Questions Responded by Swami Chaitanya Jyoti
Vice President and Head Preacher of International Brahmrishi Mission Canada.
Representing Hinduism
Question 1: If your religion was a stumbling block to establishing justice, with everyone feeling equal, would you give it up? – by Elaine Batt
Answer: No, because ours is not a religion. It is a way of life based on righteousness and moral duties as well as the functional requirement of the society.
Question 2: How are you getting or showing justice for the LGBT+ community? – by Darby
Answer: No comments.
Question 3: As a Christian, I see many Churches closing and this concerns me. Is this the case for all the represented religions? Without Churches/Temples/Synagogues/Mosques etc, how do we pass on moral values such as justice? – by anonymous
Answer: We are not facing such a problem with our Temples. In fact there are more Temples opening in surrounding areas. Besides Temples we have ashrams/monasteries, saints and learned people who are spreading the teachings of our scriptures.
Question 4: Why only male speakers representing religions conference (majority)? Only one female today? – by anonymous.
Answer: This year it must be coincidence. Last year there were at least 4 female speakers. Within Sanatan Dharma men and women are equal in acquiring and spreading knowledge.
Question 5: For a person who is looking for a present-day example of Just Society, which societies would you direct their attention to? – by Brent P.
Answer: Looking at a just society in the sense of equal human rights, it can be found in numerous countries around the world including Canada. But when we talk about just society in the sense of distribution of duties and responsibilities based on aptitude and actions, it is very hard to find one, because everywhere some type of corruption is going on.
Question 6: 4th Class people – Shudra (the untouchable), where they get help these days? – by anonymous
Answer: Nowadays the misinterpretation of the 4 classes is removed from the Indian society. All 4 classes deserve equal human rights.
Question 7: Hindu temples everywhere, but serving the humanity don’t see no where? – by anonymous.
Answer: This is not a correct statement! Our organization e.g. is serving humanity selflessly all over the world. In India we are providing free education to the poor in rural areas. We also have hospitals providing free treatment and medication to the poor. Here in Canada everyone regardless of cast creed color gender or religion are getting free services such as yoga and meditation classes, language and philosophy classes. Like our organization there are many other organizations helping and serving humanity in great extent.
Question 8: Why faith preaching end up in ritualistic practices and very limited practice in life. All talk about ‘No thing is ours” but fail to let it go? – by Harjit
Answer: Due to ignorance, attachment and selfish desires. People following ritualistic practices are more driven by the fulfillment of their selfish desires. Our scriptures teach to be detached and perform selfless actions. It is up to the individual whether he/she follows the teachings or not. There are many who follow the teachings and practice detachment in their lives.
Question 9: If all religions love peace, why are there so many religious wars? Often in the name of Justice? – by Bill Ratcliffe.
Answer: The root cause of wars is ignorance. Our scriptures teaches “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”- the whole world is one family. We are first human beings and have the same source of life, which makes us one. Religion is manmade and due to ignorance divided. This feeling of division creates war. The feeling of unity brings peace.
Question 10: What is one concrete action we can take to create a just society? (besides education) or What are your thoughts on differences/similarities of equality and equity? – by Margaret Emilia Locker
Answer: Duties and responsibilities in society should be distributed according to aptitude and actions.
Question 11: (1) In Ram Rajya, Lord Rama killed “samboukh” just because, he was untouchable, but obtaining education and was worshiping God, which was against the Hindu scriptures. Hindu scriptures do not permit low caste to worship God. Is it justice? (2) What is the mechanism of classifying society. Do you conduct any exams to find the place of an individual in the social classification? At what age of the person he/she get classified? – by Edward
Answer: First of all story of Lord Rama killing Shambuka is highly disputed. Secondly one should know the true facts behind the story. Lord Rama didn’t kill Shambuka because he was a shudra and having no right to worship God. He killed him because he was attempting to perform penance in violation of dharma/righteousness. The intention of his worship was a bad karma which was causing suffering in society.
This is a very incorrect statement that Hindu scriptures do not permit low caste to worship caste. First of all the caste is a classification of the society and has nothing to do with low or high caste. One should study the Ramayana profoundly. In the Ramayana you will find many incidents where lord Rama has embraced the shudras. Lord Rama accepted Nishaad, a shudra, as his friend. Lord Rama gave salvation to Shabari, a female devotee from the lowest caste. She worshiped Lord Rama and as a result of her worship she attained salvation.
As far as the mechanism to classify society concerns, the individual classifies him/herself based on their own aptitude and actions regardless of age.
Question 12: How can parents best model/teach justice to their children in the home? By Hilary Diouf
Answer: By following the personal and moral disciplines, the Niyamas and Yamas and setting an example for their kids. The 5 Niyamas to make the personal life pure and strong are 1. Shaucha (cleanliness or purity) 2. Santosha (contentment or satisfaction) 3. Tapa (discipline or controlling mind) 4.Swaadhyaaya (study of the self and of the scriptures) 5. Ishwara Pranidhaana (surrender to Divine Consciousness). . The five Yamas to establish a just society are: 1. Ahinsa (non-harming or non-violence) 2. Satya (truthfulness) 3. Asteya (non-stealing) 4. Brahmacharya (restraining mind or ‘right use of energy’) 5. Aparigraha (non-greed or non-hoarding).
Question 13: Do you need to be a vegetarian to be considered a truly devout Hindu? – by Art Tsai
Answer: Yes absolutely. The definition of the word Hindu in Sanskrit is “Hinsaayaam duyate yasya hridayam sah Hindu”. This means that those whose heart is in pain due to the act of violence is a true Hindu. Not only killing is an act of violence but causing to kill is also an act of violence. Those who eat meat and other forms of life have caused the act of killing. A truly devout Hindu would not inflict the act of violence in any circumstances.
Question 14: How can you establish a Just Society where you have a classification of society as per your faith? Like Brahman etc. Are they equal? – by Nazir Ahmed
Answer: As I had mentioned the 4 classification of society you will find everywhere. Classification of society based on 'APTITUDE' and 'ACTION' or profession is called 'VARNA VYAVASTHA'. In every society we can see class of creative thinkers & scholars responsible to guide the society; class of protectors, leaders responsible for management of law and order and security; business class responsible for generating wealth and resources. Last but not the least is the class of laborers, workers supporting all other three classes as per requirements. In Sanatan Dharma this categorization has been given the following names, Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra.