Letters to the Editor: Always at the receiving end

The Sanatan, literally means Hinduism, a religion whose root contemporary history cannot be reached. It is a fact that one is born as Hindu as Hinduism needs no ritual to convert oneself into Hinduism once he or she is born. In Christianity, one has to be baptized to be a Christian and in Islam, one has to be circumcised to be an Islam after his birth. The Christians and the Islams fought holy wars called Crusades and Jehad among themselves to spread their faith which was never so in the case of Hinduism. The Hindus never did spread their faith by swords.

Today's India was known as Hindustan, a land for the Hindus literally is now a nation for all faiths. Alarmingly! The million-year-old followers are now at the receiving end across the globe, be in the UK, the USA, Canada etc., let alone the Islamic nations, namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh to name a few. Even in India in states like Kashmir, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and parts of Assam, the Hindus are not safe.

The Hindus are always at the receiving end.

Joel Goyari,

Tangla.

Navratri: Festival of 'Shakti'!

Navratri festival is going on in full swing. This year, as there is no restriction for Navratri, there is a huge crowd to play Garba and Dandiya. After two years of restrictions, it is sure that every festival will be celebrated with enthusiasm this year. Navratri is a festival of 'Shakti'. What do we do to experience that power? Let everyone ask themselves this question. Navratra is not just Dandiya-Garba. Don't rely on it. One should take advantage of this special period to worship the Goddess. Devotion to the Goddess should not be stopped. Devotion is the foundation of any festival. A huge crowd is gathering to play Dandiya, Garba. We are seeing this on TV and experiencing it in the living segment as well. But in the same crowd, during this period, how much was seen for the Hom, Pooja-aarti, Durgasaptashati recitation? This must be known to everyone. There is a misconception among the youth that only the elderly used to go to such places and we would go to play Dandiya-Garba. A large number of youths went out till late at night under the name of 9 days of Navratri festival. This class, which murmurs for devotion to the Goddess, continues to play Dandiya-Garba in the festival of the same Goddess. It is the enthusiasm being shown for this. The same enthusiasm should be shown for devotion. For this, one should pray to the Goddess, 'Give me the wisdom to worship You' and start worshipping the Goddess. E.g. Shri Durgadevyai Namha. This chanting should be done more and more on Navratri. Along with this, other worship of the Goddess should also be continued.

If you take one step, God is walking ten steps for you. Navratri is associated with 'Shakti'. The opportunity to realize power through devotion should not be missed. Every year more Garba-Dandiya is played on the songs in the film. The same is going on this year too. If the steps of people who go to play Garba every year turn to devotion as well, it will benefit the people. The devotee who is immersed in the juice of devotion sees nothing other than devotion. So he does not behave in a way that hurts others. 'I want to be the same. Let's make such a firm decision. The power of the Goddess will continue unabated. No one can bind Aadishakti who destroys demons and protects devotees. Every year there is an opportunity to bath in the power of the Goddess. Everyone should take this opportunity.

Jayesh Rane,

Mumbai