Why do we suffer?

Dear friends,

Read the below and understand the reasons for our sufferings in our lives. The article has been narrated by a devotee of Shirdi Sai. Shirdi Sai is considered a divine incarnation by many Hindus.

Dear Shirdi SaiBaba , please enlighten each person who reads this article and make their life better

Let shirdi sai look for needs and wants of devotees who read this article , give them wisdom , help them take a good decision and change their fate by complete surrender to sai.

Many of us think why we suffer though we have not committed any sin.I am not a philosopher.I want to write this article for giving strength to people who feel that God they trusted has led them down.Which ever religion you belong to, God is one and his presence can be felt only through deep faith, even during the testing times.So lets see what are the possibilities why God is still making us wait for his blessings .

1.Planetary position :

Whats a kundli or birth chart.Its just the position of planets calculated based on time and place of birth.Why some birth chart remains favourable to live a happy life and others signifies many sufferings in life.Blaming the planets for sufferings in our life is like blaming weatherman for reporting unfavourable weather.

A person who has done lots of sins is born when the planets are in unfavourable position and the one who has done more good deeds than the sins he had done in previous births is born when the planets are positioned in a much better way compared to other one.

Lets remember , even baba had pains in hands, when baba let his hand inside fire to save a child, he surely had pains...he knows all astama siddi , why dint baba cure himself in 2 seconds ?

Rama is a avatar of God itself. why was he sent to forest and suffer for 14 years ?
Reason is even if God comes to this planet taking birth as any life or form , he will be subject to planetary situations.

Who are these planets :

The strange thing happening in modern times is during Saturn transit every 2 and half years ( sani peyarchi ), people will run to temple and do special pooja and have some fear on Lord Sani. But what Lord Sani and any planets are actually doing and whats the effect of praying God and involving in good activities ..its like this

Planets are people who work for God :

A man commits a murder.He kills someone and caught by police, he is taken to court by few constables ,the driver drives the vehicle to court, the lawyer speaks on behalf and against the man. So some way the man must be punished.But who takes the decision ? Its the judge right.

so the planets are doing their work only based on our past karma . They are just staff members for one chief , the judge who decides the fate of man to give punishments or not or reduce punishment. The planets are staff members in Gods court and God is the judge.

Even if we had actually done sins , God has the power to stop our punishments if we prove him that we are not selfish and we care for others by involving in a good act. This is the power of dharma. Dharma is not just giving food and cloth to poor, it starts from our thoughts , attitudes and how we treat others.

2.Maya : The Power of illusion

Dimensions of Maya : - Desire , Lust , Relationship proved untrue, Being greedy, Trusting friends and Business associates too much, Any act that gains self pleasure and in the end self destruction or harms others who are innocent.

Maya is the major cause of pains in life for which we our-self will be a reason.Its a intense desire or need in us which will close our knowledge to make us act just for sensory pleasures and achievements.The results will give happiness and satisfaction but gradually it will start to cause harmful effects.

Consider an illusion of a rope being confused as a snake in the darkness. Just as this illusion gets destroyed when true knowledge of the rope is perceived, similarly, Maya gets destroyed for a person when he perceives Brahman with the transcendental knowledge. These days people take life so easily that they don't really analyze and think twice before they take an important decision in life.

Some of such common pains caused by Maya are

1.Falling in love with someone by his/her or looks, words and actions . Finally you get pain when he or she leaves you for a silly reason.This creates a wound in your heart but a lesson well learnt .So though Maya cant be called as illusion because the sensory pleasures ( feeling of love also includes sensory pleasures ) you enjoyed are true , it does provide only temporary pleasures .

Same applies for marriage issues in your life.Many women and men suffer a lot due to misunderstanding and miscalculation of ones character.

For example, a girl would have married a handicap guy thinking that she is doing good to him. She would have taken the decision so fast and got married but finally realize that the handicap man is also handicap at heart and torture her all life...so even if your intention is to do good and serve others please think 1000 times, ask God for advice, ask your mother or any pure close friend for advice and then decide.

Not all help can do good to you, Sometimes people misuse your kindness :

I have a friend who helped his close friend financially and now suffering to core because the person who got money as help is not returning back. It's my responsibility to say difference between giving something to your friend as a debt and giving something as a charity.Most of us have good heart and give away any valuable goods or money to a friend who is in need and pleads for our help as a debt. Make sure you only give money which you can afford to loose.

I am not against helping friends the moment they need it so much.Its also my responsibility to say, make sure you wont suffer if that friends mind changes once he got money and never care about returning back to you.

This is also a maya where your judgment about your friend has been wrong.This happens to many these days in various ways.Always pray baba that all friends whom you meet be good ones and if there is any one who might be bad, baba must give you a hint through small incidents before the big disappointment shows up.

Some of such common pains caused by Maya are

1.Falling in love with someone by his/her or looks, words and actions . Finally you get pain when he or she leaves you for a silly reason.This creates a wound in your heart but a lesson well learnt .So though Maya cant be called as illusion because the sensory pleasures ( feeling of love also includes sensory pleasures ) you enjoyed are true , it does provide only temporary pleasures .Same applies for marriage issues in your life. Many women and men suffer a lot due to improper understanding and miscalculation of ones character.

For example, a Girl would have married a handicap guy thinking she is doing good.She would have taken the decision so fast and got married but finally realize that the handicap man is also handicap at heart and torture her all life...so even if your intention is to do good and serve others please think 1000 times, ask baba for advice, ask your mother or any pure close friend for advice and then decide.

Not all help can do good to you, Sometimes people misuse your kindness :

I have a friend who helped his close friend financially and now suffering to core because the person who got money as help is not returning back. Its my responsibility to say difference between giving something to your friend as a debt and giving something as a charity.Most of us have good heart and give away any valuable goods or money to a friend who is in need and pleads for our help as a debt. Make sure you only give money which you can afford to loose.

I am not against helping friends the moment they need it so much.Its also my responsibility to say, make sure you wont suffer if that friends mind changes once he got money and never care about returning back to you.

This is also a maya where your judgment about your friend has been wrong.This happens to many these days in various ways.Always pray baba that all friends whom you meet be good ones and if there is any one who might be bad, baba must give you a hint through small incidents before the big disappointment shows up.

You wont listen to good advice when your time is bad which means you are easily caught in to Maya :

Maya also helps one realise the difference between false and truth. A mother can only warn a child not to keep finger inside the fire.If the child keeps it, only then it understands his mothers care. So when a person is into maya , their mind will only be desiring sensory pleasures and they wont listen to others who are righteous and advice them to be careful.Maya is a cloud that hides a bright day light of true happiness.

3. Use your common sense :

what I mean by common sense ? Lets say a girl is in love with a guy, he left her and goes to another girl and this girl is in pain.There are few girls who will blame baba for making her be in contact with such a guy.

she wont understand by doing this, baba is giving her wisdom, a learning experience that she must not trust all guys easily and who knows the same guy will realize his bad behavior and come back to her.

Other examples are like,

* Resigning a job and taking up new one which you might not like after few days.

* Taking decision to breakup a relationship or divorcing quickly in a emotional outburst and finally realizing you had committed a mistake.

* Doing something as you wish and in the end blaming others when you fail in your work.

Dont fall for external appearance :- Analyse deeply, Ask for advice,Close your eyes and PRAY GOD to guide you and then take any decision :

These days people go on with life so easily. If you look at a road from distance it will be a good road to walk but only when you walk, you will find thorns and holes in it. Who took the decision to walk, its you.

So, please, in this cruel world always think 1000 times when you take decisions about relationship , business and any issues. Ask sincerely for guidance , ask people whom you can trust, ask your mother sister or any friend whom you think is good a soul , then do it. Never do anything without analyzing properly.

Prayers , Spiritual path like meditation and Reading good books :

Thats why in Hinduism , we have used ways in our rituals and prayers to focus all senses of humans towards God. When you think about God and go to temple regularly or sincerely do prayers at your home or keep remembering god deep in your heart , then your basic thought and attitudes will be good and gradually your life will be satisfactory.

Choose simple ways to make your life and others life better :

Involve yourself in good activities , light lamps , have a good thought and feeling, be brave and remember you don't need money to help others, If you are strong, you can physically help few people. If someone is in worst pain in his or her life and needs affection , you can use your words to express your kindness to few in pain. This is also a Dharma.

And finally, your trust upon God will bring you the reward more than you imagine, for sure...!!!

http://www.starsai.com/reasons-for-suffering-in-life.html

What does Hinduism say about abortion?

Abortion is prohibited in the scriptures, as all life is sacred from conception. Social pressures often cause the mother to abort the child because of poverty or because the child is a girl. This kind of abortion is illegal in India but not well-enforced. Ultrasounds are only used in extreme medical cases, and the sex of the baby is not revealed in India. Below is more information on abortion.

Abortion: The deliberate termination of pregnancy. From the earliest times, Hindu tradition and scriptures condemn the practice, except when the mother's life is in danger. It is considered an act against rita and ahimsa. Hindu mysticism teaches that the fetus is a living, conscious person, needing and deserving protection (a Rig Vedic hymn [7.36.9, RvP, 2469] begs for protection of fetuses). The Kaushitaki Upanishad (3.1 UpR, 774) describes abortion as equivalent to killing one's parents. The Atharva Veda (6.113.2 HE, 43) lists the fetus slayer, brunaghni, among the greatest of sinners (6.113.2). The Gautama Dharma Shastra (3.3.9 HD, 214) considers such participants to have lost caste. The Sushruta Samhita, a medical treatise (ca 100), stipulates what is to be done in case of serious problems during delivery (Chikitsasthana Chapter, Mudhagarbha), describing first the various steps to be taken to attempt to save both mother and child. "If the fetus is alive, one should attempt to remove it from the womb of the mother alive..." (sutra 5). If it is dead, it may be removed. In case the fetus is alive but cannot be safely delivered, surgical removal is forbidden for "one would harm both mother and offspring. In an irredeemable situation, it is best to cause the miscarriage of the fetus, for no means must be neglected which can prevent the loss of the mother" (sutras 10-11). --From "Dancing With Siva"

http://www.angelfire.com/az/ambersukumaran/medicine.html

Hindus and their way of treating other faiths

Mostly the Hindus show deep respect for Christians, Muslims or any other religions, as they do for all people. There is a very traditional Indian greeting, "Namaste" that means, I honor the divine truth within you. For Hindus, God is everywhere and within the heart of everyone.

Having said that, we do see in India and elsewhere that some Hindus are very anti-Christian (and anti-Muslim). They disrespect them and in some cases even outlaw their religion. One sometimes hears Christians lament their lack of religious freedom in India and other countries. The reason this is true needs to be understood however.

By contrast, we Americans are very rich people. We make in a week what many Indians do not make in a month, even in a year! Many Christian Missionary societies have gone to India and used their wealth to convert Hindus, Sikhs and others. They say, if you will become Christian your children can attend this school, eat this food, wear these clothes, be seen by this doctor, etc. As a result, some Hindus convert for material gain.

In China there is a group of Christians known as the Rice Christians because, during a hard time, Christian missionaries brought in bags of rice. They told the people, accept Christianity, reject Buddhism and you can eat, refuse and you can starve to death! This is the way many devout Hindus view Christianity. If they were truly godly people they would just provide the food and allow the Hindus to prepare it according to Hindu religious law. No, they believe, Christians do not care about us at all! They just want to convert us to way of living.

From the Christian perspective everyone needs to accept Jesus. That's the most important thing and if bribery works, so be it. From a Hindu perspective, conversion to Christianity (or Islam) destroys Indian culture and could even lead to widespread starvation if people adopted a carnivorous diet which many of the Missionaries in India demand as evidence that one has truly converted.

Such Hindus understandably see Christianity as a foreign force intent on destroying their religion and cultures. When they look at the West they further see that Christians, generally speaking, are no where near as devout in their religion as Hindus are in theirs. Conversion would therefore be a step back, they reason. Some Hindus tend to be a bit harsh on their perceived enemies. This is true. When viewed from a Hindu perspective however, this is quite logical.

One of the oldest branches of Christianity is that begun by Saint (Doubting) Thomas. This mission continues in India and is widely respected by the Hindus because it respects Hinduism. The Protestant and Catholic missionaries however come to India with ulterior motives.

The essential Hindu belief is expressed in the Rig Veda, "Truth is one, the sages call it by different names." Live and let live. However Christianity and Islam are missionary religions and many Hindus feel they must fight for their faith from these two very real threats. Islam has divided Pakistan from India and caused untold damage to the Indian way of life. Christianity attacks the very heart of Hinduism in the same way as Islam. Hindus want their religions and do not welcome those who attack them.

When you enter a Hindu temple you remove your shoes (as in the "Old Testament" to show respect that you are entering a holy place. God commanded this of Moses as he climbed the Mount). On a far wall you will usually see statutes (murtis) that represent God in various forms.

There will be no chairs. Worshipers will bow to the murtis, often dropping prostrate to the floor, while reciting prayers. A conch (horn) will sound, incense will fill the air. The people will sing songs of worship (usually in Sanskrit and other Indian languages), many will play various instruments, drums, cymbols, harmoniums, vinas, etc, some will dance, raise their hands in the air in praise and honor of God according to methods that are thousands of years old.

In some mandirs, people will sit on the floor or ground around a large (or small) fire pit. As they recite mantras (prayers) they will toss rice and other grains into the fire.

There may also be professional/temple musicians as well as individual members playing and dancing. Hindu rites are typically beautiful to behold and everyone takes part in them.

Normally after the service there will be a splendid vegetarian feast. Like everything else in Hindu temples, the food is first offered as a sacrifice to God before it is given to the people. Such food is called prasadam, God's mercy.

As I say, Hinduism is VERY diverse and what you will experience will depend on the particular temple and branch of Hinduism you with. What is generally true, however, is that you will leave feeling wonderful.

Normally there will be no collections done. There will be a donation box kept near the alter or exits where people can give according to their will and wish. It is traditional to make some donation when visiting a temple as one is able.

As is said in the Bhagavad Gita:

"9:26: If one offers Me [God] a leaf, a flower, a fruit or some water with devotion I will accept it. I accept what is offered by one whose mind is pure.

9:27: Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer (in sacrifice), whatever you give away (in charity), whatever austerities you perform, O child of Kunti, do it all as an offering unto Me.

Many people bring uncooked food, bags of rice, coconuts, bags of apples etc. and place them on the bottom steps of the alter with a prayer. Money is always good too, of course

John of AllFaith
aka Jagannatha Prakasa

Benefits of Fasting

Nowadays, many educated people do not observe fasting on this sacred day. This is due to the impact of the dark, vicious, materialistic forces. When the intellect develops a little, people begin to enter into arguments and unnecessary discussions. Intellect is a hindrance on the spiritual path. They who have not developed the heart but who have developed their intellect begin to doubt and question at every step. They are led astray. They want a “why” and a “how” for everything. They want “scientific” explanations for all phenomena.

God is beyond proofs and presumptions. One has to approach religion and the scriptures with great faith, reverence and purity of heart. Then only are the secrets of religion revealed unto him like the apple in the palm of one’s hand. Does anybody ask his mother to prove who is his father?

Fasting controls passion. It checks the emotions. It controls the senses also. It is a great penance. It purifies the mind and the heart. It destroys a multitude of sins. Fasting controls the tongue in particular which is the deadliest enemy of man. Fasting overhauls the respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems. It destroys all the impurities of the body and all sorts of poisons. It eliminates uric acid deposits. Just as impure gold is rendered pure by melting it in the crucible again and again, so also this impure mind is rendered purer by repeated fasting.

Young and robust Brahmacharis (celibates) should observe fasting whenever passion troubles them. Only then will they have very good meditation, as the mind will be rendered calm. The chief object of fasting is to render the system calm so that one is able to practise meditation rigorously during that period.

Withdraw the senses and fix the mind on God. Pray to God to guide you and to throw a flood of light on your spiritual path. Say with feeling: “O God, guide me! Protect me, protect me! I am Thine, I am Thine! Forsake me not!” You will be blessed with purity, light and strength. Follow this Sadhana on the days that you fast, Ekadashi days in particular.

Fasting is one of the ten canons of Yoga. However, avoid excessive fasting. It will produce weakness. Use your common sense. If you cannot fast for the full twenty-four hours, at least fast for 10-12 hours and then take some milk and fruit. Gradually increase your fast to 15 hours and then up to 24 hours. Fasting makes a man strong, both spiritually and mentally.

In his code, the Manu Smriti, the great Hindu lawgiver, Manu, prescribes fasting for the removal of the five capital sins. Diseases that are pronounced incurable by doctors are cured by fasting. Occasionally, a complete fast is greatly desirable for all to keep up good health, to give adequate rest to the internal organs and maintain celibacy. All diseases have their origin in overeating and verily fasting is the only method to cure this.

Complete fasting helps to control sleep. Taking recourse to tea to control sleep is not desirable. You will not gain any spiritual strength if you depend on an external agent. During fasting avoid all company. Live alone. Utilise your time in Sadhana. When breaking a fast do not take a heavy meal or a heavy food that is hard to digest. Milk or some fruit juice is beneficial.

Moderation in eating and withdrawal of the senses in Yogic meditation are the obverse and the reverse of the same coin. Moderation consists in taking a little food or water just to keep the body in good working order.

In the Gita you will find: “Verily, Yoga is not for him who eats too much, nor who abstains to excess, nor who sleeps too much, nor to the excessively wakeful”.

The Yogi withdraws his senses from the particular sense objects. The senses are made to turn into or get involved into the mind. When one is fully established in these two practices, supreme control of the senses is achieved.

Once there was a demon, Mura, who oppressed the gods. The gods approached Lord Hari for protection. Hari sent Yoga Maya to kill the demon. Yoga Maya carried out the behests of the Lord successfully.

Then the Lord said to Yoga Maya, “Those who observe Ekadashi will be freed from all sins, and you will be called by the name Ekadashi.”

King Ambarisha was a great votary of Lord Hari. He practised the Ekadashi Vrata for a year. Ambarisha obtained His Grace. On one occasion he fasted for three consecutive days. He was about to break the fast when Rishi Durvasa appeared as his guest. The king received him with due respect and requested him to take his meals. The Rishi agreed and went to bathe in the river. The king waited patiently for a long time, but the Rishi did not return. Time was running out; if the king did not eat anything before the day ended his Vrata would not bear fruit. And if he ate, he would be showing disregard to the Rishi. As a compromise the king took a little water to serve both the conditions.

When Durvasa returned from his bath, he knew exactly what had happened, and was angry. He tore a hair from his tuft and charged it to kill Ambarisha. The king was unmoved. The discus of Lord Vishnu destroyed the power of the hair of Durvasa. It now followed the Rishi wherever he went and tried to destroy him.

Rishi Durvasa went to Brahma and Shiva for help, but to no avail. He went to Lord Hari who said to him, “I am dependent on My devotees. My heart is in the possession of My devotees. Go thou, therefore, to Ambarisha; beg his pardon and thou shalt be saved.”

Ambarisha thereupon prayed to the charged hair to desist from its course, and saved the Rishi. Durvasa thanked him from the bottom of his heart.

http://www.dlshq.org/download/hindufest.htm#_VPID_31

Hinduism by the Numbers

Three paths:	karmamarga - path of works and action jnanamarga - path of knowledge or philosophy bhaktimarga - path of devotion to God
Three debts:	debt to God debt to sages and saints debt to ancestors
Four stages of life:	brahmacharga - school years - grow and learn grhastha - marriage, family and career vanaprastha - turn attention to spiritual things sanrgasu - abandon world to seek spiritual things
Four purposes of life:	dharma - fulfill moral, social and religious duties artha - attain financial and worldy success kama - satisfy desires and drives in moderation moksha - attain freedom from reincarnation
Seven sacred cities:	Ayodhya Mathura Gaya (Bodhgaya) Kasi (Varanasi, Benares) Kanci Avantika (Ujjain) Dvaraka
Ten commitments:	1. Ahimsa - do no harm 2. Satya - do not lie 3. Asteya - do not steal 4. Brahmacharya - do not overindulge 5. Aparigraha - do not be greedy 6. Saucha - be clean 7. Santosha - be content 8. Tapas - be self-disciplined 9. Svadhyaya - study 10. Ishvara Pranidhana - surrender to God

Advantages of being a veggie

Here are some of the reasons that explain why being vegetarian is good for you , and environment and global warming can be reduced by going vegetarian.


1 Cruelty to Animals

More than 27 billion animals are killed for food every year in the U.S. alone. There are laws for pet animals like cats and dogs but no laws for other animals.


2. Your Health


Vegetarian foods provide us with all the nutrients that we need, minus the saturated fat, cholesterol, and contaminants that are found in meat, eggs, and dairy products. Plant-based diets protect us against heart disease, diabetes, obesity, strokes, and several types of cancer. Vegetarians also have stronger immune systems and, on average, live 10 years longer than meat-eaters do


3. The Environment

America’s meat addiction is poisoning and depleting our potable water, arable land, and clean air. More than half the water used in the United States goes to animal agriculture, and since farmed animals produce 130 times more excrement than the human population does, the run-off from their waste greatly pollutes our waterways

4. World Hunger

Raising animals for food is extremely inefficient—for every pound of food that they eat, only a fraction of the calories are returned in the form of edible flesh. If we stopped intensively breeding farmed animals and grew crops to feed humans instead, we would easily be able to feed every human on the planet with healthy and affordable vegetarian foods.

5. Amazing Animals

Farmed animals are no less intelligent or capable of feeling pain than are the dogs and cats we cherish as our companions. They are inquisitive, interesting individuals who value their lives, solve problems, experience fear and pain, and are capable of using tools. According to animal-behavior scientists, chickens begin learning from their mothers while they are still in their shells, pigs can play video games better than some primates can, and fish form social bonds and can remember things that they have learned for the human equivalent of 40 years.


6. More contaminated: Veggies and fruits are less contaminated then meat.

7. Less in fiber: Vegetarian diet is usually higher in fiber than an omnivore’s diet.

8. Weight Problem: Lots of fatty and greasy bits in meat that can higher your cholesterol and also make you put on weight

9. More Infections: Even after being baked in the lab at over 500 degrees Fahrenheit, diseased animal brain tissue remains infectious

10. Animal Proteins: There is a relationship between animal protein and heart disease. For example, plasma apolioprotein B is positively associated with animal-protein intake and inversely associated (lowered) with vegetable-protein intake (e.g., legumes and greens). Apolioprotein B levels correlate strongly with coronary heart disease. Unknown too many is that animal proteins have a significant effect on raising cholesterol levels as well, while plant protein lowers it.

11. Stomach cancer: A review of 15 studies showed the risk of developing stomach cancer rose by 15 to 38 percent if consumption of processed meats increased by 30 grams (1 ounce) per day, the Karolinska Institute said in a statement.

12. Processed meats: Researcher said that processed meats were often salted or smoked, or had nitrates added to them, in order to extend their shelf-life which could be connected to the increased risk of stomach cancer, the fourth most common type of cancer.

13. Blood cholesterol: Scientific studies provide evidence that much animal protein’s effect on blood cholesterol may be significant. This is one of the reasons those switching to a low fat-diet do no experience the cholesterol lowering they expect unless they also remove the low-fat animal products as well. Surprising to most people is that yes, even low-fat dairy and skinless white-meat chicken raise cholesterol. I see this regularly in my practice. Many individuals do not see the dramatic drop in cholesterol levels unless they go all the way by cutting all animal proteins from their diet.

14. Colon cancer -The consumption of chicken and fish is also linked to colon cancer. A large recent study examined the eating habits of 32,000 adults for six years and then watched the incidence of cancer for these subjects over the next six years. Those who avoided red meat but at white meat regularly had a more than 300 percent increase in colon cancer incidence. The same study showed that eating beans, peas, or lentils, at least twice a week was associated with a 50 percent lower risk than never eating these foods.

Anti Hindu Media in India

A majority of mainstream, and prominent newspapers and TV organizations are funded/owned/controlled by Christians and foreign missionaries with obvious consequences. They have been reporting and writing in a blatant partisan manner with scant regard for truth and justice for the majority community.]

NDTV is funded by Gospel of Charity organization of Spain. It supports Communists. Recently it has developed a soft corner towards Pakistan because General Musharraf, when he was the military ruler of Pakistan, had allowed only this channel to be aired in Pakistan.

The Indian CEO of this company Prannoy Roy is co-brother of Prakash Karat, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). This ‘secular' party is a big supporter of conversion and is always indulges in hate Hindu campaigns.

CPI ()M) and the other Left parties also support illegal migrants from Bangladesh to promote their vote-bank politics. They thereby, are working for a greater Bangladesh, and not for the integrity of a safe and secure India.

India Today magazine used to be the only objective national weekly that was sympathetic to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); it has now been bought by NDTV and since that its tone has changed drastically and it has turned to Hindu bashing.


The Times Group is owned by Bennett-Coleman and Company, first owned by the British and then by Indian industrialists Jain family. Now World Christian Council does 80% of its funding and an Englishman and an Italian equally share the other 20%.

The Italian, Roberto (or Rebertio) Mindo, with a 10% stake in The Times group is a close relative of Sonia Gandhi.

CNN-IBN is 100% funded by Southern Baptist Church with branches all over the world; its main office is in the US. This church annually allocates $800 millions for promoting its channel. The media company's Indian head is Rajdeep Sardesai and his wife is Sagarika Ghosh who is the Editorial chief.

Southern Bapist Church is the largest Baptist group in the world and the largest protestant denomination in the US. It's a very powerful organization with a very large group of influential patrons in the political and economic life of America. Conversion is in their core program, no wonder CNN-IBN supports Conversion in India and campaigns against restrictions on objectionable missionary activities in tribal and backward areas of the country.

Star News is run by an Australian, who is supported by St. Peters Pontifical Church, Melbourne. This channel is another conversion sympathizer and has tried to frame Bapu Aasharamji. Bapu has reconverted many Hindus in tribal areas.

The Hindu has been recently taken over by Joshua Society based in Berne, Switzerland. Can there be any bigger deception? They are doing anti-Hindu activities under the name "The Hindu." And of course, this paper has been toeing the China line for long.

Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle are owned by a Saudi Arabian company and its Chief Editor is MJ Akbar.

And remember, Saudi Arabia with its strict Islamic Wahhabism is a big supporter of terrorist families from where 15 of the 19 hijackers of aircraft in the horrendous act of terror originated. Saudi Arabia is also the citadel of Islam and believes in world supremacy of the religion with its Wahhabism. There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and woman's rights are severely restricted by its Sharia laws.

Saudi Arabia does not allow followers of other religion. With Pakistan and the UAE, Saudi Arabia was the first to recognize the radical Taliban rule in Afghanistan that had to be smashed by the American military ordered by President George W Bush during his first term. Strangely, India has close cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the promotion of Islamic education and culture in India.

By Amit Gupta

http://www.internationalopinion.com/id102.html