Hindus

• The bridge has been built and now it's time for us to crossover,"  said the keynote speaker for the evening, Rep. Carl Gilliard , Chairman of the Georgia Black Legislative Caucus.
• "The history of Black America is the history of America itself, so we are very pleased today to be celebrating it with our friends in the Hindu American community.
• In later years, I was privileged to work alongside pioneering leaders like Maynard Jackson and to give back to my community."
• "The historical connections and cultural exchange between the African American and Hindu communities offer a great foundation for future collaboration," said Rajeev Menon, Vice President of CoHNA.

• One literary tradition rarely highlighted is that of Hindu “bhakti” or ecstatic devotion, which birthed some of the most stirring mystical poetry composed in the world.
• This is especially true in the poems to Vishnu, which I study, where many male poets assume the female voice to express their longing for union with the divine beloved, conceived as male.

Poetics of longing

• Much of the alvars’ poetry reveals an intense longing for a silent and absent god, so much so that it has been called “viraha bhakti,” or devotion in separation.
• The love appears, at least as presented by the poet, as completely one-sided – sparked by a chance encounter with a mysterious and inscrutable deity.
• The use of a female voice by a male poet is not unusual in the Tamil or Sanskrit literature.

• To this cast of characters, the poets also occasionally use, as Kodhai herself does, mythological female figures.
• The cowherd women of the wondrous town of Vrindavan, where the youthful divine Krishna is eternally at play, is a particular favorite for the alvar poets.

Male poets and female voice of longing

• Two ninth century alvar poets, Nammalvar and Tirumankai, are particularly deft in their use of these female voices of longing.
• Their heroine dominates their poems; her tone in turns demanding, insistent and despairing as she seeks through language to call the absent divine beloved back to her.

Love in many shades

• Not all the male alvar poets use one of these archetypal female voices, and a female voice does not always have to speak about romantic love.
• These poems are not composed from the vantage of separation; rather, they are poems of intimacy and joy, celebrating maternal love.
• In the poems of the alvar, love, directed toward Vishnu, takes many forms: humble service; unconditional, protective maternal adoration; and the intense intimacy of lovers.

Archana Venkatesan receives funding from the American Institute of Indian Studies in the form of a four-month short-term Senior Fellowship (June-Sept 30, 2024) to conduct field research in Tamil Nadu, India.

• The consecration rituals of the icon of Lord Rama were performed in a newly built mega-temple in the town of Ayodhya, India, on Jan. 22, 2024.
• The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, performed the rituals during a 48-minute period considered auspicious by Hindu astrologers.
• Lord Rama, an avatara or incarnation of Vishnu, is one of the most important deities in the Hindu tradition.

From matter to deity

• There are fire sacrifices in a pavilion outside, the deity is taken formally into the temple and also in a procession through the town, and there is recitation of mantras.
• Precious stones and metals, as well as a yantra, a metal plate with geometrical drawings, are buried in the ground in the inner shrine where the deity is to be installed.
• In Ayodhya, a scarf was removed from the eyes of the deity.
• With the opening of the eyes and the invoking and transfer of breath, the material icon is said to be transformed into an incarnation of the deity.

Controversies over the temple land

• The new temple has been built on the land where a 16th century mosque – the Babri Masjid – was destroyed by Hindu activists in December 1992.
• Some Hindus claim that the mosque had been built by razing a 15th century Rama temple, said to be the site of his birth.

• Building the temple was started soon after this judgment.
• Devotees’ sentiments as well as speeches at the inauguration of the temple spoke of Rama’s return to Ayodhya after 500 years of being banished from his birthplace.

‘Not in our names’

• Indian Air Force choppers rained flowers on the temple after the consecration.
• Some observers, including outsiders sympathetic to Hinduism, saw these rituals as a glorification of Modi, not Rama.
• For during the prana pratishtha, the divine is said to become present in the icon, if the rituals are properly performed.

Vasudha Narayanan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 30, 2023) - In a partial win for Canadian Hindu groups, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) recognized that current legislation and protections already address issues related to caste-based discrimination.
• However, the OHRC's policy position echoes data that is generally touted by anti-Hindu organizations and activists and can lead to serious discrimination and profiling of Canadian Hindus and people of Indian origin.
• To view the full announcement, including downloadable images, bios, and more, click here .
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