Blog Archives

Hindus object labeling of their deities as “false idols” in Church of Scotland assembly

May 23

Posted by

Evelix, Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

Evelix, Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus have strongly objected to Hindu deities being reportedly referred to as “false idols” on the opening day of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland on May 19 in Edinburgh (United Kingdom).

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that about one billion Hindus worldwide worshipped their deities almost on a daily basis and labeling them as “false” was highly hurting their feelings.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, asked apology from Church of Scotland for this inappropriate language as these deities were highly revered in Hinduism. Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Zed stated.

Rajan Zed stressed that all religions should work together for a just and peaceful world. Dialogue would bring us mutual enrichment, Zed added.

English: Struan Free Presbyterian Church of Sc...

English: Struan Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What happened to the Church of Scotland’s friendly hand for interfaith dialogue towards various religious traditions, Zed asked. Last year Church reportedly affirmed its “Inter-Faith Agenda”, when to a questionnaire sent on inter-faith issues, resounding 85% answered that they felt inter-faith was an important area for the Church to be involved into today. Church website says: “The landscape of our country is no longer solely dominated with the steeples and crosses of Christians Churches, but is peppered by the arches and domes of temples, synagogues, gurdwaras and mosques…we are having to adopt practical ways of encountering people from other faith backgrounds, whether neighbours, shop keepers, co-workers, relatives or friends.”

This “false idols” reference was reportedly made while discussing allowing of use of hall of Queen’s Cross Parish (QCP) Church in Aberdeen, a Church of Scotland parish, by Hindu community. General Assembly continues till May 25.

A registered charity, Aberdeen Hindu Association (AHA), whose objectives include “promotion of religious harmony”, conducts three-hour pooja first and third Sunday of the month besides discourses and satsangs at QCP Church where Reverend Scott M. Rennie is the Minister and whose website says that its facilities are available for hire. Dr. Balasubramaniam Vijayan, Dr. Pradeep Kumar and Dr. Senthil Ragupathy are President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively of AHA; which was launched in 2010 and whose “ultimate goal” is “to have a place of worship (temple) for ourselves in the Northeast of Scotland”.

English: Fettercairn Church of Scotland Church.

English: Fettercairn Church of Scotland Church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As is apparent from pictures posted on AHA website, during fortnightly pooja, statues and pictures of Hindu deities are placed inside the hall; with fruits, flowers, leaves, incense sticks and other pooja material placed before the images of deities, giving it the appearance of a sanctuary. Many of the devotees attend the pooja in traditional Indian dresses and scriptures are also brought in. Central to the Church of Scotland, majority church in Scotland, is “worship of God through following the teachings and examples of Jesus Christ”.

Hindu temples in Scotland include Edinburgh Hindu Mandir & Cultural Centre (EHMCC) in Leith, Hindu Temple of Scotland (HTOS) in Rutherglen, ISKCON Karuna Bhavan in Lesmahagow, Tayside Hindu Cultural and Community Centre in Dundee and Hindu Mandir Glasgow. EHMCC was reportedly a Presbyterian Church before it was acquired in 1986. Former Wardlawhill Church in Rutherglen, affiliated to Church of Scotland, was reportedly renovated and refurbished and converted into what is HTOS now.

Around 400 CE, St Ninian began the first large-scale Christian mission to Scotland, and now Church of Scotland, which calls itself “Reformed and Presbyterian”, has over 500,000 members and around 1,200 ministers. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Right Reverend Albert Bogle is the new Moderator, while Reverend John Chalmers is the Principal Clerk. Moksh (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Related articles

Posted in Religion, Spirituality

Leave a Comment

Tags: , , ,

A Brief Description of Popular Hinduism

Nov 29

Posted by

Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata,...

Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India via Wikipedia

By: Prithviraj Rathod

The essence of popular Hinduism is encapsulated in one of the verses of Gita, one of the most sacred scriptures of Hinduism. The scripture is about Krishna, the divine personality, telling humanity through his disciple Arjun on what needs to be done to win the final salvation for the human soul. In the verse 12.0.9 of the scripture, Krishna tells Arjun the following words:

“If you are unable to focus your mind steadily on Me, then long to attain Me by practice of any other spiritual discipline, such as a ritual, or deity worship that suits you.”(gita-society.com)

The above words succinctly summarize what popular Hinduism is all about. Worship rituals are the most popular way of life in Hinduism. Hinduism does not prohibit other ways for attaining self-realization and salvation. If the person is intellectual enough, he or she can follow other modes of enlightenment such as meditating and fixing the mind on the absolute; or follow such other forms as Karma Yoga, Gnana Yoga, for attaining God. However, most common people find such methodologies of attaining God to be beyond them. So they follow the simpler ritualistic methodology for attaining the Supreme Being.

Ritualistic worship sits at the heart of the popular Hinduism. Instead of sitting motionless in front of God’s idol for about an hour and try to fix the mind on God, a devotee engages himself into various worship rituals. Place a glass of water in front of the idol, sanctify it with hymns or chantings of the names of God for a few minutes, and then sip some of that holy water. Place a few flowers in front of God’s idols or make an elaborate decoration of the idols with garlanded flowers. Sanctify the idols with kunkum powder and smear some of that powder on one’s forehead. Pour some oil into a couple of lamps, light them, and keep them in front of the idols. On important occasions, replace the usage of oil with compounds like Ghee, which are costlier than oil. Light a couple of incense sticks and place them in front of the idols. The smoke that comes out from these incense sticks fills up the room with pleasant smell. Place a couple of fruits in front of idols, sanctify the fruits with hymns, and then eat some of that fruit as a blessing from God. These are some of the common tasks done by an average Hindu almost everyday. The devout perform these tasks twice a day; they need to perform these tasks only after taking bath.

It is not that rituals are not present in other religions, but in Hinduism, these rituals take on much more elaborate proportions. Especially, when done in temples, these rituals are done for hours together. Ritualism sits at the heart of common Hinduism, which is why Hinduism is sometimes termed as a way of life. Many common Hindus are not much aware of Vedas, Puranas, Tantras, and such other Hindu scriptures. What they do have is a knowledge of large number of rituals performed at every junction of one’s life, which is what day-to-day Hinduism is all about.

About The Author

Prithviraj is a researcher into the origins of and comparative studies of religions and cultures. Visit his site to know more about Hinduism Introduction and beliefs, Hinduism Timeline and Chronology, and other concepts of Hindu Religion – http://19000years.blogspot.com

The author invites you to visit: http://19000years.blogspot.com

Article Source: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/religion/article_1309.shtml

Related articles

Posted in Religion, Spirituality

Leave a Comment

Tags: , , , , ,

Hindus critical of Sofia international interfaith conference for ignoring them

Aug 6

Posted by

The St. George Rotunda; some remains of Serdic...

St. George Rotunda in Sofia, Bulgaria; in the foreground remains of Serdica via Wikipedia

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus have commended International Conference “Religion for the Benefit of People” held at Sofia (Bulgaria) on August 3-4 for attempts at building bridges, but were critical of it for ignoring Hindus.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was wonderful to bring various religions/denominations together at one platform for dialogue and arriving at a common ground, but Sofia Conference organizers should have included Hindus in the summit because Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about a billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that serious and honest interfaith dialogue was the need of the hour. More religions/denominations/organizations should come forward for interreligious summits about common religious concerns like human improvement, peace, ecological responsibility, social & economic development, etc., Zed added.

Participating religions/denominations/organizations in this international religion conference reportedly included Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Catholic Exarchate, Armenian Apostolic Church, Islam, Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom”, Russian Orthodox Church, etc. Besides Bulgaria; Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders from about 20 countries, including Turkey, Israel, Russia, Georgia, Romania, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia; attended. Some of the religious leaders reportedly present were: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Head Rabbi of Tel Aviv (Israel) Meir Lau, Metropolitan Cyril of Varna, Bulgaria Head Mufti Mustafa Hadgi, Xanthi Bishop Panteleimon of Greece, etc.

Conference topics of discussion reportedly included religious and ethnic peace, upbringing of young people, challenges for religions in the current world crisis, poverty, rising nationalism, tolerance in society, etc. “Can different religions solve their problems together?” was also discussed. Second such conference is proposed for October 2012 in Varna (Bulgaria).

Some other world religions; like Buddhism, Sikhism, Baha’ism, Jainism, Shinto, Confucianism, Daoism, and Zoroastrianism; also reportedly went unrepresented in this Conference.

Related articles

Posted in Human Rights, Religion, Society, Spirituality

Leave a Comment

Tags: ,

Hindus have highest educational level & lowest divorce rate in America

May 13

Posted by

South façade of the White House, the executive...

Image: CC-BY-SA-3.0/Matt H. Wade via Wikipedia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus top in education in America as compared to any other religious group, according to “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey” of American adults by the prestigious Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life posted on its website.

While national total is 11%, 48% Hindus have post-graduate degrees, followed by Jews at the second place at 35%.

This Survey also points out that Hindus have second highest income levels in the country, second only to Jews. While national total is only 18%, 43% of Hindus come in $100,000+ income category as compared to 46% of Jews and 28% of Orthodox (number three in the list).

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, congratulated the Hindu community in America for continuing with the traditional values of hard work, higher morals, stress on education, sanctity of marriage, etc., amidst so many distractions.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, advised Hindus to focus on inner search, stay pure, explore the vast wisdom of scriptures, make spirituality more attractive to youth and children, stay away from the greed, and always keep God in your life.

The Survey further indicates that Hindus top in marriage also with 79% married, followed by Mormons at 71%, while the national total is 54%. Only 5% (lowest than any other group) Hindus are divorced or separated, followed by Mormons, Orthodox, Jews and Muslims at 9%, while the national total is 12%. Only 0% Hindus (lowest than any other group) are living with a partner, followed by Jehovah’s Witnesses at 1%, while the national total is 6%. Among the widowed also, Hindus are lowest at 2% followed by Muslims at 3%.

According to this Survey, 62% of Hindus say daily prayers, with 32% (highest percentage) living in South, followed by Northeast. Hindus form 0.4% of US adult population out of which 88% are of Asian background while 5% are White (non-Hispanic).

Headquartered in Washington DC, The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life “seeks to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs”. Luis E. Lugo is the Director. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan “fact tank” headquartered in Washington DC with Andrew Kohut as President.

Related articles

Posted in Religion, Society, Spirituality

1 Comment

Tags: , ,

Hindu Temple planned for Oxford

Apr 6

Posted by

The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, England as vie...

The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, England as viewed from the tower of the Church of St Mary the Virgin. via Wikipedia

Special to Earthpages.org

A Hindu Temple and Community Centre is being planned for Oxford (United Kingdom).

Besides the temple, the plan also includes building a 500-seat community center for providing meeting place for the community, community events, luncheon clubs, interfaith projects, indoor activities for youth, yoga classes, Sunday school, etc., reports suggest.

Oxford Hindu Temple & Community Centre Project, registered as charity with Charity Commission for England and Wales, currently organizes prayer sessions, festivals and other community events in various halls, including a primary school hall. One of the listed objects of this Project includes “to advance the Hindu religion in Oxfordshire”.

Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement today, applauded efforts of temple-project leaders and Oxfordshire and surrounding area community to realize this wonderful Hindu temple and community center.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new temple complex would focus in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

Project is run by an Executive Committee of 15 members whose Chair and Deputy Chair are Doctor Gyan Gopal and Chinta Kallie respectively. Fundraising campaign is currently on and it plans to raise 500,000 pounds for the temple fund, out of which 60,000 pounds have reportedly been collected.

There are about 5,000 Hindus in Oxfordshire County who currently have to travel long distances to London, Birmingham, Slough, etc., to worship in a Hindu temple.

Oxford (Oxfordshire, England),  chartered in 1542 and popularly called the “city of dreaming spires”, is known for its medieval University of Oxford, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera, Radiohead band, authors Oscar Wilde and Lewis Carroll, etc. Its motto is “Truth is strength” and John Goddard is the Lord Mayor, Bob Price is City Council Leader, while Peter Sloman is Chief Executive. Rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford, which appears in “Harry Potter” movies.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents.

Related Articles

Posted in Religion

Leave a Comment

Tags: , , , , ,

Hindu statesman Zed wants Belgium to recognize Hinduism

Nov 23

Posted by

Brugge - Jan Van Eyck 1

Image via Wikipedia

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has asked Belgium to recognize Hinduism.

Belgian government reportedly accords recognized status to Catholicism, Protestantism (including Pentecostals and evangelicals), Anglicanism, Orthodox (Greek and Russian) Christianity, secular humanist groups, Islam, and Judaism. Representative bodies for these religious groups receive subsidies from the federal, regional, and local governments. In 2010, government paid about $127 million to recognized religious groups.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that there was need to reform the way religious groups were recognized and financed in Belgium. Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought. What else Belgium wanted to fulfill its criteria of recognizing Hinduism? All it needed to do was to open a standard book on world religions and most of its doubts would be cleared.

As religious or “moral” instruction was reportedly mandatory in public schools and teachers were provided for recognized religious groups only, it was hindering Hindu children from learning about their own religion, Rajan Zed argued.

Zed urged leaders and organizations of various religions active in Belgium to push for recognition of Hinduism as “we were all co-travelers looking for the truth and headed in the same direction”.

According to recently issued “International Religious Freedom Report 2010” on Belgium by US Department of State: “…conditions in Belgium were not optimal for groups regarded as “sects” or “cults”…government officials continued to have the authority to monitor religious groups…reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice continued… sectarian organizations can be investigated… Jewish and Muslim groups reported incidents of discrimination, as did religious groups that had not been accorded official recognition by the government…227 complaints of religious discrimination were received in 2008…”

According to reports, about 60 percent of Belgium’s population identifies itself as Roman Catholic, four percent as Muslim, two percent as Protestant, one percent as Jewish, two percent as belonging to other religious groups, and 31 percent as nonbelievers. There are about 7,000 Hindus.

Belgium, which hosts European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is known for its chocolate, beer, waffles, Bruges, cartographer Gerardus Mercator, Big Bang theorist Georges Lemaître, painter Jan van Eyck, poet Emile Verhaeren, etc.

Related Articles

Share

Posted in Human Rights, Religion, Spirituality

Leave a Comment

Tags: , , ,

High-flown “Uppsala Interfaith Climate Manifesto” denounced for ignoring Hindus & others

Dec 2

Posted by

Uppsala Cathedral by ultrahi

Uppsala Cathedral by ultrahi

Special to Earthpages.org

The grandiose “Interfaith Climate Manifesto” signed at Uppsala (Sweden) during November 28-29 “Interfaith Climate Summit” was a wonderful document but it lacked the anticipated moral strength because of absence of various faiths, Hindus assert.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that an interfaith document to be effective needed to be all-inclusive. But this “interfaith” Manifesto was missing Hindu signatories who represented about 14 percent of the world population. Hinduism was the oldest and the third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly.

Some other world religions, like Bahaism, Jainism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and Zoroastrianism, also went unrepresented.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was commendable to see diverse religious leaders, religions and denominations coming together to bless the environmental causes in Uppsala, but the organizers should have given adequate and fair representation to major world religions.

Zed argued that because of the absence of various faith groups, this “interfaith” Manifesto would not carry the expected moral solidarity and force when presented to United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change, UN Commission on Sustainable Development next year in New York, various world governments, and religious networks.

Purposes of the Summit listed included “to communicate an urgent, hopeful, ethical-religious message to the global community about the need…to slow down global warming”. How the Summit message would be effective globally when many communities went unrepresented or underrepresented, Zed asked.

Uppsala by night by mikaellu

Uppsala by night by mikaellu

The Summit brochure said: “It will draw attention to our shared responsibility to give hope to the world, and also to eliminate the adverse effects of global warming.” How the responsibility could be shared when many major faith groups representing large chunks of population were simply ignored, Zed pointed out.

Here is the breakdown of the 26 faith leaders signing the Manifesto, as provided by the Church of Sweden website: Christian 12, Muslim four, Buddhist three, Jew three, Dao two, Sikh one, Native American one.

But Zed otherwise admired Church of Sweden and its Archbishop Anders Wejryd for taking the world leadership role in organizing this much-needed Summit and thus making religions climate friendly.  Faiths coming out in support of the environment was a remarkable signal, he added.

Humanity was facing a threatening ecological crisis and religions should not stay out as silent spectators. We may believe in different religions, yet we share the same home-our Earth. We must learn to happily progress or miserably perish together. For man can live individually but can only survive collectively, Rajan Zed says quoting scriptures.

Posted in Religion, Society

1 Comment

Tags: , , ,

Lauding Archbishop of Canterbury for Christian-Muslim dialogue, Hindus urge him for similar parleys

Oct 21

Posted by

Archbishop Williams prepares

Originally uploaded by scottgunn

Special to Earthpages.org

Applauding Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan D. Williams for organizing a Christian-Muslim dialogue, Hindus have urged him to have a similar conversation with Hindus also.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was wonderful to watch the world’s two major religions meeting together to “grow in mutual understanding, trust and friendship.” It was remarkable to see them talking about “interdependence” and urgency of “the need to understand and respect one another”.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Archbishop Williams should invite world Hindu leaders for a similar dialogue, as Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion followers.

Rajan Zed pointed out that serious and honest interfaith dialogue was the need of the hour. Religion was the most powerful, complex and far-reaching force in our society, so we must take it seriously. And we all knew that religion comprised much more than our own particular tradition/experience, Zed stressed.

After intensive deliberations, this meeting of Christian-Hindu leaders should come up with a concrete plan about the common religious concerns like human improvement, peace, ecological responsibility, social & economic development, etc. Maybe this gathering could become an annual feature after that, he added.

Rajan Zed further says that in our shared pursuit for the truth, we can learn from one another and thus can arrive nearer to the truth. This dialogue may help us vanquish the stereotypes, prejudices, caricatures, etc., passed on to us from previous generations. As dialogue brings us reciprocal enrichment, we shall be spiritually richer than before the contact.

Archbishop Williams is the senior bishop of the worldwide Anglicans, a Christian denomination, who number around 77 million. Moksha (liberation) is the ultimate goal of Hinduism.

Posted in Environment, In the News, Religion, Society, Soul, Theology

2 Comments

Tags: , , , ,

Hindus urge makers of Hollywood movie “Ramayan 3392 A.D.” not to re-imagine the scriptures

Oct 13

Posted by

Rama Shrine

Originally uploaded by Mellagi

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus have urged the makers of newly announced Hollywood movie “Ramayan 3392 A.D.” to stay true to the story and the spirit of the timeless epic.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Ramayan was a highly revered scripture of Hinduism. Hollywood was welcome to make a movie about Ramayan but the final product should be the true depiction of it and not a fantasized or a re-imagined version.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that changing Ramayan to fit the Hollywood machine were likely to hurt the Hindu sentiments, Ramayan had been venerated for thousands of years and we believe that it would continue to be revered in 3392 AD.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion followers and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken lightly. No faith, larger or smaller, should be plundered, Rajan Zed said and added that pillaging and inappropriate use of Hindu scriptures and serious spiritual doctrines for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.

Zed further said that Ramayan was an integral part of Hinduism and was held in such reverence that Hindus believed that simply reading/hearing of it showered blessings upon the reader/listener. Ram, the hero of Ramayan, was incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and was worshipped by Hindus.

Hindus welcomed Hollywood to immerse in Hinduism but taking it seriously and respectfully and not for refashioning Hinduism concepts and symbols for mercantile greed. Hindus would gladly provide genuine Hollywood seekers the resources they needed for their study and research, Zed pointed out.

Ramayan, an ancient Sanskrit scripture that consists of 24,000 stanzas, explores various themes, including human existence, concept of dharma, etc.

Mandalay Pictures, Mark Canton and Liquid Comics  have teamed up to make this movie.  Mandalay Pictures (of Mandalay Entertainment Group, Los Angeles) is a motion picture company which finances, produces and distributes motion pictures for the global marketplace. Donnie Brasco, starring Al Pacino, is one of the 12 pictures from Mandalay. Liquid Comics has completed the management buyout of Virgin Comics Liquid Comics has completed the management buyout of Virgin Comics Liquid Comics has completed the management buyout of Virgin Comics Liquid Comics has completed the management buyout of Virgin ComicsLiquid Comics has recently completed the management buyout of Virgin Comics and it has announced “to continue to develop innovative digital, film, animation, and gaming projects”. Mark Canton, besides others, produced controversial movie “300″, an R-rated film about Battle of Thermopylae, set around 480 BCE.

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Religion, Society, Soul, Supernatural

3 Comments

Tags: , , ,

“European Year of Intercultural Dialogue” ignored the Hindus

Oct 10

Posted by

Rajan Zed

Special to Earthpages.org

The much-glorified European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (EYID) 2008 initiative of European Union (EU) has failed to meet its own stated goals, Hindus assert.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that while one of major goals of EYID was to “promote knowledge, respect for and openness towards other beliefs”; Hinduism and Hindus appear to have been largely ignored.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, says that idea behind EYID was highly commendable and interfaith dialogue should be promoted, but EYID’s framing and implementation lacked its real spirit. Dialogue brings us reciprocal enrichment and aids us in seeing inter-reliance and interconnections between religions and even resemblance in doctrines.

Zed says that out of over 750 EYID events being organized during 2008 by EU, its member states and partners mentioned on the EYID website, none appears to have been exclusively devoted to Hinduism, while many other religions seem to be well covered. Hinduism is many times misunderstood outside India and EYID was a good venue to explain its concepts and tenets to Europeans, he adds.

Zed points out that Hinduism is the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion followers and a rich philosophical thought and EU should take it seriously. An estimated two million Hindus reside in Europe where every country has some Hindu presence.

EYID, established by the Decision N° 1983/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and a budget of ten million Euros, was meant to be inclusive and representative for Europe as a whole, but doing search with words “Hindu” or “Hinduism” on EYID website resulted in “NO results found”. Interestingly one of the target groups of EYID was “disadvantaged social groups” and one of the main objectives was “promotion of cultural diversity”, Rajan Zed argues.

During 2008 as a part of EYID, various religious leaders were invited to address the European Parliament plenary, but reportedly none of them was a Hindu. When Zed contacted the European Parliament President’s office sometime back requesting to address European Parliament as part of EYID, he was told “sorry”. It may be recalled here that Zed recited the historic first Hindu prayer in United States Senate in Washington DC in 2007 during its 218 years history.

Zed further says that Hindus have made a positive contribution to the multi-cultural society of Europe. They believe in peaceful coexistence, and respect for all religions, traditions, beliefs, and cultures. Europe should give due respect to its Hindu brothers and sisters which they well deserve.

Posted in In the News, Religion, Society, Soul

Leave a Comment

Tags: , , , , , ,

← Older Posts
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 6,102 other followers