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March:
Dharma and
Global Village, World Peace, & Human Rights
Forging a world community and being aware of global
interconnectedness
Summary
Globalization
Living in a western society, it is easy for Hindus to
get caught up in materialistic propaganda. But we must try to understand this
worldwide scenario. The world is beginning to form into one big
multi-cultural society, and with this change it is essential that we maintain
our Hindu roots. From this new multiculturalism follows a materialistic and
consumerist society highlighted by a wealth and technology-based lifestyle,
with little concern for religion or spirituality. But we must deny this
materialistic urge in regard to moksha or liberation from the material world.
While we live in the West, there is growing interest in
learning about the East. Pursuit of yoga and other forms of meditation have become
quite popular in the West. Hindu Dharma on a spiritual level is now subject
to globalization. Globalization has both positive and negative connotations
when related to Hindu Dharma. Exploitation of Hindu Dharma has an adverse
affect on the Hindu community. Even modern gurus have been exploited when
their teachings have been projected as universal, rather than sectarian
Hindu. Pop music is beginning to incorporate Hindu bhajans and classical
music into their song tracks. Finally, Ayurveda, or natural healing medicine,
and Vedic astrology are growing among the western population.
Even though globalization may have some negative
connotations, it is what Hinduism can gain from globalization that makes it
great. We must make use of the proper media to convey the right message of
Sanatana Dharma. We must continue to shape the minds of young Hindus and not
let the past be overlapped by western commercial culture. Overshadowed by the
world’s other major religions, Hinduism must make a positive statement in the
year of Dharma, that we must continue to pursue spiritual enlightenment. We
must organize a global network to convey the message of Sanatana Dharma
properly. Outposts such as the Internet and print media must continue to be
utilized to educate other Hindus and non-Hindus alike. We must come together
as a global network to address the challenges faced by Hindus all over the
world today.
Human Rights
In 1948, the United Nations approved the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
This document (found at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html),
now over 50 years old, has laid the framework for human rights policies for
states and organizations around the world. Using this as a starting point, do dharmic principles in
today’s society state that there should be more fundamental human rights than
those afforded in the UN declaration?
Perhaps some of the statements in the declaration are too general or
too liberal, and need to be tuned.
For example, Article 23 says that everyone has the right to protection
against unemployment and Article 25 says that everyone has the right to an
adequate standard of living.
However, in many nations around the world, these two “rights” are not
granted by the state – many people around the world and homeless and
jobless. How does dharma tell us
to handle this situation, and what can we do to alleviate the problem?
What is the dharmic way to deal with violations of human
rights? Is a sustained protest
campaign enough (such as those by Amnesty International), or must nations and
peoples be willing to do more in order to defend their own human rights and
the rights of others?
One unique feature of the Hindu tradition is the varna
system – the breakdown of duty in society based on intellectual, emotional,
and spiritual makeup, and due in part to the three gunas (sattvas, rajas, and
tamas). Examining Article 29 of
the Universal Declaration, we come to a the statement “Everyone has duties to
the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality
is possible.” The issue raised
is whether the varna system is in line with Articles 29, and how a degenerate
caste system may violate this statement. If you feel that varna is necessarily counter to Article
29, how do we begin to construct a society that is dharmic? On the flip side, if you feel that
varna allows a person to fully develop his own personality, how do you
prevent degeneracy?
Can you come up with your own set of universal, eternal
human rights? What dharmic
principles would you use? Just
as important, what punishments would you institute for violations of those
human rights?
Background Articles
The Hindu Response to Globalization
By David Frawley
(Vamadeva Shastri)
Globalization refers to an expansion beyond national
borders that includes all aspects of human life and culture, but particularly
related spheres of business, science and technology. It is the dominant theme
of multinational corporations and the world media with its worldwide coverage
of the news. We find people of all races, nationalities and religions
participating in a global exchange of information, ideas and commodities.
Globalization has brought about a migration of many
peoples, including a Hindu Diaspora. There are now significant Hindu
minorities in North America and UK not as old indentured servants but as part
of a new cultural elite of computer programmers, doctors and engineers.
Peoples are mixing all over the world, as the whole planet gradually becomes
a single melting pot.
However, globalization is often projected uncritically
as if it reflected some necessary good for everyone. Certainly the benefits
of globalization are evident in greater affluence, better communication and
advancements in technology that have reached most of the planet. But
globalization has its shadows with a deteriorating effect on the environment
and an alarming persistence of poverty in various nations, including a few
already extensively exposed to globalization. It remains to be seen whether
the benefits of this current globalization will outweigh its long-term harm
to the environment and to cultural diversity.
Planetary Thinking
A related term to globalization is 'planetary.' Some
thinkers speak of a new 'planetary age', in which we are becoming cognizant
of ourselves as citizens of the entire globe rather than only loyal to a
particular country, culture or religion. Planetary could be called the
positive side of globalization and implies a genuine concern for nature. It
refers to a holistic vision of life and of the earth. It indicates the need
to protect not only the natural environment, but also traditional cultures
and non-western ways of living.
Perhaps the main idealistic pursuit in the West today is
ecology, which flows out of this planetary vision. Ecologists are thinking in
planetary terms, not simply in nationalistic or even human terms. Because of
their planetary perspective, they are opposed to globalization in which
business interests override human and natural needs, like the cutting down of
the rainforests by multinational corporations.
Multiculturalism and the Clash of Cultures
A third related term to consider is 'multiculturalism'.
This implies that we must consider the needs and values of all cultures throughout
the world-that no single culture should dominate all humanity. It means that
not only European but also African and Asian cultural models have their
importance and their place in the world order.
Yet multiculturalism connects with its opposite, the
idea of the 'clash of cultures' made famous in the recent works of Samuel
Huntington. In this view the different cultural spheres of the world, like
the western European, Islamic or Hindu are like the hostile nations of old.
We are in an era of cultural warfare, not so much through the battlefield as
through the media and through economics. Cultural spheres rather than
national boundaries are the main lines of division and confrontation.
Cultural chauvinism and isolationism still continues in
the era of globalization, even among the countries supposed to be the most
global in their views. For example, the average American, from the very
country pioneering globalization, is unlikely to speak any language other
than English and is unable to explain even the basics of foreign cultures or
religions. During the 1991 Gulf War, for example, it was found that over
fifty percent of Americans didn't even know where the Persian Gulf was
located on the globe. Americans remain apathetic about foreign affairs even while
aggressively spreading their culture worldwide. The American view of
globalization is people all over the world becoming American or adapting an
American consumerist life-style. We must recognize that this is not true
globalization at all and reflects a narrow point of view, not planetary
thinking.
The Down Side of Globalization
The negative side of globalization is a disturbing
neo-colonialism- the continued projection of western and European
civilization and its values for everyone, just as in the colonial era. The
new multinational corporations appear like a continuation of old colonial
businesses like the East India Company. Modern technology allows companies to
control other countries without the need of a military presence, through
money, capital and media alone, which doesn't necessarily make such control
more just or less obtrusive.
Most of the values behind the current globalization are
the same as those of colonialism, which are those of western culture. The
West considers its culture to be universal, though it is only one of many in
the world. The old colonial rulers had the same view of their culture as the
best for everyone on the planet. The West sees not only its scientific view
of the world as for good for all, but also its intellectual culture and its
religions as the best, if not the only the legitimate ones. While Americans
are proud of Asians wearing blue jeans they are quite suspicious of Americans
wearing turbans or chanting Sanskrit mantras.
Slavery characterized the colonial era, along with a
division of humanity into civilized and primitive nations. Such slavery was
abolished by law but continues in a new form. The modern world has a
corresponding division of rich and poor, developed and developing (or
undeveloped) nations. Poor assembly line workers in Asia are much like the
slaves of the last century and not always much better cared for. This gap
between rich and poor nations is increasing rather than decreasing. The
recent economic crisis in East Asia shows that economic development in the
Third World may not be continuous but may go through a decline or crash
before ever reaching its expected goals.
Materialism for All
Globalization is not so much a respect for cultures all
over the world as it is a case of cultures all over the world following a
western, particularly American life-style and mode of behavior. In the
American model of life, business and money is the main concern, with material
affluence the goal of all striving. The culture is one of entertainment and
recreation, with shopping malls, giant movie screens and huge sports arenas
as the modern temples.
This new multiculturalism expects everyone to pursue
wealth and technology and follow the life-style guidelines of the western
media. It has little concern for religion, which after all in the West, is
mainly a formality that few take seriously. Or it turns religion into a
business, honoring religions that use an aggressive and ruthless marketing of
their products. It has no spiritual concern or regard for Moksha or liberation
from the material world. It is quite happy in the material world and only
seeks to find new ways to enjoy it better.
Yet the very success of this materialism has caused many
in the West to begin to question it and look for a more spiritual way of
life. This has brought them in the direction of the East and India in
particular, pursuing Yoga and meditation, which are gradually becoming
popular in the West.
Globalization of Hinduism on a Spiritual Level
The globalization of Hindu Dharma on a spiritual level
occurred some time ago, going back at least to Ramakrishna in the last
century. In fact modern Hindu gurus have been the main pioneers of a new
universal, global or planetary spirituality, not limited to any particular
church, savior or belief. They have not spoken or taught merely as Hindus, or
as opposing other religions, but as seeking a spiritual approach that
synthesizes the best in all human striving under the understanding that
humanity is one family and all of the human spiritual heritage belongs to
each of us.
Modern Hindu gurus have tried in a pluralistic, global
and multicultural way to take what is best in all religions and respect the
truth wherever it occurs. They have projected themselves more as universal
teachers and their teaching of Yoga and Vedanta as universal paths, rather
than portraying themselves as sectarian Hindus. Some have been projected as
avataras of new global or planetary religions beyond any religious
affiliation even that of Hinduism or Sanatana Dharma. These views have given
Hindu gurus some popularity in the West and some following by western
students, even by those who have not become Hindus or who have preserved
their own religious beliefs.
Even Hollywood has taken an interest in Yoga and in
Buddhism, showing that media influences are not always against the deeper
knowledge behind the Indic traditions. New Age and counter cultural trends in
the West carry a strong interest in Eastern religions, including various Hindu
teachers and teachings. Hindu bhajans are beginning to become popular in the
pop music circle in America. Ayurvedic medicine and even Vedic astrology are
gaining adherents in the West, and often among the more educated and affluent
members of society.
Misuse of Hindu Tolerance
Yet there has been a down side to this Hindu
universalism as well. The Hindu recognition of Christ as a great yogi, for
example, has been used as part of missionary propaganda to convert Hindus.
Many Catholics claim to see value in Indian philosophies like Vedanta, but
only like what earlier Christians saw in pagan Greek philosophers, a good
philosophicalbase on which to build their own conversion efforts, not a
genuine respect for an independent tradition.
Hindu tolerance of Islam has allowed many Hindu girls
tomarry Muslims and become Muslims but it has not resulted in Muslims
respecting Hinduism or allowing their girls to convert to Hinduism to marry
Hindu boys. In short this Hindu universalism has seldom been reciprocated and
often been abused.
The multifaith era has some advantage for Hinduism
because it recognizing a pluralism in religion, which is perhaps the essence
of Hinduism, but even here Hinduism has not always done well. The problem is
that multifaith groups tend to interpret religion in a Biblical sense as one
God and one Book or even one prophet or savior, projecting a monotheistic
model as universal for everyone. Western religious leaders only come to
admire Hinduism when it appears like monotheism, when the Vedas are the
Bible, or when Krishna is like the Son of God. Some Hindus are too quick to
make these equations not realizing that they are not creating an
understanding or tolerance of Hinduism but merely catering to western
religious views.
The Challenge to Hinduism from Globalization
Hindu culture and spirituality, though spreading in
their influence in the new global arena, are still being undermined by
outside influences. The global age still poses a major challenge to Hindu
spirituality through missionary efforts, just as in the colonial era. The
global media and global money possess an inherent bias for western cultures
and religions. Christian and Islamic groups have money and media power to
target Hindus and continue to do so on a large scale, not only in the West
where Hindus are recent immigrants but in India itself. For them
globalization still means one religion for everyone and the end of religious
traditions different than their own. While only about a fifth of Americans
are fundamentalist Christians and while the predominant American culture
tends to belittle them as backward, they still can mobilize massive resources
for their overseas conversion efforts, holding a large fraction of the
resources of an enormously rich nation.
Global business presents a challenge to Hindu
spirituality because it projects a materialistic model for the entire world,
including for India. It is hardly a culture of enlightenment that global
business is bringing to the world but junk food like coca cola, movies
saturated with sex and violence, and a naive adulation of athletes and movie
stars as the most desirable human types. Such a commercial culture undermines
spiritual cultures like those in India. It places a strong imprint of
enjoyment on the minds of people so that the pursuit of liberation, which
implies simplicity and asceticism, is forgotten.
Hindu Responses to Globalization
However, there has been little organized Hindu response
to globalization, either to its advantages or disadvantages. Hinduism tends
to be otherworldly and not to react quickly to temporal changes. Hinduism
also is not very well organized socially or intellectually to tackle such
outer issues in a major way. Some Hindus think that they need not make any
response to globalization other than to continue their spiritual practices.
However, when they see their children adopting western commercial culture or
changing to a hostile western religious belief they often have a rude
awakening.
Perhaps the most obvious Hindu response is that to the
global evangelical movement. Movements like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or
its older prototype the Arya Samaj, have arisen to counter this trend,
helping to reconvert Hindus who have joined these other religions. Yet even
in spite of the rapid growth of such organizations, most Hindu groups make
little effort in this regard, still thinking that the religion people follow
doesn't matter because all religions are good.
Another part is the Hindu response to global business.
One effort, going back to Mahatma Gandhi, is to try to protect the villages
of India from global business and promote a swadeshi movement. Another effort
is to promote technological development but try to avoid western commercial
culture as in the BJPs slogan of "computer chips yes, potato chips no."
A social and spiritual effort is that of the Swadhyaya movement of Pandurang
Shastri Athavale which aims at creating a more indigenous Indic model for the
spread of spirituality and the protection of families and villages. This is
an important trend that needs more work and attention.
The Hindu response to environmental and ecological
concerns, though rapidly growing, has also been rather weak. India has
already been devastated in terms of its ecology and this trend is increasing
at an alarming rate. There is little organized Hindu effort to counter this,
the great Hindu tradition of Bhumi Puja and love for Mother Earth
notwithstanding. That Hindus have forgotten their connection with the Earth
is perhaps their greatest falling from their older and deeper traditions. The
Hindu ecological movement needs to get much more attention and support from
Hindu groups throughout the world.
The Hindu use of the global media remains inefficient,
where a positive Hindu view is seldom presented. The notable exception to
this is the Internet where, for example, the Hindu Universe (hindunet.org) is
a well-organized and popular site. India has more software technicians than
any country in the world so it has the capacity to increase its Internet
presence dramatically. Magazines like Hinduism Today have arisen as a modern
voice for the concerns of the Hindu community and to bring it together on a
common platform. Though starting off from a very limited circulation base,
the magazine continues to grow at a rapid rate. Unfortunately there are few
efforts in this direction that do not get beyond promoting a particular sect.
Groups like VHP, not only in India but also in the West,
have created meetings for Hindu religious leaders or Dharma Sansads in order
to unite Hindus to face the challenges of the current era, as well as to
dialogue with other religious groups. However some Hindus, being suspicious
of any regimentation, have dismissed these efforts not as a real attempt to
unite Hindu society but as having ulterior political motives. While one may
question any such efforts, that a better organized Hindu response would be
helpful I don't think is really disputable to any one who really thinks about
the dangers of this era.
A Call to Action
The main conclusion here, therefore, is that there should
be a better Hindu response to globalization. While Hindus have the
ideological foundation for this, they are weak in implementation. In
projecting a united front or common cause, different Hindu groups should work
out their responses in a typical pluralistic Hindu manner. They need all not
agree with one another. They can tackle the matter from different angles and
approaches.But action of some sort, wherever one can start, is necessary. The
response should not only be spiritual but also in the educational, economic,
scientific and media realms, recognizing the special challenges posed by the
type of civilization that we have today.
As this action occurs a new churning will take place
within Hindu Dharma that can revitalize and transform it once more for this
planetary age, in which it can again extend throughout the world and spread
its benefits to all peoples. Hindu Dharma has a cosmic vision that is quite
in harmony with the planetary era and capable of receiving a global regard
and aiding in a new global vision, if it would but communicate itself better
in the global forum.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Adopted and
proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United
Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the
full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic
act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of
the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and
expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without
distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have
resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and
the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled
to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and
oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of
friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the
Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity
and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and
have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to
achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal
respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and
freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this
pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement
for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every
organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive
by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms
and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their
universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of
Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their
jurisdiction.
Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and
rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards
one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction
shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of
sovereignty.
Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of
person.
Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery
and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a
person before the law.
Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without
any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal
protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and
against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the
competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights
granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention
or exile.
Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and
public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination
of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right
to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public
trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on
account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence,
under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor
shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the
time the penal offence was committed.
Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with
his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour
and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against
such interference or attacks.
Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and
residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country,
including his own, and to return to his country.
Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other
countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of
prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts
contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation
due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a
family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and
at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free
and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit
of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well
as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his
property.
Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief,
and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance.
Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.
Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful
assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the
government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public
service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by
secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to
social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and
international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and
resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection
against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right
to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and
favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence
worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of
social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade
unions for the protection of his interests.
Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including
reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social
services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,
disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances
beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special
care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall
enjoy the same social protection.
Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall
be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary
education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be
made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to
all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development
of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights
and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the
activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of
education that shall be given to their children.
Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the
cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific
advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the
moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or
artistic production of which he is the author.
Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order
in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully
realized.
Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone
the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone
shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for
the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and
freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public
order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as
implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity
or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and
freedoms set forth herein.
Main Activity: Community Dialog
For this month, a great activity would be having a forum
discussion with Hindu leaders of the community nearby the chapters. Meeting with
local Hindu business men, spiritual leaders, religious leaders, women, and
youth will allow all facets of the immediate community discuss globalization
in their own view. Another possibility is bringing in a bigger name speaker
to lead a discussion on the topic of Hindu globalization.
Another way of approaching globalization is to have the
students address adults in their community about it. Regardless, December’s
activity should center around the Hindu community directly near the chapter.
Possible Discussion Topics
What impact does globalization have on your community?
What are some of the positives and negatives of
globalization?
How can we as Hindus make a positive impact on
globalization?
Also, writing to certain businesses that may misuse, or
exploit Hinduism, Hindu symbols, music, etc… and educating them on the
correct and proper use is one way of helping to show positive Hindu
globalization.
Relevant Organizational Contacts
Speakers in your Area
Quotable Quotes
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