Lakshmi and Alakshmi : Lakshmi's Owl

In Orissa and Bengal, Lakshmi images include a white owl. In local belief, white owls have come to be associated with auspiciousness and good luck because of their association with the goddess. Who is this owl? Scriptures do not clarify.

Some say, Lakshmi rides the owl; others believe the owl simply accompanies her, while she rides on a elephant, the latter being a more appropriate vehicle for the goddess who is associated with wealth, power, and royal splendor.

Owls are solitary creatures, who sleep all day and prowl at night. Because of their nocturnal activity and screeching call, they have been associated with bad luck and death, leading to the conclusion that she is Alakshmi, Lakshmi’s elder twin, the goddess of strife and misfortune. But because of its round eyes that never move and stare straight ahead, the owl has been associated with wisdom in many parts of the world, especially ancient Greece, where it was closely associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. The term “lord with circular eyes” (Choka-dola) is used in the East to refer to Jagannath, the form of Krishna-Vishnu worshipped in Puri, Orissa, leading to speculation that the owl actually represents Lakshmi’s consort, Vishnu. Favoring this line of thought, is the fact that in Hindu mythology, the vahana or vehicle of a deity is always male, not female. But the idea that Lakshmi would ride her own husband, thought acceptable to feminists, is abhorrent to traditionalists. They insist that the owl accompanies the goddess; she does not ride it. If she does not ride the owl, then it could be either Vishnu, or Alakshmi.

But Vishnu never follows Lakshmi; she follows him, drawn by his ability to uphold order or dharma wherever he goes. And Alakshmi, always accompanies, Lakshmi, for she is the elder sister. In images, Lakshmi is associated with both Vishnu and the owl. Art historians are of the opinion that since it is inauspicious to portray Alakshmi, artists have chosen to represent her as an owl. But why represent her at all?

The idea of Lakshmi having a twin sister is an ancient one. Some say while Lakshmi was born of Brahma’s face, Alakshmi was born from his back. Some say Lakshmi emerged along with Amrita, the nectar of immortality, when the gods were churning the ocean of milk; Alakshmi emerged with Halahal, the dreaded poison with the power to destroy the world. Alakshmi is called many things including Daridra, poverty personified; Kalaha, strife personified; Kalikanni, quarrel personified; Nritti, goddess of decay. In the mythology of Shiva, Alakshmi is Kali, the fearsome aspect of Shakti, while Lakshmi is Gauri, the lovable aspect of Shakti. In Vishnu mythology, Lakshmi adores dharma (acts born of empathy) while Alakshmi adores adharma (acts born of exploitation). Thus Lakshmi and Alakshmi are two halves of a complete whole; Lakshmi is the fruit that is savored while Alakshmi is the waste that is discarded. The two exist as a whole; without either there is neither.

In mythology, Lakshmi does not make any value judgment. A bowl of rice feeds a saint and a sinner; a rupee coin has the same value in the hands of a judge and the same value in the hands of a murderer. But Lakshmi always comes with her sister in tow. Failure to acknowledge Alakshmi is dangerous for she represents all the negative energies that accompany any wealth. Everyone knows that money breeds strife and jealousy. Alakshmi embodies that dark aspect of wealth. She is the one who makes rich brothers quarrel. She is the one who divides the household. She is the one who does not allow peace to enter the house of gold.

The only way to make Alakshmi weak is to constantly be aware of her; acknowledge her as much as her sister. Typically in rituals, sweets, kept inside the house, are offered to Lakshmi while lemons and chillies, kept outside the house, are meant for Alakshmi. Lakshmi, say the scriptures, never goes anywhere without her sister. In other words, wealth never goes anywhere without the seed of strife.

The story goes that Lakshmi and Alakshmi once paid a visit to a trader and asked her who of the two is more beautiful. The trader was frightened of making either one unhappy so he came up with a clever answer that would please both. “Lakshmi is beautiful when she walks towards me. Alakshmi is beautiful when she walks away from me.” Pleased with this response, fortune moved towards the trader while strife moved away.

Today, we seem to be inviting strife into our house. News reports celebrate strife. Television shows are based on strife. Everyone is fighting. Young people are fighting on reality shows and the audience loves it. Judges are fighting, singers are fighting and we are beaming these thoughts into our living rooms during family time, while eating dinner. War is presented as entertainment. Stories of rape and abuse and murder are generating vicarious thrills. And all this is happening at a time when India is reaping the benefits of liberalization. Guess, in our pursuit of Lakshmi, we have forgotten to tell Alakshmi, with utmost love and respect, “Stay out!”

Source : Devdutt Pattanaik

Vivek Oberoi bats for Hindu pilgrims, criticising government, Manav Aastha Foundation

While sending out a written statement to favour the NGO, Manav Aastha Foundation, which organises pilgrimages for Hindus, actor Vivek Oberoi ended up criticising the government for not providing adequate facilities for Hindu pilgrims.

“...Every religion practised in India has a common belief that pilgrimages to holy mosques, temples and churches hold the route to salvation, bringing us spiritually closer to God,”Oberoi said in the written statement.

“Our government extends its support to the Haj Committee of India. However there is no political body, spiritual guru or NGO in India that has undertaken such an initiative for Hindus...until now,” he added in the statement.

The statement has created a strong reaction among senior government officials. Some government officials also reportedly called up the actor and asked him to withdraw the statement.

But, Oberoi has not issued a fresh statement and his publicists also confirmed that he does not want to withdraw his statement.

— dnaindia

According to the Bhagvadgita when an individual completes the worldly responsibilities undertaking of the Char Dham pilgrimage is important to attain Moksh.

Manav Aastha Foundation an NGO in Mumbai announced a unique opportunity for underprivileged elders of the society called ‘Moksh Yatra’. This pilgrimage was launched today September 15, 2011 by the grace and the blessings of the Education Minister Rajesh Tope along with the trustee of Manav Aastha foundation Suraj Samat. With this grand announcement the foundation also selected 51 pilgrims from Mumbai for their first yatra that is scheduled for September 24, 2011.

According to the Bhagvadgita when an individual completes the worldly responsibilities undertaking of the Char Dham pilgrimage is important to attain Moksh. Unfortunately, many elders in our country are unable to complete this Yatra due to their financial conditions or their children being busy with their own mundane life, and are unable to accompany their parents on such yatras.

Manav Aastha Foundation positions itself as a modern day Shravan by taking care of the entire needs of these elders who wish to complete the Char Dham yatra. ‘Moksh Yatra’ will cover the Char Dham Yatra i.e Badrinath, Rameshwaram, Jagannath Puri & Dwarka from September 24th which is considered extremely important in our Hindu scriptures. The first yatra organized by the foundation got an overwhelming response, where approximately 5000 applicants from across the state applied for this, out of which 51 yatris were selected for their Yatra. The entire ground work and verification of the applicants was undertaken by Nitesh Rane’s NGO Swabhiman Sanghatana.

Suraj Samat of Manav Aastha who is also the man behind this unique idea says, “We at Manav Aastha constantly strive to get a positive change in the society. Moksh Yatra is just one such initiative that fulfills the wishes of a person who wants to make this journey but has been deprived of it due to several reasons. Therefore, we take inspiration from Shravan Kumar who left no stones unturned just to perform the duties towards his parents with regards to their spiritual journey. We shall do everything and make all possible arrangements for all those who cannot afford these yatras. Fortunately, we have many corporates coming forward to help us with this noble cause and soon expect the government also to support and make the necessary amendments with regards to pilgrimage subsidies. “

Rajesh Tope the Education Minister applauding the effort of the foundation said, “I congratulate Manav Aastha Foundation for conceptualizing and executing such a unique initiative called ‘Moksha Yatra’. I am sure many underprivileged citizens can fulfill their dream of visiting places of religious and spiritual significance through this noble cause. My best wishes to all the members of Manav Aastha Foundation and Suraj Samat.”

The foundation will be taking the Moksh Yatra one step further by requesting the government to start subsidy for the Hindu pilgrimage. The foundation has received letters from Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of Maharashtra, Nitesh Rane Founder and Chairman of Swabhiman Sanghathana and Milind Deora - Member of Parliament extending their support to this noble cause.

I applaud such a wonderful initiative and I encourage you all to support ManavAastha, the Manav Aastha Foundation.”

Currently Manav Aastha’s initiative is only across the state but by early next year they plan to take this idea further across the country and internationally. The foundation has tied up with Kesari tours for the entire travel and stay package which includes local transport, 1 Stroller bag and Pooja thalis. Other than Kesari, there are many other corporates like Pratibha Industries and Patel engineering who have come forward to support this noble cause in various capacities.

Sonia Gandhi has not spoken in any parliament debate since 2006

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has not participated in any parliament debate since 2006, the records in Loksabha website proves it. However,before UPA came into power in 2004, she had 44 debates in her name.

But ever since UPA came to power, she rarely spoke in parliament, limiting herself to speech on felicitations. The only issue based debate she has participated ever since her party came to power is “Discussion on National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004.”



Also taking into account the number of questions asked, she has scored a hatrick, Zero questions were asked by her since she started her LS career.



Nationalizer

Four reasons why Time magazine dissed Anna Hazare

by Lakshmi Chaudhry and Sandip Roy

It’s official: 2011 is the Year of the Protester. Timemagazine sealed the deal by picking ‘The Protester’ as its Person of the Year. The choice was a no-brainer in a year when everyone and their mother picked up a banner and took to the streets, though for varying reasons and to varying effect.

There’s nothing magazine editors like more for their year-end issue than a tidy, catch-all theme that can be stretched to include pretty much everything that mattered. Everyone is present and accounted for in the Time package: Egyptians, Tunisians, Spaniards, Greeks, Americans, the Brits, and… Wait a minute, where are the Indians? Oh, here we are. One throwaway line in the cover story about “Mexico and India and Chile, where citizens mobilized against crime and corruption.”

There is not, however, one Hazare supporter in the 10 individual profiles of protesters, which are chock-a-block with Greeks and Spaniards. Nor do we merit a mention in the editor Rick Stengel’s introduction.

But look, there’s an image of Annaji in Peter Hapak’s photo essay. The relief is short-lived; we notice that Loukanikos — the stray dog that joined the Greek protests – has his very own 11-photo slideshow.

If it’s any consolation, the Brits are just as miffed that Kate Middleton – who at least came in at number 5 – “was snubbed by Time for ‘Person of the Year’ in spite of her fairy tale wedding, keen fashion sense and charitable good deeds.”

Really, people, what is going on! Protesters can keep protesting next year but Kate isn’t going to get married again in 2012!

In their desperate attempt to paint everything with the same brushstroke, the editors have clubbed together the Occupy Wall Street protester, the angry Greek, the Egyptian getting killed in Tahrir Square. AFP Photo

We aren’t sure about the lovely Kate, but it’s clear that the Hazare movement didn’t quite meet the hallowed standards for protests set by wise Timemagazine editors. The criteria for inclusion are perfectly clear and just as revealing:

One, you gotta be young. College kids are great, as are young hip urban professionals and the 20-something unemployed. A super-geeky 29-year old Muslim Brotherhood member carrying a Tigger notebook is especially cool. Protest is always about kids rebelling against their parents – just like those baby boomer, middle-agedTime editors did back in their glory days. Any movement that doesn’t feed into Sixties’ nostalgia isn’t worth a damn.

No one cares about those innumerable boring, over-40 types in Tahrir Square, Madrid, Athens or Moscow. In this carefully edited narrative, old folks have only one role: to dutifully cheer the next generation from the sidelines. A 69-year-old Canadian gets a nod for getting the Occupy movement rolling in the US but luckily with a 29-year-old African American for company.

With a 74-year old man as the face of our anti-corruption protest, we didn’t stand a chance. A doughty, septuagenarian Gandhian was just a little too old-school for the hip storyline that wanted a thousands protests to bloom but not any one leader — especially of the geriatric kind.

Two, only the “non-poor” count. Never mind that the Tunisian revolt was sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit vendor. Or that the Arab middle class never had the numbers to topple the government. There can be no revolution without designers, filmmakers, web entrepreneurs, and dentists – all out on the streets for the first time. The rest are just the usual whiners who don’t count as, for example, in Moscow:

These Russian protesters are a new breed, not just nostalgic old communist grandmas or bullyboy nationalists but yuppies, students, the best and brightest. “So this is what they look like,” said Oleg Orlov, the 58-year-old head of Russia’s main human-rights organization, as he scanned the square at Chistye Prudy the night of Dec. 5. “I’ve never seen them at rallies before, at least not in such enormous numbers. It’s incredible.”

All hail the incredible yuppie, including ageing human rights activists who have spent decades risking their lives.

The protests in India did meet this editorial criterion – it got the middle class out on the streets. But where our Western peers can protest to little visible effect — and still be counted — the rest of us “non-poor” types have to at least overthrow a government to qualify.

Three, it’s always about us, as in US. Every protest must have at the most three degrees of separation from the United States. In their desperate attempt to paint everything with the same brushstroke, the editors have clubbed together the Occupy Wall Street protester, the angry Greek, the Egyptian getting killed in Tahrir Square. Yes, the note admits, the risks are different in different places. But Time quickly finds a grand unifying note: “It’s remarkable how much the protest vanguards share. Everywhere they are disproportionately young, middle class and educated.”

Not sure that the dead street vendor in Tunisia quite fits the bill. Or the thousands of produce sellers who led the first wave of protests.

But that’s just nit-picking. We all know that the protests were about “the failure of hell-bent megascaled crony hypercapitalism” and not “enough money tricking down to keep them happyish,” claims the magazine. Sorry, we thought the Arab Spring was about entrenched brutal dictators – or is that one of the many inconvenient facts that don’t fit Time’s United Colours of Protesters template?We (Americans) are the world. The message is dinned in over and again in carefully selected quotes. Here’s an Egyptian dentist, Ahmed Harara, who lost his eyesight in Tahrir Square to rubber bullets, talking about the most memorable day in 2011: “Actually,” he said, “there are two days — the 28th of January here in Egypt and the day when Americans occupied Wall Street.”

Then there’s the Athens is Alabama moment: “Among the chants in the birthplace of democracy last spring were ‘Yes we can!’ And Anastasopoulos has kept a banner reading ‘Let freedom ring’ — that is, a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. quoting ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee’.”

In Time‘s map of the world, all roads lead right back to the United States. Alas, if only Annahad claimed to be the second coming of Martin Luther King Jr, he’d have at least made it to the top 10.

Four, it’s the Internet, stupid. All protests that “matter” must offer a grand vindication of social media and confirm the stereotype of the plugged-in protester. What connects the Arab Spring to angry Greeks to Occupy Wall Street? Why Facebook, of course:

Two years ago, scholars Nicholas Christakis (Harvard) and James Fowler (University of California, San Diego) published Connected, a groundbreaking study of social networks, which they summarize as “how your friends’ friends’ friends affect everything you feel, think and do.” The protests of the past 12 months look like a spectacular worldwide confirmation of those findings.

It all makes perfect sense – except the real game changer in the Middle East was television. Worse, the usually reviled Al Jazeera. As one Arab protestor said “Al-Jazeera and the Internet were the differences, especially Al-Jazeera – everybody watches TV.”

But Time prefers the revolution-by-social media hypothesis because it offers a hidden bonus. So what if the Arabs didn’t need USA to import democracy? In the end, the invisible hand that made it all happen was still American: “So America’s great 21st century contribution to fomenting freedom abroad was not imposing it militarily but enabling it technologically, as an epiphenomenon of globalization.”

Last year, Time anointed Mark Zuckerberg its Person of the Year. This year they get to claim his was the Facebook that launched a thousand protests.

Sure, Team Anna used Facebook as well. But, sadly, much of their early organising relied on missed calls and SMSing. As the Time mantra states: If you tweet it, they will come. So enough with the texting, already. Note to Time editors: Anna blogs, he really does. Doesn’t that count for something?

Does corruption have a caste? Lokpal quotas are a lunacy

The rush to find an all-party consensus on setting up an anti-corruption agency has found expression in the predictable lunacy of caste- and community-based reservations for the proposed Lokpal.

According to The Asian Age, the draft Cabinet note prepared by the Cabinet Secretary envisages the Lokpal panel as a nine-member constitutional body (headed by a chairman) with 50 percent reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

The Hindustan Times adds that the draft bill also has provision for “adequate representation” for women and minorities on the Lokpal panel.


Evidently, this lunacy is a response to the demands articulated by the leaders of a few parties at the all-party meeting convened on Wednesday. ReuterEvidently, this lunacy is a response to the demands articulated by the leaders of a few parties at the all-party meeting convened on Wednesday to evolve a consensus on the issue. These are the same parties that have sliced and diced society into caste- and community-based vote banks and advanced their own fortunes by playing ‘identity politics’ to perfection.

At that all-party meeting, Ram Vilas Paswan was among those who demanded quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities and women on the Lokpal panel.

His views were echoed by Samajwadi Party leaders Mohan Singh and Ram Gopal Yadav, who pitched for reservation for all these constituencies not only on the Lokpal panel but even on the search committee that would choose the Lokpal.

And Laloo Prasad Yadav, who has milked the politics of caste for all its worth in Bihar but still finds himself politically groundless, too chimed in on this score.

The leader of the Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen questioned the very need for a Lokpal, but with admirable dexterity of approach, argued equally forcefully for representation for minorities on the panel.

Strikingly, according to media reports, Team Anna, which initially had inhibitions about introducing quotas on the Lokpal panel, appears now to have reconciled itself to such a provision. Evidently, it felt that continued opposition to this provision would only help the Congress delay the introduction of the bill even further, and give it a halfways legitimate excuse to do so.

Prashant Bhushan, one of the core members of Team Anna, appears to have lingering inhibitions about the proposal to have quotas on the Lokpal panel. But even he conceded that having such quotas for the selection committee and Lokpal employees would ensure that they were more representative of the social diversity of the country.

No other constitutional body – not the Election Commission, not the Central Vigilance Commission, not the Comptroller and Auditor-General – has a provision for such caste- and community-based quotas.
Corruption is, ironically, the one realm where India’s caste identities, which otherwise assert themselves forcefully, vanish miraculously. The pantheon of our leaders who face grave corruption charges shows that corruption is the one area where caste and communal divisions don’t count: it is the ultimate equal-opportunity enterprise.

Indicatively, although M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa come from opposite ends of the caste spectrum, there is nothing to choose between them in terms of the corruption allegations they face. And Mayawati, that Dalit goddess, has valiantly raised the bar in respect of monumental corruption in her benighted state.

So, if corruption can be caste-blind, and if corruption can be truly secular, why can’t the Lokpal too be?

Op-Ed: Shame on You, Harvard University!

Harvard has come to the aid of Islamic fundamentalists in their quest to dominate India and South Central Asia by their dismissal of Indian Prof. S. Swarmy for writing of Muslim persecution in India. For shame!

Prof. Phyllis Chesler

Prof. Phyllis Chesler is the author of fifteen books, including Women and Madness (Doubleday, 1972), The Death of Feminism: What's Next in the Struggle for Women's Freedom (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) and most recently, The New Anti-Semitism. She is the co-founder of the Association for Women in Psychology and the National Women's Health Network.

►More from this writer

First they came for the pagans and the Jews. Then they came for the Christians. And then they came for the Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and Ba’hai.
What am I talking about? I am talking about the Islamic persecution of infidels on every continent—a persecution which is still ongoing; about forced conversions to Islam; and about the genocidal extermination of 80 million Hindus over a period of six centuries (1000-1500 CE).
What I’ve just written is historically true as is Islam’s history of anti-Black racism, slavery, and gender and religious apartheid. Ibn Warraq has a new and very important book just coming out on this very subject. It is titled: Why the West is Best. A Muslim Apostate’s Defense of Liberal Democracy.
But, it is a crime to say any of this. And, it is a crime to suggest that a liberal or constitutional democracy must defend itself against jihadic terrorism.
This is not true only in the Middle East or in Islamic central Asia. It is true in the major and most prestigious universities in the United States.
For example, in the summer of 2011, Yale got rid of the elegant and sophisticated Dr. Charles Small (The Yale Initiative for the Inter-disciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism), because he dared to hold a conference in which Islamic anti-Semitism and Islamic terrorism were discussed. This outraged the “Palestinians”, south-Syrians, Jordanians, and Egyptians on campus. Calls were made, letters were written.
The Ivy League professoriate, including the Jews, were exceedingly nervous about having such a politically incorrect Jew in their midst and on their faculty.
Thus, although Yale did not have to pay a penny for Dr. Small’s endeavor (he came with his own funding), they dismissed him. Dr. Small was able to establish a beachhead for five full years. In these times—not bad but especially in these times, not good enough.
Now, Harvard has similarly dismissed a distinguished and highly respected Professor or Economics, an Indian Hindu, Professor Subramanian Swamy. He taught at Harvard for 20 years, every summer.

We do know that many professors all across America preach daily against Israel and against Jews without losing their jobs due to “hate speech” or racism.
What was his “crime?” In the wake of a second Islamic terrorist attack on Mumbai (July, 2011), in which 26 people were murdered and 130 were  wounded, Professor Swamy wrote an article about this tragedy. Please recall that in 2008, Islamic jihadists launched a long and horrific attack on Mumbai, in which 164 people were murdered and 308 wounded. The Pakistani Islamist group behind this chose Mumbai because it is a densely populated commercial and entertainment center; they targeted Westerners, tourists, wealthy Indians, and, of course, Jews.
Professor Swamy, is also the President of the Janata Party and served as both India’s former minister of Commerce and Industry as well as the formerminister of Law and Justice. This learned man published an op-ed piece in an Indian newspaper in which he reminded his readers of the long history of Hindu persecution at Muslim hands and of the contemporary stated intentions of Pakistani-based terrorist groups to convert all India or to kill those who resist. He suggested adopting a “Hindu mindset” as the first way of fighting back against this.
In a letter to Harvard President, Drew Gilpin Faust,  Dr. Jagan Kaul, Retired Professor of International Law and Chairman, Diversity-USA, defended Dr. Swamy’s right to hold his opinion without being dismissed because that opinion was being viewed, by some Harvard students and by a handful of highly politicized faculty, as anti-Islamic “hate speech.”  Professor Kaul writes:
“Dr. Swamy has clearly stated that ‘Islamic terrorism is India’s number one national security problem….and already the successor to Osama bin Laden as the al-Qaeda leader has declared that India is the priority target for that terrorist organization and not the USA.’  Towards the concluding portion of his analysis Dr. Swamy has summarized the goals of the Islamic terrorism in India. He believes that their number 1 goal is to overawe India on Kashmir….By demanding the abrogation of section 370 of the Indian Constitution Dr. Subramanian Swamy has been trying to reverse the dangerous advance of Wahabi Islam in the Indian sub-Continent and in the process saving the US from having to deal with one more nasty, bloody and complex development in the world.
"How unfortunate and regrettable it is that Dr. Swamy is being banished because he showed the wisdom, fortitude and guts for doing the right thing by fighting the Jihadis before it was too late.”
On December 6, 2011, Professor Swamy was formally dismissed by Harvard. I do not know if he has any legal recourse. Harvard’s reputation is certainly damaged—just as Yale’s has been.
Professor Swamy should be allowed to write op-ed pieces in India that are not held against him in the United States.
I am not sure whether he preaches against Muslims in his Economics classes. We do know that many professors all across America preach daily against Israel and against Jews without losing their jobs due to “hate speech” or racism. I do know that infidels are cursed in many mosques and madrassas and in Islamic state universities across the world. ”
This situation affects us all. The West must understand that silencing men like Professor Swamy is in a sense an act of Jihad. We are aiding the Islamic fundamentalists in their quest for domination in India and South Central Asia.

Shame the corrupt with Rs.0!