02-26-2010, 12:05 PM
TOGETHER WE SERVE
Devotees of Satya Sai Baba buying DVDs of Sri Sri Ravi Shankarââ¬â¢s Art of Living programme; disciples if ISCKON purchasing literature from Mata Amritanandamayi Math; Sadhvis of Prajapita Brahmakumaris understanding the mission and message of Ramakrishna Mission and young volunteers of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra rubbing shoulders with senior citizens in comprehending the teaching of Kanchi Swamigal.
Unbelievable? Illusionary? Perhaps impossible.
But itââ¬â¢s true and it happened in Chennai from December 24-28. Over 100 Hindu spiritual and service organizations including Ramakrishna Mission, Aurobindo Ashram, Ramanashramam, Kanchi Mutt, Sringeri Mutt, Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Art of Living movement, Patanjali Yogapeeth of Baba Ramdev, Swaminarayan movement etc came together for the first time ever on a single platform ââ¬â the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair 2009 ââ¬â at the Sri Ramachandra University Grounds at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai.
The five-day gala event was organized by the Chennai chapter of the Global Foundation for Civilizational Harmony (India). One of the primary objectives of the organizers behind holding the fair was to correct the wrong impression that Hindu spiritual organizations are not service-minded, are not socially conscious and they do not have a deep impulse for public service, unlike Christian, Islamic or even Sikh organizations.
Apart from a sizeable chunk of Hindus themselves, particularly the younger generation, who shared this wrong perception, this viewpoint had also greatly prejudiced the respect for Hindu faith in the minds of the followers of other faiths, as a socially insensitive faith. And of course, it also affected Indiaââ¬â¢s image as a nation and of the Indian people as a whole as it implied that the majority faith groups of India are not socially conscious.
Again, in the absence among the general public of information pertaining to the service activities being carried out by Hindu spiritual organizations, philanthropic Hindus tended to make huge donations to organizations of other faiths. Not that donations to any organization serving the mankind is wrong. Only that many of those organizations receive plenty of funds from abroad while such local organizations suffer on account of insufficient support. The fair provided an opportunity to such generous and philanthropic individuals to donate to community organizations itself.
Last but not the least, the fair provided an opportunity to the layman to support the service of his or her liking. For example, some people love pets but do not know how to help them and through which organization. So, there was Karuna International. Some people were interested in meditation, so there was both Rajayoga by Brahmakumaris and Sudarshana Kriya by Art of Living. There were also organizations dedicated to Yoga, temple renovation, village adoption, orphanages, old age homes etc. The fair, thus, gave a wide option for the layman to choose his ââ¬ËIsht Sewaââ¬â¢ (service of choice).
Expectedly, the crowds that thronged the fair were also huge ââ¬â a whopping 1.25 lakh according to organizers. The visitors included eminent personalities such as senior BJP leader Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, RSS leaders Shri Suryanarayan Rao and Shri Ram Madhav, actors Suganya, Arjun, Vivek, Vineet besides a host of social and industry leaders.
A surprise visitor to the fair was by Tamil Maanila Muslim League President Shri S Sheik Dawood, who appreciated the social work being done by Hindu organizations.
And all of them saw not just the stalls but also the staggering reach of the Hindu organizations. Just the 100 organisations which participated in the fair ran about 90,000 schools, constituting 1/8th of the total schools in the country. These organizations ran 25,000 hospitals and clinics and 4.5 lakh rural development projects. In fact, the Arya Samaj alone runs 24,000 educational institutions whereas institutions run by and affiliated to Vidya Bharati is over 18,000. This is mind-boggling, yet unknown to the majority of the people both within and outside the community. All these statistics, both total and of individual organizations, were prominently displayed in the Central Pavillion of the fair, which attracted a large number of visitors.
The fair was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Governor Shri Surjit Singh Barnala in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Shri B S Yeddyurappa.
While Shri Barnala asserted that the services rendered by Hindu spiritual organizations have been immense, Shri Yeddyurappa termed as ââ¬Åutterly originalââ¬Â the idea of showcasing spiritual organizations as socially conscious service organizations.
ââ¬ÅThere is a general perception that Hindu spiritual organizations are not socially conscious and lack motivation for service. This myth needs to be demolished in order to gain the rightful place for these organizations in the global order of thingsââ¬Â, Shri Yeddyyurappa said.
In his valedictory address on the concluding day of the fair, Swami Gauthamananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission, Chennai, said, ââ¬Åthe fair has explicitly and powerfully brought out and placed before us the service aspect of all religious organizations, which is part and parcel of their love of manââ¬Â.
Above all, it brought unity of minds, with devotees of different schools of thought within Hinduism coming together under one roof and trying to know and understand each other.
It was not just an exhibition, it is a revolution in the making. Together we serve. Together we struggle, Together we survive. Together we succeed.
-------------------------------------------------------
[quote name='Husky' date='04 January 2010 - 02:58 PM' timestamp='1262596843' post='103310']
Catholicism.
Nutters who obviously believe in papal infallibility and bow down to His Papal Nauseousness have infiltrated and elected themselves the sole voice of all Hindus (who remain silent because they don't understand English), declaring for Hindus - when these never even invited them to speak for Hindus - that Hindus are "non-idolatrous monotheists". By the way, "non-idolatrous monotheists" is the definition for christianism. In short, the Arch-Terrorism has forcibly taken over the sleeping Hindu body and ventriloquized that Hindus are christian sheep and thus subject to the biblical gawd's wrath and its other ill humours/vapours.
Catholicism is scarier than the non-existent lucifer it's always trying to spook christokids with.
www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1020
And this comment:
Never Talk To Christianism.
Hindus don't know what idolatry and monopolytheism mean and would never make claims about concepts that have no bearing on their religion and (so) don't involve them. It's always the angelsk-speaking Hindus (who yet never know English) who would entangle themselves with these words, being so ignorant of christianism that they don't realise that Nothing In Christian Religious Discourse Ever Means What Hindus Think It Means. They never get it through their heads: [color="#0000FF"]It's all trick questions. It doesn't matter what you say, everything you say can and WILL be used against you.[/color]
Don't play intelligent with christianism. No one is that clever (the clever ones died long ago and weren't Indian).
Don't Interfaith Dialogue. Don't Interfaith Dialogue. Don't Interfaith Dialogue.
Hindus ought to be ostracising these interfaith dialoguers from Hindu society (whoever they are - has anyone even heard of any of them or is it just another case of fake sadhu/swami infiltrati?)
[/quote]
Devotees of Satya Sai Baba buying DVDs of Sri Sri Ravi Shankarââ¬â¢s Art of Living programme; disciples if ISCKON purchasing literature from Mata Amritanandamayi Math; Sadhvis of Prajapita Brahmakumaris understanding the mission and message of Ramakrishna Mission and young volunteers of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra rubbing shoulders with senior citizens in comprehending the teaching of Kanchi Swamigal.
Unbelievable? Illusionary? Perhaps impossible.
But itââ¬â¢s true and it happened in Chennai from December 24-28. Over 100 Hindu spiritual and service organizations including Ramakrishna Mission, Aurobindo Ashram, Ramanashramam, Kanchi Mutt, Sringeri Mutt, Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Art of Living movement, Patanjali Yogapeeth of Baba Ramdev, Swaminarayan movement etc came together for the first time ever on a single platform ââ¬â the Hindu Spiritual and Service Fair 2009 ââ¬â at the Sri Ramachandra University Grounds at Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai.
The five-day gala event was organized by the Chennai chapter of the Global Foundation for Civilizational Harmony (India). One of the primary objectives of the organizers behind holding the fair was to correct the wrong impression that Hindu spiritual organizations are not service-minded, are not socially conscious and they do not have a deep impulse for public service, unlike Christian, Islamic or even Sikh organizations.
Apart from a sizeable chunk of Hindus themselves, particularly the younger generation, who shared this wrong perception, this viewpoint had also greatly prejudiced the respect for Hindu faith in the minds of the followers of other faiths, as a socially insensitive faith. And of course, it also affected Indiaââ¬â¢s image as a nation and of the Indian people as a whole as it implied that the majority faith groups of India are not socially conscious.
Again, in the absence among the general public of information pertaining to the service activities being carried out by Hindu spiritual organizations, philanthropic Hindus tended to make huge donations to organizations of other faiths. Not that donations to any organization serving the mankind is wrong. Only that many of those organizations receive plenty of funds from abroad while such local organizations suffer on account of insufficient support. The fair provided an opportunity to such generous and philanthropic individuals to donate to community organizations itself.
Last but not the least, the fair provided an opportunity to the layman to support the service of his or her liking. For example, some people love pets but do not know how to help them and through which organization. So, there was Karuna International. Some people were interested in meditation, so there was both Rajayoga by Brahmakumaris and Sudarshana Kriya by Art of Living. There were also organizations dedicated to Yoga, temple renovation, village adoption, orphanages, old age homes etc. The fair, thus, gave a wide option for the layman to choose his ââ¬ËIsht Sewaââ¬â¢ (service of choice).
Expectedly, the crowds that thronged the fair were also huge ââ¬â a whopping 1.25 lakh according to organizers. The visitors included eminent personalities such as senior BJP leader Shri M Venkaiah Naidu, RSS leaders Shri Suryanarayan Rao and Shri Ram Madhav, actors Suganya, Arjun, Vivek, Vineet besides a host of social and industry leaders.
A surprise visitor to the fair was by Tamil Maanila Muslim League President Shri S Sheik Dawood, who appreciated the social work being done by Hindu organizations.
And all of them saw not just the stalls but also the staggering reach of the Hindu organizations. Just the 100 organisations which participated in the fair ran about 90,000 schools, constituting 1/8th of the total schools in the country. These organizations ran 25,000 hospitals and clinics and 4.5 lakh rural development projects. In fact, the Arya Samaj alone runs 24,000 educational institutions whereas institutions run by and affiliated to Vidya Bharati is over 18,000. This is mind-boggling, yet unknown to the majority of the people both within and outside the community. All these statistics, both total and of individual organizations, were prominently displayed in the Central Pavillion of the fair, which attracted a large number of visitors.
The fair was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Governor Shri Surjit Singh Barnala in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Shri B S Yeddyurappa.
While Shri Barnala asserted that the services rendered by Hindu spiritual organizations have been immense, Shri Yeddyurappa termed as ââ¬Åutterly originalââ¬Â the idea of showcasing spiritual organizations as socially conscious service organizations.
ââ¬ÅThere is a general perception that Hindu spiritual organizations are not socially conscious and lack motivation for service. This myth needs to be demolished in order to gain the rightful place for these organizations in the global order of thingsââ¬Â, Shri Yeddyyurappa said.
In his valedictory address on the concluding day of the fair, Swami Gauthamananda, President, Ramakrishna Mission, Chennai, said, ââ¬Åthe fair has explicitly and powerfully brought out and placed before us the service aspect of all religious organizations, which is part and parcel of their love of manââ¬Â.
Above all, it brought unity of minds, with devotees of different schools of thought within Hinduism coming together under one roof and trying to know and understand each other.
It was not just an exhibition, it is a revolution in the making. Together we serve. Together we struggle, Together we survive. Together we succeed.
-------------------------------------------------------
[quote name='Husky' date='04 January 2010 - 02:58 PM' timestamp='1262596843' post='103310']
Catholicism.
Nutters who obviously believe in papal infallibility and bow down to His Papal Nauseousness have infiltrated and elected themselves the sole voice of all Hindus (who remain silent because they don't understand English), declaring for Hindus - when these never even invited them to speak for Hindus - that Hindus are "non-idolatrous monotheists". By the way, "non-idolatrous monotheists" is the definition for christianism. In short, the Arch-Terrorism has forcibly taken over the sleeping Hindu body and ventriloquized that Hindus are christian sheep and thus subject to the biblical gawd's wrath and its other ill humours/vapours.
Catholicism is scarier than the non-existent lucifer it's always trying to spook christokids with.
www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1020
And this comment:
Never Talk To Christianism.
Hindus don't know what idolatry and monopolytheism mean and would never make claims about concepts that have no bearing on their religion and (so) don't involve them. It's always the angelsk-speaking Hindus (who yet never know English) who would entangle themselves with these words, being so ignorant of christianism that they don't realise that Nothing In Christian Religious Discourse Ever Means What Hindus Think It Means. They never get it through their heads: [color="#0000FF"]It's all trick questions. It doesn't matter what you say, everything you say can and WILL be used against you.[/color]
Don't play intelligent with christianism. No one is that clever (the clever ones died long ago and weren't Indian).
Don't Interfaith Dialogue. Don't Interfaith Dialogue. Don't Interfaith Dialogue.
Hindus ought to be ostracising these interfaith dialoguers from Hindu society (whoever they are - has anyone even heard of any of them or is it just another case of fake sadhu/swami infiltrati?)
[/quote]