Promod Puri's Blog: Hinduism:beyond rituals,customs and traditions, page 106
January 9, 2017
Meryl Streep Slams Trump At Golden Globes
[image error]“….who are we, and what is Hollywood anyway? It’s just a bunch of people from other places. I was born and raised and educated in the public schools of New Jersey. Viola was born in a sharecropper’s cabin in South Carolina, came up in Central Falls, Rhode Island; Sarah Paulson was born in Florida, raised by a single mom in Brooklyn. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of seven or eight kids in Ohio. Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy. And Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem. Where are their birth certificates? And the beautiful Ruth Negga was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, raised in London — no, in Ireland I do believe, and she’s here nominated for playing a girl in small-town Virginia.
Ryan Gosling, like all of the nicest people, is Canadian, and Dev Patel was born in Kenya, raised in London, and is here playing an Indian raised in Tasmania. So Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. And if we kick them all out you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts”. NY Times
January 6, 2017
Versatile Actor Om Puri
Om Puri, who died January 5, was among the most talented and versatile actors in the Indian [image error] film world. Starting his film career in 1972, he belonged to the parallel cinema movement in the 80s which produced some of the most outstanding films exploring various aspects of the Indian society. Om Puri along with Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Raj Babbar were part of the new wave who revolutionized the Indian film industry by setting higher standards with their superb performances and dialogue delivery. Together they smashed the cult worshiping of heroes and heroines of ‘70s and ‘80s who dominated the Indian film scene not necessarily by their acting talents but more by their looks.
January 2, 2017
A BRIEF UNDERSTANDING OF HINDUISM
By Promod Puri
Why are there so many gods and goddesses in Hinduism? Why worship an idol? Is going to temple mandatory in the faith? What impact does the caste system have on Hindu society? Why do some rituals make perfect sense while others are so vague? What are the secular and diverse characters in Hinduism? What physics principles constitute the sound of Om? What is karma and its role in our day to day lives?
These are some of the many questions which intrigue the non-Hindu mind as well as even among the Hindus especially those belonging to the younger generation.
Wrapped in mystique and antiquity the identity of Hinduism lies in its wide-open structure which allows and let develop diverse and distinct ideologies and practices without any governing body or binding scriptures.
“Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no governing body, no prophet(s) nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monistic, or atheistic. Within this diffuse and open structure, spirituality in Hindu philosophy is an individual experience”.
– Julius Lipner, author: Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Source: Wikipedia.
Hinduism is not merely a religion or as it is often referred “a way of life”. It is a multi-disciplinary academy as well. It is a democracy of conflicting, contradicting and controversial thoughts and ideologies.
Beyond its practicing rituals, customs, and traditions Hinduism thru its various schools offers comprehensive studies in philosophies, metaphysics, and sciences which cover every aspect of human endeavors.
As such it recognizes diversity of thought. The rational and liberal thought in Hinduism is the very basis of Sankhya School which is one of the several ancient Hindu faculties infusing diversity in the theological philosophies of the religion. Sankhya in Hindi or Sanskrit means number. In this empirical meaning, Sankhya seeks rationality as demonstrated by numeric equation 2+2=4. It rejects 2+2=5. In other words, a concept must go thru rational examination before being accepted or rejected.
An example of its rational and liberal acceptance of thoughts is revealed in Hindu theism in the following statement from the Rig Veda Chapter X, Para 129 which says:
Who knows, and who can swear,
How creation came, when or where!
Even gods came after creation’s day,
Who knows, who can truly say
When and how did creation start?
Did He, do it? Or did He not?
Only He, up there, knows, maybe;
Or perhaps, not even He.
(Promod Puri is the author of Hinduism Beyond Rituals, Customs, And Traditions)
For more reading on Hinduism and other religious, social and human interest topics please visit:
Film Review: Dangal is master-piece of faction
Film Review: Dangal
Producer: Aamir Khan Productions
Director: Nitesh Tiwari
Cast: Aamir Khan, Sakshi Tanwar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar, Ritwik Sahore and Girish Kulkarni
Rating: 4 stars
There is one man in the film industry who is in himself a brand for excellence and who rarely disappoints his audience who rightly expect sparks, be it at the ticket counter or in terms of aesthetic quality. No prize for guessing? Mr. Perfectionist, Aamir Khan. He simply takes Dangal to another level, playing Mahavir Singh Phogat that will set the bar to a soaring high in the display of such a mature character, wearing shades of ruthlessness as a father and expressing the pain conveyed in his eyes. It’s a fab act. A film like Dangal on sports and real life personalities will serve as a strong reference point in years to come through the helming of a…
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January 1, 2017
Super Salad, Trump, Mantras, Web Pages Highlights Of 2016
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By Promod Puri
The time flies. So was the year 2016.
As the cliché goes “it seems only yesterday” when we ushered into 2016 with traditional exchange of greetings and a new set of resolutions.
While the self-promises if achieved become milestones of the year, there are acts and feats of learning and acquiring new knowledge which add to our life’s experiences.
Personally, that was the year 2016 in which I gained knowledge and experience which launched me into my own web pages, promodpuri.com and progressivehindudialogue.com. Here I can use my own channels for everything which I write, rewrite, scrawl, and scribble.
It all started when my book Hinduism beyond rituals, customs and traditions got published early in January last year that I needed some outlets to trumpet the world that here is something to read about.
This was also the year when I wrote many more essays, articles and features including “bits and pieces”, on a range of subjects than any other years before.
From Trump to Swastika, Manusmiriti to Ambedkar, Hindutva to Assembly of God, “Guru Maneyo Granth” to Universality of Hindu Mantras, Quantum Theory and Om, Role of Religion in Politics, from Kashmir to Castro’s Cuba, racism to the politics of the Left and Right, from Gandhi to singer Jagjit Singh, and lot more on topical issues, along with lighter subjects like Uncles and Aunties, Banana Hanger, Cricket Vs Soccer, stairs as an exercise, etc. that all these topics kept my cognitive senses busy, and fingers keep moving on the keyboard.
Creating the web pages and learning its intricacies (with tremendous help from Kapil) have been a rewarding challenge which are no doubt my highlights of 2016.
Beside the web pages, another focus of the year is my signature Super Salad creation, yes, the edible salad, which has over 15 ingredients from fresh greens to edamame, fruits, seeds, and nuts, and to top it off with basil pesto; mixed together and enjoying it with a glass of wine (optional).
Overall, it was the most meaningful year. And as I enter 2017 my resolution is that I will continue where I left when the 2016 edition folded.
Happy New Year, and enjoy:
December 31, 2016
HAPPY NEW YEAR:
In the spirit of exchanging New Year greetings we wish peace and happiness for all the humanity. As animals, plants, mountains, rivers, seas and everything visible and non-visible in this shared universe are all inter-connected and inter-dependent to each other, we seek peace and peaceful existence for all.Peace in all the cosmic environments influences peace in humankind as well.
SHANTI (PEACE) MANTRA
Aum dyauh shantirantariksam shanti prthivi shantirapah shantirosadhayah shanti vanaspatayah shantirvisvedevah shantirbrahma shantisarvam shantireva shant sa ma shantiredhi Aum shanti shanti shanti.
Following is a translated version of the peace mantra:”May peace radiate there in the whole sky as well as in the vast ethereal space everywhere.
May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, trees and creepers.
May peace flow over the whole universe.
May peace be in the Supreme Being Brahman.
And may there always exist in all peace and peace alone.
Aum peace, peace and peace to us and all beings!”
(Translation by Swami Abhedananda, Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, India).
(From the book Hinduism beyond rituals, customs and traditions)
From the book Hinduism beyond rituals, custom and traditions
December 28, 2016
Surreal:Word of the Year
“It’s a word that is used to express a reaction to something shocking or surprising, a meaning which is built into its parts: the “real” of surreal is preceded by the French preposition sur, which means “over” or “above.” When we don’t believe or don’t want to believe what is real, we need a word for what seems “above” or “beyond” reality. Surreal is such a word”. Merriam Webster
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December 26, 2016
Billion $ Business of “Defence”
It is the business of arms and ammunition which is killing many more people worldwide than diseases or natural disasters.
And once again the United States of America leads all other weapon-producing countries in 2015. It supplied the weapons of mass killing worth $ 40 BILLION mostly to the developing nations to meet their “defense needs”, reports New York Times (December 26, 2016).
France is number two with $15 billion in sales. Other major arms suppliers are Russia ($11.1 billion), China ($6 billion), Sweden, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Britain, and France.
Among the leading buyer countries, the tiny nation of Qatar tops the list with $17 billion in purchases, followed by Egypt ($12 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($8 billion), South Korea, Pakistan, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq.
Weapons for “defense” are the weapons of offense to suppress anti-government uprisings as in Egypt, to “fight against terrorism” per Saudi Arabia deceptive demands, or to clandestinely support terrorism like Pakistan does.
No matter under what agreements these weapon-purchase deals are made, the selling countries care less against whom these weapons are used, and what the safeguards are there that these don’t end up in the hands of terrorist organizations.
But that is not their business. Their business is political which is influenced by the arms manufacturing lobbies. While the bloodshed goes on. And the world peace remains as mere an agenda.
By Promod Puri
promodpuri.blogspot.com
Season’s Greetings
In the spirit of exchanging greetings with our friends and relative we also wish peace and happiness for all the humanity, and join together to bring along everybody so nobody is left out in our ce…
Source: Season’s Greetings
Season’s Greetings For All
In the spirit of exchanging greetings with our friends and relatives we also wish peace and [image error]happiness for all the humanity, and join together to bring along everybody so nobody is left out in our celebrations of the holiday season. Realizing that we human beings, along with animals, plants, mountains, rivers, seas and everything visible and non-visible in this shared universe are all inter-connected and inter-dependent to each other, we seek peace and peaceful existence for our environment also. (Image credit Google)
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