2006 has been a great year for Hindu Voice UK. With over 100,000 monthly hits and 80,000 readers, we have emerged as one of the busiest and lively online communities. The secret of our success?
Pick up any textbook on Hinduism, and chances are that the beginning of Hinduism is identified with the ‘Aryan invasion of India’, dated around 1500 BCE, and their composition of the Rig Veda. According to this viewpoint, the ‘Aryans’ were a tall, fair skinned people who originated from outside India, and who are responsible for the composition of the Vedas and thus the founding of Hinduism.
A recent survey of 2,300 employers across Britain said that 74% of companies in Britain have chosen not to display Christmas decorations. The employment law firm Peninsula that conducted the survey claimed that this was so as not to open companies to litigation for discriminating against non-Christian religions. The National Secular Society dismissed the reports as “exaggerated and misleading.” President Terry Sanderson said: “Where Christmas parties and decorations are being discontinued it is usually for cost or health and safety reasons. We do not consider the move to be ‘Christophobic’ as Christians are increasingly prone to claim”
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This definitely holds true with the images of Hindu deities. Taking the image of Lord Shiva, one of the most majestic and endearing deities for all Hindus, this article investigates some aspects of Shiva’s image…the crescent moon near his head, the river Ganga flowing from his hair and the dark blue neck. What can we learn from such imagery?
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A Sikh campaign group recently stormed two temples to remove the Guru Granth Sahib from the premises, on the pretext that the Sikh holy book should not be present at premises where ‘non-Sikh worship’ takes place.The two temples were the Ek Nivas temple in Wolverhampton, which serves a mixed Hindu and Sikh congregation, and the Guru Wadbagh Singh Trust Gurudwara in Greenford.
No stranger to controversy, legendary yoga-guru Swami Ramdev has once again ignited the wrath of irate protestors, who accuse him of insulting the memory of Mahatma Gandhi.
Whilst teaching yoga to Army personnel in Madhya Pradesh, Swami Ramdev expressed his belief that the freedom of India was achieved by the “sacrifice of martyrs” and not through non-violent methods alone. He is quoted as saying “I am a follower of penance, sacrifice, non-violence and truth, but am also a follower of revolutionaries…if somebody says that the country achieved independence without arms, without bloodshed, I believe it is an insult to the country’s martyrs”.
Alcoholics and other addicts refer to it as a moment of clarity.As I stood in the police cell amidst a cacophony of sound and rising nausea the unlikely effects of such a ‘moment of clarity’ washes over me.
Here I stood in Southall Police station in the early hours of Sunday morning looking at the collapsed heap of my client, as he lay writhing in a heap of his own vomit and urine. Here I stood, a solicitor and Officer of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in all my pride over my client accused of beating his wife in an allegedly vicious and unprovoked attack.
It can be said with confidence that all Hindus in the UK would strongly condemn the recent events in the Indian state of Orissa, whereby a certain class of Hindus have been denied access to a temple simply because of their caste.
Most of us know, that caste in its rigidified or hereditary form does not reflect the true essence of Hinduism (see previous Hindu Voice article).
As a Hindu in Britain, is that does caste still play an important part in your life, or any role at all?
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On December 1st was Gita Jayanti, the festival celebrating the first recital of the Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna to his friend and devotee, Arjuna. This took place on the battlefield called the Kurukshetra, situated in the modern Indian state of Haryana, several thousand years ago.
Through the millennia, the Gita has inspired some of the greatest minds in the world, as well as given solace and meaning to the lives of millions of people from all walks of life.
From inspiring freedom struggles, to helping high level corporate executives deal with stress and struggle, the Bhagavad Gita continues to help many eminent personalities fulfil their potential.
Earlier this year, Hindu Voice UK carried a story about the controversy surrounding Indian ‘anti-conversion’ legislation that was passed in the state of Chhatisgarh, and how a group of 16 British MPs published a letter of condemnation against India as a result.A report released this week makes the shocking allegation that these MPs may have had financial incentive! The report, titled “Conversion and Anti-conversion in India Today” was edited and compiled by Mrs Anuja Prashar of Transnational Identity Investments, an independent network of academics and professionals from across the globe.
