INTERNATIONAL
Royal Apology Demanded
India will never forget the massacre of 379 unarmed civilians at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919. That incident has remained one of the most notorious in the history of the British Empire, and provided powerful impetus to India’s freedom movement. So when the itinerary for the Queen’s trip to India honoring 50 years of independence was found to include Amritsar, many Indians demanded she apologize for the slaughter while there. Much political haggling has resulted, but there is considerable sympathy in England for a royal apology. Authoritative sources report one has been approved by the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Editorial opinion in the UK favors an apology. Present plans are for the Queen to lay a wreath at the site, but without making an apology then and there.
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Ackbar yoga movement is the creation of Trilo and Shiksha Gujadhur, two yoga therapists who teach a diploma course in yoga–the first in Mauritius. They promote the Ackbar Yoga Movement as “the most ancient science to manage modern disease,” in an effort to bring yoga to Mauritians of all races and faiths. They hope their students graduate into yoga’s mental and spiritual frontiers. The new six-month Diploma in Yoga course started in November. In 1994, the Gujadhurs organized an International Yoga Therapy Camp held in Mauritius. Trilo and Shiksha hope one day to see yoga therapy at all the island’s hotels.
KINDNESS
The Leather Alternative
What’s a tough guy vegan to do these days, anyway? Nobody wants to see someone wearing half a cow on his back in the form of the traditional black leather jacket. That’s got the same stigma as fur coats on rich ladies–a sign you’re a selfish person who cares nothing for animals or environment. Well, cry no more, big guy, just get a catalog from Aesop and buy yourself a “Classically-styled, English-made, leather-free Biker jacket” for a very reasonable us$150. The folks at Aesop want to bring you products that don’t sacrifice the rights of animals, but do protect the environment. Anyone who has ever tried to find nonleather shoes will be impressed with the wide selection–their main product, actually–from comfy sandals to office wear to durable work boots and hiking shoes. Other items include nonleather bags, purses, backpacks, wallets and your choice of the biker jacket (for the really tough) or an English-style bomber jacket (for the high-flying very cool).
AESOP, INC. P.O. BOX 315, NORTH CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02140 USA WEB: www.aesopinc.com
TRENDS
Free Scotland
Citizens of Scotland approved a referendum on September 11 to form a parliament of their own with powers of taxation and control over most domestic affairs. According to a report in the Deccan Herald (Bangalore), “The devolution will be in tune with the international trend of recognizing diversity to ultimately lighten burdens on heavily encumbered national centers while at the same time encouraging the growth with responsibility of units on the political periphery.” The paper editorializes, “As devolutionists rightly argue, measures which eventually lead to people’s empowerment strengthen rather than weaken national
USA
Religion in the Workplace
New Federal guidelines now allow employees of the US government considerable freedom of religious expression in their workplace. Under the rules announced August 14 by President Clinton, it is now permissible for a federal employee only–this does not apply to the private sector–to keep a Bible, Koran, Upanishads or other holy scripture on his desk. He may wear religious clothes, put up religious symbols in his work area and observe the holidays of his faith. It also allows proselytizing of fellow workers on the job, but only as long as the person being proselytized does not ask that it stop or demonstrate that it is unwelcome.bonds.” The Scottish situation might serve as model for solving the so-far intractable situation in Sri Lanka between Tamils and Singhalese.
ELEPHANTS
Help on Way
The Veterinarians and PhDs of the British Federation of Zoos thought they knew how to manage an elephant, but when Kamini, Chandrika and Raja arrived from north Bengal earlier this year, they had more than they could handle. The three pachyderms become accustomed to the day-and-night attentions of their mahout and grew distressed without it. The solution? The zoo imported ten mahouts, post haste, reports India Today, “to teach their more educated colleagues the wisdom of the ancients.”
Also in elephant news is a us$25-million bill introduced in the US Congress to protect the Asian elephant, particularly those in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, from extinction. The number of elephants in the wild may be only 35,000, existing in small fragmented herds of less than a hundred. The money will go to current conservation programs.
ENGLAND
First Curry
Anglo-Indian Edward Palmer deserves dhanavats (thank you’s) from UK Indian restaurant lovers, for founding Veeraswamy’s, the first such eatery of them all, in 1927. When the new owner sought to renovate the old place recently along the lines of Indian Vastu Shatra, she discovered that Palmer’s original floorplan, long since altered, already followed the ancient Vedic science.
THE VEDAS
GOD’S WORD, SAGES’ VOICES
Earth is upheld by Truth. Heaven is upheld by the sun. The solar regions are supported by eternal laws, rita. The elixir of divine love is supreme in heaven.
Rig Veda 10.85.1
Sunless and demonic, verily, are those worlds, and enveloped in blinding darkness, to which all those people who are enemies of their own souls go after death.
Shukla Yajur Veda, Isa Upanishad 3
Truly, God is One; there can be no second. He alone governs these worlds with His powers. He stands facing beings. He, the herdsman, after bringing forth all worlds, reabsorbs them at the end of time.
Krishna Yajur Veda, Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.2
With earnest effort hold the senses in check. Controlling the breath, regulate the vital activities. As a charioteer holds back his restive horses, so does a persevering aspirant restrain his mind.
Krishna Yajur Veda, Svetasvatara Upanishad 2.9
O learned people, may we with our ears listen to what is beneficial, may we see with our eyes what is beneficial. May we, engaged in your praises, enjoy with firm limbs and sound bodies a full term of life dedicated to God.
Rig Veda 1.89.8
After death, the soul goes to the next world bearing in mind the subtle impressions of its deeds, and after reaping their harvest returns again to this world of action. Thus, he who has desires continues subject to rebirth.
Shukla Yajur Veda, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.6
As oil in sesame seeds, as butter in cream, as water in river beds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the atman grasped in one’s own self when one searches for Him with truthfulness and austerity.
Krishna Yajur Veda, Svetasvatara Upanishad 1.1