Happy Janmashtami | Lord Krishna’s birth celebrations.

Hindus around the world are celebrating the appearance of Lord Krishna on this day in 3102 BCE.  In the west Krishna became a known figure with the Hare Krishna movement in the 60’s. Happy Janmashtami, ya'll.

Every human goes thru three major phases of life; birth, life and death.  It is also defined as creation, sustenance/preservation and destruction, and is acknowledged and honored in the Hindu tradition. They see God in each aspect of life as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Brahma reflects the creator form of God, and Vishnu represents the preserver aspect of creation that inspires one to be righteous, and Shiva brings a finite ending to life. It is a part of the life cycle: every human is born, lives on and finally disintegrates. Much of Hindu philosophy revolves around the preservation aspect of life; two of the most common and well known reflections are in the persona of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama, both incarnations of Vishnu.  It is not multiplicity of God, but multiplicity of his (her or it) role in relation to our lives.

As a Muslim, I see Krishna as an exemplary human, a representation of finite wisdom, a man who I admire, and am inspired by his teachings encapsulated in Bhagvad Gita as a dialogue between him and Arjuna on the battle field of Kurukshetra. It is one’s jihad, the internal struggle to be righteous against the temptations to take revenge, do wrong, and or holding on to one’s angry reactions. At the end do the right thing for the common and universal good, as we all are a part of the large family. In Islamic terms, we were all from the same couple created into different nations, communities and groups and asked to know each other to create harmony and peace.
I am sharing the picture of a Muslim woman with her kids dressed up as Bala (Youth)  Krishna in the City of Varanasi which just celebrated its pluralistic heritage, and I regret not attending the event. (http://foundationforpluralism.blogspot.com/2014/08/varanasi-spreading-inclusive-and_12.html ). This picture has gone viral.

Click on pictures to get larger versions

 

A true Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew or other don’t see each other’s religions as a barrier but a different experience to be in tune with the spirit of the creation. Most people get that right, and a few in each group don’t get it, and sulk in the arrogance of being superior without realizing that arrogance ends with one’s last breath, and no one is superior from that point forward.

This appeals to me a lot when people of different faiths admire each other’s traditions and become a part of it, without being religious. Religion is a personal belief in how an individual relates with his or her creator, the social structure brings people together.  Apparently I was dressed up as Baby Krishna when I was a toddler, and have been blessed to visit his birth place in Mathura.

If you are blessed to have an open heart and mind to stand up for every one of his creation. You will enjoy the life to the maximum. It was my pleasure to take up  an issue against Russians who wanted to ban Bhagvad Gita (http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/12/bigotry-against-hinduism-in-russia.html) and wrote to the Mayor of Moscow to give back the Krishna Temple land they had usurped and restoration of Krishna Temple in Lahore (http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/01/krishna-temple-lahore.html) and there is a whole lot more we all can do collectively.

Open your heart and minds, and cherish the celebration s of fellow humans.  Happy Janamashtami!

More about it in my article at Huffington Post:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/sri-krishna-birthday-celebration-janmashtami_b_1762997.html


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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Prime Minister Modi's speech on 68th Independence day.

The following piece has two parts, first part is PM's speech on independence day with notes laden with key phrases he used, it was an excellent speech given the exclusive background he is raised with, indeed, he has come a long ways.

The 2nd part shows his lack of inclusivism in his speech - he was raised in an irresponsible exclusivist education system that does not promote cohesiveness. Modi and several Indians are a product of that system, Hindus and Muslims alike. We cannot blame them, but we have to work on changing the system, all of us are responsible. Like he said in his speech to ask ourselves, what am I doing to contribute towards the well being of India? Here is my contribution.

NARENDRA MODI SPEECH ON AUGUST 15 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o1cxHe9TeD8

It was a good speech - a comprehensive speech covering most aspects of the nation building.  It is good to hear good Hindi.  The notes were made as I was listening, and this has become a habit of mine to make notes of key words and phrases.  I have not done the grammar or spell check… oddly Modi caught himself with little grammar mistake around 24:15, nice touch, otherwise his language is perfect.

04:50 Mentions a variety of contributors by titles  

17:11 mera kya, mujhe kya ( I have been writing about this mantra )

18:53 Gender equality - demanding accountability from boys
21:10 Ashoka's switch from Yudh to Budh

22:29 Call for non-violence

23:22 Hum ne kya paya -10 years moratorium on communal riots

24:15 Female Infanticide - beton ki aas may betiyon ko bali mat chadayein
        Grammar mistake - budha maa baap, but corrects himself to budhay maa baap

27:12 sports medals - 29 girls brought medals out of 36

28:00 vikas ka ek hi raasta -  good governance and development

32:00 Youth employment and steel manufacturing

34:00 Global thinking

35:00 Emphasized on made in India

37:35 Bhagat Singh hi ki seva nahin hai ( I  have redefined Patriotism and like this)

37:45 Jain Jawan Jai Kisan - seva anna ke bhandar bharna

38:43 call on Innovation, make it here instead of importing ( need infrastructure)

39:24 zero defect zero effect - no compromise no returns and no side effects.

40:36 Change image from saparay to IT professional  - sapna hai - digital India

42:04 Conduct business on mobil phone - digital India ka sapna -

        e-governance, effective governance, IT logon ko jodti hai - digital India

44:06 Tourism - and its multiplier effect.

44:48 Gandagi rukwat hai.... safai ka kaam shuru hoga - commitment  is good

45:45 Gandhi - 2019 Jayanti - gandagi to be gone - happens with janbhagiyadari

46:47 Dignity of women - lavatory - toilet

48:10 My nay gharibi dekhi hai

38:43 Toilet in all schools separate from girls - 

38: 48 spend your money in building toilet in    schools By August 15, 2015

50:00 Opportunities - naya vichar - kai yojnayein -

            Development by area - desh banana hai to gaon say shuru karo 2016
            Adapt one town in each district - to make it exemplary

53:19 Create a model town - blue print will roll out on October 16 - JP Narayan's b/d

55:39 Center and states to make a team

56:20 Puranay ghar ki repairi ke bajaye ek naya ghar banayien

56:50 Nai, nai, nai... new institute ki disha may aagay badhien

58:25 Vivekananda meri bharat mata jaag uthi hai, my meri aankhon say dekh raha hoon

00:00 Ajadi ki jaisi ladai laday mil jul ke laday, tab to hum alag nahin thay...
        gandhi thay sardar thay... ignored Kalam Azad ( he is poor in history)
        Gharibi ko door karien

02:30 Pados ke deshon say mil kar gharibi ko ladien

03:35 challenged to work - pradhan sevak

05:22 Jai Hind

Modi could have done much better. May be it is in not his blood to be inclusive in his language. At the very beginning, when he recited the contributions of a variety of things to the nation, he could have included Sufis contribution along with rishis and munis. Then around 60th Minute he recites Gandhi and Sardar, but does not mention Nehru, because of whom we have a firm and solid democracy, and he does not mention Maualana Azad who lay the foundation for IIT's that shines India. He does mention Shastri and JP, but fails to mention the space program particularly during digitizing India talk, and he forgets Vinoba Bhave’s bhoodan movement during the Kisan segment.

I hope he gets a better speech writer next time, who can paint a fuller image of India and not an adhoori tasveer.

Towards the end when he was saying our nation is the nation of youth, the following song was on my mind… and had to listen to it before I go to sleep at about 2:45 AM

A desh hai veer jawanon ka

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWnPJY_o7tw&feature=related

ADDED

Kailas,

Good to hear your wise words, indeed, it was a good speech. Yes, the overall speech was inspiring and uplifting, its more like the state of the union speech. I have a greater interest in India than most Indians living outside India.

What do I want? Nothing but goodness for my country. I may be out of India, but as the saying goes, India will never go out of me. Whatever I write, speak, think or do, it is with the idea that every Indian should enjoy his freedom to eat, drink, wear and believe whatever the hell he or she wants to. I spend an inordinate amount of time on India - this forum Dallas Indians is around for 11 years now, it takes time to keep it, my website http://mikeghouseforIndia.blogspot.com has a lot of information about India... prior to that you know the work I have done. Remember this is all voluntary work and I have nothing to gain but hear rude comments now and then, and positive comments like yours, thank you.  I take them all as my Bachcahy and do not hold any grudge against any one.
Almost every other thing I write always highlights the pluralistic ethos of India in all my work be it Huffington post, Dallas Morning News, radio, tv or my speeches or wherever..

WHY?

My interest is our social fabric vis-a-vis pluralism - learning to respect the otherness of others. Shame on us, the generations after independence don't know much about each other - whether you are a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian or the other, you know almost nothing about the other, and whatever you know is bad things. There is a flaw in our education system. My Middle school social studies Urdu book had two pages on every religion, I wish it comes back and our future generations are taught to learn about the beauty of every faith.

To understand Modi's deficiency in inclusive language, you will understand it better in one of the most read articles on my blog - Can a Muslim Indian become Prime Minister of India?http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2012/05/can-muslim-indian-become-prime-minister.html

Many, but not all Muslims are consumed with their self-interest and focus on their dire needs, it will be a long time before a Muslim could become Prime Minister of India. There are millions of Muslims like me,  to whom, India's interests are prime, but not enough of us at this time to make the change. 

Modi's un-inclusive language is not his fault, he was raised that way. He got many historical facts wrong during his campaign, and he was taught limited version of Hinduism, and not the universal aspect of it, being a Vivekananda fan myself, I am amazed at Swamiji for not expounding on the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum fully, may be he did not feel the need for it at that time. Had he done that, it would have become a template for RSS, without it, Modi's  India's history does not include any Muslim, Sikh or Christian contributions towards its richness, and as such it does not come in his language. I don't blame him for that, but being the Prime Minister of entire nation, I expect him not only to say, " I am prime Minister of every Indian" but include that in his language, he sets the tone. Our generation was molded by Jawahar Lal Nehru, thanks to him for giving the values of secularism and giving us a stable democracy. Now Modi can put a stamp of Inclusivism and Pluralism on the next generation, he lacks the foundation and some day, I will do my work.

Take a look at our own behavior - If the President issues Diwali Greetings or mentions about India or Hinduism in his speech, we gloat and praise him for his inclusiveness. Don't you think the Adivasis to Zoroastrians and everyone in between will feel buyoed by the recognition?

We have a responsibility to be inclusive, teach inclusiveness, and at the end, each one of us would live a better life and our India wins. Yes, I will continue to monitor Pope Francis, Narendra Modi and Barack Obama, three individuals who can bring a positive change to their respective populations. If we don't speak it, no one will get it.

You might cherish one of my vision of India at: http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2014/08/happy-independence-day-india.html

 

Mike Ghouse committed to building cohesive inclusive societies, where everyone feels a part of the nation building and not excluded. More about him at www.MikeGhouse.net

Happy Independence day India

My dear Fellow Indians,

Congratulations!  As we proudly celebrate our 67 years of independence,  we must com mitt ourselves to genuinely free ourselves from pettiness, free ourselves from our prejudices towards fellow beings, free ourselves from treating a fellow Indian less than ourselves and we must certainly shelve the arrogance that God favors us and not others.

We must also commit to defend the freedom of others, we must cherish the otherness of others and let every one freely breath, drink, eat, wear or believe whatever suits them, and crush the thoughts of forcing others to behave the way we want them to behave. No one shall be a slave in free India.

An Indian is an Indian is an Indian, period.

As a nation, collectively we are Adivasis, Atheists, Bahais, Bos, Buddhists, Chrsitians, Dalits, Hindus, Jains, Jewish, Muslim, Sikhs, Tribals, Zoroastrians and every possible grouping. We are Brown, Black, White, Yellow and green with envy, magar phir bhi dil hai Hindustani.

Our Motherland is represented by every race, nationality, ethnicity, language, culture and religion. We see God as one, none and many; and in every form; male, female, genderless and non-existent, being and non-being, nameless and with innumerable names.

We are proud of our heritage - a mulch-faith, multicultural, multi-regional and multi-linguistic society, where we have come to accept and respect every which way people have lived their lives. For over 5000 years, India has been a beacon of pluralism - it has embraced Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Baha’i and Zoroastrianism to include in the array of the indigenous religions; Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. 

We may want to consciously start thinking and acting as one people, one people within a nation and a community and one people globally. It’s like home when we are conflict free.  I do hope each one of us purges any bias towards the other, there is joy in being free from ill-will. Try to be free from it this day forward… free from anything that prevents you from being a part of the whole. 

Our combined philosophies believe in one world ; Hinduism describes the world as Vasudaiva Kutumbukum, the whole world is one family, the idea of Ek Onkar(one) in Sikhism, you are all created from the same couple as Quraan puts it and Jesus embraced every one regardless of who any one is... similar philosophies are grounded in all our religions. 

A few don't follow their own heritage and resort to theivary, loot, murder, terrorism, rioting, rapes, infanticide and other evils that destroy the fabric of the society,  but a majority of every group goes about their own way, living their life with struggles and ease and don't even bother others. We should build upon the 99% of population and not on the less than 1% that does not follow any principles.

On this day, and every day from here forward, make a pledge to yourselves to talk about in terms of we Indians - and not Malyalee, Gujarati, Bengali.... or Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Isaee. Don't expect others to jump and say the same, give them the time and if you are consistent for at least a year, you will see others emulating you.

India led the way to the freedom movement, since 1947 every country has been liberated from colonialism. Indian democracy is a shining example to the world, where the people have peacefully transferred the powers.

We are inherently secular and economically capitalistic. We believe in "live-and-let-live" life style, which is the essence of capitalism.

Through the years we have expressed the highest degree of maturity on handling extreme situations; the more divergent opinions we hear, the larger our heart grows, the bigger our embrace would be and we can cushion more differences. Let’s continue to honor the concept that there is always another side to the story, as finding the truth is our own responsibility. I am proud of my heritage and am proud to be an Indian-American.

Click and enjoy:

Our National Anthem National Anthem 2 Twenty Patriotic songs on click India's Map

Jai Hind

Mike Ghouse

Committed to cohesive societies
www.MikeGhouse.net
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/

PATRIOTIC SONGS

• Apni Azaadi ko hargiz hum
• Vande Mataram - AR Rahman
• Vande Mataram
• Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna ab
• Saray jahan say achha -1
• Saray Jahan say achha - lata
• Mere Desh Ki Dharti
• Mera rangde basanti chola
• Kar chalay hum fida,
• Jahan Daal Daal par sone
• Hum laye hain toofan say kishti
• Hai preet jahan ki reet sada
• Ganga Meri Maa ka Naam
• ai watan ai watan, tujh ko
• Ai mere pyaare watan,

• Aao bachcho tumheien sire
• A jo des hai tera - Shahrukh
• A desh hai veer jawanon ka

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

Israelis should appreciate President Jimmy Carter with a statue at Ben-Gurion Airport

Also Published at the Daily Arab News
http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/08/14/israelis-appreciate-president-jimmy-carter-curse/

Shame on the men and women who hurl curses at President Jimmy Carter at every opportunity they get – all we see on the internet is ugliness displayed towards him.  What is wrong with their sense of gratitude?  Of course, a majority of good decent Israelis respect and honor him, but we don't hear much from them, it is time for them to speak up, lest not the world think they are ungrateful people.    .

The Israelis should kiss his feet, he is the only man in the difficult Jewish history who brought a real sustainable security to Jews; he removed a major enemy of Israel by forging a friendship agreement with Egypt. Carter is a peace maker, and has the balls to do the right thing. I wish Obama was man enough to stand up to Netanyahu to get him to do the right thing; instead he buckled to Netanyahu, who is not good for Israel's long term security, neither his actions will mitigate the rise in Anti-Semitism across the globe.

President carter locked Begin and Sadat in a room and told them to come to agreement or rot in there. It took tremendous courage on his part, despite the attempts by right wing lobby to derail his work and the end his courage and wisdom won for Israel. Israelis should be grateful to their savior and honor him by building a statue in his name at Ben-Gurion Airport.

The book he wrote on Apartheid in Israel is good for Israel in the long run; you cannot bury your head in the sand and deny it. Apartheid is not good for Israel, as it was not good for America or South Africa. Apartheid is expressed in so many ways, including the stinky attitude that does not value the lives of Palestinians and justifies killing them; they can be spared.  I am concerned about the abnormal guilt laden people Israel will have in the future.  It is not good for Israel. Talk to Iraqi veterans, Vietnamese Veterans and thoughtful Israeli soldiers and others, they know injustice towards others impairs their mental balance. 

A good Jewish Scholar disappointed me severely. He and I worked together on a few projects, and then he disappeared and would not return my calls or emails. One day at a Synagogue I was a greeter; he walked in, saw me and walked away in a hurry, as if I were a land mine.  I was not going to let that happen and ran up to him. He did not like a bit, when I pointed that as a scholar like him, should give me a reason for his cold shoulders. He looked at me with disgust and said, "Take that xxx xx x xxxxx Carter off your website" then I will talk with you.  He did not want to elaborate and simply walked away and I kept looking at him in disbelief; such a hatred for your savior?

President Carter is being attacked on facebook again, "He accuses Israel of committing "deliberate attacks on civilians." And responses were like, "Major. Asshole”,”Nasty old man, a liar as well as a fool."  Someone wrote Fxxx him. This is disgusting.  Those few men who 'curse' him should repent and pray for him. No one has done more good to Israel than Jimmy Carter. None!

 Of course, a majority of good decent Israelis respect and honor him, but we don't hear much from them, and all we see on the internet is ugliness displayed towards him. Evil persists if we don't speak up, and we have to speak up to bring awareness to the moderate Jews that they need to speak up.

I am glad Jimmy Carter has the vision and foresight to call on US, EU to recognize Hamas, indeed, I am writing a piece, it is good for Israel to have working relationships with its purported enemies and friends, if not who will they make peace with? Duh!  It is time for the right wingers to sit on the side lines, and watch good things happen without their animal instincts.  Let Jimmy Carter be in the middle again, God has blessed him to be a peacemaker. May he bring security to Israel and Justice to the Palestinians, Amen!     
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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Happy independence day to Pakistan

67 Years ago today, Pakistan was born. Indeed it was created out of the British India on August 14, 1947 and then the next day, August 15, 1947 India got her independence.  

As a Pluralist, I have always worked on the concept that we all belong to the same family of Nations.  Back in 1993, I started a Newspaper called Asian News, with a page each dedicated to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. 

In 1996, I started Asian News Radio, which continues today as Fun Asia Radio. A few years later when Rehan Siddiqi took over the radio to 24/7 programming,  I continued to do different programs, and one of them was during the month of August, from the 1^st through 15^th  I  shared a different aspect of the subcontinent from the cultural, geographic, ethnic, cuisine, clothing, singing to politics to national heroes of the nations.

What remains nostalgic to me was August 14^th and 15^th – on that day I took live calls asking Indians to sing the Pakistani national songs, and it was amazing so many Indians had learned the songs, and vice versa happened on the 15^th, our Pakistani friends sang Indian national songs.

The Partition was difficult and intense - with people moving from one land to the other and vice versa, perhaps it was the greatest human migration in a single week ever. Of course it came with massive suffering - people killing and butchering each other on both sides. Unless we both people learn to acknowledge that the suffering and infliction of misery was mutual, we will continue to harbor ill-will and inject that in our kids. Some people live with hate and ill-will until they die and never receive the true freedom.  I hope we all grow up and not carry this forward or run the sewer of hate in our kid’s veins.

I wish a very happy independence day to both the Pakistani and Indian friends. As an Indian, I will do my own celebrations, reflecting on what I can do to contribute towards the wellbeing of my motherland: India.

Jinnah's speech on August 14, 1947: http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/legislation/constituent_address_11aug1947.html

Pakistan Paindabad !

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.