I'm Getting Around

Namaste readers! Just a quick update to show that I'm not dead. Far from it. :) In fact, this post is mainly to point you to an article I got published on an Art of Living affiliated blog recently. Check it out here:

http://yensures.com/2015/12/26/thoughts-of-prevention-are-actions-of-cure/

Hope you enjoy my work, and please let me know what you think!

Full of Sound and Fury, and Little Else (UPDATED: Action I've Taken)

Namaste readers. I'm probably guilty of preaching to the converted here, but in the off chance someone from outside my usual reader list sees this, I have something to say about the recent shooting in San Bernardino, California. It's wrong, obviously, but what I have to say needs to be said in light of it.

To those people who insist on making snarky, spiteful comments on social media, be it that Facebook, that stupid bird Twitter, or elsewhere, towards anyone when tragedy strikes like that in San Bernardino, CA, I have one thing to say to you.

YOU'RE NOT HELPING. Seriously. If you know one person who's been changed by your vitriol on social media, tell me now and I'll take down this post.

What we really need to do is stop making comments on social media about events like this (I know, I'm guilty of it myself, but there's a point I'm trying to make) and actually DO something about them. Unless you're famous, the only people listening to such comments are friends who agree with you anyway. So what good will it do? Stop preaching to just the converted and lead by example.

If you want something done about this, do something yourself. Attend a rally. Donate to an organization. Write to your representatives. Do something besides complain. By complaining on social media all you're doing is spreading the grief, sadness, and sometimes hate around. You might as well be one of the people using the pray-for hashtag.

I challenge everyone who reads this post to do something concrete about this problem. I'll post what I do myself on this blog. I'm not directing this to anyone personally. I'm just sick of seeing empty threats on social media making things even more toxic than they already are.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

I promised that I would post what action I take against mass shootings like those in San Bernardino, and I'm posting what I just did.

I contacted the NRA directly, via their "Contact Us" webpage (which can be found at https://www.nraila.org/contact-nra-ila/) and I said in no small words that they need to allow gun control if they are to be taken seriously as an organization. My words are below:

"Hello NRA,

My name is Phillip Miner and I am a concerned citizen from Rochester, NY. And yes, while I may be writing in direct response to the most recent San Bernardino shooting in California, I'm not writing to say guns should be completely banned. What I am writing to you about is your seeming contradictory policies about supposedly preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands, and yet opposing any legislation that would do so.

There are common sense gun laws that should be enacted which would be in accordance with what you already preach to some extent about gun safety. I'm sure you're in agreement when I say that not everyone should have a gun - in particular those who intend on using them against actual people (convicted felons or those with mental health issues for example).

There are people who would endorse such common sense gun legislation without wanting to ban all guns. One such article that takes such a viewpoint is from the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/3fd8cb80-735f-11e5-9cbb-79…). In that article, there are three proposals that would do precisely what you say about keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people:

• National Permit to Purchase, including a background check.
• Denying firearms to those likely to commit crimes with them, such as those convicted of domestic violence or other crimes which could escalate with firearms.
• Making guns safer by implementing devices that would only allow them to be fired by the authorized user.

And yet, the NRA seems to take a stance to oppose all gun legislation, even those that stop way short of total gun confiscation. This seems contradictory to those goals the NRA supposedly preaches about.

And I've seen some of your messages about gun safety. I remember one famous infomercial by your organization that says, quite clearly to children watching it, "if you see a gun, don't touch it. Tell an adult."

If the NRA really has any concern about keeping guns out of the hands of the wrong people, then shouldn't it practice what it preaches and at least not block such common-sense gun legislation?

Think about this next time you gear up to take political action. Accepting some common-sense gun control legislation would do more to help your organization than just sticking to utter denial. Some people cannot be allowed to own a gun - if you truly believe that, put your money where your mouth is."

A Little Recommendation

Namaste readers! I know I haven't posted in a while and I do apologize about that. I don't know if the previous issue I posted about has come to any conclusion or not, and ergo I also apologize for the lack of updates about it. That being said, I want to talk about something happier for a change. :)

Those who read this blog know of my love for one particular divine figure in Hinduism - Shri Ganesha. He is the One who helps me get through everyday life, and I would be much worse off without Him. I've come to understand Ganesha through years of real world experience - that is, through my real life, of going to temples, interacting with His devotees (online and off), and studying everything related to Ganesha.

This experience I've gotten turned out to be the best for me. But to know Shri Ganesha better, there are many methods, and I want to tell you about one particular method I've found that I think can be useful for those who want to move closer to Ganesha - The Ganesha Experience.

To clarify - The Ganesha Experience has free information on Ganesha right on the front page. To my knowledge it is accurate, and there are ways it mentions to apply the wisdom in teachings about Ganesha to everyday life. The site also offers in-depth video courses that teach all about Shri Ganesha, and the philosophy, wisdom, and mythology associated with Him. These courses do cost money, but they might benefit those who really need knowledge of Ganesha presented in a structured educational format, as opposed to finding it all out on one's own (especially with all the misinformation on the internet).

Learning about Ganesha through this site and/or its courses is not going to automatically solve all your problems. But it can help you deal with them in a better, more uplifting way. At any rate, it does have free information on Ganesha, so going to the above link won't cost you anything, and you might learn something.

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?