The following series of winter religious holidays was written by Religion Transcends writer Jackie Walker for the Winter 2009 issue of Relate magazine. Relate’s mission is to inspire teen girls to pursue their dreams with confidence and to teach them to be an example for others in their speech, life, love, faith and purity. Religion overviews may have Christian overtones to make the content relatable for the Christian teen audience.

If you’re putting the finishing touches on a winter wonderland of figgy pudding, jingling bells, and neatly wrapped presents, you’re in good company. Each year, about 93% of Americans celebrate Christmas. That’s more than 9 out of every 10 people in the United States!

Of course, Christmas comes in a variety of packages: Santa and his sleigh, Jesus and his manger, the Grinch and his itty-bitty heart. So just what is the real Christmas story? And what are some of the holy nights that the other 7% of Americans are celebrating this winter?

Set aside those gingerbread cookies and read this holiday list (we checked it twice!).

Hinduism

Holiday: Vasant Panchami

Date: January 20

Main Players: Saraswati

The Story: Vasant Panchami marks the beginning of Spring in India (“vasant panchami” means “fifth day of Spring”). On that day, many Hindus celebrate the season by worshipping the Hindu goddess, Saraswati. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, music, and art. Hindus look to her for help understanding life. Hindu students and teachers also look to her for help with knowledge.

Traditions: Vasant Panchami includes a mix of traditions:
-Many children learn to write for the first time during this festival.
-People pay respect to their ancestors on this day.
-Schools may have organized prayer.
-Hindus wear yellow during the festival and may even eat yellow treats (yellow is Saraswati’s favorite color).

Other installments in this series:
-Buddhism: Bodhi Day
-Judaism: Hanukkah
-Christianity: Christmas
-Islam: Ashura

Other holidays this winter:
-Islam: Hijra (December 18)
-Wicca: Winter Solstice (December 21)
-Shinto: Gantan-sai (January 1)
-Baha’i: World Religion Day (January 17)
-Buddhism/Confucianism: Chinese New Year (February 14)

 Created by Religion Transcends, 2009

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That’s right, the Parliament of the World’s Religions…transcends.

Today is day five of the seven-day Parliament of the World’s Religions, an event held every five years in a major international city. The current parliament is being held in Melbourne, Australia. It has brought together around 10,000 religious adherants and leaders from more than 80 countries to discuss religion, religious understanding, diversity, and more.

How did all this start?

The first Parliament of the World’s Religions was held in conjunction with the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. This parliament was the first of its kind to bring together leaders and followers from the world’s religions to talk peace. At that meeting, the Baha’i faith was mentioned for the first time in the United States – and Americans got a crash course in Hinduism from Swami Vivekananda.

Learn more about the first parliament and its speakers online.

What are they talking about?

At each parliament, members of various religions are called to understand and respect one another’s differences. The event also challenges them to work through conflicts, extremism, and diversity issues and fosters peace, understanding, and dialogue — and otherwise “transcending” the muck, if you will.

In particular, they consider everything from global poverty and global warming to artistic expression and education of the young. This year’s topics include:

• Healing the Earth with Care and Concern
• Reconciling with the Indigenous Peoples
• Overcoming Poverty in a Patriarchal World
• Creating Social Cohesion in Village and City
• Sharing Wisdom in Search for Inner Peace
• Securing Food and Water for All People
• Building Peace in Pursuit of Justice

There’s quite a diversity of responses at these forums. You’d kind of expect it from Australia, which is home to all five major world religions along with smaller faith movements like Baha’i and Sikhism and even Aboriginal spiritualities.

Want more?

View photos, videos, and news bits from the event.

Check out today’s list of events.

View tweets from the parliament.

Created by Religion Transcends, 2009

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In June, Catholic bishops got together to revise an outdated letter, adding new language about the importance of sharing the story of Jesus with others. The revisions called for Christians to share their faith with Jews, without “proselytizing” the Jewish people.

Though the pope has said that Jews are God’s chosen people according to Biblical covenants, some Jews think this new language implies they need to convert to Christianity to go to Heaven.

Judaism: Anger over conversion attempts

Jewish groups including the American Jewish Committee and rabbis from all three major movements of Judaism wrote a letter to the bishops. They wrote that their relationship with Catholics is at risk thanks to the revised statements.

The Jewish leaders said they wanted to be able to have dialogue with Catholics without Catholics trying to convert them to Christianity.

Hinduism: Anger over conversion attempts
In 2008, violence erupted all over India between Hindus and Christians, much of which continues today. The violence concerned Christians’ attempts to convert Hindus in the country, where Hinduism is the major religion. Learn more about the Hindu argument here.

So what do you think? Do other religions have a right to be angry at conversion attempts? Should Christians continue to convert others? Is there a way to share your beliefs without proselytizing?

Created by ReligionTranscends.com, 2009

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The following overview of Hinduism was written by Religion Transcends writer Jackie Walker for the Winter 2008 issue of Relate magazine. Relate’s mission is to inspire teen girls to pursue their dreams with confidence and to teach them to be an example for others in their speech, life, love, faith and purity. Religion overviews may have Christian overtones to make the content relatable for the Christian teen audience.

Did you know Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world? In 1500 B.C., various Jewish-Christian groups were just beginning to organize. (Moses, known for the Ten Commandments and old age, would have been 26 years old at the time.) But Hinduism was already an established religion in India.

Thanks to its Indian roots, Hindu religious practice was often fused with Indian culture. Example? The caste system. Castes are similar to classes (upper class, middle class, working class) with different names — priests, nobles/warriors, commoners, and servants. But there’s an important difference: unlike classes, Hindus believed they were meant to be born into their specific caste – and that they could not and should not belong to another caste. If you were born a servant, perhaps you had done something bad in a previous life and now have to pay for it. If born a priest, perhaps you had done something worthy of praise.

The caste system is gone. But Hinduism is still the main religion in India. And it has grown: Hinduism is now the third largest world religion, following Christianity and Islam. With no founder and no specific historical events that led to its creation, Hinduism can be tough to define. But you may have already seen some of its basic concepts in other religions – and even at the gym.

You’ve heard of worshipping God…

Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe in God (which Muslims translate as “Allah”). Like them, Hindus also believe in One Ultimate, which they call “Brahman.” The difference is that Hindus believe its main God, Brahman, is divided into over 3,000 other gods. In other words, Brahman can appear in many forms as many gods. Among them are the gods Krishna and Shiva, and the goddesses Kali, Durga, and Shakti.

Just as all gods are versions of Brahman, people are also thought to be part of that Ultimate. Brahman is in everything and everyone – including people, gods, and even animals. The problem for humans begins when they do not understand their unity with the Ultimate.

You’ve heard of being born again…

When people don’t realize their unity with the universe, they get stuck in a cycle of reincarnation: birth, death, birth in a new body, death, and so on. Reincarnation is much different from the Christian concept of rebirth. When a Christian is born again (when she gives her life to Christ), her sins are forgiven. And while she is set on a new course in life, her physical body does not change. Reincarnation begins when a person’s physical body actually dies. Then their “soul” moves into a new body, which is then born into the world. And being a part of the world is seen as failure for Hindus, since they believe continued life leads to continued suffering. It’s better to be born into higher and higher positions until you get out of life and become part of the bigger universe.

You know it’s important to do the right thing…

Every world religion has a path followers take to achieve their goal. For Christians, the path is to give your life to Christ to achieve eternal life. For Jews, it is to follow God’s laws in order to please Him. Here are three paths Hindus use to get out of reincarnation:

Knowledge: Hindus use the brain to realize they’re one with the universe through yoga. You’ve heard of yoga the exercise. But yoga was originally a type of Hindu meditation. It involves stopping mental activity (try not having any thoughts sometime!), focusing on breathing, and sometimes twisting the body into poses. All of this is used to help the mind to focus on the universe (kind of like prayer).

Action: Hindus try to do the right thing. This is especially important for Hindus thanks to karma, a concept in which one is rewarded for good actions and punished for bad actions. If you lead a good life, you may be born into a higher lifestyle or escape reincarnation altogether. If you do bad things, you may see negative consequences in this life – and you may be born into a lower realm in the next life (yes, you could even be reborn as an armadillo).

Devotion: Hindus worship gods to realize their own unity with those gods. And the best type of devotion is asceticism where you give up everything you have (even your family) and your desires for material things, to be able to focus on the universe.

Find news and holiday information related to Hinduism on ReligionTranscends.com.

Watch a 5-part YouTube video series, “Introduction to Hinduism,” produced by Hinduism Today. Once you get through the first video, you’ll see a link to go to the second video, and so on.

Copyright 2009, Religion Transcends.

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Last Monday, political parties in India called for the Indian government to hold a nationwide caste census.

In 2011, the government will already be holding a nationwide population census; adding a caste census would mean adding an extra line to the population census.

Among the parties calling for action was PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi), a Tamil political party founded by Dr. S. Ramadoss. At the meeting, Ramadoss said:

“We ask the Central Government to launch a nation-wide caste-wise census in the forthcoming population census of 2011. The Centre need not strain too much on this, but only has to add one column to the census questionnaire prepared for the purpose… If the caste-wise census is undertaken, the data will help us to form an idea about the level of development, backwardness, poverty level of different castes.”

Ramadoss seeks to gain information about jobs and education to bring social justice to all castes.

What are castes?

Castes are similar to forms of social stratification (like classes). India’s castes have consisted of priests, nobles/warriors, commoners, and servants. Until reformers began to call for change to the caste system, most Hindu Indians believed they were meant to be born into their specific caste – and that they could not and should not belong to another caste.

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If you’re a student at Massena High School in New York, you can take yoga in school.

Just don’t call it yoga.

The school recently sought to introduce a yoga program, citing the benefits relaxation can have on students’ stress levels. But parents complained that a yoga program would promote Hinduism, the religion that introduced the practice, thereby conflicting with the separation of church and state.

The solution?

Let’s have yoga and not call it yoga. Officials are now calling the program “Raider Relaxation” instead and are offering it as part of an after-school club. (Their school mascot is the raider.)

According to the International Herald Tribune, 100 schools in 26 states use yoga to relieve stress.

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In case you missed it, Hindus and Christians are violently fighting in east India. It all goes back to Christians converting Hindus and non-religious tribes…and the Hindus saying it’s not ok. For a review of how it all started and the murder of Swami Saraswati that made everything worse, check out this post.

Now, journalist Francois Gautier is upset at the one-sided coverage and is standing up for the Hindu side of the story. Here is an excerpt from his recent article in ExpressBuzz:

I am also aghast at the one-sided coverage by the Indian media of the Christian- Hindu problem: blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai train blasts, Jaipur, etc. Yet, neither Manmohan Singh nor Sonia Gandhi have pronounced once the word ‘Islamic terrorism.’ But when furious Hindus, tired of being made fun of, of witnessing their brothers and sisters converted by financials traps, of seeing a 84-year-old swami and his Mataji brutally murdered, of reading blasphemy about their Gods, vent their anger against churches, many of them makeshifts, the Indian government goes after the soft target which the Hindus are. The same thing applies to the United States: they never warned Muslim organisations in India about the killing of Hindus, but when dollars are used to buy new converts and it angers the majority community of India, Washington has the arrogance to issue a warning, and Manmohan Singh does not have the pride to tell the US to mind its own business. 

Neither the Indian press nor the western correspondents bothered to write about what made Hindus angry in Karnataka: Newlife, one important westernfunded missionary centre ( http://www.newlifevoice.org), began making conversions in and around Mangalore by accosting poor people in market areas, or in bus stands, befriending them and then taking them to churches to introduce them to the father. 

Upon introduction they were paid Rs 2,500 per person and then taken to the Velankanni shrine, in Tamil Nadu, where they would get another Rs. 3,000. 

When they finally converted to Christianity by changing the name, they got an incentive of Rs 10,000 onwards. 

Newlife would then give them instructions to abandon wearing tilak on forehead, not to visit and offer prayers at the Hindu temples, replacing the photos and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses with a Cross, etc.

For the full article, visit ExpressBuzz.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think? Are the Christians in India wrong for their conversions? Are the Hindus wrong for their retaliation? Is it so black and white?

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The California Department of Education (CDE) has been sued for misrepresenting Hinduism in its textbooks.

According to Hinduism Today, the California Association of Parents for the Equalization of Educational Materials (CAPEEM) sued CDE and members of the State Board of Education for adopting textbooks that:

1.   included gross inaccuracies in sixth-grade textbooks;

2.   taught religious concepts from Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, while slighting Hinduism and eastern religious concepts; and

3.   were illegally adopted, since CDE held secret meetings to discriminate against Hindus and avoid opposition while adopting the textbooks.

Secret meetings? Yes. According to CAPEEM, they have e-mail proof that CDE held secret meetings with anti-Hindu groups while upholding church ideals.

Learn more at www.capeem.org.

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If you’ve missed the news in the past year about the violence between Christians and Hindus in India, ReligionTranscends will bring you up to speed.

Last year, violence escalated in Orissa, a state in east India, between Christians and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The VHP is an organization that believes India is a Hindu Nation – always has been, always will be. Its leader was Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.

Saraswati was upset about Christians who were constantly trying to convert the poor and tribe members. The swami made efforts to bring those people back into Hinduism. And the two sides have been fighting about conversion ever since.

The death of Saraswati

Then this year on August 23, the swami was murdered along with four others at the swami’s ashram.

Some government officials claimed it was an act of the Communist Party of India (CPI, or Maoists). But when Hindu groups began blaming the Christians, the government kept mum. This has led some Hindu groups to believe the government is blaming Maoists to cover for the Christians.

The aftermath

As a result of all the finger pointing, violence has continued to escalate, particularly against Christians. VHPs are retaliating against what they view as an attack on their leader.

Schools have closed across India to protest the violence. Around 20 Christians are dead; 4,000 are homeless; and thousands are reporting rapes, murders, and arsons.

The Prime Minister has sought to intervene, sending in units of the Central Reserve Police Force. But the violence continues.

Check out this news video from Reuters:

Want more?

Read Wikipedia’s bio of the swami.

Check out an interesting article from the VHP point of view.

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