http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F5kYWceTsI
Month: February 2009
14th Feb…
Wow… Its been a long day! I felt that this day was my most useful day in my life. You must be thinking I’m going to talk about my Valentine’s Day right? Haha. NO! In fact, I don’t really celebrate, or would never even dream of celebrating something like a Valentine’s Day! Come on! Why must they have a separate day for love, when it can be present anywhere, anytime?! Nevermind!
I was going to talk about this day, because from the morning at 9am till 9pm, I was constantly exposed to Hinduism, and nothing but Hinduism! We had a Lit & Lead Leadership course for our HS members and God! It was simply amazing to see the transformation take place right in front of your eyes. Kathir did a wonderful job and I actually felt a great sense of satisfaction after the workshop ended, which was around 1pm. It was simply a great unforgettable event for me in HS!
It all started with a idea that sparked in my mind back in November last year. I am really thankful to God for making my vision come true! At least one person would have benefited and his/her life changed for the best as a result of this workshop! That’s more than enough for me. So after this workshop, Kathir, Susanth and I took a cab to Hindu Centre for our Hinduism class. On our way, we were so hyper and talking all along the way about the workshop and how it has turned out.
Again, the Hinduism class was a wonderful session. Later at 6, Susanth and I had dinner in Madhan’s. We didn’t have lunch at all, so had an early dinner at least. All the while during the dinner, Susanth and I were ranting to each other how the rest of those who missed the course lost something valuable! Its such an irritating thing! When people promise that they would come, and then they don’t turn up without informing us, its just frustrating. I mean, think about those who make the effort and turn up for the event! What’s up with these guys? They want CCA points, but just showing face doesn’t work here! Susanth was so irritated, that all he wanted to do was sack the people, dissolve the HS committee and just move on with our lives! I guess that wouldn’t happen at all, but he was that frustrated and disappointed with these people. He sent a one-liner message to everyone the next day: “I am utterly disappointed! Thanks a lot guys!”
After our dinner, we attended a talk on Kumbhabhishegam (Temple Consecrecation Ceremony). It was a very informative talk and I really gained a lot of insight from it. I finally understood the need to go to Temples and how is it that they all say that God resides in Temples! It was something marvellous, my eyes was opened during the talk! I now appreciate Temple Worship a lot and understand why this is still very much prevalent today.
I don’t think Kalki has to come to save this world and the religion. If we do our part to keep Hinduism alive, we are all Kalki avatars!
The Sad Plight…
Something very beautiful and dear to all of us is slowly slipping away from our hands. We are just passively sitting in our own comfort zones and observing our very own traditions slipping away and facing the danger of totally being wiped out from this world. You might be wondering what I’m talking about…
Today I saw my old friend who was my school mate in my secondary school. She has started working after her Diploma and it had been quite long since I’ve seen her, so we were talking for a while. It was then when she told me that she has been studying the bible. I had asked her if she was going for Thaipusam and she gave me this answer. She told me that she is finding all her answers in the book and it all seems to “fit in”, with some truth in it.
When she was telling me all that, it was like I was seeing myself a few years back. I had once been very into the bible and liked reading it. I guess I had a particular attraction towards Christianity and their so-called culture. But later on, other books influenced my thoughts and I strayed away into the paths of atheism. Later on my life slowly started to set in the right path and I began learning about Hinduism. Now I am very much into my tradition, into my Hinduism. I don’t know how I reached there. It was rather like Hinduism found me! I must have done something good in my previous life to have been put in the right track again. I am so glad that I am given the opportunity to learn more about my tradition and religion and pave my path towards knowledge and maybe even ultimately moksha (liberation).
Many are like my friend, slowly taking Hinduism for granted and showing their interests in other religions. Maybe they find it easier to access the bible and easier to understand the religion. Because Christianity is nothing but full of beliefs that cannot be proven in this world! Its easier to believe in them than learning any logical explanations for concepts like Karma, Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha and Ishwara. It makes their lives easier I guess. But one thing is for sure! They are ignorant about their own religion; Hinduism! If not, they would never even look at other religions’ teachings! If one knows about Hinduism as much as I know at this stage of my life, they would not be attracted to any other religion because the answers for ALL their questions can be found in Hinduism itself and even MORE! What more do you need?! Hinduism is the only religion in the world in which there is existential proof for things like Karma, Moksha, and reincarnation!
Sigh… I’m not even worried about them converting into other religions. I’m more worried about what’ll happen to the beautiful gift (Sanatana Dharma) given to all of us, after a few generations? What worries me most is that people born in the tradition are not appreciating the tradition! All the Vedic Brahmanas who are supposed to be teaching the Vedas to us are mostly software engineers now! Though the priests still exist, they don’t teach! Only way we can revive Hinduism back to its traditional Sanatana Dharmic roots is by educating others about our own religion. That is what I am going to do and that is why I’m preparing myself for it now by taking this General Teaching Course in Hinduism (2 1/2 years course, leading to a Diploma in Hinduism Studies).
Priya Jayagopi 