Our children also face pressures due to the fact that we are immigrants.  Most of us were not born in the United States.  Our children are exposed to at least two different cultures and maybe even more.  They need to function socially not only at school but also within our culture.  Our children will face others who are not so positive about other cultures.  They will need to solve problems and resolve conflicts. I feel that it is really important to convey to our children that we are there for them. We need to be open to discussing any issue that our children bring to us. It is how we handle these issues that will be the deciding factor for whether they will return to us with other issues later on. If we try to avoid issues then our children will probably not try to discuss them with us next time. We need to have firm boundaries for behavior but at the same time be flexible enough for communicating openly.

We should all try our hardest to do the best for our children. We eventually will have to let go of them, and hope that they have internalized all the lessons.  That is all we can do.

Author : Rummy Pant

When things go wrong in our lives and when we don’t get what we want, we become frustrated. Obsessively thinking about all the bad things that have happened to us can only drag us down. Sometimes, one problem leads to another and that leads to yet another. All of a sudden, our life may seem like a disaster. Instead of trying to solve our problems we may create an unpleasant and stressful situation. Most of our problems are nothing more than our own failure to accept things for what they are. Long list of disagreements, an unstable job, a bad economy, and even misbehaving children can all add to the complications in our lives.

How can you help your self? It really is simple: Have control over yourself. That makes you feel powerful.  Positive attitude and consistent behavior help you put your ideas into action. Negative thoughts can depress you, hurt you, and make you sick. Also, if you support yourself you can help support your family. You can be a good father, mother, friend and even a good social worker. You must remember that you are not alone in the roller coaster of life. You should always share your ideas with your friends and family. There are a lot of fun and cool things to enjoy as well; you just have to get out there and see what you are missing. You can avoid isolation by becoming an active member of your society. Reading about making simple changes in your life can inspire you. Reminding yourself of the good things in your life will motivate positive thinking so that you can overcome any misfortune.

Think about what you did yesterday, what you would like to do today, and how you can improve any time you get a chance such as while driving to work or taking a shower. This simple daily review will definitely help you uncover and realize the hidden potential you never thought you had!  – By Jyoti Adhikari

This whole episode encouraged me to do some research on how Science and Religion are related.  After reading couple of books and doing some research on the Internet I found couple of amazing scientific facts about Science and Religion that will astonish you.

In considering Hinduism – not because it is more important than any other religion, but because this is the one that I am very familiar with – it does not appear strictly to be a religion. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life.  Vedanta explains that there is no conflict between science and religion and that in fact the two are complementary. In Hinduism there are two categories of knowledge – (i) para vidya – the spiritual knowledge, which includes knowledge of God, life and our purpose in life; and (ii) apara vidya – material knowledge, which includes scientific knowledge.  Science is concerned with the welfare of physical existence.  Religion is concerned with the wellbeing of the soul, including morality and ethics of life.

Hindus hardly leave any confusion regarding the worshipping of the Almighty. The worshippers basically believe in using the power of the nature for the betterment of life. For example, they use fire to dedicate stuff to the deities and use the burnt or ‘literally cooked’ food as the ‘Prasad’ of the god. Worshipping never meant to bribe a deity to provide the mankind with the necessities but literally was the form of expressing gratitude. The very foundation of the Natural Selection theory lies here. The deities or the powers of the nature do what they are ought to do. Hindus provide a clear deity family tree which is authentically scientific and indeed a philosophical expression.

Let’s look at a couple of different areas of science and see how its concept can be found in ancient religious thoughts.

Modern Psychology: Hinduism emphasizes reliance on a guru or teacher to empower seekers with education, knowledge and techniques available.  According to the ancient though, parents are not only responsible for giving birth and nurturing child but they are also the first “gurus.” According to the modern psychology, first five years of a child are the formative years to lay a solid foundation on which the edifice of life is then built during the rest of life and hence parents are the primary gurus during the formative period.

Mathematics: The Bakhshali manuscript from 400 AD covers mathematical topics such as fractions, square roots, profit and loss and interest calculations, simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, arithmetic and geometric progressions.   Sriyantra, an ancient Hindu geometric drawing, incorporates various special numbers such as pi, and the irrational number known as the golden ratio whose value is 1.61803.  (The golden ratio is found in the pyramids in Egypt and in Parthenon in Greece).

Cosmology: Hindu scriptures say that this universe lasts 310 trillion years, and then disappears for the next 310 trillion years.  This cycle repeats indefinitely.  Present day cosmologists speculate that the universe is caught in an infinite cycle of expansion and collapse.  Note the similarity to ancient thought. These scriptures also speak of multiple universes bridged by eternal time, a concept just now coming to the fore as “multiverse (multiple universes) theory”.  Many modern historians have documented that according to some ancient Hindu scriptures, the Sun is 108 Sun-diameters away from the earth and the moon is 108 Moon-diameters away from the earth. The modern scientific values for these figures are 107.6 and 110.6 respectively.

From Christian Fundamentalist point-of-view, God first created light  – Science has also clearly established that light came first, and the last event of Creation was mankind, which also happens to be the most recent major event in a scientific time scale.  Christians understand the early chapters of Genesis as separate acts of creation of all the different kinds of creatures. They see no necessary conflict between the Biblical text and an ancient universe, the evolution of stars, chemicals and living things. Their views are consistent with the scientific evidence available as well.

Buddhism welcomes scientific knowledge, recognizing it as another branch of learning about the natural order.  As stated in Henry Steele Olcott’s Buddhist Catechism, both Buddhism and science teach evolutionism, “that man is a result of a law of development, from an imperfect lower, to higher and perfect condition”.  Both Buddhism and Science teach that all beings are alike subject to Universal law, “law of Karma”, and “law of motion” that brings the universe into existence.

One famous statement of Einstein about Science and Religion connection is: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”. Lord Kelvin, one of the most prominent scientists of the latter half of the nineteenth century, declared, “If you think strongly enough you will be forced by science to the belief in God.”  The insights science has given us, especially in the field of development of the universe, provide even greater reasons for faith.

Now in the end, I do not think science has a solid way to prove or disprove Religious beliefs but the positive debate that is going on in the scientific community in recent time may make some headway about it.  All religions teach that we must do our Karma, that we must be generous, truthful, sincere, and faithful.  All this is reasonable, and logically the way in which humanity can progress.

Author : Komal Dutta

Sai Ram! In the summer of 2009, my sister Kshama and I had a great opportunity to go to Puttaparthi, India to see the physical presence of Satya Sai Baba for a week. There were about four hundred devotees from Chicago region who made this journey to Swami’s holy ashram. After a long flight, we reached Bangalore airport and from there our group took a two hour bus ride to Puttaparthi, a small village in south India.

We could see everyone in our group were very excited to see Swami in Prasanthi Nilayam where He resides. We sang bhajans on the bus as we approached to the Ashram. As we entered the gate of the Ashram, we could see beautiful buildings and a lot of people were walking towards Kulwant Hall where Swami gives darshan to his disciples every morning and evening. We were accommodated by our group leaders for the rooms and food while we stayed in Parthi and this was all done back in Chicago so when we reached there my sister and I got a room. The rooms looked very simple yet clean and the buildings had huge marbled corridors. Long flight causing jet lag plus the hot weather made us very tired so we went right to bed after we made ourselves comfortable. The next morning very fresh and eager to see our beloved Swami we wore our same color Saarees that our group were assigned to wear. Our group was recognized as “USA” group as all the ladies wore matching Saarees and a scarf with a symbol for the gents we had made before going to Parthi.

We lined up to go to Kulwant hall for Swami’s darshan after the updates and information was shared by the group leaders because for some of us this was a first visit to Prasanthi Nilayam. We were told to sit as a group and be very silent. We couldn’t hear a single noise in that immense Kulwant Hall where more than six thousand people were seated to get Swami’s Darshan. We were amazed to see people from all over the world. There were Nepali, Brazilian, African, Indonesian, Chinese and many many more all who came in large groups from abroad. The wait was lengthy and hot at times but when Swami came in everything got aside and He was the only primary focus. The bhajans started when he entered the hall and seeing him first time physically was unbelievable. He was in an orange attire and his face was so intense that you couldn’t take your eyes of him. He would go around the Kulwant Hall in his wheelchair giving darshans and taking letters of his devotees. He would talk to some of them and stay till the bhajans and aarti were done then he would proceed to his home. It was just so wonderful to sing and praise the Lord when He was present not only mentally but also physically.

All the eight days we stayed in Parthi we had a routine from the beginning of the day to the end. We woke up at around five and wore the assigned Saarees for the day and went to get break fast. After eating breakfast we would make lines and go to Kulwant Hall and wait for Swami’s darshan. Then after the darshan, we would go eat lunch. After lunch we would have some time for our selves in which we used to go to the book store, library, or shopping center. Then at around three in the afternoon we would line up for the evening darshan and after darshan, dinner then sleep.

Strange thing: Our travel agent couldn’t find us tickets for 4^th of July as most of the people in our group were returning to Chicago that day so our tickets were fixed for 6^th of July. My sister and I were bit scared because we would have to take a cab to the airport alone but we left all up to Swami. There were only about quarter of our group left in Parthi after the fourth.  Dearest Swami called us and the remaining USA group inside on the 5^th during the evening darshan and gave permission for an interview. We couldn’t believe it! This was meant to happen and we didn’t get that indication of not finding the tickets for the 4^th.  We went inside and Swami was patiently sitting there and he gave Pada Namaskar to each one of us. Some people were asking personal questions to Baba but we were so content to be so close to him that both of our happiness burst into tears and we couldn’t talk to him. Baba materialized a ring to a male and said four things to him when he asked “How can we serve you Baba?” Swami answered “Think of God, Fear Sin, Be Happy and Serve the Poor.” Swami’s main message was “Be Happy” for most of us.

This was a life turning experience for both of us and we are very lucky to be there at the right time. We can’t describe in words how that experience has elevated us and gave us lighter feelings. Our pilgrimage to Prasanthi Nilayam was a great experience and we would never forget it our whole life. We don’t know how to thank Baba for his lotus feet darshan. We would like to go again to Prasanthi Nilayam because it is a home for everyone no matter what race, what color, what social status you are. It’s a place where there is peace, kindness, simplicity, and it’s a heaven made on Earth. The water and food that’s served in Ashram is with so much purity and served with worship it doesn’t even cost much. People come from miles and miles seeking for Seva and humanity in this Ashram. People come to Satya Sai Baba, the source of all.

Sai Ram Sai Ram Sai Ram

Kshama Adhikari & Bipashana Adhikari