Translated from ‘Dainik Jagaran’ newspaper:
American University Makes Study of Gita Compulsory
An American university has made study of Gita compulsory for all its students by including it in its “core course.” The Seton Hall University (http://www.shu.edu/) has taken this decision observing the importance of Gita in life. University administration says that through the wisdom of Gita, students can better understand and cope with the complexities of life and be better prepared to face all the life’s challenges.
The autonomous Catholic Seton Hall University was established in New Jersey in 1856. Professor A.D. Amar working with the University’s Stillman Business School said the decision to make Gita compulsory for all students is an unprecedented one. Out of the University’s total strength of 10,800 students, about one-third are non-Christians. There are a huge number of Indian students studying at the University.
Professor Amar who played a key role in this development said that the core course is compulsory for all students of the University. It has to be studied by everyone regardless of the subject they have chosen for study. He added that the University understood the importance of the philosophy of Gita and decided to make its study compulsory for all students.
What a shame that Gita is compulsory study for all students in an American university regardless of their religion, but banned from schools and colleges in India due to “secularism.” This Congress-style ‘secularism’ is the biggest wound Hindus have willingly inflicted on their own cheeks. Worse, the more this wound festers and poisons the rest of their body, the more the Hindus showcase it to others to prove their intellectual sophistication.
Little do they realise that the kind of secularism being practised in India is nothing but an elaborate scheme to strangle them slowly, and that they are being quietly brainwashed by India’s English media (with questionable funding) to ensure that the Hindus go to the gallows singing all the way.
Here is another report from the same newspaper:
“Europe Should Recognise Hinduism as a Religion”
US-based spiritual leader Rajan Zed has asked the European Parliament to give recognition to Hinduism as a religion in the whole of Europe. While meeting the President of the European parliament Hans Gert Pottering, Zed explained the essence of Gita and Gayatri Mantra to him. Zed asked Pottering to declare Diwali as a major festival in Europe. The European Parliament had invited Zed for a spiritual discourse on Hinduism. The Hindu spiritual leader introduced the Members of Parliament to the fundamental tenets of Hinduism.
Zed also raised the issue of religious discrimination being suffered by Hindus in Europe. He said that Hindus living in Europe have to face many problems and difficulties. To solve these, Zed presented a 15 point programme to the Parliament. The programme includes points such as quick approval to proposals related to opening of Hindu temples, appropriate representation and promotion of vegetarianism. Zed informed Pottering that Hindus are not allowed to construct temples anywhere in Europe. The applications to open new temples are kept under processing for a long time and then almost always rejected.
Not many Hindus know it, but Hinduism — the oldest living spiritual tradition in the world going back about 8,000 years — is still listed as a “cult” in all European countries. Their governments refuse to accept it as a legitimate religion. They actively prevent establishment of any Hindu temple in their territories.
But that does not prevent European leaders — especially from Italy and France — from preaching “respect for all religions” to Indian government and recommending to Hindus that they should allow more churches to be opened in India to prove to the world how tolerant they are. What a farce! Why don’t the Indians take the Europeans to task for this kind of behaviour and ask for an explanation about why Hinduism has been listed as a cult while Judaism, Buddhism and Islam are listed as legitimate religions.
Is it because the church fears the ancient and formidable Hindu spiritual literature (especially the Upanishads, Rigveda and Gita) and thinks that it may trigger another “Hare Rama, Hare Krishna” movement in Europe, shaking its very foundations? But there is no reason why European governments should continue to list Hinduism as a primitive cult and be allowed to get away with this insult to all Indians.
Bhagwad Gita is a wonderful book, I have just begun reading the volume, and I find it strange when youngsters of my age find it difficult or funny that one is reading GITA. Or one has heard but never read. Ignorance either ways, I think, is harmful. Beside it’s never to late to begin.
No wonder a foreign university can see its virtues and values while here all we can see is the ISKCON guys selling them outside CP, while everyone walks past…as the books are covered with dust.
I thin we cannot ignore that ” Hinduism” being a way of life and being such a secular religion is taken for granted. Else my muslim friend want miss his namaz while my Hindu friends are never bothered about visiting the temple, let alone reading Gita.
You are right Nitesh about the Gita. It is actually “Bhagwad Geet” (The Divine Song). Gita is like an ocean of wisdom and I cannot get enough of it,, though I have read it hundreds of times since childhood. It is mind-boggling stuff.
Read the quotes on Gita in the Hiindu Wisdom site I have written about above. it is clear to me that the wisdom in the slokas of Gita is full of eternal truths that were revealed to the ancient Hindu sages when in deep meditation. Nothing can match the spiritual wisdom that arises when the mind has been trained enough to concentrate and contemplate on the ultimate reality.
sanjay,nitesh,
This article may help us to understand why a high sounding word like “way of life” tag was dubbed on Hinduism.
Swami chinmayanda says it was an Irish padre who first coined this term.
IIRC, S. Radhakrishan also popularised this “term”.
It would be worth while to get the name of this “Irish padre”.
Thanks for this information Bharat this is definitely interesting and worth investigating.
I had absolutely no idea about this . Hinduism a cult ? Can you provide me with some links to other sources of information on this .
Kislay: I read a couple of articles in the media about Hinduism being listed as a cult in europe, especially France. They were published about six months ago. Cannot find the links now. In the entire Euroope, how many Hindu temples exist? Permission is simply not given. But these charlatans have no problem in funding thousands of churches in India.
I agree that the Bhagwad Gita is a great book but I think it is completely wrong to make the Bhagwad Gita compulsory. Even in convent schools in India, the Bible is not taught to non-Christian or in many cases non Catholic students. It should at best be provided as an option. Would you like it if some university you studied in made the Koran compulsory?
Secondly France is a nation for French people. Europe is a continent for European peoples. They have the right to do whatever they want in their nations. We as foreigners have no right to tell them what to do in their motherlands.
BTW if you guys have not realised Christianity is followed by only a minority in Europe outside the post communist East. France is officially a secular nation not a Christian nation.
Sanjay, in all of India, how many Shinto temples exist? In Mecca how many Hindu temples exist? Why not ask the government of Ssudi Arabia to allow the construction of a Hindu temple in Mecca? Does that scare you? Why pick on the tolerant Europeans?
J. Rathi:
You are unable to distinguish between the tolerance of European citizens and the antics of thier governments. It is the governments which are dangerous. Their state policies have to be watched. Thwarting the moves of European governments is not the same as hating ordinary Europeans who are barely Christian now. Have you seen the antics of the French government over India’s internal affairs and the so-called “persecution of Christians”? How can you ask India not to take umbrage because the ordinary European people are nice?
The university in the US which has made Gita compulsory is actually a private university. The government-funded institutions have to be secular for separation of church and state. There is no reason why private institutions should be forced to become religion-neutral too.
Sanjay, I really enjoyed this article by dharmaveer (sort of like the ante to Hindu spirituality, which he does mention):
http://dharmaveer.blogspot.com/2009/02/is-this-islamic-spirituality.html
He has put up a second article on this, but have not had time to read it yet.
No doubt geeta is the only book which provide us with all the solutoins of life no matter what time or situation it is. As for having it been introduced to indian studys I know a person Mr. Ram Krishan Goswami who has made his personal goal to bring geeta to every indian’s life and in indian education system. He ia running an organisation “Bhartiya Charitra Nirman Sansthan” from delhi and such a wonderfull work he is doing !
as for geting it to the schools the road is hard and long but I know it for sure that he will succeed in his efforts wan very soon we will see it in our text books and then i’m sure in no matter of time india will regain it’s long lost glory in the world !
Love
Nishant S Jindal
Dear sanjaychoudhry , Hinduism is not a religion in its narrow sense. Its a conglomeration of various beliefs and even non-belief (atheism). Atheists existed even in Vedic era and were known as “Charvakas or Chaturvedis”. We are not at the mercy of any high-priest. The Christians are at the mercy of their Church right from birth (Baptism) till burial. The Churches can even deny permissionto bury dead bodies. The Muslims are at the mercy of their clerics and have to be constantly afraid of one fatwa or other from some obscure Mullah. No high-priest can declare me or the TN Chief Minister who questioned the existence of Lord Ram as “non-hindus”. Ram of Valkimi Ramayana was not a god. Divinity was granted to him later by vested interests. The original story (Ranghuvamsham) is the story of 21 Kings from Dileepan to Agnivarnan.
As for Bhagvad Geeta, some scholars believe that it is a later day addition to Mahabharata due to difference in language (original Mahabharata contained about 10,000 stanzas only whereas the one available now contains over 1,25,000 stanzas. It is an epic containing some Universal truth and good morals. A major portion of Mahabharata contains stories told by well-wishers to the Pandavas in exile to boost thier moral. If we grant divinity to some books, we would also fall intothe dogmas of Semitic Religions. Learning the Gita is good but there no no need to impose the same on somebody.
The principles of Buddhism (Panchsheel and Eight-fold parth) are much more refined than the principles of any other religion. They do not even believe in any god (it is a different matter that the Buddhists have made Gautama the Bhddha who abhored all forms of worship their “god” now)!!! Compare the teachings of Buddha to the Bible (thou shall not have any other god) and The Quran (there is no god but Allah and Muhammad was his last Prophet) .
Buddhism rejected Vedic thought. It was like Albert Einstein rejecting Quantum Mechanics initially. Buddhism is like classical mechanics, seeing is believing. This is good to lead a normal good life. But human beings have to go beyond frontiers , which the great Indian rishis and sages propounded in Vedic thought some thousands of years before Buddha.
The advent of Quantum Mechanics changed the world view completely. Quantum Mechanics was a great stimulus for Vedanta and Vedic thought.
Here is the full book of the redoubtable, one and only Erwin Schrodinger ” What is life” . In this book the epilogue ( pp 31 -32) part dwells with Free will and determinism. There ES explains Vedanta and the profoundness of Upanishads. This short book by ES laid the foundations of modern biology and many all time greats in science have eulogised this. The present nanotechnology in science is all has its foundations in Quantum Mechanics.
Here is the full book . You can save and store it to eternity. This small book is a classic.
http://whatislife.stanford.edu/Homepage/LoCo_files/What-is-Life.pdf
According to J. Rathi’s comment, Europeans are aware christianity, Arabians are aware islam , Indians are aware Hinduism. then why the government of india give immediate permisson to the construction of churches,mosque without any enquiry both are foreign religion is this a shameful for indians and india we are not pick on the tolerant Europeans. we are the people believing Hinduism and allow others to perform their way the question is simple Why the European and others are not allowed to perform Hindus on their way?
Very good article every person should read sacred gita thanks
om om om om
It is a good news that american university allow gita for students but in india it is impossible because congress idiot pseudosecular media will oppose for vote bank.
Good
mittu
omm is a real god in godess
It needs to be kept in mind that the effort to get the Bhagavad Gita
taught in this university was based on two factors:
The large Indian student body and the personal efforts of the Indian
professor. This being a private institution, it was possible.
But I don’t think it would have happened in a public institution.
Kudos to the NRI’s who made this possible.
@J. Rathi,
Well, India is a land of Indians/Hindus. Don’t you think that the
Indian Hindus have a right to not want Christianity and Islam in their
land??
When Indian Hindus state that they want India to remain a land
of Hinduism and want Islam/Christianity out, people like you are
likely going to call them “communal”, “fascist”, ect ect.
But you have no problem in allowing the Europeans to
keep their continent free of other belief systems, like Hinduism.
Do you see the double standards you have?