which he took to be a rope) and
astonished Ratnavali by his presence. She rebuked him thus: “O Tulsi, you have
so much love and lust for my flesh and bones, which will decay as we grow
older. If you had even half this love for Lord Ram, you probably would have
seen him by now.”
This statement stunned Tulsidas. He renounced his family
ties, took Sannyasa (renunciation) and became a wandering ascetic. All his love
was now directed towards the Lord Ram. He went on long pilgrimages across India longing
for a sight of his beloved Ram. He lived for many years at Ayodhya (where Lord
Ram had lived). He sung hymns to his Lord and constantly meditated on his feet
longing to see him at least once in his life.
It is the servant who shows any visitor to the master. In
trying to approach the magnificent Lord Ram Chandra himself, Tulsidas was
assured success when he went through his sevak – Lord Hanuman. Tulsidas also
composed the Hanuman Chalisa (40 couplets in praise of Lord Hanuman). Hanuman
Chalisa is still widely sung in almost every household in India.
Tulsidas is believed to be an incarnation of Sage Valmiki,
who wrote the Ramayana in Sanskrit. Tulsidas, however, wrote the Ramayana in
the local vernacular of Hindi and Bhojpuri and it is known as Ramcharitamanas. The
Ramcharitamanas was his biggest work as a poet. It is read and worshipped with
great reverence in many Hindu homes in India. He emphasized the path to
attain salvation by devoting oneself to God. He also composed many bhajans and
songs in praise of Ram, and he spent many years living blissfully as a
wandering saint, still immersed in thoughts of Lord Ram, till he died in 1623
at the age of 91. He spent the last years of his life in Benares.
Goswami Tulsidas's works were even admired by the Mughal
ruler Akbar.
Akbar’s New Religion
Bans Building
of Mosques
What follow are the extracts from Will Durant’s Our Oriental Heritage that describe the
reign of Akbar.
Like a good Turk he
had no effeminate distaste for human blood; when, at the age of fourteen, he
was invited to win the title of Ghazi – Slayer of the Infidel – by killing a
Hindu prisoner, he cut off the man’s head at once with one stroke of his
scimitar. These were the barbarous beginnings of a man destined to become one
of the wisest, most humane and most cultured of all the kings known to history.
By a series of ruthless wars he made himself ruler of all Hindustan except for
the little Rajput kingdom
of Mewar.
This well-nigh
omnipotent emperor secretly yearned to be a philosopher – much as philosophers
long to be emperors, and cannot comprehend the stupidity of Providence in withholding from them their
rightful thrones. As became a philosopher, he was profoundly interested in
religion. His careful reading of the Mahabharata, and his intimacy with Hindu
poets and sages, lured him into the study of Hindu faiths. For a time, at least
he accepted the theory of transmigration, and scandalized his Muslim followers
by appearing in public with Hindu religious marks on his forehead. He pleased
the Zoroastrians by wearing their sacred shirt and girdle under his clothes,
and allowed the Jains to persuade him to abandon hunting, and to prohibit, on
certain days, the killing of animals.
His greatest pleasure,
after the fires of youth had cooled, was in the free discussion of religious
beliefs. He had quite discarded the dogmas of Islam, and to such an extent that
his Moslem subjects fretted under his impartial rule. “This king,” St Francis
Xavier reported with some exaggeration, “has destroyed the false sect of
Mohammed, and wholly discredited it. In this city neither there is a Mosque nor
a Koran – the book of their law; and the mosques that were there have been made
stables for horses, and storehouses.” The King took no stock in revelations,
and would accept nothing that could not justify itself with science and
philosophy. “Each person,” he said, in the spirit – and perhaps through the
influence – of the Upanishads and Kabir, “according to his condition gives the
Supreme Being a name; nut in reality to name the Unknowable is vain.”
Harassed by the religious
divisions in his kingdom, and disturbed by the thought that they might disrupt
it after his death, Akbar finally decided to promulgate a new religion,
containing in simple form the essentials of the warring faiths.
A General Council that
he summoned perforce consenting, he issued a decree proclaiming himself the infallible
head of the church. The creed was a pantheistic monotheism in the best Hindu
tradition, with a spark of sun and fire worship from the Zoroastrians, and a
semi-Jain recommendation to abstain from meat. The slaughter of cows was made a
capital offence: nothing could have pleased Hindus more or the Muslims less. A
later edict made vegetarianism compulsory in the entire population for at least
a hundred days in the year; and in further consideration of native ideas garlic
and onions were prohibited. The building of mosques, the fast of Ramadan, the
pilgrimage to Mecca,
and other Mohammedan customs were banned. Many Muslims who resisted the edicts
were exiled.
As a religion the Din
Ilahi never succeeded; Akbar found tradition too strong for his infallibility.
A few thousand rallied to his new cult; largely as a means of securing official
favour; the vast majority adhered to their inherited gods. Politically the
stroke had some beneficial results. The abolition of head –tax and the
pilgrim-tax on the Hindus, the freedom granted to all religions (with the
exception of the transient persecution of Islam in 1582-5), the weakening of
racial religious fanaticism, dogmatism and division, far outweighed the egotism
and excesses of Akbar’s novel revelation. And it won him such loyalty from even
the Hindus who did not accept his creed that his prime purpose – political
unity – was largely achieved.
No crowd followed his
simple funeral (1605); and the sons and courtiers who had worn mourning for the
event discarded it the same evening, and rejoiced that they had inherited his
kingdom. It was a bitter death for the justest and wisest ruler that Asia had ever known.
One cannot help recalling the grand funeral that was
accorded to another leader of India
343 years later who gave Pakistan
to Muslims and told Hindus to bear Muslim brutalities passively. The message
seems to be: if you work in the interest of Hindus expect no crowds at your
funeral!
Inviting Muslims to
embrace Hinduism
If Hinduism is to flourish, it has to be guarded against
Islam and Christianity. Hindu psyche is such that this cannot be done by
organizations like Abhinav Bharat and Sanatan Sanstha. An answer may be found
by taking lessons from Din-Ilahi and
modern Roman Catholic techniques. Hindus should shed the ancient ideas of not
accepting non-Hindus in is fold. Instead, Hindu religion should become even
broader to accommodate some Islamic and Christian ideas in order to welcome
Muslims and Christians within its fold. “There is no God but one God”,
everybody accepts. Let us also accept Mohammed was his prophet even if
historians like Edward Gibbon call it a lie. All that is necessary is to
sanitize Koran by deleting outdated violent verses. There is no problem in
accepting Christ as God’s son either. The name rhymes with Krishna in any case
so let us say Christ is a son of Krishna as
many of his sayings look like they have been taken out of the Gita.
But let us also emphasize that apart from Christ there are
other ways too to realize God.
Massive Hindu resources need to be allocated for this noble
task of saving Bharat Mata which is perfectly legal, non-violent and
peace-spreading. Introducing study of the already popular Ramcharitamanas in
Madarssahs would go a long way in bringing gentle spiritual values to Muslims.
Protecting India
is too serious a business to be left to the Indian government. They have
already proved that they are only interested in remaining in power by
legalizing Bangladeshi infiltration. If Hindus do not take the matter in their
own hands soon the expansionist Taliban would be infiltrating into India through Kashmir, Punjab
and Rajasthan – in addition to Eastern border - in hordes to spread Jihad. We
still have time to fight this menace on ideological plain and stop the
infiltration. In a few decades it might be too late to prevent Muslims from
taking over the country – by infiltration, demography and short-sighted
policies of the Indian government. Whereas Akbar banned building mosques, the
present Indian Prime Minister has promised first bite on the national budget to
the Muslims. Consequences of this promise have been dramatic. Muslims vote en masse for the Congress in national
and assembly elections to keep out the BJP. Hindus have to unite and pool their
resources for the organizations like the Bajrang Dal to bring back the
converted Muslims to Hindu-fold.
Gurudeva was born in California and grew up near Lake Tahoe. Orphaned
at age 11, he was raised by a family friend who had spent years in India and who
brought him into the culture and beliefs of Hinduism. Trained in classical
Eastern and Western dance and in the disciplines of yoga, he became the premier
danseur of the San Francisco Ballet Company at age 19. Then, at the height of
his career, he suddenly renounced the world.
Early
Life
