The best love is to serve all equally — Yogi Bhajan€” Yogi Bhajan MULLAH NASRUDDIN What They...
1
THE SPEAKING TREE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 15, 2017 SHERIAR NOOREYEZDAN A bench of the Supreme Court, adjudicating a dis- pute between two com- munities over ownership of a place of worship in 1993, iden- tified the cause of communal dishar- mony and suggested a remedy.Jus- tices J SVerma and G N Ray,wrote: “The greatest religious tensions are not those between any one religion and another; they are tensions be- tween the fundamentalist and plu- ralist in each and every religious tra- dition.”They also recorded the fol- lowing opinion:“A neutral percep- tion for the requirement for com- munal harmony is to be found in the Baha’i Faith.” The judges apparently acknowl- edged that in the Baha’i faith, the kernel,the essence of all revealed re- ligion — the unity of God, of reli- gion,and of mankind not just rhetor- ically professed in words,but exem- plified and seen to be practised — is evidenced in their communities and interaction with members of other communities.They follow the in- junction of Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i faith, to ‘consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship.’ Religion, practised in letter and spirit, can be the most potent means of spreading love,peace and harmo- ny.No religion distinguishes between people on any account whatsoever. This is amply demonstrated in the Baha’i community,comprising mil- lions of people from every conceiv- able background of caste,colour,eth- nicity, nationality, and social strata, who have voluntarily adopted this new belief system. Encyclopaedia Bri- tannica describes the Baha’i faith as the most widely spread religion next to Christianity,although the Baha’is claim they do not proselytise or in- duce conversion.They explain the rapid spread of their faith to the fact that enrolment as a Baha’i does not mean conversion to an alien faith by abandonment of ancestral beliefs,but recognition, after study and investi- gation, of Baha’u’llah as the prom- ised one of their respective scrip- tures.They claim that in Baha’u’llah, Hindus recognise their Kalki Avatar, Muslims their Imam Mehdi, Bud- dhists their Maitreya Amitabha, Zoroastrians their Shahbahram, Jews and Christians their Messiah and Sav- iour.Shedding traditional prejudices, they acknowledge the divinity of all God’s manifestations, making erst- while hostile religious contenders loving family members.And in their temples, Baha’is recite, with equal reverence,verses from all holy scrip- tures in ritual-free worship. The learned Supreme Court judges have lauded ‘the spirit of tol- eration and assimilation’ as hallmarks of the Baha’i civilisation, and quot- ed in their judgement the following from a Baha’i booklet:“Lasting har- mony between heterogeneous com- munities can only come through a recognition of the oneness of mankind,a realisation that differences that divide us along ethnic and reli- gious lines have no foundation. Just as there are no boundaries drawn on the earth to separate nations, dis- tinctions of social, economic, ethnic and religious identity imposed upon peoples are artificial; distinctions im- posed by man have no substance.” This belief demolishes all com- munal barriers and brings about a confluence of faith, and the end of religious dissension. Is the Baha’i community a model of vasudhaiva kutumbakam, the universal family of man foreseen by our sages, the des- tiny of mankind? Interestingly, the cited Supreme Court judgement concludes with M K Gandhi’s fa- mous bhajan ‘Ishwar,Allah tero naam, sabko sanmati de Bhagwan’ and ex- presses the hope that communal har- mony and peace will reign in the country. ■ The writer is a member of the Baha’i community ‘Instrument of harmony’ What is the thrust of Ananda Sangha’s work in Vrindavan? ■ Jyotish:We work in cooperation with the Ramakrishna Mission and our aim is to restore to the marginalised people here,especially widows,dignity and di- vinity.It is not enough to just provide basic needs like food, shelter and cloth- ing;they need follow up in their homes, they need to know that someone cares for them and loves them. We have a database of widows in Vrindavan and they fall into one of the following categories: 1)Those who can take care of them- selves with a little help; so we need to just check in on them to see if they are doing all right 2)Those who live in their own homes, but need assistance in the home to help them function 3)Those who cannot function on their own and for whom we make arrange- ments in care homes Sometimes we also come across sad- hus who are sick and who need help, and we do care for them as well. Operationally, you have worked out a system? ■ Jyotish: Our staff wearing blue jack- ets make at least two to three hundred home visits a day.They mainly help to restore a sense of dignity to make them feel cared for.Many widowed mothers desire to die here inVrindavan and can- not afford the cost of funeral rites so we make sure that arrangements are made to fulfil their wishes. We also encourage them to partic- ipate in festivals and not stay confined within four walls.One woman said,“For the first time, we celebrated Deepavali on the streets.” Our staff is taught energisation med- itation, making them feel positive and energetic so they can transmit the same to widow mothers. Now they can do simple exercises and yogic asanas for greater mobility. It’s more about love and care, really. Are you being helped by professionals? ■ Jyotish:Yes,we work with ex-WHO medical doctor Manjunath Kini, an Ananda Sangha member and he is also one of our teachers. He lives with his wife and two daughters and he is di- rector of the charitable trust inVrinda- van. Other corporations help us with skill training.We are now more focussed on service.Many NGOs are coming to us in Vrindavan; we have a good repu- tation there as the work becomes more visible.They are seeking to replicate our model of service.They look out for the ‘people in dark blue!’ Do you have your own care homes or do you serve care homes run by others? ■ Jyotish: Most care homes are rented; till we’re able to afford to build our own. They are small homes so they get per- sonal attention,like a family.Of course, donations are welcome, not just mon- ey but anything, like clothes, food and medicines. Many of us want to become agents of positive change, but don’t know how.What would you suggest? ■ Devi: Many, when they have prob- lems,project those problems on others; no one likes to take individual respon- sibility. For this, we really need to ele- vate our consciousness.You need to tell yourself,‘Let me do something; under- take a personal effort to act in a way that is positive.’Shift the responsibility from others to yourself. See what happens, then! If you can, try to give people tools to do something. Recently, at Anan- da Sangha, we released a meditation app to help people. If each group works with other groups to give people tools to work on positive goals, then you create a large network.This is what we are trying to do with oth- er spiritual groups like the RK Mission, Swami Ram Dass, and so on. Our cam- paign’s line is ‘Be the change.’ How can you gain more visibility to garner wider cooperation and help? ■ Devi:We have applied to the UN for entry as a spiritual NGO.Then one can suggest a special day, like International Day of Med- itation and this could help bring more groups together. Ananda Sangha India is to receive an award from a UN-affiliated NGO in New York in No- vember this year, for helping to lift consciousness.This is significant be- cause we need to understand that change comes from change in con- sciousness; only then can you hope to achieve sustainable living, harmo- ny and selfless service.You need to become a catalyst for positive change. Can you give me an example? ■ Devi: In the early days of Ananda Sangha in Nevada County,USA,there was stiff resistance from government agencies who did not want us there. It took us five years to get ap- provals and acceptance to get anything done.Today, govern- ment officials speak on our be- half and uphold Ananda Sangha as an example to replicate — to respect the environment, to use al- ternative sources of energy like solar, for example.They say,Ananda Sangha is a role model.See,that’s how you can change by doing the right thing and demonstrating it at a practical level,by example. ■ Follow Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi at speakingtr ee .in Horse Race A horse race was about to be held and the contestants were being lined up. Mullah Nasruddin came with an ox and asked that it be included in the race.“Have you gone mad?” said the organisers.“What chance does an ox have against horses?” “You talk that way because you do not know anything about my ox,” said Nasruddin.“When it was a mere calf, it could run almost as fast as a pony.Now that it is older it should be able to run even faster.” Intoxicating Milk One evening, a man carrying a can of milk stopped Mullah Nasruddin in the street and said he had a problem and wanted his advice. “What’s your problem?”asked Hodja.“My problem is that though I never drink wine, I feel intoxicated when I get up in the morning,”explained the man. “What do you drink last thing at night?” asked Hodja, eyeing the milk can in his hand.“Milk.”“Just as I thought,” said Hodja.“That is the cause of your problem.”“Milk causes intoxication?” asked the man, astonished.“It is like this,” explained the Mullah.“You drink the milk and go to sleep.You toss around in your sleep.The milk gets churned. It turns into butter; butter churned, turns into cheese; cheese turns to fat, fat into sugar; sugar into alcohol. So you wake up with alcohol in your stomach.That is why you feel intoxicated in the morning.”“So what do I do?” asked the man, bewildered. “Simple.Don’t drink the milk,” said Hodja.“Give it to me” — english-for-students.com NAYASWAMIS JYOTISH & DEVI who are carrying forward the mission of Swami Kriyananda’s Ananda Sangha — inspired by his guru Paramhansa Yogananda — are currently in India. They interacted with NARAYANI GANESH, talking about Vrindavan widows, consciousness awareness and becoming agents of change The best love is to serve all equally — Yogi Bhajan MULLAH NASRUDDIN What They Do In Vrindavan A nanda Sangha volunteers complete at least 2,400 home visits per month in Vrindavan,says Nayaswami Jyotish, talking about their project that is designed to ‘restore dignity and di- vinity’to those who have come to be tagged as ‘Vrindavan widows’. Paramhansa Yogananda Public Charitable Trust works with the poorest of the poor,disadvantaged and marginalised sections of soci- ety to provide them with physical comfort including food, clothing shelter, health and medical care, to improve their life circumstances and help them live a life of joy. Ananda Sangha was founded by Swami Kriyananda, a direct disci- ple of Paramhansa Yogananda. Currently,the Trust is provid- ing support to more than 4,000 widows in the holy city of Vrin- davan with home-based care,hos- pitalisation and shelter with total care and support.The Trust also conducts regular kirtans and sat- sangs.The Trust has also initiated programmes to support employ- ment needs of youth and women and education of children. ■ NAYASWAMIS JYOTISH & DEVI Lighting Up Lives SANJEEV RASTOGI WIDOWS FROM VRINDAVAN AND VARANASI ENJOY A WEEKEND OUTING AT INDIA GATE, NEW DELHI SHRINE OF BAHA’U’LLAH, GARDEN OF BAHJI, AKKA, ISRAEL The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things — Henry Ward Beecher
Transcript of The best love is to serve all equally — Yogi Bhajan€” Yogi Bhajan MULLAH NASRUDDIN What They...
T H E S P E A K I N G T R E EN E W D E L H I , O C T O B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 7
SHERIAR NOOREYEZDAN
Abench of the SupremeCourt,adjudicating a dis-pute between two com-munities over ownership
of a place of worship in 1993, iden-tified the cause of communal dishar-mony and suggested a remedy. Jus-tices J S Verma and G N Ray,wrote:“The greatest religious tensions arenot those between any one religionand another; they are tensions be-tween the fundamentalist and plu-ralist in each and every religious tra-dition.”They also recorded the fol-lowing opinion:“A neutral percep-tion for the requirement for com-munal harmony is to be found in theBaha’i Faith.”
The judges apparently acknowl-edged that in the Baha’i faith, thekernel,the essence of all revealed re-ligion — the unity of God, of reli-gion,and of mankind not just rhetor-ically professed in words,but exem-plified and seen to be practised — isevidenced in their communities andinteraction with members of othercommunities.They follow the in-junction of Baha’u’llah, founder of
the Baha’i faith,to ‘consort with thefollowers of all religions in a spirit offriendliness and fellowship.’
Religion, practised in letter andspirit,can be the most potent meansof spreading love,peace and harmo-ny.No religion distinguishes betweenpeople on any account whatsoever.
This is amply demonstrated in theBaha’i community,comprising mil-lions of people from every conceiv-able background of caste,colour,eth-nicity, nationality, and social strata,who have voluntarily adopted thisnew belief system.Encyclopaedia Bri-tannica describes the Baha’i faith as
the most widely spread religion nextto Christianity,although the Baha’isclaim they do not proselytise or in-duce conversion.They explain therapid spread of their faith to the factthat enrolment as a Baha’i does notmean conversion to an alien faith byabandonment of ancestral beliefs,butrecognition, after study and investi-gation, of Baha’u’llah as the prom-ised one of their respective scrip-tures.They claim that in Baha’u’llah,Hindus recognise their Kalki Avatar,Muslims their Imam Mehdi, Bud-dhists their Maitreya Amitabha,Zoroastrians their Shahbahram,Jewsand Christians their Messiah and Sav-iour.Shedding traditional prejudices,they acknowledge the divinity of allGod’s manifestations, making erst-while hostile religious contendersloving family members.And in theirtemples, Baha’is recite, with equalreverence,verses from all holy scrip-tures in ritual-free worship.
The learned Supreme Courtjudges have lauded ‘the spirit of tol-eration and assimilation’as hallmarksof the Baha’i civilisation, and quot-ed in their judgement the following
from a Baha’i booklet:“Lasting har-mony between heterogeneous com-munities can only come through arecognition of the oneness ofmankind,a realisation that differencesthat divide us along ethnic and reli-gious lines have no foundation. Justas there are no boundaries drawn onthe earth to separate nations, dis-tinctions of social,economic,ethnicand religious identity imposed uponpeoples are artificial;distinctions im-posed by man have no substance.”
This belief demolishes all com-munal barriers and brings about aconfluence of faith, and the end ofreligious dissension. Is the Baha’icommunity a model of vasudhaivakutumbakam, the universal family ofman foreseen by our sages, the des-tiny of mankind? Interestingly, thecited Supreme Court judgementconcludes with M K Gandhi’s fa-mous bhajan ‘Ishwar,Allah tero naam,sabko sanmati de Bhagwan’ and ex-presses the hope that communal har-mony and peace will reign in thecountry. ■
The writer is a member of the Baha’i community
‘Instrument of harmony’
What is the thrust of AnandaSangha’s work in Vrindavan?■ Jyotish:We work in cooperation withthe Ramakrishna Mission and our aimis to restore to the marginalised peoplehere,especially widows,dignity and di-vinity. It is not enough to just providebasic needs like food,shelter and cloth-ing;they need follow up in their homes,they need to know that someone caresfor them and loves them.
We have a database of widows inVrindavan and they fall into one of thefollowing categories:1)Those who can take care of them-selves with a little help; so we need tojust check in on them to see if they aredoing all right2)Those who live in their own homes,but need assistance in the home to helpthem function3)Those who cannot function on theirown and for whom we make arrange-ments in care homes
Sometimes we also come across sad-hus who are sick and who need help,and we do care for them as well.Operationally, you have workedout a system?■ Jyotish: Our staff wearing blue jack-ets make at least two to three hundredhome visits a day.They mainly help torestore a sense of dignity to make themfeel cared for.Many widowed mothersdesire to die here in Vrindavan and can-not afford the cost of funeral rites so wemake sure that arrangements are madeto fulfil their wishes.
We also encourage them to partic-ipate in festivals and not stay confinedwithin four walls.One woman said,“Forthe first time, we celebrated Deepavalion the streets.”
Our staff is taught energisation med-itation, making them feel positive andenergetic so they can transmit the sameto widow mothers. Now they can dosimple exercises and yogic asanas forgreater mobility. It’s more about loveand care, really.Are you being helped by professionals?■ Jyotish:Yes,we work with ex-WHOmedical doctor Manjunath Kini, an
Ananda Sangha member and he is alsoone of our teachers. He lives with hiswife and two daughters and he is di-rector of the charitable trust in Vrinda-van. Other corporations help us withskill training.We are now more focussedon service.Many NGOs are coming tous in Vrindavan; we have a good repu-tation there as the work becomes morevisible.They are seeking to replicate ourmodel of service.They look out for the‘people in dark blue!’Do you have your own carehomes or do you serve carehomes run by others?■ Jyotish: Most care homes are rented;till we’re able to afford to build our own.
They are small homes so they get per-sonal attention, like a family.Of course,donations are welcome, not just mon-ey but anything, like clothes, food andmedicines.Many of us want to becomeagents of positive change, butdon’t know how.What wouldyou suggest?■ Devi: Many, when they have prob-lems,project those problems on others;no one likes to take individual respon-sibility. For this, we really need to ele-vate our consciousness.You need to tellyourself,‘Let me do something;under-take a personal effort to act in a way thatis positive.’Shift the responsibility fromothers to yourself. See what happens,then!
If you can, try to give people toolsto do something. Recently, at Anan-da Sangha, we released ameditation app to helppeople. If each groupworks with other groupsto give people tools towork on positive goals,then you create a largenetwork.This is what weare trying to do with oth-er spiritual groups like theRK Mission, Swami RamDass, and so on.Our cam-paign’s line is ‘Be thechange.’
How can you gain more visibilityto garner wider cooperation andhelp?■ Devi:We have applied to the UNfor entry as a spiritual NGO.Thenone can suggest a special day,like International Day of Med-itation and this could helpbring more groups together.Ananda Sangha India isto receive an award froma UN-affiliated NGOin New York in No-vember this year, for helping to liftconsciousness.This is significant be-cause we need to understand thatchange comes from change in con-sciousness; only then can you hopeto achieve sustainable living, harmo-ny and selfless service.You need tobecome a catalyst for positive change.
Can you give me an example?■ Devi: In the early days of AnandaSangha in Nevada County,USA, therewas stiff resistance from government
agencies who did not want us there.It took us five years to get ap-provals and acceptance to getanything done.Today, govern-ment officials speak on our be-
half and uphold AnandaSangha as an example toreplicate — to respect theenvironment, to use al-
ternative sources of energy like solar,for example.They say,Ananda Sanghais a role model.See, that’s how you canchange by doing the right thing anddemonstrating it at a practical level,byexample. ■
Follow Nayaswamis Jyotish and Deviat speakingtree.in
Horse RaceA horse race was about to be held
and the contestants were being linedup. Mullah Nasruddin came with
an ox and asked that it be includedin the race.“Have you gone mad?”said the organisers.“What chancedoes an ox have against horses?”
“You talk that way because you donot know anything about my ox,”said Nasruddin.“When it was a
mere calf, it could run almost as fastas a pony. Now that it is older itshould be able to run even faster.”
Intoxicating Milk One evening, a man carrying a canof milk stopped Mullah Nasruddin
in the street and said he had aproblem and wanted his advice.“What’s your problem?” asked
Hodja.“My problem is that thoughI never drink wine, I feel
intoxicated when I get up in themorning,” explained the man.
“What do you drink last thing atnight?” asked Hodja, eyeing the
milk can in his hand.“Milk.”“Justas I thought,” said Hodja.“That isthe cause of your problem.”“Milk
causes intoxication?” asked theman, astonished.“It is like this,”explained the Mullah.“You drinkthe milk and go to sleep.You toss
around in your sleep.The milk getschurned. It turns into butter; butterchurned, turns into cheese; cheeseturns to fat, fat into sugar; sugar
into alcohol. So you wake up withalcohol in your stomach.That iswhy you feel intoxicated in themorning.”“So what do I do?”
asked the man, bewildered.“Simple. Don’t drink the milk,”
said Hodja.“Give it to me”— english-for-students.com
NAYASWAMIS JYOTISH & DEVI
who are carrying forward the mission of Swami Kriyananda’sAnanda Sangha — inspired by his guruParamhansa Yogananda — are currently in India. They interacted with NARAYANI GANESH, talking about Vrindavan widows, consciousnessawareness and becoming agents of change
The best love is to serve all equally — Yogi Bhajan
MULLAH NASRUDDIN
What They DoIn Vrindavan
Ananda Sangha volunteerscomplete at least 2,400home visits per month in
Vrindavan, says Nayaswami Jyotish,talking about their project that isdesigned to ‘restore dignity and di-vinity’ to those who have come tobe tagged as ‘Vrindavan widows’.Paramhansa Yogananda PublicCharitable Trust works with thepoorest of the poor,disadvantagedand marginalised sections of soci-ety to provide them with physicalcomfort including food, clothingshelter,health and medical care, toimprove their life circumstancesand help them live a life of joy.Ananda Sangha was founded bySwami Kriyananda, a direct disci-ple of Paramhansa Yogananda.
Currently, the Trust is provid-ing support to more than 4,000widows in the holy city of Vrin-davan with home-based care,hos-pitalisation and shelter with totalcare and support.The Trust alsoconducts regular kirtans and sat-sangs.The Trust has also initiatedprogrammes to support employ-ment needs of youth and womenand education of children. ■
NAYASWAMIS JYOTISH & DEVI
Lighting Up Lives
SAN
JEEV
RAS
TOGI
WIDOWS FROM VRINDAVAN AND VARANASI ENJOY A WEEKEND OUTING AT INDIA GATE, NEW DELHI
SHRINE OF BAHA’U’LLAH, GARDEN OF BAHJI, AKKA, ISRAEL
The art of being happy liesin the power of
extracting happiness from common things
— Henry Ward Beecher
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