last updated 13th April 2007

Freedom of Religion Violation in Tekeli (Kazakhstan)
http://namahatta.org/nh2/en/node/3958

On March 27, 2007, at around 5 p.m. in Tekeli city, Almaty province, officers of the local Hakimat and policemen interrupted a religious meeting of the followers of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. 14 members of the Society were arrested and taken to the Tekeli migration police office.

On March 27 the faithful gathered at a private apartment of one of the followers of the Society for Krishna Consciousness to celebrate a religious festival. At around 5 p.m. their celebration was suddenly interrupted by the chief of the local Hakimat’s department of domestic policy and two policemen who came and said that the meeting was illegal. They asked the assembled for documents and then put everyone in a reserved bus and took them to the local migration police office.

The faithful were told that their meeting was illegal because the Society for Krishna Consciousness is not registered in Tekeli, therefore they had no right to hold meetings. Then the officers demanded information of the other members of the Society who were not present at the meeting.

The faithful spent about two hours in the police office. The policemen treated them with rude words and threats, and then, having recorded their personal information, returned their documents and let them go.

It was not the first time that the local administration demanded a membership list from the leaders of the Tekeli community of the Society for Krishna Consciousness. Having violated the constitutional rights of the faithful, section 12 of the Law of Religious Freedom and Religious Associations in RK (wherein it is stated that worship, religious ceremonies and rites may be performed unobstructedly in private houses and apartments), and section 21 (on freedom of assembly) of the International Pact of Civil and Political Rights which was ratified by Kazakhstan, the local authorities interrupted the religious meeting and, using their official position, recorded the information of the Society followers.

The Society for Krishna Consciousness in Tekeli city applied for registration as far back as February of 2006. However the registration has not been given as yet. There is a verbal instruction not to give registration to the second largest Hare Krishna community in Almaty province until the litigation against the Society for Krishna Consciousness in the Karasai district is finished.

Read HERE how the original issue began in Kazakstan

Read HERE what the previous articles from November 2006 were

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MOSCOW: The Moscow mayor has allocated land to the local unit of International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to build a temple despite objections by the Orthodox Christians who have threatened to renew their stir against the construction.

"The two hectare plot has been given to ISKCON near a village 10 kilometres away from Moscow and the local unit of the Hindu organisation has been asked to prepare technical documentation for the construction over a total space of 1 hectare," Kommersant daily reported.

Earlier, following protests from the Orthodox Christians in 2005 Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was forced to withdraw the allocation of plot.

"We believe that the mayor has taken a right decision, which suites every one. We hope that our problems with the construction of the temple are over," ISKCON's Moscow chapter head Sergei Andreyev was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

He did not made a secret that the Moscow mayor had taken the decision to allocate the land to followers of Lord Krishna at the request of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who had last year visited Russia for the Delhi culture fest.

"The temple will be built on the one hectare space with the help of donations and it is not ruled out that Henry Ford's great grandson Alfred Ford could become its main sponsor," Andreyev said.

However, the Orthodox Christians have threatened to renew the stir against the Krishna temple like in 2003, which led to the annulment of earlier land allocation orders.

Written by HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami

Dear Maharaj/ Prabujis/ Matajis,

It is my great pleasure to inform all the devotees of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu that a great service opportunity has been offered by the temple authorities of Gambhira, in Puri dham, where Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spent the final years of His manifested pastimes on this earthly planet. Kasi Mishra's house, also known as Gambhira, and the Radha Kanta math, were both under the care of the Orissa government due to 20 years of litigation. Finally, this litigation problem has been resolved and the management of the institution has been returned to the temple mahanta.

The temple has sustained much damage over the years due to lack of proper maintenance. The whole place is very dirty and the roofs and walls are falling down. The temple roof is also cracking. Additionally, the temple has a lack of proper income for the maintenance of the devotees and for deity puja—and, of course, the more the Gambhira is allowed to deteriorate, the fewer visitors it will have.

At this crucial point, the mahanta of Gambhira has requested ISKCON to extend kind assistence to him in order to protect and maintain this most holy place. Devotees from all over the world come to offer their prayers and obeisances at Gambhira. This is one of the most important places for the followers of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and must be maintained nicely.

Thus, this is a golden opportunity for devotees to render service to this most sacred cause. I request all devotees to kindly donate towards this purpose. There are many things to be fixed at the place. For the time being we have prepared a rough budget, for whatever the most urgent needs are, just to bring the situation up to  survival position. Later on, we will let you know about further opportunities for service in the development of the Gambhira.

For further information contact

Bhakti Purusottama Swami

Phone: ++ 91 9434506434

E mail: bps@pamho.net

She also knows other Sanskrit verses

MADHUBANI: A small girl of Raima village in Madhubani District of Bihar has learnt the entire Bhagwad Gita by heart and also knows many other Sanskrit verses that she recites with full clarity of the language.

Indeed what Rishiprada, a five-year-old girl has achieved is extraordinary.

Unique talent

Dr. Awadhesh Prasad Chaudhary, Rishiparada's great grandfather said she has been fond of learning verses which in turn prompted him to teach her all the 700 verses of Bhagwad Gita and amazingly, she did not disappoint him.

Her father Shatrumardan Chaudhary urged that in view of her unique talent, the Government should come forward to help for her education.

He informed that he had written a couple of letters to the President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam but he is yet to receive a reply from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

``Not only the State Government but the entire country should be proud of her,'' said Shatrumardan.

Scholars

Savita Devi, her mother said that Rishiprada is highly talented from a very early age and has the quality to grasp things quickly.

With her talent Rishiprada has astonished many scholars including Sanskrit pundits who on learning about her achievements, come to hear her recitations.- ANI

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, March 24, 2007: Walgreens, the pharmacy giant with stores in 47 states, doesn't require its pharmacists to fill prescriptions that violate their moral or religious beliefs - accommodating some pharmacists' opposition to birth control, for example. Creighton University, a Catholic Jesuit university in Omaha, Neb., does not perform abortions at its hospital or teach the procedure to the medical students there - accommodating the institution's opposition to abortion. Ever since the Puritans prohibited certain commercial activities on Sundays in the 1600s - so the faithful could spend their Sabbath in worship - workplaces have accommodated at least some religion-based work limitations.

The principle just popped up again in the Minneapolis area, when some Muslim cashiers at Target stores refused to scan customers' pork products on religious grounds. Target had them flag another employee to do the scanning, but within days of n ews reports and hours of talk radio devoted to the topic, Target changed its policy. Cashiers who refuse to ring up pork products are given other positions, a policy already in place at other area grocery stores.

"Here in Minnesota we're seeing a lot about the issues brought by Muslims into the workforce, but certainly I can tell you these are issues employees from all the various faiths bring to work with them," said Andrew Voss, an employment lawyer who represents management, in the Minneapolis office of Littler Mendelson. "The United States is a very religious society, and we have very strong ideas about legal protections for our faiths," Voss said.

The law on this is Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. It requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for an employee's religious beliefs - "reasonable" being anything that doesn't create an "undue hardship" on the employer or on co-workers. This has led to all manner of clashes. Voss mentioned a few, mostly handled by his firm:

- A large retailer strictly limited jewelry and makeup worn by employees who work with the public. The company allowed a Hindu woman more latitude in facial jewelry but decided not to accommodate another employee who said she wore a tongue ring as part of her religion's requirement of daily suffering.

- At another company, several conservative Christians read Bibles throughout a diversity training because they objected to its focus on accepting gays and lesbians. They were disciplined for their protest. They alleged they'd been singled out because of their religious views. They won, because the court was convinced plenty of other employees weren't really paying attention in the training session, either.

Across the U.S. workforce, employers often arrange Saturdays off for Jews and Seventh-Day Adventists to observe their Sabbaths, said Bette Novit Evans, a professor of political science and international relations at Creighton University.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

As  the age of Kali-yuga moves forward, many people are wondering how bad social  conditions will get before they improve, and what can we do about it now. Yet  the Vedic texts contain a specific prescription for staying free from the heavy  influence that this age of Kali-yuga brings.

In  spite of all the changes we can see in society and on the planet, there are  still many ways, both material and spiritual, to stifle or even get free of Kali-yuga¹s influence.  If we are going to change anything for the better, now is the time to work at  it--while the Golden Age within Kali-yuga lasts. One  of the first things we must understand is that a perfect civilization is based  on working with valor while depending on the Supreme. The more godless we  become, the more deteriorated and degraded society and this world will be due to  allowing the influence of Kali-yuga to come in without any interference.  Therefore, we all need to work for our existence, but we need to recognize that  we also are dependent on nature, or the gifts of God.

For  example, the proper and peaceful view of human existence is described in Srimad-Bhagavatam where it states: "All these cities and villages are flourishing in all respects because the herbs and grains are in abundance, the  trees are full of fruits, the rivers are flowing, the hills are full of minerals  and the oceans full of wealth. And this is all due to the glance of the Supreme  Being."

It  is natural for humankind and all life on this planet to flourish and be happy by  taking advantage of the gifts of nature, such as fruits, grains, vegetables,  unpolluted rivers and lakes, fresh air, minerals, jewels, etc. All are supplied  by the arrangement of the Supreme. However, if the world is sufficient in these  items, then what is the need to hanker after large industrial projects that  often exploit men and resources at the cost of slowly destroying the planet and  increasing unrest and dissatisfaction in society for the sake of acquiring  money? Money may be necessary, but without spiritual knowledge and guidance, we  won¹t know how to use it or how to direct our actions in a proper occupation.  And without that, peace is not possible.  From  the spiritual point of view, the Vedic literature naturally puts great emphasis  on which spiritual knowledge is necessary to free ourselves from the effects of  Kali-yuga. It also explains the method needed to reach a higher level of  consciousness and enter a new dimension and higher vibratory level of existence.

For  starters, the Mahanirvana Tantra explains that Kali-yuga cannot harm those who are purified by truth, who have conquered their passions and senses,  are compassionate, devoted to the service of their guru, take care of their  mothers and wives, are adherents to the true dharma, and faithful to the  performance of its duties. The age of Kali cannot harm those who are free of  malice, envy, arrogance, and hatred, and who keep the company of those who are  spiritually knowledgeable. The Kali age cannot harm those who perform their  penances, pilgrimages, devotions, and purificatory rituals. The age of Kali is  but a slave to those who are free of crookedness and falsehood, devoted to the  good of others, and who follow the ways of dharma. 22

This  may all sound quite lofty, so to help us in knowing the ways of true  dharma and bring a change in the atmosphere and social environment, the  Srimad Bhagavata-Mahatmya of the Padma Purana states that the Srimad-Bhagavatam  (Bhagavata Purana) was expounded in Kali-yuga to guide us and purify the  minds of those who listen and learn from it. The Bhagavata-Mahatmya says:  "Suta replied: Saunaka, I shall disclose that which is the essence of all  established conclusions. I shall tell you that which is capable of dispelling  the fear of reincarnation, is prone to swell the tide of devotion, and is  conducive to satisfying Lord Krishna. Hear it attentively. The holy scripture  known by the name of Srimad-Bhagavatam was expounded in this age of Kali  by the sage Shuka with the object of completely destroying the fear of being  caught in the jaws of the serpent of time. There is no means other than this  conducive to the purification of the mind. One gets to hear  Srimad-Bhagavatam only when there is virtue earned in one¹s past  lives."23

In  this way, we begin to understand the potency of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and  why it is so effective for changing the atmosphere and spreading genuine  spiritual knowledge in this age. In fact, the Bhagavata-Mahatmya also  states: "All these evils of Kali-yuga will surely disappear at the very chanting  [or recitation] of Srimad-Bhagavatam, even as wolves take to flight at  the very roar of a lion. Then Bhakti (devotion) and Jnana  (knowledge) and Vairagya (detachment) will dance in every heart and in  every home" 24

The  Bhagavatam is considered so powerful that, "They [the seers and demigods]  came to regard the holy book of Srimad-Bhagavatam as an embodiment of the Lord Himself in the Kali age and capable of conferring the reward of speedy access to Vaikuntha (the divine spiritual realm) by merely being read or  heard." 25

Suta  Gosvami states in the Bhagavatam itself that, "This  Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and is compiled by  Srila Vyasadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the ultimate good of  all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and  all-perfect." 26

The  Bhagavata-Mahatmya relates many powerful characteristics of the  Srimad-Bhagavatam. For example, it states that an opportunity to hear  Srimad-Bhagavatam is so uncommon in this world that even the demigods  [residents on the higher planetary systems] consider it a rarity to hear  it.27

The four Kumaras also state that the Bhagavatam is the  essence of the Vedas and Upanishads.28 And a house  where it is read every day is a sacred place,29 and if you seek the  highest destiny, read even a quarter verse of it every day.30 An  assortment of other verses are found that signify that reading  Srimad-Bhagavatam is superior to everything else,31 is  important for reaching a high destiny and the spiritual world,32 and  for gaining spiritual merit,33 and for making sure one¹s life is not  wasted.34 Other verses explain the importance of taking advantage of  the rare opportunity of hearing the Bhagavatam,35 and how  focusing on reading or hearing it is superior to everything, including fasting,  rituals, going on pilgrimage, or practicing yoga and meditation.36 In  conclusion, Srila Vyasadeva himself says that the Bhagavatam is the  mature fruit of all Vedic wisdom: "This Bhagavat Purana is as brilliant  as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His  own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their  vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light  from this Purana." 37
 
The  point of all this is that as you understand this spiritual science, you will  automatically understand the other aspects of this material creation and you  will have your own spiritual realizations about who and what you are and how you  fit into the scheme of things. The more you become spiritually purified, the  more clear things will be. Just as when you have a million dollars all of your  ten dollar problems are solved, similarly, once you begin to understand the  highest levels of spiritual science you also understand the lower levels of  existence. Thus, in order to spread as much light and spiritual knowledge in  this age as possible, to counteract the pollution and confusion that pervades  this planet and the consciousness of society, and to relieve humanity of the  influence of Kali-yuga, the use of and familiarity with this  Srimad-Bhagavatam is of the utmost importance.

CHAPTER NOTES
21. Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.8.40)
22. Mahanirvana Tantra (4.57-69)
23. Padma Purana, Srimad-Bhagavata-Mahatmya (1.9-12)
24. Ibid., (2.62-63)
25. Ibid., (1.20)
26. Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.40)
27. Padma Purana, Srimad-Bhagavata-Mahatmya (1.17)
28. Ibid., (2.67)
29. Ibid., (3.29)
30. Ibid., (3.33)
31. Ibid., (3.32-39)
32. Ibid., (3.40-41)
33. Ibid., (3.30-31)
34. Ibid., (3.42)
35. Ibid., (3.44-50)
36. Ibid., (3.50-51)
37. Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.43)
http://www.stephen-knapp.com

UNITED KINGDOM, March 22, 2007: A precious consecrated statue of a Hindu God was stolen from a temple just minutes after an afternoon worship. The US$10,000 Deity, which depicts Lord Subramaniam, was taken from the Gita Bhavan temple in Whalley Range. It's thought the raiders broke in through a front entrance and then hooked a rope from the front door of the priests' living guarters inside the temple to a radiator to lock the priests inside. Ranga Nath Shastri and Shyam Sunder, Gita Bhavan's two priests, live in separate living quarters inside the temple. Neither of the two men are thought to have been in at the time, but Prepremlata Shastri, the wife of Ranga Nath Shastri, arrived back at the temple at about the time the thieves struck. The access to the priests' quarters is in a different part of the building and when Mrs. Shastri tried to open the door to get into the main worship area she couldn't get out because the door was stuck. That gave the thieve s enough time to go into the shrine and take the gold and bronze Deity.

Despite the private anguish, worshippers at the Withington Road temple have kept quiet about he theft, which occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, February 23, until now. Worshipper Dhana Laxi Bala, who paid for it to be made and transported to England from India, wept as she told the Reporter how the Deity became a source of strength for her after the death of her husband Bala Subramaniam. The only known existing picture of the Deity has now been sent to India in the hope that a replacement can be made. The bronze-plated Deity at Gita Bhavan was hand-crafted in the south of India and flown over to Manchester six years ago. A police spokesman said officers had made door-to-door inquiries and that the investigation was continuing.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN, March 23, 2007: Hindus in Jodhpur, who claim King Ravana, villian of the epic Ramayana, as an ancestor, are constructing a temple in his honor. About 200 Hindu families of the Mudgal Gotrahere (community) here, have decided to construct the temple. They believe that Ravana should be worshipped as he was superhuman, a brahmin and also the king of the three worlds. They also believe that Ravana's wife, Mandodari, hailed from Mandore, which was the ancient capital of Jodhpur.

"Ravana's Temple is being built since his ancestors hailed from Jodhpur. He also got married here. There is a temple of a Goddess where Ravana used to worship and that is the reason a temple dedicated to him is being built. For over two decades, the plan to come up with this temple was thought of. Now, we have found a good artist and he is busy sculpting the icon," said Mamlera Dave, President, Akshya Joyti Anusandhan Kendra, Jodhpur.

"I have made many icons of Gods and Goddesses but this is the first time I am making sculptures of someone who is not regarded as God. It does not matter to me that I am making a sculpture of Ravana. It is just a sculpture for me. I just want to make more and more icons and statues so that people see and find them interesting. I am also doing this to save the art, which I have inherited from my forefathers," said Chunaram, a sculptor.

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

A temple for Demon King Ravana in Jodhpur
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/127452.php/A-temple-for-Demon-King-Ravana-in-Jodhpur
From our ANI Correspondent

Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Mar 22: Hindus in Jodhpur, who claim the Demon-King "Ravana" of epic Ramayana as an ancestor, are constructing a temple in his honour.

About 200 Hindu families of the Mudgal Gotrahere (community) here, have decided to construct the temple.

They believe that Ravana should be worshipped as he was superhuman, a Brahmin and also the king of the three worlds.

Locals also believe that Ravana's wife, Mandodari, hailed from Mandore, which was the ancient capital of Jodhpur.

"Ravana's Temple is being built since his ancestors hailed from Jodhpur. He also got married here. There is a temple of a Goddess where Ravana used to worship and that is the reason a temple dedicated to him is being built. For over two decades, the plan to come up with this temple was thought of. Now, we have found a good artist and he is busy sculpting the idol," said Mamlera Dave, President, Akshya Joyti Anusandhan Kendra, Jodhpur.

Artisans are working day and night on the statues for the temples, which are being sculpted out of special Jodhpuri stone.

"I have made many idols of Gods and Goddesses but this is the first time I am making sculptures of someone, who is not regarded as God. It does not matter to me that I am making a sculpture of Ravana. It is just a sculpture for me. I just want to make more and more idols and statues so that people see and find them interesting. I am also doing this to save the art, which I have inherited from my forefathers," said Chunaram, a sculptor.

The temple is likely to be completed in six months, making it the first such temple in north-west India.

South India is believed to have a couple of temples dedicated to Ravana.

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NEW DELHI: Indoor air pollution (IAP), resulting from chulhas burning wood, coal and animal dung as fuel, is claiming a shocking 500,000 lives in India every year, most of whom are women and children.

According to the World Health Organisation, India accounts for 80% of the 600,000 premature deaths that occur in south-east Asia annually due to exposure to IAP. Nearly 70% of rural households in India don't even have ventilation.

What's worse, WHO is finding it tough to get donors to fund programmes that seek to raise awareness of this unknown menace, besides providing smokeless chulhas or liquid cooking gas cylinders to the rural poor.

The WHO has estimated that globally, it would need $650 million to change the way most of the world cooks. However, it has managed to raise just 10% of the necessary funds.

Speaking to TOI, Alex Hildebrand, WHO's environmental health adviser for South Asia, said, "Donors don't find indoor air pollution a sexy enough cause to donate money, even though more than 1.6 million people die every year from the effects of breathing poisonous smoke.

We have estimated that 80% of the expenditure of a rural household in India can go into health services. A simple mechanism promoting smokeless chulhas and improving ventilation can reduce the incidents of IAP deaths by half, which is our goal by 2015."

He added, "That's why the ministry of environment has to relaunch the smoke chulha campaign of the 1990s. If the government is committed, local material can be used to make these chulhas with the help of local labourers, reducing costs immensely."

By Sri Dharma Pravartaka Acharya (Dr. Frank Morales)

I've often been asked about what evidence there is for the process of reincarnation.  To answer this question properly, it depends on what someone means by the term "evidence".  Since reincarnation is a metaphysical reality (meta = "beyond"; physical = "material"), and not a material one, it doesn't stand to reason that there can really be scientific "evidence" per se.  A non-material, metaphysical reality simply cannot be grasped by merely material physical means.

That doesn't mean, though, that reincarnation can't be proven.  After all, we can know that many other non-material things exist that cannot be proven scientifically or empirically.  For example, we all know that we have minds€ ¦’¥yet no one can really see a mind.  We can't examine a mind in a microscope, nor can we put a mind in a test-tube.  The proof for your mind's existence is that we can infer that you have a mind because you act intelligently: you display the attributes and actions of one who has a mind.  In the same way, reincarnation cannot be proven through scientific experimentation€ ¦’¥but it can be proven through inference and logic.

One of the most powerful arguments for upholding the fact of reincarnation is that, without the existence of reincarnation and karma (reincarnation and karma are inseparable; you can't have one without the other), the existence of human suffering has no explanation and no coherent meaning.  Logically speaking, we can only explain the meaning of suffering in the world by inferring the fact of reincarnation and karma.

If each of us merely pops into existence at the moment of conception, and did not have a pre-existence previous to the creation of this body, then how do we explain the fact that some people are born with terrible birth defects (blindness, lacking a limb, etc.), and others are not?  How can a merciful and loving God allow some babies to be born fine and healthy, and others to be born in a terrible state of pain and suffering?  Simply claiming that such instances are merely "divine mysteries" is just avoiding the question.  The only explanation for suffering that does not make God seem either unjust or impotent is the concept of reincarnation/karma.

More, we also see that people are all born with very different capacities, talents, attributes, and personalities.  As much as we want to pretend that all human beings are born as complete tabula rasas, or blank slates, the truth is that none of us are born with equal intrinsic faculties.  Some people are born with more of an inherent talent to be creative and artistic than others.  Some are born more cerebral and intelligent than others.  Some are born 7 feet tall and can become famous basketball players, while some are 5 feet tall, and cannot.  Again, the only logical explanation for why a just and merciful God would allow people to be born with such diverse and unequal qualities is reincarnation and karma.

The concept of reincarnation and karma is a principle of both universal justice and radical freedom of the individual to create his/her own destiny.  This concept teaches us that with every thought, action and word containing ethical-content that we engage in, we are freely creating who we are € ¦’¶ and who we will be in the future.  When we perform actions that are of an ethically positive and good nature, we are directly affecting our own consciousness in such a way as to purify and ennoble who we are.  Conversely, when we perform actions that arise from selfishness, egotism, and negativity, we are ensuring that our future only holds darkness and sorrow.

So, the concept of reincarnation and karma, ultimately, is a positive and hopeful concept of radical freedom, in which each and every one of us has the ability, moment to moment, to freely create both ourselves and our destinies.  With every decision we make today, we are creating our own futures, our own destinies, and our own future lives.  Such is the grace and love of God that He gives us the complete freedom either to choose to know Him, or to flee from His face.  The choice to do one or the other is ours, and ours alone.

Read more about Reincarnation HERE

On receiving silver bullion from Spain for the provision of 4,800 African slaves, Britain had a surplus of silver which it then used for trading with India. At Battle of Plassey in 1757 British troops commanded by Robert Clive defeated the Bengal ruler a Mughal viceroy and put in British puppet. Robert Clive said there would be little or no difficulty in obtaining absolute possession of these rich kingdoms. At this point silver was no longer needed for trading with India.

Before British rule, there was no private property in land. The self- governing village community handed over each year to the ruler or his nominee a share of the years produce. East India Company put a stop to this and introduced a new revenue system superseding the right of the village community over land and creating two new forms of property on land - landlordism and individual peasant proprietorship. It was assumed that the State was the supreme landlord. Fixed tax payments were introduced based on land whereby payment had to be made to the government whether or not crop had been successful. As one British put it we have introduced new methods of assessing and cultivating land revenue which have converted a once flourishing population into a huge horde of paupers. Indeed the first effect was the reduction in agricultural incomes by 50% thereby undermining the agrarian economy and self- governing village.

In 1769 the Company prohibited Indians from trading in grain, salt, betel nuts and tobacco and discouraged handicraft. Company also prohibited the home work of the silk weavers and compelled them to work in its factories. Weavers who disobeyed were imprisoned, fined or flogged. Company's servants lined their own pockets by private trading and bribery and extortion. Goods were seized at a fraction of their price and resold to their owners at five times their price.

In 1770s one writer said of Bengal : one continued scene or oppression. Systematic plunder led to a famine in which 10 million people perished. Bengal was left naked, stripped of its surplus wealth and grain. Famine struck in 1770 and took the lives of an estimated one third of Bengal's peasantry. A Commons Select Committee report in 1783 said that natives of all ranks and orders had been reduced to a State of Depression and Misery.

In 1787 a former army officer wrote: In former times the Bengal countries were the granary of nations, and the repository of commerce, wealth and manufacture in the East...But such has been the restless energy of misgovernment, that within 20 years many parts of those countries have been reduced to desert. The fields are no longer cultivated, extensive tracks are already overgrown with thickets, the husbandman is plundered, the manufacturer (handicraftsman) oppressed, famine has been repeatedly endured and depopulation ensured.

As India became poor and hungry, Britain became richer. Colossal fortunes were made. Robert Clive arrived in India penniless - activities of Company investigated by House of Commons. The Hindi word loot was introduced into English language because of the plunder of India. Colossal fortunes helped fund Britain's Industrial Revolution e.g.:
1757 - Battle of Plassey
1764 - Hargreaves spinning jenny
1769 - Arkwright's water frame
1779 - Crompton mule (whatever that is)
1785 - Watt's steam engine

When British first reached India they did not find a backwater country. A report on Indian Industrial Commission published in 1919 said that the industrial development of India was at any rate not inferior to that of the most advanced European nations. India was not only a great agricultural country but also a great manufacturing country. It had prosperous textile industry, whose cotton, silk, and woollen products were marketed in Europe and Asia. It had remarkable and remarkably ancient, skills in iron-working. It had its own shipbuilding industry in Calcutta, Daman, Surat, Bombay and Pegu. In 1802 skilled Indian workers were building British warships at Bombay. According to a historian of Indian shipping the teak wood vessels of Bombay were greatly superior to the oaken walls of Old England. Benares was famous all over India for its brass, copper and bell-metal wares. Other important industries included the enamelled jewellery and stone carving of Rajputana towns as well as filigree work in gold and silver, ivory, glass, tannery, perfumery and papermaking.

All this altered under the British leading to the de- industrialisation of India - its forcible transformation from a country of combined agriculture and manufacture into an agricultural colony of British capitalism. British annihilated Indian textile industry because a competitor existed and it had to be destroyed.

Shipbuilding industry aroused the jealousy of British firms and its progress and development were restricted by legislation. India's metalwork, glass and paper industries were likewise throttled when British government in India was obliged to use only British-made paper.

The vacuum created by the contrived ruin of the Indian handicraft industries, a process virtually completed by 1880, was filled with British manufactured goods. Britain's industrial revolution, with its explosive increase in productivity made it essential for British capitalists to find new markets. India turned from exporter of textile or importer. British goods had to have virtually free entry while entry into Britain of India goods was met with prohibitive tariffs. Direct trade between India and the rest of the world had to be curtailed. Horace Hayman Wilson in 1845 in The History of British India from 1805 to 1835 said the foreign manufacturer employed the arm of political injustice to keep down and ultimately strangle a competitor with whom he could not have contended on equal terms.

While there was prosperity for British cotton industry there was ruin for millions of Indian craftsmen and artisans. India's manufacturing towns were blighted e.g. Decca once known as the Manchester of India, and Murshidabad-Bengal's old capital which was once described in 1757 as extensive, populous and rich as London. Millions of spinners, and weavers were forced to seek a precarious living in the countryside, as were many tanners, smelters and smiths.

India was made subservient to the Empire and vast wealth was sucked out of the subcontinent. Economic exploitation was the root cause of the Indian people's poverty and hunger. Under Imperial rule the ordinary people of India grew steadily poorer. Economic historian Romesh Dutt said half of India's annual net revenues of £44m flowed out of India. The number of famines soared from seven in the first half of 19th Century to 24 in second half. According to official figures, 28,825,000 Indians starved to death between 1854 and 1901. The terrible famine of 1899-1900 which affected 474,000 square miles with a population almost 60 million was attributed to a process of bleeding the peasant, who were forced into the clutches of the money- lenders whom British regarded as their mainstay for the payment of revenue. The Bengal famine of 1943, which claimed 1.5million victims were accentuated by the authority's carelessness and utter lack of foresight.

Rich though its soil was, India's people were hungry and miserably poor. This grinding poverty struck all visitors - like a blow in the face as described by India League Delegation 1932. In their report Condition of India 1934 they had been appalled at the poverty of the Indian village. It is the home of stark want...the results of uneconomic agriculture, peasant indebtedness, excessive taxation and rack-renting, absence of social services and the general discontent impressed us everywhere..In the villages there were no health or sanitary services, there were no road, no drainage or lighting, and no proper water supply beyond the village well. Men, women and children work in the fields, farms and cowsheds...All alike work on meagre food and comfort and toil long hours for inadequate returns.

Jawarharlal Nehru wrote that those parts of India which had been longest under British rule were the poorest:Bengal once so rich and flourishing after 187 years of British rule is a miserable mass of poverty-stricken, starving and dying people.

India was sometimes called the 'milch cow of the Empire', and indeed at times it seemed to be so regarded by politicians and bureaucrats in London. Educated Indians were embittered when India was made to pay the entire cost of the India Office building in Whitehall. They were further outraged when in 1867 it was made to pay the full costs of entertaining two thousand five hundred guests at a lavish ball honouring the Sultan of Turkey.

In India, the hunger and poverty experienced by the majority of the population during the colonial period and immediately after independence were the logical consequences of two centuries of British occupation, during which the Indian cotton industry was destroyed, most peasants were put into serfdom (after the British modified the agrarian structures and the tax system to the benefit of the Zamindars - feudal landlords) and cash crops (indigo, tea, jute) gradually replaced traditional food crops. Britain's profits throughout the 19th century cannot be measured without taking into account the 28 million Indians who died of starvation between 1814 and 1901.

LONDON, ENGLAND, March 15, 2007: A report produced by Demos, which the news release calls one of Britain's influential think-tanks, has suggested that the English language curriculum should be modified to include Hinglish, a mix of English and Hindi words, and Chinglish, a mix of Chinese and English. Sam Jones, co-author of the report, said, "English can no longer be seen as a single language, but more as a family of languages." However language experts have disagreed. The Queen's English Society responded by saying, "It is important there is a standard set of English we all understand, whatever children might use in the playground or new words appear on the Internet. Schools are already having difficulty teaching standard English because of a growing international influence, and they don't need to be further sidetracked." So it might be awhile before pupils could be told to stop being a "badmash" and canteens might advertise "machi-chips" besides the conventional description of fish and chips as the Demos report suggested. However the news release pointed out that Hinglish is already popular on television programs such as "The Kumars at Number 42."

courtesy of Hinduism Today  http://www.hinduismtoday.com

"I was thrilled to be there. It was a deep spiritual experience," King said after the two-hour open-air audience in St Peter's Square.

In Rome to discuss possible boxing matches in Italy, King had expressed his wish to meet the Pope.

"Faith is the thing that carries us through," the 75-year-old King said as he walked through St. Peter's Square, waving Italian and Vatican flags and signing autographs.

Don King Productions spokesman Alan Hopper said the Vatican visit was arranged through a boxer King represents — Italian super welterweight champion Luca Messi, whose brother Alessandro is a Catholic priest.

King was seated in the front row of a special section on the steps of St Peter's Basilica. He was able to hand the Pope the gift and the letter as Benedict drove slowly by in an open jeep at the end of the audience.

King, who spent four years in prison for manslaughter, had hoped for a personal meeting with Benedict. Very few non-church people, however, receive private time with the Pope during his Wednesday audiences.

By Radha Mohan Dasa

Press Release - 5th March 2007

Food for Life charity wins Sustainable City Award

Food for Life, based at Bhaktivedanta Manor UK, has received high recognition. Food for All helps the homeless and disadvantaged through serving free meals and educational services, and the City of London Corporation made it a winner of it’s “Green Oscars” at the annual Sustainable City Awards last week.

Food For All (as the charity is called in England) won the prestigious Sustainable City Award for the Access category as the judges were very impressed with its comprehensive provision of free nutritious meals to over
700 homeless/disadvantaged people six days a week using eco-friendly practices.

Hundreds of organisations nationwide entered the competition demonstrating the support for environmental practices. Food For All was one of the only charities to win the award amongst large multinational companies such as BT and BSkyB and was commended for making a positive contribution to serving the disadvantaged in London. Nick Andrews, one of the judges, stated:

“On behalf of my fellow judges, I can say that your prize for winning was very well deserved and recognises the great efforts and contributions you make as a team - this being against some very strong competition too.” Anjana Ghosh and her mother Krishna Vallabha are pictured receiving the award on behalf of Food For All which was presented by Green Tsar Zar Goldsmith, editor of The Ecologist.

Food for All UK website: http://www.matchlessgifts.org.uk

For more information, please contact

Peter O’Grady on
07946 420 827 (m)

Or Radha Mohan das on
07818 815 978 (m)
 
NOTE:
Parasurama das is the team leader of Food for All since nearly ten years. He also prepares and distributes food, personally and daily with his small dedicated team distributing meals to the needy in London. It would have been nice seeing Parasurama’s name mentioned in this article. Anjana Ghosh and her mother Krishna Vallabha are, in fact, dedicated volonteer helpers to the Food for All team and went on behalf of Food for All to collect the award.

Karuna Purna dasi

This is a breakthrough on the subject of the astronomical dating of the Kurushetra battle (3067 BC):

A Critical Examination of the Astronomical References in Mahäbhärata and Their Simulation by Planetarium Software
by B. N. Narahari Achar
University of Memphis

" omens ... refer to planets ... but scholars have not taken note of it.
Explicit references by specific names to comets have been mistranslated as planets ... "

"... simulations show an amazing degree of coherence, consistency, and agreement with the astronomical references in the epic  ... "

The work was supported in part by a grant and an award from the University.

Vedic World Heritage links:

See our pages supporting these views HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH.html (Vedik World Heritage)
Western Indologists been exposed page:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/WesternIndologists-page.htm
How British Misguided the World on Vedic History
http://www.hknet.org.nz/MotiveBritishRajMissionaries.html

Posted On: Wed, 2007-03-14 05:37 by josh sitapati
The two most astonishing thing for the British who invaded India were.

1) The Indian gurukula system.

2) The Indian agriculture system.

The then Governor of British India Robert Clive made an extensive research on the agriculture system in India.

The outcome of the research was as follows:-

1) Cows were the basis of Indian agriculture and agriculture in India cannot be executed without the help of cow.

2) To break the Backbone of Indian agriculture cows had to be eliminated.

The first slaughterhouse in India was started in 1760, with a capacity to kill 30,000 (Thirty thousand only) per day, at least one crore cows were eliminated in an years time.

He estimated that the number of cows in Bengal outnumbered the number of men. Similar was the situation in the rest of India.

As a part of the Master plan to destabilize the India, cow slaughter was initiated.

Once the cows were slaughtered, then there was no manure and there is no insecticide like cow urine.

Robert Clive started a number of slaughter houses before he left India.

A hypothesis to understand the position of Indian agriculture without slaughter houses:-

In 1740 in the Arcot District of Tamil Nadu, 54 Quintals of rice was harvested from one acre of land using simple manure and pesticides like cow urine and cow dung.

As a result of the 350 slaughterhouses which worked day and night by 1910. India was practically bereft of cattle. India had to approach England’s doorstep for industrial manure. Thus industrial manure like urea and phosphate made way to India.

After India attained independence in the name of “Green Revolution” there was extensive use of industrial manure.

Before British left India. The daily news paper Guardian interviewed India.

To one of the questions Gandhiji answered, that the day India attains Independence, all the slaughter houses in India would be closed.

In 1929 Nehru in a public meeting stated that if he were to become the prime minister of India, the first thing he would do is to stop all the slaughterhouses.

The tragedy of the situation is since 1947 the number has increased from350 to 36,000(thirty six thousand) slaughter houses.

Today, the highly mechanized slaughterhouses Al-kabir and Devanar of Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra has the capacity to slaughter 10,000(ten thousand) cows at a time.

It’s a warning signal to one and all in India to rise to the occasion!!!

If you think that's a little bit conspiratorial, just read a little about the history of British involvement in India. This page http://www.geocities.com/raqta24/bangla5.htm gives an informative overview.

See our World Vegetarian Day Newsletters 2004 - 2005 - World Vege Day

See similar articles at Vegetarianism & beyond:
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Sometimes great authorities will teach asat sastra, a teaching which is not actually bona fide, but is just something to beat the heads of the atheists and kick them out.  There is one story of Gopala Bhar.  He was employed by king Krsnacandra, who lived about 300 years ago in Bengal, and Gopala was the joker.  He was also very intelligent, and very bold.  There was a digvijaya pandita, who came to Bengal.  At that time, the main king or emperor of Bengal was a Muslim, but in different provinces there were also Hindu kings, and Maharaja Krsnacandra was one such Hindu king, he was king in that area of Navadvipa.  So this digvijaya pandita had been going all over India defeating all the panditas, and getting it written down, "I have defeated this one, I have defeated that one."  So he came to the muslim emperor, saying, "I am the great digvijaya pandita, I have come now to Bengal and I'm making a challenge.  You bring your best pandita.  I will defeat him."  What he expected was that whoever he defeated had to become his disciple.  So he made a very strong challenge.  The muslim emperor turned to his adviser and said, "What should we do?"  The minister replied, "Well, you know all our best panditas are down in Navadvipa."  That was the centre of learning.  So a message was sent to Maharaja Krsnacandra that a big pandita has come to the muslim emperor and given challenge.  "Send your best panditas, and if I defeat them they must become my disciples."  So it was very heavy for Maharaja Krsnacandra, because he knew, "The muslim emperor is expecting that I send some panditas that can defeat him.  It is all now on my shoulders."  So then, together with his advisers, he decided to bring in the big panditas.  They  explained to the panditas what was going on, but all the panditas in Navadvipa said, "No.  We're not getting involved in this."  They didn't want their prestige to be diminished, they were thinking, "If we go there and he defeats us then it means we have to become his disciples, and then our prestige will be diminished.  So we'll just stay out of this."  The king was very much worried, because he was a kshatriya, he cannot force Brahmins to do his will.  He can only ask, and if they say no then he's in a helpless situation.  So he was very worried.  Then Gopala Bhar came in, and saw the king sitting there very morose.  "Hey king!  What's wrong?"  "Oh Gopala, look don't bother me now."  Gopala said, "Oh, come on, What's the matter."  The king was very sober, "Look Gopala, we don't want to laugh now.  We don't want to hear jokes.  Please come back another day."  "No no," Gopala said, "Why don't you just tell me?"  "All right," the king said, and then he explained everything.  Then Gopala said, "All right, then I will go."  "You?" the king asked.  "Yes, I will go, and I will defeat this pandita.  No problem."  So then Gopala went home, and he dressed himself up like a big Brahmin.  Cut his hair with a big sikha, huge tilaka and a harinam chadar, looking very bonafide.  And Brahmins used to carry their sastra in a roll, a scroll wrapped in silk cloth, under their arm.  So he was looking for something to wrap up, and he had in his house one old broken bed.  So in Bengal these beds are strips of cloth which are woven together, like a deck chair, and in Bengali they call such a bed a kata.  Because the English settled India, many English words come from the Indian language.  In English such a bed is called a cot.  So he took a leg from that old broken bed, and he wrapped in cloth.  He went back to the king, and showed himself.  Everyone was astonished.  "Wow, he looks like a real heavy Brahmin."  He was really getting into the role.  "What is this sastra?" the king asked, and Gopala replied, "This is my Khatvanga Purana."  "But we never heard of this sastra," everyone was saying.  "When I come back I will tell you," Gopala said, and then he left.  Actually what it was, was that khata means "bed", anga means "part of" or in this case the leg, and purana means "old."  So it was "an old leg of a bed," or "Khatvanga Purana."  So this was his sastra.  Then he went to the emperors palace, and he came walking in.  "Oh, what great pandita is this?"  "My name is Gopala Bhar Das Pandit Maharaja.  I have been sent by the king Maharaja Krsnacandra to defeat this so-called digvijaya.  I am master of the four Vedas, and especially my field of expertise is the Jyotir-Veda (which includes astrology."  He was speaking so confidently, and he was looking fearless.  Everyone was very impressed, and even this digvijaya pandita was thinking, "He's not at all afraid of me.  He must be a heavy one."  So the digvijaya pandita saw this scripture that Gopala was carrying, and he asked, "What is this scripture, may I ask?"  "This," Gopala replied, "Is my Khatvanga Purana, of which I am a master."  The pandita was saying, "Wait a minute, I've heard of Visnu Purana, Skanda Purana.  I've never heard of Katvanga Purana.  May I see this?"  Then Gopal Bhar exclaimed, "Ohh!"  He was looking into the sky and going, "Ohhh!  I have just noticed the angle of the sun, and I am remembering now the date today.  We have just now entered a most auspicious moment, according to the Jyotir-Veda.  Anybody who takes a hair from the head of this pandita," pointing to the digvijaya, "will immediately be granted with long life, and wealth in this lifetime, and liberation in the next.  All auspicious result will come in this life and the next, simply by taking a hair from such a great digvijaya pandita as this."  So then immediately everyone in the court ran and was taking hairs from the pandita.  The pandita was being driven, and they were taking from his beard and everything.  He went running and they were all chasing him.  He was gone.  Gopala Bhar returned to Navadvipa with his head in the air.  "Don't worry King, he is gone.  That pandita has run off.  He's completely defeated, completely finished."  "Oh!" the king said.  "How did you do this?"  "As you were saying, I have this Katvanga Purana.   I am a master of the learning of this."  And when he opened it he showed a leg of a bed, and everyone was astonished.  Then he explained the story, and they could all understand that he had just played a big joke, that's all.  Then they asked him, "How is it that you could go so confidently, so boldly into that courtyard of the muslim emperor, simply dressed up like a brahmin and carrying an old bed leg under your arm.  How were you so sure that you could defeat him just by a trick?"  Gopala replied, "As soon as I heard that this pandita was going to the muslim king and declaring that he is a great learned scholar, and that he would defeat any other scholar, then I knew that he must have been a fool.  He must have actually been a kind of rascal because what do muslims know about Vedic learning.  Why did he go to the muslim, why didn't he come down here or go to another Hindu king.  He was going to the muslim king, so I knew that he must just be a rascal, trying to make a big show, so I did not think I had anything to fear when I went there."

MORAL: The digvijaya pandita was just actually a rascal, which means not really one who's situated on the platform of knowledge, just someone who's trying to gain some name and fame.  That's a rascal.  Rascals can be defeated by rascal means.

See similar inspirational snippets HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/parables.htm

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