last updated 30th April 2008

Kazakhstani online petition

Kazakhstani online petition

By Radha Mohan Dasa

Please visit http://www.krishnatemple.com NOW and click the link to the new petition, or go straight to the petition webpage:

http://harekrishna.epetitions.net

Please sign it soon as you can, and please tell as many people as you can about it.

Background: Workers and police arrived on 15th June at the village near Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the embattled Hare Krishna commune is based to demolish twelve more Hare Krishna-owned homes. “The houses were literally crushed into dust. By ten o’clock it was all over,” said ISKCON spokesperson Maksim Varfolomeyev.

The temple, which the devotees have been ordered to destroy, has not been touched but the devotees fear it could be the next target. Human rights activist Yevgeny Zhovtis is outraged at the continuing destruction. “The authorities are showing that they will do what they want, despite the international outrage at the earlier demolitions of Hare Krishna-owned homes.” He believes the local administration chief “doesn’t care about the political damage to Kazakhstan’s reputation – or to its desire to chair the OSCE.”

ys Radha Mohan das

Kazak Edition of Bhagavad-gita presented to Srila Prabhupada.
This is now the 55th language in which Bhagavad-gita has been printed.

A young mother with her newborn baby, photographed from outside her window as Kazakh police break down her door and prepare to demolish her home.

On March 25, 2008 the directors of the Krishna Society were summoned to a meeting organized by the Hakim of Almaty Province. The subject of the meeting was the imminent eviction of the Religious Organization Society for Krishna Consciousness from their property in Karasai District.

The Krishna organization was given a period of one week to accept the government demands to vacate their developed 116 acre farm. The proposed alternative is a 5-acre plot of undeveloped land in the wilds of Talgar district. The proposed site is further from Almaty city than their current location.

The Krishna Society was informed that if does not accept these conditions, within one week, that the officers of GASK (the State Architectural and Construction Board), will open a lawsuit to demolish the Krishna Society's existing temple and barn.

The Krishna Society's project near Almaty is a unique spiritual center for Kazakhstan and the entire CIS. It serves as the cultural center for the followers of the Krishna faith in Central Asia.

The three-year prosecution against the Society has resulted in the demolition of 26 homes of the faithful. The Society's 116-acre farmland has been confiscated and returned to the Kazakh Government Land Reserve.

During the meeting on March 25th it was announced that the confiscated land would be subdivided and sold by the government for private villas.

The religious organization will be liquidated when it loses its current legal address. The followers of the Krishna belief will be deprived of the opportunity to practice their religion collectively, which is the main component of freedom of conscience and faith.

A fair and reasonable solution to this conflict would underline Kazakhstan's commitment in upholding international commitments to human rights, religious tolerance and ethnic amity. But in this case there is no element of fairness to be found.

For more information visit http://www.kazakhkrishna.com

ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev criticized foreign missionaries on Thursday as a threat to national stability and urged lawmakers to curb their activities.

The mainly Muslim country has positioned itself as an area of stability in the potentially volatile Central Asian region. But some rights groups have criticized its treatment of small groups such as Hare Krishna.

Speaking at a congress of the Nur-Otan party, which holds all seats in the lower house of the parliament, Nazarbayev said foreign missionaries posed a threat to secularity.

"We are a secular state where religion is separated from the state, but this does not mean Kazakhstan should become a dumping ground for all kinds of religious movements," he said the veteran leader, without naming any groups.

"There are tens of thousands of missionary organizations working in Kazakhstan today. We don't know what their aims are. ... We cannot leave it like that and let them do something that our country does not need," he said.

Nazarbayev often singles out ethnic and religious accord as one of his main achievements in the country, which has a large Orthodox Christian community.

But Western human rights groups say religious intolerance toward smaller groups is on the rise.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized Kazakhstan last year for destroying houses belonging to followers of Hare Krishna, who practice yoga and vegetarianism in a village near Almaty.

Read HERE how the original issue began in Kazakstan

Read HERE what the previous articles from November 2006 were

Iskcon Kazakstan
http://www.palaceofthesoul.com/news/index.php

PLEASE VISIT THIS PAGE
http://kazakhkrishna.com/en-main/

Kazakh
http://vedabase.net/kazakhstan/

Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1786

AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA, April 9, 2008: If you see a red Swastika symbol on a car or on a business card, don’t think that the Nazis are back. Look closely, this Swastika would have four dots to distinguish it from the Nazi lookalike. Doctors in Gujarat are expected to switch over to the Swastika from the red cross, since a medical publication denounced the cross as an alien religious symbol.

“After there were objections to the misuse of the Red Cross symbol, the articles in a bulletin published by the Ahmedabad Medical Association (AMA) caused a stir,” said Gujarat secretary of IMA, Dr Bipin Patel. Doctor Patel said the Swastika is an auspicious symbol and there is nothing wrong with it. However, Indian Medical Association secretary S.N. Mishra said, “Swastika is a symbol associated with a particular religion and since a doctor is not supposed to be associated with any religion, he cannot use this symbol.” He warned that action would be taken against whoever was using it.

Quoting Ashfaaq Ahmed, an activist protesting against the use of red cross, the Arogya Bharti said, “According to the 1960 Geneva Convention Act, the red cross symbol is only to be used by Red Cross Society or the Armed Forces Medical Services.”

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

http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/03/stories/2008040354560500.htm

CHENNAI, INDIA, April 3, 2008: A new documentary attempts to shed light on one of the least researched areas of scholarship in Asian history: the many cultural and religious influences of ancient Indian civilisation on the kingdoms in South-East Asia. "Indian Imprints," a documentary film directed by S. Krishnaswamy, which will soon be aired on Doordarshan, will feature the many legacies of a thousand years of close cultural contact between the civilizations of ancient India and South-East Asia, from monuments and temples to dance forms and literature. The documentary was filmed in over 100 locations in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. From the first century A.D., traders from southern India visited kingdoms in these countries, leading to extensive cultural contact between kingdoms such as the Pallavas in south India and civilisations such as the Cham in south Vietnam and the Khmer Empire in modern Cambodia. "When ancient Indian civilizations went to these places, they did not go as colonizers, but made an enormous cultural and philosophical impact," Mr. Krishnaswamy, who wrote and directed the film, said. "We have to wake up to our old values of mutual respect and tolerance."

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

Two world-renowned scientists will offer their views on faith and science Thursday as part of Texas A&M University's Trotter Endowed Lecture Series.

At 7:00 pm in Rudder Theatre, Francis Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, and Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, will be speaking about the connections between science and religion. Respectively, their speech topics are "The Language of God" and "Without God."

The free event will be followed by a reception in Rudder Exhibit Hall.

As the leader of the human genome project, Collins served as the project manager for a team of more than 2,000 scientists from six countries. Together, they determined all three billion letters of the human genome.

Stephen Weinberg was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1979 for discovering neutral currents.

According to Ihouse, a Christian organization that supports the lecture, the advance of science has contributed to a widespread loss of belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. Weinberg said those who have lost or are losing this belief then face the problem: How is one to live without God?

Collins shares a complimentary perspective, which he stated during his keynote address to the 2007 Annual International Prayer Breakfast, hosted by President George W. Bush.

"These are exciting times for a scientist," Collins said, "but my hopes and dreams for us do not rest solely in science. I am also a man of faith. When as a scientist I have the great privilege of learning something no human knew before, as a believer I also have the indescribable experience of having caught a glimpse of God's mind. He is the same God, whether you find him in the cathedral or in the laboratory. He is in the laws of physics, but he is also the ultimate source of love and forgiveness."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLQl64nJlrf0&refer=asia

NEPAL, April 8, 2008: Nepal, the world's last remaining Hindu monarchy, votes this week in an election that may bring an end to almost 240 years of rule by the family of King Gyanendra. The three top parties contesting the April 10 ballot are campaigning to scrap the monarchy or allow it only a ceremonial role. Forty-nine percent of Nepalese support the monarchy, according to an opinion poll in January, even through Gyanendra is unpopular after the autocratic rule he imposed in 2005. "The reason is that it is woven into Nepali tradition and culture," said Sudhindra Sharma, director of Interdisciplinary Analysts, the Kathmandu-based independent research organization that carried out the poll. "Support for the monarchy is a proxy for tradition. It is a part of national identity."

Fifty-nine percent of Nepalese preferred the country to remain a Hindu state, according to the January poll of 3,010 respondents chosen randomly in 30 of the nation's 75 districts. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points. Many Nepalese believe Gyanendra's family are reincarnated Hindu gods, who created the landlocked Himalayan kingdom between India and China. About 80 percent of Nepal's 29 million citizens are Hindu. The people dislike thecurrenty king as a result of the circumstances under which he took the throne, analyst Sudhindra Sharma said. "He eroded the sanctity" of the monarchy, he said. "There was suspicion all around."

"It is hard to believe the king will not rule anymore," said Jagdish Karki, an agricultural laborer on the outskirts of Kathmandu. "If other parties can rule better, and that is the reality, then it is the king's fate."

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

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3684066.ece

UNITED KINGDOM, April 8, 2008: When Attri was interviewed at the Ministry of Defense for the job of Britain’s first Hindu chaplain, he was asked what he would say if a soldier did not want to go to war. Hindu teachings, he responded, offer good guidance: “Duty is our priority. It’s our karma, and we have to face it.” Hindu teachings have armed most of the soldiers he counsels with resolve. “They know they’ve undertaken a contract to look after the boundary walls of the country.”

As Hindu chaplain to the British Army since 2005, one of Acharya Krishan Kant Attri’s most crucial tools is the Bhagavad Gita. “I use it all the time,” says the 45-year-old pandit, or Hindu priest. Attri performs army weddings, supports soldiers and their families, and acts as a liaison between Hindu troops and their commanding officers, explaining small but symbolically charged issues: why Hindu soldiers want to wear rakhi, or symbolic red strings, around their wrists, or why strict vegetarians do not want to use spoons that have touched meat at meals. He has also gone to Nepal to select chaplains for the Gurkhas, and this spring will visit troops in Afghanistan. “I want to see what the soldiers go through, to help me advise them and support the families left behind.”

Last year, Sir Ian Blair conceded to “a feeling in the Hindu community that we have not given them as much attention as other groups”. A 2006 Runnymede Trust report on Britain’s Hindus opened thus: “British Hindus form the third-largest faith-based community in Britain yet we know remarkably little about them, their needs or experiences.”

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

HONG KONG: By day, Kenneth Valpey dons his academic robes to elevate his students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong to a higher orbit of understanding about Indian religions and cultures.

But come evening, he assumes another avatar. He slips into something a little more comfortable — like a pristine white dhoti-kurta and a wrap-around angavastram — and sermonizes on the Bhagavad Gita to the devotees of Krishna in Hong Kong.

Valpey’s ‘double life’ is easily explained: The theologian from the Oxford University has been appointed to professorship in Indian religions and culture at the Chinese University, established with a HK$4 million (about Rs2.2 crore) donation from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) of Hong Kong.

And as a member of ISKCON, he joins other worshippers at the Krishna temple for the chanting and celebration that has practitioners across the world dancing in the streets.

The professorship was established by the university as part of an effort to “enhance exchanges between the East and the West,” says university pro vice-chancellor, Prof Liu Pak-wai. Under this programme, four courses are offered, including religious traditions in India, tradition and modernity in India, and self and identity in Indian culture.

Most of the graduate students at the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies are from mainland China, which is officially an atheist state and where freedom of religious worship is heavily circumscribed by the Communist Party.

In addition to classroom lectures and discussions, Valpey envisages field visits — he has taken his students to the Krishna temple — and a study tour to India.

On campus, he’s been screening Peter Brooks’ film The Mahabharata.

So, what relevance does the Bhagavad Gita have for Chinese students? “The essential teachings of the Gita,” says Valpey, “are relevant to everyone, and I think Chinese students are quite engaged by it.” In fact, he notes, a number of Chinese persons have been initiated into ISKCON.

Valpey himself was raised in the liberal Unitarian tradition in Berkeley, California, and was drawn to the Krishna consciousness movement when he dropped out of college in the late 1960s to “see a bit of the world”. Travelling in Europe, he met Krishna devotees, and was inspired enough by the teachings of the group’s founder Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada to be initiated into the movement. In 1972, as part of the rite of initiation, he was ‘christened’ Krishna Ksetra Das, which means “a servant of the places associated with Krishna’s life and, therefore, of Krishna himself.”

Valpey acknowledges that his embracing of the movement “might have been a result of the youthful enthusiasm for the exotic” that characterised the 1960s, the age of “flower power” and hippie nirvana. “But with the initiation came a certain commitment to follow a certain lifestyle, which has been very helpful,” he says.

Does that make him a ‘practising Hindu’? “Because the term ‘Hindu’ has certain connotations of cultural perspective, which are appropriate, I don’t mind being identified as a Hindu,” says Valpey. “But on the other hand, as soon as the term starts dividing me from others, I don’t want to be a ‘Hindu’ any more.”

More than two decades after his formal initiation into ISKCON, Valpey returned to university “to learn something about this religious tradition from an academic perspective.” He studied theology at Oxford University, and conducted his research at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.

Academic engagement with religion did not create any dissonance with his practice, he says. “Of course, the academia is fraught with the hermeneutics of suspicion: That things are not the way they are presented within the tradition.” But there are two aspects to the study of religion, he says. “There’s the ‘cumulative tradition’ — which consists of everything visible and substantial, including religious texts, music, buildings, and so on. And then you have that which is invisible, but which is at the core of the tradition: Personal faith.” Ultimately, that remains “beyond the grasp of the scholar.”

Valpey believes the spiritual evolution he’s attained from his journey in Krishna consciousness was, in a sense, meant to be. “I like to think that Krishna’s hand is in our lives,” says the man who comfortably fuses a practitioner’s faith with scholarly investigation of that faith. “You may call him something else, but I’m accustomed to referring to that highest divinity as Krishna. So, there’s some intentionality, some plan.”

And when he’s imparting lessons on Indian religious traditions to a roomful of Chinese students, he’s only doing his “karmic duty”, he reckons. Hare Krishna to that...

Read more on Reincarnation HERE:

Date: Fri Apr 4, 2008 4:35 pm ((PDT))

EVEN THOUGH Hindus in America are not known as a major lobbying group but they have managed to win the support of Christians and other religionists against the upcoming movie "The Love Guru", which is said
to have portrayed Hinduism in less than a reasonable manner.

In fact, a number of religious leaders have come out in support of Hindus, who were concerned about the upcoming Hollywood movie "The
Love Guru" apparently degrading their institutions.

Father Charles T Durante, a Catholic priest well respected in northern Nevada for his various community outreach efforts, in a statement, said, "..it is important that we respect those parts of every faith tradition, which are held especially sacred. I applaud Paramount Pictures for being open to the request of Hindu leaders to preview this film and listen to any concerns that may arise for them".

Rabbi Jonathan B Freirich, a well known Jewish leader in parts of California and Nevada, in a statement, stressed, "While "˜The Love
Guru" appears to be a funny take on New Age spirituality, it seems like it may portray many Hindu practices in a less than sensitive light" it would be appropriate for the producers of "˜The Love Guru" to make efforts to assure the religious communities of the United States that they in no way wish to make any general statements about Hinduism."

Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr, head bishop of International Community of Christ, welcoming the decision of Paramount Pictures to pre-screen the movie for Rajan Zed and other leaders, has said that we must take religion seriously and businesses should give due regard to the feelings of adherents of various faiths.

Vidya Chaitanya, director of the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Los Angeles, in a statement, said, ""The guru has traditionally been the spiritual guide or teacher and as such is respected, revered and in some cases, worshipped 'This movie demeans the role of guru"".

Jawahar L Khurana, chairperson of Hindu Alliance of India, has also entered the fray. In a statement in Haryana (India), he stressed that film being so powerful a medium in forming public opinion that Hollywood and other film centres should be very careful in handling the sensitivities of world communities. He welcomed the initial Paramount offer of pre-screening the movie but added that his group would be closely watching the Paramount moves to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of the concerned people.

Rakesh Nagpal of Shri Ramayan Pracharini Sabha, and Lila D Sharma of India Heritage Panel, has lauded prominent Indo-American leader Rajan Zed for spearheading this issue and added that their organisations would fully support him in his efforts.

Meanwhile, Rajan Zed, thanking Paramount for attending to the pleas of Hindu community and attempting to reach a resolution, urged the moviemakers to be positively responsive to their concerns be prepared to make amends if requested.

"The Love Guru", a comedy starring Mike Myers (of Austin Powers fame, who is also the co-writer and co-producer), Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Ben Kingsley and directed by Marco Schnabel, is set to release on June 20 next. ‘His Karma is huge’ is its tagline. In it Myers, an American, raised in an ashram in India, moves back to US as Guru Pitka to seek fame and fortune in the world of self-help and spirituality.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=131793

http://www.archive.org/details/gov.doj.ncj.212664.v1.7

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, April 4, 2008: Several years ago Hinduism Today learned of a training video produced by the Chicago Police Department to educate its officers about each major religion in the Chicago area, including Hinduism. Today, we stumbled across a link to the video (URL above) and it is an excellent presentation.

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

By Sita Pati Das

To help strengthen our mrdanga playing culture, I have produced a book with 50 bonafide mrdanga beats in it. These beats are all notated using a “tablature-style” notation, like the one below:

These beats are taken from standard ISKCON kirtan beats and beats used by mrdanga players in the Vrndavana 24-hour kirtan.

You can download the book from the following link:
The Art and Science of Harinam Sankirtan Yajña http://www.atmayogi.com/files/The%20Art%20and%20Science%20of%20Harinam%20Sankirtan%20Yajna.pdf

By learning and teaching to play the mrdanga properly we can preserve and strengthen our Vaisnava culture and heritage, as we simultaneously adopt and adapt new innovations and assimilate existing elements in the cultural space that we are expanding into. Staying connected to our core allows us to deal with new elements in a healthy, non-fanatical way.

There is ongoing controversy surrounding the use of djembe drums in ISKCON Vaisnava kirtan. Recently we had the mercy of Bada Hari das, who came to our annual Vaisnava Retreat for preaching staff in Brisbane. After one kirtan there featuring a djembe drum he shared a saying, apparently common around New Rama Reti, Alachua: “When a djembe plays a gandharva falls from the sky”. After that we shelved the djembe for the rest of the retreat. Generally we use mrdangas, and sometimes use the djembe to fortify the bottom end in big kirtans.

I’m agnostic on the djembe. Some devotees object to the materials used to make it, but of course you can get djembes made from synthetic materials, similar to our Balaram mrdangas. Personally I prefer and play the mrdanga, and if I were to use another drum in kirtan I prefer the darbuka, or Egyptian tabla. I think that there are two reasons why djembes are rising in popularity in ISKCON kirtan. One reason is that they are relatively easy to play, or begin to play, compared to a mrdanga. To play the mrdanga effectively in kirtan takes a longer time and a greater amount of practice. Another reason is that djembes are easier to obtain than mrdangas. They are sold in most drum shops in modern cities, and can be supported with spare parts, maintenance, and professional tuning, easily and widely.

One of the drawbacks of the easier entry level of djembes is that djembe players inexperienced in playing mrdanga beats sometimes play the drum in such a way that it does not reinforce the mrdanga beat, but clashes with or overrides it.

A stronger culture of mrdanga playing and proficiency in ISKCON, combined with more local production of mrdangas using locally available technologies, materials, and designs, will have the effect of reducing the influx of djembes, and will also assist to make the integration of the djembe and other drums more organic. This way the djembe will not replace the mrdanga or compete with it, but rather in instances where it is present it will complement it.

So I hope that devotees will take advantage of this book to strengthen the culture of mrdanga playing in ISKCON.

Read more on Chanting Hare Krishna HERE:

It is a basic fact of ecology that a vegetarian diet requires only about 10% of the agricultural land compared to a meat-based diet. This means that a culture migrating from meat-based diets to a predominantly vegetarian diet would free up a large majority of its agricultural land for other uses. Thus we can understand that a reduction in meat consumption would provide an opportunity to produce abundant biofuels without encroaching on land needed for food production.

Considering that the Iraq war was undoubtedly influenced by the United States‘ high demand for oil, and that the same demand is rapidly increasing in developing countries with obvious political ramifications, this is a definite link showing that vegetarian diets not only help the environment and reduce or prevent the slaughter of animals, but also reduce the impetus for war.

Of course, anyone who understands karma and its implications knows that the connection goes far beyond that, but it can be difficult to convince some people of the subtle connections between karma and subsequent events. However the above sequence does not rely on metaphysics; rather it is based entirely on principles that any gross materialist can accept.

Nice riff from Pandu das.

http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1312949

HYDERABAD, INDIA, March 30, 2008: In a bid to tackle ticket scalping (black market sale of tickets at higher than face value) for darshan and seva and even sale of ladoos, Tirupati-Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD), that manages the Lord Venkateswara shrine in Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh, has now decided to set up an in-house police station. A first-of-its-kind move by any temple in the country, the police station would start functioning soon, TTD chairman Karunakar Reddy told HT. "We will be able to book cases and arrest the culprits that we were not able to do earlier. This would have a demoralizing effect on the black-marketers," said a TTD official.

On an average, 45,000-50,000 pilgrims visit the hill-top shrine on a normal day (And nearly a lakh on festivals and holidays). With queues for darshan stretching for hours, black-marketing darshan and seva tickets has become a lucrative business. It results in the pilgrims suffering, whereas those with deep pockets buy tickets in the black-market for an easy darshan.

The Endowments act, which governs administration of temples, prohibits consumption of meat and liquor and smoking or chewing of tobacco in the pilgrim town, but there was no provision to tackle the menace of black-marketing.

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

A cow in India has amazed dairy farmers by releasing milk completely unaided.

Radha is such a clever cow she can milk herself. No one knows of any scientific reason for this. All the other cows on the farm in India's Dahod district receive the same food, but Radha proudly proves she can fill a bucket unaided.

Farm worker Manoj Bhargav says: "This cow named Radha, whenever it is fed, it starts milking the same moment. It delivers approximately eight litres of milk both in the morning and evening that is four litres each time. I think it's a miracle. I have never witnessed such a miracle ever."

Radha has been named after the Hindu Goddess of the same name. Her Muslim owner chose the name as a symbol of harmony which he hopes will strengthen the bond between the two communities.

The cow is worshipped in almost all parts of India - this is one that is udderly amazing.

You can watch a video of Radha here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/multimedia/video.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=10500427&content_media_id=4976494

READ MORE on Environmental Issues HERE

http://veggie123.com

USA, March 31, 2008: The above website has published a free e-book called "How to Successfully Become a Vegetarian." The book describes the basic forms of vegetarianism, a history, reasons for becoming vegetarian and then the various issues one faces: nutrition, eating out, cooking, child's nutrition, etc. A useful resource.

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

Source: http://www.socialcause.org/getarticlefromdb.php?id=1770

MUMBAI, INDIA, April 11, 2008: The Gateway of India will be wiped off the Mumbai skyline. Bhelpuri at Chowpatty will become the stuff of grandmother’s tales. No flights will take off from Chhatrapati Shivaji airport. No couple will canoodle at the Marine Drive promenade and even heirs to the bungalow of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will not be able to resist being evicted from their home. Ninety-two years from now, all these landmarks of Mumbai will be underwater. That’s the apocalypse scenario drawn up in a report titled “Climate Migrants in South Asia: Estimates and Solutions” (download the PDF here http://dev.hinduismtoday.com/modules/wordpress/hindu-press-international/2008/04/11/greenpeace-report-on-sea-level-change-puts-mumbai-under-water/ )  that has been commissioned by Greenpeace, a non-government organization.

Prepared by climate expert and professor from the humanities department of IIT Chennai, Sudhir Chella Rajan, the report says that a potential increase in temperatures by 4 to 5 degrees due to greenhouse emissions at the current rate would mean a corresponding rise in sea levels of up to five meters by 2100.

HPI recommends reading this alarming report. It points out that the inundation of coastal areas will cause large scale migration to inner cities, such as Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi. Seventy-five million Bangladeshi would be displaced, with the prospect of many of them migrating to India. According to the report, the sea level change will increase slowly until about 2050, then rapidly. It points out also that there can be sudden changes, for example parts of the Antartic ice sheet melt.
Tags: none

Source: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/apr/15teen.htm

LONDON, UK, April 17, 2008: A new study has suggested that adolescents who dress according to the customs of their own ethnic group are less likely to have subsequent mental health problems as compared to those who don’t. The findings are based on a study which looked at 11-14 year old white British and Bangladeshi pupils of schools in East London, where levels of population diversity are among the highest in the UK.

Results showed that having friends from their own and other cultures or only having friends from their own culture made no difference to mental health. However, clothing choices did make a difference. Researchers found that foreign or second-generation immigrant pupils who wore traditional clothing were significantly less likely to have mental health problems as compared to those whose dressing style was a mix of traditional and white British/ North American tastes.

Researchers also found that white British pupils wore a mix of clothes from their own and other cultures had relatively good mental health. The study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

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

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

There are two kinds of people, those that learn by hearing and those that learn by their own experience. The second method it takes longer and is more painful but seems to be necessary for the majority of people in our age.

When the Hare Krishna movement appeared in the West to teach about a life in accordance with the lows of God and therefore protection of the cow and vegetarian diet it was derided and considered religious fanaticism.

Now, as the disastrous consequences of a hedonistic behavior abusing God’s material resources become more and more evident, humanity is obliged to reconsider its habits by force and we have much discussion about solutions and alternatives.

Gandhi said “the world has enough for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed”.

The following is an article appeared recently in NY times and Digg and it is interesting to see how people start perceiving glimpses of what the Vedic sages have been teaching for centuries.

This article is written in the classical materialistic mentality of continuing gratifying your senses while avoiding the consequences by a scientific arrangement, so they suggest artificial meat as the solution, but as there are many comments discussing it and there is a frequent mention of vegetarianism I found this reading eventually useful for preaching purposes.

Here is the link to the original article entitled: “Can People Have Meat and a Planet, Too?” with hundreds of comments:

Can People Have Meat and a Planet, Too?
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/can-people-have-meat-and-a-planet-too/index.html?ref=science

and the same one commented by the Digg’s community

http://digg.com/environment/Can_People_Have_Meat_and_a_Planet_Too

McCartney urges vegetarianism to fight climate ills

Posted Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:37pm AEST on ABC.net.au

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming and is surprised more green groups do not promote it.

In an interview with the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), McCartney said the global meat industry was a major contributor to global warming.

“The biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyle would be to become vegetarian,” McCartney, a long time vegetarian and advocate of vegetarianism, said.

“I would urge everyone to think about taking this simple step to help our precious environment and save it for the children of the future.”

McCartney says the amount of land and water used to maintain the meat industry makes it a major contributor to climate change and complains that most environmental groups do not list vegetarianism as one of their top priorities.

“It’s very surprising that most major environmental organisations are leaving the option of going vegetarian off their lists of top ways to curtail global warming,” he said.

A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle-rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation.

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

See similar articles at Vegetarianism & beyond:
http://turn.to/Vegetarianism

One man, he went out of his village and after ten years he came back.  He advertised himself, "I have become successful in yoga practice."  So naturally villagers surrounded him.  "Oh you have?  What yoga practice you have learnt?" they asked him.  "I can walk on the water," he replied.  "Oh?  Let us see this!"  So a big arrangement was made that he'll walk across the river, and then one old man came.  He said, "Sir, it is very wonderful, but it is only two paise worth."  "Why is that?" the so-called yogi asked.  "Now you will walk to the other side of the river.  I will take a boat and pay the man two paise.  I'll do the same thing, so what is your credit?"

MORAL:  Those who are actually intelligent men, they will see like that.  "What actual profit have you made?  You spend millions and millions of dollars, and you are bringing some rocks back from the moon."

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

The phaomnneil pweor of the hmuan mnid: Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig!
Mybae the I can sotp slpel ckchenig?

http://www.gaura-gambhira.com/

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

Topical Articles:
Abortion - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-abortion.htm
Genetic Engineering ( GE or GM ) - http://www.hknet.org.nz/GE.html
Environment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Environment.htm
Encroachment - http://www.hknet.org.nz/WE-Day2004.html
Cloning - http://www.hknet.org.nz/cloning.htm
Science - http://www.hknet.org.nz/science2KC.html
Cow Protection - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Cow-protection.htm
The Four Regulative Principles of Freedom - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Regs-4page.htm
seX-files - http://www.hknet.org.nz/seX-files.htm
Mundane Knowledge - http://www.hknet.org.nz/mundaneknowledge.html
Death (Yamaduttas - Terminal Restlessness etc)- http://www.hknet.org.nz/death.html
Near Death Experience - http://www.hknet.org.nz/NDE.htm
Ghosts - http://www.hknet.org.nz/ghosts.htm
Reincarnation again here - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Reincarnation-page.htm
Gain some insights in the TV culture  - http://www.hknet.org.nz/television.html
The aweful Truth about softdrinks - http://www.hknet.org.nz/theREALthing.html
Changing the face of the Earth - http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1390/index.html
UFOs - http://www.hknet.org.nz/UFOs.html
Vegetarianism & Beyond - http://turn.to/Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism in the major Religions - All manner of religions
Articles for newcomers to Krishna consciousness - http://www.krishna.com/newsite/main.php?id=87
Self Help and Motivational pages - Deals and Affiliate programs: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-selfhelp.html
Myth of the Aryan invasion by Dr. David Frawley: - http://www.hknet.org.nz/Aryan-invasion-mythDF.html

The Peace Formula - (By HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html

.........many other articles - http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-articles.htm

and from there go to the Main Index http://www.hknet.org.nz/index.htm

Iskcon News Articles now available - many topical insights
http://www.iskcon.com/new/index.html

Paradigms - where things are not all they seem

 The Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceFormula.html

The Real Peace Formula
http://www.hknet.org.nz/PeaceRealF.html

See more on Yoga and Meditation HERE:
http://www.hknet.org.nz/index-yoga.html

World Vegetarian Day October 1st yearly &
World Vegetarian Awareness Month of October yearly
...please visit our links and see what you can do to help

World Smoke Free Day
31st May Every Year 

http://www.be-free.org/b-media/market-bfree03/cinema.php

yeah kick the butt
...and remember from 10th December 2004 no more smoking in public places in New Zealand by law