Explore diverse opinions and sentiments from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the Philippines on the upcoming Ram Mandir Inauguration. Join us as we bring you unique voices and insights from around the world, reflecting on the significance of this historic event.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to this yet another brand new episode of On One India, where we are
00:06 tracking the roots of the Ram and also trying to understand from the diaspora, which is
00:13 living in different parts of the world, how they remain connected with Ram.
00:17 As the consecration ceremony is getting underway, all roads are leading to Ayodhya and all eyes
00:24 are on India.
00:25 But how do our friends, family members feel and how they perceive, how they look at this
00:33 consecration ceremony, plus how they continue living, carrying the mantle forward of the
00:38 Indian Hindu tradition and culture.
00:41 It's our honor today to be joined by eminent personalities and guests from Australia, New
00:48 Zealand, Japan and Philippines.
00:50 So starting from Krishnaji, he's joining us from Auckland in New Zealand.
00:56 Jatin Bhatt is joining us from Sydney in Australia.
00:59 Prerna Singh is joining us from Tokyo, Japan, the land of rising sun.
01:04 And last but not the least, Stephen Patrick Fernandez joining us from Philippines, somewhere
01:10 in the Middle East, where in the Southeast Asian region, where the concept of Ram, Ramayana
01:16 has evolved with time.
01:18 Stephen, beginning with you first, what memories would you share with us as far as the Ramayana
01:25 is concerned, the connect of Philippines, Indonesia and also this return of Ram to his
01:32 birthplace in Ayodhya?
01:33 How big an event in your opinion is this?
01:37 In our country, in the Philippines, it is most unfortunate that we belong to the fringes.
01:45 What I'm trying to say is if you look at the whole map, we are at the boundaries of the
01:49 mainland, the mainstream of Southeast Asia and even Asia.
01:55 Not only that, perhaps of all the countries, we were the country that was most colonized,
02:01 which means a lot of our indigenous, even our linkages to Asia has been wiped out by
02:07 almost four centuries of Spanish and American colonization.
02:13 But in areas, like for example, in areas where I live now, there still remains a lot of communities
02:20 that may hold not versions of the Ramayana, but derivatives of the Ramayana, which have
02:29 become part of the whole literary and cultural lore of a lot of communities here in the South.
02:36 And this will be our closest link to mainland India and even to the old empires of the Sri
02:44 Visaya and the Madhya Padhya.
02:46 So what I'm trying to say here is we are now trying to revive this because if we talk about,
02:52 for example, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the only linkages that we have in the whole
02:56 of this country, in the Philippines, are our lessons, which are actually required readings
03:03 in high school and in college.
03:06 However, when we talk about an experience of having these stories, you know, really
03:11 read to us, dance being real to us, we are the farthest away from a lot of this, a lot
03:18 of the communities, nations of Southeast Asia and Asia, simply because of history, placement,
03:25 simply because, well, 400 years from our indigenous cultures.
03:29 Well, Hinduism came to us as early, perhaps as the first millennium, we were part of the
03:36 Sri Visaya and later on the Madhya Padhya Empire.
03:39 And our linkages with India and Hinduism would be closest to the Javanese and the Sumatran
03:46 empires in India.
03:47 We are trying to revive this and one reviving of this is our retelling of the Ramayana story.
03:56 And this has become very popular.
03:59 Contemporizing the drama epic into our own semiotics, into our own narratives, into our
04:07 own understanding, centering on the main character of Sita, for instance, and giving it a new
04:14 twist as far as women and as far as feminism is concerned.
04:18 We're trying to do this now.
04:20 And again, the derivatives were still going through a lot of research and a lot of digging
04:27 back into our past to show that indeed, the very, very strong, very, very strong connections
04:33 and linkages with meaning Asian India.
04:36 Right.
04:37 Absolutely.
04:38 Stephen, needless to say, your contribution to into the extension of the Vedic values
04:46 of Ramayana go a long way.
04:49 Japan, once again, culturally connected to India and the concept of Ramayana and Mahabharata
04:57 have always found resonance, be it any part of the world.
05:00 How do you celebrate the festivals in Tokyo where you are?
05:05 How long have you been there?
05:06 And also, please share with us, how is the mood there among the Indian community in a
05:12 friendly country like Japan?
05:15 So how we actually on Diwali, we go to temple.
05:20 So I see, I think four temples are here, two big temples, Ram Temple, Ram Mandir.
05:26 They are quite far away.
05:28 I think maybe 60 kilometers away from our place.
05:32 So it's not that normally we go there.
05:35 But yeah, on some special occasions, we go to those temples.
05:38 And the nearby temples are small temples.
05:41 So we go there too, but not.
05:45 Yeah.
05:46 Tokyo itself?
05:47 Are all the temples in Tokyo?
05:49 Yes, I am telling you about two temples.
05:53 One is in Ibaraki, 60 kilometers away.
05:56 That's the second prefecture.
05:58 And the ones around are small, made at home.
06:02 So we go there sometimes.
06:05 And there is no air-cracking and all.
06:09 Right.
06:10 So family and friends, they get together.
06:13 Everyone meets during the festivals.
06:16 Yes, yes, we do get together.
06:19 Everyone meets and celebrates together.
06:22 It's fun.
06:23 And now from some time, I see people are more open to their culture.
06:30 They don't hide anything.
06:32 They celebrate openly.
06:34 Earlier, Hindus used to celebrate secretly, they didn't show off much.
06:38 But now they do.
06:39 So it's a good thing.
06:40 They come forward as Hindus, so it's good.
06:44 I'm sure the perception has changed a lot.
06:48 And talking about another country where the diaspora finds a lot of acceptance is Australia.
06:56 One of my friends, as I was mentioning, Jatinji, Charles Thompson from Australia, he said,
07:02 don't send your kids to Australia, send them to the US or UK, because there is a chance
07:06 that they will come back.
07:07 But if they go to Australia or New Zealand, they are not going to come back, rather, they
07:10 will call you.
07:11 It is such a beautiful country.
07:13 From the land of a very competitive cricketing team, Jatinji, Namaskar.
07:19 Ram Sabse Pehle.
07:20 You are coming from a puja itself.
07:22 Please share with us, please share with us the daily routine, the atmosphere there, and
07:27 the run-up to this consecration.
07:29 Namaskar, everyone.
07:32 In Australia, we are celebrating this Ram Pratishtha Mahasaya in a large scale.
07:41 Many people have the different type of the events are going to take place and they are
07:47 enjoying the children to the elderly people.
07:52 Generally, there is a Akhandrama and Paath in our temple during the Ram Navami.
08:00 But from yesterday, we started the Akhandrama and Paath.
08:05 And I observed sometimes many people participate in this, but they are all above the age of
08:16 40s.
08:17 But this is a different experience that we have.
08:23 This is all teenagers, from 7 years old to the 90 years old people.
08:35 This is the big achievement.
08:38 And I, whatever the feelings they are, I personally go and ask why I'm here in Australia from
08:48 the 19 years.
08:50 I never found the teenagers, never found the children are interested to read the Ramayana.
08:56 We keep the Ramayana in English and they can enjoy.
09:02 They told, "Oh, we just come to know how the Ram Mandir is built and what the... and there's
09:09 a full... goes to the media.
09:13 Because all the come to the social media and everything.
09:17 They observe that things and now they are connected with this world, the values of...
09:23 they are asking the many questions.
09:25 They go through all the things and they now found what is Ram.
09:30 Ram, the very small word, but everything comes to the Ram.
09:36 Ra, it is Agni.
09:38 A, it is Aditya.
09:40 And Ma is Chandra.
09:42 Then the Chandra, Surya and Agni is together is called Sri Ram.
09:48 So they found they now practicing.
09:52 Yesterday I found many, many students offering the Bhojan Prasad, offering all the Prasadam.
10:01 They came to the temple and prepared the Prasadam here for the distribute to everyone.
10:07 So this is the big achievement of the Sri Ram Mandir.
10:12 And it is the effect of the Ram.
10:17 Sri Ram came Ayodhya after the victory and people enjoy that things.
10:23 This is the same thing.
10:25 We were not that time, but we can feel that how the people at the past, they enjoy the
10:33 same feeling we can have here.
10:35 And I expect everyone who enjoys the festival and preparing themselves and their children's
10:44 and whatever, even not for Hindus.
10:49 It is all people, my all Muslim friends, Christian friends, they want to know what is the Lord Ram's
10:59 role and how the Lord Ram give the example of Puram Gopi Yada Purushottam Sri Ram.
11:09 In Vanshlok it says Lokabhiramam.
11:12 It means this Ram for not belonging for one community, one religion is for everyone.
11:19 What, what, what golden lines I would say Jatinji because that is the beauty.
11:25 That is the beauty of the concept of Ram.
11:28 Even for us also, very honestly, we have been learning more and more about Ramayana and Ram.
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15:41 No doubt, no doubt Achalji to lead a country as big as India towards one goal and one common thread is something that this particular government has managed to do better.
15:55 I would say giving the credit where it's due.
16:00 Steven, Achalji sitting all the way in Auckland in New Zealand has pointed out quite a few significant aspects of how to preserve one's identity.
16:12 Be it the Ramcharitmanas, what he refers to the indentured labourers who were taken to Fiji and the African continent to Mauritius.
16:22 They preserve that Ramcharitmanas and the values there.
16:26 Also, how best a nation can actually project itself, you know, as a religious centre.
16:35 We have a Vatican for the Christians, we have Mecca and Medina for our Islamic sects.
16:45 Do you believe that it was time that Hindus too found one epicentre which would be known as the common ground for Hinduism all across the world?
16:59 Yeah, I'd like to, being a cultural studies scholar, I'd like to see the difference between religion and spirituality.
17:11 And I'd like to see Hinduism as a spirituality because I've had the same experience when I was in Ayodhya in Northern India.
17:21 Oh, you've been there?
17:23 Yes, yes, yes. We actually performed for the Dipotsava.
17:29 Oh, Dipotsava, okay.
17:31 And we were very surprised to learn that there were many narratives about Isa. Isa is Jesus in us.
17:41 Yes, Isa.
17:42 And I was even more surprised to find that a lot of the practices in Northern India, in this area of Lucknow and Ayodhya, you know, baptism in the river, similar to the baptism, to the images of the baptism in the river Jordan, you know, it really moved me, my spirituality.
18:07 But I see singleness of character in the spirituality that can unify the whole world rather than, you know, divide us according to religion.
18:19 So I see the difference between religion and spirituality. And I think we come very close to spirituality.
18:28 You're talking about preservation, no? I think preservation is one way, but this is very academic, of really killing a culture.
18:40 Because what is necessary, preservation is like jam, you know? Strawberry, it lives there forever.
18:46 But what is necessary is for a practice to be alive.
18:51 In other words, for the Ramayana and for our epics to be alive, it need not be archival or even practice.
18:58 It has to be experience. It has to be real. It has to be there.
19:03 And I think even for spirituality, not to be archived, not to be preserved, it has to be practice. It has to move. It has to be real.
19:15 Right. Prerna ji, Stephen, you know, mentioning that preserving is one thing, practicing it is another, and allowing that change.
19:27 So you have been living in Japan for a long time now.
19:33 Look, Prerna ji, for the younger generation, the generation which is learning the new trends as of now, how do you and how does your society convey to them, convince them, in order to follow the religious practices, the culture that Hinduism and Indians are all about?
19:55 Yeah, I think what Stephen has said, it's really easy to follow the spirituality and religion. I think it's not difficult.
20:07 And for kids, we can make them a little easy, not restrict them for something.
20:13 Unko dande se nahi sikhana hai.
20:17 Slowly they will understand by themselves.
20:21 Yesterday I was talking to my son, he's in 11th grade, and I asked him, what do you remember from Ramayana? Any five characters that you can tell?
20:31 The first character he told me is about, is Vibhishan. So he remembers Vibhishan.
20:37 Vibhishan is a big thing.
20:40 I'm happy that he remembers those characters. They are not very popular. He could have told about Sri Ram, Lakshman, Sita, but he remembers those characters.
20:52 So the younger generation is also taking interest in Ramayana and our culture.
20:59 So I'm happy about that. And I think all the kids, they are very good. I mean, the new generation, I think they are very good.
21:07 They are spiritual by themselves. You don't need to inculcate them. I think they are very nice.
21:15 So they'll develop all these things and the spirituality is coming to them.
21:19 And I think they are by themselves. They are very good. And we try to teach them all these things slowly.
21:28 So we don't have to worry.
21:31 Not at all. As you mentioned, as Jatinji also said that it has to acquire its own shape.
21:39 Yes, it will take time. And one thing I also want to add here, the Indian embassy has organized the live telecast of the Samarv from Mayodhya and the Ram temple.
21:54 They've organized the Akhand Ramayan part here also.
22:01 The viewers can also catch it live on One India, anywhere in the world.
22:06 Jatinji, Sydney, Melbourne, these are some of the names which have stayed long with the Indians.
22:16 I mean, for me growing up, I think from standard second or third, we knew these names because of a common connect called cricket.
22:25 There are many big cricket stadiums here where you live and other areas.
22:31 Indians in Australia have been living there for a long time.
22:35 Now, how have you seen the societal change? How has the acceptance level increased for Indians there?
22:42 And for you, the role that you have played and your team has played, please share with us because that is something which we salute.
22:52 Like Krishnaji said earlier, I would like to repeat that the devotion towards Ramcharitmanas in Australia and New Zealand, the respect and respect for them, all the credit goes to the Fiji people.
23:10 Because of them, this devotion to Ramayana is on a high.
23:16 Secondly, whenever we go to a place, we go to a place where we worship or go to any religious or political event.
23:28 So, they are asking about what is the Hinduism, how you Hindus are practicing and many questions they have.
23:37 But as per the constitution of India, we say the person who are behaving as a human is called Hindu.
23:44 So, they agreed, oh, that's a theory we don't know.
23:50 So, they respect. Nowadays, what happened, Modi ji came for twice in Australia.
24:00 And even the present Prime Minister told Modi is the boss.
24:08 The aspirations of the Prime Minister of Modi is on a different level.
24:16 Never be an Indian Prime Minister. Why?
24:22 Because he is backed by the hundred and four, 1.4 billion people who put the trust in Modi.
24:31 Now, nobody is opposing on a large scale about Modi. When Modi came to Australia,
24:39 some of the people in each and every community have some problems.
24:44 But we ignore that small things and have to see the big picture of that community from India.
24:52 Nowadays, in Australia, the one member of Parliament, Federal, wrote the book about the relations between India and Australia.
25:07 So, is a Mr. Dr. Andrew Charlton. In one speech I heard that I found the many last name in the cricket ground is Patel and Singh.
25:22 He expressed his gratitude about the metro trains.
25:28 All the relations, business relations are most important. Then students are coming here.
25:36 Then all the tradies are coming from India. So, there is a big bonding about social, religious.
25:45 And now I have one meeting with our Immigration Minister, Mr. Andrew Jile.
25:56 And you people are doing wonderful job in IT. Do you know the full meaning of the IT?
26:03 Yes, I informatize technology. No, I told him this is Indian tradition.
26:09 That's how they are known.
26:15 Look, each and every country needs the support from the other country.
26:22 When I went, I used to go to address to the people who are going to be citizens of Australia.
26:31 And there is their call in the council as each and every religion people.
26:38 And that time I'm also used that I told people we welcoming you and different countries have the different culture, different languages, different the lifestyle.
26:50 How they are going to support this country and make them a beautiful.
26:55 So, wherever our Karmabhoomi as well.
27:01 We never forgot about Karmabhoomi. But Karmabhoomi is also important.
27:09 And we respect our Karmabhoomi, our Janmabhoomi Sanskar.
27:14 And third thing, most important, those who are going up here, we always use our regional languages at home.
27:25 So, they are connecting with this.
27:28 So, I would like to pray to all of you, your Shwetagana, whatever is happening in India.
27:40 But the way we don't have anything here, we value it.
27:47 And that is not our language, our culture, our religion, it was less.
27:58 That's why we started moving forward.
28:02 And today we are standing at a place where we can say that the situation we are in today is because of our religion.
28:13 Absolutely.
28:15 Needless to say, Jatin ji, the factors that keep us together are very close to us, very innate to us also.
28:24 And you summed it really nicely about how we need to preserve and continue with it.
28:30 Achal ji, I know we all are hard pressed on time. Stephen has to go to another network also for an interview.
28:38 Very quickly, I'm coming to you, Stephen. Just a moment, a quick remark from Achal Krishna Das ji from New Zealand.
28:47 Achal ji, when a lot of people are watching this broadcast, the whole Ayodhya coverage,
28:55 the enthusiasm and the fervor that people have, how will you continue to keep it up?
29:02 How will you keep up the effort in New Zealand? And here in Ayodhya, I feel people will keep coming.
29:10 Yes, yes. So to keep the enthusiasm going, one thing is very important and that is to keep listening to the topic of God.
29:19 Whatever stories and leelas that have been given in the scriptures, like Ramcharitmanas, Balmiki Ramayana,
29:27 if we keep listening to it, we get a lot of teachings from it and the enthusiasm keeps going.
29:33 See, Ramcharitmanas, it has been said that all the Vedas, Puranas, all the scriptures,
29:41 all of them have been given in Ramcharitmanas. And if we read one scripture, there are a lot of scriptures,
29:50 Shrimad Bhagavatam has 18,000 verses, Balmiki Ramayana has 100,000 verses, Bhagavad Gita has 700 verses,
29:58 Ramcharitmanas also has a lot of verses, a lot of do's and don'ts. So all the knowledge has been given for everyone.
30:07 For example, how to serve your brother, how to live with your brother, it has also been told.
30:15 How to serve your parents, Sri Ramchandra ji himself did this, came in the human form and he did this.
30:22 He went to the forest to serve his parents. And when Sri Ramchandra ji went to the forest,
30:29 the main reason was to know about God, he can destroy the demons by staying in the dham.
30:35 He was serving his parents at home, but the reason for going there was that he had to meet the saints.
30:42 He had to meet the devotees there. So meeting the devotees, serving the devotees,
30:49 being with the devotees, and this is the human life, when the devotees are being with us,
30:55 only then we come to know about dharma, about knowledge. So enthusiasm remains.
31:02 It remains in the devotees and those who are with them.
31:06 So what we do here, like you asked what you do, what you do,
31:12 so we do this, we read the scriptures and tell others about this only,
31:17 Shrimad Bhagwat Gita, Bhagwat Ram, Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas, we give the message through this only.
31:22 In Ramcharitmanas, the character of God, that he went and did not add anything for himself.
31:30 If he wanted, he could have made his kingdom in Lanka.
31:35 He won Lanka, but he gave it to Vibhishan.
31:40 Vibhishan's name, which Prerna ji's son clearly remembers.
31:46 Needless to say, Achal ji, thank you very much for this point.
31:50 Prerna ji, Ramayan, way of life, the way of living,
31:55 what is your opinion on it, because it is not easy.
32:00 It's not easy to be Ram.
32:02 It's not easy to be a younger brother or an elder brother.
32:05 It's not easy to be Sita as well.
32:07 So if we want to keep this culture alive,
32:11 what can we do as of now, small humble steps in our day to day lives?
32:17 I think it is very important to be a good human being.
32:24 If we become a good human being, we can become good parents, good brothers, good sons.
32:34 First of all, it is very important to be a good human being.
32:38 Ramayana teaches us that only, in some way.
32:42 It is not just about Sita, it is about so many ladies in Ramayana.
32:48 Mandodari also teaches something.
32:50 Mata Kaikeyi also teaches something.
32:52 Kaushalya also teaches something.
32:54 So there is a lot to learn.
32:56 Ramayana is not a book, it is an institution.
33:01 You learn politics in it, you learn psychology in it, you learn sociology in it.
33:07 Everything is given, there is a scope for everything.
33:10 And Lord Ram, for 14 years, he had come to Dwapar after cutting the forest.
33:18 And for so many years, he was under the tent.
33:21 I also got a chance when I went to Ayodhya, he was sitting under the tent.
33:25 Now, Bhavya Mandir is built, if I get a chance, I will go there and visit.
33:32 So again, God has got a chance to come back to his home.
33:35 He has come again after cutting the forest, sitting under the tent.
33:39 Yes, yes, yes.
33:41 Well, I welcome you very much.
33:43 You will be welcomed here in India, in Ayodhya, by everyone.
33:47 Jatin Ji, while leaving, if you could chant a few lines, a mantra, a shloka,
33:56 if you want to tell our viewers as a life-line.
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40:49 On this very pragmatic note, I would like to thank Prerna ji from Tokyo,
40:57 Jatin ji all the way from Sydney in Australia, and last but not the least,
41:02 Achal Krishnadas ji from New Zealand, also Stephen who joined us from Philippines.
41:08 Thank you so much. And also, for the benefit of our audience, viewers,
41:13 and also our esteemed panelists, let me tell you,
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41:22 that two decades have passed since we graduated from a college in Delhi University.
41:28 And today, we met with the same friends, Jenny, Liza, Alex, who is in New Zealand,
41:35 they gave us a call with Achal Krishnadas ji.
41:39 Deepti Kaushal, who is in Sydney, Australia, she introduced us to Jatin ji,
41:43 and gave us an interview, and also gave us an interview with Divya Vinod,
41:47 who is in Tokyo, she met us with Prerna ji.
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41:58 So this is the next level of acquaintance that we have formed here,
42:02 what started two decades ago in a small college in Delhi University.
42:06 Thank you so much for speaking to us. It was a pleasure.
42:10 Thank you.
42:11 Thank you.