Today makes four years since I took my shahada and became Muslim, even though it feels like a lifetime ago.

Below are some reflections and advices I’d give to new Muslims and the greater Muslim community as someone who accepted Islam:

Khutbah Topic By Sheikh Salaah Al Budair: 01/01/21

'Warning from Busying yourself with others Faults'

O Muslims:
People of intellect and sound mind protect and guard themselves from falsehood and their honor from anything which may harm it by following the path of virtue and good and avoiding what causes suspicion.

There is no virtue except for the one who protects his honor and tries to increase in good. I swear that there is no dishonor for a person in death, if he is not afflicted in life with what is shameful.

No one who is alive, even if he lives safely, will be more mortal than those in their graves. Every youth and every new thing will come to an end, and everyone will eventually return to Allah.

The believer does not accept to be an aim for the arrows of suspicion, or a target of backbiting, criticism and slander. He must cut off the causes of doubt and evil thoughts that may come to people.

Knowledge & Bharat : Part V

The Curriculum of Vedic Education :
According to the Ancient Indian theory of education, the training of the mind & the process of thinking, are essential for the acquisition of knowledge.

#Thread

Vedic Education System delivered outstanding results.  These were an outcome of the context in which it functioned.  Understanding them is critical in the revival of such a system in modern times. 
The Shanthi Mantra spells out the context of the Vedic Education System.

It says:

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

“Aum. May we both (the guru and disciples) together be protected. May we both be nourished and enriched. May we both bring our hands together and work

with great energy, strength and enthusiasm from the space of powerfulness. May our study and learning together illuminate both with a sharp, absolute light of higher intelligence. So be it.”

The students started the recitation of the Vedic hymns in early hours of morning.

The chanting of Mantras had been evolved into the form of a fine art. Special attention was paid to the correct pronunciation of words, Pada or even letters. The Vedic knowledge was imparted by the Guru or the teacher to the pupil through regulated and prescribed pronunciation,

@Kate_SdE @PriyamvadaGopal @ChathamHouse @AdomGetachew Hindu nationalism should not have a negative connotation. It’s not exclusivist because Hinduism isn’t a religion - rather, it’s a way of life, and the term “Hindu” refer broadly to the people around and east of the Sindhu. This transcends the modern construct of religions.

@PriyamvadaGopal @ChathamHouse @AdomGetachew For “Hindus” - a broad-brush stroke for a people whose culture is underpinned by a knowledge system that provides logical structure for adopters of a plethora of philosophies, “Hindu nationalism” by definition, is inclusive and pluralistic. It gives space to everyone.

@PriyamvadaGopal @ChathamHouse @AdomGetachew If Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva-Mimamsa, Buddhist and Jain philosophies are studied in comparison with Abrahamic faiths, India’s unique Carl Popper Paradox comes to light. The imposition of a western matrix of secularism on a pluralistic culture has done much harm.

@PriyamvadaGopal @ChathamHouse @AdomGetachew Because the traditions are rooted in universalist philosophies, India gladly hosts followers of non-proselytizing faiths. Supremacist theocratic ideologies find little resonance with the people of the land. To understand “Hindu nationalism,” one has to study Indic philosophy.

@PriyamvadaGopal @ChathamHouse @AdomGetachew Equally, it is important to view history objectively, know the excesses of supremacist invaders/colonizers, and importantly, understand the asymmetries created by the “secular” state which structurally disadvantage the vastly heterogeneous so-called “Hindu” majority.

1/15 Self-loathing (self-hating) #Jews and the existence of #Israel. After WW2 a lot of #Jewish survivors denied their #Jewishness all together. Converted to Protestantism, became hardcore socialists or even communists. Pretending to by one of the many, instead one of the few.

2/15 Examples in my little family. Another hiding place was to marry non-Jews. Male Jew & non-Jewish woman broke the bloodline. Female #Jew & non-Jewish male was a reason to not follow Jewish traditions. No Brit Milah, no Bar/Bat Mitswah, nada. Also examples in my little family.

3/15 Remember this was in the early 1950/60’s and the man of the house decided most. The deeper thought, no, the huge fear that something like the #Holocaust could happen again was the reason for this. Don’t show the outside world you’re a #Jew, you could be round up next time.

4/15 Same attitude was transferred to their children. Don’t show your Magen David (if you ever got one), don’t tell your Jewish. Hide, hide, hide. But indoors a few customs were kept. Friday night family night, Matzohs at Easter(!) – not Pesach, some kosher food with birthdays.

5/15 Their childrens children are now the so-called #leftist, #progressive Jews who deny their #Jewishness wholehearted. Code Pink, Jstreet, JVP… you name them. #Israel is their greatest fear aka Jews with self-determination, which triggers even more #antisemitism.