Why can't Muslims attend Hindu festival celebrations?

India actor, Salman Khan, attended a Ganesha celebration in Mumbai. This was not liked by some Muslim religious leaders. They issued a fatwa against Salman Khan calling his act anti-Islam. Does Islam prohibit Muslims to participate in functions of other religions or it is yet another attempt to misinterpret Islamic teachings? I believe Islam does not prohibit this. It is only to isolate Muslims from joining national mainstream.

Whenever I pass in front of a Temple, Mosque, Church or a Gurudwara I bow my head. All these are the house of God. They remind me about God so that I can pray to Him.

Do you also feel the same way?

Is food Hindu or Muslim?

In India, state Govts provide free mid day meals to students in Govt schools. These meals are cooked by organizations who are given contract for this purpose. Iskon is one organization which supplies food to schools. Their kitchens are having a certified food safety management systems as per ISO 22000 standard.

In one school where Iskon supplies the food, parents of Muslim students asked their children not to eat that food as it has been supplied by a Hindu organization. This is so illogical that I do not know what to say. To what limits these people will go. They have given communal colour to food also. Is food Hindu or Muslim?

I will like to ask a question. Can a Hindu (or a Muslim) claim that the food he ate was prepared by only by a Hindu (or a Muslim). In other words during the entire process of food preparation, from field to dining table, only people belonging to one faith only contributed. At no stage people of other faith were involved. Is it possible?

I believe that Islam is a religion of universal brotherhood, but some of its followers only create hatred about other faiths. Poisoning kids mind by such teaching is not good for any society. Will such kids grow up to become productive citizens or terrorists?

It is not right my dear saints!

Politicians have created an unnecessary controversy on Ramsetu. Indian Govt filed an affidavit in the court on this issue and declared that Ram did not exist. Did the Govt not know that Ram is worshiped by Hindus as an incarnation of God and any such declaration will hurt them and politicians will exploit it to their advantage. When Hindus expressed their hurt Govt withdrew the affidavit. Then Tamilnadu CM, Karunanidhi, used abusive language about Ram. It was totally unnecessary. What he meant to achieve by abusing Ram? Now a group of saints in Ayodhya have come out with a statement that anybody beheading Tamilnadu CM will be weighed in Gold.

No, this is not right. I request saints to desist from such statements. Hinduism teaches tolerance. This is not the first time when people have attacked Hindus and Hinduism.If Karunanidhi thinks that he will get happiness by abusing Ram then let him do it. It will be between him and Ram. Ram is every Hindu's ideal. Ram will take care of Himself. Let us follow His ideals and follow His policy of forgiveness. This is what Ram has taught us and this is how we should behave. Love all, hate none.

Added on 24.09.2007

Senior VHP leader Ram Vilas Vedanti has denied having issued any fatwa against Karunanidhi for latter's abusive comments on Lord Rama. He claims that media has twisted his remarks. If he is right then media should be ashamed of themselves. This news triggered violence in Chennai. It could have spread to other cities.

But Vedanti has issued a confusing statement. He claims to have said - "The religious books and Gita say that a person indulging in blasphemy should be sentenced to death and his toungue should be cut off". Now he says that he still stands by his earlier statement. I am not a scholar but I have not read what he says in any religious book or Gita.

Added on 25.09.2007

DMK has asked to file a criminal case against Vedanti for his asking for beheading of Karunanidhi. This is after Vedanti has clarified that he did not made any such statement.

Now what about Karunanidhi abusing Ram and hurting religious feelings of Hindus? Is there any law in this country against hurting of Hindus' religious feelings, or religious feelings of Muslims and Christians are only to be respected? Vedanti has at least said that he did not make such statement, but Karunanidhi has not shown any regret on his abusing Ram. I am a Hindu and my feelings have been hurt by Karunanidhi.

No one has monopoly on God

My daughter's posts from her blog:

"There are religions who teach that all religions lead to God. Yet there are religions who teach that only their path will take people to God.

There are people who respect religious sentiments of other people. Yet there are people who loose no opportunity to hurt religious feelings of others people.

There are people who bow head before religious places of other people. Yet there are people who attack religious places of other people.

There are people who believe that religions unite people and practice their belief religiously. Yet there are people who use religion to divide people.

There are people who see love as a form of God. Yet there are people who hate other people and become violent to protect their religion and their God. Is God so weak that people have to protect Him from other people?

All human beings are children of God. God wants them to love each other. "

My views:

How people can sleep in peace after hurting other people? If some people find peace in violence then they are human beings only in body and not in mind.

__________________________________________________________

Why people don't mind their own faith?

"Why people raise issues related to Hindus and Hinduism?

Why can't they mind their own faith?

Why ASI should give its opinion on Hindu's faith about Shri Ram?

Is it because a christian woman is virtually ruling this country?

Can these people raise issues about Christian and Muslim faith?

These are some questions which keep troubling me. Do these questions also trouble you? Have you been able find any answer? "

My views:

I always wonder which God will be happy with His children who kill His other children? If there is such a God then I will not call Him God and I will have nothing to do with such God.

A very shubh Janamashtami to all

आप सब को जन्माष्ठ्मी की शुभकामनाए

Hariyali Teej and Mehandi

My grand daughter with Mehandi on her hands

Temple in our house

We have a temple in our house.

Shashi Tharoor, M F Husain and paintings of Hindu Goddesses

I came to know about Shashi Tharoor when he was in news in relation to the election of UN Secretary General. Similarly, I came to know about M F Husain when he painted Hindu Goddesses in nude. After that I have seen Shashi Tharoor’s articles in Times of India. Today I saw his article on Husain - ‘It is time to stop harassing M F Husain’. This is the second article he has written on Husain. He seems to be hurt on the hurt caused by some people to Husain. This time he has used the word harassment.

I am a Hindu and Husain is a Muslim. I am clear about the practices of Hinduism. I am sure Husain is clear about the practices of Islam. So, let us not bring religion into it. I will like to relate with Husain as one human being to another. Husain is a painter. He creates work of art. In my opinion, if a work of art hurts someone then it is not a work of art. It becomes a tool of violence to hurt others.

I also do not wish to go into arguments of freedom of expression and all that. I leave it to Husain to decide. He is a painter and a good painter is a good human being. He should be able to feel the hurt of others. If he is not able to feel it then he is not a good painter.

Shashi Tharoor is trying to justify the hurt caused by Husain to others, but he is not feeling the hurt of others caused by Husain to others, and that is where the problem lies. Arguments, counter arguments will not stop what he termed as harassment. It will be stopped only by understanding and respecting each others’ feelings, and initiative for that should come from Husain, as it is his work of art which has created the problem.

What is the religion of God?

Can anybody answer these questions?

Is God Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian?

We have air, water and sunlight. Which portion of these has been sent by Hindu God, Muslim God, Sikh God or Christian God?

When temperature is high, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christians suffer alike. Why can't they ask their own God to send some cold air for them?

If our Gods are different then we should not we ask them to colour our blood differently?

May God bless her

Sia, the naughty baby

Christian activists disrupts Hindu prayer in U.S. Senate - Relogious intolerance

Three christian protesters disrupted a prayer by a Hindu priest on Thursday at the opening of a U.S. Senate hearing, calling it an abomination and shouting slogans about Jesus Christ.It was the first time the daily prayer that opens Senate proceedings was said by a Hindu priest.

Capitol police said two women and one man were arrested and charged with causing a disruption in the public gallery of the Senate. The three started shouting when guest Chaplain Rajan Zed, a Hindu from Nevada, began his prayer.They shouted "No Lord but Jesus Christ" and "There's only one true God," and used the term "abomination."

Barry Lynn, executive director of religious watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the protest showed the intolerance of the "religious right.... I don't think the Senate should open with prayers, but if it's going to happen, the invocations ought to reflect the diversity of the American people".

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had invited Zed. "I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly father regarding peace," he said after the disruption.

Zed, sporting a saffron robe, a rudraksh mala round his neck, and a prominent tilak on his forehead, then nervously went through the invocation chosen from the Rig Veda and Bhagavad Gita."Let us pray," he began, "We meditate on the transcendental glory of the deity supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of heaven. May he stimulate and illuminate our minds.Lead us from the unreal to real, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we work together with great vigor. May our study be enlightening."

The sentiments were evidently lost on the fundamentalists.

Sai give them light - Sab Ka Maalik Ek Hai.

Sai will always say ................

Sai Baba always used to say "Allah malik" , "Sab ka Malik ek Hai" which means Allah is the leader of every body and he will look after all of us. The only thing is to believe in God.

They are Allah's criminals, will sure get hell

Those who kill fellow human beings in the name of Allah are criminals in the eyes of Allah. On the day of judgment they will sure be thrown into the fire of hell.

Who can say this? - "Kill those who have no faith in me." Allah or Shaitan? Allah is all loving. He has created human beings to love and not to hate. Even thinking in dreams that Allah wishes us to do this,is a crime against Him. Only a Shaitan can say this. Those who claim that are Allah's followers are in fact the followers of Shaitan.

We are all children of God. We perceive God as Allah, Jesus, Wahe Guru, Bhagwan, Buddha, Mahavira..... We try to reach Him in different ways as taught in our religions. There can be no cause for hatred amongst human beings. When He does not discriminate btween His chikldren then how can we discriminate?

Sab Ka Maalik ek hai. Love all , hate none.

Religious symbols, Left to right:
Row 1. Christian, Jewish, Hindu
Row 2. Islamic, Buddhist, Shinto
Row 3. Sikh, Baha'i, Jain

The saint

I wrote the above poem after reading a story where a saint is teaching a group of villagers. He said that people can not live in isolation within people of their religion only. People belonging to different religions are dependent on each other. Then why fight with each other?

We share the same sunshine, same air, same rains. We can't even cook a piece of bread without the help of the people of other religions. There is nothing in nature which is exclusively for people of a particular religion, and there is nothing sent by God, Allah or Bhagwan exclusively for Christians, Muslims or Hindus. Gods do not discriminate but we do. Is it not against the wish of GOd?

Hare Krishna