Indian Interests

[Sushupti]

Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy has been aroused
Sandhya Jain

Can Bhagwan, rudely awakened from ‘ananta sayanam’ (divine sleep or yog-nidra on the divine serpent Anantha Seshanaga) during which He maintains the stability of the worlds, be forced, equally abruptly, to return to His repose because the Profane have developed cold feet? Thiruvananthapuram, sacred abode of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy, now reverberates with this question.

Even a genie cannot be returned to its old bottle. How then, can a God?

An issue dodged by both the religious devout and the irreligious profane pertains to the status of the three-and-a-half feet tall gold pratima (image) of Mahavishnu (Vishnu reclining on Adi Naga) studded with rubies and emeralds, with ceremonial attire for adorning the deity in the form of 16-part gold anki (cloth) weighing nearly 30 kgs., together with gold coconut shells, one studded with rubies and emeralds.

Also unveiled is a one foot high 5 kg. solid gold murti of Krishna playing the flute. The writer does not know if any more murtis cast of precious metals or carved out of precious stones (common in ancient Jaina temples) have been found in the temple cellars.

To my mind, these cannot be considered as chadhava (offerings) to the Deity. These are distinct pratimas that a devotee or group of devotees had specially cast and offered to the temple for worship, as an act of piety, possibly on fulfillment of a fervent wish. This is a common practice in temples across the land even today, though the images are mostly marble or stone.

Hence, within a reasonable time frame, satisfying the demands of security, all pratimas that have emerged with the hidden wealth must be ceremonially installed in the temple and worshipped in accordance with the sastras. Scholar pandits may be consulted to decide if they require separate temples of their own within the temple complex – most likely they do, and that would also be the best way to give them adequate protection. To my mind, it would be an ill-omen to return the deities to banishment in the stone cellars. Devotees also have the right to worship the murtis that have waited for so long to give darshan and receive homage.

The golden images were likely hidden from public viewing and even access and knowledge on account of the political turbulence Hindu society suffered for centuries under successive Muslim and Christian assaults, and wholesale sack and loot of temple treasures. The hiding of precious images has been recorded throughout the country in Hindu and Jaina temples, and is the most painful, and least acknowledged, historical experience of the Hindu people. The Buddhist monasteries were completely sacked and ruined; the faith itself destroyed by the wholesale slaughter of monks.

Barely two centuries ago, Sri Vishnu as Jagannath, was robbed of the valuable Kohinoor diamond by the British when this precious gift of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was en route to the temple at Puri. Should it ever be recovered (if some miracle can compel the British royal family that thrived and still thrives on the loot and rape of nations, it must be understood that it is NOT a national asset, but the legitimate property of Sri Jagannath). This was the environment in which the priests and servitors of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy considered it prudent to conceal the deity’s stupendous wealth in secret underground storerooms, known only to the ruling dynasty and temple priests.

Closer to their own home, the depredations of Tipu Sultan would have reverberated all over the region. Tipu went to Guruvayoor Temple after destroying Mammiyoor Temple. In the face of the approaching danger, the sacred murti of Guruvayoor was dispatched to the Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna Temple in Travancore State, under the protection of the current Royal Family. Only after Tipu’s reign ended was the murti ceremoniously reinstated in Guruvayoor Temple. To this day, Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna Temple conducts daily pujas at the place where the pratima of Guruvayoor was temporarily lodged and worshipped; such is the nature of Hindu spirituality.

According to the Mysore Gazetteer, Tipu Sultan destroyed over 8000 temples in South India, particularly in the Malabar and Cochin principalities. (See The History of Cochin by K.P. Padmanabha Menon and History of Kerala by A. Sreedhara Menon).

Among the more prominent among these are the Perumanam Temple and all temples between Trichur and Karuvannur river (August, 1786); Hemambika Temple of Kallekulangara, the Kula Devata of the royal family of Palakkad; Keraladhiswara Mahavishnu Temple, Tanur Town, Malappuram Dist.; the Jain Temple in Palghat; Irinjalakuda Tiruvilvamala Temple complex at Vilvadri Hill north of Thrissur town; Mammiyur Siva Temple in Guruvayoor town; Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple, in Methala Panchayat; Triprangode Siva Temple near Tirur; Thrichabaram Sri Krishna Temple near Taliparamba, Kannur dist; Taliparamba Siva Temple, Kannur district; Tiruvanjikulam Siva temple near Kodungallur; Vadakkum-Nathan Temple of Trichur; Varakkal Durga Temple, West Hill Kozhikode; Trikkandiyur Mahadeva Temple, Tirur town, Malappuram Dist; Sukapuram Dakshinaamoorthy Temple, near Edappal, Malappuram; Vadukunda Siva temple at Vengara village Kannur district; Pariharapuram Subrahmanya Temple, Ramanathakara, Kozhikode district; Vadukunda Siva Temple of Madai, Kannur district; and Thrikkavu Durga Temple of Ponnani (converted into a Military Garrison).

Similarly, the Malabar Gazetteer lists, among the important temples destroyed by Tipu Sultan: the Tali Mahadeva Temple, Kozhikode; Sri Valayanadu Bhagavathy Temple, Govindapuram, Calicut; Tiruvannur Siva Temple, Kozhikode; Sri Thirpuraikal Bhadrakali Temple, Puthur, Palakkad district and Narayankannur temple at Ramantali, Kannur district. The Tirunavaya Temple, renowned all over India as a centre of Rig Veda teaching, was destroyed, as was Calicut, capital of the Zamorin Rajas.

The priests of Triprayar Temple concealed the main deity at Gnanappilly Mana in a remote village; it returned only after Tipu withdrew from the Malabar towards the end of 1790. Tipu destroyed two Sri Krishna Temples in the vicinity of Guruvayur, which were also subsequently recovered by the Hindus – the Parthasarathy Temple and the Tirupati Balaji Temple.

*

Given this lived history of the Hindu people, the mega-publicity given to the stupendous wealth unveiled from the cellar-strongholds of the Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram has caused grave disquiet among the devotees of the Lord. Devotees still remember with agony that a stone harmonium of the Padmanabha Temple was stolen by the British and smuggled to Britain.

Dr R Nagaswamy, former Director of Archaeology, Tamil Nadu, who played a stellar role in the return of the famous (Simon Norton) Nataraja image to India, asserts that the treasures belong unambiguously to Sri Padmanabha, to whom the offerings were made. There are thousands of inscriptions from the second century BC onwards that attest to the fact that the offerings were made to the Deity and not to the temple. Pallava inscriptions of the 3rd and 4th century mention gifts made to the deity. Many inscriptions from Kerala from the 9th century onwards record gifts to deities.

Hindu gods are a juristic entity and can legally own property, and act through representatives; in Siva temples transactions were made in the name of Chandikesvara; in Vishnu temples through Vishvaksena. In court cases in the 19th and 20th centuries, the courts accepted the main deity as a jurist entity. In the case of the London Nataraja, the trial judge of the London High court observed that so long as a single stone remained in situ, a temple was eternally a temple with the right to own property, and hence the metal image of Nataraja that belonged to the ruined Chola temple of Pattur must be returned to the temple.

Dr Nagaswamy shuns the view that the temple treasures should be displayed in a museum, pointing out that a sacred gift to a temple cannot be reduced to a museum exhibit. This is certainly the correct position, though given the kind of genuine interest that has also been excited by the discoveries the temple management could consider arranging small displays of heritage items within the precincts, with adequate security, against appropriate fees to defer costs. This would preserve the sanctity of the temple gifts and traditions, and would be a special feast to devotees.

In no circumstances should Sri Padmanabha temple or any of the grand temples where non-Hindus are not permitted, open their doors to foreigners and reduce the temple to picnic spots or tourist sites – in the name of attracting tourism. Even in a lenient State like Goa, temples have begun to impose a dress code on foreign visitors, and Delhi temples are beginning to follow suit. I think the ban on non-believers needs to be extended rigorously in all temples across the country if the dharma is to be saved from the increasing intrusion (and perversion) of so-called foreign bhaktas, who infiltrate as devotees and soon assume managerial control to the detriment of the dharma. This process, which was first confined to New Age globe trotters and Dollar Swamis, has shockingly been found to have degraded more hoary institutions as well.

Devotees are in rage and grief at the rude fashion in which the Supreme Court ordered breach of the Lord’s sacred precincts to satisfy vicarious curiosity about the legendary wealth of hoary Hindu temples. The vacuous allegation by a busybody without locus standi or cultural sensitivity or personal devotion should have been dismissed with contempt and a hefty fine for being a nuisance petition.

Ironically, the inventory of gold, silver, precious stones and priceless jewellery and utensils and what not – even without its heritage and antique value – has given a headache to the Supreme Court judges who will be held primarily responsible should covetous eyes endanger this precious and sacred trove. Having rushed in where angels fear to tread – on the toes of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy and the divine Seshanaga – the judges have now beaten a hasty retreat, staying the order to force open the sixth and last stronghold, and mumbling variously about filming the treasure, to deciding what to keep in safe vaults (do they mean Swiss banks?), to deciding what to exhibit in a Museum.

It is shocking that the learned judges do not know that Museums are warehouses for the relics of DEAD cultures; they were created by the Christian world to house the destroyed icons and artifacts of the myriad civilisations, religions and peoples they had utterly annihilated, mostly through genocide. Museums are showrooms for the civilisational scalps collected by the White man. Is that the goal the Judges have for Hindu civilisation?

Honourable judges – please just back off and stay off. And take the Hon’ble V.R. Krishna Iyer with you. Please do some ‘poverty alleviation’ with the Provident and Pension Funds of the Supreme Court judges before you pontificate on what to do with the wealth of Hindu temples, which does not belong to you.

*

Sri Anantha Padmanabha temple is one of 108 divya desams or holy abodes of Vishnu, and finds mention in the Divya Prabandha of the Tamil Alvar saints of the 6th-9th centuries CE. It was modified in the 16th century and its grand gopuram constructed, and again in the 18th century.

Initially, the temple belonged to Tamil Ay kings who ruled the southern parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The kingdom of Venad emerged when the Ay’s declined and the first king Marthanda Varma (1729-1758) donated his kingdom to Sri Padmanabha and ruled as his servant. He brought 12,008 Salagrama stones from the Gandaki river of Nepal to fashion the 18-foot long deity – a grand testimony to the vastness of the Hindu civilisational frontier.

Since then, the temple has been inextricably linked with the Travancore ruling family. It is run by a trust created by the royal house, currently headed by Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, which retained control of the temple at independence vide a covenant at the time of signing the Instrument of Accession.

Unlike other Indian royals, the Travancore family was deeply rooted in culture and shunned the life of ease. The palace financed itself through earnings from its Spice business and not from the state treasury. Shri Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, next in line to head the family, runs the Aspinwall Company which supplies pepper to many European royal households.

Travancore kingdom once extended from Kanyakumari (now in Tamil Nadu) in the south to Aluva (Ernakulam district) in the north. Padmanabhapuram (now in TN) was the first capital, but it was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram by Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma (Dharma Raja), who protected the refugees fleeing Malabar from Tipu Sultan’s assault.

The rulers always knew of the riches, but never touched them. There are references to the wealth in the Pradhanapetta Mathilakom Records (Important Mathilakom Records) compiled by the famous Malayalam poet Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, 1941; and also in the 12-volume Kottaram (Palace) manual. So fastidious were the rulers in respecting the property as divine that there is a royal tradition of the royal family dusting the sand off their feet on leaving the shrine, so that not even a speck of dust is taken that belongs to Padmanabha.

Other important princes include Swathi Thirunal (1813-1846), the legendary Carnatic musician who promoted English education; and the last king Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma (1912-1991) who abolished the death sentence, making Travancore the first Indian territory to do so. The last king issued the landmark Temple Entry Proclamation in 1936, which permitted the erstwhile “untouchables” to enter temples.

Former ICHR chairman M.G.S. Narayanan says there is ample documentary evidence that the treasure belongs to the temple. The Travancore Manual prepared by Nagamayyah in the early 20th century mentions that the temple administration was controlled by “ettara yogam” (a group of eight-and-half persons), which is generally interpreted as meaning eight Brahmins and a member of the Travancore royal family. The manual showed that the temple then had an annual revenue of Rs.75,000, and was independent of the government. It indicated that its treasures included huge quantities of money, gold and precious stones, the “offerings of ages.”

Scholars are generally agreed that nothing has been found in the vaults which could be war booty – a view that should debunk secularists who are doing their level best to taint the stupendous treasure trove. In fact, scholars should now speedily transcribe the palm leaf Mathilagam records, the royal records dealing with Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple. This would settle the details of the period to which the riches belong and who gifted them to the temple.

http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisp ... px?id=1872

[ramana]

I miss our erstwhile member Raju. I recall discussing with him the signs of Vishnu emerging over the last few years.
- There was a white tortoise found in Andhra Pradesh
- Ram Janma Bhoomi verdict
- Now Lakshmi manifesting in Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple
- And the Hanuman manifestation, pictures of which are in Indian Epics thread.

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 2#p1124722

[ramana]

Pioneer:

Maniben Patel's diary reopens Sardar-Nehru rift

Maniben’s diary reopens Sardar’s rift with Nehru
July 12, 2011 12:31:48 AM

Rathin Das | Ahmedabad

The Congress had always sought to underplay the differences between Nehru and ‘Iron Man’ Sardar Patel whose legacy gradually diminished with increasing stranglehold of one family in the party since Independence.

{How can Sardar's legacy diminish? His stature shows through despite all efforts to erase it.}


But, excerpts from the diary of Sardar Patel’s daughter Maniben would not only confirm the differences but also are likely to ruffle the feathers of present day Congress leaders with embarrassing disclosures therein.

For many of the entries jotted down in Maniben’s diary, being published in full for the first time, would bring out unpleasant truths that may prove to be uncomfortable to the Congress leaders.

One of the Nehru-Sardar differences was regarding the renovation of the Babri Masjid at Government expense, a proposal the ‘Iron Man’ had turned down as free India’s first Home Minister.

The entry in Maniben’s diary on September 20, 1950 says that Sardar told Nehru that the Babri Masjid’s renovation was different from reconstruction of the Somnath Temple for which a trust was set up that raised nearly `30 lakh for the purpose. Government money was not spent on reconstruction of the Somnath Temple, Sardar told Nehru following which the Prime Minister kept quiet, Maniben’s diary notes on September 20, 1950.

As Sardar Patel’s wife Zaverba died very early, Maniben had taken up the multiple roles as daughter, secretary, washerwoman and nurse to the ‘Iron Man’ till his death on December 12, 1950. Since 1936, Maniben had started maintaining a diary in which she recorded her illustrious father’s daily events and comments.

The 24 volumes of Maniben’s diaries are safely kept at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial here, a heritage building whose renovation is currently underway. Ironically, the complete diary of Maniben is being published by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society whose chairman is a Congressman, Union Minister for Mines Dinsha Patel.

The diary contents would be first published in original Gujarati, the society’s secretary Prabhakar Khamar told The Pioneer. It would take about six months for them to come into print, he said, adding that later on the Hindi translation would also be brought out.

Khamar disclosed that Maniben’s diary deals with differences and controversies between top leaders of freedom struggle like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and others.

“These differences did not come out into public then as all leaders had agreed with Gandhiji’s views as final,” said 80-year-old Prabhakar Khamar.

The contents of the diary which are going into print also throw some rare insight about other personalities’ comments on Nehru’s ‘secular’ image.

Nehru’s close friend Sriprakash told Sardar “there was no trace of Hindutva in Motilal Nehru. He was three-quarters Englishman and one quarter Muslim. How can you expect any Hindutva in his son?” Maniben’s diary notes on October 12, 1950.

Another entry, on September 13, 1950, quotes Ghanshyamdas Birla as saying “Nehru’s whole family would have embraced Islam is they had not come in contact with Gandhiji.”

With revelations like this, Maniben’s diary is sure to raise a storm once again regarding Nehru legacy.

[RajeshA]

So India is again going to open her doors to self-reflection!

[JE Menon]

Yes, the light is beginning to shine in.

[RamaY]

JEM garu, your prediction is coming true. Another 10 years of progress and we will start seeing Hindu resurgence.

[Hari Seldon]

I miss our erstwhile member Raju. I recall discussing with him the signs of Vishnu emerging over the last few years.
- There was a white tortoise found in Andhra Pradesh
- Ram Janma Bhoomi verdict
- Now Lakshmi manifesting in Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Whoa! Is the time for the tenth avatara approaching....Kalki's arrival also heralds the end of the world, AFAIK. BTW, yes, where's Raju? I thought he was another 'blog' casuality post the N-deal breakup.

[Klaus]

I miss our erstwhile member Raju. I recall discussing with him the signs of Vishnu emerging over the last few years.
- There was a white tortoise found in Andhra Pradesh
- Ram Janma Bhoomi verdict
- Now Lakshmi manifesting in Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Add to that the illusion of tears on the Tirupati dieties preceding the Bhuj earthquake a decade ago!

[Pranav]

Tch, tch ... not a good idea to rely on cryptic omens, signs, oracles, planets etc.

[devesh]

Klaus ji,

I suspect that a new Avatar is taking shape. it will be very different from the Rama/Krishna model. it will be more on the lines of Vamana or maybe Parashurama (I know that one's your favorite ).

I am basing my prediction of Vamana on the "instinct" that India is gaining a Critical Mass that will cleans Bharat of deracination. in my mind, the obstacle will be in the form of outside forces which will use immense money/political/social power to create anti-national forces inside India that will have the power to rip apart India if they are not checked.

IMO, India can very effectively neuter these evil forces, but the impediment is outside support, which can undermine this process. so, get rid of these outside forces, and Bharat will take care of itself.

[Hari Seldon]

Tch, tch ... not a good idea to rely on cryptic omens, signs, oracles, planets etc.

That's the beauty of Yindooism, saar. Its a buffet only. Take what you want and leave what you don't. But don't grudge what other folks are having.

Not everything is explained by available information and rationality. Some mystery, some charm to the meaning of life and the purpose of existence is all innocuous only.

[RamaY]

These symbols are better than manufactured statistics and altered indices.

[Hari Seldon]

Combating Caste Bias in the Private Sector (WSJ)

Most people assume that such caste-biases play no role in the burgeoning private sector. But the results of a series of studies done by reputed Indian and American academics, using methods originally developed to study racial discrimination in the United States, point to caste-biases in the hiring processes of private companies.

These studies–summaries of which were published as early as 2007 in the peer-reviewed journal, the Economic and Political Weekly, delve into the ongoing debate on the merits of extending affirmative action programs to the private sector.

Already, moi antennae have gone up. Am open to the idea that such discrimination may exist and should be combated but not quite open to the idea that we need the yanqui expertise to unravel these mysteries and that rags like the E&PW, with a track record in Yindia-baiting are the receptive vehicles for propagating propagandu as policy prescription.

Bottomline: Source credibility matters and right now, its in tatters where these 'exp0rt' studies are concerned only...

[Prem]

JEM garu, your prediction is coming true. Another 10 years of progress and we will start seeing Hindu resurgence.

Not ten but 11years. We go by 11, 21 , 51 and 101.

[Prem]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culture ... -bowl.html

Culture Monster

In a Hollywood Bowl weekend dominated by film scores, the Los Angeles Philharmonic turned from “West Side Story” on Friday and Saturday to a Sunday program that could have been titled “East Side Story,” music from India culminating in performances of newly arranged soundtrack excerpts composed by A.R. Rahman.Arranger/conductor Matt Dunkley may have provided too many subdued endings, but the orchestra played sumptuously for him, and all the gracefully integrated instrumental, vocal and choral guests added to the richness of the occasion. In eight of the pieces, subtle use of the Raagapella vocalists and/or Cal State Fullerton University Singers created a glow or aura around the orchestral sound (sometimes nearly subliminal), and a playoff between Asad Khan's sitar and Rahman's piano created extra interest in the “Slumdog” suite.Before intermission, this KCRW-FM (89.9) “Journey to India” offered short sets by four ensembles. Rhythms of Rajasthan combined traditions from a vibrant folk culture. Percussionist Karsh Kale fused electronic rock and jazz with sensual vocals and exciting instrumental textures -- including the electric violin of Lili Haydn.Finally, celebratory pop dance from India came courtesy of the exuberant Sher Foundation (on the narrow

[Pranav]

Tch, tch ... not a good idea to rely on cryptic omens, signs, oracles, planets etc.

That's the beauty of Yindooism, saar. Its a buffet only. Take what you want and leave what you don't. But don't grudge what other folks are having.

Not everything is explained by available information and rationality. Some mystery, some charm to the meaning of life and the purpose of existence is all innocuous only.

As long as people are not forgetting to keep their powder dry, it is harmless.

[Klaus]

IMO, India can very effectively neuter these evil forces, but the impediment is outside support, which can undermine this process. so, get rid of these outside forces, and Bharat will take care of itself.

This becomes the premise of Rajiv Malhotra's works. That doesnt impede any external influence from meddling in an issue such as the temple finds.

[Rony]

Questioning the Aryan Invasion Theory and Revising Ancient Indian History

[Rony]

Interview with Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma, the former King of Tranvancore

PRS: What is your family's connection with the Padmanabhaswamy temple?
Varma: We are the Cheras, one of the four erstwhile royal families of South India and have a long and dynastic family tree. By 1750 Travancore had become rich and big. So my ancestor, the then king, made a unique spiritual and historical contribution. He decided to surrender all his riches to the temple - Padmanabhaswamy is also our family deity. He said our family would look after that wealth, the temple and the kingdom forever. But he did want the ego that comes with possessing it. He was influenced by Emperor Ashoka's catharsis in the killing fields of Kalinga. So he declared our family to be Padmanabha's 'dasas', devotees. A servant can resign his job, but a dasa can do so only when he dies.

PRS: You are one of the wealthiest families in India and yet, you live in a spartan way, unlike many other ex-royals. Why?
Varma: I have to go back a bit in time, to explain why. Everybody thinks that we Indians first rose against British colonial rule in 1857. Wrong. In 1741, Travancore was the only Asian power to defeat the Dutch when they arrived here. After the battle, all the Dutch soldiers kneeled before my ancestors. One Dutchman, Benedictus Eustachius, even joined our army. We called him the Great Kapitan. Later, I learned that he was [US president] Franklin Roosevelt's ancestor when the latter's grandson came to look at our historical records.

Then in 1839, almost two decades before the mutiny, we rose against the British. Our punishment was severe. They disbanded our police and army of 50,000, transferred our capital to Kollam, dumped two British regiments on us, and ordered us to pay for their upkeep. Thomas Munroe named himself Diwan of Travancore. When our spirit still did not flag, they brought in missionaries. But we did not get gobbled up by Western thought. We travel abroad occasionally, but it has not affected or changed our simple way of life. Why am I telling you this? So that you get an idea of how much our life has revolved around our faith, despite so many outside influences and kept us going.

PRS: How do you feel about what is happening around the temple right now - its cellars being opened up, your donations being discussed around the world, the criticism, the furore?
Varma: Sorry, I cannot comment on what is happening there - the matter is sub-judice. But this much I will say. I have no problem with the inventory and additional security being provided by the state to the temple. But please don't remove those objects from the temple. They belong to nobody, certainly not to our family. They belong to god and our law permits that. All these debates swirling around the riches is unfortunate. That's all I can say - I have to listen to my doctor, lawyer and auditor. Our family has been donating objects to the temple for centuries. As chief patron of the temple, I go there every day. If I miss a day, I am fined Rs 166.35 - an old Travancore tradition.

PRS: But you cannot deny that such wealth could be put to better use for the poor.
Varma: We Indians are more educated now. But this reaction to donations inside a temple is anything but progressive. We are slowly losing our Indian identity. Money has become everything. But I am not surprised. I would rather be philosophical than disillusioned because I can't change the world.

PRS: Then there is the rationalist argument that this is blind faith.
Varma: Please think of England's Henry VIII in the late 1500s. He had two passions. Wives and money. So he pillaged churches. Finally, he ran into a problem because he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon. The church refused, because she was a zealous Spanish Catholic. His cardinal advised him to invent his own church. So he did that - just to get a divorce. Is that rational?
It is rather difficult to explain our faith to the new world where people have none anymore. When selfishness grows, everything you do seems right, and everything others do seems wrong. It's all about what do I get, not about what do I do. I like the memory of my trip to a game reserve South Africa. After seeing many wild animals, I asked the guide which was the most rapacious and fearsome. He showed me a mirror.

PRS: What is your source of income? What does your family live off ?
Varma: We have travel and hotel businesses. I am chairman of a former British company that exports various items from Kerala - but no, not pepper to Buckingham Palace, as reported. We also run seven trusts. We spend R5-8 lakh a year on education, health and housing for the poor. We pay good salaries. And the family itself contributes money every month. No government has acknowledged our work but that is all right. We do it because we want to do it.

PRS: Gold statues studded with rubies and diamonds, saphhires, gold coins of the Napoleonic era and the East India Company. Is all that true?
Varma: I have never been inside those cellars. Our philosophy has always been not to look at such objects and get tempted. But of course I know what is inside them.

PRS: Are the younger members of your family angrier than you about the heated public debate?
Varma: I am the most hot-blooded in this family but on this matter, we all feel the same. I was a soldier - a colonel for 15 years in the Madras Regiment. I would like to ask those criticizing us for donating these objects: why are they bothered about what someone else has done? What are they doing in the name of faith themselves ? Why the hot gossip over a donation to God?

PRS: At 90, you don't even use a walking stick. What is your daily routine ?
Varma: We have all been brought up very strictly and frugally. My day starts at 4 am with yoga. I only drink milk, I am a vegetarian and a teetotaler. I read the Vedas everyday. I go the temple for a ten-minute private audience with the deity every morning. After that, I indulge in one of my hobbies - "media surgery." I read the newspapers and clip articles over breakfast. I have a collection of the past 30 years. I will give those to the Trust because my children may not be interested. People come to meet me, they invite me to inaugurate functions. I speak extempore. I go from vertical to horizontal for about 20 minutes in the afternoon. I am in bed by 945. I have always slept well. Since there is nothing on my conscience, sleep comes swiftly.

PRS: Are you now thinking of insuring those treasures, now that the whole world is talking about them, or are they already insured ?
Varma: (laughs) I am least worried that they will be stolen. If that happens, then it was the Lord's will.

PRS: Among your ancestors were famous Carnatic musician Swati Thirunal and painter Raja Ravi Varma. What are your passions?
Varma: Those two ancestors gave music and art divinity and humanity respectively. That continues. I love art. I once saw a piece of exquisite china in Venice. It was a girl on a swing with the sand looking worn just where her feet touched the ground each time. It cost 100 pounds, I could only afford 40, as foreign exchange was limited those days. So I went away. The dealer called me back and gave it to me. He said he could tell that I was not one of those who ordered 200 pieces of one kind, that I valued minute details.

PRS: Kerala has been a Communist bastion for more than 50 years. Don't you find it peculiar that people here still flurry around you, they respect you, they still call you Your Highness.
Varma: Yes, that is quite amazing because I am a simple man, I don't expect it at all. At religious gatherings in Haridwar where one of my two gurus lives, I always sit in the last row and am always dressed like this - mundu and bush-shirt. People who don't know me come looking for the Raja of the South. When I raise my hand, they don't believe me.

PRS: How wealthy is your family, compared to the other - and internationally more famous - royals of Rajasthan and elsewhere?
Varma: That is a mere technicality and has never been relevant to me. But I'll tell you a story which will give you an idea. There used to be a British gun salute for the princely states of India: 21, the highest for the richest ruler, 11 for the poorest. When Tranvancore refused to contribute soldiers to the British Army in World War I, our slipped from 21 to 19.

PRS: Who is your heir?
Varma: We have a matriarchal system of inheritance. I have a daughter and a son but it is my sister's son who will be king after me. I remember a European lady visiting us. I explained this complicated law of succession to her. When she went back, she told her friends that she had not understood a word, but only knew that whatever it was, it was good for women. Kerala is slowly turning patriarchal again. That is not good. Overall in our country, we treat women as second-class citizens. When you look at a man, you are looking at a human being, when you look at a woman, you are looking at a family.

PRS: What is the feeling you get, when you spend those ten minutes at the Padmanabha shrine ? The daily communion between ruler and master, as you put it ?
Varma: Gooseflesh. Everything is surrendered. It is a great, elating feeling. My hair stands on end with joy. Each and every time.

[Atri]

JEM garu, your prediction is coming true. Another 10 years of progress and we will start seeing Hindu resurgence.

where to find this?

[sanjeevpunj]

Interview with Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma, the former King of Tranvancore
PRS: What is the feeling you get, when you spend those ten minutes at the Padmanabha shrine ? The daily communion between ruler and master, as you put it ?
Varma: Gooseflesh. Everything is surrendered. It is a great, elating feeling. My hair stands on end with joy. Each and every time.

Interesting, hair standing on end is a symptom that describes a very elevated state of mind, blissful bodily symptoms, sometimes might be accompanied with shuddering,crying and swaying happily. Thanks for the article, Rony.

[devesh]

JEM garu, your prediction is coming true. Another 10 years of progress and we will start seeing Hindu resurgence.

where to find this?

no Hindu resurgence will be allowed to take place. I don't share that optimism. it will come to a point where any patriotic Hindu who wishes to save his civilization has to resort to violent means. the peaceful means will have all been hijacked and controlled. at some point there will be "volunteer" organizations (many; not just the RSS) which will be involved in spiritual and physical development of Hindus. one possible route is to develop something like the Jewish "Haggannah", which played an instrumental role in establishment of Israel in the 1940's. it was an underground organization. the predecessor to Mossad. physical training, cultural/social thinking, and national brotherhood were all fostered and ultimately channeled into a fighting spirit for the cause of country.

[RamaY]

JEM garu, your prediction is coming true. Another 10 years of progress and we will start seeing Hindu resurgence.

where to find this?

A couple of years ago IIRC. JEM garu's hypothesis is that as the majority of Hindus get economically prosperous, they will start demanding better performance from GoI in terms of HDI type items (current cycle). A parallel development would be to financial, effort and intellectual investments in various Hindu cultural/religious symbols, places and activities. In the next cycle comes Hindu assertiveness where they demand just recognition and respect from the [sic] secular dhimmi aspects of Rashtra.

Devesh garu,

Hindu resurgence will definitely invite criticism (in the first step), deception (2nd step) and finally suppression (3rd step) from the combined might of [sic] secular, EJ and Jihadi sections of international society. I have full confidence in (the resurgent) Hindu ability to address these problems internally. The external environment needs some innovative strategies where Hindus form an alliance with all the dormant native civilizations across the world.

[RamaY]

Beautiful and humbling. How many can say these things? My sasthanga pranamams to samrat Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma!!!

Sincere apologies for repeating lot of stuff.

Interview with Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma, the former King of Tranvancore

So he declared our family to be Padmanabha's 'dasas', devotees. A servant can resign his job, but a dasa can do so only when he dies. {People misunderstand dasa (a willful commitment to the master) to be slavery}

When our spirit still did not flag, they brought in missionaries. But we did not get gobbled up by Western thought.

They belong to nobody, certainly not to our family. They belong to god and our law permits that.

As chief patron of the temple, I go there every day. If I miss a day, I am fined Rs 166.35 - an old Travancore tradition.

We Indians are more educated now. But this reaction to donations inside a temple is anything but progressive. We are slowly losing our Indian identity.

Money has become everything. But I am not surprised. I would rather be philosophical than disillusioned because I can't change the world.

It is rather difficult to explain our faith to the new world where people have none anymore.

When selfishness grows, everything you do seems right, and everything others do seems wrong. It's all about what do I get, not about what do I do.

I like the memory of my trip to a game reserve South Africa. After seeing many wild animals, I asked the guide which was the most rapacious and fearsome. He showed me a mirror.

No government has acknowledged our work but that is all right. We do it because we want to do it.

Our philosophy has always been not to look at such objects and get tempted. But of course I know what is inside them.

I was a soldier - a colonel for 15 years in the Madras Regiment

I would like to ask those criticizing us for donating these objects: why are they bothered about what someone else has done? What are they doing in the name of faith themselves ? Why the hot gossip over a donation to God?

My day starts at 4 am with yoga. I only drink milk, I am a vegetarian and a teetotaler. I read the Vedas everyday. I go the temple for a ten-minute private audience with the deity every morning. {True Kshatriya}

I have always slept well. Since there is nothing on my conscience, sleep comes swiftly.

(laughs) I am least worried that they will be stolen. If that happens, then it was the Lord's will. {True detachment. Reminds me of Rajarshi Janaka. No wonder Sitadevi wanted to be his daughter.}

He said he could tell that I was not one of those who ordered 200 pieces of one kind, that I valued minute details.

I am a simple man, I don't expect it at all. At religious gatherings in Haridwar where one of my two gurus lives, I always sit in the last row and am always dressed like this - mundu and bush-shirt.

There used to be a British gun salute for the princely states of India: 21, the highest for the richest ruler, 11 for the poorest. When Tranvancore refused to contribute soldiers to the British Army in World War I, our slipped from 21 to 19.

When you look at a man, you are looking at a human being, when you look at a woman, you are looking at a family. {Namo Namah}

Everything is surrendered. It is a great, elating feeling. My hair stands on end with joy. Each and every time.

[Hari Seldon]

^^^ Truly so, RamaY garu. Verily so only.

[sanjeevpunj]

A willing servant of the lord is a very very high level of emancipation, Lord Hanuman was always that, willingfully serving the Lord Rama.Fortunate are those who can call themselves Dasa of the Lord Padmanabha Swami, who is none other than lord Vishnu himself.

[Prem]

Hate Crimes? Since 9/11, Sikhs Say They’ve Been Attacked More Than 700 Time
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/hate-cr ... 700-times/

ELK GROVE, Calif. (The Blaze/AP) — Kamaljit Atwal’s neighborhood seems like an unlikely place for a hate crime. His street in this Sacramento suburb seems a model of diversity.
Atwal and his family are one of two Sikh families on the block from India. On Atwal’s street alone, there’s a Vietnamese family, a Mexican family, a black woman and a white man.But in March, Atwal’s 78-year-old father Gurmej Atwal and his 67-year-old friend Surinder Singh were shot and killed while taking an afternoon stroll in the neighborhood.Atwal and his fellow Sikhs in the area wonder if the same ugliness that has brought violence to other Sikhs is the reason why.The men had long beards and were wearing turbans, both traditional symbols of their religion. Police are investigating whether their killing was a hate crime. In 2010, a Sikh cabdriver was beaten by two men in Sacramento – located in a region with more Sikh residents than any in the nation. During the attack, one of the men called the cab driver “Osama bin Laden,” and the cab driver repeatedly told the assailants that he wasn’t Muslim, authorities said. In early June, Pedro Ramirez was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the attack a second man was sentenced to a year in jail.On Memorial Day of this year, four weeks after the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, a Sikh man who is a subway employee in New York said he was punched in the mouth by a man who called him “the brother of Osama.”No one has been arrested.

[brihaspati]

Economic prosperity need not automatically lead to revival. We have had periodic bouts of "prosperity". Each time the "prosperous" used that very prosperity as an excuse to conceded, compromise, vacillate and allow hostile forces not only in, but also allow them to grow within the rashtryia power system.

[svinayak]

Economic prosperity need not automatically lead to revival. We have had periodic bouts of "prosperity". Each time the "prosperous" used that very prosperity as an excuse to conceded, compromise, vacillate and allow hostile forces not only in, but also allow them to grow within the rashtryia power system.

THis is true. The Hindu narration and Hindu history has been hijacked and it has to be owned back by the Hindus.

[Prem]

It will be different this time . India from North to South to East and West is united and thanks to communication and information there is awarness among people. The interaction among the diferent Indic communities is deepning with travel/bizness and pilgrimiages. There are onlee very few fuddus who dont identify themslevs Indians in real sense of belonging. On top of this, for the first time we have a standing army of Million Plus ( ought to be 3 million )not 20 Armies of 50k plus going to war one by one. Forces to watch are EJ/PS dividing the communites, disruppting social cohesioning process and Congressional efforts to undermine the Institution building to oblige outsiders for gaining domestic legitimacy. Not perfect yet but not bad either and nothing so wrong which cant be "corrected" using right "peaceful" methods as used by the Middle and High school teachers for rowdy rats. Dont mean to condone , but its no secret that even MKG was not forgiven for the cardinal sin done in his name . Every flag require long danda to furl high, Indian must provide one for their own Country.

[Arjun]

Economic prosperity need not automatically lead to revival. We have had periodic bouts of "prosperity". Each time the "prosperous" used that very prosperity as an excuse to conceded, compromise, vacillate and allow hostile forces not only in, but also allow them to grow within the rashtryia power system.

Economic prosperity need not automatically be linked to non-revival either....In India, we now have both the leading traditionalist mercantilists (Gujarat) and the new-economy mercantilists (Karnataka) voting in the BJP.

[kmkraoind]

Klaus ji,

I suspect that a new Avatar is taking shape. it will be very different from the Rama/Krishna model. it will be more on the lines of Vamana or maybe Parashurama (I know that one's your favorite ).

I am basing my prediction of Vamana on the "instinct" that India is gaining a Critical Mass that will cleans Bharat of deracination. in my mind, the obstacle will be in the form of outside forces which will use immense money/political/social power to create anti-national forces inside India that will have the power to rip apart India if they are not checked.

IMO, India can very effectively neuter these evil forces, but the impediment is outside support, which can undermine this process. so, get rid of these outside forces, and Bharat will take care of itself.

I cannot say weather time has ripen for Lord to take another avatar or not. IMO, there are two requirements for this to happen. One is societal degradation, where followers of SD will suffer immensely and to some extend it has been fulfilled. Second, there need to be a super demonic/negative force or person to unite all bad elements to harass dharmic people to change their subservience and to question the god himself (seems to be condition fulfilled and I do not want to mention the forces, because I do not want to invite moderators ire), and the good people hesitate to talk on behalf of dharmic people, then god descends to restore order. Guess, if China looses out economic battle with west or when Abrahamic religions zeal for their victory IMO are the biggest forces that exist in this world who do not care about natural balance (call it dharma). JMT.

[AjayKK]

Obituary of Sajid Rashid, editor and an "RSS Muslim".

Journalist Sajid Rashid passed away on July 11.

Kahan ho tum?” Sajid’s irritated greeting on the phone never changed. Refusing to read my SMSes and emails, he would insist we talk. And talk invariably ended up as a discussion on our pet peeves against each other - his, that I had “spoilt” his community by writing in their favour no matter what; mine, that he was gradually becoming an RSS Muslim.

Sajid, 57, wasn’t the only Muslim I knew who was critical of his own community, though he was by far the most. In a community intensely articulate about being discriminated against, Sajid stood out. His harshest words were reserved for his own community.

It’s not that he was immune from the discrimination ordinary Muslims face. Soon after I met him, his area was attacked in the 1984 riots. For the first time, he said, he had been made to feel “Muslim”’. So, for the first time in years, Sajid went for namaz, black band round his arm, one of the few community protests he joined. The riots shook him, and he shifted to faraway Thane.

But he soon came back to his old area, never to leave it again. And living among Muslims, Sajid wrote against them. That was what made him stand out. Liberal, progressive Muslims are aplenty, but they are either part of the English-speaking elite, or, they live far away from Muslim ghettos.

But Sajid was not only Urdu speaking, he also lived in the heart of the Muslim area. And he wrote column after column against his own people - against their fanaticism; the blaring of azaan on multiple loudspeakers; against SIMI and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and Arundhati Roy when she supported him; and in favour of Taslima Nasreen.

When Taslima was feted in Mumbai, he was on stage with her. He rejected Nehru’s theory that minority communalism was less dangerous than majority communalism.

The maulanas hated Sajid Rashid; he was proud of that. Unsurprisingly, for his funeral namaz, a maulana had to be specially called. The regular one was scared off by the hostile SMSes circulating after his death. He tried often to convince me that the bearded men I fraternised with spoke ill of Hindus in private; that if they ever established their rule, Hindus would be second-class citizens.

There was one occasion 20 years ago, when he was surrounded by them. He was fighting Assembly elections in Kurla as a Janata Party candidate. As I landed up to cover his campaign, one of them, guiding him through the bylanes, asked me suspiciously, “Are you a Muslim?”

Sajid cringed, and rebuked him, but gently. Fortunately, he realised after one more try at contesting elections, that despite the charm of V P Singh and Mulayam Singh, politics wouldn’t allow him to be himself, and returned to journalism.

But Sajid wasn’t just an iconoclastic journalist, he was also one of Urdu’s best short story writers, winner of many awards. His unorthodox views cost him many jobs; but through the months of unemployment, he never gave up his literary magazine, Nayaa Warak. It’s my turn now to ask Sajid, “Kahan ho tum?” We always feared some fanatic would get him - he had been stabbed once by them. But he died of a bypass, full of fire and the zest for life. His face bore a faint smile even in death - as if he had just delivered one of his favourite abuses against the mullahs.

[brihaspati]

Economic prosperity need not automatically lead to revival. We have had periodic bouts of "prosperity". Each time the "prosperous" used that very prosperity as an excuse to conceded, compromise, vacillate and allow hostile forces not only in, but also allow them to grow within the rashtryia power system.

Economic prosperity need not automatically be linked to non-revival either....In India, we now have both the leading traditionalist mercantilists (Gujarat) and the new-economy mercantilists (Karnataka) voting in the BJP.

That in itself could be a liability. A locking in into a path that may diverge in the long run from national self assertion.

[sanjeevpunj]

I cannot say weather time has ripen for Lord to take another avatar or not. IMO, there are two requirements for this to happen. One is societal degradation, where followers of SD will suffer immensely and to some extend it has been fulfilled. Second, there need to be a super demonic/negative force or person to unite all bad elements to harass dharmic people to change their subservience and to question the god himself (seems to be condition fulfilled and I do not want to mention the forces, because I do not want to invite moderators ire), and the good people hesitate to talk on behalf of dharmic people, then god descends to restore order. Guess, if China looses out economic battle with west or when Abrahamic religions zeal for their victory IMO are the biggest forces that exist in this world who do not care about natural balance (call it dharma). JMT.

Look no further,the Srimad Bhagvatam describes very well the stage that is being set for the advent of the new Avatar.All round deterioration, quarrel amongst self-appointed people in power,and many other signs are already appearing - read here in detail http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto12/chapter2.html

[nachiket]

Ok for all those expecting another Avatar of Lord Vishnu to appear, our people have been in far worse situations in the past without an avatar appearing. Like when muslim rulers were indulging in indiscriminate killing and plunder across the country or when hundreds of thousands were dying in British engineered famines. We had to extricate ourselves out of that and we will have to do the same thing now. So vote for the right people. Fight against corruption. Do whatever you can. That is the only way.

[Prem]

We already have Trishanku Avatar presiding Over Delhi Duvidha Darbar.

DRDO is developing AVATAR and it might as well be called Devdutta , the celestial horse of Kalki so it can evenly globaly deliver the Wrath of Ram swiftly by putting the fear of the Yum in all Mlecchas under the Sun.

[devesh]

the Avatar is not one person doing everything. the Avatar is a unique time when several pro-Indic forces all put up a fight at the same time. one camp might not even know the existence of another pro-Indic camp, but the activities of all the camps together create a tectonic force is restructuring Bharat-varsha and creating a country which is set for another few thousands of years.

[kmkraoind]

Ok for all those expecting another Avatar of Lord Vishnu to appear, our people have been in far worse situations in the past without an avatar appearing. Like when muslim rulers were indulging in indiscriminate killing and plunder across the country or when hundreds of thousands were dying in British engineered famines. We had to extricate ourselves out of that and we will have to do the same thing now. So vote for the right people. Fight against corruption. Do whatever you can. That is the only way.

The Karma is great balancer of the world, no one can escape the Karma. IMO, the Hindus are reaping what they have done to Buddhists some millennium ago. The remarkable thing of Hinduism is that, it stood like a giant pillar and stood the onslaught of Muslim hoards (brutal power) and Christianity (money power). No other regions could withstand such an onslaught.

[svinayak]

IMO, the Hindus are reaping what they have done to Buddhists some millennium ago.

What did they do