KAUAI, HAWAII, October 7, 2024 (HPI): Hinduism Today just announced its annual appeal for funds: https://newsletters.himalayanacademy.com/q8i6l2r1y0/2580564732222118135/q6j7/
Hinduism Today publisher Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami was recently asked this question in an email interview: “Hinduism Today magazine has become a significant voice for the global Hindu community under your guidance. How do you see the role of media and publications in preserving and promoting Hinduism in the modern world?”
Here is his answer: “The information age, which began in the 1960s to 1970s, is now in full bloom. With the Internet and its 200 million active websites and almost a dozen major social media channels there is a plethora of information on all subjects, including Hinduism. Unfortunately, when it comes to Hinduism, the information is often not accurate. There is an abundance of innocent misinformation as well as some deliberate disinformation. With this in mind, a primary role of Hindu media and publications is to provide a source of authoritative and accurate information on the religion. We see our own publications as a trusted and authentic counterbalance to all the nonsense out there.
“A second point is that Hindu media can present material in such a way that it is perceived by the reader as relevant to the modern world and not as something that existed three thousand years ago and has no relevance at all to modern life. One way that our magazine, Hinduism Today, does that is by including opinion articles from teenagers and young adults who share how they apply Hinduism in daily life. Also, we tell the stories of all the Hindu ashrams and leaders, stories from all over the globe which are compiled in no other place we know of. This tells the world that Hinduism, representing fully one-sixth of humanity, is alive and well, culturally rich, artistically adept, musically gifted and spiritually unrivaled.
“Hindu media can also share the success of one organization’s or country’s educational or anti-conversion program to make other groups and countries aware of these efforts and thereby learn and improve their own programs. Hindu leaders can contribute articles that address contemporary issues, such as being spiritual but not religious (SBNR), the idea of secular humanism as an alternative to religion, the promotion of atheism in universities, the academic challenge that humanity no longer needs religion, and the relationship of yoga to its Hindu roots. Clearly, some Hindu concepts developed thousands of years ago need to be redefined for our modern life. For example, Hinduism Today has done this by including articles that modernize the concepts of the vanaprastha and sannyasa ashramas, and by taking the cultural gems of India out of the museum of the mind into the 21st century. “Media,” of course, means many things these days. The Hinduism Today team actively creates apps, YouTube videos, spiritual art, educational documentaries, children’s stories and more that are meant to amplify the global influence of the magazine.”
Directing donations to the current expenses fund will ensure that the finances of Hinduism Today are strengthened, funds are available to generously distribute free copies, and ample income is available to meet higher production expenses caused by inflation. This will enable Hinduism Today to continue to dynamically fulfill its mission of uplifting Hinduism, Hindus and like-minded souls everywhere.As we have mentioned in recent yearly newsletters, to help with higher expenses and lower subscription income, we are asking our Hinduism Today donors to direct their yearly, monthly or occasional gifts to Hinduism Today’s current expenses fund at:
Donate today: https://donate.himalayanacademy.com/ht.php