e-khabbar

By: - Sadanand Pai, Houston, TX

Four Goals in Life: Four major goals in life of every followers of Sanathan Hindu religion are, Dharma Arth, Kama and Moksha. After fulfilling our duties to our children, seeing them well settle in their lives with their families, we decided to go on pilgrimage in India as a part of celebration of our Ruby Wedding Anniversary.

Our Places of Pilgrimage included Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine, Raghunath and other temples in Jammu, Golden Temple and other temples, Jalianwala Bagh in Amritsar and Wagha Border as a part of tour package. Other places in our own tour plan included Chintpurni Devi, Bagla Mukhi, Jwalaji, Kangra, Chamunda, Bapsunath, Dalai Lama’s Tibetan temple and Chinmaya Mission’s Tapovan Ashram, Siddhabari in Himachal Pradesh; Haridwar and Rishikesh temples and Shri Vyasashram of Shri Kashi Math Samsthan, where we could meet Swamiji for nearly half an hour on one to one basis; ISKCON Temple, Akshardham of Swami Narayana, Birla Mandir, Indira and Mahatma Gandhi Memorials, Qutub Minar, Bahai Lotus temple, Bangla Saheb Gurudwara in Delhi; Ganesh temple in Titavla and ISKCON temple at Juhu, Mumbai.

Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine: URL http://maavaishnodevi.org provides more details of this shrine. We were planning to visit Vaishnodevi shrine for long time. It is located in a cave in Trikuta Mountains at elevation of nearly 6250 feet nearly 14 Kilometers from Katra, which is at elevation of 2500 feet. 15 feet wide, 14 Kilometer long road is made of concrete tiles for better traction. There are plenty of shops and rest areas along the route. Street light, electric power and STD, ISD phone facilities etc. are available along the route. Route provides magnificent view of surrounding area and fresh air. We had always desired to walk for Darshan of Mataji and she blessed us to fulfill our wishes. Day before our trip, a section of the road was closed due to heavy rain and snow and nearly 4000 people were stranded. Luckily with Mataji’s blessing, weather cooperated and it was sunny day in the morning during our trip. However when we reached top of the mountain, hail storm started and at that time we were walking in a covered area.

One should get sturdy walking sticks while walking up the hill. There are many restaurants along the way and food prices are very reasonable. Free Langar or Prasad is provided near the shrine. We saw many ordinary people, young and old, some traveling with bare feet, and even some muslim pilgrims, who believe in powers of Devi. We heard muslim children telling each other not to tell lies while visiting Darbar of Mataji. Leather items, pens, cameras are not allowed inside the temple, but lockers are provided closer to temple for their safe keeping. After having Darshan of Mataji, Prasad is offered to devotees with a small coin. Pilgrims are advised keep Mata’s coin in safe place at home to continue receive her blessings. Mata fulfills every legitimate wish of devotee in his lifetime and no one returns empty handed after completing her great pilgrimage.

Brief history of origin of Vaishnodevi is as follows: Demon Mahishasur got a boon from Lord Brahma that he could transform his body at will and he could be killed by only an unmarried girl. After getting the boon, Mahishasur defeated Indra and occupied Swarg (Heaven) and started troubling people of all worlds. To kill Mahishasur, Brahma, Vishnu, Shankar and other Devatas pooled their energy and created powerful Durga or Bhagavati, who was riding on a lion and Killed Mahishasur. Then Demons by the name of Shumbha and Nishumbha started harassing Devatas. Bhagavati killed Chanda and Munda who were military leaders of Shumbha. Then next leader by the name of Rakthbeeja started the war. Whenever blood dropped from Rakthbeeja, several clones came into existence. Then Mata Bhagavati ordered Kaali to drink all blood droplets. Finally Mata Bhagavati and Kaali killed Rakthabeej. For this very reason Kaali is depicted with stretched bloody tongue. Afterwards Bhagavati killed Nishumbha and Shumbh. Mata Bhagavathi represents MahaKaali (Tamas Nature), MahaLakshmi (Rajo Guna) and Maha Saraswati (Satvika Nature). As she is part of Shri Vishnu, she is called Vaishnavi or Vaishno Devi Mata. In Tretayuga she wanted to marry Shri Ram, but Shri Ram ordered her to wait till Kalki Avatar of Kaliyuga. So Vaishnavi Devi decided to do penance in Himalaya and selected to reside in Trikuta Mountain Range in a cave. Mata Vaishnodevi is worshipped as three natural formations in rock representing each of three Devis. Mata Vaishnodevi is worshipped by people of all faiths and she fulfils requests from her devotees. There are several anecdotes praising her prowess and can be read from locally available books.

Raghunath Temple, Jammu: There are 15 magnificent temples in this complex. Maharaja Ranavir Singh built the complex in 1856. Main temple has beautiful Murtis of Ram Lakshman and Sita. Other temples have Ganesh, Shri Krishna temples and beautiful transparent Sphatik (Clear Quartz) Shivalinga. In six big halls, thousands of Shaligrams are installed. Strict security arrangements are made near the temple, where one has to check in bags cameras etc. This temple complex is located near Jammu Bus stand.

Koul Kandholi temple in Nagarota: This temple is located 8 KM from Jammu. According to anecdotes, Mata Vaishnavi as a young maiden used to play in this area along with other young girls. Koul means a small Katora and Kandhol means shake. Mata had given the girls a small Koul. In dry areas after shaking the Koul water was obtained to satisfy the thirst of young girls. So this place is named Koul – Kandholi. During nine days of months of Ashwin (October- November) and Chaitra (March) they hold ChandiPaat and Maha yajna (Fire sacrifice) and on tenth day worship young girls and hold Bhandaara (Feast for all townspeople). As per anecdotes, Mata Vaishnodevi held four times Bhandaara, serving 36 different kinds of food in silver plates.

Golden Temple Amritsar: Amritsar means Amrit Sarovar or lake of nectar. Valmiki’s hermitage was in the vicinity of this place. During her banishment Sita stayed in Valmiki’s ashram and raised her children Lav and Kush. At the time of Ashvamedha Yajna by Shri Ram, Lav and Kush killed army of Shri Ram, which was revived later when Devatas poured Amrit or nectar. So this place is connected with Amrit. Sikhs believe that drop of Amrit fell at the location of this lake. Guru Ram Das , fourth guru of Sikhs, supervised construction of the lake from the year 1577 to 1581 sitting under a Shami tree, and believed to have released nectar in lake water. The Shami tree is still living here.

Golden temple in Amritsar is also referred as Har Mandir Sahib. It is one of the holiest temple of Sikh religion. Golden temple is located in the middle of lake with access from foot bridge. Lake water is filtered water and is clean. Refer to URL http://sgpc.net/golden-temple/index.asp . Other sites could be found from Google. Sacred Guru Granth is kept in this temple and continuous recital is held everyday. All courtesy is rendered to pilgrims inside the temple and whole complex. Pilgrims can sit inside the temple as long as they desire, none are pushed out to make room for others.

Sign outside the door where Guru Granth is kept, advises pilgrims to drink Amrit from the lake. Similarly on the other side of the lake there is a 400 year old berry tree, called Dukh Bhanjani Beri, Healer of sorrows. Lake water has healing power. Sign here reads that by drinking the water from the lake, one will lose all pain and disease. We followed the message from the signs. Hope we have taken few droplets of Amrit from the lake and will attain salvation. Temple is lit at night time and it was a beautiful sight. We visited the temple on night of March 15 and morning of March 16, 2007. This temple has several rooms for pilgrims to stay overnight and Langar (Prasad) is provided throughout the day. Most of the service is provided by volunteers. This temple provides a pleasing sight and should be visited by every Indian.

Durgiana Temple Complex, Amritsar: This temple complex resembles Golden Temple of Har Mandir Sahib, main temple with gold plated dome located in the middle of the lake and other temples along the four sides. Lake is fed from River Ravi and its water is not as clear as that of Har Mandir Sahib. Lakshmi Narayan, Radha Krishna and Ram Darbar are located in the main temple. Other temples such as Durga, Goswami Tulsidas temple etc are located along the inner Parikrama. In Goswami Tulsidas temple one can see complete Tulsi Ramcharita Maanas with each letter written with “RAMA”. Similarly there is a paintings of Hanuman drawn with letters “RAMA” and second one with letters “OM” written in Sanskrit letter. This temple complex was built by Guru Harshai Mal Kapoor in 1925.

Mata Lal Devi Temple, Amritsar: Mata Lal Devi built this temple mainly to duplicate on smaller scale temples of Mata Vaishnodevi of Jammu and other deities from important temples of India. One can find smaller replica of Tirupati Balaji, Laddo Gopal, Meenakshi Devi, KanyaKumari, Rameshwar Dham, Puri Jagannath, Amarnath, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Pashupatinath, Shri Dwarakadish, Shri Lakshmi Narayana, Shri Satya Narayana, Mata Chintpurni, Pindis of Vaishnodevi, Devi maiya, Charan Paduka, Adh Kuwari, Garbh Joon, Bhairavji, and 12 JyotirLingas. Mata Lal Devi is instrumental in building similar temple in Haridwar also. Her devotion to God is really commendable. She was born in February 21, 1923 and left this world on January 9, 1994. Mata Lal Devi charitable trust maintains these temples and provides social services also. The temple provides Langar (Prasad or full meals) to pilgrims.

Jallianwala Bhag, Amritsar: This beautiful garden is reminder of atrocities committed on April 13, 1919 by British and Brigadier- General Reginald Dyer by killing more than 1000 and injuring nearly 1200 innocent people who had gathered for Baisakhi Day, a Sikh religious day at the Bagh. Tension was increasing since April 10th and many people were not aware that martial law was declared. Michael O'Dwyer was Lieutinenant Governor of Punjab at that time and he condoned Dyer’s action. The massacre infuriated lot of Indians. The museum has paintings of martyrs and narration. Dyer died in England in 1927. Sir Michael O’Dwyer was shot by Udham Singh in Britain on March 13, 1940. Udham Singh was sentenced to death by British courts and his body was returned to this site in 1974.

Wagah Border: Delhi – Lahore – Delhi Samajhouta Bus passes from Indian side to Pakistan side around 5.00 PM at this check post. Everyday at 5.30 PM Flags of India and Pakistan are ceremonially lowered. Neither side lowers its flag earlier by even a second. Lowering of the flag is preceded by colorful military march of both sides and captains of each country shake hands with their counterpart when gates on both the sides are opened briefly. Patriotic music is played loudly on both sides. People on both the sides display their patriotism by marching with the flags with great vigor. Daily large number of people attends on Indian side to witness the ceremony. A festive market is created to cater the needs and sell songs, VCDs, flags etc.

Above described pilgrimage tour was organized by Amrita Travels of Navi Mumbai (e-mail: amrita_travels59@rediffmail.com Phone: 2769-3867) operated by Mr. Balakrishna Shenoy. Details of remaining travel will be provided in next article:

Temples of Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh declares it to be Dev Bhoomi or land of Gods. Devi, Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna are worshipped in many of the temple in this state. Devi or Durga is known as Uma, Parvati, Kali, Mahakali, Tripura Sundari, Chamunda etc. According to Shiva Purana, Sati is Daughter of Daksha Maharaja and she was married to Shiva. In a congregation of Devatas, Shiva ignored Daksha, which infuriated Daksha. When Daksha performed big Yajna at Kankhal near Haridwar, he invited all Devatas except Shiva and Sati. Sati went to the place of Yajna and killed herself by jumping in sacrificial fire of Yajna. On hearing news of death of Sati, distraught Shiva ordered his Ganas to spoil the Yajna. The Ganas spoiled the Yajna and cut off head of Daksha and threw the head in fire. When the Yajna ended abruptly without completion, Devatas requested Shiva to forgive Daksha and bring him back to life. As Daksha’s head had burnt in fire, Shiva joined a head of goat to the body of Daksha and revived Daksha. With the goats head, Daksha could recite only Bam, Bam to praise Shiva. Thus if devotees recite, Bam, Bam Bholenath, Shiva is pleased. With the death of Sati, distraught Shiva carried her body on his shoulders and traveled all over three world performing Tandava dance. To save the world and remove grief of Shiva, Vishnu cut parts of Sati with his Sudarshan Chakra. Wherever Sati’s body parts fell that place is worshipped having great celestial power. Temples are built in such places and they are known as Shakti Peeth. There are 51 such Shakti Peeth temples, famous among them are as follows:

1. Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur district, H. P, where Sati’s eyes fell.

2. Chintpurni temple, where Sati’s feet fell. She is remover of Chinta or all worries.

3. Kangra temple at Nagarkot or Kangra, where Sati’s breast fell. Deity is Vajreshwari.

4. Mata Jwalaji’s temple, where Sati’s tongue fell. There are 9 nine flames continuously burning from ground, wall etc, representing Mahakali, Annapoorna, Chandi, Hinglaj Bhavani, Vindhyavasini, Mahalakshmi, Saraswati, Ambika and Anjana Devi. This temple has gold plated dome. According to historical record Akbar’s army tried to cover the flame with metal plates and then tried to flood the area with a canal. Still flames continued to burn through metal plates or water. Devotees who conduct Devi Jagran at their homes come to light their lamps from the eternal flames of Mata Jwalaji.

5. Chamunda and NandiKeshwara temple in H.P. According to Durga Saptashati, Kalika came from the eyebrows of Ambika and killed Chanda and Munda demons and she was blessed by Ambika to be known as Chamunda Devi. There is a Chamunda Devi temple in Haridwar also.

6. Manasa Devi temple at Manimajra near Chandigadh, where Sati’s forehead fell. There is a Manasa Devi temple in Haridwar also. Devi fulfills devotee’s wishes coming from their mind (Manasa).

7. Shakumbhari temple near Saharanpur, where Sati’s head fell.

8. Kalika Devi temple in Kolkatta (Formerly Calcutta), where Sati’s hair fell. There are three Kali Devi temples namely. Rakthambara, Mundamalini and Mukthakeshi.

9. Bhadrakali temple near Kurukshetra, where Sati’s left ankle fell.

10. Baglamukhi temple.

We visited Chintpurni, Baglamukhi, Jwalaji, Chamunda and Bapsunath temple at Mclodganj, and Tibetan temple in Dharamshala. We also visited Chinmaya Mission’s Tapovan Ashram in Siddhabari, which has Ram Mandir, Hanuman Mandir and Samadhi of Chinmayananda. Chinmaya mission has office of CORD, (Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development). Tapovan Ashram provides spiritual training to people free of cost. Such trainees will work at various Chinmaya centers throughout the world. CORD provides medical facility, leadership and occupations to lead productive life to women in rural areas of Himachal Pradesh. We witnessed several training sessions in action. CORD spends charitable contributions in an effective way. One can see beautiful snow capped mountains and breathe in fresh air in Himachal Pradesh.

Haridwar and Rishikesh: At Haridwar we had the privilege of meeting our elder Swamiji with few other people at Vyasashram of Kashi Matt. Swamiji told us that when Pandavas went to heaven from Himalayas, they had gone through Haridwar. Hari dwar means gateway to Hari or Vishnu. Similarly Vedvyasji, who had written Mahabharath and Shrimadbhagavathm, was born in Kalpi, Uttar Pradesh. For these very reasons, Swamiji established Kashi Matt branches in Haridwar at the bank of River Ganga at Kalpi to worship Vedvyasji. Water of Ganga near the ashram is clean and flows with forceful currents. Swamiji said that it is duty of every parent to teach their children values of our religion and impart those true traditions of Sanathan Dharma. Vyasashram has lodging facility available at nominal rent of Rupees 150 per day for a room with three beds. Breakfast and meals are provided here, for which one can donate reasonable amount. Ashram has several milking cows and milk is provided free of charge to general public. Ashram provides free meals to Sanyasis and other needy people.

Haridwar is gateway to Char Dham Yatra and several hill stations such as Dehradun, Manali, and Shimla etc. Haridwar has large number of temples. Ganga temple at Har ki Pori is oldest one. Manasa Devi temple and Chamunda Devi temples are located high on mountains on opposite banks of river. Each of these temples are connected with a ropeway reducing travel time from hours to minutes. Ropeway provides majestic view of surrounding mountains, nearby town and River Ganga. There are other smaller temples in the vicinity of these temples. Everyday after sunset, priest from several temples offer tall Aarti to Ganga at Har Ki Pori in Haridwar as well at Rishikesh. Large number of people assembles at these places to witness the ceremony and to float earthen lamp and flowers in the river. Several charitable organizations collect donations from the crowd to promote social activities.

In various large buildings such as Bharat Mata Mandir and Mata Lal Deviji Mandir of Bharath Darshan and Holy cave of Mata Vaishnodevi at Haridwar and 13 story Kailas Niketan temple near Lakshman Jhoola in Rishikesh, Statues of several Gods and Goddesses are installed to provide visitors a glimpse various Gods installed in temples in different parts of India. It is like one stop Darshan of all Gods. These temples cover episodes from Ramayana, ShrimadBhagavat, Krishna leela and Shiv Purana. One should have lot of patience and time at disposal to visit all these temples.

At these places one can see lot of foreign tourists, who are infatuated with mountains, river Ganga and a foreign religion worshipping several Gods. People return from these places with Holy Water from Mother Ganga, which is always pure, washes all sins and liberates one from cycle of rebirth. Many people offer homage to mother Ganga by offering (throwing) coins. With fast currents, these coins end up in river banks or in shallow waters. Local people collect such coins for resale. One could find coins as old as 1898 to 1970 and coins from other countries also. I could not resist temptation of buying few such rare coins. Hopefully I may find similar coins in my future trip to this city.

ISKCON temples in Delhi: Our goal was to visit these two new temples, as we had seen many other attractions in Delhi in earlier trips. ISKCON temple is located high on hilly area between East of Kailash and Nehru place. Vedic expo at this temple includes Light and sound show of Bhgavad Gita experience, Animatronics robot show, Museum of Ancient Indian History, History of Ramayana and Quadrascope, which creates effect of hundreds of monitors in a gigantic video globe to disclose sublime Vedic wisdom.

SWAMI NARAYAN AKSHARDHAM in Delhi: It is built under the guidance BAPS Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj and others. It is indeed gigantic, marvelous temple built without the use of steel. It is located on 100 acre site east of Yamuna river. I t is built within 5 years by 7000 sculptors spending more than three million man hours. Main Akshardham monument is 141 foot high, 316’ wide, and 356’ long. It has nine domes with 11 foot high Murti of Bhagawan Swami Narayan in main dome. Each dome is intricately carved. External wall is 611 feet long with several carvings. Gajendra Peeth or Elephant Row has 148 sculpted stone elephants. It has ten gates, two Main entrances called Bhakti Dwar and Mayur Dwar and Narayan Sarovar, which surrounds on three sides. There is a 300’ by 300’ Yagnapurush Kunda and Musical fountain show at 7.30 PM or as dusk settles in. There is Sahajanand Darshan depicting life of Bhagawan Swaminarayan in childhood, Imax theater depicting Neelkanth Darshan, same as Mystic India film shown in USA and Swan boat ride of Samskruti Vihar taking one through India’s glorious past. Swan boat ride is like Small World ride in Disney theme parks, except with complete Indian touch. Temple is closed every Monday to visitors and it takes 5 to 6 hours to see the whole complex thoroughly. Photography is not allowed inside the complex, visitors can buy DVDs, books and other souvenirs in gift shop.

Next day we started the tour with visit to Birla Mandir, Bahai Lotus temple and ending the day with a visit to Bangla Sahib Gurudwara. In between, we visited Indira and Rajiv Gandhi memorial, Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Birla house, Qutub Minar. We skipped other monuments such as Red Fort, Old Delhi, Humayun and Safdarjung’s Tomb, Raj Ghat, Shantivan, Nehru museum etc. as we had seen them earlier.

Ganesh Temple at Titawla, ISKCON temple at Juhu, Mumbai. WE visited these temples. We visited Fort area and VT (Chatrapati Shivaji terminal) to do some shopping. On March 27, 2007, we attended Ram Navami celebration held by G.S.B Mandal, Dombivli. On the same day bigger celebration is held at Ram Mandir of Wadala. During the ceremony at Dombivli, Mandal awarded several scholarships to students who had excelled in their examinations. There were scholarships for students from needy families. A slogan says ”Janata Seva is equally important to Janardhan Seva” (serving people is as important as serving God). With the end of pilgrimage, we thought of adding finishing touch by adding scholarships to needy families in memory of departed parents. With 10% interest in India, a small sum of $500 goes a long way in helping the needy perpetually. Through education alone our community will prosper. There are other equally important temples in Mumbai such as Siddhi Vinayak, Mahalakshmi, Mumba Devi, Prabha Devi temples, but due to lack of time we could not visit them.

By: - K. P. S. Kamath, M. D., Cape Girardeau, MO

The theory of Karma evolved over several centuries before the Gita was composed. It explained why people suffered misery on earth even when they had done nothing wrong in this life to bring it on themselves. The answer was: it was what was coming to them due to their evil actions from their previous lives. The logic of Karma goes this way: Every action has a consequence. Some consequences are good and others are bad. Some have mixed results. Some consequences are felt immediately and others are felt much later on. If these consequences accumulate and are not paid for before one’s death, they would come back to haunt him in his next life. This happens because, when Atman leaves the body, it carries with it the accumulated Karmaphala like “the wind carries the scents from their source (15:8).” When the Atman enters another body, that body suffers the consequences of the actions from Atman’s previous life. Since all selfish and evil acts that earn Karmaphala are rooted in the Gunas, controlling one’s Guna-based weaknesses leads to decreasing Karmaphala. This is the basis of the Gita’s repeated warnings to “cross over Gunas.” In general all actions rooted in Guna-rooted Weaknesses result in serious long term consequences, and all actions rooted in Wisdom lead to few long term negative consequences.

The voyage to heaven came with compulsory return ticket!

The goal of all desire-ridden sacrificial rites (Kamya Karma) was not only to obtain pleasure and lordship on earth but also to attain heaven after death (2:43). Initially the priests guaranteed the aristocrats quick success on earth if they performed sacrifices (4:12). Inevitably the question arose in the minds of the aristocrats: “What if we earned more Karmaphala than we could use up in one life time?” Well, the clever priests had a ready answer for it, too. “Don’t worry; you will go to heaven and have wonderful time there mingling with various Devas!”(9:20). That assurance gave the sponsors of sacrifices some peace of mind. The problem with this was the fact that the theory of Karma said that once the Karmaphala was exhausted, they would take birth on this miserable earth again (9:21). The voyage to heaven of Devas always came with the compulsory return ticket. This meant Kamya Karma, promoted by the Vedas and dedicated to the Vedic gods, not only caused Dwandwa (unsteadiness of mind), but also promoted Samsara or transmigration of the Atman. The prevalent sentiment, as exemplified by the Upanishadic theories, however, was that returning to this joyless, miserable earth (9:33) was more a punishment than reward. The Upanishadic seers knew the secret of countering Dwandwa and escaping from this miserable earth for good, but the upper classes were too busy with their Kamya Karma to heed to this wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita made it its business to bring this secret to the masses. Unlike the ticket to heaven, the ticket to Lord Krishna’s abode was issued one way only (15:4).

The sacred ancient Vedic Dharma became Adharma

There came a time when the greedy priests gave so much importance to the performance of the increasingly complicated Yajna that they claimed that without them the universe itself would be destabilized! The performance of sacrificial rites became more important than even the gods for whom they were supposed to be dedicated! For every affliction of society, there was only one cure: performance of sacrifices (2:42); more sacrifices, and more elaborate, expensive and ostentatious sacrifices (16:15-17). To top it all gruesome animal sacrifices became rampant and important part of Vedic sacrificial rites. Thousands of innocent horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows, goats and birds were slaughtered mercilessly every year all over the country. Gradually the sacred Vedic Dharma degenerated into despicable Adharma (4:7). As the essentially ennobling and sublimating sacrificial rites (18:5) became tainted by corruption, the prestige of the sacred Vedas and the moral authority of Brahmins steadily declined. Such was the situation in India during the post-Vedic period of 1000 B. C. – 500 B. C.

Uncertain times of post-Vedic period

The post-Vedic period was one of great tumult, uncertainty and insecurity. There was much political and social instability in the land. Kings were being dethroned, kingdoms were being swallowed-up and tribes were breaking up. Old orders were being replaced with new ones. There was a deep sense of disillusionment in the air. Maitraayani Upanishad (MU:1.4) went so far as to say, “Demigods and demons are dying! The oceans have dried up! Mountains have crashed down! The Pole Star is unstable! Even the Earth is foundering! We are all like a frog in the dry well!” Intellectuals of India were not satisfied by the mindless and intellectually sterile Kamya Karma as panacea for all the ills and miseries of life. Gradually it dawned on them that the desire-ridden sacrificial rites themselves had a terribly corrupting influence on the society (2:43-44). They frantically searched for solutions for the pressing life-problems.

Upanishads: Lotuses in the cesspool

During this period numerous great texts known as Upanishads, confidential discourses, were composed by great unknown authors, most certainly many of them royal ascetics (Kshatriyas) (4:1-2; 9:2). Even though the literal meaning of Upanishad was “sitting near devotedly,” by long use it came to mean a secret (Rahasya). In contrast to the mindless performance of sacrifices, Upanishads were thought-provoking discourses that dealt with truly mind-boggling concepts of all-pervading Brahman, the Impersonal Universal Spirit (12:1, 3) and Atman, the Self, the essence of man (2:16-30). The Brahman was identified as the seat of absolute tranquility (5:21, 24-6) and was without any attributes (Nirguna 13:31). Brahman could only be described in negative terms (12:3): not this, not this (Nyeti, Nyeti). The central theme of Upanishads was “Tat tvam asi”: That thou art, meaning the Atman/Self and the all-pervading Brahman are One and the Same. Another way of putting this was: “Aham Brahmaasmi”: I am Brahman.

In stark contrast to Vedic sacrifices that promoted Dwandwa here on earth and Samsara hereafter, Upanishadic teachings promoted steady state of mind (Buddhiyukta/Sthithaprajnya) here on earth and Liberation (Nirvana) hereafter (2:50-51; 54-58; 64-66; 71-72).

Upanishads versus Vedas

Many of the Upanishads were blatantly skeptical about or hostile to Vedic sacrifices in the prevalent spirit of the day. Some of them even ridiculed the greedy priests mercilessly. Chandogya Upanishad (CU: 12:4) compared the orthodox priests to a procession of dogs holding the tail of the dog in front chanting piously, “Om, let us eat! Om, let us drink! Om, may divine Varuna, Prajapati, Savitri bring us food! Lord of food, bring hither food, bring it, Om!” In fact the Upanishadic teachings of non-attachment struck at the very root of orthodox Vedic Dharma of sacrificial rites that promoted Dwandwa and Samsara (15:1-4). Intellectually, Upanishadic insights were light years ahead of the sterile and mindless desire-driven sacrificial rites. Nevertheless, the clever Vedic priests did to Upanishads what modern businesses do to whistle-blowers: promote them to oblivion. They interpolated into the texts of the Upanishads whatever pro-sacrifice stuff that served their purpose and incorporated them into the Vedic corpus as Vedanta, the end of the Vedas, and gave them the sacred status of Shruthi, that which was heard. The net result was that the Upanishads became, more or less, that which you won’t hear any more. Unbelievable amount of obscure stuff was added to the original texts till no ordinary person could comprehend what was already a rather complex concept. This is how the explosive new thought was contained and kept under wraps away from the lower classes. The basic tactics of Orthodox Vedic Brahmins in dealing with ideas adverse to them were to destroy the literature, as they did the Lokayata philosophy; classify them as top secret, as they did the Upanishads; interpolate pro-Brahmanism verses to counter anti-Brahmanism verses, as they did to the Bhagavad Gita. When none of these tactics was possible, they resorted to interpreting the meanings of the verses by giving them a mind-boggling spin (Read commentaries on 15:1-4). In the case of the Bhagavad Gita, because of many deliberate Brahmanic manipulations, the text often comes across as repetitive, contradictory, confusing and incoherent. Lord Krishna often comes across as if He is talking from both sides of His mouth.

Misdeeds of upper classes yield Karmaphala: The Great Nastik Revolt!

By: - K. P. S. Kamath, M. D., Cape Girardeau, MO

Dwandwa –pairs of opposites- is the symptom of mental stress

After 45 years, I returned to my ancestral village of Bantwal, near Mangalore in Karnataka, for a stay of more than two months. It is a typical rural town, surrounded by small villages dependent upon farming and beedi rolling. In this town is a five-year degree college with 1,000 students. Most of them are first generation literates. A large percentage (99 percent) is not accustomed to reading books other than textbooks, despite the college having a good collection. These students, for several reasons, are also not accustomed or allowed to ask questions, as in many other colleges. Because of the well-critiqued education system of ours, they are also not encouraged to think and develop their own solutions to any problems. They are not encouraged to offer their comments. To bring about some change in this rigid and learning-unfriendly environment, I experimented with a seminar series called "True Education" during my stay. The seminars, held between June and July at S.V.S. College, were a great success.

I had 19 sessions with a group of 20 students. Nineteen of the participants were young women. We limited the participation so that everyone could be given personal attention. All of them turned up regularly even though none of the topics would help them score more marks. None of the students could relax or daydream since everyone had to either ask a question or comment on topics of wide-ranging interest. I noticed a remarkable improvement during a short span. Students who were hesitant to speak up before the beginning of the seminar series were completely transformed, and by the end of the sessions there was not enough time to respond to all their questions.

The topics covered were: philosophy of writer Jiddu Krishnamurthy; the NGO movement in India; world and Indian history; India's energy crisis; communism, socialism and capitalism; holding a mirror up to Indian society; politics and corruption; major world conflicts; citizen responsibility; reservation; the status of education; management principles; the world's religions; science, superstition and modern gurus; energy and environment; reasons for India remaining poor even after 60 years of independence; liberalization, privatization and globalization; and critical factors for India's development. I spent just 15 minutes at the beginning of each session introducing the topic. The remaining 75 minutes were spent on questions and answers.

During the valedictory, every student made a short presentation on what they got out of this seminar series. Everyone wanted this experiment repeated for the benefit of other students who missed the opportunity. One said that he learnt more during these 19 sessions than he had during his entire 15 years of education. Many young women mentioned that they had started reading newspapers critically. Many talked about the courage they had acquired as a result of their participation to ask questions not only in the classroom but also in government offices. All had determined to take up some civic cause to fight against, like untouchability, casteism, the dowry system, gender bias, child labor, plastic menace, water harvesting, tree planting, improving the local hospital.

Some teachers who observed the program in action wondered how they would complete the syllabus if students started asking questions as a result of this program. On the other hand, others were happy that some of the students had already started asking questions and were taking a greater part in classroom discussions. Two of the women participants spoke at the valedictory about how they objected when they saw an underage boy serving coffee at a meeting. But for these seminars, they said, they would never have observed such things and also would never have had the courage to point out such unlawful acts.

Five more colleges from the towns of Mulki, Udupi, Kundapur, Moodabidri and Karkal have already come forward to implement this program. There is hardly any cost involved, nor is prior permission required from the government. Through this program, we can encourage students to develop independent thinking and critical questioning abilities, without having to wait for our political class to take the necessary steps to change the education system. What we need are a few-just one or two per college-committed teachers to get involved. Every well-informed and concerned educationist can join this effort either as a facilitator of the seminar series or by sponsoring someone to conduct them if they themselves are unable to do so.

Hardly surprising considering the fact that Nagesh is the founding chief of Radio Idli, Mumbai’s first community Web radio project, a sort of online studio for the Saraswat community for showcasing their talents. The project is named after the famous Idli House restaurant in Matunga.

On Nov 4, 2006, India Culture Center of Clear Lake, TX presented Smt. RADHA GOLIKERI a Distinguished Community Service Award. She has been volunteering at the United Way's Neighborhood Centers since the early '90s. She has also played a leading role in the activities of Indian Senior Citizens in Clear Lake, TX.

In 2006, she received a certificate of appreciation from Mayor of Houston, TX, Bill White for her work with Neighborhood Centers. It reads, "The City of Houston Volunteer Initiative Program and Volunteer Houston commend Radha Golikeri for outstanding volunteer service. Honor and achievement through your service exemplifies good citizenship and improves the quality of life in our city."

The Next Generation of Indian Cooking!

This book (192 pages hard cover by silver back books) represents a take on Modern Indian Cuisine, prepared using fresh flavorful ingredients, designed to accommodate the modern lifestyle. Indian cooking is often perceived as intimidating due to the use of wide range of unusual ingredients and complex cooking procedures. The book attempts to recreate classic Indian dishes by using simplistic techniques along with a delicious juxtaposition of non Indian ingredients. The authors have strived to bring traditional Indian cuisine to simplified levels fit for modern living and entertaining, while keeping the flavors and authenticity intact.

Modern Indian Cooking celebrates the grandeur of the food of India while preserving the character of each region’s distinctive style of cooking. While creating this book, the authors have taken into account the different ways people cook and eat food in modern life and the new kinds of ingredients that are now readily available. This book adapts a contemporary style of cooking great tasting food for easy entertaining or a busy lifestyle. It provides a wonderful insight into the richly diverse nation of India and the many flavors it brings to our tables.

Smt. Sanjivi Bhat, Smt. Sudha V. Kini,, Smt. Chandrakala Baliga, Smt. Meera Acharya, Smt. Mridula S. Kamath, Smt. Gita R. Pai

Guru Charitra states, ‘No one has the right to change the basic principles mentioned in Hindu Shastras. The fundamental truths for all times are-SATYA, DHARMA, TAPA, and DANA.’ These are the foundations of Strong Truthful India. If you try to make structural changes in a building, the whole building will collapse. So are the truths strengthening the Foundations of Strong India. Guru Charitra also says that changes in the society are required according to the changes that are taking place due to new technology. The age-old Sati system started in Rajasthan, because of the invasion of Muslim rulers and frequent wars, where men became martyrs and life of the widows was much unprotected.

Pratham, an NGO aiming to promote Universal Elementary Education (UEE), is heading towards revolutionising education in the slums of Mysore.

Launching its operations in Mysore during 2002, Pratham is today assisting more than 7,500 poorest of the poor in about six slums of Mysore by partnering with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Government of Karnataka. It has plans to expand its services to all the slums. In fact, Pratham's annual budget of about Rs 50 lakh makes it one of the largest NGOs in Mysore. Well-known actress Waheeda Rehman is the ambassador of Pratham.

The apparent agenda of the Bhagavad Gita

To most readers of the Bhagavad Gita, it is a sacred religious text of Hindu Dharma that summarizes the ancient Vedic philosophy; a part of the great epic Mahabharata; and its essential message was delivered to Pandava prince Arjuna by Lord Krishna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Almost all commentaries on the Gita by various Indian authors exclusively focus on the three Yogas –Karmayoga, Jnanayoga and Bhaktiyoga- as the means to achieve peace of mind here on earth and Moksha or Liberation from Samsara following death. This is the apparent agenda of the Gita.

The hidden agenda of the Bhagavad Gita

What most readers are perhaps not aware of, and most Indian commentators do not know or want to acknowledge, is that the Bhagavad Gita had another, even more important, agenda. As it exists today, it was the manifesto of a grand religious and social revolution whose primary goal was to overthrow the decadent, elitist orthodox Vedic Dharma centered on sacrificial rites dedicated to various Vedic gods (Devas); and to establish in its place a broad-based New Dharma centered on One Supreme Lord, and Lord Krishna as His earthly avatar. The secondary goal of the New Dharma was to replace desire-ridden sacrificial rites, a.k.a. Kamya Karma, which promoted Dwandwa (mental stress) and Samsara (rebirth), with Atman-centered Yoga that promoted tranquility of mind (Sthithaprajnya) here on earth and Moksha (Liberation) hereafter.

Study of India’s history is essential to understand the Bhagavad Gita

This hidden agenda of the Bhagavad Gita can be unraveled only in its historical context. To understand its historical context we must temporarily set aside the usual Mahabharata (epic) context –Arjuna’s despondency at the critical moment of the Mahabharata War- and study it in the light of various historical events and processes that took place in India between 2000 B. C. and 200 A. D. The Revolution of Lord Krishna marginalized not only the orthodox Vedic Dharma (Brahmanism), but also several reactionary, atheistic heterodox religions including Buddhism, Jainism; and various heterodox philosophies including Lokayata. Without knowing this historical context, the whole of the Bhagavad Gita comes across as poorly edited collection of irrelevant, inscrutable and often contradictory verses.

The problem of interpolation

The Bhagavad Gita, as we find it today, seems to have undergone numerous additions, changes and interpolations, no different than every ancient scripture in India, including Rig Veda, Mahabharata, Upanishads, Sankhya and Yoga Sutras. Most of the added verses in it are related to the revolution to establish the New Dharma. At the time of interpolations into the Gita, the sanctity of the Vedas was so great that the revolutionary authors had to use cryptic words, pun, symbols, allegory, metaphor, double entendre and other techniques to deliver their message as carefully as possible. Their attack against orthodox Vedic Dharma was delivered ever so gently at times (1:29; 4:15), in harsher tones at other times (2:41-53). The attack against selfish and arrogant Kshatriya ritualists was so harsh that, to diminish its impact, the later pro-Vedic authors hid them in the sixteenth chapter (16:10-20) dealing with Divine and Demoniac qualities. Lord Krishna’s admonitions of orthodox Vedic Dharma were like the good scolding given by a wise man to his well-behaved son within the earshot of his misbehaving nephew. The advice given was not meant for the noble son (Arjuna) but to chastise the errant nephew (Vedic priests and Kshatriyas). However, many verses seem to have been added later on by Vedic apologists to lend qualified support for Vedic sacrificial rites, class system based on color (Varnashrama Dharma) and the concept of Gunas, the nature-born forces within the body that bind the Atman to the body (Chapters 14, 17 and parts of Chapter 18). To complicate matters even further, they divided the Bhagavad Gita into eighteen chapters and scattered the revolutionary verses throughout them to dilute their effect. In a sense, one could discern a war going on in the Bhagavad Gita between the pro-revolutionary authors on one side and the pro-Vedic old guard on the other.

Read between the lines and beyond the literal meaning

To get at the Gita’s hidden agenda we must first identify those verses in it that promote the revolution. Secondly, we must focus on its deeper layers, beyond and behind what we read. When we shift our focus beyond the literal meaning of the verses, the hidden meaning gradually appears in all its dimensions. Not only must we focus on what was said and how it was said, but also what was left unsaid, and thus implied. We must also read the Gita carefully between the lines to make sense of many of its seemingly inscrutable (2:69; 4:18) or enigmatic (15:1-4) verses spread throughout the text. In fact, numerous verses of the Bhagavad Gita have been written in such a way as to give dual meanings (2:47), one with reference to the Mahabharata context (Arjuna’s dilemma) and the other the historical (decadence of orthodox Vedic Dharma).

As we proceed with this book we will unravel, step by step, the Bhagavad Gita’s hidden, revolutionary agenda focusing on the relevant verses. This will also give us the rationale for various Yogas recommended by Lord Krishna. In the text below the words in italics are those we will read with reference to the Bhagavad Gita. Our search for Lord Krishna’s Secrets Revolution begins in the Steppes region of Central Asia.

Central Asian semi-nomadic Aryan tribes invade India

Historians tell us that around four thousand years ago there occurred a wholesale outward migration of numerous semi-nomadic pastoral tribes from the Steppes region of Central Asia north of Black, Caspian and Aral Seas, what are today known as Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. No one knows what compelling reason, natural or man-made, triggered this massive movement of humanity. They all shared the same ancient language, semi-nomadic culture and primitive religion centered on fire sacrifices. They spoke a group of languages known as Aryan or Indo-European, which later gave birth to Latin in Italy, Greek in Greece, Persian in Persia and Sanskrit in India. They performed primitive sacrificial rites to appease their various nature gods such as Fire god, Wind god, Sky god, Rain god and the like. Waves after waves, they marched west, south and southeast invading lands, conquering ancient civilizations, merging with the defeated natives and becoming the ruling class in the newly-won lands. A few tribes of these tall, white-skinned Aryans crossed through the narrow passes of Hindu Kush Mountains of the Himalayan Range and entered the Indian subcontinent.

The Aryans were a hard drinking, boisterous people who loved to gamble and wage wars. Long before they entered India they looked upon fire as sacred as it kept them warm against bitter cold of Central Asia; cooked their meat and grains; cleared their land and took their sacrificial offerings to their nature gods. These sacrificial rites were known as Yajna. As the Aryans settled down in northern India the sacrificial rites became increasingly important and complex. Also, ritual sacrifice of animals became more common.

The end of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization