Sangh Sandesh April - June 2009

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April - June 2009 - Yugaabd 5111 p.4- HINDU VISHWA Northeast Sambhag Ghosh Varg p.3- HINDU VISHWA Australian Hindu Conference held in Sydney Bharat Darpan on Page 16 turn to page 9 BalaGokulam

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Transcript of Sangh Sandesh April - June 2009

Page 1: Sangh Sandesh April - June 2009

April - June 2009 - Yugaabd 5111

p.4- HINDU VISHWA Northeast Sambhag Ghosh Varg

p.3- HINDU VISHWA Australian Hindu Conference held in Sydney

Bharat Darpan

onPage 16

turn to page

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Contents

Published quarterly by Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (UK). Registered Charity No. 267309

For any contributions, comments and correspondence please write to: Sangh Sandesh, 46-48 Loughborough Road, Leicester, LE4 5LD, UK

email: [email protected]: www.hssuk.org

For private circulation only.

Editorial team: Raveendra Surange, Poonam Mistry, Gaurav Prinja, Nayan Mistry, Bharat Joshi and Harshita Deolia

Design: Amit Patel and Anisha Patel

The editors reserve the right to edit the material submitted for publication. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of HSS (UK).

Namaste!

“Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and

the idea of unity are already two”

Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism

With the UK in the midst of a recession, never has there

been a more fitting time for people to unite, and it’s not just

happening on a local scale. With the recent G20 summit,

there was evidence of global unity in trying to overcome

the economic crisis. It seems that with a common goal,

differences have been set aside by world leaders in order to

tackle something bigger.

So what about the Hindu community as a whole?

There are so many issues that face our culture in a

modern, Western society. How are we dealing with these?

Rikesh Patel’s article on ‘Hindu Sanghatan’ touches on the

subject of unity and how a lack of it is threatening the

progress we are making collectively. This is despite the

irony that we all seem to have a common goal to bring

people together.

This month’s Bharat Darpan article however gives us a

sense of hope. It outlines some of the challenges facing RSS’s

new Sarsangchalak, Sri Mohan Bhagwat. Mohanji suggests

that a new assertive patriotism is clear among Indians who

are becoming more aware not only of their Indian identity,

but also their Hindu identity. In turn, Hindu pride has led to

a sleeping passiveness being awoken. Could it be that the

aims of the Sangh parivar to practise, protect, promote and

preserve our Dharma are finally being recognised?

Harshita Deolia

This Issue

April - June 2009 - Yugaabd 5111

Editorial

Hindu Vishwa 3UK Samachar 6Bala Gokulam 9Sanket 12Collective SIP 13Pravaah 14Bharat Darpan 16Utsav 19Sewa News 20Mera Anubhav 22Ekatmata Stotra 23

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Australian Hindu Conference held in SydneyThe 2nd Australian Hindu Conference, with the theme "Sustaining Australia through Strengthening Bonds amongst Communities", was organised by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) of Australia Inc from 11-12 April 2009. The conference was inaugurated by the world renowned Hindu teacher and spiritual leader, His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswathi. Uncle Max Harrison, an Aboriginal elder, blessed the occasion with an Aboriginal blessing. The conference brought together Hindus from different countries as well as guests from across Australia, including the Dharma civilization group (Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Aboriginal). There were over 250 attendees at this 2-day conference.

His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswathi presented the keynote address of the conference, in which he pointed out that human conscience and values are universal. Swamiji emphasised the message from the Vedas, ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharma’ – that non-violence in thought, deed and action is the highest and most basic of all values and all else are derivatives of this universal value. Federal Parliamentarian, the Hon Mr. Laurie Ferguson (Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs) also addressed the conference and recalled the address of Swami Vivekananda at the World Conference of Religions in Chicago 1893 and acknowledged the Hindu ethos and values.

There were 6 paper presentation sessions and 3 workshops. The workshops focused on issues, which were common to all Hindu organisations, and also to the wider community. The conference papers were presented by highly qualified research scholars and university lecturers of both Hindu and non-Hindu origin. The session on Spirituality and the Environment heard an impassioned plea from Aboriginal Elder, Uncle Max Harrison to care for the environment. Dr Vasudeva Acharya implored a greater use of solar energy in keeping with the Hindu traditions of caring for Mother Earth and contrasted Hindu teachings to those of the Old Testament that advocated

HinduVishwaNews from around the world

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man’s subjugation of nature. Dr Rugmini Venketraman stressed the need for proactive partnering with Government agencies in addressing community services.

North East Sambhag's 2nd Ghosh VargSixty swayamsevaks and sevikas representing all six vibhaags gathered at Panchavati Ashram on April 26 2009 for the North East Sambhag's 2nd Ghosh Varg. Practical sessions focussed on improving quality and learning new rachanas. Discussions and presentations were also held to provide a better understanding of the importance of Ghosh. Playing ghosh together created a high level of excitment and energy which remained with the participants, even as they returned home.

Hinduism in the 21st Century at Princeton University - USAPrinceton, one of America 's eight Ivy League universities and widely regarded as one of the world's leading academic establishments, created history this year. For the first time, the New Jersey-based University, which was founded in 1746 and where Albert Einstein taught for many years and which is also home to Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, held a week full of celebrations related to Hinduism.

Called Hinduism in the 21st Century: A week of Awareness and Celebration, the March 28-April 5 events explored the intersection of India 's spiritual traditions with the modernity of American life.The celebrations included lectures and discussions covering topics such as the intersection of Hinduism with the realities of life as an American college student, Hinduisms approach to Monotheism through the lens of the Bhagavad Gita and questions on whether the Hindu faith has legitimate leaders in the West.

'In presenting such a variety of programming, we wish to convey the diversity within Hinduism itself,' said Vineet Chander, principle organiser and Princeton's

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coordinator for Hindu life, speaking before the event. 'At the same time, we hope that each event will allow us to go deeper in exploring our theme, and gain insight into the faith as a fluid, living tradition faced with both challenges and opportunities in the modern world.'

Hinduism in the 21st Century also paid homage to the popularity of yoga and spiritual vegetarianism, perhaps Hinduism's biggest contribution to American pop-culture, with an interactive yoga class and a discussion of Hinduism and animal rights, held jointly with the student group Princeton Animal Welfare Society. Source: Princeton Hindu Satsang

HSS Hindu New Year celebrations in BangkokHistory was created in Thailand when for the first time a grand celebration of the Hindu new year was organised under the banner of Hindu Swayamsewak Sangh (HSS) in Bangkok on 3rd April 2009. Shri Tarun Vijay, Director of the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation and a veteran journalist was the chief guest. Several senior leaders of Hindu community and organisations were present with a special presence of the cultural secretary from the Indian Embassy, Shri Subir Datta.

In his baudhik Shri Tarun Vijay gave details of the significance of the Hindu New Year, which is also celebrated in Thailand as Songkrem (13th - 15th April). He said that Hindus the world over are respected for their intelligence, loyalty to their adopted country and peaceful nature. 'Hindus don’t bomb the country they adopt' he said amidst roaring applause.

He appealed to Hindu organisations to shun their differences and forge a unity based on Hindu culture and civilization moors. He said Hindus are passing through a difficult phase in their age old journey when not only they are assaulted geographically but also their soul is being bruised and brutalized by the followers of exclusivist ideologies breeding hate and violence. Hence, he said, its time we must forge unity on the basis of Hindu Dharma, which alone is a guarantee to safeguard pluralism and respect for different viewpoints. He said that Thai King, Bhumibal Adulyatej, had set a glaring example of devotion to culture and Dharma by naming the Bangkok International airport as Suvarnabhumi, which is an old Sanskrit name of the region. Dinesh Mani Dube from Bangkok

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UKSamacharNews From the UK

Tarun Shibir Report 2009Preserve, Practise, Protect and Promote are the four P’s that Sangh has been based on since the very beginning. Two of these, Preserve and Practise, are met on a regular basis by most Hindus, however, the Protection and Promotion of our Dharma has dwindled in recent times. This was the aim of Tarun Shibir 2009: to establish the skills required to recognise any threats to our way of life, and then to protect ourselves against them.

As always khel was one of the highlights of Tarun Shibir 2009. Up at 06:45 and within the hour we were all outside and playing like it was 3 in the afternoon. And still, it was not the khel that drained us, but the discussion sessions. The first session brought home to us the fact that our dharma is constantly under siege, even to this day. Examples include the expulsion of large populations of Hindus from Kazakhstan and the demolition of magnificent ‘murtis’ in Afghanistan. Any questions were immediately cleared up with the help of the UK Sanghchalak Shri Praveenji Ruparellia.

What is the use of knowing what is happening if we aren’t going to do anything? The second session aimed to show us how to react to these attacks and set up the best forms of defence. The group was split into three and each group was given the task of setting up either an online petition, an effective protest or produce the ideal parliament appeal. We realised that there is a lot we can do and it isn’t that difficult with the technology we have today.

The final session was designed around tackling the media. The media has a huge effect on the way a person thinks and effectively forces you to look at incidents from their point of view, but often this point of view can be very misleading. In this session, we were taught to read an article twice, once initially,

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but then once more when your emotions subside. We looked at a number of techniques used by the media to look out for and how to respond to them effectively.

Finally, a fantastic weekend came to a fitting end with Dijesh Patel from Bradford giving his final few words on how we could then carry on the work we had started and make a difference. The Tarun Shibir has lit those initial embers to preserve, practise, protect and promote our dharma and these shall never die out.Yajur Shah, Bradford

Ram Navmi in NewhamOn 4th April 2009 (Sri Ram Navmi) VHP Newham branch, London, organised a Traditional Hindu Dress Day. Also, on the same day a Gurjrati/Hindi Speaking Day was held to encourage students to speak in their mother tongue and gain confidence in speaking in front of an audience.

NW Vibhag Sammilit Shakha and Holi in Warrington

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South West Vibhaag Shibir 200967 Sevikas from the South West participated in the vibhag’s annual shibir from 17th to 19th April 2009 at Northern Heights in Elstree. The aim of the shibir was to give the sevikas, many of whom are new to Samiti, a glimpse into the activities beyond weekly shakhas. The days were packed and the activities varied. The sevikas returned motivated and eager to strengthen their shakhas.

Sangh OutreachSwayamsevaks from the East Midlands visited the Derby Geeta Bhawan mandir to introduce HSS and its activities to the local community.

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BalaGokulam

An Experience to RememberWhen we were five, we went to watch one of the world’s greatest magicians, P.C Sorcar Jr. Our grandfather was a good friend of his as they both performed magic at one time. Since then, we – Arin & Dev (twin brothers and Swayamsevaks from Manchester) - became interested in magic and our grandfather was delighted to teach us. By the age of nine, we both started to perform and have since received many certificates and awards.

Our recent performance in 2008 was in India where we were invited to perform in the famous Children’s Little Theatre in their annual festival. Unfortunately our grandfather, who was our mentor, became ill and passed away before we left for India. Initially we didn’t want to perform but later we thought it would be his wish that we continue.

We were very nervous about the show…all the six hundred tickets were sold out! Our final item in the show was the biggest item we’ve ever performed, called the ‘Temple of Konarak’. In this item we to put our cousin Panchami, inside a temple shaped container and then slid in sharp swords with the Panchami still inside. As soon as we put in all twelve swords, we opened the front doors of the temple but Panchami had vanished. Finally we pulled out all the swords and clapped three times and Panchami jumped out from the temple to the rapturous applause of the audience.

The audience appreciated our show by giving us a standing ovation. We were congratulated by everyone including some real magicians who offered to teach us. The next day there were reviews about our show in newspapers including ‘Times of India’ and ‘The Telegraph’. This show was dedicated to our grand father, Captain Sujjo Kumar Ghosh and we hope we have made him proud. It was a great experience for both of us and we will certainly remember it for many years to come. Devjoy Dev & Arinjoy Dev (13 years)

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Radhe Krishna Balagokulam visits Ghulab AshramOn 15th March 2009, 32 children from Radhe Krishna Balagokulam spent a day with the residents of Ghulab Ashram. They spoke to the residents, demonstrated surya namaskar and played a few games with everyone. A bhajan and kirtan session was held in which the sevaks and sevikas recited mantras and sang bhajans. We raised £60 on the day, which was donated to Sewa International and the residents even invited us to return in the future.

01 Do you have a photographic memory? 02 A circus lion won't eat clowns because they taste funny.03 To many girls the word 'marriage' has a nice ring to it.

04 It was an emotional wedding. Even the cake was in tiers.05 Never lie to an x-ray technician. They can see right through you.

Answers1. Yes, I just haven't developed it yet.

01 In which year did Mahatma Gandhi's historic Salt march take place?02 Who was the first Deputy Prime Minister of free India?03 In which year did India become a republic?04 Name the first satellite launched by India in 1975.05 The tallest statue of Hanuman is in which state?

? ?? ?? ?

Funny joke to share?

Contact us at:

[email protected] Jokes!

Quiz!

Answers1. 19302. Sardar Vallabhai Patel3. 19504. Aryabhatta5. Maharashtra

?

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The Day Dreaming PriestOnce upon a time there lived a priest who was extremely lazy and poor at the same time. He did not want to do any hard work but used to dream of being rich one day. He got his food by begging for alms. One morning he got a pot of milk as part of the alms. He was extremely delighted and went home with the pot of milk. He boiled the milk, drank some of it and put the remaining milk in a pot. He added slight curds in the pot for converting the milk to curd. He then lay down to rest.

He was extremely delighted at the pot of milk he found and started dreaming about the pot of curd while he lay asleep. He dreamt that if he could become rich somehow all his miseries would be gone. His thoughts turned to the pot of milk he had set to form curd. He dreamt on: “By morning the pot of milk would set, it would be converted to curd. I would churn the curd and make butter from it. I would heat the butter and make ghee out of it. I will go to that market and sell that ghee, and make some money. With that money I will buy a hen. The hen will lay many eggs which will hatch and there will be many more hens and cocks. These cocks and hen will in turn lay hundreds of eggs and I will soon have a poultry farm of my own.” He kept on imagining.

“I will sell all the hens of my poultry and buy some cows, and open a milk dairy. All the town people will buy milk from me. I will be very rich and soon I shall buy jewelry. The king will buy all the jewelry from me. I will be so rich that I will be able to marry an exceptionally beautiful girl from a rich family. Soon I will have a handsome son. If he does any mischief I will be very angry and to teach him a lesson, I will hit him with a big stick.” During this dream, he involuntarily picked up the stick next to his bed and thinking that he was beating his son, raised the stick and hit the pot. The pot of milk broke and he awoke from his sleep. Only then did he realize he was daydreaming.MORAL: There is no substitute for hard work. Dreams cannot be fulfilled without hard work.

Story

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SanketDirection

Don't Shoot the Messenger!I recently came across an anecdote that made me think about how organisations communicate. In a small town in the United States, a woman attempted to purchase a bottle of Coca-Cola from a vending machine. Unfortunately, the machine malfunctioned and swallowed her money. By coincidence, a worker from Coca-Cola showed up to refill the machine. Hearing her story, he apologised, returned her money and offered her the bottle for free.

Presented with the opportunity, the woman expressed her views on how expensive a bottle of Coca-Cola was nowadays. The worker sympathised with her, but explained in detail, how the increased price of oil impacted the cost of the product - from manufacturing the plastic bottle, to increasing transportation costs. He was even able to quote just how low Coca-Cola’s profit margin actually was on the bottle she had just bought.

While the anecdote provides a message about customer satisfaction, what was more interesting was how a vending machine maintenance employee became so knowledgeable about product costing and so passionate about the product

This example made me reflect on the effectiveness of communication in Sangh. Do we develop a similar sense of pride and passion in some of the initiatives we want to implement? Communication is sometimes considered to be simply that of a ‘Messenger’ – to disseminate “souchana”. However, communication is more than this – it is the imparting of knowledge, where time is invested in ensuring communication reaches the grass root level and is understood by all.

The vending machine employee, perhaps not knowingly, became the perfect ambassador for Coca-Cola. His belief and passion for the product came through a sense of ownership and belonging, and some assurance that the same message he was giving would have been given by all employees in the company. In Sangh, the power of collective decisions, an underpinning factor of unity, is dependent on creating and sustaining a common vision and ethos. To develop this we have regular contact through our weekly shakhas, but more importantly we also

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have our National Karyakram. It is at these Karyakram (such as Khel Pratiyogita, SSV, NKV and Shibirs) that we can learn from each other, motivate each other and likewise collectively feel part of a much greater vision, thus making our participation and representation at these Karyakram useful and necessary.

It is this level of communication that builds the strong foundations to implement with ease. While the content of a souchana is important, the time invested in delivery, follow up and continued interaction sometimes bears greater fruits. Vishal Shah, Sah-Vistaar Pramukh

Collective SIPSIP is proud to announce that 5 young Karyakartas have committed to spending this summer investing in their ability to make a more meaningful contribution to develop our work in the UK.

Sonal Mistry (Warrington), Janak Shah (Edgware), Avnish Thakrar (Wellingborough), Bhavika Sevani (Woolwich), Neil Kundu (Redbridge) have been selected to participate in the inaugural SIP group. This is not just 1 month. The active-collective-participation of this group has the cumulative effect of 5 months of sustained thought and effort.

But what does it look like? Follow their progress as they develop through their learnings, mistakes and successes. The full programme includes Abhyas Vargs, projects and personal learning to enable them to experience and develop the skills and attitudes to dig deep, excel and work for something greater than themselves.

W. www.hssuk.org/sip | E. [email protected]

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An Overcrowded World - Cause and EffectA global census estimates that by March 2009 the world population will reach an overwhelming 6.8 billion people. As you read this the population is increasing by a staggering 76 million people per year, more than the population of the UK (61 million). But when did this ‘baby-boom’ erupt and how has it influenced the world we live in?

Causes• - For the past 200,000 years, since homo-sapiens or modern humans have inhabited the planet, the entire population has remained less than half a billion. Only in the past 1000 years has the population shown considerable increase, and skyrocketed since the 1950’s. It’s no coincidence that this should correspond to the industrial revolution.

Major advances in science and technology has brought about better health care and an understanding of nutrition, prolonging the life expectancy of the demography. However most developed countries have now stabilised population growth, and the biggest rate of increase of humans is occurring in the developing countries such as China and India whose combined population is over one third of the global census.

In developing countries the ‘baby boom’ may be attributed to providing a work force for manual labour so that a single family may bring in more income; a family may wish to have a son for social reasons; or simply that having more children improves the status of the family name. Combine this with continuing improvements in living conditions and the fact that often women do not have say on family planning and you will quickly see how the world is becoming overcrowded.

Effects - • The Earth is a closed system – whatever we use we have to recycle, there’s no way of getting rid of our waste easily. The destruction of natural land for accommodation space and the excessive use of non-renewable energy resources contributes to pollution and leads towards climate change. As the world population rapidly rises, the natural resources that we use also rapidly declines. This means less food and clean water to the people who need it most. Famine in over populated countries is common place and often shadowed by

Pravaah"Flow" Of Thought

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disease. People migrate to major cities looking for work, food and shelter which can become a massive strain on the economy. Weaker governments may collapse and war may ensue.

A rapidly growing population, seen in many developing countries, ultimately has a young demographic, economic instability, poor development and democracy can easily be undermined.

A slowly growing population as in most developed countries, has sustainable resources for its people, can invest more money per person in education, health and security and hence prosper in a stable manner.

Solutions• - A radical solution to the population crisis would be to have a more relaxed attitude towards abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment!

Or perhaps we should continue as we are and allow the Earth to sort itself out – in the past there have been multiple mass extinctions almost wiping out life on Earth completely, effectively giving a few lucky and opportunistic species a chance to prosper.

Maybe science and technology which has been a cause may also have a solution – we could inhabit another planet if space on Earth is an issue.

However somehow I doubt that these drastic ideas would be taken kindly by most people.A more sensible approach is empowering women in family planning and better

education for all. If people have the knowledge of what effects large family sizes have on the environment and economy they may think twice about starting a large family. In China there is a one-child policy which makes it unattractive to have two or more children. Perhaps greater government control where tax deductions, health insurance, welfare, public housing space, schooling are all restructured toward two children families could have a greater effect on population control.

Hindus believe in having the utmost respect for mother Earth as she provides and sustains our lives, giving us the food and water we need to survive. It is considered that one of the duties of a Hindu after the educational stage of life is to enter into family life. The key however is that the family should be provided for and sustained without detrimental effects on the samaj as a whole. The suggestion of having ‘sustainable families’ according to Hindu Dharma, that do not put a strain on resources, is no doubt one very simple way to curb the population crisis. Ajay Mistry

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Change of Guard in the RSS Mohan Bhagwat is the New Sarsanghchalak On 21st March, at the annual pratinidhi sabha baithak (AGM) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Nagpur, Mr K S Sudarshan, the existing chief of RSS demitted the office citing poor health and handed over the rein of the organisation to his deputy Mr Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat.

Bhagwat, who became the 6th Sarsanghchalak (organisational chief) of the 83 year old organisation, comes from a family with a traditionally strong relationship with sangh. His father Madhukar Bhagwat, one of the earliest pracharaks, was recruited by founder of the sangh Dr K B Hedgewar. Bhagwat, a ‘look-a-like’ of Hedgewar, became a pracharak of sangh in 1975, during the dark era of emergency in Bharat. He shouldered increasing responsibilities in the organisation and was elected as its Sarkaryawah (General Secretary), considered as number two position, in the year 2000.

Bhagwat, a 58 year old veterinary doctor, continues the tradition of highly intellectual persons of the scientific mind occupying the post of Sarsanghchalak. His predecessor K S Sudarshan is a telecom engineer and before that, Prof Rajendra Singh was a popular professor of physics in Allahabad University whose MSc examiner was the famous Indian physicist, Sir CV Raman. The founder of sangh, Dr Hedgewar, was a medical doctor and his successor Shri Guruji was a postgraduate in Zoology with an additional law degree.

Affectionately called ‘Mohanji’, he is a quiet and simple person who combines a deep seated commitment to the Hindu ethos with a pragmatic and modernist mind. He symbolises the generational change in the RSS, which has its roots in the past but has set its eyes on the future. He understands the feelings of the grass-roots worker and yet can easily connect with those in positions of political power.

BharatDarpanReflections on Bharat

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He is an avid reader and reads books with a researcher's discipline. When a few months back one of his friends from the corporate sector presented him a book on leadership skills published by the Harvard Business School, little did he know that his leadership skills would be put to the test so near in the near future.

Many may not be aware that Bhagwat not only enjoys classical music but he himself is a good singer. He is a great fan of Bhimsen Joshi, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and also Pakistani singer duo, Salamat Ali and Najaqat Ali. A film buff, Mohanji at times takes out a day to watch Bollywood movies and relish all typical Vidarbha food delicacies from bhaje to puran poli, almost forgetting that he is a diabetic. It is this interplay of commoner's traits and uncommon leadership abilities in the personality of Mohanji that makes him stand apart.

Bhagwat has taken the leadership of Sangh at a critical juncture. Sangh-pariwar in Bharat comprises not only its most visible face, the BJP and VHP, but also tens of other organisations silently working in as varying fields as blindness prevention, rural development, eradication of illiteracy, welfare of widows, vanvasi (forest dwellers) and ex-servicemen.

His firm commitment to the RSS ideology is not coupled with dogmatism. Bhagwat is acutely aware that the Hindu movement runs on many parallel tracks and, sometimes, on different assumptions. It is this recognition of plurality, an essential facet of the Hindu inheritance, that sets him apart from those who want the Hindu movement to be rigid and unidirectional. Bhagwat is a firm believer in according due space to different streams of Hindutva, some apparently quite different from that of sangh. As the head of the parivar, Bhagwat’s responsibility is to both guide and ensure that the different streams are in broad harmony.

The foremost issue in Bhagwat’s mind must be the ‘challenge of modernity’. To a very large extent, the organisational and ideological priorities of the RSS were determined and moulded by an India that existed prior to the post-1991 economic transformation. The daily shakhas, with its blend of physical fitness, fun and some food for thought, held a great attraction in an unhurried world. In small towns and closely-knit mohallas, parents were happy to send their sons to the shakhas because the atmosphere was wholesome. In the absence of too many distractions and other leisure opportunities, the shakhas became a centre of community bonding.

The emergence of a fiercely competitive world and the mushrooming of leisure opportunities have dented some of the austere assumptions that defined the RSS

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till the 1990s. The RSS is still perceived as one of the most important load-bearing pillars of what can loosely be called the Hindutva movement. However, this has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in the importance of the shakhas. The difficulties faced by the RSS are also a consequence of a fierce political-media onslaught that has painted the entire brotherhood as a secretive, backward-looking bunch of monsters committed to harassing non-Hindus.

Since the mid-1990s, the importance of Hindutva as a political rallying point has steadily declined. Yet, ironically, the importance of Hindutva as a social and even religious phenomenon has increased quite dramatically. Additionally, there is a new, assertive patriotism in India. The public discourse, particularly the English media discourse, may be overwhelmed by secularist cosmopolitanism but Indians have simultaneously become more aware of their Indian and Hindu identities.

As the head of India’s foremost Hindu movement, these are some of the challenges before Bhagwat. How can the RSS connect more effectively with the new India? How can the movement incorporate change without losing sight of its core values? In many ways, Bhagwat is ideally placed to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. As general secretary of the organisation during the tenure of K S Sudarshan, he has formidable organisational experience and familiarity with the entire country. This is coupled by ideological rigour.

It is an irony that an organisation which has been repeatedly vilified and falsely accused of Gandhi’s murder by today’s false Gandhi’s, has truly inherited Gandhi’s favourite principle of 'simple living and high thinking'.

The Indian flag is far more visible today than was the case two decades or so ago. Indians today feel a greater pride in being Indian than during the shortage economy era. In the diaspora, this has translated into Hindu pride and even Hindu activism. Yet, and this is another paradox, the rise of a fiercely patriotic Indian hasn’t necessarily seen a corresponding strengthening of Indian nationalism — at least not politically.

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UtsavHindu Sanghatan

In March 2009 we saw key politicians from around the world congregate for the G20 summit. One of the key issues was tackling the global economic crisis, but critics warned a deal could not be struck without the backing of France and Germany, who threatened to stage a walkout if certain demands were not met. However, it seems as if calls for unity amongst the leaders paid off as a surprising agreement was made.

Unity within the Hindu community is also a pressing issue in today’s society where external and internal forces have been eroding our culture. The need for the unification between humans can be regarded as a natural phenomenon of life. Our culture has so much value to add to society but our ability to do so is hindered by the threat of being reduced to an insignificant minority simply because we fail to unite ourselves. For example, there are many Hindu groups that claim to be concerned about Hindu unity, but their version of Hindu unity implies their version of Hinduism as the norm and others as having faults. As Shree Guruji said, “we cannot unite the Hindu society if we look for faults in it,” instead we should look to identify the common underlying stream which does unite us. If we can accept that we all spring from one source, then the perceived differences and divisions that cause disarray are rendered unreal. The belief that we originate from one common source leads to a kinder and a gentler world.

It is written in the Rigveda that being of one mind is the secret of a strong society viz "Be thou all of one mind, be thou all of one thought", (RV 10. 1 91.2). This is the secret of power which will allow us to protect and spread the message of Hinduism, promoting harmony and peace around the world. This mammoth task of organising and uniting ourselves is aided through the work of Sangh so we should ensure that our shakhas are up to the task of uniting us before expecting the rest of the Hindu community and world to follow. Hindu Jage, Vishwa Jage. Rikesh Patel

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Facing the Yorkshire Peaks195 walkers from all over UK including Glasgow and London, took up the challenge to tackle the 3 Yorkshire Peaks - Pen Y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough - raising approximately £9,000 for Sewa International through sponsorship.

Three peaks. A standard boring walk? Tired legs? Cold? On a Sunday morning? It was an early start yet I awoke with the determination to climb at least two of the three peaks. It was perfect walking weather...until we arrived at the start at which point the heavens decided to open! What a great start!

The first peak we climbed was Pen Y Ghent and due to the rain a lot of the field-like areas were really boggy! I had a few minor hitches along the way - soaking feet and being stuck in a bog, but other participants joined hands and helped me out.

Before I knew it, it was 12.30pm and I had finished the first peak with a lot of motivation from other walkers.

As soon as I had re-fuelled, I was speeding up Whernside. It was hailing heavily at the top of the peak and coming down the steep hills with aching legs did not make for a good combination.

It was such a great achievement. 2 peaks in less than 10 hours was something to be proud of. It was really tough but well worth it. The unstable weather conditions, motivation from others, helping those who had slowed down and the challenge itself were all part of the experience.

The next 3 Yorskshire Peaks challenge will be on Sunday 2 May 2010. I look forward to seeing you there! Kajal Patel (14), Bradford

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'Facing the Yorkshire Peaks' - FEEDBACK FROM OTHER PARTICIPANTS“On behalf of all of us, we would like to thank all your guides for taking great interest,

caring, supporting, and encouraging us till the end of this most exciting and adventurous walk of a life time.

We all feel a lot better health wise, and your organization has given us something to look forward to. To bring unity within family and friends is, I believe, one of the great

activities that we all should take up in our life.” - Shailesh Patel, London

“Thank you very much for the encouragement. The sight of guides and friendly faces intermittently along the way was very heart warming, especially at times when I felt

almost broken.” - Dr Brijanand, Bradford

“Our informal walking group in North London started about two years ago. The group meet every Saturday and Sunday and walk for approximately 1 hour.

We were very warmly received at the base camp and it was good to catch up with many familiar faces. The scenery from the top was breath taking and along the way

got acquainted with other participants who had come from different parts of the UK. Neither the hailstones nor the cold icy winds dampened our spirits. The stewards

did a wonderful job. It certainly was a memorable experience and we all enjoyed ourselves.” - Bhadrick & Rekha Shah, North London Walking Group

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Our Glimpse of Sangh work in Bharat During a recent family visit to celebrate Bhagvat Saptah in our home town of Limbdi in Bharat, we had a few interesting experiences which I would like to share.

While we stayed in Ahmedabad, my son Gopal and I visited Gaurav Shakha in the early morning, which is held in a slum area. We were impressed and certainly inspired to see our Karyakartas working relentlessly in the slum areas improving young people's lives and their futures Upon meeting the swayamsevaks we felt an instant bond of natural affection. Gopal told them about HSS work in the UK and their young faces lit up. Gopal then visited their very small but neat homes.

Our next experience was in our small home town of Limbdi. Gopal, my daughter, Dr. Harsha Jani and I, were slightly disappointed that there was no regular shakha in Limbdi. However, we were told that there was a school called Saraswati Vidya Mandir run by Sangh in the outskirts of the town. We visited the school and at the Morning Prayer time we were amazed to see about 1200 boys and girls. We spent nearly two hours in the school meeting the students, the head mistress, Varshaben Dave and the main trustee, Bakulbhai Khakhi. It is simply incredible to see how hard they work to maintain the very high academic standard of the school with minimum financial help. Their work starts at 6 in the morning and goes on till 8 in the evening. The school and its surroundings give the impression of a Gurukul. The school also has 37 Muslim students. It was certainly a very inspiring experience for all of us.

Lastly, I am pleased to mention that during the Saptah, which was attended by hundreds of devotees, we made it a special point to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives fighting against terrorism.

Vande Mataram. Bhupendra Dave, Pratap Shakha, Finchley

MeraAnubhavExperiences

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Risi Bharata - Bharata Muni was a Professor of Natya Sastra (Music, Dance and Drama)

and was renowned for not only displaying the practical aspect of these arts but for examining

the science behind them. He also explained in detail the method of constructing the four types of

musical instruments.

Kalidasa - It is said that Kalidasa was the best poet and dramatist

in Sanskrit. His four works on poetry (Raghuvamsa, Kumara Sambhava,

Meghaduta and Rtusamhara) and three on drama (Abhijnana Sakuntalam,

Vikramorvasiyam and Malavikagnimitram) are well known.

Bhoja - King Bhoja was an expert in many branches of knowledge (Bahuvidya-Visarada).

Besides Bhoja Vrtti, a famous commentary on Yoga philosophy, many other books on subjects such

as Astrology, Literature and even one on the Science of horses have been attributed to King Bhoja.

Jakanacarya - Jakanacarya was a famous sculptor (craftsman) who built the famous

Halebidu, Belur and Somanathapur temples of Kamataka.

Suradasa - Surdas was one of the eight highest ranking poets who created poetry devoted to

Lord Krishna (Asta-chapa Kavi). Despite being blind, he gave a detailed and emotive description of

Lord Krishna's Raas Lila.

Tyagaraja - Tyagaraja was a well-known musician and vocalist of Karnataka Music and was

also faithful devotee of Lord Rama. His songs were composed in Telugu. Every five years, on the

anniversary of his death, a Tyagaraja Aradhana Sangita Sammelana music conference is held in his

memory in which many known musicians from throughout India participate.

Rasakhana - Saiyad lbrahim Rasakhan was a Pathani Sardar who lived in Delhi. He spent

his life composing poetry praising Lord Krishna in which he expressed his feelings in a natural and

serene way.

EkãtmatãStotraBharatarsih Kalidasah Sribhojo Jakanastatha | Suradasastyagarajo Rasakhanasca Satkavih

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