A Visit to Stone Mountain Park

My son and I had the privilege of visiting Stone Mountain Park last year, as part of my research for my book, Karma Nation. Upon arrival at the park’s headquarters, we were warmly greeted by the head of the park’s publicity department, a very helpful young lady, who offered us free tickets for the day.

Stone Mountain Park is located in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Its’ attractions draw visitors from around the world: a collection of antebellum homes, imported from various places in Georgia and beautifully restored, trails through the woods, a barnyard containing a petting zoo, boat-rides on the lake and a concert hall. The place was charming—the landscape was picturesque and a feeling of serenity pervaded the place.

Despite these, it has always been famous for one thing: the enormous bas-relief carving of three Confederate leaders of the sheer rock face of Stone Mountain. The sculpture that defines the park. Covering an area of 6,400 square meters, the portrait of Jefferson Davis. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, riding their horses, towers over the landscape.

Karma Nation

I was interested in the park’s history; especially its connection to the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan’s first iteration, meant to roll back the newly-gained benefits to Black Americans, came into existence right after the Civil War. It unleashed a campaign of terror against freedmen and white Republicans. Within a few years, the Union government introduced laws to prosecute and suppress Klan activity. However, the main reasons for its failure were its unorganized nature and lack of political support, even among Democrat politicians.

In 1915, a group of fifteen men, led by William Simmons, met at the base of Stone Mountain and reconstituted the KKK. They then climbed to the top of the mountain where they burned a cross. This time, the Klan was much more successful in spreading its’ message. Simmons provided an organizational structure and, with large enrolments, came political support. At its peak in the mid-1920’s the Klan’s membership numbered about 4-5 million men, roughly 15% of the American population. This second iteration finally passed away in the 1940’s, weakened by internal division, criminal activities by its’ leaders and external political opposition.

Thus, it is understandable that in the minds of many, including African Americans, Stone Mountain Park would remain identified by this divisive history. In fact, my purpose in visiting was to gauge people’s sentiments. Certainly, the park lovingly preserved the bones of a lost society. Opposition to the grand sculpture of Confederate leaders was noticeable: what was the need to continue glorification of the men who waged war against the Union and whose society supported the institution of slavery?

But the day of our visit held no such discord. Families, many of them African-American, gathered at the park for no other reason but to enjoy the day. Children played in the water park, picnicked on the spacious lawns or rode the cable cars to the mountain top. Music sounded in the air and boats plied the lake. The great sculpture, though controversial, had become part of the landscape, a relic of the past, to be gawked at and sometimes discussed, but not to be fought over.  Visitors—whites, blacks and even foreigners, crowed the place. Time had moved on, and we followed the others’ example: we enjoyed our day.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of Karma Nation. Please visit his website www.mohanashtakala.com

He is published by Books We Love, LLC. Boos We Love, LLC

New Release - Karma Nation

My family and I lived for fifteen years in a mixed-race neighborhood, with African-Americans, whites and Latinos, in Denver, Colorado. I had the pleasure of interacting with and exploring my neighbors’ experiences and views of America.

As an initiated Hindu Vaishnava priest, I was also active in Interfaith circles and spoke at various churches and conferences. This resulted in friendships with black pastors and inspired me to seek a deeper understanding of African-American history and spirituality. It is these experiences that led me to write Karma Nation.

Presented as a literary romance, Karma Nation follows the arc of two characters: Sam DeVon Johnson, a proud young black man, and Chantley Armstrong, a white American woman who grew up in an ashram in India.

The intense feelings aroused by a chance encounter in Boulder, Colorado suggest that they share a relationship from previous lives.

Chantley sees the world through the eyes of karma. “Everyone acts according to their karma,” she says, “maybe even entire nations.”

Deeply concerned with American injustice, racism and militarism, he asks, “What can you say about a country that starts its history with a slavery and a genocide? What kind of karma is that?”

Discovering that they may have been lovers at a plantation in South Carolina during the antebellum period, they journey through the South, visiting places and people connected to America’s troubled past and uncertain present.

As they fall deeper in love, their travel exposes conflicts whose origins neither is able to explain. They locate their plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, but its exploration reveals a shocking truth about the real nature of their relationship—one that makes them question who they are, their deep-seated beliefs and the meaning of love.

Karma Nation is, in short, an exploration of American cultural and racial attitudes as seen through the ethos of Hinduism. It is also the engaging story of two quirky characters who, having to overcome their own issues, grow towards maturity and love. I invite all of you to enjoy this book.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper, published by Books We Love. 

www.mohanashtakala.com

www.bookswelove.com

Visiting a Historical Church in Houston, Texas

The Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, the first free African-American church in Houston, Texas, played an important role in the history of the American South and beyond.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

The Declaration of Emancipation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, declared that all slaves from states in “active rebellion” during the Civil War be granted freedom. The Declaration, however, did not cover Texas, which while aligned with the Confederacy, did not participate in active rebellion.

This situation continued until after the Civil War ended, when on June 18, 1865, General Grainger of the Union government arrived at Galveston Bay, close to Houston, and ordered all slaves in Texas, the last existing slaves in America, to be set free.

Reverend Jack Yates was born into slavery in Kentucky in 1828. Through self-education, he became knowledgeable in the Bible. In 1865, he moved to Houston and started preaching in a “Brush Arbor,” a church for slaves and freemen under trees.

A great organizer, he was quite successful and in 1868, became ordained as a Baptist Pastor. He convinced his congregation to purchase a piece of land in Freedman’s Town, now a part of downtown Houston, and build a Church on it. Besides worship, he was instrumental in establishing ministries that helped develop educational, economic and social skills.

Rev. Jack Yates

However, he is most known for a movement he started. Determined to honor the day of final emancipation of African Americans, he organized an event which he termed “Juneteenth.” Unfortunately, opposition arose when the City of Houston would not allow celebrations to take place in any of its parks, due to racial opposition.

Undaunted, Rev. Yates organized the community to buy its own park, which he named Emancipation Park, for their festivities. Since then, Juneteenth celebrations are observed in many cities throughout America and even in other countries.

Last year, I had the good fortune to visit the church. I was greeted with wonderful hospitality by the congregants and deacons and attended a presentation on the church’s history. I sat on one of the original hand-carved pews bearing the marks of adzes of the freed men, enjoyed gospel music and the energetic sermon of the pastor. I would encourage all visitors to Houston to explore this wonderful institution.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," published by Books We Love.

Ancient Egyptian Yoga?

Yoga asana from Egyptian Hieroglyph

The practice of yoga is currently associated with India. And it is certainly true that an unbroken chain of teachers and students, along with an enormous library of texts, has survived in that country. Today, the word yoga has become synonymous with India and, in the West, with some of the great teachers of the past century such as Pattabhi Jois and B.K. Iyengar.

But the yoga tradition itself does not claim any nationality. Indeed, pointing to the spiritual roots of yoga, many masters have claimed it to be universal. To understand this assertion, one needs to examine yoga’s roots. Originally, Indian yoga was practiced in the forests by mendicants who had renounced the world. Some of these forest-dwelling yoga lineages still exist—one, called the Nath sect—remains popular in India.

From a carving in an Egyptian temple

Thus, it can be understood that, in a general sense, anyone who retreats from human society and into solitude to engage in spiritual practices is doing yoga. In all traditional cultures, whether in ancient Europe, the Middle East or China, yogis, by different names, would have been familiar.

In the early period of Egypt, during the Old Kingdom, Egypt was referred to as Kemet, or simply Kmt, which means “the Black land.” The inhabitants called themselves "remetch en Kermet", which means the "People of the Black Land." The term refers to the rich soil found in the Nile Valley and Delta. The great temples along the Nile, built during that time, showed, in hieroglyphic texts, a stunning number of persons in familiar yoga poses.

Kemetic yoga, or African yoga, focuses on breath-work and meditation, and aligns itself with the spiritual beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. It combines physical exercise, meditation, self-philosophy and healing through the stimulation and movement of essential life energy throughout the body. The concept of life energy, called prana in Sanskrit, was widespread throughout the classical world, in Greece, India, China and Egypt.

The modern version of the ancient Kemetic system was developed from primary research conducted by Dr. Asar Hapi and Elvrid Lawrence (Yirser Ra Hotep) during the 1970s. Kemetic yoga is gaining interest, in mostly the Black American community, with more studies and books being published, such as those authored by Dr. Muata Ashby, and with classes being offered in yoga studios in America.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com)

Meditation and Writing

Many writers struggle with their work. Writers block can be traced to structural problems with the piece and, sometimes, the only solution is to rework the plot or to rewrite the character.

Other times, the struggle is within and not with the work. Procrastination, distractions, or just plain lack of motivation are a few of the issues writers deal with regularly. Let’s face it, writing is hard work.

Meditation is one of the solutions given for achieving a state of mind conducive to good writing. Author Jaclyn Paul, in The Write Life[1], gives the following steps for getting started in a meditation practice:

1.   Get comfortable. Find a position you can maintain for five minutes without getting sore or losing circulation.

2.   Set a timer for five minutes and close your eyes.

3.   Bring your attention to your breath. Say the words “inhale” and “exhale” in your mind as you take each breath.

4.   As other thoughts begin to invade (and they will), calmly return to thinking about your breath. The key is to remain objective as you notice the distraction and refocus.

5.   If you get tired of saying “inhale” and “exhale” to yourself over and over, try focusing on your breathing through what yogis call the three-part breath: first, fill your belly and lower abdomen with air. Then, on the next breath, fill your chest as well. Focus on the sensation of your ribs expanding. Finally, feel your collarbone and shoulders lift as your whole torso fills with the third breath. Repeat to your heart’s content.

The benefits include clarity of mind, gaining of focus, lowering of stress and avoidance of distractions, with the end result of an increase of energy and unleashed creativity. In the end, putting words on paper (or screen) is what gets the story going.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com), published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.com).

---

[1] https://thewritelife.com/writers-meditation/

Ten Really Interesting Canadian Things (No, Seriously!)

Canadians are described as nice, neighborly and predictable. Something like a Volvo, except for the fact that Sweden manufactures them, not us. Even in good qualities, we come in second. How Canadian!

Yes, we all know about Hockey and Maple Syrup. But did you know that Canadians are more than that; in fact sometimes we can be pretty fascinating. Well, okay, just once in a while. Here are ten really interesting Canadian things:

1)      Yes, Justin Trudeau’s hair is real. (Note to Americans: And it’s not orange.)

2)      It’s the Great White North (and Black, Brown, etc.) An astonishing 19.1% of the total population of Canada (nearly 6,264,800 people) identify themselves as members of a visible minority group.

3)      No beaver, no Canada. This country came into existence because of the European desire for this humble animals’ pelt. Otherwise, we might be all be (gasp!) Americans.

4)      Our dollar coins are called Loonies. (Question: What do you call a Loonie that whistles: A Loonie toonie.)

5)      Canada’s most ordered take-out food (other than pizza): Butter chicken, originally from the Punjab region of India. That’s right, it beats out poutine. (Though we consume more Mac-N-Cheese than any other country in the world.)

6)      Hawaiian Pizza was actually invented in Canada. According to Wikipedia, Greek-Canadian Sam Panopoulos created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario in 1962.

7)      Canada has a “Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve.” Not oil, not gold, but maple syrup. Thirty-eight million pounds of this stuff is stored in 62,800 barrels in Laurierville, Quebec. The province produces 77% of all maple syrup in the world. We are, truly, the OPEC of maple syrup.

8)      Santa Claus lives in Canada. You can write a letter to him (in any language), send it to “North Pole, Canada, H0H 0H0,” and receive a reply from the old man himself.

9)      Canada has been invaded twice by Americans - in 1775 and 1812. (We kicked their butts both times.)

10)   I ran out of things to add. Sorry, we’re talking about Canada!

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books we Love Ltd. (www.bookswelove.com)

A Plan for Electronic Hygiene

By now, it’s clear that people can get addicted to the internet. If not careful, it can take hours out of one’s day. Internet addiction is defined as any online-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment: classic symptoms of any kind of addiction.

The numbers are staggering: It is estimated that there are 4.93 billion cell-phone users in the world today, as well as 3.58 billion internet connections. Studies suggest that 1 in 8 Americans suffer from problematic Internet use. Those estimates are higher in China, Taiwan, and Korea where 30 percent or more of the population may experience problematic Internet use. The vast numbers of new internet users are coming up in underdeveloped countries, where land-line connections are few and far between.

What do people get addicted to on-line? Video games and on-line role playing are prominent, but most cases of internet addiction relates to sexting and on-line sex addiction. It is a recent phenomenon, headlined by prominent stories in the media, but none should be surprised when the next politician or prominent personality gets caught sexting or admits to online porn.

The greater concern is not the hard-core internet addict, but the casual internet user who find the practice eating away more and more of his or her time. A Globe and Mail story[i] (published March 21, 2017) reported that on average, English Canadians surveyed spent 24.5 hours online per week in 2016, up about two hours from the previous year. But, it recounted, young Canadians between the ages of 18 to 34 spent even more time on the Internet — an average of 34 hours per week in 2016, or nearly five hours per day.

Clearly, everyone needs to look at his or her internet usage, and come up with a plan to regulate and control their on-line usage.

Here is an example of a plan for electronic hygiene, which I developed over time. I was not addicted to the internet, but became concerned at the increasing amount of time spent on-line. I am sure more researched ones are available, but this one has worked for me.

1)      Do not check the smart-phone upon going to bed nor upon waking up. Many people keep their smart phones on their bedroom nightstand, and this makes it too tempting to check social media at night or upon waking up. Best to charge the cell-phone at night in the kitchen or another room.

2)      Do not check the internet the first thing in the morning. Waking up is time to get ready for the day: brushing teeth, showering, cooking and eating breakfast, etc. Only when the morning chores are done, should the internet be checked.

3)      Examine the websites you visit. Most of them provide little or no educational, social or personal benefit. Wouldn’t you be better off avoiding them?

4)      Make a schedule for the internet. What works for me is one hour in the mornings, say between ten to eleven, and one in the afternoon/evening. This takes discipline, but so does any type of hygiene.

5)      Make one day of the week as an internet fasting day—no going online for the entire day. Sundays work for me: it is a day we end up doing family things.

6)      If you have children, do not give them computers for their own rooms. Up until a certain age, they should use a family computer located in the living or dining room. And use parental control settings.

7)      Finally, make sure certain activities such as dinners, or visits to friends, are kept electronic free.

---

[i][i] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/click-till-youre-sick-the-growing-problem-of-internet-addiction/article13536810/

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of “The Yoga Zapper: A Novel,” published by Books We Love, Ltd.

www.yogazapper.com

www.bookswelove.net

When Writers Can’t Write Anymore

Hemmingway in Idaho

            Every writer lives with a great fear: the loss of ability to continue writing. Often, it is writer’s block, mostly caused by poor plotting or structural problems in a manuscript, but sometimes, it may have a more serious origin.

            On July 2, 1961, fifty-seven years ago, in Ketchum, Idaho, Ernest Hemmingway killed himself with a shotgun blast. In the spring of the same year, he had been requested to contribute a single sentence for a presentation volume marking President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration. He told his lifelong friend and biographer, A.E. Hotchner: “It just won’t come anymore,” and wept.

            It was a year earlier, in 1960, that Hemmingway discovered that he could no longer write. It turned out to be a devastating blow to a prolific author who deeply connected his self-worth with his creativity. That discovery triggered a deep depression from which he could not escape.

            In some ways, Hemmingway was uniquely vulnerable to depression. Part of it was hereditary: his father had committed suicide in 1928, ironically enough, in the manner. His grandfather, brother, sister and granddaughter all did the same. Hemmingway also suffered from an enormous list of medical conditions: bi-polar mood disorder, chronic alcoholism, brain injuries and hemochromatosis, a disease that results in damage to the internal organs and is linked with depression. He also had a morbid fascination with guns and death; as a child hunting in the Michigan wilderness; as a correspondent covering the Spanish Civil war and in the uncounted hundreds of big game he killed in Africa. Indeed the pages of his works are filled with violent death, whether human or animal.

            Yet, writers as a group are particularly vulnerable to depression. In an article titled “The Neurological Similarities between Successful Writers and the Mentally Ill,” Cody Delistraty[1] lists several reasons for this. Writers think a lot, and people entangled in their thoughts tend to be withdrawn. He says, “add long periods of isolation and high levels of narcissism that draws someone to a career like writing, and it seems obvious why they may not be the happiest bunch.” Other findings suggest an unusually high percentage of alcoholics in the writing community.

            But brain science may give a clearer explanation. In the same article, a connection between creativity and the inability to suppress the precuneus portion of the brain is suggested. The precuneus part of the brain regulates self-consciousness, memory and creativity. For ordinary people, it is most active during rest, when the brain is allowed to “day-dream.” For creatives, however, it doesn’t turn off.  And this may explain why the best writers find unusual associations and unique, even bizarre, ways of looking at the world. They cannot stop thinking. Unfortunately, this condition is also tied in with depression.

            Hemmingway is a classic example of misdiagnosed, or even undiagnosed, mental illness. Today, our understanding of mental illness has significantly advanced and cures are more readily available. One can only wonder what further works of genius he might have produced had such treatments been available during his decline.

---

[1] https://thoughtcatalog.com/cody-delistraty/2014/03/the-neurological-similarities-between-successful-writers-and-the-mentally-ill/

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper" (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books We love (www.bookswelove.net)

Lost Continents

  

An Early Map of Atlantis

Most people are familiar with Atlantis, the sunken continent, first written about by Plato. Supposedly situated in the Mediterranean Sea and inhabited by a war-like people, they embarked on  a naval siege of ancient Athens. Due to its superior political system, ancient Athens, Plato’s “ideal state,” was able to repel the invasion. The Gods, angered by the hubris of the Atlanteans, withdrew their favor and Atlantis submerged into the sea. While Plato’s story centered around an ideal political system and the arrogance of nations and their eventual demise, the mythical aspects of the lost continent caught the public’s imagination, and many attempts were made to locate this place. Fascination continues to this day, with a continuing cottage industry of books, films and comic books based on this legend.

Lost continents and civilizations have a long history, with stories and legends appearing in many cultures and places. Often, these catch the imagination of a people because they combine myth with national identity. One of these is Kumari Kandam, a lost continent supposedly drowned in the Indian Ocean, and the original home of the Tamil people of South India and named after the Hindu goddess Kanya Kumari. While belief in Kumari Kandam was a long history, it became more prominent in the twentieth century, as part of a popular revival of Tamil culture, which coincided with the ending of colonial rule in India. Supposedly ruled entirely by women who chose their husbands and enjoyed full property rights, it is said to be the origin of Tamil ‘Sangams’, or literary traditions, and seen as an ideal ancient civilization, excelling in all arts and sciences and the cradle of Tamil culture.

La Morte D'Arthur by James Archer (1860)

A similar idea forms the basis of Avalon, a lost island west of England. Featured in the tales of King Arthur, it appeared first in the Historia Regum Britanniae, Lord Geoffrey Monmouth’s account of early British history. He mentioned it as the place where King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, was forged. This mythical island was seen as a type of paradise, where fruits and flowers grew profusely, and ideal human behavior was exhibited. For a long time, it was believed that Avalon was the home of model and original English culture, no doubt inspired by the ideals of chivalry, courage, romance and gallantry displayed by King Arthur and his court, including his ideal wife Guinevere and the knight Lancelot. Inspiring the imagination to this day, Camelot, the name of the King’s court, and Merlin, the court magician, remain popular literary prototypes.

The Island of Thule (surrounded by whales)

Further to the north lies Thule, an island variously located near Shetland or Norway. Appropriately, it is a land of eternal sunshine. First appearing in Greek epics, it supposedly exists in the frozen seas well north of Britain. Inhabited by blue-painted people who are expert warriors, it grows barley in the summer and provides honey, from which the inhabitants make mead, an intoxicating liquor, evidently, a gift from the gods.

Maui holds up the Sky 

On the other side of the globe, in the Pacific, lies the island of Hawai’iki (not to be confused with Hawai’i,) the legendary home of the Maori people. Its actual location has never been confirmed, as appropriately enough, it is seen as a physical as well as a spiritual place. Greatly important to the Maoris, it is the subject of many of their songs, stories and cultural lessons. As an indication of its significance, many Maoris trace their genealogies, from the original man and woman to the current generation, to that island. It is also the home of the Polynesian gods, including the trickster demigod Maui, famous throughout the Pacific, and a character in the Disney movie, Moana. Its central importance to Maori culture can be appreciated by the understanding that it is the place from which every person (soul) comes, and where each returns.

Finally, the lost continent of Lemuria actually has a quasi-scientific background.  When the zoologist Phillip Sclater, in 1864, noticed similarities between mammals and fossils in both Madagascar and India, he proposed a continent, now disappeared, which once connected the two lands. He named it Lemuria, after the small monkey-like mammals found in both countries.  Strangely enough, there seems to be concrete evidence for this theory. Plate tectonics, which describe the drift of continents, posits that Africa and India were, at one point, part of a super continent named Gondwana. Furthermore, in 1999, drilling by a research vessel in the Indian Ocean discovered evidence of a large island which was submerged about 20 million years ago by rising sea levels. In 2015, researchers from South Africa, studying the island of Mauritius, came across geological formations that strongly suggest that the island is the above-ocean part of a much-larger, now-sunken, land mass. Culturally, the famous theosophist and mystic Helena Blavatsky of the late eighteenth century, considered to be the mother of modern spirituality, provided Lemuria with a mythical history as the home of an ancient, highly-evolved people, after which it became popularized in the public’s imagination.

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of The Yoga Zapper (www.yogazapper.com) published by Books We Love (www.bookswelove.net)

The Festival of Colours

Visit Mohan's Books We Love author page to view and purchase

The Festival of Colours

            As a child growing up in North India, I vividly remember Holi, the Festival of Colours. At that age, it meant a time when adult control over children disappeared and I could get away with all sorts of naughty things. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, I dowsed family members, what to speak of complete strangers, with buckets of water and handfuls of vividly colored corn starch without fear of punishment.

            Holi is a time when social barriers of class, age and even of gender disappear and one can, under a disguise of color, celebrate in equality.

            As with most things in India, the festival is cloaked with legends. In one, a devout young boy, Prahlad, is tortured by his evil aunt Holika. She has the power of being unaffected by fire. She carries the young Prahlad into a bonfire, expecting him to die, but miraculously, he escapes harm while she is consumed. Indeed, one of the traditions of Holi, named after Holika, is the burning of a bonfire during the (usually) two-day festival.

       

      Another legend has to do with Radha and Krishna, the Divine lovers who are worshiped across the sub-continent. Krishna, in his boyhood, would engage in any number of pranks to tease Radha, the leader of the Gopis, the cowherd girls in the village of Vrindavan, where they grew up. The current festival is a remembrance of those playful pastimes in which Krishna splashed of water and threw colored flower petals at his beloved.

Lathmar Holi

            Interestingly, in one village called Lathmar in the Vrindavan region, the women folk exact revenge for this teasing. During the Lathmar Holi, the women of the town gather the men from their town or neighboring villages and,  ritually, but gently, take sticks to their menfolk. Needless to say, the playful revenge creates a great deal of mirth for all.

            The celebration, which coincides with the beginning of spring, is celebrated throughout India, Nepal and several other South Asian countries. Increasingly, it is now appearing around the world and attracts not just ethnic Indians but locals. “Color Festivals” as they are known, are observed in many parts of Europe, Australia and the United States.

Surprisingly, one of the largest such festivals occurs annually at a Krishna temple near Salt

American Festival goers in Utah

Lake City in Utah. In 2016, an astounding thirty-five people, mostly young college students, showed up for two days of color throwing, music and dance. Holi has become so popular there that tour buses ply visitors from around the Western states, and being alcohol and drug free, it suits well the local Mormon ethos, whose adherents form the vast majority of the celebrants.

Indeed, in keeping with its original intent, Holi is becoming a celebration observed all around the world, rising above all human dualities, whether color, nationality, class or gender.

-Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper," published by Books We Love. www.yogazapper.com ; bookswelove.com

The Origins of Tree Hugging

Painting of the massacre of Bishnois in 1730

 The term tree-hugger in North America is generally used in a pejorative sense, to refer to a wolly-headed, idealistic hippie who is not connected to “reality.”

But tree-hugging has a long history, as a way of protecting the environment, as a protest against political exploitation and as an expression of cultural and spiritual values.

In 1730, the King of Jodhpur, a desert-like region in the North-West of India in the state of Rajasthan, required wood for the construction of a new palace. He ordered his soldiers to collect wood from a region where Bishnois, a rural people, lived.

One of the Bishnois, a woman named Amrita devi, could not bear to witness the destruction of both her faith and the village's sacred trees. In an expression of non-violent resistance, she hugged a tree, and encouraged others to do so too, proclaiming: “A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree.”

As each villager hugged a tree, refusing to let go, they were beheaded by the soldiers. It is said that 363 Bishnoi villagers were killed in the name of their sacred forest.

When the King was informed about this atrocity he rushed to the village and apologized, ordering the soldiers to cease logging operations.

In 1973, the mountainous Himalayan region of India was the scene of another widespread episode of tree-hugging. Called the Chipko (stick) movement, it went on to become a rallying point for many environmental movements all around the world. In many parts of the developing world, parcels of forests were, and still are, being sold off to companies for clear-cutting. As with the Bishnois, the Chipko movement had many female leaders.  At first, several small confrontations between villagers and loggers from companies happened.

But the flash point occurred in January 1974, when the government announced anther auction. This incited the villagers, who decided to protest against the actions of the government by hugging the trees. On March 25, 1974, the day the lumbermen were to cut the trees, the men were diverted by state government and contractors to a fictional compensation payment site, while back home labourers arrived by the truckload to start logging operations.

Chipko women defending trees

A local girl, on seeing them, rushed to inform Gaura Devi, the head of the village’s women’s association Gaura Devi led 27 of the village women to the site and confronted the loggers. When all talking failed, and the loggers started to shout and abuse the women, threatening them with guns, the women resorted to hugging the trees to stop them from being felled. This went on into late hours. The women kept an all-night vigil guarding their trees from the cutters until a few of them relented and left the village. The next day, when the men and leaders returned, the news of the movement spread to neighboring districts and more people joined in. Eventually, only after a four-day stand-off, the contractors left.

The news soon reached the state capital, where the state Chief Minister eventually ruled in favour of the villagers. This became a turning point in the history of eco-development struggles in the region and around the world, and from here, tree-hugging spread to other areas around the world, including North America.

While tree-hugging is seen as an ecological movement in the west, the roots are actually spiritual. The Bishnois are followers of the Guru Jambeshwar Bhagavan, born in 1451, who taught twenty-nine principles which emphasized cleanliness, truthfulness, devotion to God and compassion for all living things, including trees and animals. Their beliefs have led to a remarkable community. Bishnoi carpenters never cut trees--they wait for trees to die on their own or fall down during storms. They dig small ponds in their fields and fill them with water  for wildlife during the arid summer months. Even if their standing crop is eaten by deer herds, no Bishnoi ever chases a deer away. They are great protectors of wildlife and consider it a great pride to be able to die saving trees or animals. Unsurprisingly, Bishnoi areas are oases of trees, wildlife and water in an otherwise forbidding landscape.

A Bishnoi girl

"We would willingly go hungry to feed the animals," says Bana Ram, in an interview with Anupama Bhattacharya[i]. "We believe in the co-existence of life. Our guru said that those who die saving innocent animals or trees will go to heaven. For us, animals are the avatars of divinity."

"Our guru forbade us to get addicted, be it smoking, tobacco chewing, drugs or alcohol. Even tea is considered a vice," says Teja Ram. 

"What makes me proud," says Bana Ram, "is that the next generation is even more committed to nature than we are." As if on cue, a little boy who can hardly keep pace as we walk around the village, tugs at my sleeve and says: "I'll never let anybody kill these animals."

Living amidst the barren wastelands interspersed with khejri and babool trees, the Bishnois are a proud race. "We don't get any help from the government and don't want any," says Johra Ram. "Any change in the world has to begin within the society. All this talk about nature and wildlife protection would be more effective if each individual was to believe in the earth as a living, breathing entity and fight for its survival the way we do."

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper - A Novel" published by Books We Love, Ltd.

www.yogazapper.com

---

[i] http://www.experienceproject.com/stories/Love-Elementals-And-Nature-Spirits/1425768