06-30-2006, 10:38 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Swami Dayananda Saraswati chats with Journalists in Chennai
Under the auspices of 'Dharma Rakshana Samithi', an event was
organised at Chennai on 24.6.06 for mediapersons with spiritual
interest for an interaction with revered Swami Dayanandha
Saraswathiji, Founder and President , 'Arsha Vidya Gurukulam' and
'Dharama Rakshana Samithi'. The aim of the event was to gauge the
problems the mediapersons face in their profession especially while
covering matters concerning our Dharma, tradition and culture, and to
guide and motivate them to avoid distortions and present the true
picture.
Shri. Gurumurthy, the eminent columnist, economist and Nationalist was
the co-ordinator for the programme.
In his introductory address Shri.Gurumurthy said that though we
attained liberty from foreign yoke, we are not really independent. We
continue to be the slaves of a foreign mindset and alien thought
processes. For example a few years back when he was discussing with
Arun Shourie about a book titled 'Quotable Quotes', Shourie had
observed that all the quotes in the book were by foreigners but did
not contain the immortal gems uttered by our Rishis, Sages, Yogis,
Saints, Gnanis and Gurus or the ageless wisdom found in our ancient
scriptures.
Spirituality is the very life- breadth of Bharatiya culture. In our
country since time immemorial spirituality has permeated every facet
of life- be it economy, commerce or politics. Hinduism accepts all
paths and gods as true. But it is not the case with some alien
religions. Even some well-known intellectuals from the West have
observed that the 'One God Concept' is the only reason why the world
is in such turmoil.
In recent times a perversion has crept in the body politic. This is
very visible in the media. There is possibility of violence because of
the spread of terrorism based on religion. Hence to offset this
spirituality has to spread and the media has a role in it.
The Dharma Rakshana Samithi of Swami Dayanandha Saraswathiji was
established to correct such aberrations and guide the people on the
right lines
In his 'Anugraha Bhashan' the Poojya Swamiji said that the media by
and large is anti-Hindu and anti Dharma and carries on a committed
campaign on these lines. We Hindus worship nature. It is the bedrock
of our philosophy and culture even though there are different
Sampradayas.
For the Hindus the Air, the Earth and the Water are all gods. A farmer
whether in Kashmir or Rameswaram performs pooja to the land before
commencing ploughing. No Hindu will consciously step on currency or
books even if the book happens to be a history book full of blatant
lies written by communist historians.
America is the only country which has the legend "In God We Trust'
inscribed on its currency. But we Bharatvasis -even though we are the
inheritors of the world's oldest spiritual tradition- have not done
that. But we seem to steadfastly believe in the motto 'In Dollar We
Trust'.
There is an attempt to falsify History so as to prevent our children
from becoming justifiably proud about our culture and traditions. In a
History book written by a supposedly eminent writer it has been said
that there was no resistance to the demolition of the Somnath Temple
by Mahmud Ghazni since at that time there was no religion called
Hinduism and hence no Hindus! If that is the case, who rebuilt the
temple every time it was destroyed? The self-same people who
demolished it? Or did it get rebuilt o it's own?
During a Multi- Faith conference in Capetown some years back an
American, after going round all the camps of the various delegates
observed that he found that all the religions ultimately taught the
Vedanta.
Our Dharma has immortal Truths like 'Tat Twam Asi ' or 'Thou Art That'
meaning that 'You Are The Brahman' One must attain the Truth. Then
only one can attain moksha. For that one has to change. The eternal
bliss is within ourselves and not outside. In our tradition all
knowledge is sacred. Everything is divine- house is Grihalakshmi,
children are Santhanalakshmi and so on. Even knowledge is Goddess
Saraswathi. We look at the entire cosmos in a single 'dhristi'. In our
country there is a single culture from the North to the South. .
A traveler gets into a bus trusting the shouts of the conductor that
it is bound for such and such destination. Similarly we must have
trust and faith in the sage words of our ancestors. But some faiths
promise to take you to heaven by short cuts. But should one convert to
those faiths for qualifying for the same?
We have adopted secularism which is non-interference in the religious
affairs of any group. But as practised to-day it is not real
secularism. In Thirumala, a conspiracy is being hatched. There is talk
that only two hills belong to the Thirupathi Devasthanam. And even
then it is restricted to only such and such area. May be we should
stop calling Lord Venkateswara 'the Lord of the seven Hills' but
only as 'the Lord of the Two Hills'.
The concept of religious minority is not prevalent anywhere in the
world but only racial minority .No Hindu is against the mode of prayer
any other religion. The Pooja- room of the Hindus have many gods and
they do not have a problem in accommodating one more.
A few years back a book was written by the catholic cardinal
Ratzinger, titled 'Proselytization vs conversion'. According to him
Proselytization is bad but conversion is acceptable. The publisher
wrote to the Swamiji to write few good words about the book. But he
refused because the Swamiji is against conversion. Because to convert
you need to have a programme. It is a sort of aggression and is
against the very basic of human rights.
The Pope is concerned when Catholics get converted by other sects of
Christianity like Seventh day Adventist, Jehova's witnesses or
Pentecosts. But he forgets that he is reaping what he had sown.
Our culture is under attack. In some missionary schools girls are
discouraged from sporting bindi on their foreheads or tucking flowers
in their hair. If the practice of one religion involves the
destruction of another religion we cannot accept it.
The Communists and the Congress are playing vote- bank politics. It
is unfortunate that the media is a silent witness to all this. The
media has a responsibility to present the Truth. It has to shape the
public opinion and be the watch -dog of the Society. The blatant
antagonism against the religion of the land which has a spiritual
foundation is tolerated by the media. Media has to take up cudgels on
behalf of those who are wronged. It has stand up for justice. When the
Pope unfairly criticizes our country the media has to answer him.
The spiritual wealth of Bharat belongs to the entire humanity. It has
to be safeguarded. The entire world must benefit from it.
After Swamiji's address members of the audience put forth their views
and posed questions. The Swamiji answered them and cleared their
doubts. The session came to a close with the recitation of 'Shanti
Mantra'
Compiled By: R.Sridharan<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Under the auspices of 'Dharma Rakshana Samithi', an event was
organised at Chennai on 24.6.06 for mediapersons with spiritual
interest for an interaction with revered Swami Dayanandha
Saraswathiji, Founder and President , 'Arsha Vidya Gurukulam' and
'Dharama Rakshana Samithi'. The aim of the event was to gauge the
problems the mediapersons face in their profession especially while
covering matters concerning our Dharma, tradition and culture, and to
guide and motivate them to avoid distortions and present the true
picture.
Shri. Gurumurthy, the eminent columnist, economist and Nationalist was
the co-ordinator for the programme.
In his introductory address Shri.Gurumurthy said that though we
attained liberty from foreign yoke, we are not really independent. We
continue to be the slaves of a foreign mindset and alien thought
processes. For example a few years back when he was discussing with
Arun Shourie about a book titled 'Quotable Quotes', Shourie had
observed that all the quotes in the book were by foreigners but did
not contain the immortal gems uttered by our Rishis, Sages, Yogis,
Saints, Gnanis and Gurus or the ageless wisdom found in our ancient
scriptures.
Spirituality is the very life- breadth of Bharatiya culture. In our
country since time immemorial spirituality has permeated every facet
of life- be it economy, commerce or politics. Hinduism accepts all
paths and gods as true. But it is not the case with some alien
religions. Even some well-known intellectuals from the West have
observed that the 'One God Concept' is the only reason why the world
is in such turmoil.
In recent times a perversion has crept in the body politic. This is
very visible in the media. There is possibility of violence because of
the spread of terrorism based on religion. Hence to offset this
spirituality has to spread and the media has a role in it.
The Dharma Rakshana Samithi of Swami Dayanandha Saraswathiji was
established to correct such aberrations and guide the people on the
right lines
In his 'Anugraha Bhashan' the Poojya Swamiji said that the media by
and large is anti-Hindu and anti Dharma and carries on a committed
campaign on these lines. We Hindus worship nature. It is the bedrock
of our philosophy and culture even though there are different
Sampradayas.
For the Hindus the Air, the Earth and the Water are all gods. A farmer
whether in Kashmir or Rameswaram performs pooja to the land before
commencing ploughing. No Hindu will consciously step on currency or
books even if the book happens to be a history book full of blatant
lies written by communist historians.
America is the only country which has the legend "In God We Trust'
inscribed on its currency. But we Bharatvasis -even though we are the
inheritors of the world's oldest spiritual tradition- have not done
that. But we seem to steadfastly believe in the motto 'In Dollar We
Trust'.
There is an attempt to falsify History so as to prevent our children
from becoming justifiably proud about our culture and traditions. In a
History book written by a supposedly eminent writer it has been said
that there was no resistance to the demolition of the Somnath Temple
by Mahmud Ghazni since at that time there was no religion called
Hinduism and hence no Hindus! If that is the case, who rebuilt the
temple every time it was destroyed? The self-same people who
demolished it? Or did it get rebuilt o it's own?
During a Multi- Faith conference in Capetown some years back an
American, after going round all the camps of the various delegates
observed that he found that all the religions ultimately taught the
Vedanta.
Our Dharma has immortal Truths like 'Tat Twam Asi ' or 'Thou Art That'
meaning that 'You Are The Brahman' One must attain the Truth. Then
only one can attain moksha. For that one has to change. The eternal
bliss is within ourselves and not outside. In our tradition all
knowledge is sacred. Everything is divine- house is Grihalakshmi,
children are Santhanalakshmi and so on. Even knowledge is Goddess
Saraswathi. We look at the entire cosmos in a single 'dhristi'. In our
country there is a single culture from the North to the South. .
A traveler gets into a bus trusting the shouts of the conductor that
it is bound for such and such destination. Similarly we must have
trust and faith in the sage words of our ancestors. But some faiths
promise to take you to heaven by short cuts. But should one convert to
those faiths for qualifying for the same?
We have adopted secularism which is non-interference in the religious
affairs of any group. But as practised to-day it is not real
secularism. In Thirumala, a conspiracy is being hatched. There is talk
that only two hills belong to the Thirupathi Devasthanam. And even
then it is restricted to only such and such area. May be we should
stop calling Lord Venkateswara 'the Lord of the seven Hills' but
only as 'the Lord of the Two Hills'.
The concept of religious minority is not prevalent anywhere in the
world but only racial minority .No Hindu is against the mode of prayer
any other religion. The Pooja- room of the Hindus have many gods and
they do not have a problem in accommodating one more.
A few years back a book was written by the catholic cardinal
Ratzinger, titled 'Proselytization vs conversion'. According to him
Proselytization is bad but conversion is acceptable. The publisher
wrote to the Swamiji to write few good words about the book. But he
refused because the Swamiji is against conversion. Because to convert
you need to have a programme. It is a sort of aggression and is
against the very basic of human rights.
The Pope is concerned when Catholics get converted by other sects of
Christianity like Seventh day Adventist, Jehova's witnesses or
Pentecosts. But he forgets that he is reaping what he had sown.
Our culture is under attack. In some missionary schools girls are
discouraged from sporting bindi on their foreheads or tucking flowers
in their hair. If the practice of one religion involves the
destruction of another religion we cannot accept it.
The Communists and the Congress are playing vote- bank politics. It
is unfortunate that the media is a silent witness to all this. The
media has a responsibility to present the Truth. It has to shape the
public opinion and be the watch -dog of the Society. The blatant
antagonism against the religion of the land which has a spiritual
foundation is tolerated by the media. Media has to take up cudgels on
behalf of those who are wronged. It has stand up for justice. When the
Pope unfairly criticizes our country the media has to answer him.
The spiritual wealth of Bharat belongs to the entire humanity. It has
to be safeguarded. The entire world must benefit from it.
After Swamiji's address members of the audience put forth their views
and posed questions. The Swamiji answered them and cleared their
doubts. The session came to a close with the recitation of 'Shanti
Mantra'
Compiled By: R.Sridharan<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->