The idea of starting this thread is to gather opinions and views as to how we could effectively preserve the vedic culture and develop an action plan that will enable us to combat the degeneration of our customs and traditions under the attack of the urban pseudo - cable culture of globalization having not only changed our social behavior but also gradually alienating us from our roots .Any ideas and suggestions are welcome in containing this trend .It will build distinction from what is real understanding of the Saanaathana Dharma and what has been diluted by interpolation by bigots and anti â Brahmins .I intent to sponsor a Patshala that will take the best of the suggestions here.The following work really made me sit up and think as why we remain so passive to threats
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New Book Coming Soon
Crimes Against India
And The Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition
1000 Years of Attacks on Hinduism And What to do About it
by Stephen Knapp
India is a most resilient country, and is presently becoming a great economic power in the world. It also has one of the oldest and dynamic cultures the world has ever known, but few people seem to understand the many trials and difficulties that the country has faced, or the present problems India is still forced to deal with in preserving the culture of the majority Hindus who live in the country. This is described in the real history of the country, which a decreasing number of people seem to recall.
Therefore, this book is to honor the efforts that have been shown by those in the past who fought and worked to protect India and its culture, and to help preserve India as the homeland of a living and dynamic Vedic tradition of Sanatana-dharma (the eternal path of duty and wisdom).
There are also many people who do not know of the many angles and ways in which this profound heritage is being attacked and threatened today, and what we can do about it. There is much to do to protect this culture, and until we are aware of how it has been assaulted in the past, and how it is threatened in the present, we will not have the motivation to take a stand and defend it.
Therefore, we should carefully understand:
· How there is presently a war against Hinduism and its yoga culture.
· The weaknesses of India that allowed invaders to conquer her.
· Lessons from Indiaâs real history that should not be forgotten.
· The atrocities committed by the Muslim invaders, and how they tried to destroy Vedic culture and its many temples, and slaughtered thousands of Indian Hindus.
· How the British viciously exploited India and its people for its resources.
· How the cruelest of all Christian Inquisitions in Goa tortured and killed thousands of Hindus.
<b>· Action plans for preserving and strengthening Vedic India today.</b>
<b>· How all Hindus and concerned people must stand up and be strong for protecting the universal spiritual traditions of Vedic culture. </b>
In the darkest of eras that this world has seen and will see in the future, the Vedic tradition, the culture of yoga, will remain Indiaâs gift to the people who inhabit this planet. It is this spiritual culture of Sanatana-dharma that remains the spiritual guide of humanity. This is the reason why India is here, and for the contribution that she makes, and the reason why we must work to protect it.
<!--QuoteBegin-Swamy G+Dec 29 2008, 11:38 PM-->QUOTE(Swamy G @ Dec 29 2008, 11:38 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->What about the non-Vedic traditions part of Hinduism?
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Dear Swamy
I would like to establish a learning centre (patshala) that will have the main essence of all the sampradaya and focus on learning and training material that can be developed with the fundamentals of vedic culture under the guidance of a bonafide guru.
The objective here is to gather inputs and guidelines for the same purpose and get an insight as to how this can be formulated .This is mainly focused to get back the people who are going out of the systems of samsakaras due to urban lifestyles and fragmentation of family units .The Bhagavat Gita is a guide from cradle to grave and this was available to the younger generation from hundred of years via the family heads and elders as we followed the joint family system. Those many emotional needs and turbulences in the family was always cushioned by protective elders.
Today the scenario is fast changing especially in the last one decade we have seen incidences of high amount of divorce on flimsy grounds and social tensions in the family and the elders being either neglected or displaced at homes meant for the old, for some at the ripe age are condemned to stay alone as their kids are in the US or Australia etc....
In the absence of the elders and guides family belonging to the GEN - X and GEN- Y are slowly getting eroded with the connection to the ancestral links that was established and what kept us alive for centuries.
My attempt is to find an option where a learning center will arrest the drop out ratio and bring back the confused youth back to the fold with simplified approach to the quest for a better understanding of the family traditions and Sampradaya
To dispel conflicts and contradictions and assist the youth in the better understanding of the importance it has on their lives.
There fore I am not focusing on the entire Hindusim domain which will dilute the purpose but focus on only vedic culture that will restore the sanity into a section of the society called Brahmanas who I feel is the backbone of Hindusim.
Another one decade passes by with any action towards it and we shall see that we shall have a population that is very close to VARANA SHAKARA (children with no connection to forefathers) as described in the Gita taking over all the aspects of life without true understanding of the sampradaya and thus degenerate life further .
In the absence of devotion, sincerity and integrity all amount of knowledge is worthless.
I am mentioning this from experience
Especially in the world today with this cut and paste culture where any amount of information is disseminated at your door step. There are myriad of pieces of information which are interpreted or interpolated by intellectuals with their own limited versions of understanding .This causes further problems as after some point, life is not governed by logical reasoning of the human mind but by something that is beyond.
When you get the wrong learnings one has to go thro a lot of agony to unlearn and re-learn
At that point I see lot of turbulence
The logical minds ask for pramana but what is required is faith and surrendering to the supreme.
This cannot be attained by knowledge alone.
if the most dearest person to you is dying in front of your eyes and all the knowledge, insurance policies cannot save the person â¦â¦..but faith can
So what is the right source from the basics .To what extent one can get linked to pramana nayaya.? What are the fundamentals of the Sampradaya that can be simplified to contain the wisdom of the composite and transfer it back to the people.
At some point of time in our lives we all have to go thro this and no one is an exception .No matter what pride we take in our erudition and intellect.
So I am in pursuit of the right information and understanding of the Vedic culture which is not corrupted and misinterpreted. The rest can be encouraged if the students are willing to learn by directing them to the right source.
Hope this answers K Rams question too as to why it must not be included in the other thread as this is focused on Vedic culture and not dwelling in the entirety of Hindusim but a segment of it that is relevant only to meet the required understanding for the establishment of a Patshala which will house Brahmins from poor and middle class families who will be supported in their formal education and at the same time imparted with the right knowledge of the Vedic culture
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo--> Kerala Hindus of North America - KHNA Scholarships
Posted by: "P Pillai" pkpillai@yahoo.com pkpillai
Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:58 am (PDT)
Dear friends,
As many of you might know Kerala Hindus of North America (KHNA) had initiated a project in 2006 to award scholarships to brilliant students from poor families in Kerala so that they can pursue higher studies in professional degree programs. This year we have received a total of almost 1000 applications out of which close to 500 are complete applications with all required documents from well-deserving students.
The purpose of KHNA Scholarship program is not merely to offer a helping hand to poor students, but also to generate awareness among students about issues faced by Hindu community. This should certainly enable them to address and solve those issues since they will be the future leaders of our community, our nation and the world. This year scholarship applicants wrote an essay on the topic "Casteless Society - Can Sree Narayana Guru's vision be realized?'. You would be able to read some of the student essays on the Scholarship Discussion Forum http://forum.khnascholarships.org.
You have the opportunity to participate in KHNA's scholarship project by sponsoring a scholarship or making a one-time donation. KHNA depends on individual donations for the award of scholarships. KHNA has provisions to award both full scholarships for the total duration of the course and also one-time grants to students. Full scholarships are $250 per year for the entire duration of the course (up to a maximum of 4 years). Suggested standard one-time grant is $100.
KHNA encourages each family living in US to help at least one student. A donation of $250 once in a year to help a student succeed in life is money well spent for a worthy cause and every family living in US should be able to afford it. You may also setup a permanent scholarship as a memorial to a loved one. Please see below a list of current Memorial Scholarships administered by KHNA.
List of Memorial Scholarships administered by KHNA
Award Name
Sponsor
City
State
No. of Scholarships
CHEMBOTTIL SUBHADRA & VASUDEVA MENON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
SARATH MENON
PEARLAND
TX
6
PROF. P K B NAIR AND SMT. ANANDAVALLI AMMA MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
JAY NAIR
MULLICA HILL
NJ
2
N KUNJUPILLA KURUP MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
PRESANNAN & DR. ANITA PILLAI
OAK BROOK
IL
1
SHRI GOVINDAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
GOVINDAN JANARDHANAN
SCARSDALE
NY
1
T K RAMAN PILLAI MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
ARAVIND & LEELA PILLAI
DES PLAINES
IL
1
K T GOVINDAN MOOSAD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
NARAYANAN & SAVITHRI NAIR
OSSINING
NY
1
A breakup of scholarship applications received from each District/Taluk is shown below. You may sponsor a student from your own home town or home district. Once we receive your donation we will send you a list of qualified students so that you can choose the most deserving student for your sponsorship.
District
Taluk
No. of Applications
District Total
Alappuzha
Ambalapuzha
11
40
Chengannur
4
Cherthala
9
Karthikappally
12
Mavelikkara
4
Ernakulam
Aluva
1
34
Kanayannur
3
Kochi
8
Kothamangalam
2
Kunnathunadu
8
Muvattupuzha
8
Paravur
4
Idukki
Devikulam
1
9
Thodupuzha
6
Udumanchola
2
Kannur
Kannur
18
46
Thalasserry
14
Thaliparamba
14
Kasaragod
Hosdurg
16
17
Kasaragod
1
Kollam
Karunagappally
10
77
Kollam
36
Kottarakkara
16
Kunnathur
3
Pathanapuram
12
Kottayam
Changanassery
6
80
Kanjirapally
4
Kottayam
22
Meenachil
32
Vaikom
16
Kozhikode
Koyilandy
19
48
Kozhikode
20
Vadakara
9
Malappuram
Eranad
7
21
Nilambur
3
Perinthalmanna
1
Ponnani
1
Tirur
6
Tirurangadi
3
Palakkad
Alathur
1
14
Chittur
3
Mannarkkad
1
Ottappalam
4
Palakkad
5
Pathanamthitta
Adoor
7
16
Kozhencherry
5
Mallapally
1
Ranni
1
Thiruvalla
2
Thiruvananthapuram
Chirayinkeezhu
21
84
Nedumangad
7
Neyyattinkara
27
Thiruvananthapuram
29
Thrissur
Chavakkad
2
19
Kodungalur
2
Mukundapuram
7
Thalappilly
1
Thrissur
7
Wayanad
Mananthavady
2
9
Sulthan Bathery
6
Vythiri
1
TOTAL
514
Please send your donations in any amount for the scholarships program to the following address:
KHNA
PO BOX 2764
RANCHO CUCAMONGA
CA 91729-2764
Please make your checks payable to "KHNA SCHOLARSHIP FUND".
Donations can be made online using your credit card or bank account at http://www.khnascholarships.org .
Those who live outside the United States can also participate in the program easily through online donations.
Online donations are processed through PAYPAL so that your credit card and bank information is completely secure and is not disclosed to KHNA.
All expenses for administering the KHNA Scholarships are borne by KHNA.
You are assured that 100% of your donations to the Scholarship Fund goes directly to help a student.
All donations to the scholarship program are tax deductible. (Please consult your tax advisor for specific rules).
Please send all your donations by March 31, 2009.
Make a donation to KHNA Scholarship Fund TODAY and LIGHT UP A LIFE !!
Sincerely,
KHNA Scholarship Committee
Presannan K Pillai (Chair)
Chicago
630-935-2990
pkpillai@aol.com
Ashokan Vengassery
Philadelphia
215-840-7043
avk0200@mail.widener.edu
Gopalakrishnan Nair
Houston
281-261-2834
rnmulag@aol.com
Govindan K Janardhanan
New York
914-472-0444
govindanj@gmail.com
Dr. Ramadas Pillai
Los Angeles
909-855-7681
ram@nuphoton.com
Ravi Nair
Florida
813-920-8471
rnair17420@yahoo.com
Santha Sreedharan
Los Angeles
562-921-1601
santhashree@gmail.com
Dr. Sathi Nair
Detroit
248-374-0183
sathi.nair@hotmail.com
Sivan Pillai
Philadelphia
610-352-0550
sivanpillai@verizon.net
TN Nair
Dallas
972-668-1212
tnnair@gmail.com
__________________________________________________________
Kerala Hindus of North America is a 501 c(3) charitable corporation registered in the State of Texas.
Please see www.namaha.org for more information.
