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Ashadh Krushna Dwadashi, 5111
Inauguration of Hindu Dharmasabha by lighting Samai |
With the blessings of H.H. Bhaktaraj Maharaj and H.H. Dr. Athavale, the Forum For Hindu Awakening held the first Hinduism Meet in North America, on Ashadh Krushna Ekadashi Kaliyug 5111 (18th July 2009) at the Durga Mandir in Washington DC. It was enthusiastically attended by around 100 Hindus and Americans attending from various states of North America and Canada.
Devout Hindus present for Hindu Dharmasabha |
The aim of the Meet was to promote:
- Understanding of the unique spiritual science and scientific history underlying Hinduism
- Awakening to the misconceptions about Hinduism
- Living simple practices and concepts of Hinduism in day-to-day life
- Preserving the sanctity of Hinduism from denigration and malpractices
Recitation of Vedmantras at the beginning of Hindu Dharmasabha |
Conch blowing by Dr. M.G. Prasad at beginning of Dharmasabha |
Many Hindus have been performing these actions for years thinking them to be just tradition. Today, as they discovered that there is so much more to these actions, they will start practicing them with much more knowledge and spiritual emotion.
For example, it was explained that we recite the vedic mantras to bring divine consciousness to the atmosphere and to protect us from negative energies. During their recitation many attendees felt the energy of the mantras. Upaay was happening on attendees during the recitation.
Then the compeers, Smt. Mrunal Nanivadekar and Smt. Rishita Gadoya of the Forum For Hindu Awakening or FHA, invited Shri Siva Subramaniam from Shiva-Vishnu temple to honour the speakers by the presentation of an award – Vishwa Hindu Ratna (Hindu Gem of the World) This award was presented to Shri Rajan Zed, Dr. M.G. Prasad, Dr. Kusum Vyas, Shri Dewang Gadoya and Smt. Maya Jairam for their selfless and dedicated efforts for the cause of Hindu Dharma. They were also presented with a shawl and a spiritual CD for coming to this Meet and sharing their zeal with us.
The Dharma Sabha was attended by 75 guests. It was also honoured by the presence and blessings of:
- Shri Siva Subramaniam of Shiva Vishnu Mandir
- Mr. Harold Boulette of the International Community of Christ
- Shri Hitendra Patel of the BAPS Swaminarayan mandir
- Shri Krishan Gulati of Bapu Asaram Ashram
- Shri Sant Guptaji of Durga Mandir
Information about Dignitaries & their speeches:
Honouring of acclaimed Hindu leader Shri. Rajan Zed |
Shri Rajan Zed was the first speaker for the Meet. Rajan Zed is an acclaimed Indo-American and Hindu statesman who has taken up Hindu, interfaith, religion, environment, Roma and other causes all over the world.
He was invited by the President of European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering, in December 2008 in Brussels (Belgium) for a meeting to promote interfaith dialogue and discuss Hindu issues. He read the groundbreaking first Hindu opening prayer in the United States Senate in Washington DC
Topic of Shri. Rajan Zed was how to be a good Hindu in the West and interfaith relations.
Rajan Zed humbly started by saying he hardly knows everything about whole of Hinduism and is there to promote interfaith relations. He said that the main thing here in the US is that our children are lacking pride in who they are – that they are Hindus and Indians. That is what we need to create, pride in being a Hindu! He said that it is very important to preserve and stick to your Indian name and not change it an American name. He advised parents to spend more time with your children, even if one parent or grandparent has to stay home and tell them stories about Hinduism.
He stressed that parents should study a few books on Hinduism and be strong in their faith. Then they can start the work of interfaith. If the base is strong they can visit other religious institutions. Its better if the parents take the kids to religious institutions of other faiths, rather than the kids themselves going and getting attracted to it. He advised not to force the children, give them basics of Hinduism, let them learn to love it and practice it themselves.
Honouring of Dr. M.G. Prasad from Mysore |
The next speaker Dr. M.G.Prasad is a spiritual disciple of seer-yogi Sriranga Sadguru, founder of Ashtanga Yoga Vidnyana Mandiram, Mysore, India. He teaches recitation of Sanskrit prayers, Vedic chanting, Hindu scriptures and practices for children, youth and adults. He has written four books on Hinduism.
Dr. M. G. Prasad spoke regarding the multi faceted Hinduism (Sanatan Dharma)
He used a power point presentation to depict the vastness of Hinduism. The presentation covered the four objectives of life and the 4 stages of life. He said that all the things we do should be in alignment to the goal of attaining God. He also spoke about various vedic mantra and how they are recited (Ghana path) and their effect on us. He also spoke on Ashtanga Yoga and how to integrate body, mind and spirit to reach Samadhi where total mind merges with atman (God). That is the purpose of life. Keep the mind pure, simple and clean by following do’s and dont’s.
He spoke of the science behind the Hindu temple. Temples are beautiful instruments that help us to reach a state of introspection. He also explained the science behind the Goddess Saraswati, such as the various items that she holds; the science behind the Natraj and significance of 108 postures of dance, etc..
The root is one, branches are many – if we focus on life, how to make life enjoyable and pure using the basic principles of Sanatan Dharma. Religion is important aspect of life. We have to focus on the religion that we are in and focus on the aim of attaining God. The aim is important, not the door through which we enter.
Honouring of Dr. Kusum Vyas of International Sree Ram Setu campaign |
The third speaker of the day was Dr. Kusum Vyas who is the founder and coordinator of the international Save Rama Sethu Campaign. Save Ram Sethu Campaign is a campaign launched to preserve the Ram Sethu, i.e. the ancient bridge built by Lord’s Ram army with his blessings to get across from India to Sree Lanka. Having a background in education and environmental conservation, she was one of the first people to notice and raise issue with the Indian Government’s plans to destroy the Rama Sethu (Rama’s Bridge). For this cause, she has traveled to England as well as Bali, for a discussion about her views on the direction of the campaign.
Dr. Kusum Vyas gave speech on Ramsethu - challenges and accomplishments
Dr. Vyas showed a power point presentation with various pictures of the sethu, some taken from space. It was quite interesting to see the actual physical proof of what all Hindus know in their heart. She mentioned that the campaign was being discussed in London and that there it was declared that the Gulf of Mannar, where the Ram Sethu is, is World’s first international sacred site. She is working very hard at convincing the Indian government that it’s a win win situation for all to keep the Ram Sethu intact. She was very convincing and the audience responded well to her.
This was followed by refreshments with a 30-min video on spiritual research done on PIP technique and pendulum experiment. The video reflected the Importance of Saints and benefits of being around Saints.
Honouring of Smt. Maya Jairam of SSRF |
The next speaker Smt. Maya Jairam belongs to Spiritual Science Research Foundation. Smt. Maya Jairam has been doing spiritual practice under the guidance of the Spiritual Science Research Foundation, or SSRF, since October of 2001. In her free time, she shares SSRF’s research findings by conducting workshops in her area, having also conducted series of classes for children, as well. She is also an active board member of the City of Fort Collins’ Human Relations Commission.
Smt. Maya Jairam spoke about Spiritual research & importance of Spiritual dimension
Her informative presentation spoke about Sattva, Raja, Tama and showed us the science behind spiritual experiences. It also showed us the importance of Saints in an individual’s life. She explained various sections of the website to the attendees. The website is geared towards helping seekers understand spirituality and to help seekers in their spiritual practice. She ended with a demonstration on DDFAO on importance of prayer.
Honouring of Shri. Dewang Gadoya of HJS |
Shri Dewang Gadoya of Hindu JanaJagruti Samiti was the fifth speaker. Dewang Gadoya takes public lectures, satsangs to educate society about the various denigrations faced by Hindu Dharma today and how to effectively stop such denigrations. He organizes public events such as peaceful protest demonstrations and public exhibitions on the need to preserve Hindu Dharma.
Shri. Dewang gadoya spoke about knowing denigration, preserving Hinduism
He spoke very passionately and knowledgeably about preserving Hindu Dharma and preventing denigration. He shared that to attain God’s grace we need to understand and preserve Dharma. Dharma is in danger whenever there is denigration of Dharma. Hinduism shows us how to increase the sattva component within us which will finally take us to God. He shared how denigration is happening in various fields and urged every one to take initiative to protest and work towards preventing them. He explained the various sections of the HJS website such as protest campaigns, the teachings of Dharma, etc. He spoke about some of the campaigns such as the Save Ram Sethu project and protesting against the derogatory paintings of M.F. Hussain. He showed everyone how one can serve Dharma as per one’s capacity and skills.
Honouring of Smt. Bhavna Shinde of Forum for Hindu Awakening |
The final and most inspiring speaker was Smt. Bhavna Shinde of Forum For Hindu Awakening. Bhavna Shinde has been studying and practicing the principles of Spirituality (adhyatma) for the past 9 years under the guidance of her Guru, His Holiness Dr. Jayant Athavale. Bhavna devotes all her free time in helping others understand and practice the principles of spirituality and sattvik living.
Smt. Bhavana Shinde spoke on Understanding, living and preserving Hinduism in daily life.
In her speech, Smt. Bhavna Shinde commented on the various points covered by the other speakers. She asked everyone to think about how monumental the task is. She shared that to be a Hindu is an attitude – an attitude where one continually strives to overcome our spiritually impure nature and strives towards spiritual purity or realizing our divine nature.
She demonstrated how Aachaar Dharma can convert the simple activity of bathing into spiritual practice by following certain practices such as making a prayer before bathing, chanting shlokas during the bath, etc. She said a real bath is one that purifies us at the mind level too.
She went on to say that Hindu Dharma provides many paths that lead to the Divine, but of all, one has to finally get to the path of the Guru’s grace. She briefly described the eight aspects of Spiritual practice as per the path of Guru’s grace. She said that all these efforts help us progress spiritually and help us increase our subtle abilities. With this one is able perceive the science behind Hindu concepts in the subtle and that helps us practice the concepts of Hinduism better. Regular spiritual practice helps increase our communication with God and thus helps us in making our efforts to preserve Dharma more effective. She spoke about Sanatan Sanstha, which provides all the research and various publications of Sanatan.
The overwhelming impression her speech left was that of love for all humankind and her hope that everyone achieves this ultimate goal.
Other Highlights of Dharmasabha
During the Meet several videos were shown, e.g. How to take Darshan of a deity? They imparted much useful information that the attendees could put into practice. Many obstacles were faced during and before the meet. A couple of examples are:
- Someone registered 144 seats using fake email IDs such as dalitsagainstbrahmanism@gmail.com
- Various technical aspects which worked fine during tests, like the audio equipment, stopped working during the event.
The Meet was concluded with aarati (hymn) and gratitude to everyone that helped in organising the Meet. Gratitude was given to Lord Ganapati and Sri Durgadevi for removing all the obstacles from the Hinduism Meet and for gracing us with the opportunity to serve the Glorious Hindu Dharma.
Most of the attendees stayed back for a question an answer session with the speakers. They got an opportunity to get their doubts clarified. Many guests had interesting questions to ask of the speakers like how can one tell the spiritual level of a person?, etc.
Other Photos of Hindu Dharmasabha
Sattvik Rangoli drawn in Hindu Dharmasabha |
Honouring of Supratimji of Washington Bangla Radio |
Also See
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Dharma Jagruti SabhasDhama Jagruti Sabhas is creating mass awareness among Hindus about various problems affecting Hindu Dharma. |
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Protest against Mal practices in Ganesh festivalDuring the period of Ganesh festival stop evils entered in the festival. Idols are worshipped in denigrating ways. |
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