TEXAS FAITH: Is the Sikh shooting Christian terrorism?

 am pleased to share a few thoughts on long term solutions in the light of Sikh Massacre; this is in conjunction with my column at Dallas Morning news.

https://www.facebook.com/events/243314312456357/

As an American, Indian and a Muslim, I stand by the Sikh community and hope to find sustainable solutions to prevent shameless events like this from happening. As Americans we need to come together to build an America where no one needs to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

Kindly join us for a candlelight vigil on August 8th at the Sikh Temple of North Texas at 506 Gatewood Rd, Garland, Texas 75043 in Garland, TX at 8 p.m.

Blaming will not bring the lives back or solve the problems, pushing the bigots to the corner will not do it, engaging (there is no them, it is all of us) them in a normal day to day life has a chance of nurturing goodwill.

We need to ask ourselves, am I capable of making friends with fellow Americans from different backgrounds, races, faiths and ethnicities? If I am reluctant, biased or bent on blaming others, then half of the problem is me. If I have it, they have it. Then I need to shed my bias first.

Here is an article on the topic at Dallas Morning News’s Texas Faith Section, and God willing there will be an article with statements from a few about the incident in a few days.

Texas Faith is a weekly column at Dallas Morning News managed by Editors William McKenzie and Wayne Slater, the material is contributed by several panelists, for all responses please visit http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/08/texas-faith-is-the-sikh-shooting-christian-terrorism.html/

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

The term “Christian Terrorism” is one of the most dangerous terms to bring into currency. It is as ridiculous as “Islamic Terrorism” or Jewish and Hindu Terrorism. I deplore Juergensmeyer for floating it, as it amounts to advocating an eye for an eye, making the whole world blind.

We continue to blame Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or other religions as though they are individuals who can be slapped, hanged, annihilated, beat up, killed or punished for the wrong doing. If we can’t do that, then why bark at religion?

Every piece of matter and life is programmed to seek balance and justice respectively. Blaming a religion is passing the buck to an intangible non-punishable entity, thus deliberately perpetuating injustice. Justice is the key to harmony and peaceful co-existence in the society.

Individuals are always responsible for the bloodshed and not the religions. By punishing the individual for the wrong doing, we serve justice and restore trust and cohesiveness in the society. We need to go a step further, and find the individuals who inspire men like Wade Michael Page to massacre the Sikhs in the temple or the senseless shooting in Colorado.
Hate is one of the sources of disrupting peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it. We have an obligation to maintain law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen.

Politicians and religious leaders need to be aware, that as a civilized society, we can hold them accountable for making irresponsible statements.

If we learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the genetic uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. Ask yourselves, what is my contribution to America?

As an American, Indian and a Muslim, I stand by the Sikh community and hope to find long term sustainable solutions to prevent shameless events like this from happening.

As Americans we need to come together to build an America where no one needs to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.

URL - http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2012/08/texas-faith-is-sikh-shooting-christian.html

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Please visit the site http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/

No American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. There are solutions; here is a trailer of the movie in making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8&feature=youtu.be

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily.

TEXAS FAITH: Has religion lost its bite?

Has faith been boiled down into tenets that mostly make us feel good about ourselves? Or, to put it another way, has modern religion lost its ability to make us feel uncomfortable about parts of our lives?

Texas Faith is a weekly column at Dallas Morning News managed by Editors William McKenzie and Wayne Slater, the material is contributed by several panelists, for all responses please visit http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2012/07/texas-faith-has-religion-lost-its-bite.html/

Has modern religion lost its bite?

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Indeed, the modern religion is reduced to a ritual to be performed as a social obligation to get it over with, rather than what it ought to do to you personally. It is particularly dumped on children as a duty to be fulfilled. The story is similar in most religions, given the space limitations; I will keep it to the Islamic month of Ramadan.

As a part of developing the model for Pluralism in Islam, I am visiting every denominational mosque since Ramadan began ten days ago for the whole month ending on August 18^th or 19^th depending on the moon sighting. It is everything you wanted to know about Ramadan and more; its politics, spirituality and traditions at RamdanDaily.com. One will appreciate the uniqueness of each of its traditions.

Dr. Allama Iqbal, a great philosopher and a poet wrote a poem in Urdu language, and one of the most famous lines goes as follows; “Tera dil to hay sanam aashna, tujhay kia milay ga namaz main. ” Broadly translated, you heart is elsewhere, and so what do you get out of praying or fasting?

What do the Salat (ritual prayers) and fasting do to you, and what is the cumulative effect on you? If it does not bring Taqwa, the spirituality and humility in you, then you have merely performed the ritual without being affected by it.|

Taqwa has many dimensions, one of them is humility, the essence of which is feeling, talking and acting equal with your employee, spouse, family and other members of the society, Muslim or not. How do we measure up?

Arrogance is the mother of all conflicts, whereas humility is the solution to most of them. When you bow, kneel or prostrate at your place of worship, it is an acknowledgement of the invisible superior being, and equality of fellow beings.

Has your religion lost its bite? Look at the ritual practices in your own, most people get it right, a few don’t.

To a few, religion is a powerful tool to manipulate others, or pushing their beliefs onto others. To some it is a social need to keep their status as a church going “honest” family, and some feel sanctimonious when performing the rituals in a Church, Temple, Synagogue, Gurudwara or a Mosque. When they step out of the sanctuary, the arrogance creeps right back in, and the religion loses its bite instantly.

Added

My Professor Dr. Ramachandra, shared a story about the senselessness of rituals. He said, a great Hindu Sadhu (saint) goes to the Ganges to take the holy dip in the river to wash his sins off. As he walked on the edge of the river, thousands of devotees recognized him and decided, that is was time for them to learn from him by observing his rituals.

So the Sadhu places his traditional water bucket on the sand, and goes into the river, looks back at the brass bucket and realizes that it could be stolen, the smart man walks back and buries the bucket in the sand. As he was walking into the river, he realizes that he may not find the spot in the large swatch of sand, so he comes back, and plucks a branch from a tree and plants it on the top of the buried bucket and merrily goes back into the river. When he returns from his bath, he was shocked to see thousands of tree branches buried in the sand instead the one. Many a rituals are formed thru imitations without meaning it.

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Please mark your calendar for Tuesday 9/11/2012, it's a big event in Dallas- details at www.UnitydayUSA.com

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No American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. There are solutions, here is a trailer of the movie in making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXsTo4VYh8&feature=youtu.be

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.comis updated daily.

Relgion, conversion, monopoly and God's will

Let's begin with greetings.

All religious greetings express the same wisdom; wishing you to be blessed, soaked and drenched in peace, so we can talk and act peace. Amen!

Peace, Shalom, Salaam, Satsriakaal, Namaste, Alaabho, Hamzor hama ashobed, and all other greetings are ways of acknowledging the stranger and seeking to build relationships. Its how all religions evolved in building the elusive kingdom of heaven, where no one has to live in fear of the other.

About Conversions

I honor your beliefs, and hope you honor my beliefs. It is dead wrong for you or I to believe that the other one is wrong, and that is sheer arrogance and goes against the key principle of religion, every religion; humility.

Every word I am writing below, will be in Bible and is in Quraan and sure will be there in all holy books. Eeach one of my statements below has origins in Quraan and my fellow Muslims can quote the verses. This is what most Muslims subscribe to, but may not have expressed in this fashion. 

Religion is not mathematics or physics to be clearly wrong or right, it is rather a belief, a leap of faith that has no rhyme or reason, and as such neither you, nor I can be wrong. All are right in our own beliefs, there is no need for any one to be wrong. The evil surfaces when we erroneously and arrogantly believe that the other one is wrong, and we compound the error by pushing our beliefs onto the others. People should be free to believe as long as they are not robbing you, hurting you or being unjust to you. There should not be any compulsion to convert, what is the need? 

Life is a celebration, and gratitude  is the capstone.

Birth is a celebration, growing up is, graduation is, getting a job is, marriage is.... praying in church, mosque, synagogue, temples and altars is celebration of creator's glory.


An atheist, pagan or native traditionalist appreciating the nature is celebration of the causer of the universe without giving a name, face  or ascribing divinity to it.

Father’s day, Mothers day, Anniversaries, Rakhi are all expressions of gratitude.

One should be grateful every moment and to everyone who has done whatever little to enhance other's and one's own life.

Life will remain incomplete without expressing gratitude... it is a powerful emotional release that gives you peace of mind, the other components are justice, repentance, forgiveness...

God does not want homogeneity

God does not want his creation to be exactly allike; he would have created if that was the case, he can do anything, after all he is the creator.

God created each one of us to be different intentionally, each one with his/her own thumb print, eye print, DNA... no two humans are alike...no two snowflakes are like... isn't that God's will?

God will not allow:

You may not like this, and most religious folks who are not "free" will not like this, but do think about it. Some of my Muslim friends may not see Islam in terms of freedom; it released slaves, women, egos and others from bondage...including my god v your god... and moving on to a common denominator God. 

God will not allow the entire world to be Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jew, Buddhist or the other.  It's tough to swallow, but if we get off the delusional world, we can see it. 

Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna, Moses or Buddha will reach out to a segment of the population, but never the whole population. What we believe is simply belief, facts are otherwise.

A few Christians, Muslims and others live in the dream world that one day every one would be a Christian or Muslim. Indeed that is likely, if being Christian, Hindu, Muslim or a Jew means a good human being that treats every human being with respect and dignity, but if it means political Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism, it will not happen.

Because it goes against God's will

I pray that God give us all the humility to respect each other and their opinions.

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer onpluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily. 

Thanksgiving, why should we celebrate?

I am pleased to share the following articles about thanksgiving and it’s significance in our lives. I am committed to mitigate conflicts and nurture goodwill amongst people of different affiliations, that is my passion and I speak about it.

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1. Dallas Morning News: Why should we be thankful?
It is a day to pull ourselves together and tie up the loose ends of life. Through the year we receive a lot of good from others in the form of words and actions, and many a times it is a one way transaction and remains incomplete. Those who achieve balance in life are the happiest people. Indeed, our happiness is directly dependent on fulfillment of our desires; lesser fulfillment yields greater discontentment. So, the enlightened Buddha says, fewer the desires, lesser the sorrows! A full narrative is at:
http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/11/texas-faith-why-should-we-be-thankful.html

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2. Huffington Post – A Pluralist’s Thanksgiving. The article weaves through several religions touching the heart and soul of each one. It's just not you, ask Bill Gates, whom God has blessed, he would say not enough! Ask the Homeless; the answer is still the same, not enough. Who has enough then? Then read the incredible story of gratitude. Appaiah turned around and asked me instead “Isn’t there so much to thank the lord?” I was rendered speechless. Here is a man with nothing to hope for, yet he is not complaining, that is gratitude!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse . If not published on Thursday, go to: http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2011/11/essence-of-thanksgiving.html

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Americans Together building a cohesive America

Our Mission is to build a cohesive America, where no American has to live in anxieties, discomfort or fear of the other. As a society, it is our responsibility to keep law and order and faithfully guard the safety of every citizen. Hate, prejudice and stereotyping are some of the many sources of disrupting the peace in a society and it is our duty to track down the source of such hate and work on mitigating it and nurturing goodwill. We need your input.

http://americatogetherfoundation.blogspot.com/2011/11/americans-together-documentary_11.html

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Happy thanksgiving

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is fully indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

ADDITIONAL READING, IF YOU HAVE THE TIME

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KENTUCKY STATE SENATOR WILLIAMS REMARKS OFFENDS HINDUS

It is not only a Hindu issue; it is indeed an American issue. The speaking out shouldn't be just from Hindus, but Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pagans, Wiccans, Zoroastrians and others as well. Why should anyone stand up for you, if you are not willing to do the same for others? No one has a right to belittle other's faiths.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/senator-williams-offend-hindus_b_1075392.html

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SIKHS AND MUSLIMS CAN COME TOGETHER FOR GURPURAB
The ill-will between Sikhs and Muslims has run deep for over 350 years based on mistranslation of a verse from Quraan by Emperors sycophants, and carried further by the leaders of the Sikh community without any one making an effort to correct the translation and remove the misunderstanding. I was blessed to have that opportunity to interact with Dr. Aulakh Singh in Melbourne, Australia and hope, the ill-will mitigates. The good news is that, most of the Sikh youth are not familiar with it and I am glad they are not. Finding the truth is one’s own responsibility. Full story at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/sikhs-and-muslims-on-542n_b_1087327.html

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ESSENCE OF EID-AL-ADHA: A MUSLIM FESTIVAL OF SACRIFICE

The following article, "Essence of Eid-al-Adha" was written for non-Muslims as well as Muslims, so they can relate with the essence of our celebrations. Unless we connect and relate, myths continue to flourish about us. There is a slight humor in the dialogue between Prophet Abraham and God with the intent of understanding what love and sacrifice mean in a relationship. A few Muslims may not see it, but Insha Allah it will go a long way in building bridges. I do hope the last item about appreciating men and women in the uniform goes a long way in building relationship.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/essence-of-eidaladha-a-mu_b_1075393.html

TEXAS FAITH: Images of God and Mental Health

When all else fails, a strong belief in God brings solace to one’s mental health. Many polls affirm the Baylor survey on God and mental health. A strong belief in God assures the person that he or she has a place in the scheme of things. It may not make any sense but faith in God gives hopes and hope is a positive energy that restores one’s ability from tipping. One may be angry at God, may not understand or even wonder about God’s role in one’s life, but when they heal, or even see a slight improvement in their lives, there is someone to give credit to, and it is usually God. The relationship was always there unacknowledged.

Here is one of the 10 responses at Dallas Morning News, for all the responses to go;
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/11/texas-faith-images-of-god-and.html

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas


When all else fails, a strong belief in God brings solace to one’s mental health. Many polls affirm the Baylor survey.


A 2008 Gallup poll found that 78 percent of respondents expressed a belief in God, the numbers have declined from a 2003 Gallup polls which found that over 95% of Americans profess belief in God and 62% believed that religion can answer all or most of today’s problems. Even though the numbers are changing, belief in God holds out to 90% in2010 Polls. As a pluralist, I want to highlight another part of the same survey where 72% of Americans do not believe that their version of God is the only way – meaning all will achieve salvation regardless of their religion.

The focus of most surveys is belief in God and not which version of God or frequency of prayers. I am glad to read the Baylor findings, “Respondents who pray every day report statistically the same number of mental health issues as those who never pray or pray only on certain occasions.”


Murphy and Fitchett in their research paper Belief in a Caring God Improves Response to Medical Treatment for Depression write, "For people diagnosed with clinical depression, medication certainly plays an important role in reducing symptoms," Murphy said. "But when treating persons diagnosed with depression, clinicians need to be aware of the role of religion in their patients' lives. It is an important resource in planning their care."


Nancy Kehoe, a nun and a psychologist, writes in Wrestling With our Inner Angels that “respecting the spiritual and religious beliefs of those who suffer from mental illness actually opens the way to greater meaning, support, even healing.”


Mental health, as defined by the Surgeon General's report "refers to the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity."


Dr. Grace Tsai adds, “Imbalance or "disharmony" is the cause of illness and results from physical, psychological, nutritional, environmental or spiritual influences tipping that balance.”

In the Theistic Integrative Psychology approach, Richards & Bergin(2004) wrote, The foundational assumptions of our theistic strategy are that “God exists, that human beings are the creations of God, and that there are unseen spiritual processes by which the link between God and humanity is maintained” (Bergin, 1980a, p. 99). We also assume that people who have faith in God’s power and draw on spiritual resources during treatment will have added strength to cope, heal, and grow.

A strong belief in God assures the person that he or she has a place in the scheme of things. It may not make any sense but faith in God gives hopes and hope is a positive energy that restores one’s ability from tipping. One may be angry at God, may not understand or even wonder about God’s role in one’s life, but when they heal, or even see a slight improvement in their lives, there is someone to give credit to, and it is usually God. The relationship was always there unacknowledged.


Many religions including Islam and Hinduism assert that even a blade of grass does not move without the divine plan and add that one has the freedom to choose and influence one’s destiny within the divine plan. Fate plays a key role in one’s ability to cope with the destitution, the moment one accepts it as a part of the divine plan, it mitigates one’s suffering.


Religion can be defined as a mechanism that gives hopes and restores one’s balance and harmony with what surrounds one people and the environment affecting that balance.

When reason fails, faith takes over. Indeed, God is the last resort to those who believe in him, her or it.


Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity and Fox and a regular on nationally syndicated radio shows. His work is indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net

Ramadan Mubarak - Happy Ramadan

Muslims around the world will begin fasting from Wednesday, August 11, 2010 and for a whole month thereafter.

Thanks to Washington post, they will publish three articles on Ramadan; The Politics of Ramadan, The Rituals of Ramadan and the Spirit of Ramadan towards the third of Ramadan.

True fasting is self-purification; and from this, a rich inner life brings about values such as justice, generosity, patience, kindness, forgiveness, mercy and empathy - values that are indispensable for the success of the community.

Consciousness of behavior and vigilance over action are the most profound dimensions of fasting: the fasting of the heart focuses on the attachment to the divine. That is when Ramadan really becomes a source of peace and solace, just as Christmas goes beyond the rituals to bring forth kindness, charity and caring.

For fasting to be truly universal, its benefits must extend beyond the fraternal ties of Muslims and must extend to forging a common humanity with others. Fasting is meant to impart a sense of what it means to be truly human, and its universality is reflected by its observance in Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Wiccan, Zoroastrian, other faiths and importantly the native traditions.

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a Writer on Islam and Pluralism and is a frequent guest at Media offering pluralistic solutions to the issues of the day. His work is listed on 22 of his blogs and two websites listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Interfaith, intra-faith, pluralism, religion & spirituality

ABSTRACT: Interfaithing is NOT about uniting religions, it is about hearing each other, and learning to remove myths and falsehoods about other faiths and live without fear of the other. Much of the fear is imaginary - like a child being afraid of the boogey man that ain't there. Let the goodness in you find the goodness in others.

Continued: http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/05/interfaith-intra-faith-pluralism.html