Building Bridges Through The Power Of Dhun

Like many cultures and religions, music plays a huge part within Hindu Dharma. Bhajans, aarti, sangeet and even entire scriptures are based around the power of music. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita, which means the ‘Divine Song’, was technically sung by Lord Krsna. So powerful is the beauty of music that when it brings together people from all backgrounds, of all ages, of all creeds, it simply cannot be overlooked.
On Tuesday 14th September 2010 at 8pm, Sadhguru Sewa Samiti, or SSS, begun what would be a truly amazing and inspiring adventure through non-stop 108 hours Ram Dhun. The word ‘Dhun’ literally means ‘tune’, and a Ram Dhun is the singing of ‘Shree Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram’ to different tunes. Very simple, yet incredibly powerful. The event took place at Slough Mandir, and for 6 days the doors of the mandir remained open for people from all across the UK to observe, take part and feel the incredible and inspiring power of Ram Dhun. 3 meals a day was provided and cooked by families, and there was the pleasant 3am chilli paneer surprise for those who were on night duties! This wasn’t the first time the group had organised such an event. Over the past few years independently they have had a 72 hour dhun, and they have helped NHSF emphatically with 12 hour Ram Dhun and Hanuman Chalisas in the north and central region of the UK. Each time they have been present, they have encouraged all the youth to get involved in singing, helping many students to open themselves up and really demonstrate how dhun has a place in all of our hearts. This time it was no different. People of all ages were singing together, in fact, at one point at 4am on Saturday morning, an elderly gentleman was out-doing the youth by singing non-stop for 3 hours!
The event took 9 months to organise, and involved countless meetings, e-mails and phone calls. There was even a timetable for each member with sleeping plans and other various duties.
SSS comprises of Hindus who all have one common goal – to build bridges through the power of love. Lord Hanuman and his army of Vaanars, through the sheer prem or love of Lord Ram, helped build the bridge to Lanka so that Lord Ram could save Sita Maa. Many of the group are aged from 15 to 30, and are ardent followers of Lord Hanuman. They come from all parts of the UK and aim to unite people from all backgrounds, which they do so with great success.
On behalf of NHSF, I would like to thank SSS for their dedication and commitment toward inspiring Hindu youth all over the UK and for selflessly supporting NHSF in all that we do. With that all I can say is:
Shree Ram Jay Ram Jay Jay Ram!

Happily Never After

Summertime brings about much that is positive in life – sunshine, holidays, the melody of an ice cream van as it makes its way down your road and of course the definitive Indian Wedding Season. The Hindu wedding is a beautiful occasion. Celebrated with much pomp and joy, it symbolises the joining of not just two souls, but the unification of two families.
Well it should do. We must remember that there are two sides to every story. Although everyone appears to be happy during the wedding procession, a growing number of marriages are ending prematurely. Why? From a small sample of people asked that have been subject to failed marriages, the underlying commonality is the pressure from parents to get married young. Tradition, not religion, dictates that children should be married at a young age. In our grandparent’s time, it wasn’t uncommon for families to arrange the marriages of children from a young age. In fact, Gandhiji’s marriage to Kasturba was arranged when he was 6 years old! But as time has moved on, so have trends and traditions. The arranged marriage is now more of an introductory service, and the age to get married has substantially increased. However, a percentage of families still insist on adhering to tradition, not religion, and constantly reinforce the notion that ‘nobody will want to marry you after a certain age’. Seldom is this the case for the son, but it is prevalent in the case of daughters.
Nowhere in Hindu scriptures does it declare that a daughter must be married by a certain age. True, certain scriptures allow for daughters to be married at a young age, but there is no set law stating she MUST be married by that age. In fact, Dharma encourages us to adjust and adapt with modern day living, and in this case we have to understand that certain old village traditions are not feasible for life in the modern, western world. Long gone are the days of women being in the kitchen whilst men go out to work. Now both men and women are career-minded and wish to succeed in the working world before settling down. More often than not, girls are forced into marriage younger than their male counterparts, as they feel duty-bound by their parents to do so. Of course, obeying ones parents is paramount in fulfilling our Dharma, but so too should parents support and understand our need for succeeding in our respective fields.
So this summer, when you come home from a wedding, and ‘marriage fever’ manifests, ask your children first; are you ready for marriage? If they say no, then respect their decision – after all, the future is in our hands.

Purusharthas - The Goals of Life

Students often find themselves contemplating the mysteries of life; what purpose am I serving as a human being on this earth? Am I here to just eat, drink, sleep and attend lectures? Surely there is more to this? I am sure many of you have, at some point, questioned your own existences. This is perfectly natural. As human beings we have a tendency to question and contemplate deeper thought. Thanks to the beauty of Hindu Dharma, such mysteries need not exist. Such a system exists that gives meaning and depth to not only to an individual, but to society as a whole. Even more enlightening is that you need not be a Hindu to follow these objectives, these goals are called the Purusharthas.

The word Purushartha is a Sanskrit compound that directly translates to “human purpose”. This translation demonstrates the objectives are for Human society. Hindu Sadhu’s realised the four simple goals to leading a fulfilled life are: Dharma (duties), Artha (material prosperity), Kama (desire) and Moksha (liberation).
Dharma incorporates finding the truth by leading a disciplined life. One must fulfil their duty rather than be selfish. For example, it is an MPs duty to lead his whole constituency, not just those who voted for him. Honesty, truth, love and justice are the virtues which should be practised in life.

Artha recognises the need for material things in order to live a suitable life. As humans, we cannot be expected to live like animals in a forest. Everyone needs a home, food and money in order to live a worldly life. Money should be earned by fair and honest means and should be spent wisely on necessities. Gaining wealth should not be ones only objective – there is more to life than money.

Kama understands the need to enjoy worldly happiness through the five senses. However, we are warned that not all desires can be fulfilled immediately as the karmic effect would lead to unhappiness. Students should understand that the desire for sexual happiness is natural, but there is time set aside for it in life, called the Grihastha Ashram (family life). Therefore is a necessity to lead a disciplined life.

Moksha is the final objective of life and is to gain freedom from worldly sufferings and inevitably the continuous cycle of birth and death. This can be achieved by leading a virtuous, righteous and disciplined life.

Just as a student plans and studies for exams, so should one set a guideline to uphold and maintain these Purusharthas. This not only gives meaning to ones life, but benefits society as a whole - what better objective than understanding Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The Whole World is One Family.

ayam bandhurayam neti
ganana leguchetasaam
udharacharitanaam tu
vasudhaiva kutumbakam

'Only small men discriminate saying: One is a relative; the other is a stranger. For those who live magnanimously the entire world constitutes but a family.'
- maha upanishad (6.72)

Ayurveda - YOUR freedom, YOUR choice

For many, conventional Western medicine is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Over the last 5 years, more ethical, traditional and dharmic practices are becoming the norm. Believe it or not, this practice is not something new to the world – in fact, it is regarded as one the oldest forms of healthcare, otherwise known as Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is a form of complementary and alternative medicine currently available in the UK. The word Ayurveda stems from the Sanskrit ‘āyus’ meaning ‘life’ and ‘veda’ meaning ‘knowledge’, thus signifying the science as ‘life knowledge’. The origins of the medical practice come from the Charaka Samhita, which deals with internal medicine and Sushruta Samhita, which deals with the surgical aspect of medicine, both dating back 2000 years. The practice itself dates back at least 5000 years. In that time frame, the number of reported negative effects from Ayurvedic treatment is pretty close to zero.
As Hindus, Ayurveda has become instrumental in every day living – often our elders produce a remedy consisting of perfectly natural ingredients and they work better than conventional Western medicine. Not limited to just medicine, Yoga constitutes a large part of Ayurveda too. Yoga is extremely beneficial for ones health, and has caught on massively in the West.
Why, therefore, should British Parliament plan to ban a system that has proved beneficial for thousands if not millions of people? The European Union has proposed a ban on all Ayurvedic herbal remedies which will come into effect in April 2011. That’s 7 months from now! Ayurvedic remedies consist of nothing more than regular plants and herbs, which are often used in every day cooking. To ban it would be absolutely preposterous – surely that would mean a ban on Indian foods? Suffice to say, many delicacies of Indian cuisine stem from Ayurvedic herbs and plants.
Let’s investigate this further; Ayurveda seldom produces a negative reaction, and it most certainly isn’t the root cause of diseases. On the other hand, alcohol, cigarettes and meat are all known to cause death in one way, shape or form. Can the UK Government honestly justify banning Ayurvedic remedies, whilst allowing these death-inducing products to be readily available? This point was quite rightly made by HH Swami Ramdevji at a meeting held recently in London organised by Amarjeet S Bhamra of the Save Herbal Medicine National campaign.
Thankfully, a large number of established Ayurvedic practitioners and organisations have joined together to help stop this ban. You too can help by clicking HERE and downloading a letter that you can post to your Member of Parliament. Remember, it’s your freedom of choice to use Ayurveda – don’t let anyone stop you from receiving what is rightfully yours.