Buddha’s teachings offer solution to global problems

Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted the Buddha had preached about abandoning war, defeat and victory for eternal peace, and said enmity can never be countered with enmity

NEW DELHI: Lord Buddha’s teachings are the basis for solutions to the greatest challenges confronting the world, including war, economic instability, terrorism and climate change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the first Global Buddhist Summit on Thursday.

Addressing the inaugural session of the meet that was attended by Buddhist spiritual leaders from across the world, diplomats and representatives of influential organisations, PM Modi said the Buddha had provided a solution centuries ago for the war and unrest that the world is currently grappling with.

The two-day summit, jointly hosted by the culture ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), is being seen as part of the Indian government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s credentials as a leading player in Buddhism, especially at a time when rival China has sought to host similar meetings.

The IBC is supported by the Indian government and more than 300 delegations were set to participate in the summit. Some 170 foreign delegates from countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Mexico are participating, and Vietnam and Sri Lanka have sent large delegations for the summit, whose theme is “Responses to contemporary challenges: Philosophy to praxis”.

“It is universally accepted that today’s era is the most challenging time of this century. Today…two countries are at war for months [and] the world is going through economic instability. Threats such as terrorism and religious fanaticism are attacking the soul of humanity. A challenge like climate change is looming large over the existence of humanity,” Modi said, speaking in Hindi.

But amid all this, there are millions who have faith in the Buddha and believe in the welfare of all living beings, and “this faith is the biggest strength of the earth”, Modi said in a speech peppered with quotations from Buddhist scriptures. He noted the Buddha had preached about abandoning war, defeat and victory for eternal peace, and said enmity can never be countered with enmity.

Lord Buddha also said happiness lies in unity and living together with all people, Modi emphasised. “There is no problem in the modern world whose solution we cannot find in the teachings of the Buddha hundreds of years ago. The Buddha had provided a solution centuries ago to the war and unrest the world is suffering from today,” he said.

“The path of the Buddha is the path of the future and of sustainability. Had the world followed the Buddha’s teachings, it would not have faced the problem of climate change,” Modi said, adding that this problem arose because countries stopped thinking about others and future generations.

Every person can contribute towards fighting climate change, Modi said while pointing to India’s “Lifestyle For Environment” or LiFE initiative, which has been influenced by the teachings of the Buddha.

The Indian government has worked to take the Buddha’s teachings to the people, and this includes steps such as the development of the Buddhist circuit in India and Nepal, rejuvenating pilgrimage centres such as Sarnath and Kushinagar, building an India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage at Lumbini with India’s cooperation, he said.

The Buddha’s legacy also inspired India’s moves to help other countries affected by calamities such as the recent earthquake in Turkey. “This emotion of 1.4 billion Indians is being seen, understood and accepted by the world,” he said.

The IBC is helping create new opportunities for like-minded countries to spread Buddhism and peace, and discussions on how to handle current challenges hold a ray of hope for the world. Countries have to abandon narrow thinking and focus on poverty-stricken people and other nations affected by a lack of resources, as this is the only way to establish a better world, Modi said.

The session was also addressed by culture minister G Kishan Reddy and law minister Kiren Rijiju, while ministers of state for culture Arjun Ram Meghwal and Meenakshi Lekhi, and International Buddhist Confederation secretary general Dhammapiya were present on the occasion.

The prime minister visited a photo exhibition and offered flowers to a Buddha statue. He also offered monk’s robes or “chivar dana” to 19 eminent monks, including representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, South Korea, Australia and Mexico.

Arati – Deep Symbolism Behind Waving Lamp

The term Arati is derived from the Sanskrit word Aratrika, meaning an act that dispels darkness. Arati is an occasion for the devotee to acknowledge God as the illuminator of his life. Usually performed using small lighted lamps, the worshiper waves the lamp in a clockwise direction around the deity.

After waving he holds out the flame to other devotees present, who cup the flame and place their hands on their foreheads invoking god’s blessings. The unsaid prayer is that ‘the light that lit up the god may enlighten me with nobility in my every endeavor.’

Arati invokes the five elements of nature called Panchabhutas – air, water, fire, earth and space. The famous Ganga arati done alongside the Ganges in Varanasi explicitly symbolizes this significance.

The lighted lamp represents fire, the flowers the earth, the white yak-tailed fan represents space, the waving of the peacock feathered fan stands for air, and water finds its presence in the conch shell which in sprinkled over the assembled devotees. The accompanying joyous paraphernalia to an arati spreads blissful warmth of devotion.

The rhythmic singing, the ceremonious ringing of bells, drums and gongs, the odorous perfume of camphor, synchronized clapping, and the sublime burning of incense, all awaken the senses of devotees.

Lighted camphor carries particular meaning. Upon lighting up, camphor leaves no residue, implying the highest form of prayer, ‘I offer you everything of me in this birth so there nothing may be left of me for a rebirth.”

It is truly a prayer for leading from darkness to light.

Who are the Grama Devatas?

Is the system of local guardian deities has the sanction of scripture?

Grama devata is a Sanskrit term for the guardian deity of a village, town, or even city. While it is the common truth that God is everywhere and present at all times, there is a different kind of strength and peace in knowing there is a god specific for you and is present right here and now. In villages, the local deities known as Grama devatas inspire such faith.

The universal teacher and the advaitic master Adi Sankara who had established the Amnaya Peetham at Sringeri, is said to have consecrated four guardian deities for the protection of Sringeri village and the surrounding areas. These deities, Kalabhairava, Hanuman, and Kali as Durgamba and Kalikamba, are worshipped even today with regular pujas in the Vedic style.

Valmiki Ramayana describes in Sundara Kanda that Hanuman landed in Lanka of Sita and came to the entrance gates, when he was met by Lankalakshmi, the city’s guardian deity. She blocked his path into the city, and demanded to know who he was and what he was doing, thus fulfilling her role as a guardian.Hanuman who was on a dharmic mission gave the answer by striking a blow to her and entered the city.

The shrines of grama devatas are usually located in the outskirts of the village, symbolic of blocking entry for evil spirits and diseases.

These deities are invoked by prayers, mantras tantras. Generally, these devatas are in female forms.

People set out on journeys after Praying to grama devata. Where they are not able to fulfill any vow at a temple faraway, they pray to the grama devata of their village and seek pardon.

The priest of such grama devata shrines are mostly appointed by vedic scholars in accordance with the rules of Agama shastras. Along with the invocation, yantras with bijaksharas are placed beneath the images of the deities at an auspicious time.

Annually, on the day of such consecration, villagers conduct a Pavitrotsavam- a solemn ceremony to ward off any error or shortfall in worship during the year with a view to maintaining the sanctity of the temple.

Prithvi Devata is primarily worshipped as the guardian deity as the village agrarian economy depends on earth and the local crop. For instance, if the predominant village crop is gongura, the popular green vegetable that is used to make delicious pickles, the local guardian deity is prayed as Gogulamma or, if the crop is jowar (sorghum). Jonnallamma, and so on.

Since their livelihood depends mainly on the crops, the villagers have the custom of offering their first produce to that devata before carrying on the usual business. Likewise, the Gangamma, or the goddess of water is consecrated locally.

Villages name the local deity in honour of the natural element of fire, as Suramma, or Irukallamma, which symbolises both sun and moon.

The Poleramma to keep a watch on movements of people from and to the village, Nagesvaramma or Puttamma to protect the villagers from snake bites. Besides appeasing natural elements, villagers name local guardian deities for specific protections from diseases. This practice can be seen in Tamilnadu where, Maari Amman was considered as a causative force for smallpox, chicken pox, mumps and measles.

Maari in Tamil means rain. Since the rainfall cooled the otherwise hot area and protected people from summer sicknesses like viral infections, people started worshipping the rain goddess as Maari Amman.

Karuppu Sami is one of the regional Tamil Hindu male deities popular among the rural social groups of Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala. Most officiating priests are non-Brahmins and derive from local lineages that had initiated the cult generations ago.

Karuppu Sami is also worshipped in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Guadeloupe, and Martinique under the name Dee Baba, Sangani Baba, Maangadu Karupu, or Sangili Karuppar. Offerings of cigarettes, camphor, biscuits, butter, cloves, ghee, and alcohol as well as a sacrifice of a black chicken or goat are made to him here.

There is Bodyguard Muniswaran Temple in Chennai. In 1919 CE, labourers from North Arcot district brought the idol of Lord Muneeswarar to Madras city. They placed it under a neem tree adjoining the military barracks of the Britishers. One of the British Commanders showed his objection. The same day he met with an accident. He started believing that the idol has some powers so he let it be there. From the day many devotees around Chennai worship this Lord and constructed a temple around the idol. They believe that the main deity of the temple Lord Muneeswarar will save them from accidents. So the deity got the name of Bodyguard Muneeswarar. This temple is now visited by thousands of devotees each day.

There is strange custom where devotees offer Tobacco cigarette to the prime deity.

There are reportedly about 101 grama devatas in various parts of different states, which are all symbolic of the faith that once you surrender to the love of the deity consider the image as the local mother of everyone in the village, you leave your worries to the higher power and sleep peacefully.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says whatever be your concept of God, be it with form or formless, hold fast to it and ardently worship the divine. At the same time, be not conceited that your concept alone of divine is final. In the course of your sadhana, you will come to know by the divine grace that the words attributes and forms are inexhaustible. The approach of worshipping the multifarious forms of divinity through grama devatas finds the sanction in Bhagavan Gita. Lord Krishna declares that worshipping him in whatever way is acceptable to him, as these several ways of understanding the Lord by the devotees are all their respective jnana yagnas or sacrifices of Knowledge. Others, who are engaged in the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, diverse in many, and in the universal form.

83 Year Old Cave-Dwelling Sadhu Donates ₹1 Crore Towards Construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir

An 83-year-old Sadhu, who lives in a cave in Rishikesh, has donated ₹1 crore towards the construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya. The donation was made to the Visva Hindu Parishad (VHP), which has been collecting money for the temple construction. Saint Swami Shankar Das, 83, has been living in the cave for the last 60 years.

So the question arose as to how they raised this money. Meanwhile, he has clarified that he has collected the money from donations made by devotees and followers in the cave of his guru Tatwale Baba and is now giving it for the construction of Ram temple.

“I’ve been living in the cave for over half a century. As a Sadhu, I live on donations from the devotees visiting the cave. When I came to know about the VHP campaign, I decided to donate the amount for Ram Mandir for which we all have been dreaming for long,” said Swami Shankar Das while speaking to the media.

The bank officials expressed surprise when the seer offered the cheque for ₹1 crore. Upon checking, they found that his account had the requisite balance. The officials then contacted the local RSS functionaries who reached the bank and helped Das donate the amount in the Ram Mandir Trust.

Randeep Pokhriya, in-charge of VHP’s Ram Mandir donation campaign in Uttarakhand, hailed Das’s act and said, “More than collecting donations, the motive of the campaign is to generate a feeling of harmony and service among the Ram Bhakts like Das.”

“We have so far collected donations worth about ₹5 crore which is three times the target we had in mind. However, it is not about the amount collected but the number of people coming forward through their devotion for Lord Ram to help in building his temple in Ayodhya,” said Pokhriya.

He said they have been receiving donations from a cross section of society. A 10-year-old girl in Nainital donated ₹2,500 for the temple from savings in her piggy bank, gets in to news too.

The VHP had earlier said that they would visit every home in this holy land under the campaign to collect donations for Ram Temple.

The Hindu body has formed various committees to look after the donations to be collected in the campaign. Under this, a team visiting a village would have to deposit the donation money collected to the specified bank account of VHP within 48 hours.

According to Swami Shankar Das, he wanted to make a secret donation. However, upon the request of the bank officials, the amount of donation has been announced to inspire many to build the temple. Swami Shankar Das is called Fakkad Baba by the locals.

When a person pins faith in God and prays Him, the bhakthi in him develops

Ravana was a great Vedic scholar. Hiranyakasipu was performing severe penance

The start of great works begins with good words like ‘Tapaswadhyaya’ in Sri Ramayana and ‘Dharmakshetre Kurukshetre’ in Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Dhrutharashtra feels dejected over this because this is Dharmakshetra — a place of righteousness — and he says whereas my sons are unrighteous, wicked, evil-minded, no place for them here and they may be destroyed. But still out of sheer attachment, love and affection, Dhrutharashtra is fond of them and expects them to win in the battle.

When a person pins faith in God and prays Him, the bhakthi in him develops. The person will inculcate good qualities, worship Him continuously and derive His blessings

Should we then learn vedas, sastras undertake penance, give charity and practice such other deeds or can practising of bhakthi alone be enough? The learning of Vedas/Sastras, practising of penance/giving away charity and all other acts without bhakthi may yield results not lasting for long. They may not develop the very bhakthi. But practising of bhakthi may make a person get all the above good deeds.

Ravana was a great Vedic scholar. Hiranyakasipu was performing severe penance. Karna was known for charity. But they all did these without bhakthi. So they were bereft of His blessings and slayed. Arjuna did not learn Vedas like Ravana nor did he undergo such a severe penance as Hiranyakasipu. He was not known for charity as Karna either. But the unshaken faith and the deep devotion that Arjuna had with Lord Krishna enabled him conquer in the war. Lord Krishna made Arjuna seat along with him in the chariot.

The Bhagavad Gita is considered as Brahma Vidya coeval to Upanishads. It dwells in more about liberation from attachment, desires and worries. Through learning of the Bhagavad Gita, we can remove the hurdles standing in the practice of devotion. It is all the effect of good deeds done by a person over various births previously and through the effect of doing such good deeds in this birth also, the person develops bhakthi in him, practice continuously and derive His blessings, said Sri Krishna Premi swamigal in a discourse.

700-year-old temple being restored in J&K’s Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir Government has started renovating all heritage religious sites in the Kashmir region

The Jammu and Kashmir Government has started renovating all heritage religious sites in the Kashmir region. The 700-year-old Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple in the Baba Demb area of Srinagar is being renovated and restored to its original glory. The project is expected to be completed by April this year.

Located inside a water body on an Island in Srinagar’s Baba Demb area, Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple was completely damaged in the 2014 floods and now the archaeology department is making sure to restore the temple to its exact architecture of when it was made.

”Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple, which is being restored in the Baba Demb area. I opened the temple for the first time after decades in 2004 with the support of the Majority community, otherwise, it wasn’t possible to do so at that point in time. But the majority community has always given support to these things, and now Sharda temple has been opened as well, it’s a great step. The area will be developed and a lot of people from the south will come to visit. it will be better for Kashmir, and it will be peaceful again, ” said Sanjay Saraf, leader of Lok Jan Shakti Party.

The government is spending over 16 million Indian rupees on the temple and the project has been handed over to the Roads and Building department. And all the renovation on the temple is being done while in consultation with the Kashmiri Pandit community. The work on the temple is being completed in three phases.

”This temple was damaged in the 2014 floods, these works are generally done by the archaeology department, and they have asked us to work on it. We are the R&B Department. The total project cost is 1.62 crores. There are two parts to the renovation, the first is the main part of the temple, the restoration has to be done exactly to what it looked like earlier. We are using the same materials and making sure it’s made exactly the way it was. The second part is the guard room construction. We are hopeful to finish this by April end, ” said Muzaffar Ahmad, AEE, Roads and Building department.

Kashmir has always shown the best examples of brotherhood to the rest of the world. The caretaker of this 700-year-old Mangaleshwar Bhairav Temple is a Muslim man. Riyaz Ahmad has been taking care of Hindu temples for a long time and it’s been over a year since he has been taking care of this temple.

”I am thankful to the government that they have come forward to restore this temple which got damaged in the 2014 floods. I have been working with a Hindu organisation since 2008 and I am grateful to the government that they have decided to restore the temple. I want the sound of Morning Azaan and temple bells together to bring the communities together. It used to be like that earlier and it should be again like that only. I request all the Pandit community members to come back and live happily here. If the Sikhs in Punjab are cultivating rice for the rest of the country, why can’t I take care of Hindu temples? We are one, Hindu, Muslim Sikh, everyone, ” said Riyaz Ahmad, Caretaker Temple.

Since the temple is located on an Island, the workers faced a lot of hardship transporting the construction material to the temple courtyard. Everything was taken in boats with utmost care.