The Hindu View of Organ Donation

On July 14 2009, I was invited as a panelist in forum organized by the Nilai University College during its Ribbon Week. The Ribbon Week is an event initiative by the college to increase awareness in Malaysia on important health causes. There are four colour coded ribbons that represent:

White Ribbon: Maternal and Child Health

Pink Ribbon: Breast Cancer

Green Ribbon: Organ Donation

Red Ribbon: HIV and AIDS

The forum was to enlighten the public on the various religious points of veiw on the practice of organ donation. There was four of us, a Buddhist monk, a Christian Pastor, A Muslim lecturer and I of course represented Hinduism. Below is the introductory text of my opening for the Hindu Point of View on Organ Donation.

In my years of Hindu missionary work in Malaysia and abroad I have not encountered a situation where a Hindu leader or guru has forbidden organ donation or organ transplanting. However, no authority in Hinduism has come up with guidelines for this relatively new innovation in medical care. (Relative from the the point of view of human history). In general organ donation is considered the personal choice of an individual.

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Part Three: Disicpline - Willpower's Pace Setter

Amongst the 3D's (Desire, Determination and Discipline), discipline is the most simple element. Essentially it is following through on a plan. In fact, discipline does not play any role in either the cause (the role of desire) or stimulation (the role of determination) of willpower. Discipline, interestingly enough, is used to reign in willpower. However for any project to be successful, discipline is as important as the other 'Ds'. Disciplines main role is managing the powerful force of willpower. Before we get into the important subject of managing willpower, it is important that I share the spiritual understanding of discipline.

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Q & A: Why did God make us intelligent?

Well the questions above is not exactly what my young friend Arulmoli asked. I paraphrased it for the title of this QnA. Here is Arul's original question:

The basic needs of men is food, and shelter. So, why are men given such a powerful mind to create so many great things like machines. Do men actually need all these things to live ..... no. Then why are we such an advance creation by god ? We should have just been monkeys.

This question came to Arul out of his enthrallment after viewing the trailer for the upcoming Transformer movie. I saw the trailer with Arul, it was impressive to say the least, especially how computer graphics have evolved over the recent years. Arul's question seemed appropriate. Click Here to continue with this QnA.

The Laws That Govern Life

The Laws That Govern Life

God created all the worlds and endowed them with laws to govern them. These laws govern everything from nature to the consequences of our actions and our perspective. Among the spiritual laws that govern life, three play the most prominent part in our life. They are maya, karma and anava. 

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Yogic Personal Development Seminar 2: Willpower Pt.1

Part One: Desire, Willpower's Energy Generator

Seminars Two, Three and Four of the Yogic Personal Development Seminars are dedicated to the study of willpower. Willpower is a most crucial element in making all things happen in life whether they be for material or spiritual purposes. Willpower is comprised of three faculties and states of mind. They are desire, determination and discipline. In this first part, Desire is subject of exploration.

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The Recession from a Spiritual Perspective

I thought I would meditate on the current economic downturn to gain an inner perspective on this global situation. An inner perspective is looking at something from the 'inside out' as my guru used to say. The 'inside out' perspective is a meditative perspective. It can reveal surprising information and insight into a subject or situation that would otherwise escape us, as this perspective draws directly for the Omniscience of God.

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The Gayatri Mantra

The Gayatri mantra is a popular Vedic mantra. Gayatri is the mythical goddess of dawn. She represents the Sun as it rises. This mantra is a supplication to God to help us in our life. The Gayatri mantra is described in the Vedas to be used in a ceremony called the sandhya vandanam. Sandhya vandanam is performed in the morning as the first prayer after one bathes. In the old days people went to the rivers or the large temple water tanks for their bath. After their bath and before leaving the river (or any body of water) devotees will perform sandhya vandanam. The Vedas give these instructions on how to perform sandhya vandanam:

Standing knee deep in water while facing the rising sun, water is collected with both palms together. Then the while chanting the Gayatri mantra the water is slowly poured back into the river. This is repeated three times.

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