• The Course will end with lunch at 2.00 pm on 20.12.2009 (Sunday)
  

• Hindus from 15 years of age are welcome to participate.

• Malaysia Hindhudharma Mamandram has a track record of more than 25 years conducting religious courses. This course will be handled by renowned speakers and experienced lecturers. Main aspects covered include Hinduism (including history, religious texts, saints and sages, home pooja, temple worship, moral education, yoga), thinking and learning skills, motivation, moral education, discipline, forum, visit to cave temple,  discussion and presentations.

• Students will be required to take a pre-test before the start of the course and they will also be required to take a post-test at the end of the course.

• Organizing committee will provide participants with:
  • Accommodation
    
  • Food
  • Notes
  • Writing materials
  • Certificate of Participation
    
  • Report Card
• Participants are required to bring the following:
  • personal items
  • stationary/writing materials
  • proper attire
  • pillow and bed-sheet
  • other personal items
• Fees : RM50.00 per participant.
• Please visit http://www.mamandram.org for more details or contact:
  • Mr.R. Ganesh – 012-6736101
  • Mr.A.Radhakrishnan – 019-2648667
  • Mr.S.Ramesh – 019-3994735
    

Please pass this message to all those who maybe interested and could benefit.
Thank you and see you there.
God bless all.

Anbudan,
N.S.Rajendran
President
MHDM

The Blood Drive and Medical Camp is organized by the Klang branch of Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram and sponsored by GE Metal Engineering Works and TRS Metal Works. The Medical Camp is free to participate.

Blood samples can be given at Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram Klang Arul Nilayam’s Blood Drive and Free Medical Camp on Sunday, August 17, 2008. Anyone interested in participating in this study can contact MHDM for more information.

Senthilandavan Thunai !

Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram Penang Arulnilayam

Silver Jubilee Dinner of Penang Arulnilayam

Date: 16/8/2008 Saturday
Time: 7.30 pm
Vanue: Tanjung Bungah Hotel, Penang.

Guest of Honours
YB. Senator Tuan T.Murugiah (Deputy Minister in Prime Minister Department)
Associate Prof Dr.N.S.Rajendran (National President MHDM)

Special Guest
Sanga Ratna, Sangarathasar, Arutselvar ‘Dharma Bhooshanam’ Lt.Col (R) K.Sathaya
(The Founder President of Mamandram, Nyanasiriyar of Mamandram)

VIP Guest
‘Dharma Singamani’ Sri K.Sonamuthu (The Founder Chairman of Penang Arulnilayam)
Y.Bhg Dato’ Dr.Loga Bala Mohan (Advisor Penang Arulnilayam)
Y.Bhg Dato’ K.Thangavelu (Advisor Penang Arulnilayam)
Y.Bhg Dato’ P.K.Subbayah
Y.Bhg Dato’ Puspanathan
Y.Bhg Dato’ M.Varatharaju

For invitation Cards and details contact
‘Dharma Mamani’ Sri.V.Nandakumar (Chairman ) 012-4937867
‘Dharma Mamani’ Oduvar Sri.K.Sivasamy (Secretary) 016-4814280

Thanks and Best Regards.

In Mamandram Service,

N.S.Thanabalan @ Balan
Asst Secretary
Penang Arulnilayam.
balan5531@hotmail.com

Meeting scholars: Abdullah shaking hands with Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris Associate Professor N.S. Rajendran as Indian Council for Gandhian Studies New Delhi chairman Prof N. Radhakrishnan looks on in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

from The Star
PM: Combat ignorance and the perversion of religion

KUALA LUMPUR: Many individuals and groups have abused the name of God and religion to justify violence and terrorism, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

“Such extremism has been observed many times in the course of history and is certainly not new to our modern age. In each instance, the virtuous teachings of religion were twisted and manipulated to serve an unholy agenda.

“Hatred and bigotry are propagated on behalf of one’s religion for the sake of political gain or personal profit.”

He said those who advocate extremist tendencies often had a very shallow understanding of the philosophies and worldviews embodied in their respective religions.

“They take verses out of context, without any understanding of the larger historical setting which underlie such verses.

“This distorted perspective of religion becomes a convenient tool for the pursuit of power and selfish interest, he said, adding that thinkers and researchers must be prepared to play their part in broadening the public understanding of religion and its role in promoting justice.

“We always face the same issues and always feel disappointed. We hope for peace but war erupts. We hope for justice but violence occurs.

“We should not admit defeat in the jihad to free the world of war and violence. Don’t give up on fighting those who cause war and violence. It should be our lifelong struggle,” he added.

The Prime Minister, who outlined a strategy to combat such occurrence, said religious scholars and intellectuals in the country must be encouraged to engage with the wider public.

“Scholars and intellectuals should not lock themselves away in their ivory towers,” he said in his opening address at the international conference on religion in the quest for global justice and peace at Renaissance Hotel here yesterday.

“Instead, they should be prepared to educate the public on the great issues that face us all,” said Abdullah, adding that the religious curricula in schools and universities should be scrutinised.

“Our religious education should convince us that the dignity and integrity of all human beings is worthy of our respect. Religion should inculcate a truly universal and inclusive outlook, not mentality that is narrow, exclusive and parochial.”

He said the role of the media in promoting a universal and inclusive dimension of religion that focused on justice and peace should be intensified.

He added journalists and media practitioners should broaden their understanding of religion to play a more effective role in advancing the universal values of justice, peace and compassion.

Positive religious values in the governance of institutions from the Government to the basic family unit must be implemented, he said.

The Centre for Policy Research and International Studies (CenPRIS), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is organizing an international conference on the theme Religion in the Quest for Global Justice and Peace from 23 – 26 July 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.

Objectives
The main objectives of the Conference are:

• To develop a deeper understanding of the principles of justice and peace in the different religions.
• To analyze the internal and external forces that impede a religion’s quest for justice and peace and how these obstacles can be overcome.
• To provide concrete instances of religious groups working towards global justice and peace especially through non-violent means.
• To explore the possibility of evolving a shared universal spiritual and moral vision of global justice and peace.
• To formulate an action plan which will attempt to translate that vision into reality through concrete programs that will bring together different religious groups in their common quest for global justice and peace.

Participants
About 200 participants from different religious backgrounds are expected to attend the Conference. Young people are encouraged to participate.

Speakers and Panellists
Renowned scholars and activists from Malaysia and around the world are among the Speakers and Panellists.

The oldest paintings of Lord Krishna date from the late Kushan–Gupta period in the 3rd to 4th centuries AD and portray him as a young, martial warrior-king, as well as the slayer of demons. Lord Krishna came to be identified in the Hindu faith as the destroyer of evil in the world and loving protector of the Hindu people. By the 7th century AD, Krishna had become the focus of a newly emerging Hindu devotional, or bhakti, movement in which salvation was achieved through personal identification with the personal deity. It is his essential personal nature that allowed such a close identification by Hindu devotees.

from www.metmuseum.org
Hindu God Krishna Celebrated in New Installation at Metropolitan Museum

A new installation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Krishna: Mythology and Worship – celebrates the Hindu god Krishna, perhaps the most popular of all the appearances (avatars) of the Indian Hindu deity Vishnu. The installation of 23 painting, textiles, and sculptures from the Museum’s collection will be on view in the Museum’s Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for the Arts of South and Southeast Asia through July 28, 2008. Most of the paintings on display are manuscript pages produced in Rajasthan and the Punjab Hills, illustrating popular events from Krishna’s life. The textiles were employed to enhance shrines devoted to Krishna.

The earliest depictions of Krishna date from the late Kushan–Gupta period (circa third to fourth century) and show him as a youthful, martial warrior-king, the slayer of demons. Krishna came to be identified as the supreme destroyer of tyranny in the world and protector of the people. Already by the seventh century, Krishna had become the focus of newly emerging devotional cultures (bhakti), in which salvation was reached through personal identification with the deity. It is his essential human nature that allowed such a close identification by devotees. The life of Krishna is widely represented in Hindu art, from the infant and mischievous child to divine love r and staunch protector of the good. Each guise allowed devotees a different path to bond with their god.

Narrative painters explored most fully the worshippers’ love for their god in the context of Krishna’s amorous relationship with his favorite consort, Radha. Often the couple is depicted expressing the fullness of their passion in a secluded wooded glad, typically with flowers in bloom, as seen in several versions from Rajasthan and Malwa. Another popular scene, illustrated by a folio from the famous 1560 Bhagavata Purana manuscript from Delhi and another version of the subject from Bikander (ca. 1610), is that of the youthful Krishna stealing the clothes of female cowherds (gopis) while they are bathing in a river, illustrating his amorous nature and his capacity to extend a personal and individual relationship to each devotee.

The setting for many of these works is Vrindavan, a small village near Mathura on the Yamuna River in northern India, where Krishna was fostered for safety, hidden away from a jealous ruler who threatened his life. Vrindavan became a center of Krishna devotionalism, and remains today a major pilgrimage center for Vaishnavite devotees. A centerpiece of the exhibition is a superb copper alloy sculpture of the infant Krishna being nursed by his foster-mother Yashoda, and a spectacular painted gold and silver temple hanging demonstrates the power of bhakti. Much of this installation focuses on Krishna’s essentially human nature, but his divine status is underscored by the Mughal masterpiece Krishna lifting Mt. Govardana, from the imperial illustrated Harivamsa manuscript, produced in the atelier of the Emperor Akbar around 1590.

View images from the Krishna Exhibition.

SeNet is a project of the Social Recovery Foundation which aims to uplift the Indian community in Malaysia by supporting social entrepreneurs and undertaking projects for the uplifting individuals, families and neighborhoods. SeNet has been supportive of Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram in its own social efforts.