[GHHF]
200 Reconverted Dalits had Darshan of Lord Venkateswara at TTD; Let us work to
Stop Conversion Efforts and Reconvert Dalits to Hindu fold
Swami
Vivekananda declared in the Parliament of Religions that "If anybody dreams of
the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of others, I pity
him.”
About 200 Dalits who reconverted to
Hinduism had a special, historical darshan of Lord Venkateswara on October 8,
2012. Swami Paripoornananda, Pontiff of Sri Peetham, has been very active in
bringing Dalit Christians back to Hinduism. Ghazal Srinivas of SaveTemples of
Global Hindu Heritage Foundation joined the event in arranging a special bus
from Kakinada to
Tirupathi and shared the expenses for the event. Fifty reconverted Dalit Hindus
left Kakinada on
7th evening and reached on 8th to Tirupathi. About 150
other reconverted Dalit Hindus joined the group on Tirumala where TTD officials
arranged a special darshan for these people. Swamiji personally greeted all the
Dalits and made all necessary arrangements for a memorable, unforgettable, and
historical event. Following Lord Balaji Darshan, Sri Gauraiah, Sri Jagdish and
Sri Mohan Rao met with the media and announced that because of Sri Swamiji’s
powerful speeches, they converted from Christianity to Hinduism and expressed
their utmost happiness in having Darshan of Balaji.
Eenadu,
Sakshi and Andhra Jyothy daily newspapers have given coverage to this unique,
historical event. Swami Paripoornananda speaking to the media demanded that TTD
officials should open their eyes and urged them to provide darshan to all
devotees belonging to Dalit community. If they fail to do, Lord himself will
teach them a lesson. Executive Officer of TTD should concentrate on providing
proper facilities to the common man rather than concentrating on VIPs. TTD
should stop pampering Business people, (Swamijis), Politicians and others and
should concentrate on providing proper facilities for the common pilgrims. He
also observed that the Dalita Govindam program that takes Lord Venkateswara to
different Dalit communities is a good concept. At the same time, it is equally
important to encourage Dalits to have darshan of Balaji on Tirumala itself. Many
of them are unable to take a pilgrimage because of many limitations. They should
be given free darshan. This is one way of countering the conversion efforts of
other religions. He also said that for the last one year he has been urging TTD
to arrange free buses for Dalits to visit TTD from all the districts. In fact
he demanded that TTD should provide two free buses every week from each district
for Dalit community as well as economically backward
pilgrims.
Further he demanded that Dharma Prachara Parishad
should allot budget of 200 crores to make necessary arrangements for events like
this so that poor people will not be treated differently in a discriminating
manner.
Swami Paripoornananda also mentioned that he could not
understand the hesitation on the part of EO to build Vakulamata Temple. If Vakulamata Temple is built, it would be good for the
state and also become prominent in the country. Illegal mining must be stopped
immediately and the construction of the Temple should start
forthwith.
Global Hindu Heritage
Foundation strongly feels that this kind of special
encouragement is essential to prevent Dalits from getting converted to other
religions. It is known fact that the denial of Dalits to enter Hindu Temples
definitely encouraged them to look for alternatives to be counted as human
being. This is also an occasion for many Dalits to be proud of their heritage.
It is also a good time for all Hindus to reflect on our scriptures such as
Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana and others and start practicing what is
preached. Emphasis should be placed on the code of conduct and behavior rather
than the caste. Any Hindu who is concerned about the future of Hinduism should
make every effort to be inclusive, not exclusive; more tolerant, not
discriminatory; more broadminded, not small minded; more in tune with
scriptures, not constrictive dogmas.
Hindus cannot live
without being cognizant of the happening in the surroundings. Now there are
more churches than Hindu Temples. They have enough resources coming from foreign
countries and practically taking advantage of our indifference to allure the
Dalit and backward classes of people into Christianity. Our own antiquated
traditions and customs are pushing the Dalits to get converted. Our dwindling
numbers will prove fatal to our customs, traditions, rituals, and our own
religion. All Hindus need to open their eyes to see the potential danger for
their own survival. They need to wake up before they are wiped out. Hindus need
to get out of this “frog in the well” mentality and see what is happening beyond
their own backyard. Something is getting rotten around us. Before that foul
smell makes you move out, you better stamp out the smell and clean the
surroundings.
All Hindus should support the “Dalithude
Govindudu” (Dalit is Divine/ God) initiative by Swami Paripoornananda and Ghazal
Srinivas. It is time to see divinity in the heart of every human being instead
of the caste. We should all remember Adi Shankara’s encounter with Chandala. As
the legend goes that when Shankara was on his way to the temple after a bath in
the Ganga, he found a Chandala with four dogs
blocking his path. He got furious when the Chandala refused to step aside, and
when he was asked to do so. The Chandala asked, "what is it that you want me to
set aside: My body or my soul? If it is my body, both yours and mine are made up
of the same physical elements. But if it is my soul, it is also no different
from yours. How can therefore be any distinctions of caste and creed?” Filled
with remorse, Shankara prostrated himself before the Chandala, thinking: “He who
has learnt to see ones existence everywhere, he is my master—be he a Brahmin or
a Chandala.” This is a profound message that we need to adopt, propagate,
imbibe and practice.
Following the encounter, Adi Shankara composed
Manisha Panchakam, which is the most highly elevated and spiritual poem on the
futility of caste differences.In these verses Adi Shankara says that he would
accept a person as his Guru if he possesses highest wisdom whether that person
is a chandala or a Brahman; he says he will accept him as his Guruif the person
has the correct knowledge even if he is a Chandala and concludes by saying that
he would accept a man whether he is a chandala or Brahman, if he possesses the
true knowledge of Brahma as his Guru.
In Isha
Upanishad,we see a similar thread of thinking:
“If one sees in Atma
all beings and in all beings the Atma, then one need not have a feeling of
hatred. (6)
“When one realizes
that all creations are just manifestations of Atma why one should feel
attachments and pains? He sees unity in all creations.”
(7)
Sant Tulsidas also has expressed a similar view in his
Ramayana
when he said thus:
"Those who are devoted
to Sri Rama are free from lust, vanity and anger. They look upon the whole world
as full of their Lord. Against whom then can they harbor animosity?
(7.112:b).
Global Hindu Heritage
Foundation and Sri
Peetham are committed to bring unity among all Hindus
irrespective of their caste. The more wedge we create among us, more danger the
Hindus will face. Remove the barriers and build bridges between different
castes.
Donations
Please
DONATE. Your donations are appreciated to continue the work.
NOTE: GHHF is
exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (c) 3 of theInternal Revenue
code. Our tax ID # 41-2258630
Please send your tax-deductible donations
to: Global Hindu Heritage Foundation, 14726 Harmony Lane, Frisco, Texas
75035
You can go to
http://www.savetemples.org and pay by PAYPAL.
For more information,
please visit our websites:
http://www.savetemples.org
http://www.globalhinduheritagefoundation.org
GHHF Board of
Directors
Prakasarao Velagapudi PhD, (601-918-7111 cell),
(601-856-4783 home); Prasad Yalamanchi (630-832-2665; 630-359-5041); D. Satya
(732-939-2060); Dr. K. R. Venkatramaiah (Canada) (416-925-8167); Satya Nemana
(732-762-7104); Sekhar Reddy (954-895-1947); Tulasichand Tummala (408-786-8357);
Raju Polavaram, MD (919-959-6141); Nandini Velagapudi, PhD (601-942-2248); Rama
Kasibhatla (678-570-1151); Srinivas Murthy (212-538-8716); Shankar Adusumilli MD
(919-961-9584); Sireesha Muppalla (631-421-8686); Prasad Garimella MD
(770-595-8033); Raghavendra Prasad MD (214-325-1969);Dr. Ghazal Srinivas,
Honorary Brand Ambassador.
GHHF Dallas Core
Group
Rajesh Veerapaneni (773-704-0405); Sunil T Patel
(214-293-4740); Gopal Ponangi (214-868-7538); Ram Yalamanchili (214-663-6363);
Ravi Pattisam (617-304-3577); Krishna Athota (214-912-3724); Rajendra
Narayanadas (214-901-3399); Sesharao Boddu (972-489-6949); P. Srinivas
(832-444-6460); P. Viswanadham, PhD (972-355-7107); I V Rao (214-284-6227);
Sridhar Kodela (214-907-8552); Vijay Kollapaneni (818-325-9576); Ghanashyam
Kakadia (469-583-1682); R K Panditi (972-516-8325); Satyan Kalyandurg
(972-612-5042); Mahesh Rao Choppa (732-429-5217); Viswas Mudigonda
(972-814-5961); Satish Reddy MD (972-724-3232); Srikanth Akula (952-334-9990);
Kalyan Jarajapu (972-896-8352).
|
|
|
|
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home