Earth Day (Mother Bhumi) from India to US

Padma Kuppa (Seeking Shanti, Patheos.com) (TwilightRainbow)

Mother Bhumi: Hinduism and Creation

As we approach Earth Day, let's choose to be wise, to live in friendly collaboration with one another and Mother Earth.

Once or twice a year during Lent I'm in a church: I am fortunate to be invited to speak during the house of worship's Lenten Lecture Series about my faith journey as a Hindu. This Lent, I had an opportunity to share how Hindus value all of Creation.

The issue came up when I mentioned the many misconceptions about Hinduism: how people believe that Hindus are polytheistic or that we worship cows -- a question that comes up often because public school curricula provides this misrepresentation. Hindus have to answer collectively, as in the Hindu American Foundation's media toolkit, or individually, as in Gautham Pathial's 2007 essay in Hinduism Today.

When someone asked during the Q&A if we also worship snakes, I simply stated: "All of Creation is sacred."

Matthew McDermott quoted from the part of Hinduism's sacred scriptures known as the Upanishads. In the latest issue of Hinduism Today, his article on Hinduism and the Environment opens with three words in Sanskrit and its 11-word English translation: Ishavasyam idam sarvam: "This entire universe is to be looked upon as the Supreme" (Shukla Yajur Veda, Ishavasya Upanishad-1). More

Earth Day Los Angeles

Santa Monica changes Earth Day celebrations to June 24-26
San Fernando Valley celebrates Earth Day on May 22, 2011

Jainism lives on in India

Axis of Jainism

Kailash Vajpeyi (Times of India, April 11, 2011)

With the "Great-Hero Festival" (Mahavir Jayanti) around the corner, here are some salient thoughts about the man who founded Jainism, Vardhaman Mahashraman Mahavira (personal name Vardhaman, description Mahashraman "Great Wandering-Ascetic," title Mahavira "Great Hero").

Prince Vardhaman could recall each detail of his previous births. He was a blessed child. He soon left his family and dedicated his life to meditation [as a wandering ascetic and contemporary of the Buddha]. His philosophical principles are such that they can bring happiness and peace to anyone who assimilates their essence and follows them. His long years of penance [severe asceticism] were so hard that it is a miracle he survived them. And because of this, he came to be known as Maha-shraman (the Great Wandering Ascetic) Mahavira.

Evolution of a philosophy: He conquered sleep and hunger and had no need of spoken words. Twelve years later his communication flowered into spoken words. He observed for the first time that nothing was static [but was impermanent]. We are all forever on the move; we are nothing but flow and flux. Each child, however loved or cherished, will inevitably and surely perish one day. More