Fw: HPI, December 1, 2004

[Guest guest]

thoughts to ponder upon

Yogacharya Dr.Ananda Balayogi Bhavananiwww.icyer.com www.geocities.com/yognat2001/i_am_hereICYER,Tamil Nadu 605104Tel: 91-413-2622902,2241561

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Today's Stories:

1. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Speaks On Hindu Identity

2. UK TV Soap Criticized by Hindus

3. Speciality Paper Helping Save the Elephants

 

1. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Speaks On Hindu Identity

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=59670

 

INDIA, November 27, 2004: " It is interesting to probe into the psyche

of identity, which often is a source of security, insecurity, conflict

and comfort. Perhaps the following reasons would answer the identity

crises of the Hindus. The broadmindedness of Hinduism, its inherent

inclusiveness and secularism, makes Hindus feel guilty about claiming

their identity, as it is embedded in their philosophy that it is wrong

to exclude others. Claiming a religious identity makes them feel they

are excluding others, and so they shy away from doing so, " says Sri

Ravi Shankar in his recent column for The Indian Express.

 

" But Hindus who know Sanskrit or a few shlokas are rare. Most educated

Hindus know the Bible; they know Christmas carols. When they know

nothing about their religion, how can they take pride in it? " " There

are 1.25 billion Hindus in the world, a little over one-sixth of the

world's population, but you hardly find a single Hindu lobby at

international forums. You will find a Christian lobby, a Muslim lobby

or a Jewish lobby, but you can't find a Hindu lobby. Just 12 million

Jews in the world are such a powerful voice. Buddhists also have a

voice and make their presence felt at world forums. " " A strong

community is an asset to any nation. A weak community will always be in

fear and because of insecurity will become aggressive. It is the pride

in one's identity which strengthens the community, " Sri Ravi Shankar

continues. For the full column, click on " source " above.

 

2. UK TV Soap Criticized by Hindus

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4059453.stm

 

LONDON, ENGLAND, December 1, 2004: Hindu leaders have rejected an

apology from Coronation Street (click

http://www.itv.com/page.asp?partid=91 for plot summaries) after a scene

showed a Hindu statue used as a weapon. Viewers saw Maya threaten

Sunita with a statue of Hindu God Lord Ganesh as part of a long running

plot line. ITV apologized for any offence caused but said it was clear

" Maya's actions were that of a deranged woman. " Ramesh Kallidai,

secretary of The Hindu Forum of Britain said: " The apology is not

unconditional, it makes a justification for the behavior. " He added:

" This is not acceptable to us. " The scene showed Maya ordering a

cowering Sunita to be submissive or her husband would come home to find

Sunita had been " beaten to death by Ganesh, the God of good fortune. "

The ITV statement said it was clear Maya " had no regard for anyone or

anything at the moment that the line was said and any right-minded

individual would believe her actions to be abhorrent. "

 

Mr. Kallidai said ITV had not apologized to his organisation directly.

" We have had lots of calls from agitated Hindus - do you think they

would have filmed a scene where a mentally ill person is shown throwing

a Koran on the floor? " he said. " The media should be as responsible as

it is creative, " he added. The Forum had also sought an assurance that

it would be consulted before including any use of Hindu icons that may

cause hurt or anger in the community. " We are here to give input to the

media, please speak to us if you are thinking of showing anything

insensitive, " said Mr. Kallidai. The Hindu Forum of Britain is the

largest umbrella body for British Hindus, with more than 230 member

organizations from across the UK.

 

3. Speciality Paper Helping Save the Elephants

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/

11/24/HOGGU9T8C51.DTL

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, November 24, 2004: When Brian and Cindy

Smucker visited Sri Lanka last January on a trip sponsored by Ten

Thousand Villages, a fair trade association, they were looking for

unique products to sell in their store back home. The Smuckers found

what they wanted when they visited the Elephant Millennium Foundation.

Brian Smucker explains, " In Sri Lanka, elephants are used as draft

animals and when they grow old, they can be put to sleep. They are also

killed in confrontations with farmers as agricultural land encroaches

on their habitat. The foundation tries to raise local and world

consciousness about the elephants' plight. " The news release adds, " The

Smuckers learned the foundation had started a project to turn dung into

paper as another way to demonstrate the usefulness of elephants. Back

in the United States, National Public Radio aired a report on the

project. The foundation forwarded the subsequent inquiries about it to

the Smuckers, who were overwhelmed with orders before their first

shipment of the paper had even arrived. " Brian Smucker says, " We

discovered that our store and the Philadelphia Zoo were the two places

in the country that are actually importing this stuff. The leaves and

bark eaten and digested by an elephant produce dung that's dried and

boiled with margosa leaves to disinfect it. The elephant is doing the

first part -- of breaking down the grasses and the rest is pretty much

the conventional handmade paper process. "

 

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