"Imagine The World Today" - TELECOM ITALIA S.P.A. "GANDHI"

Imagine the world today - if he could have communicated like this...

Here is simply a superb advertisement that shows popularity and respect to Gandhiji. A great advertisement, ironically from a non-Indian company!

This ad won the EPICA awards for "Film Award, in the Communications Service."

Although the award was in 2004, we are only finding out about it now! With this post, I would like to Thank everybody behind this and and enlightening us. We are honoured and glad.

Indeed we need to think on the message "Imagine the world today, if he could have communicated like this."

Click the link: TELECOM ITALIA S.P.A. "GANDHI"

Finally, a BIG "Thank You" to the devotee in England, for emailing the link to me. Keep me informed, and I shall keep all informed!

"The True History and the Religion of India: A Concise Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism" - By Swami Prakashanand Saraswati

I purchased the above book for myself... Having gone through it, I simply had to recommend this book to as many people as possible. It is not a "light" read. Being hard-backed and with around 800 pages (dependending on whether you purchase an India printed copy or American one), its not something you can carry around with you! However, don't let that put you off!

This single book covers topics which you would find dozens of of books. It covers the arguments of evolution (big-bang theory) and how they are illogical! How Brahma created the universe, our Hindu Dharma evolved and the first Man (Swayambhuva Manu) and Woman (Shatroopa) were created.

An earlier chapter of the book cover topics on the Sankrit language, and how the British tried to destroy the culture, religion and history of India! This is all documented by the author Swami Prakashanand Saraswati with references to the orignal material written by the Europeans scandalizing our dharma!

The contents of the book can be viewed here: Contents

"The accounts of this book reveal the complete history, philosophy, knowledge of our eternal Divine scriptures and the Divinity of Bhartiya religion in a precise manner; thus, it is a concise encyclopedia of authentic Hinduism produced for the first time in 400 years. Bhartiya history, philosophy and the knowledge of God and God realization are the various aspects of one single Divinity, and thus, they are all intertwined together. You cannot claim to know one aspect without knowing the others, and that needs proper training, learning and a careful understanding of all the facts that are related to Hinduism.

As it describes all the aspects of Hinduism in a precise and concentrated manner, this book has to be studied like a text book, not like a regular reading material, because its every word and every sentence has its value. Just like a lawyer, while studying a law book, if he skips even 2% of its sections, his knowledge remains incomplete and he cannot fully understand the law until he studies the entire book. Similarly, to understand Hinduism, you have to study and learn all of its features: social, cultural, historical and the Divine. Only then you can have the correct understanding of Hinduism that was introduced and established by Brahma through the Vedas and the Puranas, and was further augmented by the descensions of supreme God, Bhagwan Ram and Krishn."

Purchasing the book

:: If you are in Austin, Texas (USA), then you can go to the Barsanadham temple.

:: From the book website (orders in America)

:: Amazon USA (You can still order from here if you are in the UK.)

:: Amazon UK

Finally, I use the source "Abe Books", (who have both a UK and USA websites, depending on where you wish the book to be delivered) to order many books. I recently ordered another copy from a bookstore in India:

:: AbeBooks USA

:: AbeBooks UK

I hope you purchase a book! I am not affiliated with the author, publisher or sellers of this book. I just feel that this book is such a good read - every Hindu household should have a copy!

Monday Morning Sutra...

Every Monday morning, I receive a Sutra (email) from Sandipani Vidyaniketan, and I thought I would share this mornings message with you all. But first, let me explain what a Sutra is.

Sūtra literally means a rope or thread that holds things together. In Hinduism the sutras form a school of Vedic study and they are used to serve and continue to act as grand treatises on various schools of Hindu Philosophy. They elaborate in succinct verse, sometimes esoteric, Hindu views of metaphysics, cosmogony, the human condition, moksha (liberation), and how to maintain a blissful, dharmic life, in a cosmic spin of karma, reincarnation and desire.

A sutra - the thread will help you weave your life blissfully and karmically into achieving moksha. When the thread becomes thicker and stonger thus becoming a rope - it shall help pull you towards God.

If you know Hindi, you can click on the text below to read it in full size:

Sukh ki aasakti mein dukh ka nimantran hai. Jahan sansaar makaan, dukaan, putra, parivar aadi ek pal ka sukh dete hain, doosre hi kshan dukh bhi dete hain.

Attachment towards happiness is an invitation to unhappiness. Temporal pleasures such as possessions, wealth, family and relatives give happiness for one moment and grief the very next moment.

- Pujya Bhaishri

Deepavali Sandesh 2006

A Diwali Sandesh mailing went out today. If you did not receive it, please click on this link to download it.

Shubh! Shubh! Deepavali!

"Follow The Cowherd Boy" - By J.A. Joshi

I am delighted to write this post, for I have been lucky enough to read the manuscript of "Follow the Cowherd Boy", which comes out officially on Wednesday 25th October! Having heard the Bhajans of Mirabai and knowing a little about her life, the book gave me a beautiful insight into her life and educated me on the history, customs and traditions within Indian in the 16th century.

If you've heard of Mirabai, then this is a book you must certainly read to know more about her. If you've not heard of her - then what are you waiting for...?

Below is a brief synopsis of the novel:

"Follow the Cowherd Boy” is the story of Princess Mira Ratan Rathore, who was born in Rajasthan, India during the 16th century. The area, located on the India and Pakistan border, was plagued by waves of attacks from invading tribes of Moghuls and Afghans. The conquering tribes tried to force the local Indian Hindu people to convert to Islam."

Mira, a princess of war-torn Merta, has been in love with Krishna since she was five years old. When her father arranges her marriage to Bhoj, the prince of the neighboring kingdom Merwar, she is devastated. She ultimately agrees to the marriage in order to save her people from invading Moghuls. The alliance between their kingdoms brings peace to the land but is fragile. Her marriage brings surprises not only to Mira but to Bhoj also. Then when Mira meets a wandering holy man by the name of Ravi Das, things get complicated. Ravi steers Mira through a spiritual journey that poets have sung about for centuries.

Unfortunately, Bhoj's corrupt cousin Vikram is not interested in peace. For him, Bhoj and his wife are pawns in his plan to usurp the throne of Merwar. He is a master of manipulation and Mira realizes what is happening too late.

Unbeknownst to all, there are even greater forces at work.

The book can be ordered directly from:

• The Publisher - contains excerpts
• Amazon.com (USA) - contains excerpts
• Amazon.co.uk (UK) - contains excerpts
• Amazon.ca (Canada) - contains excerpts
• Barnes & Noble
• Lehmans - Germany

About the Author

J.A. Joshi was born and raised in North London, England, the youngest of five children. Her parents fascinated her with stories about Krishna and India since she was a baby. Her fascination grew as she did. She always had passion for reading and writing which was lucky as she loved to read her own writing. By the time she was fourteen, it was a foregone conclusion that she would be a writer in a family of scientists and she completed an English Literature degree as a result. She began writing Follow the Cowherd Boy during her final year at university, completing it in 2004 when she was 22 years old.

Lewisville Leader newspaper (TX) review

Dvaraka: Lost city 'could rewrite history'

I came across the following article from the BBC News website. Although it is dated January 2002, I am surprised that I only came across this yesterday, and that other people I have spoken to were not aware of this!

The remains of what has been described as a huge lost city may force historians and archaeologists to radically reconsider their view of ancient human history.

Marine scientists say archaeological remains discovered 36 metres (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Cambay off the western coast of India could be over 9,000 years old.

The vast city - which is five miles long and two miles wide - is believed to predate the oldest known remains in the subcontinent by more than 5,000 years.

The site was discovered by chance last year by oceanographers from India's National Institute of Ocean Technology conducting a survey of pollution.

Using sidescan sonar - which sends a beam of sound waves down to the bottom of the ocean they identified huge geometrical structures at a depth of 120ft.

Debris recovered from the site - including construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture and human bones and teeth has been carbon dated and found to be nearly 9,500 years old.

Lost civilisation

The city is believed to be even older than the ancient Harappan civilisation, which dates back around 4,000 years.

Marine archaeologists have used a technique known as sub-bottom profiling to show that the buildings remains stand on enormous foundations.

"The whole model of the origins of civilisation will have to be remade from scratch"
- Graham Hancock

Author and film-maker Graham Hancock - who has written extensively on the uncovering of ancient civilisations - told BBC News Online that the evidence was compelling:

"The [oceanographers] found that they were dealing with two large blocks of apparently man made structures.

"Cities on this scale are not known in the archaeological record until roughly 4,500 years ago when the first big cities begin to appear in Mesopotamia.

"Nothing else on the scale of the underwater cities of Cambay is known. The first cities of the historical period are as far away from these cities as we are today from the pyramids of Egypt," he said.

Chronological problem

This, Mr Hancock told BBC News Online, could have massive repercussions for our view of the ancient world.

"There's a huge chronological problem in this discovery. It means that the whole model of the origins of civilisation with which archaeologists have been working will have to be remade from scratch," he said.

However, archaeologist Justin Morris from the British Museum said more work would need to be undertaken before the site could be categorically said to belong to a 9,000 year old civilisation.

"Culturally speaking, in that part of the world there were no civilisations prior to about 2,500 BC. What's happening before then mainly consisted of small, village settlements," he told BBC News Online.

Dr Morris added that artefacts from the site would need to be very carefully analysed, and pointed out that the C14 carbon dating process is not without its error margins.

It is believed that the area was submerged as ice caps melted at the end of the last ice age 9-10,000 years ago

Although the first signs of a significant find came eight months ago, exploring the area has been extremely difficult because the remains lie in highly treacherous waters, with strong currents and rip tides.

The Indian Minister for Human Resources and ocean development said a group had been formed to oversee further studies in the area.

"We have to find out what happened then ... where and how this civilisation vanished," he said.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1768109.stm

Makar-Sankranti

This year (2006) Makar-Sankranti is on the 14 in the first half (sudh) of the months of Posh. Last year, it was on the 5. Makar-Sankranti is probably only one festival, which does not follow the vedic calendar, for every year, it falls on January 14th. This is further explained in the "Astrological Significance" section below. However, before you continue reading might I add, its great to be back on such an auspiscious day! :) Enjoy the information below:

Introduction of Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.

Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too. No Sundays for the Sun, may be because one who revels in its very 'being', the very essence of his own Self, is always in the Sunday mood.

The co-relation of cosmic events with individual life and values is one of the most astounding traits of Hindu Masters. Once this co-relation is brought about thereafter these cosmic events become instrumental to remind us the best which we cherish & value. Of all the cosmic bodies Sun is the most glorious & important, thus every sun-centric cosmic event became very important spiritual, religious & cultural events. On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, and thus it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness.

Astrological Significance

Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve sankranti's as well. Each of these sankranti's has its own relative importance but two of these are more important - the Mesh (Aries) Sankranti and the most important, the Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti. Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makar Sankranti. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayana, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds hereafter. While the traditional Indian Calendar is basically based on lunar positions, but sankranti is a solar event, so while dates of all festivals keep changing, the english calendar date of Makar Sankranti is always same, 14th January. Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu Calendar month of Magha. There is another significance of this day, after this day the days start becoming longer & warmer, and thus the chill of winter in on decline.

Religious Significance

1. The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. These father & son do not ordinarily get along nicely, but inspite of any difference between each other Lord Sun makes it a point to meet each other on this day. Father in fact himself comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers dream and the continuity of the family.


2. From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.


3. It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.


4. The great savior of his ancestors, Maharaj Bhagirath, did great Tapasya to bring Gangaji down on the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present day Ganga Sagar. It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Patala for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath’s ancestors Gangaji finally merged in the Sagar. Even today a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs take dip in the water and do tarpan for their ancestors.
   
   We salute such a great devotee & benefactor of his ancestors. One who can express such gratitude to his ancestors, work with tireless resolve to redeem the pride, pledges & resolves of his forefathers, alone possess a personality, which the history reveals to be a true benefactor of the world too. A person who has severed his own roots gets soon rooted out in the flow of time. Moral of the story is to see to it that the roots of the tree of ‘our’ life are not only intact but nourished well, thereafter alone the tree blooms & flourishes.
   
   There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, who become dull & dead-like because of uncultured & blind ambition. Redemption of such people is only by the waters of Gangaji, brought down ‘to’ & later ‘from’ the Himalayas with great tapasya. This represents dedicated hard work to get the redeeming Brahma-Vidya, which alone enlightens, enthuses & enlivens the life of anyone.


5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration. So this day was seen as a sure-shot Good Luck day to start your journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond.