Tag: DeshKaVikaas

The Coalition for the Defense of the Constitution and Democracy (CDCD) unequivocally condemns the brazen attempt by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA, World Hindu Council of America), Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS, Hindu Volunteer Corps) and others to provide a platform in the USA for individuals and organizations engaged in fomenting and carrying out acts of genocidal violence against minorities, intellectuals, and human rights and civil liberties activists in India. The above organizations have organized the so-called ‘World Hindu Congress’ in Chicago from September 7-9, 2018, where they have invited speakers who have taken public positions, made statements, and / or engaged in actions that are fascistic, misogynist, Islamophobic, anti-Dalit, pro-casteist, and homophobic.

The main organizers of this conference are, not surprisingly, organizational affiliates of the Hindu supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the RSS, or National Volunteer Corps) – the parent organization of the increasingly repressive Hindu Nationalist ruling party in India – the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party) in India and close affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in India – an organization with innumerable smaller affiliates that is routinely linked to the rising numbers of lynchings of Muslims and Dalits in India, and more recently with plotting terror, with a UK Guardian Op-ed calling India ‘Republic of Fear’, and noted writer Pankaj Mishra speaking about the BJP’s ‘hybrid methods of repression’.

The theme driving this event is a so-called “Hindu resurgence,” – a term that hides behind a benign multicultural mask for celebrating Hindu culture but which conveniently seeks to mask the violent politics of the RSS and its affiliates. For, the ‘culture’ being celebrated at the WHC is shaped by the fascistic and supremacist vision of the RSS, an organization modeled along fascist Italian organizations such as the Ballila and Avanguardisti and centered on the total abrogation of all democratic rights and norms of governance. Over the last 4 years of the Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi government, there has been a sharp spike in violence against minorities, with many atrocities directly committed by members of the RSS family of organizations including the ruling BJP, with full impunity. The victims of the violence of this ‘Hindu resurgence’ – known by its more popular name in India and abroad as ‘Hindutva’ – are Muslims, Dalits, Hindus from oppressed caste groups, Christians, secularists, rationalists , human rights and civil liberty activists, and any opponents or critics of the current political regime.

It therefore is shocking that the two top leaders of the RSS – Mohan Bhagwat and Dattatreya Hosabale are to lead plenary sessions at the WHC, while a host of other major players in the broader family of RSS organizations are participants in various roles. Some examples of speakers listed under the “Education Conference” include Sankrant Sanu who routinely calls the media ‘presstitutes’ and debunks Islamophobia, and Rajeev Malhotra, a U.S. based entrepreneur and supporter of the RSS who publicly tweeted a few weeks ago that donors for flood-ravaged Kerala state in India should only aid Hindus and not Muslims and Christians.

Among those included as speakers in the “Media Conference” section are the editors of the mouthpieces of the RSS (“Organiser”) and the BJP (“Panchjanya”). Others such as Suresh Chavhanke, who heads the right-wing Sudarshan TV station has a life-long association with the RSS, and has previously been arrested for ‘promoting enmity,’ and is also accused of rape.

In addition, prominent figures from the film industry who have publicly embraced the politics of the RSS and BJP such as Vivek Agnihotri and Anupam Kher, who not too long ago were actively inciting mob and state violence against students in Jadavpur University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, publicly labelling government critics and human rights activists as ‘anti-nationalists’ and ‘Maoists’, and Shefali Vaidya a prominent Modi supporter who is associated with the notorious rightwing blog “The Frustrated Indian.” The organizers of the WHC have left little doubt that they view the event as a platform for their Hindu supremacist movement.

Another prominent inspiration for Hindutva and the World Hindu Congress, Ajay Singh Bisht (“Yogi Adityanath”), was initially invited to speak at the WHC, but for unknown reasons is no longer listed as a speaker. He is the chief executive of India’s most populous state and has overseen a reign of mob violence by his own party members attacking Muslim and Dalit communities. He has cases pending against him for incitement and violence, and has been the subject of a recent Supreme Court query directed to courts in UP asking why he hasn’t been prosecuted for his crimes. Indeed, the Indian Supreme Court itself, given the rise in mob violence including lynchings and the impunity seemingly granted by the Indian government, warned that India is becoming a ‘mobocracy.’

By masking their anti-democratic political agenda of Hindutva behind the garb of celebrating ‘Hindu culture,’ the organizers of the WHC seek to avoid critical scrutiny from the U.S. public. Freely deploying symbols from the Hindu tradition, they seek to convince Americans that their event is about Hinduism. However, many self-identified Hindus would disagree. They would argue that Hindutva is NOT Hinduism. The ruthless persecution of religious minorities, the bold defense of some of the most horrid practices of discrimination and violence against Dalits, and the revanchist anti-woman dispensation of the Hindutva movement, should all give cause for concern among a US public accustomed to viewing such events through the lens of multicultural citizenship.

The WHC is a Hindutva event – built entirely on Hindu supremacist notions and fascistic organizations – whose purpose is to shore up chances for the BJP in the impending 2019 general elections. It is incumbent upon all of us to educate ourselves about the violent ideology of Hindutva, and in particular on members of the press to expose the World Hindu Congress for what it is – a brazen attempt to provide a global platform for Hindutva leaders to aid in the persecution and further oppression of religious minorities, Dalits, public intellectuals, and human rights and civil liberty activists in India.

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher treated Houstonians to the entire array of his onscreen avatars – serious, comic, patriotic, profound, candid, strong  and yet vulnerable in his address at the  28th Janmashtami celebrations held at George Brown Convention Center on 25 April  Considered one of the finest actors in Bollywood with a soon-to-be-seen debut in Hollywood, the actor who was the Chief Guest of the evening, lived up to every bit of his reputation and spoke for a full hour only broken by applause and appreciative laughter.

The well attended event which brings all the communities of Houston under one roof to celebrate Lord Krishna’s birth, honors outstanding achievements by members of the community and has a lively session of dandiya to round up the evening is organized by the Hindus of Greater Houston.

Kher, who arrived on the dot, took seconds to connect with the gathering. With self- deprecating humor, he explained why he came to the event in a formal suit and tie. The kurta he had ordered was three sizes too big! After taking off his jacket and tie and looking visibly more comfortable, he launched into a one hour “conversation” with the gathering using his brilliant storytelling skills, snippets of poetry, anecdotes and rich wit to deliver his serious message – that “failure is an event, not a person.”

This invaluable lesson was driven home when his parents and grandfather celebrated his academic failures instead of putting him down. Raised in a family that was poor in monetary terms but rich in affection and encouragement, he stated that life’s experiences are the best teachers and his many “encounters with failure” took away the fear of failure.

He advised the parents in the gathering to teach their children to be strong, to have the “hunger” to succeed, and challenge them without overprotecting them from the realities of life. He added that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the same “hunger” to take the country forward which is why he has always espoused the Prime Minister’s cause.

While dispensing some inspirational advice for the youth he said “Mera gyan meri zindagi ke anubhavo se juda hai. (My wisdom comes from life’s experiences). Judging from the audience’s reaction to his speech, the message of learning from our failures and “living life” clearly touched a chord.

When the applause died down, prominent industrialist Jugal Malani draped a shawl around Anupam Kher while Sushma Pallod tied a rakhi to him to mark Raksha Bandhan. In a gesture that was touching, Anupam Kher reciprocated by giving her the traditional offering of money a brother gives his sister.

Sanjay Jajoo served as a lively Emcee while HGH President Partha Krishnaswamy appealed for funds for Kerala flood relief. Sewa International has collected $250,000 from generous Houstonians for relief work.

Two Houstonians were recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award – CEO of Star Pipes Ramesh Bhutada and Beth Kulkarni.  Well-known philanthropist, Ramesh Bhutada who has served the community unstintingly with his time, effort and resources stated that he was humbled to receive the award and reiterated Anupam Kher’s words on encouraging and “recognizing our children for trying.” In her acceptance speech, Beth, who has served many area organizations in leadership and advisory roles, hoped that the award would inspire other Hindus to serve the community in any way they can. The Akhil Chopra Unsung Heroes Award was presented to Richa Dixit, Manish Khatri and Nisha Bhatia.

Other highlights of the celebrations included the children’s costume contest where little children dressed as little Krishnas and Radhas, a cultural dance segment, food, apparel and organization booths. A 25 feet in diameter vibrant Rangoli by Sangita Bhutada with the theme of “makhan chor” welcomed visitors to the center.

First time attendee and IMAGH Secretary Saeed Pathan said that the Janmashtami celebrations and the atmosphere brought back wonderful childhood memories of the festival in India.

Members of the Young Hindus of Greater Houston (YHGH) also contributed substantially to the smooth execution of the event. YHGH President Raj Salhotra stated “The 2018 Janmashtami celebration showcased Houston’s wonderful tradition of diversity. It was wonderful to witness the outpouring of support from Houston’s youth. We are excited to work with youth from across the city to build an organization that represents Hindus from all backgrounds.”

THE entire political class is to blame for the “polarization and radicalization” of India that has spawned mob violence, the Moderator of the Good Shepherd Church of India, the Rt Rev. Joseph D’Souza, said this week.

After dozens of lynchings in recent months, people of all religions needed to join in countering the “mobocracy” he said.

The Telegraph reports that, in the past six months, 31 people have been killed across ten states, in most cases after being accused of kidnapping children in viral posts on Whatsapp and Facebook. Among them was Mohammad Azam Usmanseb, 32, an IT technician beaten to death by a mob of 200 last month.

Last month, the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, condemned “horrendous acts of mobocracy” and urged the government to take action to combat lynchings and stop the spread of internet rumours that fuelled the violence.

“The people involved in mob violence believe that they have their own people in power, and the police don’t act when they should act,” Bishop d’Souza said on Tuesday.

Dalits, Muslims, churches, and Hindu leaders had all been targeted, he said.

“You cannot say directly that Modi and his government is involved in this, because no sane government can back this. But, you can trace it to the radicalisation of groups along very radical interpretations of Hinduism, which most Hindus do not subscribe to. So there are many moderate Hindus now fighting this. . .

“The political class as a whole, in my opinion, not just the BJP, is to be blamed for the polarisation and radicalisation of Indian society along caste and religious lines. In an attempt to get votes during an election they appeal to the narrow identities of people and their insecurities.”

The All India Christian Council — of which he is President — was leading efforts to find “fraternal partners between religious communities across the world to address these issues”. This would entail work to “challenge the lies that are being spread”, from claims that Christians were involved in forced conversions to the “demonisation” of Muslims, accused of being “terrorists and anti-national”, to reports that Dalits seeking rights were “Maoists”.

Social media was a “huge problem”, he confirmed. India had 600 million mobile-phone users, and “probably the largest Whatsapp community in the world. . . It’s a very effective tool now if you want to galvanise your friends and colleagues.” It had been used, he reported, to recruit the perpetrators of the rape and murder of an eight-year-old Kashmiri girl.

As President of the Dignity Freedom Network (formerly the Dalit Freedom Network), Bishop d’Souza said that the situation of Dalits was “both hopeful and also very challenging”. He highlighted the affirmative-action benefits granted to Dalits, and the success of the Network’s 104 centres and schools, currently educating 27,000 children. Seventy per cent of the 2300 graduates had entered higher education, and one young woman had secured a doctorate in pharmacology.

But Dalit and tribal women remained the primary victims of the country’s sex trade, and gender-selective abortions and female foeticide had resulted in the loss of almost 20 million girls.

“The mindset of Indians towards women is going to take some time to change across the caste system,” he said. “A woman is a burden while a male child is a blessing. . . We are combating that . . . across faith lines.”

The caste system “poisons all of society”, and as Dalits began to assert themselves, violence had been unleashed, he said. He cited the case of Rohith Chakravarti Vemula, a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad who committed suicide in 2016. He was a member of the Ambedkar Students’ Association, which fights for the rights of Dalit students.

“The societal mindset of caste has permeated all of the religions including Christianity, it is shameful to say, in the South where there is so much of caste in the Church,” he said.

Born into a middle-class Christian family, he had been “blind” to their cause, growing up. But after marrying a Christian woman from a tribal background, and witnessing the caste protests of the 1990s, he had “had to wake up”.

“Now, of course, it completely dominates me,” he said. “I don’t think you can really do the full gospel if you ignore the issue of justice and righteousness and reconciliation.”

EDISON, NJ: The Consulate General of India in New York, TV Asia and the Indian American community hosted a curtain-raiser on May 29 at the TV Asia auditorium in Edison, NJ, to mark the International Day of Yoga 2018.

The event featured an interactive session with yoga exponents in the presence of Sandeep Chakravorty, India’s Consul General in New York. At the curtain-raiser, Chakravorty announced the 4th International Day of Yoga that the Indian Consulate is hosting on Governor’s Island (Picnic Point) in New York on June 16, 11 am-1 pm. Yoga events are also planned at Times Square, NY and elsewhere across the US.

The Indian Consulate has partnered with several organizations to help host the yoga events. Organizations represented at the curtain-raiser and the panel discussion included, Isha Foundation (Rajashree Kotekar); Art of Living Foundation (Aniket Gune); Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (Ganesh Ramakrishnan); Vegetarian Vision (Sonali Vyas); World Yoga Community (Guru Dilipji); Hindu Temple Society of North America (Sanjay Attada); Mallakhamb Federation of USA (Chinmaya Patankar); Indian Cultural Association of North America (Shivadasan Nair); and Sahaja Yoga (Sheetal Bhanushali).

The panel discussion was moderated by Rohit Vyas, TV Asia News Director. Dayashankar Vidyalankar, the resident yoga teacher of the Indian Consulate in NY, demonstrated quick yoga techniques for the benefit of the audience. Also in attendance was Apoorv Om, the young Indian activist, who has a hearing impairment. He has been recognized by the United Nations for his outreach for inclusion of people with disabilities.

Sandeep Chakravorty, India’s Consul General in New York, said in his remarks that notwithstanding all the euphoria it was important to establish the Indian connection of yoga, which seemed to be getting diluted as yoga gains worldwide popularity. He mentioned that the year 2018 was important for yoga as it marked the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekanada’s address to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.

“Outside of India, the US is now a leading proponent of yoga,” said Chakravorty. “Hospitals, corporates and everyone else now believes in the healing power of yoga and meditation.” He added that terminally-ill patients with cancer were being recommended to increasingly practice yoga and meditation to improve their end-stage quality of life.

H R Shah, chairman and CEO of TV Asia, mentioned that nearly 37 million people in the US were practicing some form of yoga and meditation. That, he said quoting media reports, had translated into a $16 billion yoga industry in the US, that included yoga schools, retreats, merchandizing and even health shows on TV.

“All of this was not possible if it was not for the efforts of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the United Nations recognized yoga’s universal appeal and on Dec 11, 2014, proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga,” he said. Shah felt that the recognition by the UN was the turning point in yoga’s acceptance as transcending international borders.

Yoga, as the name suggests, he said, means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness, was also helping bring people and countries together. At the curtain-raiser, an audio-visual presentation gave a brief overview of yoga. The panelists also performed a symbolic curtain-raiser on stage to announce the events planned around International Day of Yoga 2018. One of the posters at the curtain-raiser aptly displayed a photo of Prime Minister Modi performing yoga with more than 35,000 people at the historic Rajpath in New Delhi on June 21, 2015.

The curtain-raiser at TV Asia was recorded on multiple-cameras, to be telecast on TV Asia for the extended benefit of the community in the US, Canada and worldwide.

More than 300 guests, including several prominent members of the Indian American community, attended the outreach event, interacting with the yoga exponents and asking them a variety of questions about yoga and meditation.

The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) is greatly disappointed, to say the least that the USCIRF has chosen to keep India on Tier II of, the Countries of Particular Concern, instead of Tier I countries, in spite of the unprecedented violence against Christians and other religious minorities for the past three years under Prime Minister Modi and his party’s rule in India.

The following statement is issued by the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations in favor of publishing at the occasion of the Annual Report Release Event held by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, (USCIRF) on May 8, 2018, Washington, DC.

“The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations (FIACONA) is greatly disappointed, to say the least that the USCIRF has chosen to keep India on Tier II of, the Countries of Particular Concern, instead of Tier I countries, in spite of the unprecedented violence against Christians and other religious minorities for the past three years under Prime Minister Modi and his party’s rule in India.

 The government of India, under Prime Minister Modi, has been drastically restricting the free exercise of faith by Christians. The militia run by the parent organization of Modi’s political party, The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organizations like Hindu Munnani, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are engaged in a pitched battle at the grassroots level to harass, intimidate and punish people for merely following Christ. They are engaged in vicious and naked aggression against Christians in every corner of the country.

Since 2014, when Modi formed the national government, hate crimes, social boycotts, assaults and forced conversion of Christians to Hinduism have escalated dramatically.

 FIACONA is deeply disappointed at the level of insensitivity shown by the USCIRF, to the plight of over 100 million people who have chosen to practice Christianity in India. If the level of violence experienced by Christian populations for the past three years is not sufficient to put India in Tier I, we wonder what will.

We are deeply hurt that the Commission has betrayed the memory of the victims of senseless terror in the name of Hindu nationalism perpetrated by groups affiliated with the Modi government. Unfortunately, this report is seen as pandering to certain interest groups while going against the very idea for which the commission was created.

 FIACONA respectfully rejects the conclusion of the Commission and hopes that the new Commission to be appointed will be more sensitive to the victims who suffer under the hostile government policies of Prime Minister Modi and not be political in their decision at the expense of innocent suffering people.

Chicago IL: When planning a wedding, the cultural traditions have to be handled perfectly and this requires a significant amount of effort, creativity and planning. It includes preparation, managing timelines and checklists, coordinating wedding day activities and putting them all together can be quite an overwhelming process especially when you intend for it to be a major occasion with different number of elements and thousands of minute details. There are many aspects and facets that need to be considered to accomplish a Wedding.

It includes renting a hall of appropriate size with required amenities, designing decorations centered around the theme of the wedding, coordinating flowers arrangements, Mandap decorations, table cloth, chair and napkin design/color, finding a DJ, selecting the entertainment, jewelry, clothes, selection of food menu for different wedding events, preparing the guest list, their local accommodation, organizing transportation for guests etc.

With a view to get an amicable solution and make life easier for anxious and apprehensive parents of bride and groom, 3rd South Asian Wedding Expo was organized by Pearl Banquets on Sunday, February 25, 2018, between 12-00pm to 5-00 pm at Pearl Banquets, 1490 West Lake Street, Roselle, IL. It was planned and coordinated to accommodate every aspect of planning a Wedding with various Stalls specializing in several wedding services.

It also featured about 80 plus different food items including variety of drinks and starters, and complimentary Food Testing which enabled attendees to see what dishes and drinks are available at Pearl Banquets and how they taste. There was sitting arrangements too, befitting Buffet type Dinner/Lunch with agile staff demonstrating how efficiently catering can be done. This resembled a real marriage occasion. The founder of Originally India House and now Pearl Banquets, Jagmohan Jayara has always served the community with classical and contemporary dishes of food that touches their soul and brings to life the Indian Culture.

He opened Pearl Banquets in Roselle IL over 3 years ago. There were almost 50 plus different vendors who had stalls in the exhibition hall, once again making it easy for parents, relatives and friends of the bride and groom to make their choices and selections.

Most of the attendees were invited guests who were in different stages of planning wedding of their prospective bride and groom. There were about 500 guests who flocked to this event.

Overwhelming response from the Community has encouraged Jagmohan to open 3 more eateries and banquet locations in Oakbrook, Buffalo Grove and Downtown Chicago respectively. Their newest creation is Bombay Chopstick, featuring Indo-Chinese Cuisine.

Weddings are a perfect blend of Traditions, Values and celebrations. It is simply not regarded as an event; rather it is considered as a soulful affair of merger of two souls, or on a border scale of two families. Wedding is one of the most awaited moments of our lives, therefore we expect it to be just perfect but even our best-laid plans can go wrong at times. There are ways and means to enable us to make it as perfect as possible with the help of some magazines or Expos organized by experts in this arena. When asked by Suresh Bodiwala, chair of Asian Media USA for most important advice to plan a perfect flawless hassle free wedding, Dr Modi advise was that one should seriously give consideration to hiring a wedding planner to help you with preparing plans for that very special day in your life.

Suresh Bodiwala, chairman of Asian Media USA had an opportunity to interview Sonia Patel,  makeup artists from USA Sakhi, Janki Patel, Samina Khan, and Shital Daftari to hear their perspective of the South Asian Wedding Expo.

 South Asian Wedding Expo was an amazing experience. It was a one-stop shop that brought together various wedding vendors under one roof. It was attended by brides, grooms and their families as well as many other people. It featured fashion shows and food tastings from wedding caterers. As an online Sari Rental Boutique, it was a great opportunity to network with other wedding vendors as well as reach out to brides and grooms via the South Asian Wedding Expo. Saris and Things is a fabulous online boutique, where you can rent, said by Shital Daftari

Anita’s Bollywood Beats from Buffalo Grove the adults group performed on a medley of classical and contemporary and fusion and mesmerized the audience with their graceful synchronization on songs like “Saibo” from “Shor in the City”,  “Kanha Manena” from “Shubh Mangal Savadhan”. This was performed by Anita Rotiwar herself and her students , Urvi Dalal, Lakshmi Ravi, Nital Shah and Nitya Verma. The teen group  performed on a foot tapping  remix songs of the 80s and 90s like “In ankhon ki masti” from the movie Umrao Jaan and “Chamma Chamma” which are revised to suit the taste of the new generation without changing the basic melody.This was performed by Alyssa Sachdeva, Himali Sachdeva, Akshada Dharrao, Riya Khandelwal and Diya Shah.

There are various Vendors who exhibited their products/services at the Expo such as Abc Limousine, Andaaz jewelry, Anisha Creations, Artistic, Arya Sounds, Ashu Cards, Ashutosh Sales Inc,  Bandhan Rentals, Bombay Styles, Champagn Limosine, Doll’s Salon & spa, Dream Events, Emrace Earth Oils, Escape Entertainment, Holiday Inn, JD Events, Joshua, Maharaja Farm, Plush Event Planning, Poonam creations, Premeir Design, Ramis Mandap, Sabs, St J Y, The baking Institute, The Great Recyclery, Waterford Conference Center and Yanini Design

Once again, the South Asian Wedding Expo was a grand success. Gulya Kadyrova, General Manager of Pearl Banquets & Conference Center did excellent job for vendors and public to make their visit more enjoyable and memorable. We are thrilled to see so many brides and grooms get their wedding planning off to a great start. “It was a pleasure to see so many brides and grooms accomplish so much. Now they can relax a bit and focus on building their lives together!”

Decades before meditation and mindfulness became popular (and profitable) parts of mainstream life, lifestyle practices derived from Buddhism existed on the fringes of American society. But, as with many other things, the arrival of the counterculture in the 1960s brought once-obscure ideas into everyday use.

Buddhism & Beyond is a series of programs exploring Buddhism, its practice, and its popularity in contemporary culture, organized in conjunction with the exhibition Unknown Tibet: The Tucci Expeditions and Buddhist Painting, on view at Asia Society Museum from February 27 through May 20, 2018.

A participant in this process was Wes “Scoop” Nisker. Raised in a Jewish household, Nisker discovered Buddhism during college, when his study of European existentialist literature first brought him in contact with Asian spiritual practices. In the decades since Nisker, a long-time radio personality in the San Francisco Bay Area, has helped popularize Buddhist teachings through a series of witty, insightful books like Essential Crazy Wisdom; The Big Bang, The Buddha, and the Baby Boom; and You Are Not Your Fault.

In a recent conversation with Asia Society, Nisker discussed the origins of Buddhism’s popularity in the United States, how Buddhism and Christianity differ, and why he thinks the mainstreaming of once-obscure Buddhist practices is a good thing. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Why do you think Buddhist practices became popular in the United States?

It was definitely a cultural earthquake. It actually began with Sigmund Freud, who at the beginning of the 20th century drove the explosion of interest in people’s psychological health and understanding of the brain, and then continued when the Second World War shattered old belief systems and broke the back of Western philosophy. We had to start over again and ask basic questions, like “who are we?” “What are we here for?” “What is the universe here for?”

Then came Zen and Hindu swamis and spiritual teachers to tell us how to calm our minds and open our hearts and realize that we’re not just separate individuals like we were taught in the West, but that we were all part of something bigger. This was radical and exciting.

We Baby Boomers had an extended adolescence and had a chance to try a lot of stuff. When I worked as a radio announcer in San Francisco in the late ’60s and early ’70s, all of a sudden there was a whole New Age movement teaching us how to eat right and strip down old mores and value systems. It really was an earthquake. And now it’s mainstream. I googled “mindfulness” the other day and there were tens of millions of hits.

Do you feel vindicated that meditation and mindfulness have become so mainstream? Or are you concerned that it’s become watered down and commoditized and practiced by people who don’t understand its origins?

I say bring it on! Mindfulness is useful for calming your mind and lowering your blood pressure.

Which is great. We all want to end suffering — that’s the bottom line of Buddhist teaching. And whether you believe in the Buddha or not doesn’t matter. The Buddha himself said that if you didn’t believe him, you could explore for yourself and find your own truth.

Many of the people practicing mindfulness in the workplace or at home will perhaps miss some of the spiritual goals. The beauty of mindfulness, as it’s presented in Buddhism, is that it’s a way to understand your life and extend empathy to all because we’re sharing the same incarnation and cultural and historical moment. We’re all in this together. There’s a whole spiritual side that comes with Buddhist teaching that might be missed by someone doing mindfulness simply as an exercise of the brain.

Your distinction between Buddhism and Christianity — one is concerned with the salvation of the self, while the other argues that there is no self —  seems like it would have a lot of applicability in daily life. How has it affected situations you’ve encountered?

It basically comes down to not thinking I was the center of the world anymore. I didn’t have one identity. I was a mammal and an Earthling and a human and an American and a Jew — to say I was just one thing would not have helped me understand myself. The Buddha understood that there’s no lasting self to anything. Anything that comes together from different elements is bound to dissolve or disappear and has no lasting selfness or existence.

The whole material world is just a mass of change. So the understanding of selflessness, to me, coincides with our scientific understanding of reality.

What would you advise someone curious about Buddhism to start reading?

There are many good books about Buddhism. But I believe that the best way to understand Buddhism is to do the practice of meditation as the Buddha described it. I’d tell people to find a center in your town, which isn’t too hard these days, and start with a whole day of meditation practice with a teacher who teaches mindfulness, even if it isn’t Buddhist. This will alter and console you and help you in your life. It’s a radical practice and it’s very exciting that it’s taken hold so firmly.