0 FOREWORD The strength of Mahila Shibirs has been growing year on year. Evolving from Annual National Shibirs, to Vibhag Levels in 2019 and this year, 2020, in the format of the Vibhag E-Mahila Shibirs. Covid-19 has not at all hindered the planning, progress, and execution of the truly engaging E-Shibirs year. The focus areas on skill development has allowed all mahila to grow in confidence, further develop their skills and re-enforce their understanding of what is Sevika Dharma. National and local teams have worked tirelessly in organising these Shibirs and through this, they themselves have instilled and nurtured many qualities; being steadfast, working as a team and of course endurance, all which are some key sevika samskars. Participants have set themselves on task and produced articles on the topics given to them, and for some, they have really pushed themselves and have come out of their comfort zones. In total 342 sevikas from 7 vibhags wrote and submitted 411 articles. The articles were proofread, edited, and formatted, ready for the launch of the e-book. The articles where based on wide ranging topics including the Uniqueness of Bharat, Ramayana, Home Medicines, The Science of Hindu Rituals, and the Contribution of Hindu Women. With over 500 mahilas attending nationally, we have surpassed anticipated numbers, engaged and inspired a wide range of mahila base and identified future mahila karyakartas (leaders) in vibhag (local) areas that will allow mahilas work to grow, work selflessly and contribute to our society. Fantastic work! I am inspired by your dedication. Pranam, Madhviji Haria, UK Kendriya Karyawahika, Hindu Sevika Samiti (UK) 1 FOREWORD I am delighted to know about the endeavours of the Sevikas in the field of literature. I am very much impressed by the number of articles and the number of participants. The subjects are from different categories encompassing the Hindu epics, to Hindu way of life, to contemporary subject like COVID-19. This project has given an opportunity for Sevikas to use the period of lock down in developing their writing skills. I congratulate all the participants and the coordinators as well. I hope UK Samiti will continue coming up with new ideas, new projects for the Karyakarta Vikas and enhance their level of commitment towards our ultimate goal of Vishwa Shanti. Ma Alka Tai, Rashtra Sevika Samiti Saha Karyawahika 2 DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in the articles are the respective author’s own and do not represent that of HSS (UK) or the author’s places of work. While each author and HSS (UK) has made every effort to ensure that the information we are sharing is accurate, we welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors. HSS (UK) is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of any information in the article 3 BOOK REVIEW I received a request from Kalyaniji, asking me if I could review an E-book produced by the mahilas. I agreed and requested they give me the smallest one. She gave me a 101 paged book - Oops! I was not sure I would be able to finish reading all those pages so quickly, but I thought let us try, and since I have committed to the task, I have to finish it. So, without delay, I started reading. The different articles were organised into different topics and that helped make the read easy and very enjoyable. All the four parts, lifestyle, food and sewa, festivals, and rituals and yoga are extremely relevant in this time of COVID. The section of poem was fun to read and gave a different flavour to the E-book. It is really exciting to see so many sevikas write and express their thoughts and knowledge. I congratulate the UK Samiti team for coming up with such an innovative idea and bringing it to reality. Let me tell you, when I agreed to review the E-book, I was nervous, but I am glad I said yes! Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I am really impressed, and inspired by the work of writers, and coordinators. I wish you all the best for new projects, and new ideas. Keep safe and healthy. Anjali Patel USA Sevika Pramukh 4 THE HINDU WAY OF LIFE IN A PANDEMIC What is Hindu Dharma? We all say it is a way of life. This could be interpreted in various ways, namely, how we live, what we eat, our daily routine, live within our means and treat everyone the way we would like to be treated. Hindus believe that God resides in clean houses and hence we always try and keep our homes clean. We always wash our hands before we eat, take our shoes out by the door when we enter our homes, have a shower every morning before we start our day. We advocate a vegetarian diet, and so consume the food that our bodies are able to digest. We usually cook meals at home and are aware of the ingredients used in making them. From a young age it has been instilled within us to live within our means and save for a rainy day. By implementing this in our lives our family’s basic everyday needs are satisfied. My parents always used to say, “treat everyone the way you would like to be treated”. If you want to be respected, learn to respect others. If you are kind to others, they will also be kind to you. Further to this we have been brought up to help others who are in need. During the pandemic there were a lot of Sewa activities carried out from providing food to the NHS staff and vulnerable people to replenishing food supplies at various Food Banks throughout the country. Young children were also engaged in creating drawings to thank the NHS staff for working tirelessly. Families were also assisting their vulnerable neighbours by doing their grocery shopping. We were all given the opportunity to do Sewa and everyone was working tirelessly to help wherever they could. All the above qualities that we as Hindus have embraced in our daily lives has helped us overcome the difficulties that arose during the pandemic and to serve the wider Samaj. 5 This book is written by the Mahila of all the shakhas in West Midlands. Many of the habits which are followed by millions of Hindu families across Bharat have been followed from many generations. The main aim of the book is so to highlight how the way of life led by Hindus which could prevent the occurrences of such pandemics. 6 CONTENTS PAGE 08 Part 1: Lifestyle 32 Part 2: Food and Sewa 62 Part 3: Festivals 88 Part 4: Rituals and Yoga 101 References 7 8 HINDU DHARMA: HOW IT HELPS HINDUS DURING THE PANDEMIC When I was a child, I always looked forward to my bedtime stories by my parents, the same way my children absolutely love their bedtime stories now! Hindus, whether they are ‘religious’ or ‘non-religious’ have a huge variety of stories, people who believe in Ishwara go for most loved stories like Ramayana or Mahabharata or Puranas and those who do not, go for the most popular Panchatantra stories or katha sarith sagaram or travelogues. This brings us to a question: can a Hindu be still Hindu without believing in Ishwara? The answer is yes, unlike a Christian who is not considered a true Christian if not following Christ or his gospel, and a Muslim who is not considered a Muslim if they do not give precedence to prophet, a Hindu whether he believes in Ishwara or not is still a Hindu, unreservedly! Hindu can be an Asthika, who believes in Ishwara or Nastika, who does not believe in Ishwara. Individuals are given full freedom to choose whom they want to believe. One can worship Shiva or Gouri Devi or Durga or Vishnu or Laxmi or Rama or Krishna or worship none at all! Every individual is given spiritual space to practice or not practice anything. Those who practise Hinduism often call it the Sanatana Dharma or the eternal laws of Nature. Hinduism is complex; some people describe it as being like the roots of the Banyan tree - perhaps it is better seen as multiple religious practices/traditions having a common thread of philosophical principles like worship of one divinity in its many forms (absolute truth) to navigate the material and spiritual journey of jiva/atma/consciousness to achieve the four goals of dharma (right conduct), artha (right resources), kama (right desires) and moksha (salvation). Hinduism is extremely diverse, depending on things such as culture, family background and geographical location, endlessly varied in forms of expression, and in belief. 9 One might wonder what exactly binds Hindus together when there are so many ways to reach Ishwara and so many Gods and Goddesses to worship? Hinduism is not based on a God or a Divinity, it is a principle based. Brahman is the name given to the absolute truth/principle. The concept of god in Hinduism is a continuum that does not fit into the term’s monotheism, pantheism etc. From The unqualified truth called Brahman (Tattva ie., principle) qualified truth (God) arises in the personification of deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, and the Goddess. Thus, the Hindu refers to the deity’s unqualified nature (Brahman) as paramatma, and the qualified nature through name and form. The deity is not seen separate from Brahman but a personification of it, like the wave is of the ocean.