Saturday, March 25, 2006

An Appeal from François re hindu unity

mar 24

unity among hindus and a common voice is probably a good idea.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Swami

To: Sri Satya Sai Baba, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Ma Amritanand Mayi, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamiji, Swami Ramdev, Gurumayi of 
Ganeshpuri, Swamy Dayaananda Saraswathi (Harsha Gurukulam), Gurujis of Chinmaya Mission, Sri Ganapathi Sacchidananda Swamiji, Pramukh Swami Narayan (BAPS), Sadhvi Ritambara, Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji, Swami Chidanandji Muniji, Gurus of ISKCON
and to all great  Gurujis and Swamijis of Hindu dharma and their devotees and disciples
 
O Great Gurus and Swamis, Firstly, I bow down to all of you from the bottom of my heart. Having seen my little ego, the difficulty I have to quieten the incessant chatter of my mind, the problems in controlling my anger, I know how far you all have gone and how much you have risen above the pettiness of human nature.
 
India is in great danger today. It is attacked by many forces. And your enemies are united, even if it is in disunity, even if it is a temporary arrangement based on a common hatred. Christian conversions, the onslaught of Muslim fundamentalism, the abhorrence of communists for Hinduism, the infinite dangers of Globalisation and Americanisation, Sonia Gandhi's dangerous hold over the intellectual elite of India and her agenda of minority prodding against the majority community of India…
 
It is thus imperative that you all unite against the common enemy, for disunity has always been the curse of India and whichever enemy conquered this country, did it not because of superior strength, but because they were helped by Hindu betrayers. Remember the last great Hindu empire, that of Vijaynagar.
 
The Christians have a Pope, the Muslims the word of the Koran, communists have Der Kapital of Karl Marx, but Hindus are fragmented in a thousand sects, which often bicker with each other.

It is thus of vital importance that Hindu gurus and swamis regroup under one umbrella. Each group and guru will retain its leadership and autonomy but will meet three times a year to review the situation and issue edicts will be binding to hundreds of millions of Hindus all over the world.

There are too many gurus and swamis all over India and the world and it would not be possible to assemble them all in one group. Thus I propose that the twelve gurus in India who have the most disciples, represent all the other swamis and gurus. Amongst them of course, we should   find Satya Sai Baba, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Ammaji of Kerala, the Shankacharya of  Kancheepuram, Guruma of Ganeshpuri, Shri Ramdev etc.
 
The leadership of this group will be rotated every year and so can membership for that matter, as there are quite a  few other gurus of India who have a huge following. The first year , Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who has taken the lead in assembling gurus, and recently came to the defence of Shri Ramdev can take the mantle of leadership.

This is a very important petition and we need as many signatures as possible to put pressure on gurus, who too often limit themselves to the success of their own movements. This petition should also be shown to all gurus by close disciples who happen to read it.

It is not only Hinduism which is at stake, but the Sanatan Dharma, the Knowledge Infinite which came down, through the ages and has survived today only in India in a partial form. This Knowledge only can save the world.
 
Long Live Mother India
 
François Gautier
FACT
24. 3. 2006

François Gautier
41 Jorbagh, New Delhi 110003, India / Auromodel, Auroville, 605101, T.N. India
tel 91 4132622255 / 91 9811118828


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6 comments:

Hindu Fundamentalist said...

the idea is good and practical, no doubt. but i am skeptical. the other religions are just a facade for political aspirations. to combat them, we must not turn hinduism into a political agenda.
these gurus must organise hindus to fight these semitic imperialists. but hinduism is better served by not organising these gurus into a group because no matter what the group will eventually turn political.

these gurus must address the threats facing hinduism. it is no more sufficient if they address the spiritual needs of hindus. for example, satya sai baba can reduce his emphasis on all religions being the same.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. This should be done before it's too late. Indian english media, influenced by western media, have been so successful in maligning Hinduism that even Brahmins I know when asked "Are you a Hindu?" sometimes don't say yes with conviction and pride.
And to you all you fundamentalist lurkers out there, I have a message for you - India has become a successful country and has ability to defend itself. It'll never be partitioned again. Hindus will rise again and beware their rage. For years liberal media has maligned christians and now their rage has resulted in total control of evangelical backed Republicans' hold on all levers of power.

-Sage

daisies said...

where is the petition ? the article
refers to a petition and signatures
...

also, why is hindu unity and a
common voice "probably" a good
idea ?

why is it not "definitely" a good
idea ?

any reasons ? (a genuine question)
i am puzzled.

and i dont understand this edicts
thing. why do hindus need to be
bound by edicts ? we arent doing
anything to harm anyone. we are
truly tolerant, peace-loving and
broad-minded.

it's the bad guys who need edicts.

also, perhaps sri sri should simply
be a mediator between religions,
since he has followers from all
religions and all over the world.
And he has openly said that he
belongs to the whole of humanity.
He invited heads of all religions
to the recent gathering.

when someone considers the whole
world as his brethren or his
children, there is no point tying
him down to one group of people.

just like a father or mother loves
his/her children equally and will
not alienate anyone, but would do
his best to bring about harmony
within the family - that is the
responsibility His Holiness Sri
Sri Ravishankar has taken upon
himself.

I dont think he is obsessing about
the "success of his movement" as
Francois Gautier puts it. His only
concern is the well-being of the
whole of humanity. Not just Hindus.

I have the greatest regard for
Francois Gautier though. I greatly
appreciate his concern and his
efforts on behalf of Hindus. Just
pointing out something in the
petition.

Swami, could you pls. pass this on
to him. Thanks.

-

iamfordemocracy said...

One must consider whether any of these Gurus is doing anything politically? If not, is there a reason for that?

There might not be any need for them to unite in the physial or organisational sense of the term. Unity of purpose would be just fine. To that end, would any/some/all of these Gurus ask their disciples not to vote for parties that are positively working against HINDUS?

My guess... No Guru would venture/want to do that.

daisies said...

Re. IamforD's question:
"One must consider whether any of these Gurus is doing anything politically? If not, is there a reason for that?"

--- I have heard that the word guru is derived from the roots gu+ru (gu=darkness/heaviness, ru=remove). So guru is "one who removes darkness". The most typical meaning of guru is "sadguru", the one who enlightens you. The broader meaning is preceptor. Thus there are many kinds of people you could consider as gurus -sadguru, rajguru, gurus in different subjects, counsellors, advisors and so on. And not the least, parents.

A "sadguru" normally takes it upon himself to lead his disciple
to the light, by removing the darkness.

Now if we feel that he/she ought to advise/instruct us on all matters ranging from whom to vote for, and which school to send our kids to, whom to marry and whether to divorce :-) and so on....well....it's really upto them whether they want to play that role.

If we think we know better than them what they should do for us, they we become the gurus, is it not ?

Chances are, they will tell us to use our common sense. One very interesting answer I have often heard is - "Choice is yours, blessing is mine". But in some situations, they do give a specific answer, if they feel they really should give a person that type of help.

About Sri Sri (the only person whose comments I can deliver): he has told his disciples - good people should get into politics.

He gets directly involved when there is a burning issue. He did get involved in the Ayodhya issue.

KA said...

I agree with getting together and uniting Hindus is a good idea. Not bitching about each other is a good idea.

But passing "edicts" is a very UN-Hindu idea. We don't want to get into the "fatwa" culture. Becoming like them is the worst that we can do to ourselves. Worse than a surrender. Would rather encourage the debating/questioning culture.