Posted by Kamlesh
According to an article in the Times of India, Conservative leader David Cameron turned up to a Ramayana recital by famous saint Morari Bapu, which was taking place at a college in Leicester. He delivered a speech aimed at gaining Hindu support.
Please note, that this survey is solely intended for Hindus living in Britain.
The issue of forced marriages and honour killings has once again become a matter of national debate after the brother and cousin of Samaira Nazir, 25, were sentenced to life imprisonment on 14th July, for her barbaric murder.
The consumption of alcohol has existed in human society since time immemorial. Probably all societies, at least in historically-recorded times, have had members who have used alcohol, which has been a common source of relaxation, intoxication or inebriation. In the modern world, all types of alcoholic beverages are freely available in the world market.
Most societies have placed some restraints or restrictions on the use of alcohol; because of the dangers arising from it’s over use. Some groups, particularly of a religious nature, have tried to ban alcohol altogether and have made it into a sin to consume it at all, although some members within these groups have continued to use alcohol anyway.
At least 180 people were killed and 700 injured in a co-ordinated series of bomb blasts in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay). The attack targeted Mumbai’s railway stations during rush hour.
The attack comes just over one year after a similar atrocity took place on London’s underground train network on 7th July 2006. The attack in Mumbai was even more deadly, being eerily reminiscent of the worst terrorist attack ever to have hit Indian soil, when 13 co-ordinated bomb-blasts killed 257 people in Mumbai on 12th March 1993.
“Why is it that Hindu women have to burn themselves when their husbands die?”
This question was relayed to the Hindu speaker at an event in Brighton University. The speaker smiled and asked the largely Hindu audience if they had actually heard of any woman amongst their family or friends who had burnt herself when her husband died, or had even been encouraged to do so? The crowd, of course, answered in the negative.
Karma is a key Hindu concept not always easily explained. Comparing it with the gravity, however, helps to illustrate how it works. Obviously, the law of gravitation existed before Newton discovered it. Similarly, the law of karma was actively at work long before some ancient sage first consciously came to understand it. Both these laws apply equally to everybody, regardless of race, religion, nationality, sex and sexual orientation. And they did so before either was understood.
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The image of the mild, non-violent, vegetarian Hindu animates many history books as well as the self-image of many Hindus. The image of a barefoot Mahatma Gandhi taking on the might of the world’s largest empire has been etched into the history of mankind. But how accurate is this image for Hindus as a whole?
As we go on to celebrate another Sri Krishna-Janmashthami, here is a question of interest to all of us: was Krishna a historical figure, or is he just a myth created to fill a void in the Hindu soul? As the most admired and adored figure in the Hindu pantheon, Krishna occupies a unique place in Indian history and tradition.
Some days back I was discussing classic films with friends who work at the same cinema as me, when the subject of the Indiana Jones movies came up. I said that that as a Hindu and a devotee of Goddess Kali, I found the portrayal of Kali in Temple of Doom disturbing. The others seemed surprised to hear this. “Why would you be offended?? Kali is a demoness isn’t she”?
It hadn’t occurred to me till then how films like these can have a lasting effect in moulding the views of people that watched them.
