Leaving Treadmarkz Across the Universe blog

I have some updates about some blogs, but first I want to mention a blog that is not specifically related to Hinduism. The blogger, “treadmarkz”, left a comment  here, saying that my story also described  happened to him when he “searched for something and found Hinduism“. Thradmarkz was born with spina bifida, and his blog  talks about his experiences, to help others with disability. I was particularly interested in his posting about when the British football coach Glenn Hoddel was sacked for expressing a belief in reincarnation. I remember being outraged by that at the time, even though it was long before I became a Hindu. Maybe something from my past lives was shaping my opinions even then. I think that a lot of people misunderstand what Hinduism says about disability, we can never simplistically say “that person must have led a bad life previously”. Treadmarkz has done us great service by discussing this issue openly to an audience of people with disabilities. If you read this treadmarz, thank you.

Other Blog News

Also, Art’s blog “Bamboo Thoughts” has now permanently moved to a WordPress, and can be found at http://bamboothoughts.wordpress.com/. Art has recently gone through a sort of spiritual malaise, but I am pleased to say that  he is now getting past this. I am sure that he will welcome advice and encouragement.

Aruna Sharan has started a second blog, Sādhanā Day by Day. She is using this for posts about her daily practices and general philosophical questions, leaving her original blog Sons of Gods: The Mahabharata to discuss the Mahabharata and her new book telling the story.

The Mahaprana Blog

A commenter has just informed me about the blog “Mahaprana: Sanskrit, Yoga Philosophy & Transpersonal Counseling“. The blog is  by Joshua Michaell a Saiva Hindu who teaches  Sanskrit, Yoga, Philosophy, and Meditation.  He writes about his travels, tea and a wide variety of subjects with a spiritual connection.

I have added this blog to my page listing blogs by Western Hindus. I have also marked some blogs on the page which have not had recent activity as inactive.

Typical Teasdale cottage

I was thinking about a story I heard in Teasdale, about why the cottages there are painted white. There are several versions of this story, but this is the one that I was told to me by a Teasdale  sheep farmer.

The Baron of Teasdale was out hunting and he got lost when the weather closed in. Even today Teasdale is wild and remote, its possible to walk miles from the nearest sign of human habitation. In those times it must have been a frighting place to be lost in. The Baron wandered in the rain and thick cold fog, until darkness fell,  and he could go no further. He came to a dry stone wall, lay down to shelter the best he could from the wind and the rain, and spent a very cold and uncomfortable night.

When daylight arrived the fog had lifted and he saw that he was sheltering against the garden wall of a farmer’s cottage, one which he actually owned. He sought help from the Tenant farmer, and was welcomed in to get warm and dry near the fire.  and he was given a warming meal.

Later he rewarded the farmer and his family, and decreed that all his properties should be painted white, so that if anyone was caught out in a storm they would be able to see nearby cottages and find refuge more easily.

That story may or may not be true; there are different versions of it on the internet. It struck me though that the Barron thinking that he was lost, then discovering that he was close to shelter is very like the feelings of people who convert to Hinduism. After searching for spiritual meaning we discover that we are already there. In our heart we are Hindu, and always have been. Things come into place, signs that this was meant to be. In our searchf or God we discover that God is inside, we were never parted. Many people who have come to Hinduism express this feeling, that they are discovering that this is what they already were.

I also wonder, should we “paint our houses white”, as a beacon to others? Hinduism has traditionally kept to itself. Though generally welcoming, it has done little to make its presence known to or understood by outsiders. It is like the grey stone house in the fog, you could pass by without knowing that shelter is at hand. Perhaps this is out of suspicion of other beliefs – who don’t only advertise their own houses but given half a chance will drag people from their existing homes and burn them to the ground! Certainly we want to avoid enticing people away from their own beliefs if they are happy and fulfilled in them, but I think that we should let people who search for us know of the great things we have to offer . Perhaps this blog is my attempt to paint my house white.

Image is “Cottage on north side of B6277, Teesdale“, © Copyright Trevor Littlewood and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. 

Why am I doing this on a religious blog? The reason is that the SOPA and PIPA rules will allow anyone to get an American court order to take down a site for copyright violation, even if that violation is in a comment left by someone else. This means they can remove any .com or .org or other non-national address from the internet, leaving people in the rest of the world with no recourse unless they can afford to go to America and appeal the decision. They can also force search engines not to list sites, and service based in the US like WordPress to remove sites. Since contesting this wll cost money, it is quite likely that most actions will be unopposed.

In the past religious groups have used copyright law for monetary gain, to keep secrets, suppress splinter groups,  and most worryingly to avoid criticism and debate.  With SOPA in force if someone didn’t like a comment on a blog they could apply for the site removal. Very possibly the first a blogger would know about it is when the blog disappeared. If the blogger did get any notice it could well be a message saying “Turn up in a court in New York, Honolulu, or Anchorage if you want to object”.

I will blank this site out tomorrow before I go to work and enable it again at 20:00 gmt. I would urge other bloggers to do the same or at least put a notice up.

Edit: As others pointed out WordPress provided its own blanking option. Since I had already posted the times at which I would block and unblock my website I decided to use my own. 

A site for gay and lesbian Hindus

I recently received a comment which said :

“.. But at least some youngsters move to hindu , coz they arent acceptd in Christianity coz they are Gay/bi etc.

Hindu spirituality has nothng to do with it. But Being a hindu or hindutva ,the way of life of a hindu is against such acts as christianity is.

‘Vivekabhudi’ or power to differentiate right-wrong is what which makes human different from animals. And hinduism is for those who have this viveka. So people who dnt even have the diligence of animals are not suited for hinduism.

Such people who misuse of Unorganised structure of hinduism really make us hindus ashamed.

In a second comment the commenter adds:

But I have seen a trend that when people bi/gay nt get acceptd by Catholicism they turn hindu. This is not a place for going when you have no way. Secondly hinduism is clearly in line with nature that female-male equation.

I was going to write a response to the comment, but I realised that the response would be fairly long, and I had a feeling that I should write it as a post. Part of me did not want to write on this controversial subject, some readers are bound to disagree me. I have a feeling that it is not a subject that I should just leave alone though.

Points of Agreement

First of all, I will discuss the areas where I agree wholeheartedly with the commenter. People should not come to Hinduism just because they are not accepted by Catholicism or any other religion. Hinduism is a path towards liberation and God. If you are not going to try to follow this path there is no point in being a Hindu. Unlike some religions, Hinduism does not say there is any merit or promise of “salvation” is attained by just being a Hindu. In fact, theologically someone who wants to make no effort in a religion is much better of following Christianity, where the creed is that you are saved just by belief and being a Christian, and that you will be forgiven however you behave.

Hindus Upset With Brand & Perry Over Marriage Split

Secondly I agree that Hinduism has standards of dharmic behaviour, to which we should all aspire. Sometimes people adopting Hinduism do act in adharmic ways, which is embarrassing to Hindus – though it is not only gay and lesbians who do that.

Russell Brand and Katy Perry had a Hindu wedding. Russell Brand was a regular attendee at the ISKCON temple in Watford.

When Russell and Katy Perry split up, Rajen Zed said:

They should have taken marriage more seriously as it is a sacred rite in Hinduism.

… In Hinduism, marriage is the most important sacrament. The married couple is looked upon as a complete module for worship and participation in cultural and social acts.If celebrities opt for a Hindu wedding, they should be prepared to adhere to the commitment, devotion, responsibility, sanctity and morals, which are attached to it.

I agree with this. We don’t always manage to hold dharma all the time, but at least we should try.

Also, I would add that there is no need for gays and lesbians to leave Christianity simply because they are gay, as there are churches accepting gays and even a gay Catholic forum.

Hindu Views on Homosexuality

There are many views about gays and lesbians among Hindu groups. There are even some groups that cater specially for gays, such as the Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association who’se website image is at the top of this article.  These groups are as far from the mainstream Hindu schools as the gay Catholic forum is from the Vatican though.

There are some things that I believe all Hindus can agree on though. Homosexuals the same as everyone else have the divine spark of God within them. The HAF site quotes Swami Viveknanda on its article on homosexuals:

“Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship or psychic control or philosophy – by one or more or all of these and be free.”

All will eventually attain moksha, homosexuals will not be damned eternally because of this birth.

Also I think that all Hindus agree that anyone who has homosexual tendencies but remains celibate is as virtuous as a heterosexual renunciate. Some Hindus say that this is the only dharmic course for homosexuals, though many go beyond this. In an article in Hinduism today about Hindu attitudes to a proposed constitutional change in Guyana’s law, Amar Ramessar, president of the Yuvaa Shakti Sangh at the Radha Krishna Mandir, says:

“I would urge any person to live a dignified life, which leads to a peaceful coexistence with the society. Prejudices are born out of ignorance and fear; our work can help in the education necessary to overcome them.”

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes in Dancing With Shiva:

Sons and daughters who are gay may not benefit from marriage, and should be taught to remain loyal in relationships and be prepared to cope with community challenges.

This is not just liberalism, in many other ways Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami is conservative. I believe it is a recognition that for homosexuals, trying to live in a hetrosexual relationship would lead to disaster and adharmic behaviour. Not everyone can live the life of a renunciate. For the wrong people, attempting to do so will lead to hidden shameful illicit affairs – and this applies to both homosexuals and heterosexuals.

My personal opinion is that followers of Satguru Subramuniyaswami should see his advice to gays  as an instruction to the rest of us to  treat gays who follow his advice with respect. If they are having long term relationships, doing their duty to the community, God, and holy people, then they are acting dharmically. Whatever karma brought them to this situation they are acting in the best way possible to them.

Bisexuals

You may have noticed that I have not mentioned bisexuals here. It seems to me that a bisexual is really in the same situation as a hetrosexual. Hetrosexuals have the duty to be chaste in marriage. They may at times find themselves attracted to members of the opposite sex, but it is their duty to ignore this.

For bisexuals its essentially the same situation – except they may also occasionally find themselves attracted to members of the same sex too! Again they must ignore it.

I see no reason why most bisexuals cannot live the same dharma as a hetrosexual, choosing either the path of a renunciate or a housholder. Occasionally a bisexual might meet a soulmate of the same sex, who they cannot live without. In this case they should follow Gurudeva’s advice for homosexuals, and live a dharmic commited relationship with that person

The low resolution image of screenshot of “the Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association” website is considered to be fair use. Similarly the image of Russell Brand and Katy Perry is a low resolution copy of an image from the W. E. N. N website article ”Hindus upset with Brand and Perry over Marriage Split”, which is considered to be fair use.

Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir

Today i visited our mandir for the first time in over three weeks. I usually try to attend weekly, but a combination of having the flu, being away for a work related conference, and visiting my father kept me away. I can see why Gurudeva says we should visit the temple on a regular basis. I felt that I was being welcomed by the devas, and spiritually refreshed.

Image is a low resolution copy of image on the Mandir’s site, and considered fair use.

ridiculously reverent blog

Thanks to the  commenter ‘S’ for letting me know about this blog.

The Ridiculously Reverent  blog is by kāmya, an American woman living in Canada. she is a vedic Hindu, a devout devotee of Indra. She writes as a devotee to share her love of Indra and her ideas.  She is currently blogging about a pilgrimage to India and Nepal, I will be interested to see the itinerary and what she gains from it spiritually.

I have added this blog to my page listing blogs by Western followers of Sanātana Dharma.

Sons of Gods: The Mahabharata blog

The author of this blog, Aruna Sharan, left a comment om my post “Not all Western Hindus are white Hindus”, telling me about her blog.

She is a is a black Hindu who grew up in Guyana, South America, and a follower of path is Vedanta Advaita, as taught by Ramana Maharshi. The blog is mainly about her monumental effort to produce an English version of the Mahābhārata story. She is aiming to produce a version  which  will be  “a book the length of an average novel, a continuous story distilled down to its vital essence but dramatised so as to captivate the reader, with living, breathing characters, spiritually alive and written in an accessible style yet retaining the powerful spirit of the original”. 

I particularly enjoyed reading her page “Cover Art“. Here she describes how on seeing a picture that she wanted to use as the cover of her book on an old calendar , she started the almost impossible task of finding the author and obtaining permission to use it. All she had to go on was a signature of the author! However as she investigated things just fell into place, as they so often seem to when someone is on a spiritual path.

This is an established, well written blog and well worth a visit. I have added it to my page listing blogs by Western followers of Hinduism.

Rāja Haṃsah blog

Thanks to the commenter ‘S’ for pointing out this blog by a Westerner.

This blog by Ananda is an extended study and comentary on the Aparokshānubhuti , a short text by Ādi Śaṅkara. He says that he will be “presenting what, in my opinion, are the most relevant verses as an aid to self-inquiry. I have added  it to my page of blogs by Western devotees of Sanātana dharma.

The Hilltop Anthology blog

The Hilltop Antholoy is  personal blog is the story of the spiritual journey of a woman in Kentucky. The blog conveys thoughts and ideas in a poetic style.

I have added this blog to my page listing blogs by Western followers of Sanātana Dharma.  I have also moved The Accidental Hindu blog from the “not yet classified” section to the Neo-Hinduism section. After clarification from T.A.H. I have moved The Accidental Hindu to the Smarta section.

I should say that I have no connection with Agniveer, and know nothing more than I read on a short visit to the site. This post should not be seen as a recommendation of either the movement nor the event; I don’t know enough about either to recommend them personally. Just take it as a pointer for you to look and decide.

I decided to post this article after a short email exchange with Satyen. I pointed out to him that this is very short notice, and that many people who had converted from Christianity would still be visiting with family at the time of the event.  His response was that he wrote:

…. as a devotee of the ultimate reality, I am duty bound to apprise all and sundry about the event without any attachment to success or failure. Those, with their Hindu samskar gathered from their previous births, may be attracted to this event. though very few will be able to make it, most of them will come to know this activity and will see the rays of an earthen lamp if not of the Sun.
…
So, try to disseminate the info as much as you can as the service of the ultimate truth. Leave the rest on Ishwar.

I can see that he is writing from a God-conscious state. So decided to follow the advice of the last paragraph of his email: disseminate the info and leave the rest to Ishwara

Aum

Hinduism Today Jan 2012

I must have missed it at the time, but I see that this blog, the White Hindu blog, and the Bamboo Thoughts blog were mentioned in the Digital Dharma section of the Hinduism Today Magazine in March. It seems only right to mention the Hinduism Today magazine in return.

This magazine is available both digitally and as a real paper edition. Though the digital version is free, the paper edition is really nice to have, with high quality glossy pictures. It always has interesting articles, and has a spiritual feel to it. In fact one reader, Alok Lathi commented that “Simply having Hinduism Today on your shelf is a blessing, even if you don’t read it!”. 

He says:

“Simply having Hinduism Today on your shelf is a blessing,” he said, “even if you don’t read it!”
…
“just as Mother’s years of sadhana generated a shakti that bears fruit to this day, Hinduism Today, because of the practices done by those who create it, gives off an energy that enlivens all of dharma and countless souls everywhere, far beyond its circle of readers. Without it, there would be a hole there.”

I have to declare an interest here, as the Hinduism Today magazine is produced by the Himalayan Academy at Kauai’s Hindu Monastery. This is the lineage that I am following. That said, the Hinduism Today magazine takes great care to be objective and respect all lineages.

Aum