Manduka Yoga Grip Gel Helped Me Get a Grip on My Workout

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When I first started practicing Vinyasa yoga, my hands slid off of most yoga mats as slowly as thick syrup coming out of a bottle. My palms have the texture of smooth leather (on a good day), so getting a steady grip on the mat felt like it was never going to happen unless I used one of the few rubber mats that worked with my hands.

Over the years, I've been able to find a grip on the mat that involves spreading my fingertips wide, pressing down with my finger pads, and imagining scooping sand in the middle of my palms yeah, it's a bit of an intricate process. So when I got the opportunity to try the Manduka Yoga Grip Gel ($15), I was excited to see if this could've been the product to save me hundreds of dollars from rotating through yoga mats that never made me feel secure.

Keep reading to find out what the product feels like when applied, how it performs, and the ways in which it's also useful off of the yoga mat.

When I initially took the gel out of the package, I needed to figure out how to open it. At first, I tried twisting the bottle open, but I quickly realized that the way to getting the product out was by pulling the top up so the product could come out of the small hole at the top. Once I got the product onto my hands, I was mesmerized at what happened next. My hands were turning white. The instructions said the product might turn white, but I was still surprised to see my ghostly and slightly chalky hands.

Once the product was fully dry, it was time to put it to the test. I planted my hands on the mat without doing the previously mentioned intricate gripping method to find that my hands weren't sliding. Do you realize the amount of money I could've saved?! This little bottle of gel could've had my hands planted on any mat I wanted!

While it's still important to learn the proper intricate grip for poses like Down Dog, Crow, and Handstand, having this product would've made my intro to yoga so much easier. I could've paid attention to how to do the postures instead of filling my mind with worried thoughts of sliding off and face planting.

Off of the mat, I've found that this gel is useful for strength training as well as barre classes. During strength training, I'm able to get a firmer grip on the weights, and for barre, I'm able to get a secure grip on the barre, especially for Chair pose.

Overall, I believe this gel is definitely worth trying if you are like me and have leathery hands that find it hard to get a grip on your workout.

Tip: the chalky print washes away easily with a damp washcloth and warm water.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Angelica Wilson

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The Manduka Yoga Grip Gel Helped Me Get a Grip on My Workout Here's How - POPSUGAR

Krista Marzewski became a yoga teacher four years ago, after she'd found fulfillment in the practice while beginning her recovery from substance abuse.

She'd done yoga 30 years before, but at the time, it wasn't for her. In rehab, it was. "Yoga comes to us when we need it," Marzewski said, "and it's changed my life."

She started taking free classes at the Turning Point Center in Burlington, then learned about Story Yoga, a nonprofit organization that provides yoga teacher training to those in recovery. Marzewski completed the course and is a certified yoga instructor. Among the classes she offers is one that's part of a 12-step program.

She also teaches those with less mobility, including older Vermonters at Cathedral Square. That work inspired her to apply for a Teaching for Equity grant from Yoga Alliance, a Virginia-based international nonprofit. She didn't think she'd get it, but her students all wrote her letters of support.

Marzewski learned earlier this year that she was one of 25 teachers from around the world to receive the grant. It allowed her to provide 10 weeks of free classes to her senior students.

"I believe in making yoga accessible to every body every shape, size or form," Marzewski said. "Some people can't pay 15 bucks for a yoga class."

Marzewski never charges that amount; most of her classes are by donation, or her students band together to buy her a gift, such as a massage.

Marzewski has been providing in-person classes at the Lund Family Center, but most of her work remains online. The option has led to more students. While she'd sometimes draw just a few people to her Cathedral Square classes, the Zoom ones attract a bigger crowd. And local attendees have started inviting friends from across the country and around the world.

"The more the merrier," Marzewski said. "Yoga creates connection and community."

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A Burlington Yoga Teacher Uses Grant to Offer Classes to Everybody - Seven Days

In This Article

The best yoga blocks of 2021 come in a variety of sizes, shapes and weights for every practice.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com

I'll admit, when I first started practicing yoga 15 years ago, I thought I only needed a yoga mat to find my flow. And while that's technically true, it wasn't until I started using yoga props, mainly yoga blocks, that my practice really took off.

When I was new to yoga, I opted out of using props because, for one, I was already slightly flexible in some poses and two, I didn't want to look like I actually needed blocks to deepen my practice (hello, ego!).

However, when I desperately wanted to successfully do crow pose, I struggled to maintain my balance. I practiced yoga every day, and while the strength was there, I couldn't stay off the ground. It wasn't until my yoga instructor suggested I place my forehead on the edge of a block that I finally did "fly."

Fast forward to today and I still use blocks in my practice, whether I want to deepen my chest openers, explore pose variations or find stability when practicing inversions. I also (and frequently) recommend them to my fellow yogis.

Here are the best yoga blocks to fit every flow.

As both a student and instructor, I typically prefer Manduka over other brands that I've tried (and I've tried a lot!) mainly because of the high quality and durability of its products.

Made of 50 to 75 percent recycled post-industrial and post-consumer EVA foam, this Manduka yoga block is easily one of my favorite props to use during my sessions. (I've owned a set for seven years and it's still in great shape.)

What I especially like about this one is it's light enough to use in a variety of poses such as a supported bridge pose or pigeon pose, but sturdy enough to practice inversions. It's also comfortable as a seat during meditation.

Buy it: Manduka.com; Price: $18

I've taken many classes at different studios, and at almost every single studio, I've come across this classic block. Why? It's light enough to carry around, yet sturdy enough to provide great support when moving through challenging poses.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $9.99

If you're new to yoga, I recommend starting with two blocks and this set of Trideer blocks is perfect to help you throughout your practice.

No matter the pose, these blocks are both supportive and soft, helping you comfortably ease into new movements.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $10.99-$12.99

Made of sustainable cork, this product is my favorite for practicing yoga in warm (sweaty) environments. Its heavier weight and easy-to-grip texture makes it slip-resistant and provides more stability than the average block.

Buy it: Manduka.com; Price: $22

The Manduka Welcome Mini is 30 percent smaller than the average-sized block, but is still a great quality yoga accessory. And it's not only suitable for travel, it's ideal for it.

I can't neglect to mention the teal and purple colors are beautiful together.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $18.95

Have you ever tried downward dog with each hand on a block? Then you know why it's nice to have two on deck.

I highly recommend using these two Gaiam Essentials blocks. The price point and quality are both great.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $14.99-$20.69

Sure, blocks can get a little pricey, but this one proves that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a quality product.

The Reehut block features durable high-density EVA foam that's both moisture-proof and slip-resistant. It can stand up to even everyday use.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $5.94-$6.79

Just like blocks, straps can help you modify yoga poses to be more accessible to you.

Of course, you can purchase both props separately, but this combo set is the epitome of efficiency. The blocks are also super lightweight!

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $14.99-$18.99

Surprise, surprise yet another Manduka block. But this one's shape sets it apart.

Because of its curved structure, it's a great complement to restorative yoga sessions, especially when you use it to support your spine. I've used this one before during fish pose and almost forgot I had a block under my spine. It's that comfortable.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $20.96

These cork wedge blocks also serve as another great eco-friendly option, but they stand out for their trapezoid-cut design. This shape offers a variety of benefits, including great inversion support and even weight distribution. Try them out when practicing backbends such as wheel pose. Don't worry each block clocks in at a sturdy 1.17 pounds.

This company also provides a 360-day customer satisfaction policy.

Buy it: Amazon.com; Price: $24.99

Square: The most common, this shape is best for bringing the floor closer to your hands and adding stability to a basic Hatha yoga poses.

Curved: Less versatile, but much more comfortable under the back, this design it ideal for supporting your spine during supine poses.

Wedge: This is the least common option, but if you're advanced in your practice and want support during inversion poses like sirsasana, this shape works great.

Foam: Lightweight and with a soft feel, this material is comfortable during yin or restorative yoga classes.

Cork: Because of its durability and easy-to-grip texture, this material is ideal for hot or sweaty practices.

With blocks, small variations in size and weight can mean big differences in your flow. Larger, heavier blocks are ideal for stability. Small, light ones are best for traveling and toting to yoga class.

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The 10 Best Yoga Blocks, According to a Yoga Instructor - Livestrong

Take a moment to feel the breath in your lungs and the small movements of your face. Blink slowly, with heavy lids. Focus on the hum of noise in your surroundings and let your thoughts float by. Settle into stillness.

Guided meditation is one of the many practices that help relieve anxiety and bolster emotional well-being, and Northeastern will be highlighting these positive practices as part of Mental Health Awareness week. From Oct. 10-15, the university will host events across the Boston campus featuring yoga, mindfulness, and spirituality through art.

Mindfulness and related contemplative practices can yield extraordinary benefits for individuals seeking holistic wellness, says Alexander Levering Kern, executive director of the universitys Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service. Kern said interest in mindfulness-based practices skyrocketed this fall as many in the Northeastern community continue to grapple with the fallout from the pandemic.

Calling the last year and a half a season of collective suffering, Kern says many in the Northeastern community have reached out for guidance.

Ive seen a burgeoning interest in and embrace of practices that build resilience and enable students to discover calm in the face of an often overwhelming world, Kern says.

The mental health awareness events will extend to the universitys other campuses Wednesday, Oct. 13, with a do-it-yourself candle-making station at Northeasterns Silicon Valley campus and a comprehensive look into the universitys wellness resources at 75 East Santa Clara Street in San Jose.

The intention is to be able to help students to see that theyre not alone, and that support is available wherever they may be, because we know that our students are on the move and theyre not necessarily here in Boston, says Christine Civiletto, the interim executive director of Northeasterns Health and Counseling Services. We just want them to feel supported.

Those seeking to speak with a mental-health professional can find help at find@northeastern which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If doggie kisses are where you find your bliss, several dogs including a husky, a golden doodle and the new community comfort dog, Cooper, will be at the Cabot Center tent on Tuesday. The Blackman Auditorium will air a Tuesday night screening of the Pixar animated movie Inside Out, which explores the internal and conflicting emotions of a young girl.

The sacred space at Ell Hall will host a guided meditation every day at noon, there will be sunset yoga on the Centennial Quad on Wednesday, and cooking and emotional wellness at the Xhibition Kitchen Thursday night at 5 p.m.

Kern says the spiritual centers YouTube videos provided many in the Northeastern community with tools to improve their mental health over the last year, and hes thrilled that this week can highlight some ways to seek emotional support on campus.

We have so many mindfulness offerings on our YouTube channel that were really helpful during the time of quarantine and isolation, says Kern. Now, we can celebrate being able to come together for mindfulness, yoga, spirituality, and other contemplative practices in person.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Guide to Northeastern University's Mental Health Awareness Week - News@Northeastern

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw

Internet Culture

Published Oct 5, 2021Updated Oct 5, 2021, 4:43 pm CDT

Theres an amazing array of anti-vax sentiment out there, ranging from Trump Republicans who think COVID-19 is a hoax, to conspiratorial wellness advisers who disapprove of putting chemicals in your body. And lets not forget the people who think the vaccine will make your body magnetic. This week on Twitter, a Kundalini yogi sparked debate with a particularly bizarre complaint about vaccination: It supposedly gives her clients a new (and negative) energetic imprint.

With almost 44,000 Twitter followers, Philadelphia yogi Godis Oy posts prolifically about spirituality, wellness, and the alleged perils of vaccination. One particular tweet caught peoples attention because she suggested that she might stop accepting vaccinated clients.

https://twitter.com/777_oya/status/1444466264580177926

This comment quickly drew mockery and ire from others on Twitter, including comments like, the black community is dying in droves and this girl talking bout energy lmfao, and, yall are not spiritual or healers yall are unemployed and stupid.

Is this only for the COVID vaccine? wondered one commenter. Other vaccines we got since birth pass the vibe check?

However, some people did agree with the yogis position, including one response saying, Do you also see how theres less light in their eyes? Theres a real subsection of the wellness community that believes vaccination has a negative spiritual impact.

Other commenters theorized that people get angrier after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, or begin to emit an unpleasant energy frequency. The original poster Godis Oy also chimed in with the popular conspiracy theory that vaccinated people shed antibodies, suggesting that they can spread the supposedly negative symptoms of vaccination like a disease. (Theres no scientific basis for this idea.)

Unfortunately, this isnt the first time that someone tried to block vaccinated people from a business. An Australian hairdresser made headlines last month by putting a sign in his shop window reading, Do not enter if you have been Covid-19 vaxxed. It was an intentional statement against other businesses that ban unvaccinated customers, echoing the continual conflicts over mask usage. In reality, vaccination is very effective against the more dangerous symptoms of COVID-19, drastically reducing the risk of hospitalization or death.

*First Published: Oct 5, 2021, 9:13 am CDT

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw is a staff writer at the Daily Dot, covering geek culture and fandom. Specializing in sci-fi movies and superheroes, she also appears as a film and TV critic on BBC radio. Elsewhere, she co-hosts the pop culture podcast Overinvested. Follow her on Twitter: @Hello_Tailor

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Theres less light in their eyes: Yoga influencer says shell stop seeing vaccinated clients, sparking debate - The Daily Dot

James Gaddy, the charismatic fitness trainer on a mission to teach yoga and meditation to students in Camden and beyond, was remembered as a brother, best friend, teacher, coach, and inspiration.

Under a sky that grew increasingly spectacular as the sun began to set over Cooper River Park in Cherry Hill, more than 100 people on Saturday celebrated the life of a man whose death at age 34 stunned a community he had helped to create.

The young crowd of fitness enthusiasts, people of faith, colleagues, and volunteers who share Gaddys commitment to city kids hugged and swapped stories as votive candles began to glow in the deepening darkness.

When I met him four or five years ago I thought, This guys different, said Ed Wargus, a fitness coach who lives in Mount Laurel. It was the way he commanded the room. That presence he had.

Gaddy, who lived in Oaklyn, died Aug. 29 while vacationing near his childhood home in South Carolina. His body was discovered early that morning in a grassy area near a public walkway in Myrtle Beach; there were no signs of trauma and no cause of death has been determined.

While grief was never far from the surface during the three-hour gathering on the Cooper River deck, the mood was more familial than funereal. Gaddys older brother, Hunter, the owner of a construction firm, came up from North Carolina with two of his own children.

James believed in every single person, Hunter told the crowd. Gesturing toward the sky, which at that point held little remaining light, he said: James is already in the place were all trying to get to. Hes saying Im here, I made it, and hes expecting every single one of you not to forget to be great.

Hunter and other speakers described Gaddy as someone selfless yet happy to be front and center. A person who could be loud but also cherished meditation and prayer. A leader whose energy, enthusiasm, and persuasive powers seemed inexhaustible.

Even after death, Gaddy continues to inspire the work of Project Little Warriors, the nonprofit he cofounded with Marialana Ria Curry in 2017. It offers free after-school yoga, meditation, and mindfulness instruction classes, as well as summer camps where young scholars (in Gaddys parlance) can enjoy swimming, writing journals under the trees, and yoga on the beach. The target audience is boys and girls of color who might otherwise have little access to yoga classes or summer camps.

The future of Project Little Warriors is big and bright, said Curry, 23, of Maple Shade. Were going to grow, were going to move into more schools, and were going to serve more students.

James words and his mission really echo with so many people who dont want to let this [project] go, she said. The support from the community has been absolutely stunning.

Said Haddonfield businesswoman Kathy Tully, a longtime Project Little Warriors funder: So many people have been affected by James death. Im here to support them and will continue to support the organization because theres a lot more still to accomplish. Ria knows what Project Little Warriors is supposed to be, and she has wonderful people around her to help.

Gaddys mother, Danielle Wagner, has been ailing and was unable to attend the event. During a telephone interview from her home in Clover, S.C., she recalled the youngest of her five children as a ball of energy, everywhere, all the time who could light up a room even as an infant.

I was a single mom with five kids, said Wagner. I had to work five jobs to keep us going. Most of the time we were broke. Sometimes we had no food.

James was working from a very young age. He was always running little home businesses on the side. We were baking bread, and he sold it. He was very entrepreneurial.

Despite their circumstances, Wagner said she and her children all wanted to help the less fortunate. She sees that aspiration reflected in Project Little Warriors, about which her son James was fiercely proud.

He wanted to have impact, said Wagner. He got the notion to teach the kids, and I think that was Gods work.

Although a man of faith, Gaddy also embraced lifes pleasures, speakers at the event said. He liked to drive fast, dress stylishly, dine out, and hang out. He had a way of becoming best friends quickly and keeping up such relationships over many years and at long distances.

Gaddy also was capable of great kindness. Brian Peyton, a manager at a California restaurant where Gaddy worked more than a decade ago, remembered him buying a memory card for a table of eight who had exhausted the capacity of their digital camera during a special occasion dinner.

Tierney Eifert, PLWs clinical director, said Gaddy once defused a potentially humiliating encounter at a venue where the organization was to present a program.

After seeing the blood drain from the face of a woman who realized she had double-booked the event, Gaddy, who understandably could have responded with anger, instead said it seems like you really need this, and offered the double-booker a hug, Eifert said.

We miss James [and his] ginormous hugs, she said, adding that among her favorite James-isms was his standard message when saying goodbye: Go love somebody today.

While devastated by Gaddys death, friends and family are taking comfort in his legacy.

Im thrilled at all the lives James has touched, said his mother. I dont think it stops here. I think it goes on and on and on.

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Little Warriors vow to push on after untimely death of their beloved yoga instructor - The Philadelphia Inquirer

10/04/2021 11:25 AM

Our Fitness Yoga classes offer a multi-level fitness experience for participants of all skill levels. Achieve harmony of mind and body through stretching and relaxation exercises at the lakeside LaBahn Hain House. The fun class format works to enhance flexibility, balance, muscle strength, and posture. Our next session runs from November 1 through December 13 on Mondays from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the LaBahn Hain House, located at 149 Hilltop Drive.

Register today at https://bit.ly/3tplvNO! The class costs $40 for Lake in the Hills residents and $48 for non-residents. Please bring water, a yoga mat, towel, yoga strap, and two yoga blocks. Any cancelled classes will be made up the week following the end date of the session.

This press release was produced by the Village of Lake In The Hills. The views expressed here are the author's own.

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Village Of Lake In The Hills: Fitness Yoga - Patch.com

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

An Indian American advocacy group is keen on spreading awareness on the raising Hinduphobia, that has been scaring the community across the world. One of the main perpetrators of this new fear is the popularity of Narendra Modi-led BJP party, which has been force-feeding the idea of Hinduism.

In order to clear this negative image of the Hindus, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is heading a campaign targeting universities across the US inviting them for a virtual conference titled Dismantling Global Hindutva (DGH), scheduled for September 1012.

The petition to university and college authorities raises concerns over Hinduphobia. The DGH organizers trade on the prestige of your institutions name to host, not an academic conference, but a partisan event related to politics in India. The event platforms activists with extensive histories of amplifying Hinduphobic discourse even while denying the existence of Hinduphobia, the petition states.

A prominent Indian American state senator from Ohio, Niraj Antani, has thanked HAF for leading the charge against this bigotry, in a statement. He has himself strongly condemned hosting the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference.

HAFs executive director, Suhag Shukla told reports that while the organization was not asking that the event be canceled or that scholar-activists from the institutions not be allowed to participate; but institutionally, there was a duty to encourage a diversity of viewpoints alongside academic freedom and free speech.

We need to be sure that Hindu students, staff, and faculty at each of these institutions are supported through all of this. The recent example of Rashmi Samant, a student from India in the UK, being stripped of her position as the student union president at Oxford University is an overt example of the harm this kind of political activism promulgated by scholar-activists can result in, Shukla said.

The initial effort by HAF to send emails to university presidents delivered slightly more than 928,000 emails in the span of 48 hours. The response was so robust that HAF was forced to move to collect signatures for a petition to be delivered to the same group of university administrators.

We support the rights of academics in their individual capacity to engage in political activism concerning India. But leave universities, and by extension university departments, centers, and institutes out because, aside from potentially violating tax-exempt status, it stifles open enquiry, said Shukla. Students and faculty must have the freedom to explore questions, posit ideas, and express opinions without being viewpoint policed or fear of being labeled a supremacist or extremist by the loudest amongst them and then paying a professional price.

Four universities responded to HAFs campaign and confirmed their name and logo was used in an unauthorized manner and that event organizer were requested to remove the logos. These include Boston College, Dalhousie University, Princeton University, and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

According to HAF: What was alarming about this event, was the way in which they try to mask the latent Hinduphobia of the stated purpose of the event, the speakers, and the topics. The Hindutva harassment manual actively denies Hinduphobia when there is incontrovertible evidence of anti-Hindu hatred. The organization has launched a multi-pronged effort on this issue, both national and local in America, which includes an unprecedented response through letter-writing campaigns, petitions and individual stakeholder outreach to students, faculty, alumni and donors of the universities.

We urge universities to take this entire episode seriously and understand that their faculty irresponsibly and falsely labeling tens of thousands of people exercising their own right to free speech and assembly as fascists and supremacists is endangering an ethno-religious minority in the US, Shukla said.

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HAF on a campaign to dismantle negative image of Hinduism - indica News

By Maria Wirth

It shocked Hindus: a conference on 'Dismantling Global Hindutva', supported by 38 US universities. Speakers are the usual leftists mainly with Hindu names. And of all dates, it is scheduled from 10-12. September.

The title is brazen or is it just truthful? Do they say now openly what has been the plan since over 1000 years? The plan to rid the world of ancient pagan cultures? Inka, Maya, Egypt, Greece, Babylon all are gone. Yet Hindus still exist. Hindus still chant Vedas in their mandirs, still celebrate festivals, still revere great personalities from past ages and even now take more pride in being Hindu thanks to the realisation that Hindu Dharma is most profound and the best of all options.

This must be painful for the enemies of Hindus. Christianity, Islam, Communism and their faithful followers may have felt that a clear sign is needed: Hindutva must be dismantled globally.

No difference between Hinduism and Hindutva

There is no difference between Hinduism and Hindutva, except that the fundamentals of Hinduism are inclusive and beneficial. Photo by Shubhro Jyoti Dey on Unsplash

To obfuscate the issue, a distinction is being made between Hindutva (= Hinduness) and Hinduism. Hinduism is okay, but Hindutva is bad, as bad as ISIS as it also uses terror to achieve a Hindu Rashtra where minorities have no place, so it is claimed.

It's a lie. But media and the leftist academia rely on the ignorance of people and that a lie becomes truth if it is repeated often enough.

There is no difference between Islam and Islamism, and there is no difference between Hinduism and Hindutva, except that the fundamentals of Hinduism are inclusive and beneficial, whereas the fundamentals of Islam clearly divide humanity between good believers and bad unbelievers.

Maligning Hindutva

Hindus believes 'Satyameva Jayate' or Truth will triumph. Photo by Onkarphoto on Unsplash

The media onslaught in recent years against Hindutva was unrelenting. RSS was compared with ISIS and Arundhati Roy hinted on Deutsche Welle in Februar 2020 that the genocide of Muslims by the Hindu-nationalist Modi government has already started. A research scholar from Italy asked me to reply to heavily loaded questions on RSS, for example "Why does RSS draw inspiration from Hitler?"

What can Hindus do against Christianity, Islam and the Left, all of whom drive the false narrative of Hindus being dangerous, and who have a military-style strategy to achieve their goal of dismantling the most benign faith and culture?

Hindus usually rely on 'Satyameva Jayate'. Truth will triumph. But this doesn't mean that we should sit idle and not help truth coming to light.

Not wanting to be controversial

Unfortunately, Hindus seem to have one trait which their compatriots in the left and the converts to the Abrahamic religions don't share. It is the desire not to be controversial and to be nice to others, even if those others are not nice to them.

This trait developed due to their painful history when Hindus had to lie low in the face of brutal Muslim and Christian oppressors. Yet this trait continued after 1947 and this does not help India.

It's time to be clear and truthful, and we must not be afraid to call out the basic faults of Christianity and Islam in a proactive manner.

What are the basic faults?

Arti at river Ganges during night time. Photo by ADITYA PRAKASH on Unsplash

The most prominent fault is that they got the nature of ''the one true God' or Creator very, very wrong.

Hindus, Christians and Muslims, all agree that there is one true 'God' or cause for this universe. In fact, Hindus claimed this long before Christianity and Islam. It can be assumed that this Vedic knowledge about the one Brahman was copied/ stolen by Christianity and Islam. This claim of one God is the positive aspect of the Abrahamic religions. They also tell their people, like Hindus do, to have faith and trust in a great God who looks after them if they are "good". This makes sense and would give children an anchor, if the clergy of those two religions had not made a huge error.

Their texts claim that the one true God is jealous, that he loves only their own group and hates Hindus and other Kafirs. And being 'good' means to believe in their book and to be nice to people from their own religion. Others are seen as inferior who will be rejected by God.

For Muslims being good also means to do Jihad and make the whole world for Allah (Q 9.29, 8.39) and for Christians it means to try by hook or crook to convert 'heathens' to save them from eternal hellfire.

Christianity is not any longer as blunt as Islam, but the same mindset drives them, too, like "We alone have the truth. God loves us. Unless 'they' accept our true religion, 'they' won't be saved. So let's help them and finish off their demonic pagan culture"

This is unacceptable and of course not the Will of 'the one true God' whom Hindus call Brahman.

The Human Rights Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of many countries do not allow to demean anyone on the basis of religion. Yet Christianity and Islam demean all Hindus and others as Kafirs and pagans/ heathens and predict a terrible fate for them in future. Such attitude makes genocide possible.

Driving the narrative instead of being driven

Lord Shiva idol in 'Rudra avatar'. Photo by Ankit Dandhare on Unsplash

Can Hindus for a change DRIVE the narrative, instead of being driven and of only reacting and defending?

Can we demand that Christianity and Islam drop untrue divisive dogmas and that these dogmas must NOT be allowed to be taught to children? For example, Hindu representatives could submit a petition to the UN or to the International Court of Justice demanding this. Can we, including well-known Gurus, support courageous people like Waseem Rizvi that many ayats in the Quran are indeed hateful? Or do we still have doubts if they are hateful? If so, please get a copy in a language you understand.

Or do we feel "Let Muslims sort it out among themselves"? Such attitude is in all likelihood cowardice and not some virtue.

Can the Hindu panellists call a spade a spade in TV debates and can we also, in talks with friends from different communities, dare to be controversial if truth requires it?

Those who support this conference need to realise that it doesn't pay to attack Hindus. And Hindus need to realise that we are alone in this. But we have a great advantage: we have truth on our side. The 'true God' is not a despot who wants to roast us in hell.

If only there were genuine debates, like in ancient times Like between Adi Shankara and Mandana Misra. The Christian and Muslim representatives would have no other option but to accept Hindu Dharma, and the dark shadows of the Kali Yug would end.

Some day it will happen

keywords: Hindus , Global Hindutva, Hindu, Hindutva, Abrahamic religions, Islam, Left, Christianity.

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A conference against Hinduism 'Dismantling Global Hindutva', supported by 38 US universities. Speakers are the usual leftists mainly with Hindu names....

Accusations of Hinduphobia in those who do not see eye-to-eye with Hindutva have reached new heights in recent years. An obscure 19th-century concept is now the default mantra for Hindutva-vadis against all critiques of their ideas.

The recent furore against the upcoming conference called Dismantling Global Hindutva (September 10-September 12) has made me wonder whether, ironically, these same individuals might also if they had the patience and capacity to read his large corpus of writing need to identify Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as Hinduphobic.

After all, a basic truth made clear in Savarkars writing is that Hindutva is not Hinduism. They are not equivalents. In fact, you do not have to read Savarkar all that carefully to see the clarity with which he argued that Hindus should consider abandoning the concept of Hinduism as part of their lexicon.

One does not need to search deep into his oeuvre to discover Savarkars distinction between Hindutva and Hinduism. In Essentials of Hindutva, published in 1923, he begins by clarifying that Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction, a part of Hindutva. He declared Hinduism as one of the many isms that had plagued modernity, by calling it a spiritual or religious dogma or system.

He not only argued that Hinduism was inferior in comparison to Hindutva, he also stated that it was more limited, less satisfactory and essentially a sectarian term.

The Marathi intellectual and Marxist scholar GP Deshpande had long argued that Hindutva-vadis do not actually read Savarkar. I think we should take Deshpandes claim seriously, despite the increasing number of celebrations of Savarkars life as exemplary for Hindus. I suspect that Savarkars arguments about Hindutva and Hinduism would create an existential crisis among those who claim to be his supporters.

If their logic is that any critique of Hindutva or Hinduism is a form of Hinduphobia, then certainly Savarkars call to abandon Hinduism he believed it was an inferior concept created by Western Orientalists should also be viewed in the same framework.

Does this mean that Savarkar himself was Hinduphobic?

There was once a period in the 1930s when Sanatanis in Maharashtra decided to stage protests against Savarkars call for temple entry for, and inter-dining with, Untouchables. Petitions were circulated to British officials demanding that Savarkar be prevented from speaking because it was believed he posed a threat to social order, that he was hurting the sentiments of Hindus. Rocks and chappals were regularly thrown at Savarkars processions.

Does this mean that these adherents of Sanatan Dharma were Hinduphobic? Or does it mean, conversely, that Savarkars advocacy of social reform linked to Hindutva was Hinduphobic as it was hurting the sentiments of Hindus?

If the adherents of Hindutva actually read Savarkar, they would know that he also advocated the need for Hindus to kill other Hindus. Savarkars intended Hindu victims were individuals who promoted ahimsa. Savarkar saw ahimsa as a kind of weakness that needed to be weeded out. In similar vein he identified as effeminate all Hindus who lacked a theory of warfare.

Was Savarkar Hinduphobic in celebrating the killing of Hindus? When Savarkar and Gandhi publicly disagreed with each other on interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita or the meaning of the Ramayana, did this mean that both were Hinduphobic?

To push this argument further, are all disagreements between Hindus merely expressions of Hinduphobia? By this logic, the only end to Hinduphobia would be the annihilation of all Hindus, which would happen when there could be no critique of Hindus, Hinduism, and Hindutva. Perhaps this is what all Hindutva-vadis actually desire: reductio ad absurdum.

I do wish that those Hindutva-vadis who decided to burn copies of the Kama Sutra in Ahmedabad recently had read Savarkar on what he called the sexual urges of mankind. As also the importance he attached to Hindus celebrating their rich literary traditions. They would then learn what Savarkar clearly argued, namely, that the libido was more powerful than the claims of any man, god, or prophet. They would also then understand that Savarkar celebrated textual pluralism, and that he had a deep affection for the Bible.

Will these Hinduva-vadis who burned the Kama Sutra now seek to destroy the temples at Khajuraho based on their same argument of indecency? Is the artistic magnificence of Hindu temple architecture to be made hostage to Victorian notions of sexual correctness?

The question that in fact comes to mind by carefully understanding Savarkars sophisticated and clear-headed mind, as evident from his Marathi and English writings the vast bulk of which I have read over many years is this: are these modern Hindutva-vadis who claim Savarkar as their hero in fact themselves Hinduphobic?

In 1937, the Marxist revolutionary MN Roy shared a stage in Mumbai with Savarkar. Roy wanted to introduce Savarkar as a great revolutionary who had influenced him in his childhood. But Roy also publicly disagreed with Savarkars interpretations of Hindu-Muslim relations and his conceptualisation of Hindutva. Savarkar did not denounce Roy as Hinduphobic.

On the contrary, he shared a stage with this Marxist and stated that Roy was more interested in structural inequality based on class differences, and not in the divisions between Hindus and Muslims. Savarkar added that he was willing to accept Roys description of socialism as long as it meant equality for all Hindus.

The fact is that Savarkar himself exemplifies a liberal principle and broad-minded intellection when he shows, by his presence alongside MN Roy, that political enemies could and should have a debate about ideas. Modern Hindutva-vadis betray their own hero Savarkar when making it clear that debate is no longer possible.

The purpose of an academic conference on Dismantling Global Hindutva is exactly meant to debate interpretations about the very meaning of Hindutva in the 21st century. Those who oppose the conference without even knowing what scholars will actually say by declaring all participants Hinduphobic is a sign that those who promote Hindutva no longer have the capacity for intellectual exchange. Instead, Hindutva-vadis have mastered intimidation and threats of violence, rape, and murder as a way to shut down any intellectual engagement, all the while claiming victimhood in the process.

Hindu fragility is something that Savarkar had anticipated during his lifetime. He claimed that the more the Hindus worshipped cows, the more the Hindus would behave like cows.

Savarkar also wanted to harness what he saw as Hindu fragility into excessive or cruel violence as a form of vengeance, which is why he promoted the lion as the spirit animal of Hindus, and celebrated Narasinhs savage killing of Hiranyakshipu. The fact is that without the claims of victimhood and hurt sentiments, the entire edifice of contemporary Hindutva-vadis falls apart. The endless repetition of Hinduphobia as a chant against anyone who provides a critique of Hindutva is todays tactic to reinforce the idea that those Hindus who support Hindutva are victims.

I cherish this simple irony: that if Hindutva-vadis actually read what Savarkar had to say about Hindutva and Hinduism, we would be one step closer to the declaration that Savarkar was Hinduphobic.

Vinayak Chaturvedi is at the History Department, University of California, Irvine. His Essentials of History: VD Savarkar and the Meaning of Hindutva will be published in 2022 by Permanent Black and Ashoka University, and subsequently by the State University of New York Press.

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Reading Savarkar: Was the Hindutva icon actually Hinduphobic? - Scroll.in