Support Deborah Schoenfeld and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation!

Namaste readers. The following blog post is going to be quite serious.

If the regulars to this blog know one thing about me, it's that one fundamental belief of mine is that any human should be allowed to become whoever they want to be, provided they don't hurt others on their path to doing so. I am a firm believer in freedom of association in that regard. It is this fundamental freedom belief of mine that has motivated me to become Hindu.

So when this freedom is denied to others, there is no surer way to boil my blood. This has happened recently with a US military service member, Deborah Schoenfeld, who was fired from a military dental clinic for being Hindu and practicing yoga.

Among the various forms of harassment she has faced:

• Being called a "witch"
• Accused of "summoning demons"
• Admonished that she was going to "lose her soul"

This makes me angry on so many levels, for reasons that should be obvious by now. The fact that other white people want to stop whites from "being less white" is racist beyond belief, which is obvious but needs to be said. I've sometimes faced resistance myself from other white people in my community for being a religion other than Christian, and I've faced that kind of hate in far greater quantity than from people of Indian origin thinking I could never be a Hindu.

Thankfully, there is an organization that is doing something about this, an organization dedicated to fighting religious bigotry in the military. They are called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and they are made up of both US military and civilian members that fight to make sure church and state remain separated.

And you can help them out. The most direct way you can help them out is by donating to their cause. I would encourage anyone who believes in personal freedom to help this cause and fight this grave injustice.

(Please note that I am not affiliated with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation - the statements I make here are not necessarily representative of their viewpoints. I just happen to agree with them.)

Time Keeps on Slipping

Namaste readers! Today I want all of you to ponder this question:

How long is a day to God(s)?

These days, here on Earth, we're obsessed with time. A few hours on the stock market can mean the difference between making a fortune or squandering one. So many professions make their living by setting deadlines. In online video games, the ping, or the time it takes for a signal to go from its source to its destination, can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Even in religion, time seems to be of the essence - think of all those end of the world prophecies espoused by the Abrahamic religions, for example the book of Revelations in the Bible.

While Hinduism has its share of those who believe the end is nigh etc. etc., its scriptures don't really paint the passage of time in such a negative light. One example of this is how in some scriptures and mythologies the passage of time is perceived differently by the Gods than by humanity. Shrimad Bhagavatam (please pardon me if I got the spelling wrong) for instance tells the story of a king and his daughter traveling to the abode of Brahma, the Creator, to meet him. After they meet Brahma, Brahma explains that in the short time they waited to see Brahma, 108 yugas, or cyclical ages of man, have passed on Earth, and indeed, when the king and his daughter return to Earth, they found it radically changed, with humanity seeming to be more "dwindled in stature, reduced in vigor, and enfeebled in intellect."

A yuga is a period of time that is part of a cycle - to my knowledge, four yugas make up a complete cycle, wherein the first cycle is the best period for dharma, and the following three yugas get worse and worse, the end yuga completing the cycle, culminating in a period of rebirth where dharma flourishes again. In this sense, while apocalyptic destruction is hinted at in Hinduism, it's never really truly seen as "the end."

I find this to be an important concept to me for many reasons. The cyclical, unending nature of time is a liberating concept to me...it really does make possible the concept of redemption, after a fashion. With time, perceptions of humanity change as well. I bring up those aforementioned points because of how guilty I felt in the past - of being a white male, a Westerner, someone who consumes like a modern-day Westerner, etc. - it reminds me that not only can I change...but people around me can change, too. I don't have to be saddled with this guilt forever, because things change, and they change in cycles.

The things I do here on Earth...well, they matter and they don't. If you think on the scale of this planet, yes, they matter, but if you think of a universal scale, they don't, and it's a way of keeping perspective in times of crisis.

In terms of time, though, ultimately it might not be time that matters...I remember emailing a blogger from Iraq during the war that was going on at the time (the year was 2004), about how guilty I was feeling at the time for being an American, etc. The response she sent me put the ultimate perspective of time in front of me, for what she said was this:

"In the Quran, the world is said to end when there are no good people left."

I find that to be very true, because, well, the fact we still exist is evidence that there are good people still left in this world. And I don't think time is going to eradicate goodness and virtue.

Bring Back Forgiveness

Namaste readers...this is a rant that's been brewing in my mind for a while now. I figured I'd finally put it to paper (or blog post, anyway).

You know what's truly dead in today's world?

Forgiveness. No one forgives anymore. If I've learned anything about modern humanity, it's that today's humans are spiteful, vengeful, petty, and unforgiving. No one gives or believes in second chances these days. If you want any evidence of this, take a look at both sides of the political spectrum where the de facto rallying cry is "never forgive." The hacktivist group Anonymous is a perfect example of this - part of their creed is "we do not forget, we do not forgive." Forgiveness is dead in every religion as well. It's rare these days to find a follower of any religion (Hinduism included) that truly forgives people.

The common excuse that's provided for why people never forgive these days is that it's supposedly an excuse for people to repeat their sins over and over. Forgiveness is seen as weakness - that you're supposedly granting the person you're forgiving a "free pass" to harm you again and again. This is the creed of terrorist groups of all stripes and colors everywhere, that to forgive is to let your enemy walk all over you. And this philosophy is seeping its way into the consciousness of the everyday human.

I don't have a solution for this. I have no idea how to get people to forgive again, nor do I have any idea how to get forgiven people to stop doing harm to others. But what I can say is this - forgiveness is not just about the so-called "enemy." It's about the forgiver. The forgiver is taking the moral high ground by forgiving. They are preserving their innocence by forgiving. The forgiver is investing in himself or herself to never become like the enemy they so despise.

I wish forgiveness would come back in today's world. I want to bring back forgiveness. Sadly, I have no idea how, except to be a forgiving person myself. And I have to admit I'm finding that a harder thing to do with each passing day.

I know Ganesha forgives...and it is my wish that I can channel His forgiving nature.

Animal Welfare/Meat Eating on National Dog Day

Namaste readers! On this day that's been declared National Dog Day for reasons I don't know, I decided to make a quick blog post on animal welfare and how best to promote it, at least here in the society I live in.

This may be old news, but it's still relevant to what I'm talking about here: over 400 million animals were spared last year in the United States due to people eating less meat.

Experts, at least like the one quoted in the above article, are attributing this to meat reduction campaigns, like Meatless Mondays. Of course, hardcore vegans are saying that meat reduction campaigns are not only not enough, but they may be contributing to the problem of eating meat because such campaigns still encourage meat eating.

I want to say to such people, can't you take success where you can find it? Yes, there may be more to do, but putting a negative spin even on progress such as this isn't helping anyone. If anything, in my opinion, poo-pooing an obvious success like this is only showing that you're unreasonable.

I know I shouldn't be one to talk on this topic because I still eat meat...but I wish people could recognize that I am cutting down. I try to avoid beef whenever possible (I don't always succeed, and for that I'm sorry). I cut down where I can, and will continue to do so. Will I be vegetarian or vegan one day? I can't predict the future on that. But I just want some acknowledgment that I am making a difference. And I think the above article is proof.

If meat reduction campaigns weren't successful, then wouldn't news like the above not occur? Wouldn't meat eating rates stay constant? Yes, there is more to do in order to promote a more compassionate humanity. But if you lose your compassion towards your fellow human because they happen to eat meat, what's the point?

I'm a Subraminion!

Some of you have probably seen this before, but I want to share it regardless:

I didn't make this image, obviously. But it still strikes me in a good way. I mean, it's yet another collision between Western pop culture (in this case the Despicable Me movies) and Hindu tradition (more specifically the South Indian deva/deity Subramanyam...I hope I spelled that right). I've seen several of my Indian friends share this on Facebook.

There are still sometimes I still wish I was born Indian (or any other skin color for that matter). But I've come to realize that if I'm unhappy with the skin color I was born into in the first place, odds are being born a different skin color wouldn't have changed anything for me. The self is the self, and while you can change yourself, you have to be the one to do it. So there's no point to lament the body or mind you were born with. Change won't come that way. Self-confidence is the key to changing yourself for the better.

It is through self-confidence that I know I'm a Minion of Ganesha by now. ;)

A Hidden Test of Strength

Namaste readers.

I'm typing this blog entry calmer than I was a few moments ago. Let's just say something...major happened. I don't want to disclose too much of what happened, but it was a home security issue and police were involved.

The reason why I'm writing about it now is because I managed to emerge through it all not only unscathed physically, but also unscathed emotionally. I was shaken up, for sure - what happened in my apartment would shake up any sane human being - but...I felt in control. In other words, I didn't get distraught, inconsolable, or even panic.

If this had happened even a few months back, this wouldn't be the case. But through faith in Shri Ganesha, and applying what I learned over the years from the Art of Living and a life coach that I've been seeing, I managed to calm myself and stay calm. I think I have concrete proof that Shri Ganesha is watching over me, because the potential for this ending far worse was almost limitless.

Maybe that's the reason why I feel so Zen right now after the fact. Something might have gotten stolen, or I could have been hurt, or worse. But none of those happened. Not only that, but I have proof that my own emotions can be mastered.

Obviously what happened wasn't anything good...but I feel good having gotten through it. It was a test, and I apparently passed.

Music Review: My Sleeping Karma - Moksha

Namaste readers! For those of you who have read some previous entries of my blog, you may know of some of my interests - some more obvious than others. One interest that should be blatantly obvious by now is my interest in Hinduism and its associated spirituality. Another interest that is less obvious is that of heavy metal and its subgenres in music. I've written on how I perceive the two areas of Hindu spirituality and heavy metal sometimes intersect in a couple of previous posts, both of them titled Heavy Metal/Hardcore Music as a Universal Language. (The other post is here.)

Now, I'm not trying to make heavy metal sound mystical, nor am I trying to make Hinduism somehow tied to heavy metal/hardcore music. What the point of those posts was is to demonstrate how it's possible to have a foot in both worlds without having to compromise one's own beliefs. And I've just encountered music by a band that apparently believes in the same thing: a band called My Sleeping Karma.

While I haven't done that much research into the band itself, I think I can safely assume that they have their foot on both sides of the divide as much as I do. After all, they openly claim influence from classical Eastern music, especially that of South Asia, and it shows right down to their album artwork, especially from their most recent album, Moksha:

The album art here clearly depicts the Hindu god Ganesha, albeit in a form that is obviously seen through the artistic eyes of the band. On the left side of the album cover, you can see Ganesha holding up the "horns" that have become a universal hand gesture among heavy metal enthusiasts. Interestingly enough, that hand gesture is similar, but not identical to, a mudra in Hinduism, that is, a hand gesture with spiritual significance. More specifically, it shares its resemblance to the apana mudra, as pictured below. Again, they are not the same, but I'm pointing out the similarity to prove my point.

So far, so good, so what? The ideas that My Sleeping Karma explore - that of using South Asian classical influences in their music and artwork - is nothing new. After all, Tool have been doing it for decades. But there's one key difference I think will shut down MSK's critics on this point - Tool haven't released an album for almost 9 years. MSK have certainly been more prolific than that, having released a total of five albums (including Moksha) in less of a time period than Tool have been around. Man cannot live on Tool alone, so MSK can fill the void.

How so? While MSK have inevitable similarities to Tool, there are some key differences that prevent them from being just another soundalike. For one, there are no lyrics. While the vocals of Maynard James Keenan certainly lend the music of Tool some of its uniqueness, the absence of lyrics from MSK's music can actually give the music itself more importance, and more focus. Also, MSK's exploration of the themes of Hindu spirituality are far more prominent than that of Tool. For instance, all the track titles on Moksha (save for the interludes) are titled with words from Sanskrit (for instance, the title track "Moksha" is Sanskrit for liberation, at least in the spiritual sense of liberation from the cycle of birth and death). MSK is also more consistent with their influence from South Asia, at least with the album Moksha, than Tool have been - where Tool's influences are scattered all over the place, borrowing (and sometimes appropriating) from any culture that has a perceived "mystical" element to it, MSK sticks more to this one influence, so in a sense it pays the traditional spirituality of South Asia more respect and gives a more grateful homage to it than Tool have done.

All this being said, the South Asian influence comes into play more on Moksha in the key notes and beat structures than actual instrumentation. There are only rare instances of actual South Asian instrumentation being used on the album, and they're confined mostly to the interludes between tracks. However, there's still enough sound experimentation on Moksha to give the listener an otherworldly impression, and it's got more substance to think about than many heavy metal songs with lyrics. Pretty much the only straightforward instrumental rock piece on Moksha is the closing track "Agni." All this comes across, once again, as paying homage to their influences rather than being so dependent on them that it would be seen as appropriation. One needs to toe a fine line as an artist when attempting to borrow influence from another culture that it doesn't seem like you're disrespecting it by overtly stealing from it, and that's a line MSK have seemingly mastered to balance upon like a tightrope.

I would highly recommend Moksha if you're a Tool fanatic who's about ready to do something stupid in the absence of new Tool music. MSK's music can not only fill the void, but also give you new sonic elements to ponder and be stimulated by. Moksha adds to the proof that heavy music doesn't have to be simple and/or stupid to be enjoyable. My Sleeping Karma are most certainly not the first pioneers into this intelligent territory. But they're pioneers worth your time and attention.