Uttarayan (apparent northward movement of the Sun) started on Dec 23rd 2006. Due to an error in the Hindu calendar, Uttarayan still is assumed to happen on Jan 14/15th odd - which was the date a thousand or more years ago...Time Hindus grew up and opened their eyes and actually looked in the skies for some truths - not just the old texts...
Unfortunately ever since Rajeev wrote the article about the Tsunami, I have stopped holding him in high regard as a sensible person...he is just one of the other south indians who keep beating their drums that they are the best, they are the best. seen many many such south indians...
What happened to hinduisms vasudaiv kutumbakam. why do you want the chinese to suffer bad effects of industrialisation...are they not humans? or they are not south indians so you dont like them. if you look at anthropology texts, the ancestors of people from indonesia traveled and moved into eastern and southern india and china...but of course that was long before hinduism began...so i guess that would not apply to Rajeev...
The more I see the world the more I start understanding Mark Twain's quote "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."
Time for hindus, muslims, christians from india to travel. not just travel - but open their eyes, travel and understand how similar we all are... its a beautiful and amazing world...if we only want to see...
RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by Tigger_and_Pooh on Jan 31, 2007 01:11 AM Permalink
1. who are the authors of the so calle d"anthropologt texts that you read"?
2. what is your basis to assert the date of start of hinduism?
RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by Sudheer Tumuluru on Jan 31, 2007 01:38 AM Permalink
Where the hell did Rajeev mention anything about north or south? He didn't talk about north or south at all, rather Bengal and Madras: both being on the east coast. So you got your directions messed up dude!
And, could you please substantiate your conjecture that some Indians migrated from Indonesia (that's a new one): in fact it is quite the opposite. Indian influences, specifically Maurya (through Ashoka and his children), Kalinga and Chola dynasties are present in ancient IndoChina: Angkor Wat being the prime example.
Rajeev never said that Chinese should suffer because of industrialization: that is already happening. Since China is already the world's workshop, we in India can look at our inner strengths and harness those instead of just aping others.
I fail to understand why you would develop an inferiority complex just looking at the author's name and quickly blurt out random s*#t that south indian this, north indian that. Let's try to be mature and think as one nation instead of trying to blame so ethnicity for thinking differently from you! It is better to keep your mouth shut instead of speaking out and let the world know you are an idiot.
RE:RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by me on Jan 31, 2007 03:08 AM Permalink
lets wind our clocks back - more than what vedas, upanishads, hindus could tell us...say around 10000 years ago? that would be what archaeology could tell us. and what do you see? humans migrate out from africa. from arabia they enter "india" of that time. settle down. in a few years a giant volcano erupts in the indian ocean near present day indonesia. a 6 year nuclear winter sets in in india and pakistan because of the volcanic cloud. populations in this subcontinent get wiped out. after the nuclear winter people from indonesia slowly start moving back along the coast toward the subcontinent. one branch moves into india and another branch moves to china from our north east. it is still a long long time before hinduism will begin. angkor wat is a very very recent example in archaeological terms.
when you talk of inner strengths and not aping others, i think u need to introspect. what do hindu rituals do? are hindus not aping the past without even knowing what mumbo jumbo they utter? are any of the hindu rituals relevant in any bit of way to ur current lives? how many of u actually planned ur own weddings? how many actually have plain unadulterated fun at ur weddings - days which r supposedly desginated to be your own when u should be happiest to bond with your lifemates. i have woman hindu friends who dont even talk of their marriage because all they did were some rituals which they didnt like...they are ashamed of the rituals that they did...(or were forced on them)
live in the present and love the people around u rather than ur rituals and your pasts...
love begins when religion ends. u will learn to love human beings of all colors, sexual orientations, countries, disabilities only if u stop thinking that my religion is better than ur religion, my country better that urs, my state better than urs, my language better that urs...
read material that is actually scientific..gives unbiased views. its time a scientific uprising starts in india which frees it from all its mangal doshas and kuja doshas and shani rahus ketus, sea water near some dargah turning sweet, ganpati drinking milk.... people should learn to live brave happy simple lives with a scientific attitude of learning new things everyday and dusting off old cobwebs.
RE:RE:RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by Sudheer on Jan 31, 2007 05:31 AM Permalink
I am not sure which volcanic eruption you are referring to. If it is the Krakatoa eruption, the earliest recorded eruption was in 416AD. It is also a known fact that Ashoka ruled from 273-232BC. BTW, in 416AD, people in Indonesia followed the "Hindu" religion and had Hindu kings. So please give us more specific references (URLS??).
While I totally agree with you that we should reform our old Hindu calendar and not get immersed in our own dogma and ritualistic practices, Rajeev's point was not regarding the accuracy of this date, but just the significance of it. Almost all cultures have celebrated the Winter Solistice in one way or another: the date December 25th for Christmas is not actually the day of Jesus's birth, but was chosen by the Romans because it was convenient to celebrate it with the pagan festival of the Winter Solistice: the day the worshipped the sun for his triumph over darkness (Sol Invictus).
Also, just to be clear, while I do not agree with Rajeev's views of blaming everything that's bad in India on communist past and its current vestiges; I like the general tone in his articles which give an optmistic look at the future. Nothing wrong with uplifting articles, with a touch of self-aggrandizement ;-)
RE:RE:RE:RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by me on Feb 01, 2007 12:07 AM Permalink
wind your clock much much more behind 416AD. 416ad is less than 2000 years ago. i was referring to something that happened more than 10000 years ago.. the volcanic eruption i was referring to was long long long long before hinduism existed. here you go. http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/
the more we learn about humankinds journey or even life's journey through evolution, the more certain we become of one repeating truth that - we are all one. be it one with humans, one with animals, one with all life in general. the future will only be optimistic if we learn to look at people of all countries as citizens of earth who want a better life a more fulfilling life. look at tensions growing due to japanese military increases, or north korea's nuclear ambitions. or islam's fundamentalist, radical missionaries. if we continue looking at other countries, other religions as enemies, we are only hastening our end. if we look for our successes in defeating others, we may win but a short sighted war.
the urge to compete for survival is innate in humans, and all living beings alike. But to make a systematic organized machinery of hate, lies and mistrust on the basis of artificial borders like countries and religions is only a human 'inhumane' tendency. i think it is time to find happiness in a more positive way. something that will benefit earth and life on earth. not benefit just one nation or one religion. it is time to find the correct meaning of vasudaiv kutumbakam (it should not mean colonizing the earth by one powerful country or one religion. but just living peacefully/innocently (not ignorantly) with all living things)
RE:RE:RE:uttarayan, china, humanity
by vijay kumar on Feb 07, 2007 12:41 AM Permalink
If a massive volcano occur in Indonesia and people in Indian subcontinent get wiped out. How did people in Indonesia survive? Can you please explain that.
