HE PRABHO, YEH NAHIN KI MEIN NAHIN JAANTA KI KYA SAHI HAI, YA KYA GALAT HAI, MEIN ACHCHI TARAH JAANTA HOON KI SHASTRON MEIN KYA LIKHA HAI KI MANUSHYA KAA SAHI AACHRAN KYA HAI, WA KISI BHI STHITI MEIN MUJHE KYA KARNA CHAHIYE JO SHASTRA SANGAT HO;
HE PRABHO, PAR FIR BHI MEIN WAHI KARTA HOON JO MERE MAN MEIN AATI HAI, JO MERE MAN KO ACHCHA LAGTA HAI, CHAHE WOH SAHI HO YA GALAT, SHASTRA SANGAT HO YA NA HO, SAB KAAM MAN MAANI KARKE ULTE PALTE KARTA HOON;
HE PRABHO AB TUHI MUJHE BACHAA, TUHI MERI RAKSHA KAR.
HE RAM HE RAM HE KRISHN HE KRISHN RAKSHA KARO RAKSHA KARO
(He Prabho, I know very well that what is right and what is wrong; I also know very well that what is written in the shastras and what the conduct of a man must be in a given situation in accordance with the shastras;
He Prabho, I still do whatever I feel like doing, whether it is right or wrong whether it is in accordance with the shastras or not, most of the time I end up doing just the opposite of what the Shastra say I am required to do.
He Prabho, now you save me, you protect me I pray to you.)
Sunday, October 7, 2007
SWAMINARYAN TRUST INVITED TO BUILD AKSHARDHAM IN CHINA
1. Swaminarayan Trust Invited to Build Akshardham in China
2. Korea's Buddhists Languish as Christianity Gains
3. Odissi-Lovers Rally Behind Ailing Asako
1. Swaminarayan Trust Invited to Build Akshardham in China
www.ndtv.com
DELHI, INDIA, October 6, 2007: It is one of the grandest Hindu temples in the capital and has been built with a lot of thought and precision. An architectural marvel, the Akshardham temple is the cynosure of all eyes. Soon a replica of it will be constructed, thousands of miles away in China. The first Hindu temple in communist China. The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida and in Gandhinagar, to build a similar temple. A huge piece of land has been earmarked in Fohsan state, which will not only house the temple but also an Indian cultural center. ''Initial thoughts are to have a cultural center also along with the temple, a traditional Indian music learning center and also various Indian language teaching centers including Hindi, on this temple premises,'' said Jagat Shah, Joint Secretary-General, Indo-China Trade Council.
The Swaminarayan Trust has welcomed the decision, saying there's much more to it than the religious angle. ''This decision taken by Chinese government, letting the Hindus build a temple in China is to be appreciated highly. Its not only question of spirituality but also in many other ways both the countries will benefit. ''There will also be cultural exchange between people living in these two countries and that outcome will help in spiritual and physical growth of citizens of India and China,'' said Jasraj Maharaj, religious teacher, Swaminarayan Sect.
A core team of the trust is busy preparing the final design plan. Members of the team and the Indo-China Trade Council are expected to visit the proposed temple site soon. A team of officials from one of China's prestigious construction companies that will execute the project is now in India to study the architecture of Swaminarayan temple. ''China is also very good at construction and specially our company actually focuses on various types of construction designs. I think this being a joint venture with Indian partner, design from India and construction from China, this temple will be the masterpiece,'' said Xiaojun Lee, Secretary of Board, Panzhihua Guanghua Group, PR China. The first Hindu temple in the land of dragons will not just be a temple but the hub of cultural exchange between India and China.
2. Korea's Buddhists Languish as Christianity Gains
homelands.org
KOREA, October, 6, 2007: (HPI note: The following report is by Alan
Wesiman.)
It shouldn't have been that disconcerting to hear an evangelical Protestant minister extol God's goodness for guiding the Pilgrims safely to America, where they could establish a Christian ethic that would one day shape the moral values of a nation. Granted, the church was stadium-sized, the 100-person choir was accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra and the service was being televised to millions, but we Americans are used to television ministries that have somehow managed to hybridize Puritan-inspired religion and Hollywood spectaculars. Except this wasn't America: it was Korea, known in theology circles as home to the purest Buddhism in Asia.
The pre-Thanksgiving Sunday service that I and 25,000 other attendees were witnessing took place in the Yoido Full Gospel Church of Seoul, South Korea, which, at 800,000 members (many of whom were watching via sim ultaneous transmission in satellite churches around the country) calls itself the biggest church in the world. Evangelical Christianity took hold here following the Korean War, when many Koreans studied in the United States, sometimes on church scholarships, and returned influenced by Western ideas. In recent decades, as South Korea's social philosophy segued from the ancestor worship of Confucianism to free market capitalism, the country has undergone a spiritual conversion, and is now nearly fifty percent Christian. Christians and Buddhists alike told me, with pride and concern respectively, that to get elected these days, South Korean politicians have to be Christian. Although Korean Protestant churches maintain strong ties with their American evangelical counterparts, in this now-prosperous country they aren't dependent on them. In fact Yoido Full Gospel actually sends missionaries to the United States, and maintains its own Bible college in Orange County, California.
Korea's religious transformation hasn't been painless. In the 1990s, temples were burned and Buddha statues were beheaded as a Christian president openly equated Buddhist and Satanic images. The conflict is no longer so open. But Korean Buddhists today worry about being overwhelmed in a society where commercialism and religion grow increasingly indistinguishable. Downtown Seoul's Jogye-sa Temple, center of the largest sect of Korean Buddhism, has recently been surrounded by 25-story buildings that in the past would never have been permitted. The glass from one of the highest skyscrapers reflects light so intensely into an adjacent temple that monks can't meditate, even with their eyes closed. The building's Swedish architect was horrified to learn this--in his country, reflective angles are carefully controlled to avoid violating a church's holy sanctum. But here, a Buddhist monk told me, no one even bothered to consult them. "It's like we no longer exist."
3. Odissi-Lovers Rally Behind Ailing Asako
www.hindu.com
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, October 4, 2007: The Odissi dancers' community across the globe has come together in aid of the US-based veteran Odissi dancer Ms. Asako Takami who is suffering from cancer. The community has further appealed to the practitioners, patrons and admirers of the Indian classical dances to rise to the occasion. Founder of the Pallavi Dance Group in San Francisco Bay Area, Asako has been staying in the US for the past 15 years performing, teaching and promoting Odissi. Although she learnt Kathakali, Manipuri and Bharatnatyam, she remained hooked to Odissi after watching the performance of the legendary Sanjukta Panigrahi in Tokyo.
A disciple of New Delhi-based versatile Odissi dancer Ms. Kumkum Lal and Lal's legendary guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra, she used to visit Bhubaneswar every year for training, except for the past four years as she was diagnosed with cancer. "Both as a dancer and a human being, she is simply beautiful," narrated US-based Odissi dancer Niharika Mohanty of Orissa who is instrumental in mobilizing the support of the Odissi dancers' community through odissiyahoogroup being hosted by another US-based dancer. For further inquiry, friends of Asako can be contracted on dancing_odissi@yahoogroups.com and nmohanty@hotmail.com.
2. Korea's Buddhists Languish as Christianity Gains
3. Odissi-Lovers Rally Behind Ailing Asako
1. Swaminarayan Trust Invited to Build Akshardham in China
www.ndtv.com
DELHI, INDIA, October 6, 2007: It is one of the grandest Hindu temples in the capital and has been built with a lot of thought and precision. An architectural marvel, the Akshardham temple is the cynosure of all eyes. Soon a replica of it will be constructed, thousands of miles away in China. The first Hindu temple in communist China. The Chinese government has invited the Swaminarayan Trust that runs the Akshardham temples in Noida and in Gandhinagar, to build a similar temple. A huge piece of land has been earmarked in Fohsan state, which will not only house the temple but also an Indian cultural center. ''Initial thoughts are to have a cultural center also along with the temple, a traditional Indian music learning center and also various Indian language teaching centers including Hindi, on this temple premises,'' said Jagat Shah, Joint Secretary-General, Indo-China Trade Council.
The Swaminarayan Trust has welcomed the decision, saying there's much more to it than the religious angle. ''This decision taken by Chinese government, letting the Hindus build a temple in China is to be appreciated highly. Its not only question of spirituality but also in many other ways both the countries will benefit. ''There will also be cultural exchange between people living in these two countries and that outcome will help in spiritual and physical growth of citizens of India and China,'' said Jasraj Maharaj, religious teacher, Swaminarayan Sect.
A core team of the trust is busy preparing the final design plan. Members of the team and the Indo-China Trade Council are expected to visit the proposed temple site soon. A team of officials from one of China's prestigious construction companies that will execute the project is now in India to study the architecture of Swaminarayan temple. ''China is also very good at construction and specially our company actually focuses on various types of construction designs. I think this being a joint venture with Indian partner, design from India and construction from China, this temple will be the masterpiece,'' said Xiaojun Lee, Secretary of Board, Panzhihua Guanghua Group, PR China. The first Hindu temple in the land of dragons will not just be a temple but the hub of cultural exchange between India and China.
2. Korea's Buddhists Languish as Christianity Gains
homelands.org
KOREA, October, 6, 2007: (HPI note: The following report is by Alan
Wesiman.)
It shouldn't have been that disconcerting to hear an evangelical Protestant minister extol God's goodness for guiding the Pilgrims safely to America, where they could establish a Christian ethic that would one day shape the moral values of a nation. Granted, the church was stadium-sized, the 100-person choir was accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra and the service was being televised to millions, but we Americans are used to television ministries that have somehow managed to hybridize Puritan-inspired religion and Hollywood spectaculars. Except this wasn't America: it was Korea, known in theology circles as home to the purest Buddhism in Asia.
The pre-Thanksgiving Sunday service that I and 25,000 other attendees were witnessing took place in the Yoido Full Gospel Church of Seoul, South Korea, which, at 800,000 members (many of whom were watching via sim ultaneous transmission in satellite churches around the country) calls itself the biggest church in the world. Evangelical Christianity took hold here following the Korean War, when many Koreans studied in the United States, sometimes on church scholarships, and returned influenced by Western ideas. In recent decades, as South Korea's social philosophy segued from the ancestor worship of Confucianism to free market capitalism, the country has undergone a spiritual conversion, and is now nearly fifty percent Christian. Christians and Buddhists alike told me, with pride and concern respectively, that to get elected these days, South Korean politicians have to be Christian. Although Korean Protestant churches maintain strong ties with their American evangelical counterparts, in this now-prosperous country they aren't dependent on them. In fact Yoido Full Gospel actually sends missionaries to the United States, and maintains its own Bible college in Orange County, California.
Korea's religious transformation hasn't been painless. In the 1990s, temples were burned and Buddha statues were beheaded as a Christian president openly equated Buddhist and Satanic images. The conflict is no longer so open. But Korean Buddhists today worry about being overwhelmed in a society where commercialism and religion grow increasingly indistinguishable. Downtown Seoul's Jogye-sa Temple, center of the largest sect of Korean Buddhism, has recently been surrounded by 25-story buildings that in the past would never have been permitted. The glass from one of the highest skyscrapers reflects light so intensely into an adjacent temple that monks can't meditate, even with their eyes closed. The building's Swedish architect was horrified to learn this--in his country, reflective angles are carefully controlled to avoid violating a church's holy sanctum. But here, a Buddhist monk told me, no one even bothered to consult them. "It's like we no longer exist."
3. Odissi-Lovers Rally Behind Ailing Asako
www.hindu.com
BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, October 4, 2007: The Odissi dancers' community across the globe has come together in aid of the US-based veteran Odissi dancer Ms. Asako Takami who is suffering from cancer. The community has further appealed to the practitioners, patrons and admirers of the Indian classical dances to rise to the occasion. Founder of the Pallavi Dance Group in San Francisco Bay Area, Asako has been staying in the US for the past 15 years performing, teaching and promoting Odissi. Although she learnt Kathakali, Manipuri and Bharatnatyam, she remained hooked to Odissi after watching the performance of the legendary Sanjukta Panigrahi in Tokyo.
A disciple of New Delhi-based versatile Odissi dancer Ms. Kumkum Lal and Lal's legendary guru, Kelucharan Mohapatra, she used to visit Bhubaneswar every year for training, except for the past four years as she was diagnosed with cancer. "Both as a dancer and a human being, she is simply beautiful," narrated US-based Odissi dancer Niharika Mohanty of Orissa who is instrumental in mobilizing the support of the Odissi dancers' community through odissiyahoogroup being hosted by another US-based dancer. For further inquiry, friends of Asako can be contracted on dancing_odissi@yahoogroups.com and nmohanty@hotmail.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)