Kashmir Bhawan Calling

 

Dear respected members, 

Namaskar and Greetings!

Wish you a belated Happy Deepawali! My sincere hope is that all biradari (community) members would have celebrated the festival of lights, Diwali, with tradition and show. Let Lord Rama and Mata Maha Lakshmi continue to bless us all with good fortune and cheerful life.

Relief-related matters

As brought to your notice earlier, that after our President and Vice President met the Divisional Commissioner in connection with the relief and its enhancement, the revenue Secretary of Delhi was confused as to who has to bear the additional expenditure. It was after knowing this state of affairs that KSD approached the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and sought clarifications and directions in the matter. Then, a clear cut order was issued to the Govt of Delhi leading to the end of the said confusion.

The other issues of bifurcation, addition/deletion and other issues were also addressed by the intra- governmental orders sent to the Delhi Government  After this a special meeting was convened by the office of Divisional Commissioner, on the recommendation of Kashmiri Samiti Delhi, for a dialogue on the pending issues and problems faced by our community with almost all KP organisations in Delhi NCR Most issues, which have been raised over a period of time, were, again, placed point by point by KSD President before the Div. Comm. madam and she not only listened patiently but discussed them threadbare in the meeting.

Raina, Vice President, Sh. Maonoj Bindroo, Vice President and Sh. Sumeer Chrungoo, General Secretary. The other organisations were represented by their presidents or representatives, which are listed at the end of this post We express our sincere thanks to all of them for having taken time for the community work and cooperated with us in the meeting The Govt was represented by representatives from DCs of all districts, MCD, NDMC and other departments in addition to the Divisional commissioner and her headquarter team .

Coming to the substance of the meeting, the Government said it has agreed to the demand of a dedicated cell and a single window system on J&K migrant affairs. On the issue of bifurcation, addition and deletion, the officials said they have contacted the J&K Resident Commissioner to understand the policy and have requested him to brief on it KSD suggested that instead of the Resident Commissioner, they should seek the help of the Relief Commissioner, Jammu, and if there is a need for KSD in this regard, it will extend its full cooperation. So, the government is serious about framing a policy before implementing the MHA order.

KSD, also, made it very clear that till the time such a system is created, there shouldn't be any disruption in the disbursement of AMR. Further, the payment must be made monthly on a given day on regular basis. This was agreed by the officials.

On the question of enhancement, we told them to pay this from the date as set by the MHA with the next AMR and the officials informed us that they have raised the pending bills with the MHA and the expectation is that it will be paid soon.

The KSD was represented by its team of office We, also, raised the point of some relief cases bearers-Sh. Vijay Raina, President, Sh. Ramesh from the Kapashera counter being not paid owing to - some audit objections. The same was agreed to be looked into for releasing their AMR. Correction of names was also raised, which the Government said it is aware of and will be done under the emerging policy.

We, also, raised the issue of migrants whose relief got stopped for a long time with valid reasons. We had forwarded about 40 such cases. The Div Comm, asked us to resend the file for a sympathetic consideration. The issuance of migrant certificates, within a stipulated time frame, was also emphasised and agreed in principle.

KSD, also, raised the demand for compensation of 31 INA shopkeepers and the officials said they will look into it. We also raised the demand for construction soul of flats for migrants on the pattern of Jagli in Delhi. The officials said it is beyond their jurisdiction. On this we said that the state should recommend at least then, we'll take it up with the MHA.

Given the positive atmosphere of this special meeting, we remain hopeful that the Delhi Government will sincerely implement the things they agreed. We'll keep following up and keeping you informed. 

In Madan Lal Khurana passing away, our community lost a messiah

The whole Kashmiri Hindu community, living in Delhi and neighbouring areas, were saddened over the news of the death of Shri Madan Lal Khurana, a true, messiah of the community who helped it find its feet in Delhi when the community was uprooted from the Kashmir valley in early 1990s On behalf of the community, Kashmir Samiti Delhi extended its heartfelt and deepest condolences to the Khurana lifestyles family.

There are not enough words to express our gratitude to the Lion of Delhi Shn Madan Lal Khuma for what he has done for our people Having experienced the pains of a refugee himself, during partition, Shri Khurana fully sympathise with us and championed our human cause It was due to his efforts, along with Shri Kadjar Nath Sahni, that about 250 youth of our community were made contractual teachers in the Delhi Government. Another big contribution due to his efforts was allotment of vendor spaces (leh bazari) for a section of traders from our community who lost livelihood with displacement as a result of the exodus. Both these strategic contributions, in fact, remain the most notable state" interventions in our exile of the past 30 years Likewise, his period as the Chief Minister of Delhi (1993-96) was easily the best period when we were heard and consoled

His memory, as our messiah, will continue to be our greatest tribute to Sh Khuma for millennia. Shat Shat Naman! Let eternal peace be upon his noble soul.

Dedication Day

As you are aware Kashmiri Samiti Delhi celebrates "Dedication Day on 25 December every year So please mark your dianes and join us on the day. The event will be held at "Arya Samaj Mandir, Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar-IV, New Delhi-110024". We again request all bardari and life members of KSD to attend the programme along with their family members and friends. Let's together rededicate ourselves to the cause of the community Please note the function will be held from 10 am to 6 pm on Dec 25, 2018 (Tuesday)

Share and care

As the season has changed and the atmosphere, particularly in Delhi NCR, is polluted, I urge all of you to take care of yourselves, particularly the vulnerable children, elderly and the sick. Winter is here and let's make best of it with carefulness and informed lifestyles. 

To conclude, let me tell you that Koshur Samachar is your own platform, your voice. Share your news, event reports, achievements, information, etc with us. It will be our proud privilege to share your news within the community and beyond through this publication.

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are Sumeer Chrungoo personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy:- Sumeer Chrungoo and Koshur Samachar 2018, November

 

 

People who do not believe in idol worship conceive of an abstract formless God and  they worship Him as such They pray before nothing in a vacuum. They recite His name. They fear Him, love Him and seek from Him all that they need or desire. They have different ways of worshipping and praying as prescribed in the holy book of the religion to which they owe elegance and as ordained by the originator of that religion. often known as prophet. Some of them keep pictures and statues of their prophet with reverence in their homes and places of worship. Some are forbidden to do even that. They all believe God to be the creator and controller of the entire universe who is there to dispense justice, reward the virtuous and punish the sinner. He is believed to be separate from the visible universe, residing in the heavens above. His command, as brought to them by their prophets and as recorded in their holy books, is the gospel they believe in and are ordained to follow in letter and spirit.

In India, most of us, especially followers of the Sanatana Dharma cistern, however, believe in idol worship. Our religious canons and practices are not prescribed in one holy book nor by any one messenger of the God as such. Our religion is believed to be beginning-less and has evolved over so many millennia, from the hoary past when man appeared on this planet earth. Therefore, we have multiple doctrines, multiple philosophies, multiple viewpoints and multiple ways of prayer and worship. Contribution to this fund of knowledge has been made by seers and sages, thinkers and philosophers who perceived various canons of this faith and are, therefore, called Mantra drashta or seers of these canons. Our Vedas proclaim 'Ekam sat, viprah bahudha vadant-Truth is one and the knowledgeable describe it in multiple different ways The aim of all the different theories and philosophies is to know the truth. The truth is described either as self-realisation or as God realisation. To start with, there are two broad schools of thought. One is that which believes that God is formless and without any attributes, described by two Sanskrit words, Niraakara, Nirguna. The second group is those who worship God with a form of their choice and assign Him all the attributes. The first group worships God by meditation and contemplation through the paths of knowledge called Unana marga and Dhyana marga Naturally, they do not need any idol to worship. Their journey is an inward journey and they are asked to go from without to within to seek the truth. The second group, which gives God a form of their choice out of intense love for Him, are divided into three categories. The first category is of those who worship Him in the form of Shiva The second category is of those who worship Him as Vishnu. This category of worshippers believes in the incarnation of Vishnu in ten different forms, a fish, a tortoise, a boar, a creature hall man and half animal a dwarf, axe- wielding Parshurama Rama with bow and arrow Krishna with a flute, Buddha and Garg, the annihilator The third category believes that God has energy aspect called Shako. This is the same as the force attached to matter in scientific terms. They have visualised this energy as a female deity in various forms. These include Saraswat, the goddess of knowledge, Laxm the goddess of wealth. Kali the goddess of eternal time and Durga, the goddess of valour and vigour Worshippers of all these categories give a shape and form to their chosen deity. They keep a portrait or a statue or a picture or an idol in front of them and worship the same with devotion and reverence.

In ancient Indian scriptures four different paths of spiritual pursuit have been discussed and explained in detail. Two of these have been hinted at above. These are the paths of knowledge. Jnana marga and the path of contemplation/ meditation known as Dhyana marga. The third one is that of action and deeds called Kama marga A devotee treading on this path engages in his deeds and duties with dedication, determination and commitment. He believes that whatever he does is for and on behalf of the Lord and is an offering unto Him. He does not seek any fruit or reward for this. However, in case he does function with an eye on reward or fruit thereof he is bound to get prize and punishment both, depending upon whether he has done good or bad deeds. This group of people also has a picture of the Lord in their mind. They begin all their activities by taking the name of their chosen form at the start of the job in hand. This has given rise to group practices or regional traditions.

We find an enormous number of people worshipping Ganesha. Ganesha is conceived to be the son of Shiva and Parvati, born out of a desire of his mother. He is given the highest position and is propitiated in the beginning of every sacred act. Many devotees worship Hanuman, an important character in the story of Ramayana, He is held to be not only a true symbol of dedication but also in the forefront among the knowledgeable, haninsam agra gamyam: His worship is therefore held to be very useful. People worship Vishnu in various forms, prominently as Rama, Krishna and Narasimha There are other smaller sects who worship some sectarian debies, or Bhairavas, Kartikeya, the son of Shiva or a deity in any other form.

The fourth path is that of pure devotion called Bhakti marga. This is more common and popular too. Here a devotee treats his deity as a master husband or a friend and addresses him as such. In this path also, the devotee conceives his deity in a form of his choice, attributes some qualities to him and converses with him freely, intimately and at free will. He is sometimes annoyed with him. Sometimes he gets angry and sometimes he surrenders before him. He takes all sorts of berries with him and thereby shows how close he is to him. He sings in His praise, remembers and recounts his frolics and other activities. Singers and musicians often take this path. There is group recitation of the prayers and songs of praise. In addition, expert story tellers and narrators enthral thousands of listeners by reading and explaining to them Ramayana and Srimad Bhagavatam, containing. respectively, the stories of Shri Rama and Shri Krishna. These discourses are listened to with utmost attention and dedicated devotion.

Many people who are not well conversant with the Indian tradition and get baffled by all this are confused. Either they conclude that we, in India, believe in many Gods or feel that we are primitive in our beliefs. But when we ponder over this problem, we see the rationale behind all this so-called confusion. Basically, it is true that God has no form. People, who are reported to have seen Him, either are not able to describe Him or each one of them has a different picture of Him to present. So, should we conclude that those who do not believe in idol worship are right? Of course, they are right. But, those who believe in it are not wrong either. Their path of seeking the truth is different. In order to worship Him, remember Him or propitiate Him, they feel the need for something visible to concentrate upon. So, they conceive Him in a form of their choice and liking and then make an idol, a picture or a portrait of His in front of which they sit for hours on end to pray. Tulsidas worshipped Him as Shri Rama while Surdas worshipped Him as Shri Krishna; that, too, a small kid. There is a story that both of them were sitting at a place when two bulls started fighting. Surdas being blind was pulled towards a side by Tulsi but when he knew the reason he surged forward towards the bulls saying to Tulsi, "Your Rama is carrying a bow and arrow. He can save himself, but my Krishna is a boy. I must protect him lest he gets trampled. He saw God in the form of a small Krishna all the time. The Mogul governor of Kashmir Ali Marsan Khan saw Him in the form of Shiva and wrote a Persian poem describing Him in that form, 'Huma asle Maheshwar boot shab shahe ki man daedal- He was in reality Shiva only whom I saw during the night. So, the rationale behind this apparent confusion is that a devotee sees his sought-after deity in a form of his liking and then worships Him in that form.

DISCLAIMER: 

The views expressed in the Article above are Author’s personal views and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing."

Courtesy:- T.N. Dhar 'Kundan'    and  Koshur Samachar  2018, November