Dr Raj Maheshwari
Forensic Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist at St John of God Health Care
Sydney, Australia
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, December 10, 2018 (Hindu Council by Dr. RajMaheshwari): Bioethics addresses specific ethical issues relatingto science and medicine. With the advancement in technology, we areconstantly faced with new scientific scenarios where ethicaldecisions need to be made. The principals of ethical decisionmaking in Hinduism is informed by some of the ancient texts, namelyVedas, Upanishads, and two main epics: Ramayana and Mahabharata.Cycle of rebirth is one of the core concepts in Hinduism, based onthe belief that the body is just a carrier for the soul, whichpasses on through the repeated cycles of birth-life-death-rebirthuntil the soul has been purified and can ultimately join the divinecosmic consciousness, also called as Moksha.Contrary to the Western view of health, Hinduism doesn’t viewhealth as mere absence of disability; instead it is assessed as aproduct of sound mind and body, which of course is one of the goalsof a Dharmic life. Likewise illness is accepted as part of ordinarylife experience, which is instigated as a consequence of a bad pastkarma or a test from God to assess your commitment to a dharmiclife. Hinduism views death as not opposite to life, rather, it isopposite to birth, and life is a journey between birth and death.Hinduism accepts suffering as inevitable even in death, sodiscomfort is accepted over drugs, while a conscious dying processis seen as a good death that would determine the properties of yourrebirth. Thus death is seen as just another step in this cycle ofbirth, life, death, and rebirth.For more of this talk on bioethics by Dr. Maheshwar, including histhoughts on the Hindu view of organ transplants, conception andabortion, biotechnology, and fertility matters, see ”source”above.
Plain stones have replaced intricately carved details on many of the outer walls of the Konark Sun Temple in eastern India. RNS photo by Priyadarshini Sen
BHUBANESWAR,INDIA, December 12, 2018 (RNS) Brigitte Viollet,
a French businesswoman, spends three months of every year in thecompany of the Sun Temple in Konark, an ancient settlement on theeast coast of India. Built in the 13th century by King NarasinghaDeva I, the Sun Temple was designed as a colossal chariot mountedon 12 pairs of ornamented wheels to honor the Hindu God of the sun,Surya. Seven horses pull the chariot eastward toward dawn,symbolizing the seven days of the week. The spokes of the wheelsmake a sundial that helped ancient sages calculate time. ”Thescientific spirit and aesthetic sensibilities of ancient India areunmatched,” said Viollet, who is one of some 50,000 visitors thetemple draws every year.But to the dismay of many who treasure the monument, a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site since 1984, the intricate stone carvings of deitiesand celestial beasts that cover the Sun Temple’s outer surface arebeing replaced by plain blocks of stone in an attempt to shore upthe building. Many more have allegedly been discarded and strewnaround the protected site. Conservation efforts began at Konark inthe early 20th century, when British Indian archaeologists firstrecognized its worth. Later, fearing a structural collapse, theBritish teams filled the temple’s main audience hall with sand. Aslong ago as 1937, when the Archaeological Survey of India tookcharge of the project, removing the sand became the focus ofrestoration plans, but little was done. By 2010, at aninternational conference in Konark attended by UNESCO delegates,the ASI’s lack of action brought rebuke from conservationists.Consequently, a steering committee was formed to accelerate sandremoval and sculpted stones’ treatment.
More of this article and some nice photos at ”source”.
The heart does not talk, it is the intellect that does all the talking. We have become like machines. Life has lost its naturalness, like a garland of plastic flowers. Only when hearts come together does true life blossom.
— Mata Amritanandamayi, mystic and hugging saint, Hindu of the Year 1993
