B R A H M A V A N I

World Brahman Convention 2007Crowne Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, Herndon, Virginia, USA

Convention Souvenir Issue No.XII, May 2007

Table of Contents … ... 1

BSNA and WBO Officers … ... 2

Editorial … ... 3

Message from the Convention Director ... ... 4

Message from the President of WBO ... ... 5

Message from the Presidnt of BSNA ... ... 6

Message from the Chair of BOT ... ... 7

Message from General Secretary of BSNA ... ... 8

Message from the President of Youth Group ... ... 9

Messages from Well Wishers ... ... 10-13

Acknowledgement and Thanks ... ... 14

Convention Organizing Committees ... ... 15

WBC 2007 Program ... ... 16-17

Our Viewpoint ... ... 18

History of BSNA—Surendra N. Pandey et al. ... 19

Religion and Science—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... 24

Bhagvan Vishnu—Ankur Misra ... ... 27

Material Life and Beyond—Anand Mohan Chaturvedi ... 31

The Hindu Scriptures—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 34

Bhagwat Darshan (Hindi Poem)—Amar Purohit ... 36

A Whole New World—Hirsh Shukla ... ... 37

Brahmanism and its Responsibilities—L. N. Chaturvedi 52

Who Is a Hindu?—Shriharsha Sharma ... ... 55

The Vedas—Shyam Narayan Shukla ... ... 57

The Devanagari Script of Bharat—Amar S. Pandey ... 59

Seva—Umesh Shukla ... ... 61

Finding a Life Partner—Janeshwar Upadhyay ... 62

Celebration (English Poem)—Satish Misra ... ... 65

Mahabharat (Hindi)—Naresh Sharma and Krishna K. Pandey 66

Vastu Shastra (Hindi)—Manjul Kant Dwivedi ... 69

Vedic Sanskriti and Brahman (Hindi)—Uma Nath Sharma 72

Poem (Hindi)—Archana Mohla ... ... 74

Poem (Hindi)—Hari Sharma ... ... 75

Poems (Hindi)—Bhagyashri Kulkarni ... ... 76

Poems (Hindi)—Nirmala Shukla ... ... 77

Poems (Hindi)—Sumitra Sharma ... ... 79

Poem (Hindi)—Surendra N. Pandey .. .... 80

BSNA/WBO Organization Charts ... ... 81-82

WBO Affiliate Organizations ... ... 83

BSNA Membership Form ... ... 84

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editorial Board

Surendra Nath Pandey--Chief Editor

Shyam Narayan Shukla

Umesh Shukla

Om Sharma (NJ)

Satish Misra

Cover Design

Surendra N. Pandey

Shyam N. Shukla

Graphic ArtistEra Sharma

Managing Editor

Tej N. Pandey

@Brahman Samaj of North America

P. O. Box 716

Belle Mead, NJ 08502

Phone: 248-853-4076

Disclaimer: BSNA or the editors takes no responsibility

for any errors or omissions.

Board of Trustees

Mr. Purushottam Sharma

--President

Dr. Umesh Shukla

--Executive Vice-President

Mr. Bharat Mohla

--Vice-President

Mrs. Rita G. Pandey

--Vice-President

Dr. Om Sharma (NJ)

--General Secretary

Mr. Shri Niwas Sharma

--Treasurer

Dr. Ajay K. Pandey

--Assist. Treasurer & Editor Brahmakulum

Dr. Surendra Pandey

--Editor, Brahma Bharati & Brahma Vani

Dr. Tej Pandey

--Editor Home Page

Dr. Satish Misra

Mr. Ankur Misra, President

Mr. Prasun Mishra, Vice President

Ms. Ruby Tiwari, Secretary

Dr. Shiva Bajpai

Dr. Onkar P. Dwivedi

Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra

Mr. Mahendra Pal Misra (Chair)

Dr. Shri Kant Mishra

Mr. Kanwal Prashar

Mr. Nitin Purohit

Dr. Dharam P. Salwan

Mr. Jagar Sharma

Dr. Naresh D. Sharma

Mrs. Mamta Tiwari

Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay

Youth Group:

Convention Director:

Executive Committee: Executive Committee:

President

Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla

Vice Presidents

Sh. Rameshwar Dayal Dixit

Dr. Sangam Mishra

Dr. Dharam Singh Kaushik

Sh. Shashikant Tiwari

Dr. Prakash Narayan Shukla

Sh. Anand Kalapnat

Sh. Vishnu Mahadew Panday

Sh. Vijay Kumar Tripathi

Sh. Ramagya Chaturbedi

Sh. Arvind Misra

Sh. Kampta Maharaj

Sh. Balram Sharma

Sh. Damodar Toolsee

Secretary General

Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey

Treasurer

Dr. Tej Narayan Pandey

Board of Trustees

Dr. Govind Bajpai

Sh. Girdhari Doobey

Col. Dewinder Djwalapersad

Sh. Jagdish Prasad Maharaj

Dr. Shri Kant Mishra (Chair)

Acharya Prabhakar Mishra

Sh. Jagprasad Pandey

Sh. Mahesh Dutt Sharma

Smt. Rama Devi Sharma

Sh. Jagar Sharma

Sh. Surendre Sharma

Dr. Umesh Shukla

Sh. Joganan Dutnath Tiwari

Sh. Dharanidhar Trivedi

Officers of World Brahman Organization (WBO) and

Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA)

BSNA Officers WBO Officers

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I am delighted to welcome you, the most distinguished group of Brahmansfrom all around the world. As you grace the venue of the World BrahmanConvention by your presence, it has turned into a holy ground. Yourpresence is a testimonial to the fact that a common bond exists among us.We stand here united because of the common goals and values we proudlyshare.

During the next two days, we have an excellent opportunity to discuss,exchange ideas, talk and listen to fellow Brahmans for developing a plan ofaction that will help in the enhancement of Brahmans, Hindus and theSanatan Dharma globally. This must be done because there are external

forces that we cannot, and must not ignore. They are not sparing any tactics to diminish theinfluence of Vedic culture and Sanatan Dharma, especially in India, where proselytization is at itsmaximum speed reducing the percentage of Hindu majority there. They use all tactics including,but not limited to, inducement, intimidation, deception, false promises and propaganda, and arefully supported by anti-Hindu politicians, proselytes, and foreign money. They exploit thecomplacent nature of Hindus who choose not to respond to the negative and false propaganda aboutHinduism, and who continue to put anti-Hindu politicians in power by their vote. Unless webecome proactive, as well as reactive in refuting the misinformation about Hinduism, India’s Hindumajority will witness its gradual decline, eventually reaching a minority status.

This issue of Brahma Vani is produced to commemorate the World Brahman Convention 2007 thatis jointly sponsored by BSNA and WBO. In this issue, we have included articles from scholars fromall over the world, and published the same in English or Hindi as per the author’s choice. You willalso find articles from our youth group, and a number of thought provoking poems and a few justfor your reading pleasure. I am thankful to all authors.

I take this opportunity to thank the members of the Editorial Board, Drs. Shyam Narayan Shukla,Umesh Shukla, Om Sharma (NJ), Satish Misra, and Dr. Tej Pandey, the Managing Editor. I extendmy special thanks to Mrs. Era Sharma (Jaipur, India), Graphic Artist, who has given such animpressive appearance to the BV cover. I would also like to express my deep appreciation for thegenerosity of those who have given financial support to help defray the cost of publication and theconvention. You can see the names of a few of those making the donations in the form of messagesand advertisements, while many chose to remain anonymous since, only return they wish for theirgenerosity is to derive the pleasure of seeing this fine publication in the hands of our members.

I also wish to express my appreciation for the encouragement and support I have received from themembers of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of all Brahman organizations affiliatedwith the World Brahman Organization.

With best regards,

Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D.2303 West Alberson Dr., Albany, GA 31721, U.S.A.Ph: 229-883-1687, E-mail: pandeysn@yahoo.com

Editorial

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Message from the Convention Director

Ae b;;de s;b;; k:u% t;um;n;e s;un;;, m;ehm;;|} j;;e a;n;e v;;le hE}}] ?

k:ily;;|}] n; ib;%;n;; r;h;e] m;e], hm; p;lk:e] ib’;%;n;e v;;le hE} ==

“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,“Aye Bade Saba Kuch Tumne Suna Mehman Jo Aane Wale Hai,

Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”Kaliyon Na Bichana Rahon Mein Hum Palken Bichane Wale Hain”(O morning breeze, have you heard that guests will be coming?

Please do not spread flower petals on their way, we are going to lay our eyes there.)

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Dear Friends;

I started out with a Sher (poem) used by the 2005 BSNA ConventionDirector, Mrs. Mamta Tiwari, in her message because this is how theconvention committee truly feels about the delegates attending thisconvention and our friends world-wide. I am deeply honored and gratefulto have led this effort of organizing the World Brahman Convention 2007jointly sponsored by the Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA) as its13th annual convention and World Brahman Organization (WBO) as its 4th

biennial convention. On the way I made friends world-wide and also madesome mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly. I regret my mistakes. My

sincere hope is that you will look at the positive aspects of the convention, thought provoking sessions,wonderful cultural programs, entertainment, bhajan, sandhya, yoga and health sessions, youthprograms, and above all networking, making new friends, renewing friendship and cherishing thisfriendship forever. My heartfelt thanks to you for making this thrilling convention a splendid success.

I am grateful to the convention co-directors, Mrs. Mamta Tiwari, Dr. Gopesh Sharma, Dr. ParmeshDwivedi, Dr. Lalji Mishra, and Dr. Om Sharma for their cooperation and support. I am also grateful toMrs. Manisha Tewari, the cultural program director for working hard to showcase the cultural talentsworld-wide. Our youth president, Mr. Ankur Misra worked impressively in bringing BSNA/WBO to theattention of youths.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Shyam Shukla, President, WBO, and Chair of the programcommittee and immediate past president of BSNA for giving me this opportunity and also for providinga program consistent with the theme of the Convention – “The Current Challenges: Global BrahmanUnity and Preservation of Vedic Culture”. He is responsible for bringing the WBC-2007 to the attentionof global Brahman community. I am thankful to Mr. Purushottam Sharma, BSNA President, Dr OmSharma (NJ), General Secretary, BSNA, Convention Treasurer & Registrar, Dr. Umesh Shukla, ExecutiveVice President, BSNA, Dr. Surendra Pandey, Editor of this beautiful cherished annual publication,Brahma Vani (BV), Dr. Tej Pandey, managing editor of BV, Mr. R. D. Dixit, National President BrahminSamaj of India and Secretary General, AIKB (India), Dr. Sangam Mishra (Udaypur, India), Mrs. EraSharma (Jaipur, India)-designer of this beautiful BV cover page, for their immense help in thisconvention. I also thank many people who helped tremendously for the success of this convention asreflected on the committee list.

I am grateful to the Crowne Plaza Hotel and its management, especially, Mr. Jay Bhalla, CateringDirector and Ms. Melissa Geter, Sales Manager for their help. Last, but not the least, I thank the familiesof all the volunteers, my wife Sheela and my children, Savita, Kavita and Ankur for their support andenthusiasm.

Satish C. Misra, Ph. D.Director, World Brahman Convention-2007

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WBO President’s Message

Dear Fellow Brahmans,

The World Brahman Organization (WBO) was formed only two years ago, in 2005,at the third World Brahman Convention in London. In the meantime it has gainedpopularity very fast. Now WBO has member organizations in almost all thecountries where there were already Brahman organizations. During my travel toDubai, India and Mauritius in November-December 2006, I felt that Brahmans arevery eager to be part of a strong cohesive worldwide organization so that they maydiscuss and solve their common problems together. Wherever I went, Brahmansshowed a great enthusiasm and appreciation that a worldwide Brahmanorganization has been formed now on democratic principles. More than 300

Brahmans from India alone have applied for US visas to attend the World Brahman Convention atWashington, D.C.

Today the most worrisome issue for Brahmans in India is the reservation policy of the Government of India.The irony is that on one hand the government wants to eliminate caste system to remove discrimination on thebasis of caste. On the other hand it wants to perpetuate the caste system by forming laws favorable to thepeople belonging to certain castes. The government is thus dividing the Hindu society, just to create a vote-bank. According to the reservation policy even the children of ministers and high-ranking IAS officers of Dalitcastes will be getting preferential treatments in admissions to institutions of higher learning and in jobs,against the poor and meritorious Brahman children. This is unjust and in violation of the principle of equalrights to all the citizens. This policy of the government will create inferior grade scientists, engineers, doctorsand administrators in India. It will also frustrate the country’s talented youths who could be the pride of thecountry. It hurts to see the plights of Brahmans in India everywhere. The Brahmans, who were the authors ofthe scriptures and propagators of high philosophies, were leaders in the freedom fights of India and were oncethe brainpower of India, have become the pariah of the Indian society today. Even the villages have been badlyaffected by this vote-bank politics. There is so much anti-Brahman sentiment created by the politicians thatthe Brahman families do not feel safe to live in their own villages any more. The Brahmans, who are priests andSanskrit scholars, after having moved to the cities, find that they can find no jobs other than as coolies atrailway stations, rickshaw pullers on the streets or as public toilet cleaners. Nobody is there to help them. It isreally a shame!

Because of the incompetence of the government, the Kashmiri Pundits had to flee from their homes in Kashmirand are now refugees in their own country. The Government of India doled out millions of dollars to Pakistaniearthquake victims, but it does not care to improve the living conditions of the Kashmiri Pundits, who live indilapidated houses in Delhi and Jammu for more than two decades.

I frequently receive letters from Brahmans in India, asking if BSNA/WBO could help them. I think the Brahmanorganizations should help poor Brahmans in the education of their children and in starting small businesses,so that they should not be dependent on the government. I am proposing to create a special fund to help needyBrahmans anywhere in the world.

With warmest regards,Shyam Narayan Shukla, Ph.D.; P.E.; Fellow, ASCEPresident, World Brahman Organization

Phone: 510-770-1218; E-mail: shuklas@comcast.net

BSNA President’s Message

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Fellow Brahman Families

It gives me immense pleasure to host this World Brahman Convention inWashington D.C. USA. The World Brahman Organization and BrahmanSamaj of North America jointly sponsor this Convention. For BSNA this isalso their 13th Annual Convention. Over these years BSNA has contributedtremendously to unite and bring together the families who believe andrespect the Brahmenic values. Through these Conventions we have mademany new family friends and have found long lost friends.

Now BSNA has grown to be a teenager. This Organization of yours is determined to continuegrowing and now from its teen ages wants the young adults actively involve and participate inBSNA. I am very confident they can make a difference and a big impact. We have already startedupdating our database and have a separate section of database for young adults. These are the adultswho have completed their studies and are now the well accomplished members of the society. Theyounger adults could get the guidance from them to pursue a career for themselves. I have been thePresident of BSNA only for a few months and this is my strong desire and goal to involve the youngadults into decision making of BSNA.

BSNA is a social and cultural organization and is not associated with any political organization. Nowthat BSNA has joined World Brahman Organization we should concentrate more on local affairs andgive its full support to WBO for International causes. BSNA should increase its membership andcontinue doing charitable work for the society we live in.

The Michigan Chapter very recently conducted a charitable dance drama “ Aisi Lagi Lagan “ onMeera Bai’s life and raised over $10,000.00 and donated all the proceeds for the local BhartiyaTemple building expansion project. My best wishes to the Michigan Chapter and its dedicatedmembers. I expect more and more chapters take such a lead and show their presence as anOrganization in the society they live.

I congratulate Dr. Satish Mishra, Mrs. Mamta Tewari, Dr. Om Sharma, Dr. Gopesh Sharma and theother members of their dedicated team to organize such a wonderful Convention. Also Irespectfully honor all the delegates who have come from all over the World, without theirparticipation WBC would not have been possible.

With Best Regards,

Purushottam Sharma M.S., DABR, DABMPPresident, Brahman Samaj of North AmericaTel: 248-853-4076

From the Chair of Board of Trustees

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It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the third World BrahmanConvention and Thirteenth Annual Convention of BSNA in WashingtonDC area. Dr. Satish Misra and his entire team worked hard to makeyour stay comfortable and it is our sincere hope that you will go backwith fond memories of the convention. The convention theme“Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture” is an appropriateone for the current conditions of Brahmans. Historically Brahmans havebeen leaders in their communities. They are also independent thinkers.It is not easy to unite such leaders. However we live in democraticsocieties where numbers count and it is important that the Brahmans allover the world unite around common goals for their own survival.

Most of the BSNA members are highly educated professionals whose work has made a difference inthe lives of people here and abroad. They are also keeping the Brahman tradition alive by servingsociety.

To borrow a phrase from the famous book “Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, we live in thebest of times and the worst of times. Extraordinary progress in science and medicine has wiped outmany diseases like malaria and polio from the face of earth and given us 500 TV channels forentertainment. Information travels at the speed of light. Governments are loosing control over whatpeople see on TV and read on internet. It has given the individuals unprecedented power to do well.At the same time it has empowered them to misuse it for negative activities. A person sitting in aremote cave can cause untold destruction of life and property. People like Bill Gates and WarrenBuffet are doing more and more service to the humanity. It is heartening to see the same trend inIndian community here and abroad. Organizations such as Ekal Vidayalaya, is serving people inremote parts of India and I sincerely urge you to join such organizations and help them with yourmoney and time.

On the other hand there seems to be general sense of decay of family and moral values. Intoleranceand violence are on the rise. Old values which served us well over a long period of time are beingincreasingly questioned. It seems that the two of the largest religions of the world are heading for areligious war and which could be a making of the third world war. Principles of Sanatan Dharmawith its tolerance and respect for all religions seem to be the need of the hour. Brahmanstraditionally were moral keepers of the society and led others by example. By following brahamanicvalues, we can be the example for others in the society we live.

In the end on behalf of BSNA Board of Trustees and myself, I thank all the people who have giventheir valuable time to make the convention a grand success.

SincerelyMahendra MisraChairman Board of Trustees BSNA

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Message from the General Secretary

Dear WBO and BSNA Members:

It is a pleasure to extend my greetings and welcome you to the WorldBrahman Convention 2007 jointly sponsored by the World BrahmanOrganization (WBO) and the Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA).Tireless efforts of the organizers, Washington, DC Chapter and variousconvention committees have produced a program filled with fun andeducational activities. These conventions are a wonderful vehicle to bringBrahmans from all over the world under one umbrella to renew ourcommitment to betterment of the world. Also, this is an excellent forum to

make new friends and an opportunity for networking. The beautiful city of Washington, DC andneighboring areas provide additional opportunities to enjoy a few extra days of vacation for bothforeign and US delegates.

We are facing new challenges every day as we can see basic human values eroding all over the world.Through these conventions and meetings we plan to exchange ideas to help ameliorate such socialproblems. If we really want to serve society, the first and foremost commitment we have to make isto rise above the local and insignificant issues and join hands in uplifting society as a whole. In thepast few years the WBO and BSNA have been truly striving to bring Brahman families andorganizations around the world together. Organizing this convention with the theme “The CurrentChallenges: Global Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture” is an example of these efforts.

One of the most important needs of the time appears to be unity among various Brahmanorganizations and individuals. Multiple organizations may be needed to achieve the same goals indifferent geographical reasons. However, splitting organizations and competing with each other doesnot serve the purpose, i.e., serving a society/community in general. A focus needs to be maintainedon our main objective, which is to serve the society in different ways. BSNA has been financiallysupporting certain educational, cultural and charitable organizations in India. Also, BSNA is in theprocess of establishing endowment funds and scholarships for qualified students worldwide in nearfuture. These are good opportunities for the members who would like to support these worthycauses through BSNA.

I sincerely hope that along with a lot of fun, networking and a sense of togetherness this conventionwill emerge as a forum to discuss serious social issues and their resolutions.

Warm regards,Om P. Sharma, Ph.D.65 Squirrel Drive, Skillman, NJ 08558Tel: 908-359-3348; E-mail: hmosharma@gmail.com

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Dear fellow Brahmin Youths of America and World-Wide,

I want to start by thanking you for the opportunity to be Presidentof the Youth wing of Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA) andparticularly for this World Brahmin Convention on Memorial Dayweekend in 2007. I would especially like to thank my committeemembers Prasun Mishra, Ruby Tiwari, and Bhavana Pathak fortheir help and efforts along the way.

As we youth progress on our personal timeline, we tend to look back and forward andisolate what really matters on our journey. As an American born Brahman, who frequentstrips to India, I feel that my niche is with all of you. Most of the time we come from a verysimilar background perhaps a village in India, as one of the local Brahmans in that village,from a long bloodline reaching back to our ancestors. Now we are in different places, but atthis moment we are together. Thank you for this as I hope we can discuss our personalthoughts with this extended family that has gathered here this weekend. We all desire goodtimes as wells as a stimulating discussion and I hope my committee and I will provide youthis as well as memories for times to come.

Yours truly,

Ankur Misra

Message from the President of Youth Group

HIS HOLINESS JAGADAACHARYA SRI

SRI SRI GANESAANANDA BHARATHI MAHASWAMYPoorva Peethadheswara

SRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRSRI SRINGERI SRI VIRUPUPUPUPUPAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAMAAKSHA SRI PETHAM

1/18 Brodipet, Guntur

Camp Office: 1-9-52/F/3, Road No 19, Ramnagar, HYDERABAD 500020

E mail aanandaashramam@yahoo.com

Phones 91-40-27661613 (Tele-fax), 65581368 Cell 9440422613

28th April 2007

Sarvajit Naama Samvat Vaisakha Sukla Dwadasi

To:

Dr Shyam Narayan Shukla

And the team of World Brahmin Organization

Sri Matre Namah

I have been informed by Dr P V Sesha Sai about your lead to organize a Convention on May 26th

and 27th at Washington DC.

I appreciate your intention and May Goddess Mahaa Kaama Kameswari blesses you all to protect

Sanatana Dharma.

Aseervachana Akshataas and Prasad are being sent to all the members through Dr P V Sesha Sai.

Iti Naarayana Smrithi

Ganesaananda Bharathi Swami

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS

Brahman Samaj of North America is grateful to our sponsors and donors for their generous support of

Brahma Vani and other BSNA activities. BSNA is thankful to the following and others who have chosen to

remain anonymous:

Devender and Alka Sharma, CA

Shyam and Nirmala Shukla, CA

Dharam Salwan, CA

Praveen Sharma, CA

Hemkant & Vidya Mishra, MD

Surendra and Pramila Pandey, GA

Chandra Rugs and Carpets, GA

Madan & Puspa Pathak, MD

Om & Bhagyawati Sharma, MD

Mamta Tiwari and family, MD

Satish & Sheela Misra, MD

Suresh & Manisha Tewari, MD

Lalji & Chandra Mishra, MD

Nalin Shankar Mishra, MD

Purnima Sharma and family, MD

Parmesh & Lata Dwivedi, MD

Awadhesh & Sunita Sharma, MD

Ravindra & Durga Mishra, MD

Ashok & Suman Sharma and family, MD

Arun & Anshu Sharma and family, MD

Purushottam and Kusum Sharma, MI

Nitin D. Purohit, MI

Dinesh Bhatt, MI

Bhargava Foundation, MI

Girish Divecha, MI

Umesh and Prabha Shukla, NJ

Brahm Om Sharma, NJ

Naresh and Karuna Sharma, NJ

Hari S. and Kaushal Sharma, NJ

Virendra Pandey, NJ

Rajendar Sharma, NJ

Om and Manju Sharma, NJ

KJ and Renu Sharma, NJ

Hans Raj and Suman Sharma, PA

Mahendra Misra, PA

Mohinder Tiwari, VA

Gopesh & Vinta Sharma and family, VA

Hirdyanath & Rani Sharma Harnal, VA

Arvind & Bhama Pathak, VA

Ashutosh Vats & Suman Sharma and family, VA

whEv; t;Eij;*t;/ s;g;;e* y;e{;;] s;;my;e isq;t;] m;n;/ =in;d;e*{;] ih s;m;] b;É> t;sm;;d<b;>Éi[; t;e isq;t;;/== == g;It;; 5.19 ==

Even here the world is overcome by those whose minds are estab-

lished in evenness, because Brahman (God) is the same in all and

flawless. Therefore they are established in Brahman.

Cultural ProgramMrs. Manisha Tewari & Dr. GopeshSharma (Co-chairs)Mr. Suresh TewariMrs. Manju SharmaMr. Hari SharmaMr. Nitin PurohitMrs. Anshu SharmaMrs. Durga MishraDr. Suman SharmaMrs. Sadhna DubeyMrs. Shashi SharmaMiss Rashmi KumariMiss Jyotsna UpadhyayaMr. Hirdyanath & Mrs. Rani SharmaHarnal

Kavi SammelanMr. Himanshu Pathak and Mr. JagarSharma (Co-chairs)Dr. Shri Kant MishraMr. Mahendra MisraMrs. Suman ShuklaDr. Parmesh DwivediDr. Om Sharma (DC)

FoodMrs. Mamta Tiwari and Dr. ParmeshDwivedi (Co-chairs)Mrs. Chandrawati MishraMrs. Vinita SharmaMrs. Sheela MisraMrs. Meera SharmaMrs. Suman Sharma

DecorationMrs. Manisha & Mr. Suresh Tewari,Mrs. Vinita & Dr. Gopesh Sharma,Mrs. Rani & Mr. Hirdyanath SharmaHarnal, Mrs. Sadhna Dubey, Mrs.Durga Mishra (Co-chairs)

HospitalityDr. Om Sharma (MD) (Chair)Mrs. Purnima UpadhyayMrs. Vinita & Dr. Gopesh SharmaMrs. Rani & Mr. Hirdyanath SharmaHarnalMrs. Suman & Mr. Ashok SharmaMr. Anu PandeyMr. Brahma Om SharmaMrs. Vidya & Hemkant Mishra

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Convention Organizing CommitteesConvention Director: Dr. Satish Chandra Misra

Convention Co-Directors: Mrs. Mamta Tiwari, Dr. Om Sharma (DC),

Dr. Parmesh Dwivedi, Dr. Gopesh Sharma, and Dr. Lalji Mishra

Program, Invitations and PublicRelationsDr. Shyam Shukla (Chair)Dr. Surendra PandeyMr. Purushottam SharmaDr. Umesh ShuklaMr. Nitin PurohitDr. Satish MisraDr. Arvind PathakDr. Shrikant Mishra

Youth ProgramMr. Ankur Misra (Chair)Mr. Prasun MishraMiss Ruby TiwariMiss Bhavana PathakMr. Nalin Shankar MishraMiss Savita MisraMiss Kavita MisraMiss Rashmi KumariMiss Jyotsna UpadhyayaDr. Om Deshmukh

RegistrationDr. Om Sharma (NJ) (Chair)Dr. Umesh ShuklaMr. Raga MisraMr. Jagar SharmaMr. Mahendra MisraDr. Lalji MishraMrs. Mamta Tiwari

FinanceDr. Om Sharma (NJ) (Chair)Mr. Shri Niwas Sharma

Fund RaisingMr. Purushattam Sharma (Chair)Mr. Nitin PurohitMrs. Mamta TiwariDr. Shrikant MishraMr. Dharam SalwanMr. R. D. Dixit (India)

Publications/Brahma Vani/Publicity/Yahoo GroupDr. Surendra Pandey (Chair)Dr. Shyam ShuklaDr. Umesh ShuklaDr. Om Sharma (NJ)Mr. Purushottam SharmaMr. Nitin PurohitDr. Satish Misra

Mrs. Sadhna DubeyMrs. Poonam & Mr. KundanUpadhyayMiss Savita MisraMiss Kavita Misra

TransportationMr. Ashok Kumar Sharma & Mr.Purushottam Sharma (Co-chairs)Mr. Anu PandeyMr. Brahma Om SharmaMrs. Vidya & Mr. Hemkant MishraMrs. Sadhna DubeyMrs. Rani & Mr. Hirdyanath SharmaHarnal

Membership DriveMr. Ashok Goswami & Mrs. SudhaGoswami (Co-chairs)Dr. Lalji MishraDr. Madan & Mrs. Pushpa PathakMr. Sanjay MishraDr. Awadhesh SharmaMr. Sanjay & Mrs. Usha ShuklaMrs. Suman Shukla

Health Care – Modern, Ayurveda,Yoga and Alternate MethodsDr. Shri Kant Mishra, Dr. GopeshSharma, and Acharya PrabhakarMishra (Co-chairs)

Education, Social, Marriage andMarital IssuesDr. Janeshwar Upadhyay, Mr. R. D.Dixit, Dr. Surendra Pandey, Mr.Umesh & Mrs. Suman Shukla (Co-chairs)

Record Keeping/ConventionSecretaryMr. Nalin Shankar Mishra (Chair)

AwardsDr. Shyam Shukla and Mr. R. D. Dixit(Co-chairs)Dr. J. P. DubeyDr. Madan PathakMr. Nitin PurohitMr. Jagar Sharma

Mr. Mahendra Misra

WORLD BRAHMAN CONVENTION 2007

PROGRAM

Theme: The Current Challenges--Brahman Unity and Preservation of Vedic Culture

Friday, May 25, 2007

4:00 – 6:30 PM WBO EC/BOT Joint Meeting (Dulles-Reagan Meeting Room)1. Veda-mantra, Introductions of Brahmans present2. Report on WBO - Dr. Shyam N. Shukla3. Overview of WBC-2007 - Dr. Surendra Pandey4. Presentations on WBC-2009 by probable hosts5. Other Business and Concluding Remarks

7:00 – 8:00 PM Dinner —Courtesy of BSNA DC Chapter (Room to be decided)

8:00 – 10:00 PM Entertainment Program (Dulles-Reagan)Bhajans or other singing (Salon A)

Saturday, May 26, 2007

6:30 to 7:30 AM Yoga and Meditation (Dulles-Reagan)

7:30 – 9:00 AM Breakfast ((Pre-Function area)7:30 – 9:00 AM Bhajan (Salon A)7:30 AM – 4:00 PM Registration (Pre-Function area)

8:00 – 9:30 AM BSNA EC-BOT-Chapter Presidents’ Joint Meeting (Dulles-Reagan)

9:30 – 10:00 AM Inauguration with Veda Mantras & Ganesha Stuti (Grand Ballroom)10:00 – 10:30 AM Welcome – Dr. Satish Misra, Mr. Purushottam Sharma, Dr. Shyam N. Shukla10:30 – 11:00 AM Greetings by leaders of various Brahman Organizations--(Introduced by Dr.

Surendra Pandey)11:00 – 11:30 AM WBO President’s Address, Dr. Shyam N. Shukla

BSNA President’s Address, Mr. Purushottam Sharma

11:30 – 11:45 AM Tea Break & Social

11:40 – 1:00 PM Parallel Sessions:1. Ayurveda, Co-Chairs: Drs. Achary Prabhakar Mishra and Shrikant Mishra

(Dulles)2. Plights of Kashmiri Pandits, Chair: Mr. Jeevan Zutshi (Reagan National)3. How to Impart Study of Scriptures to the New Generation, Chair Dr. P.V. Sesha Sai;

Dr. Ram Chandra Pandey, & others (Salon A)4. Youth program: Art of Prarthana (Prayer) (Salon C)

1:00 – 230 PM Lunch & Introduction of Delegates (Grand Ballroom)

2:30 – 3:30 PM Interpretations of Vedic Mantras and Preservation of Vedic CultureSpeaker: Acharya Saadhvi Dr. Chaitanyaji

3:30 – 4:00 PM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)

4:00 – 6:00 PM Cultural Programs (Grand Ballroom)

- 16 -

Saturday, May 26, 2007 (cont’d)

6:00 – 7:00 PM Parallel Sessions:(1) Health Topics: Dr. Shri Kant Mishra, Dr. Gopesh Sharma, & Dr. Alka Sharma(Salon A)(2) Matrimonial Topics: Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay & Shri R.D. Dixit (Reagan)

7:00 – 8:30 PM Dinner (Grand Ballroom)

8:30 – 11:00 PM Kavi Sammelan /Antakshari (Dulles-Reagan)DJ dance & Entertainment for Youth (Salon A)

Sunday, May 27, 2007

6:30 - 7:30 AM Yoga and Meditation (Dulles-Reagan)7:30 – 8:30 AM Breakfast (Pre-Function area) 7:30 – 8:30 AM Bhajan (Salon B)

8:30 – 10:30 AM WBO & BSNA Business Meeting & Awards Ceremony (Grand Ballroom)1. Reports of WBO & BSNA Presidents2. Reports of WBO Secretary General & Treasurer3. Reports of BSNA General Secretary & Treasurer4. Introduction of New WBO President & his address5. Awards Ceremony

10:30 – 11:00 AM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)

11:00 – 12:00 Noon Speeches by Scholars (Dulles, Reagan)Speakers: Dr. Ram Chandra Pandey, Dr. Manjul Kant Dwivedi, and Others

12:00 – 1:00 PM Parallel Sessions:1. Reservation Policy of India, Its Effect and Possible Solutions, (Chair: Dr. Surendra

Pandey, Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay, Dr. Sangam Mishra & Mr. R.D. Dixit)(Salon A)

2. How to prevent conversion of Hindus to other religions? Chair: Dr. Naresh Sharma,Co-Chair: Mr. Mahendra Misra (Salon C)

1:00 – 2:30 PM Lunch (Grand Ballroom)

2.30 – 3.30 PM Speeches by Brahman Leaders from abroad (Grand Ballroom)

3:30 – 4:00 PM Tea Break & Social (Pre-Function area)

4:00 – 6:00 PM Cultural Programs (Grand Ballroom)

6.00 – 7.00 PM Summary of Parallel Sessions (Grand Ballroom)Acknowledgements and Announcements

7.00 – 8.30 PM Dinner (Grand Ballroom)

8:30 – 10:00 PM Entertainment Program (Grand Ballroom)

10:00 PM Adjournment

Monday, May 28, 2007 For guests who may overstay

7:30 – 9:00 AM Breakfast—Courtesy of BSNA DC Chapter (Room to be decided)

NOTE: Please note that this program is subject to change to include other speakers and/or change of roomassignment. The final program is available at the registration desk.

- 17 -

World Brahman Organization has concerns on the current issues affecting Brahmans all over theworld. They are:

Reservation Policy of the Government of India

World Brahman Organization (WBO) supports merit-based education and employment policies. Weare not against reservations per se, but we strongly believe that it should not be discriminatory anddivide people of India based on their castes and religions. The present reservation policy is based onthe 1931 census, which has no reference to caste-based classification of the population. There is noproper identification of OBCs (Other Backward Castes) or that of creamy layer for exclusion fromthe benefits of reservation. No reservation should be provided without determining the social,financial and educational backwardness of each and every beneficiary. Kashmiri Hindus

World Brahman Organization is very much concerned about the plights of the Kashmiri Hindusand, therefore, believes that the Government of India should facilitate in obtaining justice forKashmiri Pandits along with other Hindus of Kashmir. The Government of India should also takeappropriate measures for their safe return to their homeland and provide adequate support andsecurity for their re-settlement. Preserving Family Values and Unity

Brahman families throughout the world are becoming more and more westernized and forgettingour age-old values and customs. WBO promotes family values and emphasizes unity within theextended family. We should work together, help in developing self-esteem and be proud of ourHindu heritage, foster friendship and help all the needy Brahmans. We should develop efficientways of communicating our concerns through websites, e-mails or personal contacts. We shouldalso help Brahman families all over the world in their quest for excellence in life, finding appropriatelife partners and livelihood through our collective efforts.

Youth Participation

WBO will make special efforts to attract youths and make our platform easily accessible to them. Italso should help out youths if help is sought both financially and socially through educationalscholarships, jobs, and in matters of marriages, especially to the girls, who are economicallydeprived in India

Conversion of Hindus

WBO is very concerned about the conversion of Hindus to other religions. WBO will make specificefforts to educate Hindus and support other organizations who are making efforts to prevent theconversion of Hindus.

Shyam Narayan Shukla, Ph.D.President, World Brahman Organization

World Brahman Organization: Our Viewpoint

- 18 -

Editor’s note: The history of BSNA has been compiled with input from several members who have hadlong association and/or have been actively involved with BSNA. It is based on their best recollections; anyerrors or omissions are unintentional. This article is the result of major efforts by the following:

Surendra Nath Pandey, Ph. D.Tej Narayan Pandey, Ph. D.

Shyam Narayn Shukla, Ph. D.Umesh Shukla, Ph. D.

History of Brahman Samaj of North America

Arrival of Brahmans from India

In the decades of 1940’s and 1950’s engineers and

scientists from India came to North America prima-

rily for graduate studies or advanced training. After

completion of their studies/training they would usually

go back to India. However, with a change in the immi-

gration policy of the US government, a large influx of

immigrants from India came to North America in late

1960’s and early 1970’s. Among these immigrants were

a large number of well-educated Brahmans, most of

whom were engineers, doctors, scientists and profes-

sors. They came here with an intention of making North

America their homeland. Within a decade most of the

Brahmans became U.S. and Canadian citizens.

Need for a Brahman Organization

The first attempt to establish a Brahman association in

USA took place during Dr. Shri Kant Mishra’s visit to

Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1979 to perform the marriage

of Mr. Dwarka Prasad Mishra’s daughter. Although some

25 Brahman families from all over US joined the group,

the movement lost its momentum in about two years.

By 1990’s the new generation of Brahmans, born and

brought up here, was in high schools and colleges. Their

parents were concerned that this young generation of

Brahmans should preserve the Brahmanic values and

should not lose their rich culture. With this objective in

mind, several Brahmans in the United States felt the

need for networking with other Brahmans giving birth

to an idea of compiling a directory of Brahmans living in

the USA and Canada. Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla of

Fremont, CA was collecting names and addresses of

Brahmans in order to publish a directory of Brahmans.

Inspired by Dr. Rama Raksha Shukla of Massachusetts,

to start an organization of Brahmans, Mr. Nirmalendu

Choubey of Manlius, NY independently took the initia-

tive of locating and contacting Brahmans for this pur-

pose. Later, Mr. Choubey and Dr. Shyam Shukla found

about each other’s work and decided to collaborate. Af-

ter several telephone calls, e-mails, and meetings held at

the residences of several Brahmans in different cities, a

directory of 108 Brahmans, edited by Dr. Shyam Shukla,

was published in June 1994. The following Brahmans

helped on this initiative:

Mr. Gajendra Mohan Mishra, Fremont, CA

Dr. Arvind and Bhama Pathak, McLean, VA

Mr. Awadh Kishore Pandey, Plainville, MA

Dr. Ganesh Pandey, Canada

Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra, Toronto, Canada

Dr. Ramesh Agnihotri, Freehold, NJ

Dr. Ram D. Chaudhari, Oswego, NY

Dr. Ramanath Sharma, Honolulu, HI

Dr. Suresh C. Tiwari, Fayette, MS

Dr. Kashi Nath Upadhyay, Honolulu, HI

Prof. BhuDev Sharma, Metarie, LA

Dr. Satya Sheel Panchori, Jacksonville, FL

Dr. J. P. Dubey, Greenbelt, MD

Dr. Ajay Pandey, Yorktown, VA

Mr. Rajiv Dixit, Baltimore, MD

Formation of BSNA

The publication of the first directory of Brahmans pro-

vided motivation to other Brahmans who became ac-

tively involved in expanding the network by holding meet-

ings at their residences, at which Brahmans from the

surrounding areas were invited. Among those who par-

ticipated in these meetings held in different cities are Dr.

Ghanshyam Pandey, Dr. Shyam Shukla, Dr. Suresh

Tiwari, Mr. Pooran Tripathi, Dr. Hans Upadhyay, Mr.

Kanwal Parashar, Mr. Triyambak Bajpay, Dr. Prabhakar

Mishra, Dr. Anita Dubey, Dr. Vinod Tewary, Mr. Kailash

Sharma, and Mr. Dhirendra Shukla. This is only a partial

list of many Brahmans who participated in the meetings

- 19 -

and telephone conversations. Thus the original idea of

developing a directory of Brahmans expanded into

establishing a formal organization giving birth to the Brah-

man Samaj of North America (BSNA), which was for-

mally established on 3rd September, 1994 with the adop-

tion of an ad hoc constitution. BSNA was registered as

a not-for-profit organization in the state of New York.

The ad-hoc officers were:

Mr. Nirmalendu Choubey, President

Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla, General Secretary

Mr. Bhaw Dutt Shukla, Treasurer

BSNA Logo

The BSNA logo was created by Vivek Shukla, then a

High School student, and son of Dr. Shyam and Mrs.

Nirmala Shukla

Board of Trustees

It was decided to establish a Board of Trustees consist-

ing of Brahmans who have made contribution to the for-

mation of BSNA and are respected members of the com-

munity. The following were appointed to the first BOT:

Dr. Suresh C. Tiwari, Chair

Dr. Satya Sheel Pachori

Dr. Ram Das Chaudhari

Dr. Onkar P. Dwivedi

Dr. Bhudev Sharma

Dr. Ramanath Sharma

Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey

The subsequent Chairs of the Board of Trustees are: Dr.

Uday C. Naval (2000-02) and Dr. Shri Kant Mishra (2003-

06).

Executive Committee

Additional offices were created to perform various func-

tions. This led to the establishment of an Executive Com-

mittee consisting of all officers. The new additions to the

EC in 1997 were: Mr. Nitin Purohit, Vice President, Dr.

Satchidanand Mishra, Assistant Treasurer and Editor of

Brahmakulum, the BSNA directory.

Annual Conventions

The purpose of the conventions is to bring together mem-

bers from different parts of the continent and develop

bond of brotherhood among them. They facilitate shar-

ing views on different issues, exchange of ideas and con-

cerns, providing cultural education to youth and children.

The first convention of BSNA was held in July 1995. The

following list covers all conventions held so far in differ-

ent parts of North America during the 4th of July week-

end:

BSNA Constitution

The ad hoc BSNA constitution was replaced by aformal constitution written by the ConstitutionCommittee consisting of Dr. Vinod Tewary(Chair), Dr. Surendra Pandey, Prof. RamanathSharma, Mr. Jagar Sharma and Dr. Anita Dubey.The General Body approved the new constitutionin September 1997 to be effective January 1,1998.

BSNA Elections

The first election of BSNA was held in 1997, following

the approval of the constitution, to elect its new officers

with Dr. Satish Tripathi as the Chair of the Nominations

and Election Committee (NEC). Mr. Nirmal Choubey

submitted a slate of his proposed EC. Since no other nomi-

nations were submitted by the deadline, the NEC declared

them elected. The members of the first elected Execu-

tive Committee for the term 1998-2000 were:

President –Mr. Nirmalendu Choubey

Executive Vice President – Mr. Mahendra Misra

Vice President – Dr. Anita Dubey

Vice President – Mr. Manoranjan Mishra

General Secretary - Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey

Treasurer – Mr. Bhaw Dutt Shukla

Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor – Dr.

Satchidanand Mishra

Some time during the year 1999, Mr. Abhaya Nand

Maharaj became the General Secretary when Dr.

Surendra Pandey resigned from the position, and Mr. Jagar

Sharma became Executive VP when Mr. Mahendra Misra

also resigned.

The second election was held in 2000. The Nominations

and Election Committee (NEC) consisted of Dr. Suresh

Tiwari (Chair), Dr. Shri Kant Mishra and Dr. Rama Nath

Sharma. Since only Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla agreed

to submit the names of members who would be on the

EC, the NEC declared Dr. Shukla and the following EC

members elected for the term 2001-2003:

- 20 -

BSNA Conventions held Over the Years

Assistant Treasurer & Editor, Brahmakulum -Dr. Arvind SharmaThe new officers were to take over effective January 1,

2001. However, Mr. Nirmal Choubey resigned as Presi-

dent on September 30, 2000 and Mr. Jagar Sharma be-

came President for the remaining period as per BSNA

constitution. After the 2001 convention Mr. Nirmal

Choubey resigned from BSNA as a member. Mr.

Purushottam Sharma was selected as Executive Vice

President to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Jagar

Sharma’s resignation in July 2002.

The third election took place under the direction of the

Nominations & Election Committee consisting of Dr.

Surendra Pandey (Chair), Mr. Nitin Purohit and Dr.

Satchidanand Mishra. Although there were other candi-

dates who had expressed their desire to contest the elec-

tion, only Dr. Shukla submitted full slate of names of his

EC by the deadline. Therefore, NEC declared the

following as elected officers for the 2004-2006 term:

President - Dr. Shyam N. Shukla

Executive Vice President - Mr. Purushottam Sharma

Vice President – Mrs. Renu Sharma

Vice President - Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra

General Secretary- Dr. Umesh Shukla

Treasurer - Dr. Shrigopal P. Sharma

Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor - Dr. Arvind

Sharma

A few months later Dr. Shrigopal Sharma resigned as the

treasurer, and Dr. Om Sharma was appointed to fill the

Year Place Convention Director Convention Theme

1995 Allentown, PA Mr. Kailash Sharma —-

1996 Reading, PA Dr. Satish Tripathi Brahmans of the Twenty First

Century

1997 Troy, MI Mr. Purushottam Sharma Family Values

1998 Reading, PA Mr. Mahendra Misra Samskaras

1999 Sacramento, CA Mr. Abhaya Nand Maharaj Brahmanatva

2000 Valley Forge, PA Mr. Jagar Sharma Brahman of Yesterday, Today and

Tomorrow

2001 Long Beach, CA Mr. Bharat Bhargava Brahmanatva Revisited

2002 Toronto, Canada Mr. Hari Krishna Panday Brahmanic Heritage of Intellect,

Service and Humility

2003 San Jose, CA Dr. Chandra M. Dwivedi Contributions of Women to Hindu

Culture

2004 East Windsor, NJ Dr. Umesh Shukla Challenges for the Youth in Twenty

First Century

2005 Washington DC Mrs. Mamta Tiwari Brahmans in the 21st Century

2006 Detroit, MI Mr. Nitin Purohit Challenges of Growing Up in Two

Cultures

May-07 Washington D.C. Dr. Satish Misra The Current Challenges: Global

Brahman Unity and Preservation of

Vedic Culture

- 21 -

vacancy. The last election was conducted in 2006 by the

NEC consisting of Dr. Surendra Pandey (Chair), Dr.

Satish Misra and Mr. Nitin Purohit. The following EC

members were elected unopposed to take office from

January 1, 2007:

President - Mr. Purushottam Sharma

Executive Vice President - Dr. Umesh Shukla

Vice President – Mrs. Rita Pandey

Vice President - Mr. Bharat Mohla

General Secretary- Dr. Om Sharma

Treasurer - Mr. Shri Niwas Sharma

Assistant Treasurer & Brahmakulum Editor - Dr. Ajay

Pandey

BSNA Publications

There are three publications of BSNA: (1) Brahma

Bharati, a quarterly, newsletter, (2) Brahma-Vani, an

annual souvenir magazine, published at the time of con-

ventions, and (3) Brahmakulum, the BSNA Directory.

In addition, BSNA also publishes a Homepage on the

web as www.bsna.org.

1. Brahma Bharati

The first issue of Brahma Bharati, BSNA’s quarterly

newsletter, was published in December 1994 with Dr.

Vinod Tewary as its editor. Subsequent editors of Brahma

Bharati are Mrs. Nirmala Shukla (1999-2000) and Dr.

Surendra Pandey (2000-present).

2. Brahma Vani

After the first BSNA convention it was decided that a

souvenir magazine called Brahma Vani be published ev-

ery year at the time of the convention. Dr. Satish Misra

was appointed Editor of Brahma Vani and the first issue

was published at the time of the second convention (Read-

ing, PA, July 1996.) The magazine included scholarly ar-

ticles related to the theme of the convention and a few

advertisements to raise funds for BSNA. Dr. Misra con-

tinued to serve as the editor of Brahma Vani until 2006,

with the exception of the issue in year 2000, which was

edited by Prof. Ramanath Sharma. In 2000, Dr. Tej

Pandey was appointed as the Managing Editor of Brahma

Vani to handle the printing and distribution responsibili-

ties. In November 2006, Dr. Surendra Nath Pandey was

appointed as the Editor-in-Chief with Dr. Tej Pandey

continuing as the Managing Editor. 

3. Brahmakulum

After publication of the first BSNA directory, compiled

by Dr. Shyam Shukla, in June 1994, the directory was

renamed as Brahmakulum with Dr. Satchidanand Mishra

as its editor who published it annually until the year 2000,

when the EC decided to print it alternate years as a cost

saving measure. Dr. Arvinda Sharma became the editor

in 2001 and continued till 2006. It was also decided to

print a supplement of Brahmakulum listing the names of

new members only during the years the complete edition

was not published. In 2006, Brahmkulum was published

in a CD format for the first time making it easier to up-

date and distribute.

4. BSNA Home Page

The BSNA homepage was first established by Dr. Vinod

Tewary in early 1996. A year later Dr. Surendra Pandey

and Mr. Chakradhar Sharma gave it a new face. Later

on Mrs. Ranjana Sharma was appointed as the homepage

editor. In early 2003 an editorial committee consisting of

Drs. Tej Pandey, Surendra Pandey and Umesh Shukla,

working with a web master from India redesigned the

entire homepage giving it the present format. Dr. Tej

Pandey continues to serve as the Homepage editor.

Educational Program

In order to develop an educational program for youth and

children, BSNA appointed an Education Committee in

1998 with Dr. Surendra Pandey as its first Chair. Later,

the education Committee’s work was transferred to one

of the Vice Presidents of BSNA, Dr. Ramesh Paliwal,

who has developed a set of lectures on Hinduism for

youth and children. He has visited several chapters in the

east coast where he conducted classes for children. Dr.

Shyam N. Shukla has also developed a series of lectures

on Hinduism. They are on different topics, namely, His-

tory of Sanatana Dharma, Unique Gifts of Hinduism, Four

Purusharthas, Social Structures, Sanskaras, Deities, and

Festivals.

Global Networking with Brahmans Overseas

The BSNA Convention held at Troy, MI, witnessed an-

other historic moment when Dr. Surendra N. Pandey,

General Secretary of BSNA and Mr. Rameshwar Dayal

Dixit, Secretary General of All India Kanyakubja Board

(AIKB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

forming an official affiliation between the two organiza-

- 22 -

tions. The members of the BSNA Executive Committee

witnessed the signing ceremony on July 5, 1997, and the

General Body approved the MOU the following day.

Using the first MOU as the guiding document Brahman

Samaj of Nepal signed a similar agreement with BSNA

in the year 2000. Since then, Dr. Shyam Shukla, BSNA

President has interacted with many leaders of Brahman

organizations in India, Australia, New Zealand, The Neth-

erlands, etc. forming informal alliances with BSNA.

In 2005, BSNA joined World Brahman Organization as

one of its affiliate organization along with some 19 world-

wide organizations. Thus BSNA continues to grow stron-

ger on its own while expanding its collaboration with other

Brahman organizations. Currently, BSNA has about 600

members.

Best Wishes and Warm Welcome to all the Delegates

From North America and Around the World

Attending

2007 World Brahman Convention

Sponsored by BSNA and WBO

and Hosed by Washington, DC Chapter

Sharma Family of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA

Purushottam and Kusum

Vikas and Manisha & Vinay and Priya

Meghna, Karina, Naveen, Aneesh and Annika

- 23 -

Man has some basic needs, namely, food, cloth

ing and shelter to survive on this earth. When

these needs are fulfilled he looks for recre-

ation. Then he needs mental peace and security of a well

knit society. After acquiring all this he has to quench his

intellectual thirst. In his mind arise many questions, such

as: “Who am I?”; “What is the purpose of this life?”;

“How do I get peace and happiness in this life?”; “What

happens to me after this life?” etc. This gives birth to

religion. The search for the answers to these questions

leads him to spirituality. The human history indeed is the

history of search for God.

Thousands of years ago the Rishis of India, like scien-

tists, were engaged in search of answers to the above

questions. They made the mind itself the subject of their

research. Through Dhyana-yoga, by meditating on the

mind itself, the Rishis discovered that within the layers of

mind lies Atman, the divine element within a human be-

ing. The Vedic Rishis had also discovered that Atman

permeates everything in this vast universe. That is why

the Rishi of the Ishavasya Upanishad said:

w**x;;v;;sy;im;d] s;v;*] y;itk:}c; j;g;ty;;} j;g;t;< =t;en; ty;kt;en; B;uJj;Iq;; m;; g;&Q;/ k:sy;isv;d<Q;n;m;< ==

“Everything in this universe is permeated by the Almighty

or Ishvara (whom everything belongs to and from whom

all this came out). Therefore, with this attitude, enjoy

whatever you have and do not covet for someone else’s

wealth.”

The only difference between man and beast is that man

has Buddhi, the analytical mind, which created Dharma.

In Sanskrit there is a verse which emphasizes this point:

a;h;rin;d>;B;y;m;Eq;un;] c; s;m;;n;m;et;t;< p;x;uiB;n;*r;[;;m;< =Q;m;;e* ih t;e{;;m;iQ;k:;e iv;x;e{;/ t;en;Ev; hIn;; p;x;uiB;/ s;m;;n;;/ ==

“The commonalities between man and beast are eating,

sleeping, fear and producing progeny. The only extra and

special thing in man is Dharma, without which man will

become beast.”

Religion and ScienceShyam Narayan Shukla, Ph. D.

President, World Brahman Organization

Now the question is: What is Dharma? The origin of the

word “Dharma” is the root verb “Dhri” in Sanskrit, which

means to hold or to support. In Sanskrit it is said, Q;rit; wit;Q;m;*/” (What holds is Dharma.) In the Mahabharata, Dharma

is defined thus:

Q;;r[;;àm;*im;ty;;huQ;*m;;e* Q;;ry;t;e p;>j;;/ =y;/ sy;;à;r[;s;]y;ukt;/ s; Q;m;* wit; in;xc;y;/ ==

“That which supports is called Dharma. Dharma sup-

ports the people or the society. That which has capability

to support is certainly known as Dharma.”

In any religion, scriptures are the guidebooks. Unlike in

other religions there are more than one scripture in Hindu

religion. The Hindu scriptures may be divided into two

categories, namely, the Shrutis and the Smritis. The Vedas

and the Upanishads are the Shruti scriptures whereas

the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Puranas and

Manusmriti, etc. are the Smriti scriptures. The messages

of the Shruti scriptures are never outdated. Their values

remain the same, irrespective of time and geographic lo-

cation. For example, the truth of Atman or Brahman as

given in the Upanishads is the same today as it was 5,000

years ago and will remain the same thousands of years

from now. It is the same in the USA as it is in India.

Therefore, the messages of the Shrutis are beyond time

and space. On the otherhand the laws written by King

Manu in the Manusmriti for the society of his time may

not hold good today.

Like scientists the Rishis invented some wonderful things

through their experiments of many years. For example,

they discovered that mind gets fatigued due to its con-

tinuous thinking process. It thinks even in our sleep, re-

sulting in dreams, which cause stress in our sleep, when

we are supposed to rest. The Rishis found out that if the

thinking process of the mind is stopped some how, it

achieves tremendous peace. They also concluded that

this is the purest state of the mind and that in this state it

is closest to God. This was defined as the state of ‘Yoga’.

Patanjali in his Yogasutra has said, y;;eg;ixc;T;v;&iT;in;r;eQ;/, that

is, “Yoga is stopping of the thought-waves in mind.”

The Rishis, from their experience, also discovered that

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for spiritual life one has to lead a life of unattachment and

renunciation. One who is attached to one’s actions and

their fruits cannot achieve real happiness. In the

Mahabharat there is a story of King Yayati, who was

attached to pleasures all his life and never knew renun-

ciation, learnt his lesions hard way. He, at the end of his

life, lamented thus:

n; j;;t;u k:;m;/ k:;m;;n;;] Wp;B;;eg;en; x;;my;it; =hiv;{;; k&:{[;v;tm;e*v; B;Uy;Av;;iB;v;Q;*t;e ==

“Just as fire grows even more if one tries to extinguish it

by ghee, so does the desire grow more if one tries to

quench it by enjoying it.”

Therefore, one should avoid attachments to pleasures

when one is on the path of God realization. The last part

of the first mantra of Ishavasya Upanishad strongly

recommends that one should lead a life of renunciation

and be happy with whatever one has (t;en; ty;kt;en; B;u]j;Iq;;). Inthe Bhagavadgitaita, Lord Krishna too emphasizes on

renunciation and unattachment repeatedly.

In ancient India Dharma and Science had no conflict and

were developed side by side. Many discoveries in the

fields of Mathematics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Metallurgy,

Health and other sciences, which were published by Eu-

ropean scientists and mathematicians as their original dis-

coveries, had been developed thousands of years ago by

Indian Rishis. Knowledge of Trigonometry and the so

called Pythogorus’s theorem are explained in the

Shulbasutra and the Satpatha Brahmana. The famous

Professor of Astronomy, Karl Sagan has mentioned that

the ancient Indian astronomers could calculate the move-

ment of planetary bodies with an utmost accuracy. F. Max

Muller had arbitrarily picked up 1,500 BCE as the time

when the Rigveda was written, without providing any

proof. Later, on the basis of the planetary positions de-

scribed in the Rigveda, astronomers determined that the

Rigveda was written earlier than 6000 BCE.

The 22 feet high steel pillar near Kutub Minar in New

Delhi has been standing there without rusting since third

century BCE. Julius Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor

of atom bomb, started remembering Vishvarupadarshan

(Vision of the Universal Form) as described in the Elev-

enth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita, when he saw the

nuclear explosion of the first atom bomb. He believed

that the Brahmastras described in the Ramayana and

the Mahabharata were actually atomic weapons. Indian

Rishis developed zero, decimal system and quadratic

equations. In Panchavnisha Brahmana there is a sen-

tence which states that the distance of Swargaloka from

the earth is about the same as 1,000 earths placed one

above the other. This shows that the Rishis knew that

the earth is round, much before Galileo observed it.

There should be no conflict between Dharma and Sci-

ence even today, yet it is Science which challenges

Dharma to prove without any doubt whether God exists

and whether the miracles described in the scriptures can

occur today also. The Rishis of the Upanishads, who

realized Brahman (or Atman), mentioned that God is be-

yond reach of the mind and the Indriyas (senses). He is

only an object of self experience. Therefore, the exist-

ence of God can never be proven by experiments in any

laboratory.

It is the miracle of science that the world has shrunk so

much today. Even the outer space is within man’s reach.

In the past twenty five years we have seen many new

gadgets, namely, personal computer, Fax machine, mi-

crowave oven, internet, cellular phone, digital camera,

CD, HDTV etc. Now that we have them, we wonder

how we lived without them earlier. Science has perhaps

made our life more luxurious. At the same time, life has

become very fast due to these ‘luxuries’, which have

also made our daily life more stressful.

The Rishis gave three very valuable treasures to the world.

They are Yoga, Vedanta and the concept of Reincarna-

tion. Today we all know that the entire world is reaping

the benefits of the Yoga. According to the Vedanta phi-

losophy, man is made up of two main elements, namely,

the body which is so fragile and destructible and the ev-

erlasting divine element called Atman, residing within the

body. Atman is beyond birth, aging, death and any kind

of changes. One can become Brahman oneself by real-

izing the divinity within. I believe that one day the Vedanta

will be the only religion acceptable to the modern man of

the twenty first century. The concept of reincarnation

explains why we are born with different fates. Our ac-

tions and thoughts of previous births form our sanskaras,

which get us appropriate births. The sanskaras are car-

ried by the sukshma sharira or the subtle body from the

present body to the next body.

About four years ago I read an interesting news item

which proves that sukshma sharira does exist. A per-

son dying of heart attack was brought to the emergency

room of a hospital in Brussels (Belgium). The doctors

declared him dead after examining him and finding that

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the man had no heart beat, was not breating and had no

activity in his brain. His relatives, however, begged that

something be done to revive him. The attending doctor

asked his staff to massage the man’s chest and give him

oxygen. When a nurse wanted to insert an oxygen tube

in the man’s mouth she found that he was wearing den-

tures, which were preventing her from inserting the tube

in his mouth. She tried hard to remove the dentures and

open his mouth. Finally she succeeded in inserting the

oxygen tube in his mouth. After a few minutes the man’s

heart started beating and he even started breathing on

his own. When he was brought to intensive care unit, the

man gained consciousness. He looked at the nurse and

thanked her for saving his life by giving oxygen to him.

The nurse said, “I can’t believe this. How could you see

that I gave you oxygen, when you were clinically dead

and your eyes were closed?”

He said, “Yes, I was perhaps dead, because I felt as if I

was hovering at ceiling level watching everything that

was going on down there in that emergency room. I saw

you struggling to open my mouth to insert the tube. You

saved my life. I am so thankful to you.”

By the way, in another similar incident a man was revived

in a San Francisco hospital and later the man married

the nurse, who gave him oxygen.

In Hindu Dharma there is a belief that after one’s death

the sukshma sharira (subtle body) separates itself from

the sthula sharira (gross body) and hangs around the

near-and-dear-ones until the tenth day, when it is formally

asked by the priest performing his death rites to break

attachment and depart to its journey for its next birth.”

Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla of Fremont, California, U.S.A. is the

President of World Brahman Organziation and past president of

Brahman Samaj of North America. He is a retired engineer and a

scholar who has published a number books and articles on Sanatan

Dharma and other topics.

WBC-2007 Delegates

GreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetings

from

Umesh, Prabha, Devesh & Hirsh Shukla

Belle Mead, NJ, U.S.A.

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Bhagvan VishnuCompiled and Edited by Ankur C. Misra, North Potomac, MD

Six Incarnations of Vishnu Darwin’s Theory of EvolutionMatsya (Fish) Life starts in water (600 million-400 million years ago)Kurma (Turtle) The first amphibians emerge (100 million years ago)Varaha (Boar) The first mammals evolve (60 million years ago)Narasimha (half man-half lion) Half man-half animal appear (30 million years ago)Vamana (short man) Dwarflike and without tool (5 million - 2 million years ago)Parashurama (warrior priest) Tools and human evolution. (350,000-100,000 years ago)

Bhagvan Vishnu’s picture graces the cover ofthis magazine. Bhagvan Vishnu representsthe aspect of the Supreme Reality that

preserves and sustains the universe. Although thereare variations in images and pictures of BhagvanVishnu, He is generally symbolized by a humanbody with four arms. In his hands he carries aconch (shankha), a mace (gada), lotus (padma),and a discus (chakra). He wears a crown, twoearrings, a garland (mala) of flowers, and a gemaround the neck. He has a blue body and wearsyellow clothes. The Bhagvan is shown standing ona thousand-headed cobra like snake (Shesha Nag),and the snake stands with its hoods open directlyover the head of the Lord.

The four arms indicate Lord’s omnipresence andomnipotence. The two front arms signify the lord’sactivity in the physical world and the two backarms signify His activity in the spiritual world. Theright side of the body represents the creativeactivities of the mind and the intellect. The left sidesymbolizes the activities of the heart.

A conch in the upper left hand indicates that theBhagvan communicates with his devotees. Theconch blow reminds His devotes to live in a worldwith kindness and compassion. He uses thecharka, the ultimate weapon for the protection ofHis devotees, and destruction of evil forces. Themace in the Lord’s lower left hand signifies that hesustains the manifest world by the energy that Heholds in Himself. His front right hand bestowsgrace on his devotees.

The snake denotes the mind and the thousandheads of the snake signify innumerable desires andpassions of any one individual. Just as a snake

destroys its victim by its venom, an uncontrolledmind destroys the world by the venom of itspossessiveness. The Bhagvan has controlled alldesires, and this is symbolized by showing himseated on the two coils of the snake. The twoearrings signify the dual nature of creation, suchas knowledge and ignorance, happiness andunhappiness, and pleasure and pain. The bluecolor symbolizes infinity. The blue body of theBhagvan signifies that He has infinite attributes.He is nameless, formless, and immeasurable. Thecolor of his clothes, yellow, is associated withearthly existence.

The worship of Bhagvan Vishnu is very popularamong Hindus, especially among the followers ofthe Vaishnava tradition (Vaishnavism). He is thesecond member of the Hindu Trinity, withBhagvan Brahma and Bhagvan Shiva respectivelyas the other two.

The Supreme Lord Vishnu is the protector andsustainer of the universe. Hence, He hasincarnated Himself in various life forms throughdifferent yugas (ages or eons) in situations toprotect His devotees and restore virtues over theevils and destructive forces. The first sixincarnations of Lord Vishnu throughout time areremarkably comparable to the Darwin’s theory ofevolution as illustrated in the table below:

1. The Story of MATSYA (Fish)In MATSYA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a fish. In the earliest yuga (era) of Sata-yuga, a King Manu was performing acts ofworship for thousands of years. One day as hewas washing in river water, a small fish came intohis hands and just as he was about to throw the

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fish back into the river, the fish requested the kingto save its life. Heeding its request, the king putthe fish into a jar of water but the fish startedgrowing and the jar was not big enough for it. Thenthe king threw it into the river, but it soon it

outgrew the river and theking then threw it intoGanges and then into theocean. When the kingrealized who the fishreally was, Lord Vishnublessed him with anappearance and thenBhagvan Vishnu toldsomething to the king:He predicted that theworld would come to anend by a huge flood inseven days and thenrequested the king tobuild a huge boat and

take along with him the seven sages, seeds of allplants, one animal of each type and also told himthat he would appear as a fish to propel the boat toMount Himavan to survive into the next yuga(era).True to his word, after seven days the floodappeared and the king tied the boat to the fish byusing the royal serpent Vasuki and the fish tookall of them to Mt Himavan and kept them theretill the flood was over and in the new era, the kingstarted procreation for the new era.

2. The Story of KURMA (Turtle)

In KURMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himselfas a turtle. It is an interesting story involving boththe gods (devtas) and asuras (demons). In theongoing battle between the gods and demons, onone occasion the gods suddenly lost all their

strength due to a curse bythe short-tempered sageDurvasa. Durvasa had oncepresented a garland offlowers to the king of godsIndra, who carelessly gave itaway to his elephant whichtrampled it.

The Devtas approachedVishnu for help. Vishnuthen asked them to churnthe ocean after adding

medicines into the ocean. Mount Mandara couldbe used as the churning stick he said. He requestedthem to ask them help of Asuras in lifting themountain in exchange for the nectar of immortalitythat would ensue from the churning. Both theGods and the Asuras churned the ocean using theserpent Vasuki as the rope. At the start, playing aMachiavellian trick, Indra (king of the gods) askedthe Asuras for the head end of Vasuki. But Asurassuspecting foul play took the head end, only to bedeceived as the poison from Vasuki was slowlyweakening them mentally. But as churning wasproceeding the mountain was sinking and thenLord Vishnu took the form of the turtle KURMAand kept the mountain afloat. As soon as the bowlof amrita (the ambrosia, prepared by the Hindugods, that bestows immortality) was out, the Asurasgrabbed it. Then Lord Vishnu took the form of anApsara as he bellowed out of the turtle, a beautifulmaiden, and seduced the mentally weakenedAsuras into letting her control the distribution ofthe amrita. As soon as the Gods were served themaiden disappeared thus totally deceiving theAsuras and making them totally weak. 3. The Story of VARAHA (Boar)

In VARAHA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a boar. A demon Hiranyaksha, hadprayed to Lord Brahma and got awarded a boonthat no beast nor man norgod could kill him. He thenstarted a campaign ofplunder across the worlds.He pushed the world to thePataal loka, or the under ofthe sea. He stole the Vedas,the Holy Scriptures fromLord Brahma, while he wasasleep and performed hugeatrocities. To retrieve theVedas and to save theworld Lord Vishnuassumed the role of a boar.This was a form of beastthat was missing fromHiranyaksha’s boon. VARAHA then brought outthe earth from the under of the ocean, using itstwo tusks. It then killed Hiranyaksha and retrievedthe Vedas from the Asura and brought it back tothe safe custody of the Lord Brahma.

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4. The Story of NARASIMHA (Half Man/HalfLion)

In NARASIMHA Avatar,Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as a semi-man,semi-lion in this world. Theking of demons (asuras),Hiranyakasyapa, wanted tobecome immortal andwanted to remain youngforever. To this end, hemeditated for Lord Brahmaand because of his severepenance; the gods were

frightened and asked Brahma to pacify the king.Brahma was impressed by his austerity andgranted him a wish. HiranyaKasyapa wished thathe be neither killed by a man or beast, nor indaylight or at night and neither inside or outside abuilding. After being granted the wish heconsidered himself the supreme God and forbadeall worship of gods by anyone.

But his son Prahlada, was an ardent devotee ofVishnu. This enraged Hiranyakasyapa very much.He ordered numerous ways to kill Prahladaincluding asking his sister Holika to sit withPrahlada in the fire. But every time Prahladaescaped unhurt. Enraged, he asked Prahlad toshow him Lord Vishnu. Prahlad said, “He iseverywhere”. Further enraged, Hiranyakasyapasmashed a pillar to the ground, and asked if Lordwas present there. Lord Vishnu then emerged asa half lion, half man from the pillar which wasneither inside the house nor outside, and the timewas evening, neither night nor day. He then killedHiranyakasyapa thussaving the life of hisdevotee Prahlada. 5. The Story ofVAMANA (Dwarf)

In VAMANA Avatar, LordVishnu incarnates himselfas a dwarf priest in thisworld. Bali, the grandsonof Prahlada was a veryvalorous and mightyAsura. By his penance andmight, he conquered the

whole world. The Gods feared that Bali and theAsuras would conquer all the three worlds, sowent to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu wasthen born as a dwarf Vamana in the household ofa Brahman (priest). He went to Bali when growingup and asked for alms. Bali was delighted to offerhim anything he requested.

Vamana then requested for the amount of landthat could come under his three feet. Baligracefully agreed. Lord Vishnu then grew in sizeand covered the earth and heaven in two stride.And due to lack of space, he put his third foot onBali himself and crushed him to the undergroundworld, thus helping the Gods out. 6. The Story of PARASHURAMA (WarriorPriest)

In PARASHURAMA Avatar, Lord Vishnuincarnates himself as aBrahmana (priest). He wasbrought in this world toavenge all warriors whohad become arrogant andwere suppressing thepriests in the world. He wasborn to Jamadagni andRenuka, and belonged tothe Brighu clan.Parashurama was alwayscarrying an axe presentedto him by Lord Shiva ofwhom he was an ardentdevotee. A powerful kingKartavirya, once went tothe home of Jamadagni, Parashurama’s father,while he was away, and after a meal, he stole theKamadhenu cow, which was supposed to give anendless quantity of milk. Jamadagni was enragedand he went and killed the King Kartavirya andbrought Kamadhenu back. On hearing this, theson of King Kartavirya came back and killedJamadagni. Parashurama was enraged at hisFather’s death so went and avenged the death ofhis father by killing all of the warriors in 21 battles. 7. The Story of RAMA (show the world thecharacteristics of an Ideal Person)

In RAMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnates himselfas Rama, the central character in the Ramayana.

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In the epic, the characterRama is expected to showthe world thecharacteristics of an idealperson including ideal son,ideal husband, ideal kingand an ideal human. Ramawas incarnated upon thisplanet to get rid of theAsura named Ravana whowas granted a boon by LordBrahma to receiveimmunity from gods, andother celestial beings.Ravana was too proud andvain to think he could bedefeated by man. Hence

Rama and his wife Sita (incarnation of LordVishnu’s wife, Lakshmi) were born. The story ofRamayana is an exciting story of Rama’s victoryover evil elements of the world and in the end thesin of Ravana.

The Ramayana epitomizes the ideal behavior ofman, with focus on man-wife relationship, son-father relationship and the rules for idealgovernance by a king.

8. The Story of KRISHNA (politics, humannature, human weaknesses)

In KRISHNA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as Krishna, thecentral character in theepic Mahabharata. In thebiggest epic of Indianmythology a myriad oftopics are covered,including war, love,brotherhood, politics etc.It is essentially the storyof two warring groups ofcousin brothers, thePandavas and the

Kauravas. As a part of the Mahabharata, duringthe war Krishna, gives a long discourse to hisdisciple and devotee Arjuna, collectively termedas Bhagvad-Gita.

Unlike Ramayana, Mahabharata deals with moredown to earth issues like politics, human nature,

human weaknesses, and does not attempt to idolizethe characters as in Ramayana.

9. The Story of BUDDHA (path of inner peace)

In BUDDHA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnateshimself as Budha, the ascetic prince whorenounced the throne to lead the world on the pathof peace. He is the founder of the Buddhismreligion quite prominent across the world. Incertain sects of Hinduism, he is considered to be adivine incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

He was born the crown prince of the Kapilavastuto Suddhodana and Maya. He was namedSiddhartha, meaning “All things fulfilled” by theking. But his Queen Mother died soon after hisbirth. Buddha was saddened by the death of livingcreatures since his childhood days and used toquestion: “Alas! Do all living creatures kill eachother?” He wasn’t satisfied by any of the answersprovided to him. So he decided to find out themeaning and the absolute truth. He left his wifeand child to a Monk’s life in the forest andmeditation and penance became the enlightenedone. His preaching spawned off the religion ofBuddhism now popular across the whole world.

10. The Story of KALKI (Recreation of GoldenAge)

In KALKI Avatar, which isyet to come, Lord Vishnu isbelieved to be incarnatingHimself as Kalki, themachine-man, who willcome riding a white horseand with a blazing sword inhis hands. This is a futureavatar of Lord Vishnu, atthe end of Kali Yuga(present era). He willpunish and destroy all evilsin this world and recreate agolden age again.

Bibliography: http://www.yogausa.com

http://www.balagokulam.org/kids/stories/

dashavatara.php#parashurama

Ankur Misra is the President of Youth Group of Brahman

Samaj of North America, and is the son of Dr. Satish Misra of

Potomoc, Maryland, U.S.A.

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There are two kinds of knowledge: (1) materialknowledge and (2) spiritual, transcendentalknowledge or Adhyatama vidya. In this age

of Kaliyuga, even the learned people are moreinterested in materialism than spiritual knowledge.The Vedas herald that the human form of life ismeant ONLY for acquiring spiritual knowledgeabout the Supreme Absolute Truth. “Athaatobrahma jijnaasaa,”(Brahma.sutra.1-1). Materialknowledge is meant to sustain this material body.Therefore, as the material body is perishable so isthe material knowledge after one’s death.Contrarily, spiritual knowledge is not perishable.It goes along with the soul into his next life becauseit is cumulative. Therefore at the end of severallives one attains perfection, so says Lord Krishna,“anek janma samsiddhim tato yaati paraamgatim” Bh.G. 6-45, “One attains perfection in thespiritual knowledge and reaches the supreme goal afterthe continued efforts of many, many lives.” This isthe importance of spiritual knowledge. AgainBh.G. 5-38, “nahi jnaanena sadrashah pavitramiha vidyate.” “There is nothing as sublime andpurifying (from material contamination) as thistranscendental knowledge”. Ramayana says, “nahikacchu durlabh jnaan samaanaa,” and “bhayejnaan binu mitai na mohu.”and so on.“Transcendental knowledge is very difficult to obtainand without that the illusion cast by maayaa doesnot leave the living entity.”

The material knowledge: The illusory potency(called maayaa) of the Lord is manifested in theform of material knowledge and matter itself, bothof which are made up of the three modes ofmaterial nature: (1) mode of goodness (satoguna),(2) mode of passion (rajoguna), and (3) mode ofignorance( tamoguna). The entire universe,comprising of the Heavenly planets, Earth and theNether world (patal lokas), is made up of these 3modes. Bh.G. 18-40 and”tribhir gunamayairbhaavair ebhihi sarvam idam jagat”Bh.G.7-13.These modes cast a deluding effect like a veil ofignorance on the soul, which is transcendental innature. The soul therefore suffers two agonies (1)it forgets its original nature of being transcendental

Material Life and BeyondAnand Mohan Chaturvedi, M.D.

and superior to matter but considers himselfmaterial body and therefore suffers all the agoniesof the body, like pain and pleasure, sorrows andhappiness, miseries of old age, diseases and death.This is described as aavarnaatmik effect of maayaa.Original nature of the soul is full of bliss, “ishvaramnsh jeeva avinaashi, chetan amal sahajasukh raashi”, Tulsidas, and “mamaivaanshojeva loke jeeva bhutah sanaatanah”. Bh.G. 15-7. “The soul is eternally part and parcel of LordKrishna. Since Lord Krishna is total bliss so is the soul,but due to this ignorance cast by maayaa, soulconsiders himself separate from the Lord and strugglesto lord over the material nature.” (2) The souloriginally belongs to the transcendental planetswhere, along with the Lord Krishna, he is supposedto enjoy all the opulence, as proclaimed by theShwetashvatar Upnishad, “shrannvantu vishveamritasya putraah aa ye dhaamaani divaanitastuh.” HEAR ME! The entire living entities of theuniverse, that all of you are sons of the immortal Lordand all of you belong to His transcendental abode,”but due to association with the material naturethey are thrown in this material world. This effectof maayaa is called as prakshekatmika effect.”

The nature of the living entity is to enjoy bliss.Therefore, even in this material world it searchesfor pleasure. Unfortunately, the pleasures of thematerial world are different from thetranscendental pleasures. Material pleasures arefleeting, declining in intensity, and perishable. Forexample, one may find pleasure in eating sweetsbut the intensity of pleasure declines as one goeson eating sweets and after some time one cannoteat any more and the taste becomes nauseating.Furthermore, 3-4 hours later the effect wears offso after sometime he feels dissatisfied again.Material pleasures are limited and associated withdispleasure in due course of time. Mahatma Vidursaid in Bhag.G. 3-5-2, “sukhaay karmaani karotiloko, na taih sukham vaanyadu paarmam vaa,vindet bhuyah tat eva duhkham , yadatra yuktambhagavan vadennyah..” “For the sake of pleasureeveryone endeavors but one neither gets any pleasurenor any satisfaction despite all efforts.” One may

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accumulate millions of dollars and possess bigmansions with all the material opulence, yet hemay suffer mentally from anxiety, tension, worriesand depression. Lord Krishna has proclaimed,“that the very nature of the material world is to befull of miseries, devoid of any real pleasure, andtemporary.” “anityam asuhkham lokam imam.”Bh.G. 9-33

Material miseries are of three kinds: (1)Adhyaatmic- those pertaining to the physicalbody in the form of diseases and mental anxieties,(2) Adibhoutik- those caused by the surroundingenvironment i.e. friends, foes, thieves andneighbors relatives, animals, etc. (3) Adidaivik :miseries cased by nature in the form of excessiveheat, rain, snow, tornado, fire, flood, draught etc.People find temporary solutions but that is not theend of it. Worst of all is the fear of death andseparation from beloved ones. The soul or the livingentity is thus in a very helpless situation in thismaterial world. These problems exist even in theheavenly planets.

The three modes of material nature modify furtherinto six components as: (1) kama –endless desiresfor which the living entity works day and nightso that one may experience some pleasure. If thedesires are fulfilled one develops (2) greed—adesire to acquire more and more. If the desire isunfulfilled then one develops (3) anger- which isdirected towards the cause of obstruction. (4)Attachment and delusion (moha): If an objector a thing appears to please the senses then onegets attached to it therefore living entity tries toacquire that by any means right or wrong. (5)False pride (mada): one is proud of his possessionslike the body, beauty, wealth, power, prosperityetc. (6) jealousy ( matsar): If some one is superioror better than himself then jealousy manifests.Bhag.G. 11-24-1 states, “parasvabhaavahkarmaani na prashansena na garhayet vishvamekaatmakam pashyan prakrityaa purushena cha”meaning that one should not indulge in criticism ofany one in any form thinking that the entire creationis raised from the same ingredients of matter and thespirit soul..” The mind is always active whether oneis awake or at sleep, “na hi kashchid kshanam apijatuh tishthati akarmakrit,” Bh.G. 3-5. The abovemodification of material modes act on the mindconstantly. All these factors and the above threefoldmaterial miseries are absent in the transcendental

world because there the soul does not have thematerial body, but spiritual one. Vedas say, “…savaa esha brahma nishtha idam shariram martyamati srajya , brahmnaabhisampadya brahmanaashranoti brahmanaa pashyatai, brahmanai vedamsarvamanubhavati.” After liberation one gets thetranscendental or spiritual body and senses then hecan see, hear, and experience everything divine”

0ne may ask that with these miseries prevailingin the life of living entities, how do they survive?Very often one notices that a living entity is betteroff dead rather than living in a miserableabominable condition, yet that individual keepson hoping for the best. This is another effect ofthis maayaa potency of the Lord..Bhag.G. .3-30-5, “naraka-stho ‘pi deham vai, na pumaanstyaktum ichchhati, naarakyaam nirvrattausatyaam deva maayaa vimohitau.” While living inthe most abominable conditions of life one finds littlereason to cast off that body because of the deludingeffect of illusory potency of the Lord one takes delighteven in the hellish conditions.”

How does the transcendental soul fall into thismaterial world and how can that position berestored?Mahatma Vidur has pointed out that cause as“janasya krishnaad vimukhasy, daivaad adharmshilasy suduhkhitasya.” Bhag.G. 3-5-3 “the livingentity has been averse to the subordination of theSupreme Lord Krishna and has been engaging intoirreligious activities for sense gratification.” Further,in Bhag.G. 11-2-37 the Yogendras have replied toMaharaja Nimi,” “Bhayam dvitiyaabhiniveshatah syaat ishaad apetasy viparyayohsmritih, tan maayayaato budha aabhajet tam,bhaktyaik yesham guru devataatmaa.”. “that theliving entity has turned away from Krishna andmisidentified himself as the material body and notthe soul and therefore running after the pleasures ofthe body. He has forgotten his transcendentalrelationship with Lord Krishna and therefore issuffering,. If he turns himself towards the Lord andthe spiritual master and serves both of them equally,he will be relieved of these material miseries.”

The Vedas say the same thing,”Jushtam yadaapashyati annyamishmasya mahimaanam iti veetshokah Shwet..Up.” “The material miseries will besubdued if one turns towards Lord Krishna.” Theactual constitutional position of the living entity is

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that he is an eternal servant of the Lord. “daasbhuto harer eva na annyasaiva kadaachana.”Therefore the most beneficial way for the livingentity to get rid of this maayaa is to engage in theloving devotional services or bhakti yoga of LordKrishna. Then maayaa will leave us and we canbe happy and blissful even in this material body.Lord Krishna says, “Daivi hi esha gunamayi mammaayaa duratyayaa, maam eva ye prapadyantemaayaam etaam taranti te.” Bh.G7-14. Tulsidassays similarly, “hari maayaa krit doha guna binuhari bhajan na jaanhi, bhajiya raam taji kaam sabaus vichaari mana maanhi.” Therefore, though thematerial life is full of material miseries yet it is theonly gateway to the transcendental blissful abodeof Lord Krishna through the “BHAKTI-YOGA”,

which one learns through transcendentalknowledge. It is, therefore, rightly said in theScriptures that “saa vidyaa yaa vimuchyate.”

About the author: Dr.Anand M. Chaturvedi was born and

brought up in USA. He is a keen student of Indian philosophy.

He has contributed articles and spoken on Vedic philosophy

at various meetings. He is a life member of International Society

for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He has a keen interest

in Indian classical music. His medical practice is in the field of

Psychiatry. Dr. Chaturvedi’s address is:

1000 Carnegie Avenue

Akron, OH

hm;k:;e s;m;z; m;e] n;HI} a;t;;ax;;ek: av;sq;I, ny;U y;;|k:* (ny;U y;;|k:*)

hm; j;b; B;I b;It;e huA k:l m;e] z;;|}k: k:r deK;t;e hE] t;;e k:u% b;hut; ac%I b;;t;e] y;;d a;t;I hE =amm;; j;I k:h; k:rt;I q;I], ´b;#e B;wy;;, j;DdI W@; k:r;e = s;ub;h j;DdI W@n;e s;e a;Er r;t; m;e] j;DdI s;;en;e s;e m;n;u{y; c;Et;ny;

rht;; hE a;Er Ws;k:; idm;;g; t;ej; rht;; hE = r;ej; dUQ; ip;y;; k:r;e =, b;#;e] k:I wjj;t; ik:y;; k:r;e = p;$n;e m;e] m;n; lg;;y;; k:r;e =j;;e j;;g;t;; hE v;;e p;;t;; hE, j;;e s;;et;; hE v;;e K;;et;; hE =´

ip;t;; j;I k:h; k:rt;e q;e, ´p;$n;e m;e] m;n; lg;;y;; k:r;e = b;;r-b;;r aBy;;s; k:rn;e s;e s;b; a; j;;t;; hE = rss;I ik:t;n;Im;ul;y;m; h;et;I hE, leik:n; k:uA|} k:; p;;n;I K;I}c;t;e-K;I]c;t;e rss;I k:; p;tq;r p;r B;I in;x;;n; p;# j;;t;; hE = ws;I p;>k:;r b;;r-b;;r

aBy;;s; k:r;e, s;b; a; j;;y;eg;; =´

ws;I t;rh B;;w*, b;hn;, d;est; a;Er p;#;es;I B;I s;m;y;-s;m;y; p;r k:u% n; k:u% s;l;h det;e rht;e q;e = leik:n; hm; B;I @hreik: K;el m;e] hm;e]x;; m;st; rht;e q;e = Ws; s;m;y; Wn;k:I b;;t;e] k:u% B;I s;m;z; m;e] n;hI} a;t;;I q;I] = Ak: k:;n; s;e s;un;t;e q;e a;Er dUs;re

s;e in;k:;l det;e q;e = ab; j;b; k:B;I B;I s;m;y; im;lt;; hE a;Er Ak:;nt; m;e] b;E@ k:r B;Ut; m;e] if:r s;e z;;|}k:t;e hE] t;;e hr Ak: k:Ik:hI b;;t;;e] k:e m;t;lb; s;;f: s;m;z; m;e] a;t;e hE] =

a;j; if:r s;e v;hI k:h;n;I duhr;w* j;; rhI hE = a;j; j;b; hm; ap;n;e b;cc;;e] k:;e v;hI an;uB;v; k:I b;;t;e] b;t;;t;e hE] t;;e v;e Wn;k:Is;m;z; B;I n;hI} a;t;I] = x;;y;d v;h Wm;> hI Aes;I h;et;I hE =

leik:n; y;id v;e b;;t;e] t;b; s;m;z; m;e] a;w* h;et;I] t;;e a;j; hm; k:u% a;Er hI h;et;e =

- 33 -

In the beginning, perhaps the Vedas were the only

scriptures of Hindu Dharma. However, during the

past several thousand years, according to the needs

of people of different sects, more scriptures were added

to the Hindu religion. Today we also have the

Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita, the Puranas, the

Ramayana and the Mahabharata as the principal scrip-

tures. The Bhagvadgita or Gita is a part of the

Mahabharata, yet it is considered as an independent

scripture.

The Vedas

The Vedas are the oldest written works of civilized man.

There are four Vedas - Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda

and Atharvaveda. They are the most sacred books of

the Hindu religion. Some scholars believe that the

Rigveda is the oldest of all the Vedas. It is estimated

that it was written around 6,000 years B.C.

The scholars have tried to determine the ages of the

Vedas either through the astronomical evidences de-

scribed in them or through the style of the language of

the Vedas. The estimated age varies considerably. Bal

Gangadhar Tilak estimated that the Vedas were written

6,000 years B.C. on the basis of the positions of the con-

stellations described in the Vedas

Each Veda has many Shakhas or branches. Each Shakha

of a Veda is divided into four parts, namely, Samhita,

Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishads. Samhita

means collection – collection of Mantras (verses) in

prayers of gods and goddesses. Brahmana portion of

the Vedas lists the Vedic rituals and contains the meth-

ods of performing them. The word Aranyaka is derived

from arany, which means forest. The Aranyakas of

the Vedas were written in the forest, where the Rishis

moved to, to find solitude. The Aranyakas explain the

inner meaning of the Vedas. Most of the Upanishads

occur in the Aranyaka part of the Vedas. The Upanishads

are the end product of the Vedas. They tell us about the

sacred knowledge of Atman by realizing which we ob-

tain moksha or immortality. The Upanishads tell us that

we are not this body alone, which is subject to five

changes, namely, birth, growth, maturity, old age and death,

The Hindu ScripturesNirmala Shukla (Fremont, California)

but we are Atman, which is divine in nature resides within

our body and is eternal, conscious and blissful.

Before realizing Atman, we must purify our body and

mind by performing the Vedic rituals called yajna. The

word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which

means to worship. Yajna is performed with the aid of

Agni (the fire god) accompanied by Vedic mantras. A

Mantra is a sacred syllable, which protects the chanter,

if pronounced correctly. A Yajna should be performed

wholeheartedly with a feeling of devotion to the Supreme

Being and other gods.

The Upanishads

Earlier we saw that the Veda Shakhas are divided into

four parts. The Vedas are also divided into two parts, the

Karma Kanda and the Jnanakanda. Upanishads come

at the end of the Aranyakas. They are the end product of

the Vedas and are called Vedanta.

The Upanishads, the Brahma-Sutra and the

Bhagavadgita constitute the Prasthanatraya (Scrip-

tural Trinity) of the Vedanta. There is no conflict of opin-

ions among these three scriptures. They are the final

authority on the Vedanta philosophy.

For thousands of years the Upanishads have been the

principal source of the Vedanta, the foremost mystical

philosophy of India. They were kept secret for many

centuries and were taught only from guru to disciple.

They became widely known to a wider circle in the six-

teenth centuries.

It is believed that there are about two hundred

Upanishads available today. Out of these Shri

Sankaracharya (788-820 A.D.) selected ten Upanishads

as the most important ones and called them the principal

Upanishads. They are enumerated in the following

shloka:

Isha Kena Katha Prashna Munda Mandukya Taittiri,

Aitareyam cha Chhandogyam Brihadaranyakam Dasha.

In the Upanishads there are four “Mahavakayas” or

great statement. An Upanishad from each of the four

- 34 -

Vedas proclaims boldly the ultimate conclusions of its

philosophy, in the form of a Mahavakya. The Aitareya

Upanishad of Rig Veda proclaims, “Brahman is pure

consciousness” (Prajnanam Brahma). The

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Shukla Yajur Veda

says, “I am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi). The

Mahavakya of Chhandogya Upanishad of Sama Veda

is, “You are That (Brahman)” (Tat Tvam Asi). Finally,

Mandukay Upanishad of Atharva Veda is, “This Atman

is Brahman” (Ayam Atma Brahma).

The Bhagavadgita

The Bhagavadgita or the Gita is part of the epic

Mahabharata. It literally means “Sung by God”. It is

made up of Chapters 25 to 42 of Bhishmaparva of the

Mahabharata. It is considered the Yogashastra of

Brahmavidya. The eighteen chapters of the Gita contain

seven hundred verses.

Many scholars believe that the main theme of the Gita is

Karmayoga because it is addressed to Arjuna, who rep-

resents an active person and a householder. The

Karmayoga (or the yoga of action) tells us that we should

perform every action with our full ability without getting

attached to the action or its results. In other words we

should perform an action considering it as service to God

and not getting affected by its results, whether we get

failure or success in it.

The Brahma Sutra

“Sutra” literally means thread. Actually it is aphorism,

which talks about a philosophy in a very telegraphic lan-

guage, that is, using minimal words to project a thought.

Brahma Sutra of Sage Vyasa contains all the philoso-

phies that the Upanishads propound. The main things it

deals with are: (1) What is Jiva? (2) What is Jagat (Uni-

verse), in which we live? (3) What is the basic material

(Tattva) that is the root cause of the creation?

The Ramayana

Ramayana means ‘the path of Rama’. Rama was em-

bodiment of a perfect human being. He was an ideal son,

an ideal brother, an ideal husband and an ideal king. The

first Ramayana was written by Sage Valmiki, a contem-

porary of Shri Rama. There are more than 100 Ramayanas

written by different poets in different languages. The story

of Ramayana is popular even in Southeast Asian coun-

tries like Indonesia and Thailand. Today in India the most

popular Ramayana is ‘Ramacharita Manasa’ written

about 400 years ago by Sant Tulasidasa in Awadhi, a

dialect of Hindi, spoken around Ayodhya.

Rama never claimed to be an avatara of the Supreme

Being. But he lived a life, which is like an open book of

Dharma. His every action was an example of what the

scriptures prescribe for the followers of a religion to do.

Since an ordinary human being could not do what Rama

did, He is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

The Mahabharata

The epic Mahabharata was written by Sage Vyasa as

a record of the historical events that took place in the

country during his lifetime. It is said that it was written

50 years after the Mahabharata war took place. Some

scholars believe that the original name of the book was

‘Jaya’, when it covered only the story of the two sets of

cousins, Kauravas and Pandavas. The name was later

changed to ‘Bharata’ when the story was expanded. It

is believed by some that it was further expanded to in-

clude other stories and topics and its name changed to

‘Mahabharata’. The objective of Sage Vyasa in writ-

ing this epic was to strengthen faith of the people in

Dharma. The epic is the longest poetic work and has

100,000 verses in it. It has 18 main chapters and many

subchapters. The Kauravas, the sons of Dhritarashtra,

were very jealous of Pandavas, the sons of Pandu and

became their arch enemies. Pandu died when the chil-

dren were young. All the Kauravas and Pandavas grew

together under the supervision of Bhishma. They were

taught military science by a Brahmana teacher, Acharya

Drona, and became brave warriors. There was a great

war fought by Kauravas and Pandavas in which almost

all the warriors died except the Pandavas and a few

others.

The Puranas

Jnanayoga or the path of knowledge, propagated by

the Vedanta, is too difficult for ordinary people to under-

stand, because it explores Nirakara Brahman or God

devoid of attributes. On the other hand Bhaktiyoga or

the path of devotion is much simpler and easier to fol-

low. Without contradicting the teachings of the Vedanta,

the Puranas glorify Brahman in Its manifested forms

as Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga etc. A particular sect

promoted devotion to a principal deity of its sect through

stories in different Puranas.

- 35 -

There are eighteen Puranas. They are:

1. Brahma 2. Padma 3. Vishnu 4. Shiva5. Bhagavata 6. Narada 7. Markandey8. Varaha 9. Agni 10. Bhavishya 11. Brahma-vaivarta 12. Linga 13. Skandha 14. Vamana15. Kurma 16. Matsya 17. Garuda and18. Brahmanda.

Out of these the Bhagwat Puran is the mostimportant. It describes the life and divine attributesof Lord Krishna.

Mrs. Nirmala Shukla of Fremont, California is an authorand poet. She is retired software professional who haspublished a number of articles and poems on a variety of

topics.

B;g;v;t;< dx;*n; #;|. am;r p;ur;eiht; Am;.#I., ny;U y;;|k:* (ny;U y;;|k:*)

m;;t;& dev; t;um; ip;t;& dev; t;um;,B;ig;n;I, B;>;t;&, g;uo, im;F; s;B;I t;um;’ =

y;;eg;, Z;em;, in;v;;*[; t;umhI] h;e,b;l, iv;ê;, v;EB;v; s;b; B;g;v;n;< == 1 ==

t;umhe] p;>;pt; k:r s;b; k:u% p;;y;;,a;pt;k:;m; k&:t;k&:ty; hua; m;E] =

s;v;*sv; s;d; s;v;*F; k:O|} m;E],j;#-c;et;n; m;e] t;er; dx;*n; == 2 ==

ab; ky;; p;Uj;n; p;;@ k:O|} m;E] ?s;b; k:u% m;er; t;um;k:;e ap;*[; =

n;t; m;st;k: h;e n;m;n; k:r rh;,sv;Ik:;r k:r;e x;t;-x;t; v;ndn; == 3 ==

Dr. Amar L. Purohit, M.D., P.C.

155 East 76th Street, Suite17

New York, NY

- 36 -

This past winter break, I traveled alone toIndia by myself for the first time. Forwhatever reason (and I hope it is a

combination of my maturation and tremendousprogress India has made in the last several years),my most recent trip to India opened my eyes to anumber of issues that had never truly struck mein my prior visits with my parents. From themoment my plane touched down in New Delhito the time I settled for the flight back to the USA,there were countless opportunities for learningabout India and its people, which I will attempt tocapture in this piece.

Excited to have finally arrived in India, I brisklymade my way to the Immigration where I noticed,to my surprise, that the system has improved tocompare with the US system. Arriving passengerswere being processed very quickly. After such apleasant experience, it was somewhatdisappointing to have to wait for the luggage forabout 40 minutes. After receiving my luggage, itwas a smooth sailing through Customs andsecurity. This was totally unexpected based onwhat I had observed on prior trips, where aCustoms officer would approach us and requestus to put the luggage into a scanning machine forinspection before we could exit the area. Thisexperience was like European countries where onewalks out of the Customs area without having tobe inspected.

My father’s college friend, who lived about 45minutes outside of Delhi, in Gurgaon was waitingwith his family to welcome me to the Capital ofIndia. I was again pleasantly surprised that it wasjust about midnight and still the entire family cameto pick me at the airport. With such a welcome Iimmediately felt like part of their family. The nextday, on our way to New Delhi, Mahesh (my dad’sfriend’s son) told me about the ongoing projectsto improve the highway system. I was surprisedto learn about the slow progress of constructionof about half a dozen flyover bridges due topolitical instability. We take such bridges for

A Whole New WorldA reflection on my first solo trip to India

Hirsh Shukla

granted in the US. I noticed that nearly all of theongoing work was being done by hand, whichcertainly wasn’t accelerating the process. Basicinfrastructure is obviously a critical area that Indianeeds to develop; but I have a solution. Gatherup all the impoverished people in the area andoffer them government jobs in construction,waste disposal, and any of the other needs thecountry has. Buy the machinery they need towork efficiently, set up training centers ifnecessary, and absolutely flood the program withmoney. Where does that get us? Well, thegovernment spending stimulates all facets of theeconomy; offering jobs to the homeless gets themoff the streets and puts food in their mouths; andthe work they do will push India into modernityand further economic prosperity.

Though I have my gripes about the maintenanceand management of many of the Delhi-arealandmarks, there is no taking away from theiroriginal beauty. In the case of the Lotus Templeand its surrounding gardens, they make for oneof the most beautiful oases in the world. Thesublime sense of tranquility that one experiencesat the temple (especially when compared to therush of New Delhi) is comparable to few othersthat I have ever experienced. SwaminarayanAkshardham features architecture and sculpturethat should be considered among the world’sfinest. It is truly a hidden gem that deserves muchmore recognition than it gets; I would argue thatit should be considered one of the major wondersof the world. Lastly, the fact that Qutab Minar isstill standing is an amazing feat in itself,showcasing the solid construction of the ancientrulers of India. I was very impressed to read thatit is the tallest standing brick minaret in theworld.

Our journey into New Delhi that day ended atHumayan’s Tomb, a beautiful resting ground thatwas used as a template for the world famous TajMahal. It was great to know that the complex’ssecurity was tight, as we had to walk through

- 31 -

metal detectors and get screened by guards toenter it. However, there will still some things thatI could not bare about it. It was painful to see somuch trash all over the place withstray dogs running around at thisnational historic site. One knowsvery well that these things aretremendously easy to fix(especially with the vast availabilityof cheap labor), yet somehow donot get done in India. The secondissue that really bothered me is thefact that they charge foreigners2500% of the price that “Indian-looking” people do. Sure, that only means $5.00USD as opposed to $0.20 USD for people whoobviously can afford the airfare to travel across theworld. But it makes them feel discriminated,disrespected and unwelcome. The Indiangovernment is taking advantage of the foreigntourists solely because the currency conversiondoes not favor India. Same thing is practiced inHotels and transportation (air travel as well railtravel).

After doing a healthy amount of sightseeing in NewDelhi, we went for a three day trip to Jaipur. Thehighway we took was just like one in the US, andthe entire four hour drive through the countrysidewas very scenic. Upon reaching Jaipur, we walkedthrough several forts that offered great aerial vistasof the city. We saw the world’s largest cannon onwheels, and prayed at temples that are thousandsof years old. I don’t mean to digress, but I feel likeancient India does not get sufficient credit for allof its beauty and its architectural wonders in theAmerican education system. Iremember spending weeksstudying all facets of ancientGreek and Roman culture,history, and architecture, butmere hours on that of ancientIndia. What I saw in Indiafirsthand is without a doubt onpar with what is in Europe, butis not fully appreciated herebecause of India seems soremote in comparison to Greece and Italy.

My next excursion was an overnight trip with mycousin (Sushil Bhaiya) to Mathura-Vrindavan,where we met my mother’s side of the family and

stayed in an ashram. We visited Shri KrishnaJanmasthana as well as several other temples inthe area. Though it was very quiet, staying at the

ashram was a bit of a surrealexperience. My cousin and I couldnot grasp how boys training tobecome priests could adjust to lifein the ashram. They have to wakeup at 4 am daily, wash their ownclothes, do a number of chores,and study around the clock, withlittle recreational activity—allwhile barely seeing their families.Being around them made me feel

inadequate, as they are so much more learned inthe Hindu religion at a younger age than I mayever be. The ashram, itself, was beautiful, wellmaintained, had great accommodations, andsimple but delicious food. Overall, the ashramprovides an ideal environment for spiritual growth.

My time in the New Delhi-area came to an endwith a Jet Airways flight to Mumbai, which wasone of the most pleasant experiences of my life.The plane seemed new, the crew was incrediblyfriendly, and (most importantly) the food wasdelicious. It’s amazing how much of a difference asimple “Good afternoon” with a legitimate smilecan do to make one forget about the weather-related flight delays. It’s even more amazing howmuch of a rarity it is to get that on a US carrier.

Upon arriving in Mumbai, we headed home byauto-rickshaw. The traffic situation in Mumbai isremarkably better than in New Delhi, where itappears that logic and patience are both in

extremely short supply. Beingin an open-air vehicle mademe realize how much airpollution there really is in thatmetropolis, and how big of ahealth hazard it is. Mumbaiwould become one of themost beautiful cities in theworld if they can simply cleanit up a bit. As it is, the QueensNecklace skyline is

breathtaking to view at night, and observing itfrom the promenade at Marine Drive makes it allthe more attractive.

- 38 -

Perhaps because I was on vacation, but I wasshocked at how much energy the people of Indiahave. I would get fatigued each day from travelingaround the city and enjoying myself—I don’t knowwhere my cousins find the energy to make theirdaily commutes, get through a long workday, andthen come home to yet more stressors. They runoff a maximum of six hours of sleep and are activeconstantly from daybreak until midnight. In thatsense, it was great to stay with my grandmother inMumbai; she would wake everybody else in thehome up hours before bothering with me.

It seemed like everyone I stayed with went to suchlengths to look after me, that I cannot put it allinto words. Jaju Uncle stayed up until 3 am on NewYear’s Eve, awaiting my return from Delhi as it tookover three hours because of dense fog. Maheshbasically sacrificed his entire break from school totake me into, out of, and around Delhi to hit allthe major landmarks. Their whole family tookthree full days to go on vacation just to show meJaipur. Sushil Bhaiya took a week off from work totake me around Mumbai. Uncles, Aunts, and closefamily friends all gave up their time to see me, oroffer me a meal and roof over my head. The kindof hospitality that I experienced from everyone whoI spent time with was something that is rarely seenin this country. These people did not and do notowe me anything, yet treated me so well simplyout of the graciousness of their hearts—somethingwhich I will appreciate and remember for the restof my life.

The biggest differences that I found between lifein America and life in India were in the intra-familyrelationships. In India, it seemed that childrenconstantly try to find the approval of their elders,and will do whatever it takes to please them. Theywill not present their elders with the issues theyhave from day to day. Instead, they will try to solvethem on their own to avoid concerning the rest ofthe family. Clearly, it is very different here inAmerica. Parents and children have much moreopen relationships, and children here areundoubtedly able to share their feelings withoutshame. They may still try to please their elders, buttheir own aspirations also come into play in a muchmore collaborative effort. It also feels like there isno such thing as a compromise in India: everyoneneeds everything done in their own way, and thereis no wavering on the dominant individual’s part.

Here, on the other hand, I can say first hand that Ihave plenty of experience in negotiating with myparents.

I do agree that the respect children have for theirelders is something that the US could use a lotmore of. I also feel, however, that elders in Indianeed to give younger folk more respect than theycurrently do. Though they may be wiser, in myexperiences, elders do not take into account thepoint of view of their children when makingdecisions. Certainly, this can lead to huge blunders,such as marriage against one’s will. Furthermore,the lack of respect that people in service jobs inIndia get sickens me. Children my age andyounger are treated like they are less than humanbecause they are waiters or maids. For all the talkabout Indian people being very respectful ofothers, I simply cannot believe how educatedpeople have such a grand sense of entitlementalong with their money.

I feel that one of the major things holding Indiaback is the lack of civic sense of its inhabitants. Itis amazing how some people can act soprofessionally while in the workplace, then switchtheir minds off and behave like children thesecond they exit. Sometimes it seems like theyhave no regard for others, and stereotype all sortsof people. It’s a shame that one of the last images Ihave in my head from this trip was in a taxi on theway to the airport, where my cousin and Iwitnessed a collision between two motorcyclists.The taxi driver stopped immediately and ran outto help the bikers, and my cousin grabbed a waterbottle to offer to them. After witnessing aboutfifteen seconds of great citizenship andcamaraderie, I heard horns from the peoplebehind us. They were yelling at us to get out ofthe way, and wanted us to call the police becausethey assumed that the taxi driver had hit themotorcyclists.

This trip was an eye opener for me in learningabout beautiful historical parts as well as verymodern parts of India, its culture, and livingconditions of different people in India.

About the author: Hirsh Shukla is a second yearcollege student attending Cornell University. Hirshis the younger son of Umesh and Prabha Shukla.

- 39 -

Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA)

and World Brahman Organization

Thank the

World Brahman Convention 2007 Committee

for their dedicated, selfless work

From left to right:

Row 1: Saumya Vats, Ishani Tewari, Anmol Raj Tewari

Row 2: Suman Sharma, Manisha Tewari, Mamta Tiwari, Durga Mishra

Row 3: Hemkant Mishra, Satish Misra, Suresh Tewari, Om Sharma, Ravindra Mishra,

Gopesh Sharma

Row 4: Sheela Misra

Our Heartiest Greetings

and Best wishes to all the Delegates

attending WBC 2007

From Devender and Alka Sharma, Alameda, California, U.S.A.

Warmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best WishesWarmest Greetings and Best Wishes

to the

Delegates of

2007

World Brahman Convention

From the

New Jersey Chapter of BSNA

Compliments of:

Anupam & Meena Choubey

Virendra N. Pandey

Brahm Om Sharma

Hari & Kaushal Sharma

K. J. & Renu Sharma

Naresh & Karuna Sharma

Om & Manju Sharma

Rajendar K. Sharma

Umesh & Prabha Shukla

Color page

Bhargava Foundation

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Om Sharma

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Shyam & Nirmala

Shukla

Color page

Om Sharma (DC)

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Email: travnetroy@msn.com

- 47 -

FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION

BSNA Executive Committee is pleased to announce that its14th Annual Convention will be held in

Sacramento, California on July 4-6, 2008

Further details will be announced in Brahma Bharati and postedon the BSNA homepage (www.bsna.org)

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Sacramento

Mr. Pardeep Sharma, Chapter PresidentMr. Vijay Bhargava, Chapter SecretaryMr. Manohar Ratti, Chapter Treasurer

Chapter Board of Directors:Mr. Baldev Sharma, Mrs. Prem Sidhra,

Mrs. Manita Sanwal, and Mrs. Anita Vats

Executive Committee of BSNA

Board of Trustees of BSNA

- 48 -

Mrs. Vijay and Dr. Dharam Salwanof Fremont, California, U.S.A.

Extend their

Warmest Greetings and Best wishes

to

All delegates at theWorld Brahman Convention

2007

- 49 -

Greetings and Best Wishes

To All the Delegates at

World Brahman Convention 2007

From:Chandra Tiwari and family

Chandra Rugs IncorporatedCustom & Programmed Hand Made Area Rugs

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Fax: 706.624.4511

chandra@chandrarugs.com

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Thanks for your support with CHANDRA RUGS

- 50 -

Brahman Samaj of North America thanks

Michigan Chapter of BSNA

for Hosting the 12th Annual Convention of BSNA

and for a wonderful program and hospitality.

The highlights of one of the cultural program, Bhagvan Shivji

Vivah, by the Youth of Michigan Chapter are given below. It

was a wonderful and highly motivating performance.

Thank you Michigan Chapter!

The participants of the program

accepting the applause of the

audience

- 51 -

In this modern world of the twenty first century,the so called era of Science and Technology, aperson has to realize that no one can stand alone

with one’s individual identity based on caste,religion, community or society. One has to be apart of the world as a whole, and ask how one canbe useful to the entire humanity. This is true forHinduism as well as for Brahmanism. We have tosee what we can realistically contribute to the worldso that the world would be grateful toBrahmanism. Then only can Brahmanism survive.This is the issue before us.

The highly technologically advanced countries ofthe West have provided all sorts of physicalcomforts and unlimited sense enjoyment to theirpeople. But alas! These are the countries wheremental unrest and dissatisfaction are the highestleading to crimes. This occurs despite the teachingsof The Bible and the efforts of its teachers like BillyGraham. Not surprisingly, these same people havefound the greatest satisfaction in Vedic philosophyas obviously seen in the recent Ardha-Kumbh-melaof Allahabad. These Westerners are willing to liveas real Vedic students and followers. They do notlaugh or ridicule the Sannyasis or even the “naked-baabaas”, which even many Indians do.

Why so? The answer is very simple. The mentalpeace and tranquility of these “sadhus” attracts andimpresses them. They sleep on the floor, take bathwith cold water, do not eat meat, and do not haveany craving for indulgence. They get up at 4 O’clock and engage in worship of Lord Krishna. Theyhave shaved heads, wear Tulsi beads on their necks,and chant Hare Krishna Mahamantra sixteenrounds rigidly everyday. These devotees ofInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness,(ISKCON) have multiplied rapidly all over theworld. Their late spiritual master, SwamiPrabhupaada, has been recognized as one of thegreatest Vedic scholars and teachers of this century.Presently His Holiness Jagatguru Shri KripalujiMaharaj is a well known Vedic teacher. Manyforeigners are seen in his ashram today. India is a

Brahmanism and Its ResponsibilitiesL. N. Chaturvedi, M.D.

poor country, with so many limitations, yet theWesterners are attracted to it. Why? They arewilling to accept physical discomforts for mentalsatisfaction, which they find only in the Vedicculture of India. This proves India still has something most valuable to share with the rest of theworld.

In the past it was the Brahmans who wereentrusted with the dissemination of thisknowledge. The word Brahman means one whoknows Brahman, the Supreme Absolute Truth.There is a saying in Hindi, “Brahman so jo brahmavichaare, aap tare aur sakale tare.” (Brahman isone who knows Brahman and who seeks salvationfor self and for others.) The four Vedas, sixShashtras, eighteen Puranas, Gita, Mahabharat andVedanta Sutra were all memorized by theseBrahmans. They were living a life of austerities,observing the principles of Varnaashram dharmaas grahasthas (householders). They hadtremendous spiritual powers, so they were honoredand worshiped even by the kings and rulers. Thiswas the value and the status of the Brahman’sspiritual power which comes by living a life ofausterity and refraining from sinful activities,described in the scriptures as meat eating,gambling, and indulging in illicit sex andintoxication- Dyutam paanam striyoh sunaa, yatraadharmah chaturvidhah (Bhag.1-17-38)

Today, the society as a whole and Brahmans inparticular, have degraded. Sinful living is thewatchword of this age of Kaliyuga. With materialadvancement, spirituality has evaporated.Bhagvatam (1-1-10) says - People have a short lifeof a maximum of 100 years (though active life isshorter than that), poor memories, lazy,quarrelsome and minds that are preoccupied withanxieties, worries, and tensions. (Praayenaalpaayushah sabhya kalaav asmin yuge janaah,mandaah sumanda matayoh manda bhaagyaa hyupadrataah.) Under these conditions what can beachieved and how can we be still proud of theBrahmanism? I wish there was an answer to this

- 52 -

question. No! Nothing comes without a price.There is no short cut or any alternative except togo back to the old principles of living withausterities, which the modern society will notaccept.

Human life is the most precious and rare gift fromthe Almighty Lord. Even the demigods of heavenaspire for it. Jagatguru Adi Shankaraacharya hassaid, “On this earth this human body is veryprecious. It is not available even to the Godsmeditating on Him.” (Manuja dehamimam bhuvidurlabham, Samadhigamya surairapi vanchhitam.)In the Mahabharata it has been mentioned: Afterwandering through 8,400,000 species of lives,several times one gets this human form of life{Janmaantara sahasreshu manushyatvam hydurlabham.) Further, the purpose of human life isto attain liberation from material entanglementsby realizing the Absolute Truth, i.e., Krishna,There is none other important objective of thishuman form of life. (Kaamasy nendriya pritirlaabho, jivet yaavataa jeevasya tattva jijnaasaanaartho yeshcheha karmbhih). (Bhag 1-2-10).

People are seeking pleasure, joy, or happiness inthis material life but fail miserably because realpleasure or bliss is Krishna Himself, which peopleignore totally. Vedas declare repeatedly that onlyLord Krishna is total bliss,(Aanandamayo’bhyaasaat, Brahma Sutra). Also(Aanando brahmeti vyajaanaat, - Taittariyaupnishad 3-6.) And (sa vai rasaanaam rasa samah”Vedant Sutra). Again Taittariya Upnishaad says,That Supreme Lord Krishna is total bliss. Onebecomes totally blissful only when one isassociated with Krishna by total surrender. (Rasovai saha rasam hy evaayam labdhvaa nandi bhavati.-2-7.)

In this Kaliyuga, Vedic study is difficult andausterities cannot be performed as stated above.Therefore, the easiest way for Krishna realizationis by constant (1) hearing, (2) chanting or (3)remembering Lord Krishna’s name. However, thisshould be devoid of any selfish motives as ismentioned in the Bhagavatam (2-2-36): O King,the Lord is present everywhere all the time,therefore, one should hear about BhagavanNarayan, praise and remember Him all the time.(Tasmaat sarvaatmanaa raajan, hari sarvatra

sarvadaa, shrotavyaha keertitavyashcha smartavyobhagavaan nranaam.). There are severalquotations like this throughout the Bhagavatam,so liberation is not that difficult. The first and theforemost necessity is to cleanse the heart frommaterial contamination i.e., desires of materialsense enjoyments. This is done by constantlyfocusing your mind and serving the lotus feet ofLord Krishna, as advised by Shri AdiShankaraacharya to his mother. He said, “Theconsciousness will not be purified withoutdevotion to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.”(shudhhayatihi na antaraatmaa Krishnapadaamboja bhaktimrite.) It is astonishing that afollower of nirguna nirakara Brahman hassuggested to his mother to engage in service of apersonal Brahman or saguna saakaara Brahman,Krishna to purify the consciousness. Without thisall efforts will be unsuccessful.

Besides this, one has to follow some rules andregulations as well. The mind is materialistic.Unless it is purified it will not be possible to engageit in the Lord’s spiritual service. The Vedasemphasize that by eating sanctified food the veryexistence becomes purified and so does the mind.This purified mind can then be easily engaged inthe service of the Lord as stated above. (Aahaar-shuddhau sattva shuddhih, sattva shuddhau dhruvaasmritih, smriti lambhe sarva granthinaam vipramokshah.) Similarly, one should eat only that foodwhich is offered first to Lord Krishna, (Bh.G.3-13). One should refrain from the sinful activitieslisted before.

The surest and the most potent and guaranteedway to achieve liberation is through lovingdevotional services to Lord Krishna, i.e. Bhakti-yoga. Without this no method is perfect.(Dharamah satya dayopeto vidyaa vaatapasaanvitah, mad-bhakti apet maatmaanam nasamyak parpunaati hi. Bhag.11-14-22.) Krishnasays to Uddhava that even those religious activitieswhich are performed with sincerity, kindness, andknowledge acquired through penances can notpurify his consciousness if he is bereft of lovingdevotional services unto Me (Krishna). And againin Bh.Gita 18-55 Lord Krishna says, “Through theloving devotional services, i.e., .bhakti one canknow Me and then can one enter into My abode.”(Bhaktyaa maam abhijaanaati yaavaan

- 53 -

yashchashaasmi tattvatah, tato maam tattvatojnaatvaa vishate tad anantaram.

If Westerners can live such a life why can’t weIndians? Thus a person will become a trueBrahman and can teach the world the Vedicknowledge which he has learnt by living himselfin that way. He will be a role model for the worldand can do the good for the world and himself.Thus the Brahman and Brahmanism will beidentified, appreciated, and accepted by the peopleof the world. This is the foremost necessity of thetime.

About the author: Dr. L.N. Chaturvedi is a Physicianand practices at Akron, OH. He a Life Members ofBrahman Samaj of North America ever since BSNA wasformed. He is also a Life Member of International Societyfor Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. Dr. Chaturvedihas been contributing to “Brahma Vani” for the pastseveral years. He is author of a book , The Teachings of the

Bhagavadgita. Dr. Chaturvedi’s address is:1000 Carnegie AveAkron, OH 44314Tel: (330) - 745 - 6440E-mail: vedi75@yahoo.com

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b;e!e k:e a;g;m;n; k:;e vy;;k:uldrv;;j;e p;r p;q;r;w* a;|}K;e] =

G;r m;e] rK;I p;ur;n;I s;y;ik:ldrv;;j;e p;r m;er; lg;;y;; a;m; k:; p;e#

k:;en;e m;e] rK;I m;ej; p;r m;erI p;ur;n;I ik:t;;b;e]hr v;kt; wn;k:;e dst;k: det;I b;U$I a;|}K;e] =

k:B;I r;t; k:e s;nn;;!e m;e]b;b;ua; k:e r;en;e k:I a;v;;j; s;un;n;I}d !U!n;e p;r k:rv;! b;dlt;eky;U|} b;rs;t;I ip;t;; k:I a;|}K;e]

ik:sm;t; k:;e s;It;e s;p;n;;e] k:;e j;It;eb;hut; dUr in;k:l a;y;e hm; =

a;j; b;hut; k:u% is;K;;t;Ian;uB;v; k:I ik:t;;b; v;;e a;|}K;e]

j;;n;e ky;;e] lg;t;; hEWm;> k:I $l;n; p;r

s;hI m;]j;r deK;e]g;I m;erI B;I a;|}K;e] =

a;|}K;e]s;um;n; x;ukl;

- 54 -

Who is a Hindu?Dr. Shriharsha Sharma (U.K.)

Who is a Hindu? This question arises allthe time in various situations andHindus are unable to answer it exactly,

precisely, satisfactorily and with confidence. I haveasked this question to many people includingeminent Hindu scholars, Sadhus, religious leaders,professors and Pundits but without a satisfactoryreply. Fortunately I have found the most fitting,exact, precise and above all satisfying definitionof a Hindu by a great revolutionary, author, orator,poet and patriot Veer Vinayak Rao Damodar RaoSavarkar. In 1905 while in the prison at Andaman-Nicobar Islands he thus wrote:Asindhu Sindhu Paryanta yashya Bharat Bhoomika,Pitribhu Punya Bhuschaiva Sa vai Hindu RitiSmritah

There is a vast land between river Sindhu and HindMahasagar (Indian Ocean) called Bharat and thosewho accept that this is their fatherland or / and aholy land, land of pilgrimage are all Hindus.

This is worth mentioning that acceptance of theVedas with reverence, recognition of the fact thatthe means or ways to salvation are diverse; andrealisation of the truth that number of gods to beworshiped is large, that indeed the distinguishingfeatures of the Hindu religion. (Shri BalgangadharTilak; Quoted by Supreme Court of Bharat on 2July 1995.)

Hindus believe in One God. Hindus are trulymonotheist but worship many gods andgoddesses and see the same God in them. Thisneeds to be realised at intellectual level by othersbut they have failed to understand this fact. Forexample snow, ice, icicle, dew, and vapour are allforms of water but we call them by different namessimilarly Hindus see the same God in all the godsand goddesses as well as in all the living and nonliving things this is the most simple thing. Hindusunderstand this and appreciate this. Hinduscriptures say it boldly, clearly, distinctly and mostbeautifully: Ekam Sadhvipra Bahuda Vadanti,meaning that He is one but we call Him by variousbeautiful names.

Further to this it may be appropriate to mentionthe following verse which also gives clear messagethat Hindusthan means place of Hindus or landof Hindus or Hinduland, e.g. England for land ofEnglish people, Ireland for land of Irish people,etc. India’s ancient names are Aryavarta andBharatvarsh.Uttare cha Samudrashya Himadreshu chaDakshinam,Tadvarsha Bharat Nama Bharati Tatra Santati.The land which is north to the Hind Mahasagar(Indian Ocean) and south of the mighty,magnificent Himalayas is Bharat, sons anddaughters of this ancient land are called Bharatior Bbharatiya. What unites us is our spiritual andcultural heritage and its inner and most powerfulstrength since beginning of our civilisation.

Origin of the word Hindu has been traced froman ancient scripture called Brihanardi Puran:Himalayan Samabhya Yavat Bindusarovaram.Hindusthanmati Gyatam Hii AntaraksharAyogatah.It means the country between the Himalayas andBindu Sarovar is Hindusthan so combining thefirst letter Hi of Himalayas and last compoundletter Ndu of word Bindu forms Hindu so purelyand simply this is a Sanskrit word. This verse isalso mentioned in the Nardeeya Puran which is ashort version of original Brihannardi Puran.

Hiram Nashyati Iti Hindu, meaning those whouphold righteousness and fight ignobleness areHindus. Dharma, culture, civilisation, traditions,philosophy,Yoga, vidya, Ayurved, music, literature,arts , fine arts, dance, and languages had developedover thousands of years in total harmony withnature and eternal laws. All the religions ofHindusthan are branches of Sanatana Dharmawhich is generally known as Hinduism. Hinduismhas the capacity and capability to accommodateall those who believe in the freedom of individualin thought, and action following the eternal lawsof equality, justice and freedom in humandevelopment.

- 55 -

Anybody can become a Hindu according to theabove definition so you do not have to be a bornHindu. Swami Dayanand Saraswati first startedre-conversion of Muslims and Christians who wereconverted from Hinduism. Later SwamiVivekanand, and recently Swami Chinmayanand,and Sivaya Subramaniya swami came in favourof this.

The world has changed a lot and for Hindus tosurvive they have to put a stop to conversion ofHindus to Islam and Christianity which has beengoing on in Hindusthan by force, coercion,intimidation, and deception. These conversionshave been going on since arrival of Musliminvaders, and later by Christians who aredestroying everything native.

I know who I am==============

I am a Hindu, no matter what people say,I will be Hindu until my dying day.

I can be Hindu what else,My parents were Hindu, my ancestors too,

That makes me Hindu, through and through.I am proud of Hindusthan, the land of Hindus,

This land of mine, land of my parents and their parents,Where all our holy places are.For us Hindus, it suits us fine.

Come on Hindus, fly the Bhagwa flag,It is our pride, not old rag,

Hindusthan of Hindus, for Hindus.Parmatma bless our Holy land, people and flag.

Vande , Vande, VANDE MATARAM.Jaya Hind. Jaya Hind, Jaya Hind.

To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007To the Delegates at World Brahman Convention 2007

GreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetingsGreetings

From Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila PandeyFrom Surendra Nath and Pramila Pandey

Albany, Georgia, U.S.A.Albany, Georgia, U.S.A.Albany, Georgia, U.S.A.Albany, Georgia, U.S.A.Albany, Georgia, U.S.A.

- 56 -

The scriptures of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism

are the Bible, Koran and Dhammapada, respec

tively. Unlike these religions, which have a single

scripture, Hinduism has more than one scripture. In the

beginning, thousands of years ago, perhaps the Vedas

were the only scriptures. With time, to satisfy the needs

of people of different classes, more scriptures were

added to the Hindu religion. Today, in addition to the Vedas,

we have the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita, the

Puranas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as the

principal scriptures. The Bhagvadgita or Gita is, of

course, a part of the Mahabharata, but has achieved an

independent stature as a scripture.

The Hindu Shastras or scriptures deal with God, our re-

lation to Him, the ways to realize Him, the actions we

should perform, the actions we should refrain from and

the ways we should behave on this earth to make our life

and others’ lifves happy.

As stated above the Vedas are the oldest and the most

sacred scriptures of the Hindus. They are perhaps the

oldest written works of the civilized world. The modern

scholars – mostly the western scholars - have estimated

the time when the Vedas were written. Max Muller be-

lieved that they were written in 1200 B.C. It seems that

this was only his guess. According to the Bible, God cre-

ated this earth only 3000 years before Christ! Therefore,

Max Muller, a staunch Christian, had difficulty assuming

the Vedas to be older than the earth. Today’s scientists

have estimated the earth’s age as six billion years. At

certain places, the Vedas mention the planetary position

of some stars. Based on the astronomical calculations it

has been calculated that this could have taken place 6000

B.C.

The word ‘Veda’ is derived from Sanskrit verb ‘vid’, which

means to know. Also Veda means knowledge. The Vedas

were written in the valley of the Sapta Sindhu rivers,

which included the seven rivers of the north, namely,

Sindhu (the Indus), Chandrabhaga (the Chinab), Iravati

(the Ravi), Shatadru (the Satlaj), Vipasa (the Bias), Vitasta

(the Jhelam) and Saraswati.

The Vedic scholars believe that the essential purpose of

THE VEDASShyam Narayan Shukla, Ph.D.

President, World Brahman Organization

the Vedas is to ensure the well being of the universe by

spreading the sound of Vedic chants and ensuring the

performance of Vedic rites. It is understood that the Vedas

are vast and what is available to us as Vedas is only a

small portion revealed to the sages. The Vedas state that

they are endless (Ananta vai Vedah). The resonance of

the breath of the Paramatman (the Supreme Being), which

inspired Brahma to undertake creation, still exists in space.

Every Brahma who comes after the Pralaya (the great

deluge) undertakes creation with the help of these vibra-

tions of the Veda mantras.

There are four Vedas, namely, Rigveda, Yajurveda,

Samaveda and Atharva Veda. Each of these Vedas can

be divided into four parts. They are: Samhita, Brahmana,

Aranyaka and Upanishads. Samhita means collection,

that is, collection of the prayers of different gods. When

somebody does Veda recitation, he is chanting the verses

in the Samhita part of a Veda. The Brahmana part of a

Veda contains the mantra and methods to perform dif-

ferent sacrifices (yajnas). The name Aranyaka is de-

rived from the word Aranya, which means forest, where

they were written. At a certain time in the Vedic period

the Rishis (sages) felt that there was too much of dis-

tractions in their research on Brahman if they lived in

cities and villages. Therefore, they moved to forests where

they pondered over the nature of Brahman and how to

achieve Him. Their philosophical writings were called

Aranyakas and the part in which they described their

experiences of god-realization was named Upanishads.

Modern scholars believe that the Rig Veda was written

first and then came the other Vedas But Rig Veda itself

contains references to Yajus and Sama Vedas in many

places. Purusha Sukta, which occurs in the tenth

Mandala of Rig Veda refers to other Vedas as well.

Rig Veda

In the Vedic period the word ‘Rik’ meant mantra, shloka

or verse. The whole Rig Veda Samhita is in the form of

Riks or hymns, in praise of different gods. A number of

Riks constitute a “Sukta”. The Samhita portion of the

Rig Veda contains 10,170 Riks, in 1028 Suktas or collec-

tion of hymns. The Samhitas of all the four Vedas con-

- 57 -

tain 20,500 mantras. The Rig Veda samhita starts with a

sukta on Agni and also ends with it. Here Agni actually

represents glow of the Atman.

The Hindu (or the Vedic) marriage rites performed today

are based on those described in the marriage of Surya’s

daughter. Rig Veda is given the first place amongst all the

four Vedas because the actions Yajurveda predicates and

the musical ragas Sama Veda dictates emerge from the

Rig Veda.

Yajur Veda

The word “yajus” is derived from the root verb “yaj” in

Sanskrit, which means to worship. The word “yajna” is

also derived from it. “Yajus” means spelling out the pro-

cedure for performing “yajnas”. The chief purpose of

Yajur Veda is to give the mantras in Rig Veda appearing

in the form of hymns a practical shape in the form of

yajna or worship. It also describes in prose the details for

performing of different yajnas.

Rig Veda has two main branches - Shukla Yajur Veda

and Krishna Yajur Veda. There is an interesting story about

how Shukla Yajur Veda was created. Sage

Vaishampayana, who was the scholar of Yajur Veda, was

given the responsibility of preserving and propagating the

Veda. He had many students studying this Veda under his

guidance. His nephew (sister’s son) Yajnavalkya was also

one of his disciples. One time Yajnavalkya annoyed his

uncle Vaishampayana by using derogatory language for

his other disciples. Vaishampayana was so enraged by

his nephew’s remarks that he ordered him to regurgitate

all the knowledge of the Yajur Veda that he had taught

him. Though Yajnavalkya complied, he was very upset

and prayed to god Surya (Sun) to teach him the Veda in a

different version.

The new version of Yajur Veda is called Shukla Yajur

Veda. Since it was brought by Sage Yajnavalkya to the

world after learning it from Sun (Vajasani) it is also called

Vajasaneyi Samhita. Since this new version was called

Shukla Yajur Veda, the original was called Krishna Yajur

Veda. Shukla Yajur Veda is more popular in North India

whereas Krishna Yajur Veda is popular in South India.

Samma Veda

“Sama” means to bring peace to the mind. Many of the

mantras of Rig Veda are set to music in melodious tune in

Sama Veda. Sama Gana is the basis and source of the

seven notes (Swaras) of the Indian classical music sys-

tems. In Indian classical music all the songs are devo-

tional because the purpose of the music is to please the

gods.

In yajnas a special priest called “udgata” chants Sama

Veda, to ensure the grace of the Gods. In Bhagavadgita

Shri Krishna says, I am the Sama Veda of the Vedas

(Vedanam Samavedosmi. Gita X-22).

Atharva Veda

Atharvan means priest (purohit). There was a Rishi by

that name who brought this Veda to light. This Veda con-

tains mantras designed to ward off evil and hardship and

to destroy enemies. It also contains many hymns dealing

with creation (e.g. Prithvi Suktam). Three out of the ten

principal Upanishads, Prashna, Mundaka and

Mandukya Upanishads belong to Atharva Veda.

Gayatri, the greatest of all mantras, is said to be the es-

sence of the three Vedas, namely, Rig, Yajur and Sama.

Obviously, Atharva Veda has a separate Gayatri mantra.

Therefore, before undertaking the study of Atharva Veda

a separate Upanayana ceremony should be performed.

Unfortunately, there are only a few scholars of Atharva

Veda in North India. In South India there is hardly any-

one.

y;} b;>É; v;o[;end>od>m;ot;/ st;unv;int; idv;Est;v;Ev;e*dE/s;;}g;p;dk>:m;;ep;in;{;dEg;;*y;int; y;] s;;m;g;;/ =Qy;;n;;v;isq;t;t;ât;en; m;n;s;; p;xy;int; y;} y;;eig;n;;ey;sy;;nt;} n; iv;du/ s;ur;s;urg;[;; dev;;y; t;sm;E n;m;/ ==

Salutations to that effulgent Being, whom Brahma and other gods praise with divine hymns; whom the

singers of the Sama glorify by the Vedas and their auxiliaries, repeating the words in a particular order along

with the Upanishads; whom the Yogins realize through deep meditation with their mind wholly absorbed in

Him; and whose extent neither the gods nor demons know. (Bhagavata, XII, 13, 1)

- 58 -

Thousands of years ago the mankind evolveda revolutionary technique of communicatingwith others and that was by writing. This

was a method of communication with people whowere away from him or who would be born muchlater. In different parts of the world different scriptswere developed as man became civilized. In Bharat(India) the script that evolved was called‘Devanagari’. The Devanagari script, according tosome linguists, evolved in the period of 4000 BCto 1000 BC. It is one of the best scripts in the worldbecause there is no ambiguity in pronunciation ofwords. In other words this is the most phoneticscript. The Vedas, the most ancient literature ofthe mankind, were written in this script. The Vedascontain hymns and mantras, which are so potentthat with their help, one can change the

environment. For example, they include mantrasto create rain, to light a lamp and even to conquerdeath.

The Devanagari script has mainly two kinds ofletters or varnas. They are: (a) Vowels and (b)Consonants. Some consonants are semi-vowels, asshown below.

(a) Vowels or sv;r - Those letters which can bepronounced independently are called vowels (sv;y;]

The Devanagari Script of BharatAmar S. Pandey (Bhusawar, Rajasthan, India)

r;j;it; wit; sv;r/). They are: a (a), a; (aa), w ( i ), w* (ee ) W(u), ~ (oo), A (e), Ae (ai), a;e (o), a;E (au), a}] (am), a/(aha) and P (ri).

(b) Consonants - The consonants can be dividedinto three classes –

(1) Regular consonants(2) Semi-vowels and(3) Irregular consonants.

The regular consonants are divided scientificallyinto five ‘sound groups’ of five letters in eachsound group. The first group is called gutturalconsonants, which are pronounced from thethroat. When the second group of letters calledpalatals are pronounced the tongue touches the

roof of the mouth. When the third group of lettersis pronounced the tongue touches the roof justbefore the teeth. The fourth group called dentalletters are pronounced with the tongue touchingthe teeth. Lastly, the fifth group of letters ispronounced with the upper and lower lipstouching each other. Then there are irregularconsonants and combined consonants. The

combined consonants (s; ]y; ukt; vy; }j;n;) are

combination of two letters.

Mü ZÉ aÉ bÉ Xû

cÉ Nû eÉ fÉ gÉ

Oû Pû Qû Rû hÉ

iÉ jÉ S kÉ lÉ

mÉ Tü oÉ pÉ qÉ

K Kh G Gh Ng (Gutturals)

P Ph B Bh M (Labials)

T Th D Dh N (Dentals)

T Th D Dh N (Cerebellum)

Ch Ch J Jh Yn (Palatals)

AsmÉ mÉëÉhÉ qÉWûÉ mÉëÉhÉ AsmÉ mÉëÉhÉ qÉWûÉ mÉëÉhÉ AlÉÑlÉÉÍxÉ(Nonaspirated) (Aspirated) (Nonaspirated) (Aspirated) (Nasal)

Regular Consonants

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Aadami is written as: a;dm;I = a; + d< + a + m;< + w* =a; +d + m; + I.

The Devanagari script has five nasal sounding

letters (an;un;;is;k:) corresponding to each of the first

five groups as shown in the last column of theregular consonants. There are only four letters inthe sixth and seventh groups each without any

corresponding nasal letters. y;, r<, l< and v;< are

semivowels corresponding to w, P, D;& (only in

Sanskrit) and W. The nasal sound is represented

by either half the nasal letters corresponding tothe letters in the group or by an anuswar (matra

of a] which looks like a dot at the top of the letter).

For example, Kambal (blanket) may be written as

k:]b;l (k:< + a} + m;< + b;< + l< + a or k:mb;l (k:< + a + m;< +b;< + a + l< + a ). The matra of the vowel a/ looks like

semicolon and is pronounced as aha. For example,

sv;t;/ (swatah) is pronounced as swatah and is: s;< +v;< + a + t;< + a + a/ . Also Amrit a + m;<

+ P + t;< + a.

The Devanagari scipt is a very scientific and themost phonetic script. That is why many computerscientists believe that Sanskrit, the motherlanguage of Devanagari, will prove to be the mostsuitable language for computer.

Irregular Consonants:

(a) Semi Vowels

y; Y r< R l< L v;< V ant;sq; (Intermediates

or semi-vowels)

(b) Sibilants (Producing hissing sound)

x; Sh {; Sh s; S h H ~{m; (Sibilants)

(c) Combination of Two Letters

Z;< Ksh F;< Tr N Jn

While Roman script is analytic (iv;ixl{! )

Devanagari is synthetic (s;]ixl{!). A consonant in

Devanagari script cannot be pronounced withoutadding a vowel to it. When a consonant iscombined with a vowel, the corresponding Matra

(m;;F;;) representing the vowel, in stead of the vowel

itself, is written before, after or below theconsonant. The list of the Matras with theircorresponding vowels is given below:

Vowels: a a; w w* W ~ A Ae a;e a;E a}a/ PMatras: - ; i I u U e E ;e ;E ]For example, Kamala is written as k:m;l;, which is

combination of k:< + a + m;< + a + l + a; and

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The purpose of human life is to attain spiritualgrowth and eventually achieve Moksha(salvation). There are many ways one can

achieve spiritual growth. For example in Satyuga,Tapa was the primary route for achieving spiritualgrowth, in Tretayuga, Gyan was the primary routefor achieving spiritual growth, in Dwaparyuga,Yagya was the primary route for achieving spiritualgrowth. Today in Kaliyuga, Dan (donation) orSeva (i.e. serving the needy without anyexpectations), is considered the primary route forachieving spiritual growth.

t;idty;n;iB;s;}Q;;y; f:l} y;Nt;p;/ ik>:y;;/ =d;n;ik>:y;;xc; iviv;Q;;/ ik>:y;nt;e m;;eZ;k:;}iZ;iB;/ ==

== g;It;; 17.25 ==Uttering “Tat”, without aiming at fruits, are the various acts of

Yajna, austerity, and gift performed by the seekers of Moksha.

The motto of Ramakrishna Mission founded bySwami Vivekananda was, “Atmana mokshattamjagat dhwitayacha.” Which means, to achieveone’s own salvation, one must work for the world’swelfare.

In Bhagvad Gita, Bhagwan Krishna also explainsthat a true Sanyasi (enlightened person) is the bestSevak (person who performs seva) as one gives upone’s individuality, ego, agenda and puts other’sneeds ahead of one’s own needs.

Bhagwan Krishna further explains that aKarmayogi (a sevak) is the person who performsone’s duty with devotion and helps others for doinggood to the world. But in reality such an attitudehelps the Sevak in his/her spiritual growth. Theworld is there with or without you. Hence to thinkthat you can do good to the world is a false notion.We want to do good to others because we want toimprove ourselves. Therefore, we should bethankful to those who help us improve ourselvesor allow us to do Seva. Humans should behavelike trees. Trees always do good to others (providefruits to those who throw stones at them, provideshade and even after death the wood from the tree

Seva (Selfless Service) – A Path to Attain Spiritual GrowthUmesh Shukla, Ph.D.

Belle Mead, NJ

is used for building houses, providing fuel etc).We can perform Seva by offering any one or moreof the following to the needy: Advice, Attention,Health, Hope, Knowledge, Love, Laughter,Leadership, Life, Money, Skills, Time, etc.

Although Time and Money are the mostrecognized forms of Seva, all forms of Seva directlyor indirectly require Time. Seva needs to beperformed throughout the life and not just in laterparts of life to assure continued spiritual growth.It is easy to say that one does not have time toperform seva, but it is the attitude of seva that isimportant. Once the attitude of seva is developed,it will have a priority in your lives and finding timewill no longer be an issue. One can performdifferent kinds of Seva depending up on one’sexpertise and interest. There are countlessorganizations through which one can performSeva, such as the local or international programsfor supporting the handicapped, educationalinstitutions for the needy, etc. Only selfless service(seva) can purify our mind and only then we canrealize that God is the indwelling spirit of us all. Itis a great privilege that GOD has given us theopportunity to serve others. If we remember thisand serve even one single person in all humilityand with deep reverence, without being promptedby ego and arrogance, our life will be blessed. Sevafrom financial support can also be providedthrough the organizations listed below:

USAArsha Bodha Center (www.arshabodha.org); BrahmanSamaj of North America (BSNA); Vishwa Hindu Parishad ofAmerica (www.vhp-america.org); Ekal Vidyalay(www.ekalvidya.org); American Red Cross(www.redcross.org); United Way(www.unitedway.org)

IndiaAim for Seva (www.aimforsevaindia.org); KrishnaBhakti Seva Sangh, Vrindavan (Tel 001-91-565-2540257);Support a Child program of VHP; Jyoti Foundation for

Handicapped Children (www.jyotiforchildren.org)

About the author: Dr. Umesh Shukla is theExecutive Vice President of BSNA –Editor.

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Matrimony is a union between a man andwoman as husband and wife. Accordingto Hindu scriptures marriage is a sacred

lifelong commitment by spiritually merging thetwo souls and opening the doors to Grihasthashram(household life). According to Manu marriage isthe thirteenth of the sixteen Hindu samskaras(sacraments), and it is the most important of all. Itis considered the strongest social and spiritualbond. It is meant to fulfill the physical, social,spiritual and biological needs of a man and awoman. Marriage is a highly auspicious occasionin Indian culture. Conducted according to the6,000 year-old Vedic Hindu tenets, marriage isindividually, socially, culturally, spiritually,genetically, and economically the most importantpart of human life as a householder. However, thisrelationship must be devoid of greed, enhancingprestige in society, political or economic arena,fulfilling a desire to secure a job, climbing a ladderof position or status or obtaining a foreignemployment or residency or any such other desires.It should be based simply and purely on the futurelife and happiness of the couple; health, happinessand future of their children and their familyrelationship.

FINDING A MATCH

There are several ways of searching a suitablematch for a girl and a boy for a matrimonialrelationship, some of which are listed in this article.Finding a suitable match for a bride and a groom,who would spend their whole life with each other,have progeny and raise them together, is not onlya difficult task but also a very tricky and chancetaking as well. This is why many people leave it toindividual’s luck and say that marriage is made inheaven. In majority of cases, we look foreducation, employment, wealth and status of theboy and his family and overlook his nature, familyor genetic background, health or criminalbehavior. This should be considered for the girlside also. In choosing a lifelong partner to live withand to have progeny from, we do not investigateand analyze these characteristics. Here are some

Finding a Life Partner For MatrimonyJaneshwar Upadhyay, Ph. D.

Member, Board of Trustees, BSNA

of the searching methods practiced in the past and/or present. One is explained in detail that I havebeen using for the last six years for finding matches:

1. Arranged Marriage:

The parents and relatives find a suitable match.In this case it is assumed that they know theindividuals, their hopes, desires, and relevantbackground. This has been done in India for along time and is considered to be one of thebest for a stable marriage. Due to the fact thatparents make the selection of a bride or agroom from similar family backgrounds andtraditions, it is expected to producecompatibility and harmonious relationship. Inmajority of the cases, the boy and the girl maynot see or know each other before marriage.All decisions are left to the families of the twosides. Knowing each other, love and bondingcomes after marriage and develops gradually.Their children become a strong bond betweenthe couple and the extended families.Everything gets tied up with the family andtheir responsibilities to the household and thefamily.

2. Love Marriage

It is a randomly selected emotional marriage.Generally a boy and a girl meet each other atwork or social events, or are introduced by afriend or a relative. They pursue therelationship, which may or may not lead tomarriage, depending on their compatibilityand criteria they seek in a partner.

3. Introduced and Mediated Marriage

This is a combination of arranged and love marriage.During the search, the parents, relatives or friendsintroduce the boy and girl directly, or through letter,photo, telephone or E-mail. They communicate, see and/or talk and know about each other. Then they expresstheir wishes directly or through their parents, relative,friend or a third person and get married.

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4. Advertised Marriage

The candidates’ parents, relative, or a friendplace an advertisement in newspapers,magazines, or other media giving a briefphysical description, qualification and the kindand quality of marriage partner they are lookingfor. Someone may contact them by telephoneor letter and the communication, and contactsmay lead to marriage. This method may beexpensive, time taking and frustrating at times.

5. Talent Tested Marriage

This kind of marriage used to be in practice inthe past, especially in the Kshatriya familieswhere the parents or the candidates used tolook for a man with certain talent. One exampleis Ram vivah where king Janak was lookingfor a man who could lift a particular bow inorder to marry Sita. During Mahabharataperiod, king Drupad was looking for the mosttalented person in the art of archery for themarriage of his daughter Draupadi. This maybe compared to the present day Indian parentslooking for a doctor, engineer, computerscientist or a rich man for thier daughter.

6. Gandharva Vivah

This kind of marriage used to be acceptableduring the Vedic period, or even later, whenthe boy and girl would like each other and insome cases, would be engaged in intimaterelationship, like in the case of king Dushyantand Shakuntala. Also, it was in practiced beforethe social marriage system started. Perhaps theGandharvas were people of superhumanqualities, who served as witness or priest.Therefore it was called the Gandharva Vivah.

MODERN DAY SEARCH FOR MATRIMONY

These days, most marriages in India and in theIndian societies abroad are the Introduced andmediated marriages. In this, case before marriagethe bride and the groom may meet each other, theirfamilies get to know each other and thus themarriage should be a long lasting one. Since girlsmature physically and emotionally sooner thanboys, therefore, generally the girls’ parents initiatethe search and boys’ parents wait to be contacted.

In the past, parents used to let their friends andrelatives know that they were looking for a groom/bride. In some societies they had an annualweeklong matrimonial fair, where parents used tomeet and arrange marriages. One such a fair inBihar called Saurath or Shaurastra Sabha wherethe Maithil Brahmans with the help of theprofessional Panjikars (family record keepers) usedto find grooms and match for marriage. These days,to find a desired match the parents, relatives orcandidates advertise in newspapers, magazines,World Wide Web, etc. or seek help from computermatching agencies. Some groups have annualmatrimonial convention. Some who want tomaintain certain degree of privacy andconfidentiality, contact individuals (like me)directly or through an organization, who areproviding voluntary services by facilitating contactsbetween the brides and the grooms.

INTERNET MEDIATED MARRIAGES

I am personally involved in coordinating a mixtureof introduced and mediated marriages with a touchof advertisement as mentioned earlier. I make alist of brides and grooms giving a brief descriptionof their name, date of birth, height, weight, somephysical features, personal preferences like food,drink; place of residence, education, employmentand what special qualities one is looking for in themarriage-partner. I list the information (“bio-data”), for each bride and groom. In a separateparagraph, I list the name, address, phone numberand E-mail address of the “contact” person. SinceI am associated with Brahman Samaj, almost allbrides and grooms are from Brahman families andthose receiving the list are also Brahmans. When Ireceive a request for the contact information, I sendthe requested candidate’s bio-data and contactinformation to the requesting individual with acopy to the other party for information. I leave therest up to the two parties.

DIFFICULTIES

Most Indian parents, brides and grooms are shyby nature. Some parents do not want to give theirown or the candidate’s name to be listed. Also,some parents and candidates who have notdiscussed the matrimonial matters with each otheror those who may be afraid of criticism of one kindor another from their friends and relatives do not

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want to put their names in the bio-data or incontact information. However, the name isimportant for contact and the preliminarycomparison of the candidates’ horoscope beforemaking contacts. This is also the case with thosewho have been on the list for long time withoutbeing contacted by a serious candidate or thosewhose inquiry results have been negative orignored.

Another difficulty is that everyone waits to becontacted rather than taking the initiative to makethe contact first. One reason for not contactingfirst is the fear of rejection. A big complaint that Ihave heard is that those who are contacted do notrespond, despite my general request to respondpositively or negatively. Some of the reasons forno response may be the following:

a) The parents’ and candidate’s disagreements onthe matrimonial issue

b) Not feeling comfortable to give a negativeanswer

c) Not considering it as a priority item in theirdaily routine

d) Listed E-mail addresses have changed and Iwas not informed.

e) Got married or engaged and I was notinformed

f) Changed their mind about marriage and I didnot get that information.

I can help resolve the first and the second problemif I am requested to do so. However, many parentshave never discussed or even mentionedmatrimonial matters with their children or areembarrassed and shy of talking to them aboutmissing their prime sexual and reproductive age.Also, after reaching maturity, having a job andleading an independent life, they do not want toloose their freedom and take the familyresponsibility. Not only that, if they have seen fights,arguments, separation or divorce in their familiesor friends, they are scared to be married and latterface the same problems.

Some people have suggested to me to place all theinformation on a website or send the complete listwith contacts to all who are interested. However, Ihave not done so to protect the trust, privacy, non-serious contacts and possibility of unnecessaryharassments to the candidates or their families.

There are several matrimonial issues; such asadvantages and disadvantages of differentmatrimonial searches, how to condition thechildren for marriage, what to teach them aboutmarriage, how to contact the candidates and theirparents, what to look for in a bride and a groomduring the first meeting, what questions to askduring the interview, difficulty in mixed marriagesand how to prevent early separation and divorce. Iwould like to discuss these issues in detail in asession of the World Brahman Convention.

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BSNA Conventions–Celebration of Scholarship,

Friendship, Love and SmilesSatish C. Misra, Ph. D., North Potomac, Maryland

BSNA conventions are celebration of our heritage;To welcome scholars,To welcome delegates,

To welcome an opportunity to forget enmity,To welcome an opportunity,

To renew friendship and make new friends,To welcome an opportunity,

To fill atmosphere with tender love and care.

If you have a smile to show,Show it now!

Make hearts happy and roses glow,Let friends around you know,

The love you have for them before they go,Show it now,

Hug them now.

If you have some kind words to say,Say them now!

Tomorrow may not come your way,Do a kindness while you may,

Loved ones will not always stay;See them now!

If you have a song to sing,Sing it now!

Let the tones of gladness ring,Hear a song of birds in the spring,

Let each day some music bring;Sing it now!

If you have hard work to do,Do it now!

Today the skies are clear and blue,Tomorrow clouds may come in view,

Yesterday is not for you;Do it now.

If you want to spread the message of Love,Do it now!

Love is glorious promise, true and sincere,If you want Love,

Show it now,Share it now,

Hug your friends and delegates now,Welcome the opportunity

To fill the atmosphere with Love now.

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B;;rt;Iy; wit;h;s; m;e] m;h;B;;rt; k:e y;uà k:e s;m;y; k:I G;!n;;a;e]k:; a;j; B;I m;htv;p;U[;* sq;;n; hE = k:uoZ;eF; m;e] B;g;v;;n;< XI k&:{[;è;r; aj;u*n; k:;e idy;; hua; XIm;åg;v;âIt;; k:; Wp;dex; hm;;rej;Iv;n; k:;e s;;q;*k: b;n;;n;e m;e] a;j; B;I m;htv;p;U[;* y;;eg;d;n; de rh;hE = v;h Wp;dex; j;Iv;n; k:; n; k:ev;l p;q; p;>dx;*n; k:rt;; hEaip;t;u j;Iv;n; k:e c;;r;e] p;uo{;;q;;e*} (Q;m;*, aq;*, k:;m; a;Er m;;eZ;)k:I s;;q;*k:t;; b;t;;t;; hE t;q;; k:m;*y;;eg;, N;n;y;;eg;, B;ikt;y;;eg;a;Er Qy;;n;y;;eg; k:; B;I Wp;dex; det;; hE = v;h Wp;dex; hm;e] p;rm;ip;t;; p;rm;exv;r k:e c;r[;-k:m;l;e] s;e j;;e# k:r Ak: a;er j;Iv;n;k:e s;m;st; s;;]s;;irk: s;uK; s;uiv;Q;;a;e] k:;e p;>d;n; k:rt;; hE t;;edUs;rI a;er ´m;&ty;u s;]s;;r s;;g;r<́ s;e Wnm;ukt; k:rk:e a;Er m;;eZ;p;>d;n; k:rk:e y;h s;m;z;;t;; hE ik: y;hI j;Iv;n; k:I a;Er m;;n;v;-x;rIr Q;;r[; k:rn;e k:I s;;q;*k:t;; hE = B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; k:; v;hg;It;;ep;dex; n; k:ev;l B;;rt;v;;is;y;;e] b;iDk: s;m;st; iv;xv; k:el;eg;;e] k:e j;Iv;n; k:; m;;g;*dx;*k: m;;n;; j;;t;; hE =

XIk&:{[; y;duv;]x;I q;e j;b;ik: m;h;B;;rt;-y;uà m;e] B;;g; len;ev;;le aiQ;k:;]x; l;eg; c;nd>v;}x;I q;e = y;h;|} hm; Wn; c;nd>v;]x;Ir;j;;a;e] k:; Wåv; a;Er x;&}K;l;-b;à v;]x; k:; v;[;*n; k:rn;e k:;p;>y;;s; k:re]g;e = B;;rt;Iy; p;r]p;r; m;e] s;pt;i{;*y;;e] è;r; p;>x;st;m;;g;* k:; B;I m;htv;p;U[;* y;;eg;d;n; rh; hE = y;e s;pt;i{;* iv;xv;;im;F;,j;m;dign;, B;rè;j;, g;;Et;m;, aiF;, v’ix;{@ a;Er k:xy;p; m;uin; k:en;;m; s;e j;;n;e j;;t;e hE] = Wn;k:e is;v;;y; B;&g;u Pi{; k:; B;I m;htv;p;U[;*sq;;n; B;;rt;Iy; s;]sk&:it; m;e] rh; hE =

c;nd>v;]x; k:; a!U! s;mb;nQ; m;hi{;* B;&g;u a;Er a;iF; k:e s;;q;rh; hE = b;>É; j;I k:e p;uF; m;n;u k:; iv;v;;h s;t;op;; s;e hua; q;; =m;n;u a;Er s;t;op;; k:I p;uF;I dev;huit; k:; iv;v;;h k:du*m; Pi{; k:es;;q; hua; = m;;t;&x;ikt; k:e Op; m;e] iv;Ky;;t; dev;huit; k:;e n;;Ek:ny;;y;e] huw*] = b;>É; j;I k:I p;>er[;; s; wn; n;;E k:ny;;a;e] k:; n;;Ep;>j;;p;it;y;;e] k:e s;;q; iv;v;;h hua; q;; = m;hi{;* B;&g;u a;Er aiF; n;;Ep;>j;;p;it;y;;e] m;e] s;e hE] = m;hi{;* B;&g;u k:e v;]x; m;e] k:iv;, W{[;, x;uk>:,a;Er k:vy; k:e p;xc;;t;< dev;y;;n;I k:; j;nm; hua; =

m;h;B;;rt; k:e y;;eà;a;e] k:I v;]x;-X&}K;l;#;|. n;rex; x;m;;*, s;dsy; MeBoard of Trustees, BSNA

a;Erx;;sF;I k&:{[; k:um;;r p;;[#ey;, s;]sk&:t; iv;x;;rd, ArIj;;en;;

m;hi{;* aiF; k:e v;]x; m;e] s;;em; a;Er b;uQ; huA = b;uQ; k:; iv;v;;hw*d; s;e hua; = b;uQ; a;Er w*d; k:e p;uF; p;uOrv;; k:; iv;v;;h Wv;*x;Is;e hua; = p;uOrv;; a;Er Wv;*x;I k:e p;uF; r;j;; ay;us; q;e = Wn;k:ep;uF; k:; n;;m; n;hu{; q;; = r;j;; n;hu{; k:e p;uF; r;j;; y;y;;it; q;e =y;y;;it; k:I d;e p;itn;y;;|} q;I] = Wn;k:I p;>q;m; p;tn;I dev;y;;n;IB;&g;uv;]x;I x;uk>:;c;;y;* k:I p;uF;I q;I a;Er ièt;Iy; p;tn;I x;im;*{@;v;&{;p;v;;* k:I p;uF;I q;I] = d;en;;e] p;itn;y;;e] s;e r;j;; y;y;;it; k:e d;e-d;ep;uF; huA -– dev;y;;n;I s;e y;du a;Er t;v;*{;u t;q;; x;im;*{@; s;e d>;eq;hua;Er an;u =

y;y;;it; a;Er dev;y;;n;I k:e p;>q;m; p;uF; y;du k:e p;uF; k:; n;;m;v;&{[;I q;; = v;&{[;I k:e p;uF; im;dvh q;e = im;dvh k:e v;]x; m;e] x;Urs;en;Wtp;nn; huA = x;Urs;en; k:e p;UF; v;s;udev; q;e ij;n;k:I d;e p;itn;y;;|} q;I]-– dev;k:I j;;e Wg;>s;en; k:I p;uF;I a;Er k:}s; k:I b;ihn; q;I] a;ErdUs;rI r;eih[;I = dev;k:I k:e p;uF; B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; a;Er r;eih[;I k:ep;uF; b;lr;m; q;e=,b;lr;m; k&:{[; s;e b;#e q;e = y;du k:e v;]x; m;e]Wtp;nn; h;en;e k:e k:;r[; B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; y;;dv; y;; y;duv;]x;Ik:hl;y;e =

y;y;;it; a;Er x;im;*{@; k:e p;>q;m; p;uF; d>;eq;hu k:e v;]x;j; B;;ej;v;]x;Ik:hl;y;e = ws; v;]x; m;e] r;j;; k:uint;B;;ej; Wtp;nn’; huA = y;du-p;>p;;EF; a;Er v;&{[;I-p’;uF; r;j;; iv;dvh k:I p;uF;I k:; iv;v;;h B;;ej;v;]x;Ir;j;; k:uint;B;;ej; s;e hua; q;; = r;j;; k:uint;B;;ej; k:I dT;k: p;uF;Ik:unt;I q;I = iv;dvh-p;>p;;EF; a;Er x;Urs;en;-p;uF; v;s;udev; a;Er k:unt;I,ij;n;k:e j;nm; k:; n;;m; p;&q;; q;;, s;g;e B;;w*-b;hn; q;e = ws; t;rhk:unt;I B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; k:I s;g;I b;ua; q;I] =

dev;y;;n;I a;Er y;y;;it; k:e ièt;Iy; p;uF; t;uv;*x;u k:; r;jy; a;j;k:e t;uik:*st;;n; m;e] q;; = Wn;k:e v;]x;j; y;v;n; k:hl;y;e = y;y;;it;v;&{;p;v;;* k:I p;uF;I q;I = d;en;;e] p;itn;y;;e] s;e r;j;; y;y;;it; k:e p;;|]c;p;uF; huA -– dev;y;;n;I s;e y;du a;Er t;v;*{;u t;q;; x;im;*{@; s;e d>;eq;hu,an;u a;Er p;uo =

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m;hi{;* v;ix;{@ a;Er aonQ;it; k:e iv;v;;h a;Er j;Iv;n; a;dx;*m;;n;e g;y;e hE] = Wn;k:e p;uF; x;ikt; q;e ij;n;k:; iv;v;;h ad*x;;int; k:es;;q; hua; q;; = Wn;k:e p;uF; m;uin; p;r;x;r q;e =

m;hi{;* iv;xv;;im;F; a;Er aps;r; m;en;k:; k:I p;uF;I x;k:unt;l;k:; iv;v;;h r;j;; duxy;nt; s;e hua;, j;;e r;j;; p;uo a;Er k:;Ex;Dy;;k:e p;uF; q;e = duxy;nt; k:e p;uF; r;j;; B;rt; huA = WnhI] k:e n;;m; s;eWn;k:e s;;m;>;jy; a;y;;*v;t;* k:; n;;m; B;;rt; hua; = B;rt; k:e v;]x;m;e] r;j;; xy;;m;v;[;* huA ij;n;k:e p;uF; k:uo q;e = k:uo k:e hI v;]x;j;k:;Erv; k:hl;y;e = r;j;; k:uo k:e p;uF; p;>it;p; q;e = k:uov;}x; s;Uy;*v;]x;Iq;; =

r;j;; p;>it;p; k:e t;In; p;uF; huA -– dev;ip;, v;;h<<lIk: a;Erx;;nt;n;u = dev;ip; k:I k:;ew* s;]t;;n; n;hI} q;I = m;h;B;;rt; y;uà m;e]v;;h<lIk: k:e p;uF; s;;em;dT; a;Er s;;em;dT; k:e p;UF; B;UirXv;; m;;reg;y;e = x;;nt;n;u k:I p;hlI p;tn;I g;]g;; s;e dev;v;>t; p;Ed; huA j;;eB;I{m; k:hl;y;e =

m;uin; p;r;x;r a;Er s;ty;v;t;I k:e s;]y;;eg; s;e v;ed vy;;s; huA =s;ty;v;t;I k:e ip;t;; k:; n;;m; v;;s;u a;Er m;;t;; k:; n;;m; adirk:;q;; = v;;s;u n;;Ek:; c;l;k:r ap;n;; j;Iv;n; in;v;;*h k:rt;e q;e = b;;dm;e] s;ty;v;t;I k:; iv;v;;h x;;nt;n;u s;e hua; = s;ty;v;t;I s;e r;j;;x;;nt;n;u k:e d;e p;uF; huA -– ic;F;;}g;d a;Er iv;ic;F;v;Iy;* = ic;F;;}g;dk:I m;&ty;u Ak: y;uà m;e] h;e g;w* a;er iv;ic;F;v;Iy;* s;]t;;n;;etp;iT; m;e]as;m;q;* q;; = Aes;e s;m;y; m;e],j;b; k:uov;}x; n;{! H;en;e v;;l; q;;,ap;n;I m;;|} s;ty;v;t;I k:e a;g;>h p;r v;ed vy;;s; n;e k:uov;}x; k:IrZ;; k:I = iv;ic;F;v;Iy;* k:I p;itn;y;;e] a]ib;k:; a;Er a]b;;ilk:; s;eQ;&t;r;{!M a;Er p;;]#u k:; j;nm; hua; = Q;&t;r;{!M a}Q;e q;e at;/ p;;[#ur;j;; huA =

Q;&t;r;{!M k:I p;tn;I g;;}Q;;rI q;I, j;;e g;;nQ;;r (af:g;;in;st;;n;)s;e q;I a;Er ij;s;n;e s;;E p;uF;;e] a;Er Ak: p;uF;I k:;e j;nm; idy;; =Wn;k:e s;;E p;uF;;e] m;e] duy;;e*Q;n;, du/x;;s;n;, iv;k:[;* a;Er y;uy;uts;us;uiv;Ky;;t; y;;eà; q;e = p;;[#u k:I b;#I p;tn;I k:unt;I s;e y;uiQ;i{@r,B;Im; a;Er aj;u*n; p;Ed; huA a;Er %;e!I p;tn;I m;;d>I s;e n;k:ul a;Ers;hdev; = p;;[#u k:I m;&ty;u k:e b;;d Q;&t;r;[!M hI r;j; k:;j;s;mh;ln;e lg;e =

v;s;udev; a;Er dev;k:I k:I p;uF;I (a;Er XIk&:{[; k:I b;ihn;)s;uB;d>; k:; iv;v;;h aj;u*n; s;e hua; q;; = s;uB;d>;-p;uF; aiB;m;ny;u%l s;e y;uà m;e] m;;re g;y;e = aiB;m;ny;u k:; iv;v;;h m;tsy; n;rex;

iv;r;!< k:I k:ny;; WT;r; k:e s;;q; hua; q;; = aiB;m;ny;u k:I m;&ty;uk:e s;m;y; Wn;k:I p;tn;I WT;r; k:e g;B;* m;e] Ak: b;;lk: q;; j;;er;j;; p;rIiZ;t; k:e n;;m; s;e iv;Ky;;t; hua; = Ws;k:e p;uF; k:; n;;m;j;nm;ej;y; q;; =

r;j;; p;&{;t;< k:e p;uF; d>up;d (y;Ns;en;) k:e ds; p;uF; a;Er Ak:p;uF;I q;I = Wn;k:e p;uF;;e] m;e] Q;&{!êumn;, ix;K;[#I, y;uQ;;m;ny;u a;ErWT;m;;Ej;; iv;{;ex; p;>is;à q;e = ds;;e] p;uF; m;h;B;;rt; y;uà m;e] m;;reg;y;e = ix;K;][#I ap;n;e p;Uv;* j;nm; m;e] k:;x;I n;rex; p;uF;I a]b;; q;;ij;s;k:e k:;r[; B;I{m; ip;t;;m;h Ws;s;e y;uà n;hI] k:rn;; c;;ht;eq;e = j;b; XI k&:{[; k:I s;l;h s;e ix;K;][#I k:;e B;I{m; s;e y;uàk:rn;e B;ej;; g;y;; t;B;I aj;*un; n;e ap;n;e b;;[;;e] k:I B;I{m; p;r v;{;;*k:rk:e Wnhe] a;ht; k:r idy;; =

k:;Erv;;e] a;Er p;;[#v;;e] k:e g;uo d>;e[;;c;;y;* m;hi{;* B;rè;j; k:ep;uF; q;e = d>;e[;;c;;y;* k:; iv;v;;h k&:p;I s;e hua; q;; j;;e k&:p;;c;;y;*k:I b;ihn; q;I] = d>;e[;;c;;y;* a;Er k&:p;I k:e p;uF; axv;tq;;m;; q;e =y;uàu k:e idn;;e] m;e] Ak: r;t; axv;tq;;m;; n;e r;iF; m;e] p;;[#v;;e] k:eix;iv;r m;e] G;us; k:r d>;Ep;dI k:e s;;et;e huA p;;|}c;;e] p;uF;;e] k:I hty;; k:rdI = j;b; axv;tq;;m;; n;e WT;r; k:e g;B;* m;e] isq;t; p;rIiZ;t; k:;esK;ilt; k:rn;e k:; p;>y;;s; ik:y;; t;b; XI k&:{[; n;e Ws;e ap;n;Iidvy; x;ikt; s;e b;c;; ily;; = Ws;k:e b;;d hI XI k&:{[; n;eaxv;tq;;m;; k:e m;st;k: m;e] isq;t; x;uB;>m;i[; k:;e in;k:;l ily;;,axv;tq;;m;; k:;e am;r k:r idy;; a;Er Ws;e X;p; idy;; ik: v;hap;n;e G;;er p;;p;;e] s;e am;ukt; rhe = axv;tq;;m;; a;j; B;I s;;t;ic;r]j;Iiv;y;;e] m;e] s;e hE = Wn;k:e b;;re m;e] k:h; g;y;; hE –

axv;tq;;m;; b;ilvy;;*s;;e hn;Um;;nxc; iv;B;I{;[; / =k&:p;/ p;rx;ur;m;xc; s;pt;Et;e ic;r j;Iiv;n;/ ==

m;h;B;;rt; k:e G;;er y;uà m;e] s;imm;ilt; y;;eà;a;e] k:e wit;h;s;a;Er Wn;k:I v;]x;-X&}K;l; k:e aQy;y;n; s;e in;mn;iliK;t; b;;t;e]sp;{! H;et;I hE} –-

1. y;e r;j;; a;Er y;;eà; Pi{;-m;uiin;y;;e] a;Er p;>j;;p;it;y;;e]k:I s;]t;;n;e] q;I] =

2. y;e s;b; m;uKy;t;/ c;nd>v;]x;I q;e a;Er Ak:-dUs;re s;e G;in;{!Op; s;e s;]b;]iQ;t; q;e =

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3. m;h;B;;rt; m;e] v;i[;*t; g;>h;e] k:I isq;it;y;;e] k:e a;Q;;r p;rAes;; m;;n;; g;y;; hE ik: B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; k:; deh;v;s;;n;a;j; s;e lg;B;g; 5,200 v;{;* p;Uv;* hua; q;; = m;h;B;;rt;y;uàu k:; s;m;y; Ws;s;e k:u% v;{;* p;hle hua; =

4. B;&g;u-Pi{; a;Er aiF;-Pi{; t;q;; B;g;v;;n;< k&:{[; k:eb;Ic; m;e] b;;rh y;; aiQ;k: p;Ii$y;;e] k:; ant;r q;; =p;>ty;ek: p;c;Is; v;{;;e*} m;e] Ak: p;I$I a;t;I hE Aes;; m;;n;t;ehuA Aes;; p;>t;It; h;et;; hE ik: s;pt;i{;* a;Er n;;E p;>j;;p;it;y;;e]k:; aist;tv; B;;rt; B;Uim; p;r a;j; s;e lg;B;g; 5,500v;{;* p;hle rh; h;eg;; =

5. s;}B;v;t;/ B;;rt;Iy; s;]sk&”it; iv;xv; k:I s;b;s;e p;>;c;In;s;]sk&:it; hE = y;h Ak: x;;eQ; a;Er ic;nt;n; k:; ac%;iv;{;y; hE =

6. hm;;re p;Uv;*j;;e] k:e iv;{;y; m;e] j;;n;n;; hm;;re ily;e a;v;xy;k:hE = y;h B;I a;v;xy;k: hE ik: hm;;re a;Qy;;itm;k: N;n;k:;e hm;;rI a;n;ev;;lI p;Ii$y;;|} b;n;;y;e rK;e =

7. hm;;r; Q;m;*, hm;;rI s;]sk&:it; a;Er s;By;t;; aty;nt;p;>;c;In; a;Er s;m;&à hE] = iv;xv; k:e wit;h;s; m;e] y;haièt;Iy; hE = hm;;re p;Uv;*j;;e] k:e c;irF; s;e p;>t;It; h;et;; hEik: p;>;c;In; s;m;y; s;e hI v;e s;By;t;; k:I p;U[;*t;; p;>;pt;k:r c;uk:e q;e =

8. B;;rt;Iy; s;]sk&:it; m;e] v;[;*B;ed y;; j;;it;B;ed k:;e k:;ew*sq;;n; n;hI} q;; = Z;iF;y;;e] k:e v;]x;j; B;I ap;n;e p;>b;lt;p;, B;ikt;, N;n; a;Er y;N s;e b;> Étv; y;; m;hi{;* p;dp;>;pt; k:r s;k:t;e q;e, j;Es;; ik: m;hi{;* iv;xv;;im;F; n;eik:y;; =

9. m;n;u{y; k:I Z;iF;y;t;;, y;; Ws;k:e b;>;É[;tv; s;e Ws;k:ej;nm; k:; k:;ew* s;]b;}Q; n;hI} hE = v;e Ws;k:e k:m;;e*] p;ra;Q;;irt; he] = Wd;hr[; k:e ily;e m;h;B;;rt; y;uà k:eant; m;e] axv;tq;;m;; k:e a;c;;r a;Er k:m;* b;>;É[;;eic;t;n;hI] q;e b;iDk: aZ;my; q;e =

10.b;>;;É[; v;]x; k:e l;eg; B;I ap;n;e ´y;j;n;} y;;j;n;} c;Ev;´k:I p;r]p;r; in;v;;*h k:rt;e huA Q;m;*, k:T;*vy;, c;;irFy;a;Er is;à;nt; è;r; s;m;;j; k:;e n;w* idx;; den;e k:e ily;es;m;y; s;m;y; p;r a;v;xy;k:t;;n;us;;r x;sF; p;>y;;eg; a;Ery;uà k:;y;* m;e] s;m;q;* q;e = p;r{;ur;m; a;Er d>;e[;;c;;y;*ws;k:e Wd;hr[; hE] ik: v;e x;sF; a;Er x;;sF; d;en;e;e m;e]p;>v;I[; q;e =

11.B;g;v;;n; XI k&:{[; n;e g;It;; m;e] b;t;;y;; ik: sv;Q;m;* k:;ty;;g; m;n;u{y; k:e p;t;n; k:; k:;r[; b;n; s;k:t;; hE =

12. a;j; B;;rt;Iy; s;]sk&:it; a;Er s;n;;t;n; Q;m;* k:I rZ;;k:e ily;e hm;e] v;[;*B;ed y;; j;;it;B;ed k:I p;r]p;r; k:;eap;n;e m;ixt;{k: s;e h!;k:r, s;]g;i@t; a;Er s;]k:iDp;t;h;en;; h;eg;; a;Er in;{@;p;Uv;*k: Q;m;* p;q; p;r c;ln;;h;eg;; = t;B;I hm; j;Iv;n; k:;e s;;q;*k: b;n;; p;;y;e]g;e =

ant; m;e] a;wy;e hm; p;>;q;*n;; k:re] –ó s;hn;;v;v;t;u s;h n;;E B;un;kt;u s;h v;Iy;*} k:rv;;v;hE =t;ej;isv;n;;v;Q;It;m;st;u m;; iv;iè{;;v;hE ==ó s;v;e* B;v;nt;u s;uiK;n;/ s;v;e* s;nt;u in;r;m;y;;/ =s;v;e* B;d>;i[; p;xy;nt;u m;; k:ixc;du/K;B;;gB;v;et;< ==ó s;v;*st;st;u dug;;*i[; s;v;;e* B;d>;i[; p;xy;t;u =s;v;*ss;åuiàm;;pn;;t;u s;v;*ss;v;*F; n;ndt;u ==ó x;;int;/ x;;int;/ x;;int;/ ==

ip;t;;is; l;ek:sy; c;r;c;rsy; tv;m;sy; p;Ujy;xc; g;uog;*rIy;;n;< =n; tv;ts;m;;eCsty;By;iQ;k:/ k:ut;;eny;;e l;ek:F;y;eCpy;p;>it;m;p;>B;;v; ==

O Lord You are the father of the world of the moving and the non-moving. Greater than the greatest, You

are the one object of worship. There is none equal to You in all the worlds. Who, then, can excel You, O

You incomparable power? (Bhagavad Gita, XI, 43)

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uÉÉxiÉÑ: LMü AÍpÉlÉuÉ SØ̹Mk0 eatqy dkUr f}osnh] ih,p-Mh- ¼okLrq½

orZeku le; esa ̂ okLrq* ls vke tuekul c[kwchifjfpr gS] fQj Hkh bldks ysdj vkt Hkh cgqrkas esaizekf.kd ,oa O;ogkfjd tkudkfj;kas dk furkar vHkko gSAbl fowÉ; ij xEHkhj ppkZ djus ds dze esa ;g tkuukvko’;d gS fd okLro esa ^okLrq̂ dk zÉkfCnd] oSKkfud]vk/;kfRed ,oa O;kogkfjd vfHkizk; D;k gS \

aaaa‘’kkfCnd vFkksZa esa okLrq dk vk’k; ml LFkku ls gksrk gStgka O;fDr fuokl djrk gSA bl foKku dk izFkeizfriknd xzUFk ^vFkoZosn^ dk miosn ^LFkkiR;osn^ gSA_X~~osn rFkk vU; iqjk.kkas esa bl oSfnd foKku dh fo’kn~O;k[;k gSA O;kogkfjd :i esa ^okLrq̂ Rofjr ,oa LkVhdifj.kkenk;d ,d oSKkfud i)frgSA bls Hkkjrh; n’kZu esa T;ksfrwÉ ,oa/keZ dk lefUor :i gh ekuk x;k gSD;kasfd Lox`g fuekZ.k ,d /kkfeZdd`R; gS ftlesa lEiUu ;K] iwtu ;klaLdkj ‘’kqHk rFkk lQy gksrs gaSAgekjs _fwÉ] eqfu;ksa dh vius xgulk/kuk ,oa ‘’kks/k ds lqifj.kkeksa dksvke tuekul dks lqyHk djkus dsfy, mls /keZ ls tksM+ nsus dh ftlizdkj dh ijEijk jgh gS] Bhd ,slkgh okLrq ds lanHkZ esa Hkh gSA

^okLrq* dk izHkko k k k k k ’kkjhfjd] ekufld ,oavk/;kfRed Lrjkas ij cgqr gh O;kid ,oa peRdkjh gksrkgSA ^okLrq* esa iq#wÉwÉwÉwÉwÉwÉ dh dYiuk dh xbZ gS ftls ^okLrqiq#wÉ dgrs gaSA ;g ^okLrq iq#wÉ Hkxoku f’ko ds ^’osnfcUnq* ls ml le; mRiUu gq, tc og egku ‘’kfDr’kkyhvU/kdklqj dk o/k djus tk jgs FksA rc vR;Ur cy’kkyh^okLrq iq#wÉ” us rhuksa yksdkas dks vkPNkfnr dj fy;kArc nsorkvkas us O;kdqy gksdj czãk th ls izkFkZuk dhAczãk th ds gh vkns’k ls nsorkvksa us ̂ okLrq iq#wÉ dks isV

ds cy i`Foh ij bZ’kku eq[k djrs gq, LFkkfir fd;kA blizdkj ftl nsork us ml le; ^okLrq iq#wÉ dk tks vaxidM+k os ogha ij LFkk;h :i ls fuokl djus yxsA czãkth ds vk’khZokn ls izR;sd ’’’’’kqHk dk;Z ds igys bUgha ̂ okLrqnso^ dh iwtk djus dk fo/kku cuk fn;k x;k gSA ;KksRlods izkjEHk esa nh gqà cfy Hkh ^okLrq nso^ dh gksrh gSA

okLro esa ^okLrq̂ ek= diksy&dfYir vo/kkj.kkugÈ gSA ;g ,d ,slk yksd dY;k.kdkjh foKku gS Tkksxq#RokdwÉZ.k ,oa pqEcdh; cyksa] ok;q] ty rFkk fo|qrrjaxksa ds izokg] i;kZoj.k ,oa lw;Z dh fdj.kksa ds izHkko dslkFk lHkh fn’kkvksa dh egRrk dks dkQh egRoiw.kZ ekurk

gSA lkFk gh ;g iap rRoksa lsr kn k R E; djk dj mU kl sldkjkRed lkeatL; LFkkfirdjkrk gSA ;g loZfofnr gS fdlEiw.kZ txr ikap ewy ¼iap rRo½rRoksa& mÉ×juÉÏ] ty] vfXu] vkdk’krFkk ok;q ls fufeZr gSA Hkkjrh;n’kZu ds vuqlkj izR;sd oLrqczãk.Mh; ’kkfDr;ka mls izHkkforfd;k djrh gaSA oLrqr% ^okLrq’kkL=^ gesa mÉëM×üÌiÉ ls vuqdwyrkLFkkfir djkus dk gh ekxZ iz’kLrdjrk gSA vukfn dky esa ekuo

mÉëM×üÌiÉ ds dkQh fudV FkkA /khjs&/khjs mldh vkRepsrukdk gzkl gksus ls mÉëM×üÌiÉ ,oa ekuo ds chp nwfj;ka c<+usyxhaA mls lnhZ] xehZ ijs’kku djus yxh vkSj rc ?kjcukus dh vko’;drk eglwl gqÃA bl izdkj ekuo usmÉëM×üÌiÉ ,oa vius chp ,d nhoky [kM+h dj yhA oLrqr%mÉëM×üÌiÉ ls bl vyxko dks fdl izdkj ls fufwØ; djsa ;ghmik; ^okLrq ’kkL=^ gesa fl[kkrk gSA mÉëM×üÌiÉ dh vuUrlRrk v©j vlhe ‘’kfDr fufoZokn gSA mÉëM×üÌiÉ tgka Lo;aesa lcy gS ogha ;g izkf.k;ksa ds dY;k.kkFkZ esa Hkh rRij

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jgrh gS] ftlls lHkh izk.kh LoLFk] larqwV ,oa izlUu jgldasA okLrq mÉëM×üÌiÉ ls rkjrE; LFkkfir djus dh dyk ,oale> fodflr djrk gSA

tSlk fd iwoZ esa iap rRoksa dh ppkZ dh x;h gSA;s mÉëM×üÌiÉ ds lcls egRoiw.kZ vo;o gSA okLrq dks bu ikaprRoksa esa ldkjkRed vkuqikfrd lkeatL; LFkkfir djusokys foKku ds :i esa Hkh ifjHkkf’kr fd;k tk ldrk gSAgekjs ikap rRoksa esa ls vfXu dk ewyk/kkj lw;Z gSA vfXu;kfu ÅtkZA ;g ÅtkZ gj pj&vpj oLrqvksa esa gSA ftlizdkj lw;Z ds fcuk thou dh dYiuk ugh dh tk ldrh]mlh izdkj ty] iFoh] vkdk’k] ok;q rFkk varfj{k ds fcukgekjk thou Hkh dnkfi laHko ugha gSA tSlk fd fofnr gSfd txr ds ltho] futhZo lHkh oLrqvksa ls ÅtkZ mRlftZrgksrh gS vkSj ge lHkh bu ÅtkZ L=ksrkas ls vutkus ghÅtkZ xzg.k fd;k djrs gSa vFkkZr ;s ÅtkZ gedks izHkkfordjrh gSA bu ÅtkZvksa ds nks :i egRoiw.kZ gksrs gSa&izFke& czãk.Mh; ÅtkZ vkSj f}rh; HkwxHkhZ; ÅtkZA mDrÅtkZ,a fofHkUu xzgkas dh xfr ls izkIr gksrh gaS] tksHkkSxksfyd ,oa i;kZoj.kh; ifjfLFfr;ksa ds dkj.k fHkUu&fHkUugksrh gaSA njvly czãk.Mh; ÅtkZ fofHkUu xzgksa ds izHkkoksals fufEkZr ,d ,slh ÅtkZ iqUt gS tks ekuo ds izkf.kdÅtkZ dks lh/ks gh izHkkfor djrk gSA HkwxHkhZ; ÅtkZ Hkwfeds vUnj pV~Vkukas] njkjkas ;k ty /kkjkvksa ls fufEkZr gksrhgSA gM~Mh ds <kpsa ;k ml Hkwfe ij fd;s x;s M×üirÉÉå ls Hkh;g ÅtkZ udkjkRed gks tkrh gSA oSls Hkh okLrq dkegRoiw.kZ dk;Z okrkoj.kh; ldkjkRed rFkk udkjkRedÅtkZvkas dk ,d ,slk lkeatL; cukuk gS tks gekjs’kkjhfjd ÅtkZ {ks= dks lq[kn yxsA LokHkkfod gh gS fdblls O;fDr ,d rjQ tgka vlhe ’kkfUr dk vuqHkodjrk gS ogha nwljh vksj mldh fueZy] ’kq) cqf) gksus lsmleas ldkjkRed dkeukvksa] dYiukvksa dk Hkh izknqHkkZogksrk gSA

bl izdkj ^okLrq* ds }kjk O;fDr ds thou eslQyrk izkIRk gksrh gSA lq[k] ’kkfUr] le`f) izkfIRk ds lkFkgh mldh ;’k] dhfrZ esa Hkh o`f) gksrh gSA ;gh ugha ;gikfjokfjd lnL;ksa ds chp izse] lkSgk)Z c<+kdj vkilhvkReh;rk esa Hkh o`f) djrk gSA bl izdkj ldkjkRedÅtkZ ekuo thou dks ,d u;h fn’kk iznku dj ldrh

gSA ÅtkZ ds bl egRoiw.kZ ppkZ ds nkSjku ;gka lw;Z dkmYys[k djuk izklafxd gSA pawfd lw;Z iwoZ fn’kk ls mn;gksrk gSA oSKkfud Hkh bl RkF; dks fufoZokn :i lsLohdkj dj pqds gaS fd izkr% dky dh lw;Z jf’e;kathou&nkf;uh gaSA ogha nksigj esa lw;Z dh fdj.kkas lsmRlftZr vYVzkokbysV fdj.kas gkfudkjd gksrh gSaA ̂ okLrq*dh Hkh ;gh ekU;rk gSA tSlk fd vki fp= esa ns[k jgs gaSldkjkRed ÅtkZ iwoZ ,oa mRrj ds dksus ls izpqj ek=k esaizokfgr gksrh gSA tks fd mRrj&if’pe dksus ls rFkkiwjc&nf{k.k dksus ls gksrs gq, nf{k.k&if’pe dksus ijudkjkRed ÅtkZ es ifjofrZr gks tkrh gSA ;gh dkj.k gSfd ^okLrq̂ esa iwoZ rFkk mRrj fn’kk esa edkuksa esa vf/kd lsvf/kd f[kM+fd;ka ,oa njokts j[kus dks dgk tkrk gSAlkFk gh bl fgLls dks vU; fgLls dh vis{kk dqN uhpkHkh j[kus dk funsZ’k fn;k tkrk gSSA bldk okLrfoddkj.k ;gh gS fd izkr% dky dh lw;Z fdj.kas gesa vf/kdreizkIr gks ldasA pw¡fd lw;Z dh fdj.kas thok.kqvkas dks lekIrdjus esa l{ke gksrh gaS blfy, gh Hkwfexr ty HkaMkj.kgsrq mRrj&iwoZ dk {ks= gh JswB ekuk x;k gSA

ge yksx bl ckr dk vglkl cgqr de dj ikrsgSa fd gekjs vkl ikl dk okrkoj.k gesa cgqr dqNfl[kk;k djrk gSA njvly ge vius dks ,d O;fDrxrlRrk le>rs gSa vkSj lksprs gSa fd ge vdsys LorU= ̂th*jgs gSaA ^/;ku;ksx* ds fy, gesa vius dks] vius vkl iklls tksM+uk gksxkA gesa –<+ fo’okl djuk gksxk fd ge ml*lajpukRed rU=* ds va’k gSa ftlesa lHkh tM+&psrulek;s gq, gaSA

gekjs ’kjhj dh izR;sd dksf’kdk vius esa iw.kZ gSijUrq ‘’kjhj dh fo’kswÉrk,a tkuus ds fy, gesa ml iwjhO;oLFkk dks le>uk gksxk ftleas lHkh vax rFkk dksf’kdk,afLFkr gaS rFkk fØ;k’khy gSSaA geas bldk vglkl cgqr ghde gksrk gS fd gekjs vkl ikl dk okrkoj.k gesa cgqrdqN fl[kkrk gSA gesa vius esa n`<+fo’okl txkuk gksxk fdge ml jpukRed rU= ds va’k gaS ftleas lHkh tM+&psrulek;as gq, gaS blds fy, ^/;ku;ksx^ lk/kuk dkQh dkjxjfl) gks jgh gsSA ^/;ku;ksx^ esa Rofjr lQyrk ikus dsfy, gesa lw{e ÅtkZvkas rFkk vk/;kfRed fu;eksa dks Hkhle>uk vR;Ur gh vko’;d gSA gesa fuf’pr :i ls

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International Society for Spiritual Sciences

8, Dilkusha Plaza,1st Floor,41, Vidhan Sabha Marg,

Husainganj Crossing, Lucknow-226001 (India)

Cell.: +91-9415001931, 9335609080, 9305505551

Website: www.spiritualvastuguru.org,

Email:manjulkant@rediffmail.com

www.vastushastri.org info@vastushastri.org

lh[kuk gksxk] vius eas fodflr djuk gksxk& HkkSfrd #ils futhZo fn[kus okys inkFkkasZ ls laokn djus dh dyk dksA

ekuo thou esa lq[k] ’kkfUr ,oa le`f) ykus dk,d ek= jkLrk okLrq gh ugh gS ijUrq ;g Hkh lR; gS fd^okLrq* fu;eksa dk ikyu bleas lgk;d fuf’pr :i ls gksldrk gSA Hkou fuekZ.k izd`fr ds lkFk NsM+NkM+ gSA vcbl NsM+NkM+ dks ge fdl rjg ’kjhj rFkk efLrwd lsldkjkRed leUo; LFkkfir djsa ;g *okLrq ’kkL=* gesafl[kykrk gSSaA

la;qDr jkwVª us ekuo vkokl ij ,d v/;;u1995&96 esa fd;k Fkk vkSj blls ;g ÌlÉwMüwÉï fudkyk fdLoaÉ×W esa fuokl u djus okyksa dh qÉ×irÉÑ vius ?kj esa jgusokyksa dh rqyuk esa 25 owkZ iwoZ gh gks tkrh gSA vr% LiwVgS fd aÉ×Wû fuekZ.k /kkfeZd rFkk O;kogkfjd SØ̹MüÉåhÉ lsmfpr ,oa mi;qDr gSA vc Hkou fuekZ.k djrs le; /;ku;g j[kuk gksxk fd mÉëM×üÌiÉ ls dSls ldkjkRed RkknkRE;LFkkfir fd;k tk ldrk gSA blds fy, ̂okLrq ’kkL=^ gesalqfuf’pr ,oa dY;k.kdkjh jkg fn[kkrk gSA elyu ̂okLrq’kkL=^ ds vuqlkj gekjs fuokl esa ,d ,slk {ks= gksukpkfg, tgk¡ izcy ldkjkRed ÅtkZ gksA blds fy,^okLr^q us mRrj&iwoZ ¼bZ’kku½ dks ekuk gSA lkFk ghpeRdkjh ykHk ds fy, ;g Hkh t:jh gS fd Hkou ds vU;d{k Hkh okLrq ds vuq:i gksaA

bl izdkj mi;qZDr foospuksa ls LiwV gks tkrk gSfd ekuo thou es ̂ okLrq* dk bu vFkkasZ es dkQh egRoiw.kZLFkku gS fd mÉëM×üÌiÉ ls lkeatL; LFkkfir djrs gq, czãk.Mh;

’kfDr dh ldkjkRed ÅtkZ dks xzg.k djrs gq,] ge’kkfUr ,oa fLFkjrk ls thou;kiu dj ldrs gSA fu%lUnsg,slk djus ls lEiUurk ,oa lqÉ×f) gesa izkIr gks ldrhgSA cgqr ls yksx bl oSfnd foKku ls ykHkkfUor gq, gaSvkSj gks jgs gSaA blfy;s lpeqp orZeku le; es okLrq̂ dhizklkafxdrk ac<+rh tk jgh gSA

cu pqds Hkouksa esa fuekZ.k dks rksM+s fcuk okLrqnkswkksads nqwizHkkoksa dks de djuk vlEHko ugh rks ,d tfVydk;Z vo’; gSA blds fy, fdlh Hkh okLrq fo’kswkK dksLFkwy ls ijs lw{e txr ls lk{kkRdkj djuk gksxkAfofHkUu fijkfeM dks viuh lk/kuk ’kkfDr ls vftZr djfofHkUUk fu;r LFkkuksa ij LFkkfir djus ls dkQh jkgrfeyrs ns[kh xbZ gSA blds vfrfjDr fofHkUu izk.kizfrfwBr;a=ksa dks iwtu&LFky esa LFkkfir djus rFkk fuR; mldkiwtu djus ls Hkh vk’kkrhr ykHk feyrk gSA gksus okysdwVksa ds fglkc ls ^ea=* ti djus ls Hkh okLrqnkswkkas lsgksus okys dwV de gks ldrs gSaA

blds vfrfjDr ty vkfn ik¡p rRoksa dk larqyudj nqqwizHkkoksa dks dkQh de fd;k tk ldrk gSA izos’k}kj ij ^LofLrd* vkfn ‘’kqHk fpUg ;k }kj ds nksuksavksj ÅftZr Jh x.kifr dh izfrek Hkh okLrqnkswkkas dsnqwizHkko fuqwizHkkoh djus esa l{ke gSA

blds lkFk gh Hkou dh vkarfjd lkt&lTtkokLrq vuq:i djus ls fuf’pr :i ls dkQh ykHk gksrkgSA bfr ’kqHke~A

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v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; hI hm;;rI m;Ul s;]sk&:it; hE = s;]sk&:it; x;rIrhE t;;e Q;m;* Ws;k:I a;tm;; hE = s;]sk&:it; k:hn;e s;e s;;q; m;e] Q;m;* k:;B;I b;;eQ; h;et;; hE = v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; hI p;UrI p;&qv;I k:I a;Er p;Urem;;n;v; j;;it; k:I m;Ul s;]sk&:it; hE = v;ed p;&qv;I k:e a;id k:;l s;ehE}] at;/ v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; B;I p;&qv;I k:e a;id k:;l s;e hE = k:;l;nt;rm;e] ws;I s;]sk&:it; m;e] k:w* m;h;p;uo{;;e] k:I s;]sk&:it;y;;|} im;lt;I g;w*] =v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:I s;m;rs; Q;;r; m;e] any; s;]sk&:it;y;;|} im;lk:rp;>v;;iht; h;et;I rhI hE}, j;;e n;d k:e Op; m;e] aZ;u[[; Op; s;e a;j;B;I b;h rhI hE] =

v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:e b;;d j;;e p;>q;m; s;]sk&:it; a;w* v;h °r;m;;y;[;s;]sk&:it;° hE = v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; ap;n;e a;p; m;e] p;U[;* hE = if:r B;Iv;;Dm;Iik: m;uin; iv;ric;t; r;m;;y;[; m;e] XIr;m;c;nd> j;I k:e m;h;n;<c;irF; k:I j;;e s;]sk&:it; a;w* a;Er j;;e isq;t;p;>N k:I B;;|}it; hE,Ws;m;e] v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; hI s;;k:;r huw* = v;edvy;;s; ric;t; p;ur;[;;e]k:e b;;d ´p;ur;[; s;]sk&:it;´ p;>c;ilt; huw* = m;h;B;;rt; a;Er b;>És;UF;k:I rc;n;; k:e b;;d p;ur;[;-s;]sk&:it; k:e s;;q;-s;;q; °dx;*n;-s;]sk&:it;°B;I p;>c;ilt; huw*, ij;s;n;e B;;rt; k:I a;Qy;;itm;k:t;; k:;e a;Er B;Is;m;&à b;n;;y;; = v;edvy;;s; j;I ric;t; b;>És;UF; a;Er g;It;; t;q;;Wp;in;{;d;e] k:;e lek:r ́ p;>sq;;n;-F;y;I´ k:e a;Q;;r p;r aèEt; v;ed;nt;k:e p;>v;t;*k: a;ê x;]k:r;c;;y;* n;e v;Eidk:-s;]sk&:it; k:;e p;un;/ j;;g;&t;ik:y;; = B;g;v;;n;< b;uà è;r; b;;Eà-s;]sk&:it; k:;, m;h;v;Ir è;r; j;En;s;]sk&:it; k:; a;Er ws;I p;>k:;r g;uo n;;n;k:, k:b;Ir, r;m;;n;uj;;c;;y;*,r;m;;n;nd;c;;y;*, v;DD;B;;c;;y;* a;id m;h;p;uo{;;e] è;r; Ak:-Ak:n;w* s;]sk&:it; k:; j;nm; h;et;; g;y;; = k:u% m;h;p;uo{;;e] n;e v;Eidk:s;]sk&:it; k:I k:ev;l Ak: x;;K;; k:;e p;>Q;;n;t;; dI = Wnh;e]n;e k:ev;lWp;;s;n;;k:;[# y;; k:m;*k:;[# aq;v;; N;n;k:;[# k:; hI p;>c;;rik:y;; = v;h B;I v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:I Ak: x;;K;; s;hI p;r v;Eidk:s;]sk&:it; hI m;;n;I j;;Ag;I = ij;s; p;>k:;r h;q;I k:e p;Er m;e] s;B;I k:ep;;|}v; s;m;; j;;t;e hE] Ws;I p;>k:;r v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; m;e] s;B;I m;h;p;uo{;;e]k:I s;]sk&:it;y;;|} s;m;;iht; h;et;I j;;y;e]g;I -– c;;he p;U[;*t;y;; h;e y;;x;;K;; k:e Op; m;e] h;e = m;h;B;;rt; m;e] ´m;h;j;n;;e y;en; g;t;/ s;

v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; a;Er b;>;É[;a;c;;y;* Wm;;n;;q; x;m;;* ´x;;sF;I´

(a;c;;y;* Wm;;n;;q; x;m;;* °x;;sF;I° ihndI a;Er s;]sk&:t; k:e Wcc; k:;ei! k:e iv;è;n; hE] = v;e m;Ult;/ n;ep;;l s;e hE} = Wnh;e]n;e iF;B;uv;n;iv;xv;iv;ê;ly;, k:;@m;;]#U k:e k:end>Iy; ihndI iv;B;;g; m;e] s;n;< 1973 s;e 1993 t;k: s;Iin;y;r lekc;r;r k:e p;d p;r rht;e huA p;>;Qy;;p;n; a;Erx;;eQ; k:;y;* ik:y;; = ip;%le k:u% v;{;;e*] s;e v;e m;;|rIx;s; k:e b;;eb;;s;; n;g;r m;e] b;s; g;y;e hE] = - s;]p;;dk:)

p;nq;;´ k:h k:r m;h;p;uo{;;e] k:I s;]sk&:it;y;;e] k:;e sv;Ik:;r ik:y;;g;y;; hE = a;g;e a;n;e v;;lI s;]sk&:it;y;;|} B;I v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:ea]g; k:e Op; m;e] hI s;hI s;m;rs; h;et;I j;;y;e]g;I =

v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; m;e] k:u% p;>m;uK; b;;t;e] ws; p;>k:;r hE] / (1)w*xv;r m;e] a;sq;; a;Er s;;itv;k: B;;v; s;e w*xv;r- p;>;q;*n;;, (2)dEin;k: s;]Qy;; , (3) p;un;j;*nm;, (4) v;[;*-vy;v;sq;; (5) a;Xm;vy;v;sq;;, (6) y;N-k:m;*, a;id = ij;s; p;>k:;r v;ed B;g;v;;n;<p;>dT; hE} Ws;I p;>k:;r v;Eidk:-s;]sk&:it; B;I B;g;v;;n;< p;>dT; hE =ij;s; p;>k:;r v;ed;e} m;e] k:;ew* p;irv;t;*n; n;hI} h;e s;k:t;; Ws;I p;>k:;rv;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; m;e] B;I k:;ew* p;irv;t;*n; n;hI} h;e s;k:t;; = v;[;*a;Er a;Xm; vy;v;sq;; v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:I rI$ hE = w*xv;r m;e]a;sq;; a;Er p;>;q;*n;; s;e w*xv;r k:I is;ià h;et;I hE = dEin;k:s;nQy;;, s;;itv;k:t;; a;Er y;N x;uB; k:m;* hE] = p;un;j;*nm; a;idp;rm;;tm;; k:e iv;Q;;n; hE] = v’;[;* a;Er a;Xm; vy;v;sq;; s;;m;;ij;k:iv;Q;;n; hE] =

g;It;; m;e] B;g;v;;n;< XI k&:{[; k:ht;e hE}, ´c;;t;uv;*[y;]* m;y;;X&{!] g;u[;k:m;* iv;B;;g;x;/´ (g;It;; 4.13) = (p;>k&:it; k:e g;u[;;e] k:ea;Q;;r p;r a;Er s;m;;j; m;e] k:m;* k:rn;e k:e ily;e m;E]n;e hI c;;rv;[;* b;n;;y;e hE} =) s;B;I sm;&it; g;>nq;;e] m;e] v;[;*-vy;v;sq;; k:I vy;;Ky;;s;mm;;n; k:e s;;q; k:I g;w* hE = XI a;ê x;]k:r;c;;y;* n;e p;>sq;;n;F;y;Im;e] g;It;; k:;e sq;;n; dek:r v;[;* vy;v;sq;; k:; a;dr ik:y;; hE =ws;I p;>k:;r XI r;m;;n;uj;;c;;y;*, XI r;m;;n;nd;c;;y;*, XIv;DD;B;;c;;y;* a;Er g;;esv;;m;I t;uls;Id;s; n;e B;I vy;[;*vy;v;sq;;k:;e a;dr dek:r v;ed;e] k:; smm;;n; ik:y;; hE = v;[;*-vy;v;sq;; k:es;;q;-s;;q; a;Xm;-vy;v;sq;; Ak: dUs;re k:e p;Urk: hE] = s;ny;;s;k:;e a;Xm;;e] m;e] s;v;;e*p;ir m;;n;; g;y;; hE = s;ny;;s;I c;;r;e] v;[;;e*] m;e]hE a;Er c;;r;e] v;[;;e*} s;e p;re B;I = v;[;*-vy;v;sq;; m;e] s;hy;;eg; den;ev;;l; s;ny;;s;I hE = a;ê x;]k:r;c;;y;* s;e lek:r s;B;I a;c;;y;;e*]n;e v;[;*-vy;v;sq;; m;e] s;d; s;hy;;eg; idy;; hE = b;>Éc;y;;*Xm; m;e],j;;e j;Iv;n; k:; p;>;r}B; hE, p;r;iv;ê; (aQy;;tm; iv;ê;)a;Er iv;ê;

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(s;;]s;;irk: iv;ê; - j;Es;e #;|k!rI, w]j;Iin;y;ir]g; a;id iv;{;y;;e]k:; aQy;y;n;-aQy;;p;n;) s;;q;-s;;q; h;et;; q;; = a;Xm; vy;v;sq;;k:;e sv;Ik:;r k:rt;e huA k:;ild;s; n;e rG;uv;]x; m;h;k:;vy; (rG;u.1.8) m;e] ilK;; hE /

x;Ex;v;eCBy;st; iv;ê;n;;}} y;;Ev;n;e iv;{;y;Ei{;[;;m;< ]= v;;Q;*k:em;uin;v;&T;;n;;} y;;eg;en;;nt;e t;n;uty;j;;m;< ==

aq;;*t;< b;;Dy;;v;sq;; m;e] iv;ê;By;;s; k:rn;e v;;le, y;uv;;v;sq;;m;e] g;&hsq; m;e] rhk:r s;}s;;r k:e s;B;I B;;eg;;e] k:;e p;>;pt; k:rn;ev;;le, v;&à;v;sq;; (v;;[;p;>sq;}) m;e] m;uin;y;;e] k:I t;rh v;n; m;e] rhk:rt;p; k:rn;e v;;le, ant; m;e] s;ny;;s; a;Xm; g;>h[; k:r t;p; k:rt;ehuA x;rIr k:; ty;;g; k:rn;e v;;le (Aes;e k:Iit;*m;;n;< r;j;;a;e] k:;g;u[;g;;n; k:rn;e k:e ily;e ws; m;h;k:;vy; k:I rc;n;; k:r rh; hU|} =)

j;b; k:B;I a;Xm; vy;v;sq;; p;r p;>h;r hua; b;>;É[‘’;;e] n;e a;g;eb;$ k:r Ws;k:; p;>it;k:;r ik:y;; hE = ws;Iily;e j;b; b;uà n;e c;t;uq;*(s;ny;;s;) a;Xm; k:;e p;>q;m; (b;>Éc;y;*) a;Xm; b;n;;y;; t;b;v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:e s;m;q;*k:;e] n;e Ws;k:; Aes;; iv;r;eQ; ik:y;; b;;EàQ;m;* B;;rt; m;e] Wt;n;; n;hI} f:El s;k:; =

j;;it;y;;|} k:m;* a;Er sq;;n; k:e a;Q;;r p;r b;n;I hE], j;;eb;n;t;I a;Er im;!t;I rht;I hE} = l;ehe k:; k:;m; k:rn;e v;;le l;eh;r,s;;en;e k:; k:;m; k:rn;e v;;le s;;en;;r, t;el k:; k:;m; k:rn;e v;;let;elI, k:p;#e k:; k:;m; k:rn;e v;;le k:p;i#y;; a;Er n;hr k:eik:n;;re rhn;e v;;le n;ehO k:hl;y;e = ws; t;rh s;m;ud;y;;e] k:e n;;m;;e]s;e b;n;t;e g;y;e =

v;ed;e] k:e p;uo{; s;Ukt; k:e a;Q;;r p;r v;[;*vy;v;sq;; b;n;I hE,j;h;|] k:h; g;y;; hE ik: Ws; iv;r;!< p;rm;;tm;; k:e m;uK; m;e] b;>;É[;,B;uj;;a;e] m;e] Z;iF;y;, p;e! m;e] v;Exy; a;Er p;;|]v;;e] m;e] x;Ud> q;e = Ws;p;rm;;tm;; k:e m;n; s;e c;nd>m;;, a;|]K;;e] s;e s;Uy;*, k:;n;;e] s;e v;;y;u Av;}p;>;[; a;Er m;uK; s;e aign; Wtp;nn; huA = aign; a;Er b;>;É[;B;g;v;;n;< k:e m;uK; s;e p;>g;! huA, c;;r;e] v;[;;e*] k:I Wtp;iT; B;g;v;;n;<s;e huw* a;Er c;;r v;[;* p;&qv;I p;r a;idk:;l s;e hE] = ws;I a;Q;;rp;r c;;r y;ug; B;I m;;n;e g;y;e hE] –

t;p;/ p;r] k&:t;y;ug;e F;et;;y;;]} N;n;m;ucy;t;e =è;p;re y;Nm;ev;;hud;*n;m;ek:] k:l;Ey;ug;e == m;n;u. 1.86 ==b;>;É] k&:t;y;ug;e p;>;ekt;] F;et;; t;u Z;iF;y;] y;ug;m;< =v;Exy;;e è;p;rim;ty;;hu/ x;Ud>/ k:ily;ug;/ sm;&t;/ ==

´s;ty;y;ug; m;e] t;p; p;>Q;;n; hE, F;et;; m;e] N;n;, è;p;r m;e] y;N a;Erk:ily;ug; m;e] d;n; p;>Q;;n; hE = s;ty;y;ug; b;>;É[; k:hl;t;; hE,

F;et;;y;ug; Z;iF;y;, è;p;r v;Exy; a;Er k:ily;ug; x;Ud> k:hl;t;;hE =´

b;>;É[; k:I p;irB;;{;; hE - b;>É iv;j;;n;;it; b;>;É[;/ (b;>É k:;ej;;n;n;e v;;l; b;>;É[; hE =) y;h Wcc;k:;ei! k:I p;irB;;{;; b;>;É[;k:e Wcc; g;u[;;e] k:I vy;;Ky;; k:rt;I hE = b;>;É[; k:I vy;;Ky;; m;e]m;n;u n;e k:h; hE/–

aQy;;p;n;} aQy;y;n;] y;j;n;] y;;j;n;] t;q;; = d;n;] p;>it;g;>h} c;Ev;b;>;É[;;n;;}m;k:Dp;y;t;< == m;n;u. 1.88 ==

´p;$n;;, p;$;n;;, y;N k:rn;;-k:r;n;;, d;n; den;; a;Er len;;y;e b;>;É[; k:e %/ k:m;* hE] =´

any; sm;&it;y;;e] m;e] B;I k:u% ws;I p;>k:;r k:I vy;;Ky;;y;e] hE] =g;It;; m;e] B;g;v;;n;< XI k&:{[; k:ht;e hE] -

x;m;;e dm;st;p;/ x;;Ec;] Z;;int;r;;j;*v;m;ev; c; =N;n;] iv;N;n;m;;ist;ky;} b;>Ék:m;* sv;B;;v;j;m;< ==

g;It;; 18.42 ==´x;;nt; rhn;;, m;n; k:;e v;x; m;e] rK;n;;, p;iv;F; rhn;;, Z;m;;,

n;m;>t;;, x;;sF;;e] k:; N;n;, w*xv;r m;e] a;sq;; a;id b;>;É[; k:esv;;B;;iv;k: g;u[; hE] =´

v;[;;e*] k:e alg;-alg; k:T;*vy; h;et;e huA B;I p;rm;;tm;; n;ec;;r;e] v;[;;e*] k:;e Ak: a;c;;r s;UF; m;e] b;;|}Q;; hE /

a;c;;r/ p;rm;;e Q;m;*/ Xuty;ukt;/ sm;;t;* Av; c; =t;sm;;dism;n;< s;d; y;ukt;;e in;ty;] sy;;d;tm;v;;inèj;/ ==

m;n;u 1.108 ==´Xuit; (v;ed;e]) a;Er sm;&it; m;e] k:h; hua; a;c;;r hI p;rm; Q;m;*hE = at;/ b;>;É[; k:;e s;d; ap;n;e a;c;r[; m;e] rht;e huA a;tm;v;;n;<b;n;e rhn;; c;;ihy;e =´

b;>;É[; s;B;I v;[;;e*] m;e] b;#e B;;w* k:I t;rh hE at;/ Ws;e sv;y;]a;c;r[; k:; p;;ln; k:rt;e huA dUs;r;e] k:e ily;e ea;c;r[; p;;ln;m;e] a;dx;* p;>st;ut; k:rn;; c;;ihy;e = b;>;É[;;e] k:I iv;x;e{;t;; m;e] m;n;uilK;t;e hE] –

B;Ut;;n;;] p;>;i[;n;/ Xe{@/ p;>;i[;n;;] b;uiàj;Iiv;t;/ =b;uiàm;st;u n;r;/ Xe{@;/ n;re{;u b;>;É[;;/ sm;&t;;/ == m;n;u. 1.96 ==

´s;B;I j;Iv;;e] m;e] p;>;[;Q;;rI, p;>;[;Q;;iry;;e] m;e] b;uià s;e vy;v;h;rk:rn;e v;;le p;x;u Xe{@ hE}, b;uià rK;n;e v;;le j;Iv;;e] m;e] m;n;u{y;Xe{@ hE a;Er m;n;u{y;;e] m;e] b;>;É[; Xe{@ hE =´

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r;m;;y;[;, m;h;B;;rt;, p;ur;[;, dx;*n;, vy;;k:r[;, s;;ihty;,jy;;eit;{;, wit;h;s;, a;y;uv;e*d;, aq;*x;;sF; a;id k:e rc;iy;t;;b;>;É[; hE} = a;id k:;l s;e b;>;É[; hI Pi{;-m;uin;y;;e] k:e Op; m;e]t;p;sy;;, p;iv;F;t;; a;Er ix;Z;; k:e m;;Qy;m; s;e s;m;;j; k:e k:Dy;;[;m;e] lg;e rhe hE] = b;>;É[;;e] è;r; ik:y;e g;y;e x;uB; k:m;;e*} a;Er Wp;k:;r;e]k:; v;[;*n; n;hI} ik:y;; j;; s;k:t;; = s;]Z;ep; m;e] k:h; j;;y; t;;eb;>;É[; hI s;m;;j; a;Er Q;m;* k:e vy;v;sq;;p;k: hE] = a;Xm; m;e] s;B;Iv;[;* k:e ix;{y; p;$n;e a;t;e q;e, ij;n;m;e] s;e k:u% k:;e Pi{; ap;n;;g;;eF; B;I de det;e q;e = s;n;;t;n; Q;m;* a;j; j;Iiv;t; hE t;;e b;>;É[;;e] k:ek:r[; hI hE = leik:n; a;j; ws; k:ily;ug; m;e] v;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:eh>>;s; k:e s;;q;-s;;q; b;>;É[;;e] k:; B;I h>;s; h;et;; j;; rh; hE = a;Erb;>;É[; v;&iT; m;e] j;In;; aty;nt; k:i@n; h;e g;y;; hE =

v;t;*m;;n; s;m;y; m;e] k:u% l;eg; ap;n;I sv;;q;*-p;Uit;* k:e ily;ev;Eidk: s;]sk&:it; k:e iv;oà m;e] an;ek: s;]sk&:it;y;;|] p;Ed; k:r rhe

hE} = Wn; s;]sk&:it;y;;e] k:e j;nm;d;t;; l;eg; B;;w*-B;;w* k:;e l#; rhe hE]= p;ir[;;m; sv;Op; n;Eit;k:t;; k:; p;t;n; h;e rh; hE a;Er v;;t;;v;r[;dUi{;t; h;et;; j;; rh; hE = r;j;n;Eit;k: l;eg; s;m;;j; k:;e %;e!e v;g;;e*}m;e] b;;|}! rhee hE]]= Aes;; v;;t;;v;r[; ik:s;I k:e ily;e k:Dy;;[;k:;rIn;hI] hE =

b;>;É[; Ak:t;; m;e] ihndU Ak:t;; i%p;I hE = s;}sk&:t;-B;;{;; k:em;;Qy;m; s;e s;B;I ihndua;e] m;e] Ak:t;; a; s;k:t;I hE = s;B;I ihndua;e]k:e v;hI c;;r v;ed, v;hI t;Iq;* a;Er v;hI dev;t;; hE] = at;/ hm; s;B;IihndU Ak: hE] = Ak:t;; j;g;;k:r Q;m;* p;>c;;r k:rn;e k:; WT;rd;iy;tv;b;>;É[;;e] p;r hE =

Address of the author: Shri Uma Nath Sharma, F-32, Desai

Street, Beaubasa, Mauritius

p;l B;r k:I ij;ndg;Iac;*n;; m;;Ehl; (El Dorado Hills, CA)

p;l B;r k:I hE ij;ndg;I, h|]s; K;el k:r g;uj;;r l;e =l# z;g;# k:r ky;; k:rn;;, h\]s; k:r y;U|} ib;s;;r d;e ==

ky;; p;t;; a;j; hE k:l h;e n; G;#I y;e p;l n; h;e =hr p;l k:I n;w* b;h;r d;e a;j; n;hI} t;;e k:l k:;e s;v;;r l;e ==

p;l B;r k:I hE ij;ndg;I, h\}s; K;el k:r g;uj;;r d;e ==

a;A h;e ws; duin;y;;|} m;e] k:u% ac%e k:;m; k:r j;;a;e =n;;j; k:reg;I y;h duin;y;;|}, ap;n;; n;;m; r;ex;n; k:r j;;v;;e ==

%;e#;e y;h v;Er iv;r;eQ; s;b; y;hI} rh j;;y;eg;; =k:rn;; c;;ht;e h;e k:u% t;;e in;{k:;m; B;;v; s;e dUs;re;} k:I s;ev;; k:r j;;a;e ==

l# z;g;# k:r ky;; k:rn;;, py;;r s;e irxt;; k:;y;m; k:r j;;a;e =p;l B;r k:I hE ij;ndg;I, h\}s; K;el k:r g;uj;;r d;e ==

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iv;G;!n;k:;rI g;it;iv;iQ;y;;e] p;r r;ek: lg;;a;ehir x;m;;*, ny;U j;s;I*

b;s;n;; (BSNA) k:; aiQ;v;ex;n; hm;k:;e det;; y;e s;]dex; =am;eirk:; k:e b;>;É[;;e], ty;;g; k:r;e t;um; èe{; ==

ty;;g; k:r;e t;um; èe{; iv;iv;Q; s;]sq;; n; b;n;;a;e =ib;K;re huA g;u!;e] k:;e lek:r Ak: b;n;;a;e ==

k:ily;ug; m;e] b;>;É[; s;]Ky;; p;hle hI q;;e#I =if:r B;I k:rt;e h;e t;um; Ws;m;e] t;;e#;-f:;e#I ==t;j; aiB;m;;n; Ak: m;]#p; k:e n;Ic;e a;v;;e =

iv;G;!n;k:;rI g;it;iv;iQ;y;;e] p;r r;ek: lg;;a;e ==

ip;%le c;;Edh v;{;;e*} m;e] b;s;n;; n;e aåut; k:;m; ik:y;; =b;#I Ak: s;]sq;; b;n;k:r b;>;É[;;e] k:;e s;mm;;n; idy;; ==

leik:n; k:u% l;eg;;e] k:;e ws;k:I s;f:lt;; hE K;!k: rhI =ws;e iv;B;;j;n; k:rn;e k:;e wn;k:I in;g;;h hE B;!k: rhI ==

alg;-alg; aiQ;v;ex;n; k:rk:e b;>;É[;;e] k:;e iv;B;>;nt; ik:y;; =B;;rt; s;e b;;hr rhk:r B;I j;;it; g;v;* p;r G;;t; ik:y;; ==

y;e m;t; B;Ul;e Qy;ey; hm;;r; b;>;É[;tv; f:El;n;; hE =Z;i[;k: k:Iit;* k:;e ty;;g;;e,a;a;e a]it;m; iv;j;y; k:r;n;; hE ==

im;lk:r b;>É Ak:t;; k:; t;um; ib;g;ul b;j;;a;e =iv;G;!n;k:;rI g;it;iv;iQ;y;;e] p;r r;ek: lg;;a;e ==

Brahmans of America, Stop Feuding

The BSNA Convention teaches us that Brahmans of America should not be divisive in nature. They should

not establish different Brahman organizations for personal gain and recognition. Instead, they should merge

different factions into one single group. In Kaliyuga, the number of Brahmans is very small yet there is

infighting among various groups which is weakening the fabric of this community. These groups should give

up their selfish pride and join hands with each other and gather under one umbrella and that umbrella is the

Brahman Samaaj of North America.

For the past 14 years, BSNA has done a remarkable job for the uplift of Brahmans in North America. It has

made ‘Brahman’ word worthy of respect and emulation. But some Brahmans cannot stand the success of this

organization and they are busy in creating division among its members. They are planning different

Conventions to confuse Brahmans and to ensure that all Brahmans do not gather under one tent. Even

while living outside of the so called “Dharam Nirpeksh (secular) India’, they are hitting the pride of this fine

community. Do not forget that our mission is to advance the noble cause of ‘Brahmanatva’ by giving up

momentary recognition and championing for a lasting victory. Let us all join together and sound the trumpet

of Brahman unity.

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a;s;m;;n; k:e ant; t;k: n;Il;p;n; B;r; hE,v;{;;* k:I hr b;|}Ud m;e] g;Il;p;n; %up;; hE,

f:Ul;e] k:e b;g;Ic;e r]g;;e]-K;ux;b;ua;e] k:;e s;m;e!e hE},p;]%I ap;n;e p;Er;e] m;e] W#;n; ily;e hE} =

rb; k:I hr ad; K;Ub;s;Urt; hE,hr k:;en;; in;m;*lt;; s;e iK;l W@; hE,m;g;r w]s;;n; n;;m; k:I p;hc;;n; dek:r

k:;m; s;e m;t;lb; rK;t;; hE =irxt;;e] k:e K;;lIp;n; k:;e,sv;;q;* s;e B;r det;; hE =

ib;n;; Oh k:e x;rIr;e] k:;er]g;In; k:p;#;e] s;e s;j”;;t;e; hE =

y;h;|} t;;e hr c;ehre p;r hE n;k:;b;,y;; n;k:;b; p;r s;undr c;ehr; hE =

m;n; m;e] b;s;e B;g;v;;n; k:;e an;deK;; k:rk:eK;uix;y;;e] k:;e dr dr $|}$t;; if:rt;; hE ==

B;;gy;XI k:ulk:[;I*, ny;U j;s;I*

XIm;t;I B;;gy;XI k:ulk:[;I*, ny;U j;s;I*

T;umh;rI y;;d;e] k:;e s;m;e!n;e k:e ily;em;er; a;|}c;l %;e!; p;# g;y;; =

t;umh;rI y;;d;e] k:;e s;p;n;e m;e] deK;n;e k:e ily;et;;e n;I]d hI aQ;UrI p;# g;w* ==

t;umh;rI y;;de] t;;e ret; k:I t;rhm;u!<@I s;e if:s;lt;I rhI] =

t;umh;rI y;;d;e] k:Ie b;;E%;r b;rs; k:eK;ux;b;U b;n; k:r a;s;m;;n; s;e ~|}c;I W@ g;w* ==

T;umh;rI y;;de] t;;e hE] Ak: Ahs;;s;ap;n;e s;;y;e k:;e ap;n;e a;p; m;e] p;;n;e k:; =

y;;de]

c;ehre

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in;m;*l; x;ukl (f>:Im;;[!, k:Eilf:;ein;*y;;)

p;U[;*m;;s;I k:; c;;|}d

s;un;hr; q;;l s;;t;umh;r; Op;iZ;it;j; m;e] j;g;m;g;; rh;a;e p;U[;*m;;s;I k:e c;;|]dsv;;g;t; hE t;umh;r;m;ere a;|]g;n; m;e] =

r;iF; k:e a;]Q;k:;r k:;ec;Ir k:r t;um;p;>k:;x; ib;K;ert;e h;em;ere a;|]g;n; m;e] hI n;hI]s;;r; iv;xv; hIp;>k:;ix;t; h;e g;y;; t;um;s;e =

wQ;r s;irt;; m;e] p;>it;ib;]ib;t; Op;t;umh;r; ik:t;n;; in;K;r rh;?WQ;r m;eG; t;umhe] ap;n;e a;|]c;l m;e]b;;r-b;;r i%p;; rh; =

ky;; t;um;n;e hIm;;e]g;re a;Er r;t;r;n;I m;e]

s;ug;]iQ; B;r dI hE ?ky;; t;umh;re hI s;;E]dy;* s;ep;>B;;iv;t; h;e k:r p;>em;Ip;>eim;k:; k:e m;uK; m;e]deK;t;; hE t;umhe] ?

t;umhe] %Un;e k:I Wtk:! l;ls;;k:ev;l b;;lk: r;m; m;e] hI n;hI}aip;t;u a;Q;uin;k: m;;n;v;n;Il a;m;*s!M;]g; m;e] B;I hE =

l;eg; k:ht;e hE]ik: t;um;m;e] j;;e d;g; hEv;h t;umh;re B;It;r k:Ijv;;l;m;uK;I k:e k:;r[; hE =y;h k:Es;I iv;#]b;n;; hEik: ~p;r s;e t;um; x;;nt; h;ea;Er x;It;lt;; hI det;e h;e s;d;k:;x;‘ hm; B;I t;umh;re j;Es;eh&dy; k:I jv;;l; i%p;; k:rWjjv;lt;;, x;It;lt;; ib;K;ert;e ==

ky;; t;um; b;n;;eg;e m;ere v;Elen!;wn; ?

m;t; b;hl;a;e m;uz;e l;l g;ul;b; dek:rws; p;:Ul k:e s;;Endy;* m;e} rK;; hI ky;; hE ?m;uz;e t;;e im;l; hE t;umh;re py;;r k:; p;:Ulj;;e m;ere idl m;e} s;d; iK;l; rheg;; ==

n;hI} c;;ihy;e m;uz;e im;@;w* y;; c’’;|;k:le!ws;k:e im;@;s; m;e} v;h rs; k:h;} ?m;uz;e t;;e im;l; hE t;umh;re p;>em; k:; rs;,ij;s;k:; a;n;nd s;d; W@;t;I rhU}g;I ==

m;t; d;e m;uz;e wF; k:I x;Ix;Iws; m;hk: m;e} v;h s;ug;nQ; k:h;} ?m;uz;e t;;e im;lI hE t;umh;re py;;r k:I s;ug;nQ;ij;s;s;e m;er; j;Iv;n; s;uriB;t; h;et;; rheg;; ==

m;t; B;ej;;e m;uz;e g;>Ii!g;} k:;#*s;ws;e p;$n;e m;e} v;h a;n;nd k:h;} ?t;umh;r; p;>em; s;ndex; t;;e m;ere r;em; r;em; m;e} ilK;; hEij;s;e j;Iv;n; B;r p;$ m;E}e a;n;nd let;I rhU}g;I ==

m;t; p;ihn;;a;e} m;uz;e hIre-m;;et;Iwn;s;e k:h;} h;et;; m;er; X&g};;r p;Ur; ?m;uz;e t;um; im;le t;;e m;E} y;U} hI h;e g;w* al}k:&t;j;Iv;n; B;r m;uz;e Aes;I s;j;I rhn;e d;e ip;>y; ==

m;E j;;n;t;I hU| ik: m;E| s;d; t;umh;rI hU|,p;r a;j; y;h py;;r k:; idn; hE a;y;;t;;e ws; k:iv;t;; è;r; kY; m;E p;U% s;k:t;I hU|ik: ky;; t;um; b;n;;eg;e m;ere v;Elen;!;wn; ?

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m;er; B;;rt;

B;;rt; k:I Q;rt;I p;r p;Er rK;t;I hU| j;Es;e hI =m;n; m;er; a;pl;iv;t; h;et;; WDl;s; s;e v;Es;e hI ==ap;ne; l;eg;, ap;n;I b;;elI ap;n;I s;]sk&:it; k:; j;;er =py;;r B;r; ap;n;;p;n; hI ap;n;;p;n; im;lt;; c;hu| a;er ==

n;hI am;eirk:; m;e} b;cc;;e} k:;e p;:us;l;k:r k:h; j;;t;; ab; =“B;;ej;n; k:r;e, B;;rt; m;e] k:;ew* b;cc;; B;UK;; s;;ey;; h;eg;; t;b; ==Wnhe k:h; j;;t;; hE}, “””””p;$;w* ac%I k:r;e n;hI} t;;e av;xy; hI =B;;rt;Iy; le leg;e} t;umh;rI n;;Ek:rI ws;m;e k:;ew* s;]x;y; n;hI} ==

j;h;| B;;rt; s;ux;;eiB;t; h;e rh; Wnn;it; k:e p;irv;ex; m;e} =v;hI} du+K; hE g;ndg;I b;$t;I j;; rhI s;;re dex; m;e} ==dex; k:e n;et;;a;e} k:;e n;hI} t;in;k: B;I ws;k:; B;;n; =Wnhe dex; s;ev;; k:; n;hI, rht;; v;;e! b;E}k: k:; Qy;;n; ==

m;c%#;e} a;Er m;ikK;y;;e} k:; hE v;h;| B;rm;;r =s;h; n;hI j;;t;; lg;;t;;r Wn;k:; v;;r ==g;ndI n;;ily;;e k:I g;nQ; v; s;#k:;e} p;r W#t;I Q;Ul =ky;; k:re}, n;hI} s;k:t;e c;;hk:r B;I Ws;e k:B;I B;Ul ==

v;;y;uy;;n; k:I vy;v;sq;; m;e} h;e rhI hE Wnn;it; =p;r relg;;#I k:I s;uiv;Q;; m;e} aB;I t;k: hE dug*;it; ==!elIp;:;en; k:; Wtk:{;* a;s;m;;n; k:;e %U rh; =ab; b;;lIv;u# B;I h;|lIv;u# k:;e p;I%e %;e# rh; ==

hE hm;}e ap;n;e dex;, Q;m’;* v; s;}sk:&it; p;r aiB;m;;n; =im;ln;e k:I l;ls;; rht;I ip;>y;j;n;;e} k:e py;;r v; s;mm;;n; ==ws;Iily; B;;rt; j;;ne; k:I k:B;I b;uz;t;I n;hI ip;p;;s;;] =B;;rt; k:e ily;e p;>em; b;$t;; }rhe y;hI hE m;erI a;x;; ==

’”’”’”

in;m;*l; x;ukl (f>:Im;;[!, k:Eilf:;ein;*y;;)

- 78 -

s;uim;F;; x;m;;* k:I h;sy; k:iv;t;;y;e]:

1. huy;e wn;k:e j;Es;e am;eirk:n;

deK;;e hm; k:Es;e ap;n;e m;t;lb; m;e] s;f:l h;e g;y;eB;;rt; s;e j;b; hm; iv;dex; p;hu|}c;e t;;e,ik:t;n;I j;DdI hm; Wn; j;Es;e h;e g;y;e =B;;{;; k:I s;m;sy;; a;w* t;;e ap;n;I b;;elIB;Ul k:r °Aks;ky;Uj; m;I° s;IK; g;y;e ==K;;n;e k:I b;;t; a;w* t;;e d;l-r;e!I %;e# k:ra;s;;n;I s;e hm; b;g;*r K;;n;; s;IK; g;y;e =am;eirk:n;;e] k:;e hm;;r; n;;m; len;e m;e] k:i@n;;w* a;w* t;;ehm; m;dn; s;e m;;wk: h;e g;y;e =s;un;Il s;e Wn;k:e s;m;;n; s;Em; h;e g;y;e ==j;;e k:B;I b;Ej;y;nt;I k:hl;t;I q;I,v;h m;;|#n;* v;j;I*in;y;; b;n; g;w* =j;;e a;n;nd q;; v;h A[#I k:hl;y;;s;]g;It;; y;h;|} a;k:r s;E[#I b;n; g;w* ==

iv;dex; k:; p;;n;I ky;; ip;y;; ik:Aes;; n;x;; c;$ g;y;; ik: if:rhm;;rI n;; hI k:;ew* j;;it; rhI a;Ern;; hI k:;ew* Q;m;* b;;k:I rh;,idm;;g; m;e] k:u% q;; t;;e v;h q;; k:ev;l´wn; g;;|# v;I !Ms!´ k:;hr; #;lr hI b;s;; rh; ==hm;n;e m;indr B;I b;n;v;;y;; a;Er p;Uj;; B;I k:It;;e k:ev;l sv;;q;* wt;n;; B;r; rh; =ik:s;I t;rh s;e !Eks; b;c;;y;; j;;y;e a;Er

´n;;|n; p;>;|if:! a;|g;e*n;;j;ex;n;´ k:e n;;m; p;rB;g;v;;n; k:e G;r m;e] g;;# k:; #;lr i%p;; rh; ==

y;h p;ixc;m;I dex; hE a;Er ws;k:I y;h hv;; hE,y;h;|} c;;Edh s;;l k:I m;;|}A|} hE]a;Er p;c;;s; s;;l k:e ip;t;; hE],leik:n; r;ej; #I.An;.A. c;ek: k:r;et;b; B;I b;cc;e ik:s;k:e hE] p;t;; n;hI}k:ev;l wt;n;I B;r s;]B;;v;n;; hE ik:v;Is;; im;le a;Er x;;dI ik:s;I s;e B;I j;u#eap;n;; m;t;lb; p;Ur; h;e g;y;; =;

if:r t;uls;I k:e sq;;n; p;r c;;heG;r m;e] ik>:sm;s; !MI hI ky;U|} n; s;j;eap;n;I f:U!I ik:sm;t; t;;e hE y;ea;Er c;;he ws;e d;st;;|} hI k:h;e hm;;rIc;En; t;;e hm;e] n; B;;rt; m;e] q;;a;Er n;; hI ap;n;e G;r m;e] q;;ws;I c;En; k:I t;l;x; m;e]hm; iv;dex; m;e] t;;e a; g;y;ep;r ky;; p;t;; q;; ik: hm;y;h;|} rht;e huA n; k:ev;l Wn;k:e j;Es;e h;e g;y;eb;iDk: w*s;;wy;;e] k:e b;Ic; rht;en;; t;;e hm; ihndU, m;uislm; n;; w*s;;w* rhe

b;iDk: hm; B;;rt;v;;s;I k:hI} k:e n;; rhe ==

p;>eim;k:; n;e p;>em;I k:;e Wk:s;;n;; c;;h;a;Er Ws;k:e p;>em; k:I p;rIZ;; lI =vy;;k:ult;; k:; m;;sk: lg;; k:rp;>em;I k:I a;|}K;;e] m;e] z;;|]k: k:r b;;elI -´s;;|rI i#y;r, hm;;rI x;;dI n;hI] h;e s;k:t;I =y;h b;#; hI k:i@n; im;ln; hE,a;Er;e] k:;e t;;e %;e#;e,K;ud m;mm;I p;;p;; hI iv;len; hE] ´==

2. m;;#n;* p;>em;

p;>em;I n;e p;>eim;k:; k:;e $;$s; b;|]Q;;y;; a;Er b;;el;,´Wn;s;e #rn;e k:I b;;t; %;e# d;e,ap;n;I p;>em;-lt;; k:;e b;$n;e d;e,s;;]s;;irk:t;; k:I p;&{@B;Uim; m;e]al;Eik:k:t;; k:I s;Ii$y;;|} c;$n;e d;e =y;h t;;e m;er; a;Qy;;itm;k: p;>em; hE,ky;;e]ik: t;um;s;e dUr rh k:r B;I m;E] k:h;|} j;ud; hU|} ?

i#y;r, ip;>y;e, m;E] t;;e p;hle s;e hI x;;dIx;ud; hU|} ==´

- 79 -

arm;;n;s;urend> n;;q; p;;[#ey;

Ae idl m;uz;e Aes;I j;g;h le c;l, j;h;\ b;>;É[; hI h;e] =ap;n;e h;e] y;; h;]e v;;e p;r;y;e, s;dsy; s;b; b;s;n;; k:e h;e}] ==

j;;k:r k:hI}]}] K;;e j;;~\ m;]E, q;k: k:r k:hI]} s;;e j;;~]\ m;E] =s;;q;I m;uz;e $U$e] ag;r t;;e m;er; p;t;; k>:;~n; pl;j;; m;e] h;e ==

Ae idl m;uz;e Aes;I j;g;h le c;l, j;h;\ b;>;É[; hI h;e] =

ws; v;;d iv;v;;d k:; p;ir[;;m; hE ik:, y;e idl !U!; y;e g;m; im;l; =rhn;; hE hm;k:;e s;;q; s;;q;, ky;;e] n; Ak:t;; hm; s;b; m;e] h;e ==

Ae idl m;uz;e Aes;I j;g;h le c;l, j;h;\ b;>;É[; hI h;e] =

x;ukl; j;I a;Er x;m;;* j;I k:; lI#rix;p; hm;e] im;lt;; rhe =im’;X;, it;v;;rI, c;t;uv;*dI a;Er j;h;\] p;;[#ey; B;I h;e] ==

Ae idl m;uz;e Aes;I j;g;h le c;l, j;h;\ b;>;É[; hI h;e] =

ap;n;e h;e] y;; h;e] v;;e p;r;y;e, s;dsy; s;b; b;s;n;; k:e h;e}] ==

Greetings and Best Wishes to WBC Delegates

The Misra family: Mahendra and Vimlesh Misra

Dr. Snajay, Priya, Avneesh, Priyanka, and Ajay

- 80 -

Organization ChartBrahman Samaj of North America

P. O. Box 716, Belle Mead, NJ 08502

Title

President

Exec. Vice President

Vice President

Vice President

General Secretary

Treasurer

Asst. Treasurer & Editor

Brahmakulum)

Editor, Brahma Bharati

Editor, Brahma Vani

Editor, Home Page

President, Youth Group

Chapter Presidents:

Arizona

California (S.F. Bay Area)

California (San Diego)

California (Sacramento)

California (Los Angeles Area)

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Minnesota

Michigan

Mississippi

Missouri

New Jersey

New York (Long Island)

New York City

New York (Upstate)

Ohio

Ontario (Southern)

Pennsylvania (Eastern)

Quebec

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Washington, DC

Board of Trustees

NameMr. Purushottam Sharma

Dr. Umesh Shukla

Mr. Bharat Mohla

Mrs. Rita Pandey

Dr. Om Sharma

Mr. Shriniwas Sharma

Dr. Ajay Pandey

Dr. Surendra N. Pandey

Dr. Surendra N. Pandey

Dr. Tej Pandey

Mr. Ankur Misra

Mr. Munnu Bajpai

Mr. Kuldeep Sharma

Dr. Ved Prakash Pathak

Mr. Pardeep Sharma

Mr. Raga Mishra

Vacant

Vacant

Vacant

Mr. Mithlesh Sharma

Dr. Mahesh Jha

Dr. Madhurendu Kumar

Mr. Satyendra Chaturvedi

Mr. Kamal Sharma

Dr. Chandra Mani Pathak

Dr. Shivendra Shukla

Mr. Hari Sharma

Mr. Ashok Awasthi

Mr. Ashok Kumar Awasthi

Vacant

Dr. Raj K. Tripathi

Mr. Anil Sharma

Mr. Hans Raj Sharma

Dr. U. N. Tiwari

Dr. Mahendra K. Sharma

Dr. Keshav Shukla

Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay

Dr. Gopesh Sharma

Mr. Mahendra Pal Misra

(Chair)

Dr. Shiva Bajpai

Dr. Onkar P. Dwivedi

Mr. Lila Dhar Mishra

Dr. Shri Kant Mishra

Mr. Kanwal D. Prashar

Mr. Nitin Purohit

Mr. Dharam Pal Salwan

Mr. Jagar Sharma

Dr. Naresh Sharma

Mrs. Mamta Tiwari

Dr. Janeshwar Upadhyay

LocationBloomfield Hills, MI

Belle Mead, NJ

El Dorado Hills, CA

St. Catherines, Canada

Skillman, NJ

Morganville, NJ

Rochester Hills, MI

Albany, GA

Albany, GA

Sacramento, CA

North Potomac, MD

Phoenix, AZ

Fremont, CA

San Diego, CA

Davis, CA

Alta Loma, CA

Flossmoor, IL

Indianapolis, IN

Batton Rouge, LA

Minneapolis, MN

Rochester Hills, MI

Vicksburg, MS

Columbia, MO

Freehold, NJ

Medford, NY

New York, NY

Cambridge, OH

Toronto, ON

Conshohocken, PA

Kingsport, TN

Houston, TX

Colonial Heights, VA

McLean, VA

Norristown, PA

Pacific Palisades, CA

Guelph, ONT

Mississauga, Canada

Encino, CA

Rockford, IL

Troy, MI

Fremont, CA

Valley Stream, NY

Egg Harbor, NJ

Brookville, MD

Colonial Heights, VA

Phone No.

248-853-4076

908-431-9845

916-933-6339

905-680-1952

908-359-3348

908-359-3348

248-656-4144

229-883-1687

229-883-1687

916-489-5916

301-340-2883

602-938-4757

510-796-3470

858-350-9235

530-792-7179

909-987-0186

708-957-7344

317-578-1561

225-769-2765

763-566-3103

248-373-6509

610-877-6250

573-449-5608

732-409-3523

516-475-4643

212-795-5529

614-432-2746

905-487-2645

610-828-5155

423-288-8471

281-550-9770

804-520-2043

703-356-0821

610-539-6073

310-454-3826

519-822-2534

905-828-6475

818-981-9659

815-282-5272

248-318-0598

510-713-8245

516-503-0871

609-927-8747

301-7746365

804-520-2043 Rev. 5/7/2007

- 81 -

Organization ChartWorld Brahman Organization (WBO)

President

Shukla, Dr. Shyam Narayan

Vice Presidents

Dixit, Sh. Rameshwar Dayal

Mishra, Dr. Sangam

Kaushik, Dr. Dharam Singh

Tiwari, Sh. Shashikant

Shukla, Dr. Prakash Narayan

Kalapnat, Sh. Anand

Panday, Sh. Vishnu Mahadew

Tripathi, Sh. Vijay Kumar

Chaturbedi, Sh. Ramagya

Misra, Sh. Arvind

Maharaj, Sh. Kampta

Sharma, Sh. Balram

Toolsee, Sh. Damodar

Secretary General

Pandey, Dr. Surendra Nath

Treasurer

Pandey, Dr. Tej Narayan

Members, Board of

Trustees

Mishra, Dr. Shri Kant (Chair)

Mishra, Sh. Acharya Prabhakar

Trivedi, Sh. Dharnidhar

Pandey, Sh. Jagprasad

Sharma, Sh. Mahesh Dutt

Sharma, Smt. Rama Devi

Shukla, Dr. Umesh

Sharma, Sh. Jagar

Bajpai, Dr. Govind

Djwalapersad, Col. Dewinder

Tiwari, Sh. Joganan Dutnath

Maharaj, Sh. Jagdish

PrasadSharma, Sh. Surendre

Doobey, Sh. Girdhari

Fremont, CA, USA

Delhi, India

Udaipur, India

Delhi, India

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Raipur, CG, India

Holland

Holland

Dubai, UAE

Kathmandu, Nepal

Ardross, Australia

New Zealand

Suriname

Mauritius

Albany, GA, USA

Sacramento, CA, USA

Encino, CA, USA

New Delhi, India

Ghaziabad, UP, India

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Delhi, India

Raipur, CG, India

Belle Mead

Franklin Square, NY, USA

Dubai, UAE

Sepia Voorburg, Holland

Holland

New Zealand

Suriname

Barlov Maurel, Mauritius

1-510-770-1218

91-11-22547423

91-941-5011844

91-11-27860115

79-25265237

91-771-225-3696

31-320-236551

31-10-4857336

971-6-558-2344   

977-1-4483716

61-93136206

649 5270089

208-3890

1-229-883-1687

1-916-489-5916

1-818-981-9659

91-11-2510 0929

91-120-2717770

91-79-2274 0093

91-11-2616 8751

91-771-224-2555

1-908-431-9845

1-516-503-0871

971-506-242927

0031(0)620616792

shuklas@comcast.net

rddixit@rediffmail.com

mishrasangam@hotmail.com

Shashikant_tiwari@yahoo.com

tulsi47@hotmail.com

Pt.a.kalpnat@planet.nl

Vishnu_32@hotmail.com

tashi@emirates.net.ae

ramagya@hotmail.com

a.misra@bigpond.net.au

kampta@xtra.co.nz

pandeysn@yahoo.com

tpandey@sbcglobal.net

shrimishra@msn.com

acharyprabhakarmishra@yahoo.com

neerja19@hathway.com

shuklafamily@earthlink.net

jagarsharma@hotmail.com

hd.djwalapersad@mindef.nl

Name City, State Phone # E-mail

- 82 -

ORGANIZATIONS AFFILIATED WITH WORLD BRAHMAN

ORGANIZATION (WBO)

AUSTRALIA

Brahman Samaj of Australia (President: Shri Arvind Misra)

INDIA

Akhil Bhraratiy Brahman Mahasabha (President: Shri Mahesh Datt Sharma)

All India Kanyakubja Board (President: Shri Dharani Dhar Trivedi)

Brahman International (Achary Prbhakar Mishra)

Gujarat North Indian Brahman Samaj (President: Shri Shashikant Tiwari)

Chhattisgarh Brahman Samaj (President: Dr. Prakash Narayan Shukla)

Sarayuparin Brahman Sabha of Bhopal (under process, President: Shri Rajani Kant Shukla)

Shri Samast Brahman Samaj, Navi Mumbai (under process, President: Shri Vinod Trivedi)

Dharwad Hubli Bahman Ksemabhiwrudhi Sangh (Under process, President: Dr. Pralhad B. Sattur)

Kanyakubj Brahman Mahasabha of Madhya Pradesh, (Under process, President: Dr. Trivedi)

MALAYSIA

Brahmin Association of Malaysia (Under process, President: Dr. K.S. Kannan)

MAURITIUS

Shri Sanatan Dharmiya Brahman Mahasabha (President: Shri Damodar Toolsee)

Akhil Sanatan Dharmic Brahman Mandal (President: Shri Gopal Sharma)

NEPAL

Brahman Samaj of Nepal (President: Shri Ramagya Chaturbedi)

THE NETHERLANDS

Brahman Samaj of Holland (President: Pt. Anand Shukla Kalapnat)

Brahman Mahasabha of Holland (President: Pt. Vishnu Mahadew Panday)

NEW ZEALAND

Shree Sanatan Dharm Purohit Brahman Mahasabha of New Zealand (Inc). (Shri Kampta Prasad Maharaj,

President)

NORTH AMERICA (USA and CANADA)

Brahman Samaj of North America (President: Mr. Purushottam Sharma.)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Brahman Samaj of United Arab Emirates (President: Mr. Vijay Kumar Tripathi)

UNITED KINGDOM

Brahman Samaj of United Kingdom (Under process, President : Mr. R. N. Pathak)

- 83 -

- 84 -

Comprehensive Financial Planning Services without any

conflict of interest

Sharma Associates, Inc.Registered Investment Advisory Company at

124 Scarlet Drive, Conshohocken, PA 19428Phone: 610-828-8253, email:

hans@sharmah.com, Fax: 610-828-8253

Hans R. Sharma, the President, is a Certified Financial Planner,

Registered Investment Advisor, Institutional broker with Charles

Schwab & Co. Inc., specializes in Retirement Income Planning, Risk

Management, and also provides comprehensive financial planning

services without any conflict of interest. Increasing life expectancy, rising

health care costs, uncertain future of social security, employer pension plans

may not be guaranteed any more, makes it all the more necessary to manage

our physical & spiritual health as well as financial resources effectively. Good

health and certainty of income during retirement is very important for the peace of mind.I specialize in

retirement income planning and risk management strategies to make certain that you have income

during retirement.

Comprehensive Financial Planning Services Include:

1. Investment Planning and Portfolio Management on fee basis

2. Retirement Income Planning and Risk Management Strategies.

3. Long Term Care Insurance when we may not be able to care for our self

4. Saving and Planning for College education for kids and grandkids

5. Tax-Wise Estate Planning and Wealth Preservation Strategies

6. Life insurance for Estate Planning purpose

7. Income Tax Preparation and other tax related Services

Securities are offered through: Resource Horizons Group. L.L.C., Member NASD/SIPC/MSRB

1350 Church Street Ext. NE, Third Floor Marietta, GA 30060 Phone: 770-319-1970

Investment Advisory Services are offerd through: Sharma Associates, Inc.

- 85 -

Our Heartfelt Greetings to All the Delegates of

World Brahman Convention -2007

and Warmest Compliments to Our Friends World-wide.

Washington DC Metropolitan Chapter of

Brahman Samaj of North America

We Thank All for Making This Convention a Wonderful Event & a Grand Success

Thank You for Your Support, Grace and Dignity

Lata & Parmesh Dwivedi & Family, Maryland

Chandravati & Lalji Mishra & Family, Maryland

Durga & Ravindra Mishra & Family, Maryland

Nalin Shankar Mishra, Maryland

Vidya & Hemakant Mishra & Family, Maryland

Sheela, Satish, Savita, Kavita & Ankur Misra, Maryland

Pushpa, Madan, Anand, Leena & Bhavana Pathak, Maryland

Anshu, Arun, Arushi, Amisha Sharma, Maryland

Bhagyawati & Om Sharma & Family, Maryland

Purnima Sharma & Sarla Sharma & Family, Maryland

Suman & Ashok Sharma & family, Maryland

Sunita, Awdhesh, Manish, Monisha & Vikash Sharma, Maryland

Manisha, Suresh, Anmol Raj, Ishani Dei Tewari, Maryland

Mamta Tiwari & Family, Maryland

Hirdyanath & Rani Sharma Harnal, Virginia

Bhama & Arvind Pathak, Virginia

Suman Sharma & Ashutosh Vats & Family, Virginia

Vinita, Gopesh, Kavita & Giriraj Sharma, Virginia

Mohinder Tiwari & Family, Virginia

- 86 -

Notes

- 87 -

Notes

- 88 -