Texas Faith - Should we pray for rain?

The creator has designed a perfect ecological system for the planet earth to sustain on its own; however a few anomalies are built-in as a reminder for us to accept our own imperfections. Rain is one of the major components of that system and every so often, the system breaks down resulting in famines.
Dallas Morning News
Texas Faith, September 13, 2011

Should Texans or for that matter, others afflicted by drought pray for rain? If so, how would you pray? And what would you expect? If not, why wouldn’t you pray for rain?

Rain is a major source of life-giving water. It fills the lakes, runs the rivers, grows the food, tends the plants which produce oxygen and facilitates all that we consume for nourishment and survival. Lack of rain brings disasters.

The creator has designed a perfect ecological system for the planet earth to sustain on its own; however a few anomalies are built-in as a reminder for us to accept our own imperfections. Rain is one of the major components of that system and every so often, the system breaks down resulting in famines.

We have not had rain for a long time, what are our choices? When our intellect does not produce alternatives, we turn to the creator; it is our only hope.

Gov. Rick Perry’s proclamation to pray for rain may have its origins when he was a Commissioner for Agriculture. Indeed Jesus had made frequent references to it, in Matthew 13; four parables were mentioned relating to agriculture.

Doesn’t the creator know his operation has gone bonkers and needs fixing? He does, the mother knows what her children want, the employers know what the employees want, yet we have to ask for it. So, we pray!

The Native Americans felt the need to appease the creator and initiated rain dances. The Egyptian prayed for rain so the Nile can flow and they can get their water for sustenance.

Moses declared in Deuteronomy 11:14 " I will give you the rain of your land…" and laid a condition, “to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Lord Krishna says, “Beings are nourished by food, food is produced by rain, rain comes from sacrifice, and sacrifice is performed by action” and in chapter 19 of Bhagvad Gita he says “O Arjuna, I control heat, the rain and the drought.”

Indeed, it is a routine in India for the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains to gather up and sing songs for rain. Even eminent scientist like C.N.R. Rao has inaugurated festivities to Goddess Chamanudeshwari to bless the State with bountiful rain.

James 5:18, “Then, Elijah prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops”

Martin Lings, a Muslim scholar writes, “In Quraan the ideas of Mercy and water, in particular rain are in a sense inseparable” he compares that to the idea of revelation and the rain, both sent down by all Merciful God and both are spoken of as life giving. He adds that “the divine mercy reaches the uttermost confines of creation.”

In April this year, the Council on American Islamic Relations urged Muslims in Texas mosques to offer special Islamic prayers, called Salatul Istisqa, simply meaning asking God for water. This prayer was offered by Prophet Muhammad during times of drought. Muslims pray 2 units of optional prayers either personally or in congregation, it is in the same format of daily prayers except the supplications for rain.

As a pluralist, I want to assure that this piece is meant to represent all religious traditions even though they are not mentioned. May God bless us with rain now, Amen.

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The weekly column called Texas Faith at Dallas Morning News asks the religiously oriented to write about the issues facing the nation from their faith perspective. I have been blessed to be sharing my take for over a year now. At the morning news, you can read at least ten other takes on the question. http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/09/texas-faith-should-we-pray-for.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day to the media and the public. He is a speaker thinker and a writer on the topics of pluralism, cohesive societies, Politics, Islam, interfaith, India and Peace. Over a thousand articles have been published on the topics and two of his books are poised to be released on Pluralism and Islam. Mike's work is reflected in 4 website's and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/ and you can find all of his current articles at www.TheGhousediary.com

Mosque at Ground Zero religious freedom too far?

Thanks to Dallas Morning News for presenting different points of view. Our own Rabbis and Pastors have spoken respectfully.

Indeed, it is another opportunity to the world to see what we are made of; the world will see the spirit of our freedom and who we are, we are open to others, our freedom does not scare us, we are secure with ourselves and secure with the God given diversity; and we live with confidence of who we are.

We set the tone for the world, so other nations can emulate us and not the other way around.
Continued: http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-mosque-at-ground-zero-religious.html

www.MikeGhouse.net

Pakistani Americans declare war on terrorism

Sacramento's Pakistani Americans declare war on terrorism
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/pakistani-americans-declare-war-on.html

Three ways of looking at the situation;

As Muslims we need to continue to remain alert, if we have an inkling of some one who 'wishes' to hurt another being, it is our religious duty to pounce on him/her and stop it at once unequivocally. The Quraan says saving one life is like saving the whole humanity. The only sin God does not forgive is shirk, that is assigning some one to do God's job; one of them is to give life and take life. This is where we need to do our Jihad, to prevent a Bin Laden or another idiot to take over God's job. This is Shirk, unforgivable by God.

We need to send a clear signal to the terrorists, what the Muslims in Mumbai had done - deny burial in a Muslim cemetery if there is one. Let them know clearly that they are not welcome among Muslims, who the hell they think they are, God? No Muslim should tolerate any one to do God's job, it is a shirk to give another person the status of God.

As Americans we need to treat these guys as common criminals, and should resist the temptation of labeling them a Muslim or a Pakistani, what is the point, blame the man and not his family, school, city, religion or country? We need to do a study if these idiots do it for glory, if they do, we should not give them any, and there should not be any incentive to them.

As a civil society, we need to encourage open conversations across America, let people express their frustrations and share what is on their mind.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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Sacramento's Pakistani Americans declare war on terrorism

http://www.modbee.com/2010/05/08/1158741/sacramentos-pakistani-americans.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=923310#Comments_Container

By Stephen Magagnini - smagagnini@sacbee.com

Sacramento's Pakistani American community Friday declared war on terrorism – whether it's in Pakistan or homegrown.

At the downtown Muslim mosque, several dozen local leaders thanked God for the quick arrest of Pakistan-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad in connection with the attempted Times Square car bombing before anyone was hurt.

Bashir Choudry, president of the Pakistani American Association of Sacramento, and other leaders expressed sadness that another Pakistani American has been linked to terrorism. Choudry said the community will do whatever it takes to root out terrorism.

That includes working with law enforcement, creating a Pakistani studies program at UC Davis to teach people about Pakistan's problems and potential, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote stability, transparency and democracy in Pakistan.

Businessman Farrukh Saaed asked all community members "to help law enforcement find and prosecute these criminals – anyone who hears about suspicious behavior needs to come forward to try to stop it initially at the grass-roots level before it becomes something big."
"We are all together in defeating forces trying to hurt or damage the American way of life – peace, justice and freedom," Choudry said.

Community leaders said they'd support the Department of Homeland Security's plan to monitor travel between the United States and Pakistan. "We will cooperate as long as there's a good reason and it's not racial profiling," Choudry said.

The Rev. David Thompson, president of Sacramento's Interfaith Service Bureau, noted that the man "who found the smoking SUV and saved the day was a Muslim." True Islam is peaceful, "not this radicalized violence in the name of Islam," Thompson said.

Sacramento's 15,000 Pakistani Americans – whose roots in Northern California go back to 1895 – include doctors, lawyers, professors and philanthropists, said longtime community leader Rashid Ahmad.

"We have an obligation to educate our own people and American society about the true nature, problems and potential of Pakistan," said Ahmad, who supports a Pakistani Studies program at UC Davis and plans to invite the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court to California.

Not only have Pakistanis laid down their lives to battle terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan Ahmad said, "our relatives in Pakistan face a daily onslaught from terrorist bombings."
To help Pakistanis solve their own problems, "Pakistani Americans have an obligation to communicate with our government in the U.S. to not give money, but support democratic forces, transparency, good government and good education," Ahmad said.

Times Square suspect Shahzad, the son of a decorated aviator in the Pakistani air force, is an unemployed financial analyst from the suburb of Shelton, Conn. He allegedly hatched the car bomb plot after numerous trips to Pakistan where he was trained by radical elements in the Pakistani Taliban.

Haseeb A. Rana, an IT manager at Intel in Folsom, expressed the frustration shared by many Muslims when Americans are linked to terrorism in Pakistan.

Lodi's Hamid Hayat was convicted of lying about attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2007.

In 2003, the "Lackawanna Six," Yemeni Americans from New York who attended an al-Qaida jihadist camp in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

"There are a lot of people like me who want to help but we don't know what to do – a good Muslim will never hurt anybody," Rana said. "We have to ask more questions so we can diagnose this cancer and find a cure."

YOUR COMMENTS

Ghouse speaks at Dallas Mega March 2010

Mike Ghouse, speaking at Immigration rally in Dallas on May 1, 2010. "If you cannot stand up for the rights of others, why should any one stand up for you?"

4 MINUTES VIDEO AT YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrjU0KULv-Y

Good Afternoon, I am standing here today because a lady by the name Rosa Parks stood up for her rights and her right to be treated with dignity.

I am standing here today as an immigrant because some one gave up his life to bring civil rights to America and it was this singular act that caused all of us immigrants to be here in America to enrich our nation.

If you cannot stand up for the rights of others, why should any one stand up for you? It was an honor to be among 10 civil rights leaders of Dallas to lead the March.

We need – comprehensive Immigration Reforms
We need – strong border controls.

We have a moral responsibility to stand up for Justice and civil rights of others.

We are a nation of justice,
We are born to be just,
We are conditioned to be just,
We have to guard ourselves to be just, and
We cannot not stray away from justice.

We have to bring a balance in our own life by giving our time to defend the rights of others, who need to be defended, and who cannot speak for themselves.

Dr. King lifted us from the burden of guilt that would have eaten and rotted the psyche of our nation. And as Americans, we need to protect future generation from such guilt complexes.

As Americans we have taken bold steps to protect the human rights of people around the world and have sacrificed millions of our men and women, and poured billions of dollars to protect the rights of othersIt is time we do protect the rights of our own fellow residents.

Make no mistake about it, we must have strong border control and border enforcement, but must act and work on the Comprehensive Immigration reform.

Let’s pray

- Dear God, we are gathered here to seek your guidance; help us do the right thing. Say AMEN

- Help us open our hearts and minds to fellow beings; Say AMEN

- Give us the humility to respect your creation Say AMEN,

- Help us embrace each one of the 7 billion of us without any distinction; Say AMEN

- We need stand up for the rights of others, to build an America, to build one nation with liberty and justice for all. Say AMEN

Link: http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2010/05/ghouse-speaks-at-dallas-mega-march-2010.html

Your Comments:

Mike Ghouse is a frequent guest at the media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. He is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam, India and Civil Societies. His work is reflected at 3 websites & 22 Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Political Linguistics in America

Political Linguistics in America

My comments follow the article by Prof. John Kozy, the article not only brings out the political linguistic gymnastics, but also the ideas about governance and his challenges to traditional narratives – Mike Ghouse

Political Linguistics in America

The American Kleptocratic "Necrocracy": A "Democracy" that Kills

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16469

by Prof. John Kozy

Languages are called living because they constantly change. There's no way to stop that, of course; people use languages as they will. Linguists often speak approvingly of the change, citing the richness it adds to language and inventiveness of the human mind, but the change also has unintended consequences that are often overlooked. The change, after all, is what makes works written in old and even middle English unintelligible to modern speakers of English.

Some attempts have been made to control linguistic change; they have not had much success. L'Académie française, for example, has continuously fought a loosing battle against changes in French, and even the U.S. governments attempts to advocate Simplified English show few positive results. Yet attempts to control linguistic change arise because of an irrefutable fact, namely, that linguistic change often makes speech and writing ambiguous which obscures meaning and leads to muddled thinking.

Take the word 'democracy,' for instance. It has come to mean something like a government whose agents are 'elected by the people.' But that's a slippery definition. Democracy originally meant rule by the people, but the people do not rule in governments whose agents are merely elected.

If there are legal or financial restrictions on who can seek office, what is called democracy can be any one of a number of different kinds of government. If only clerics of a specific religious sect can seek office, the government that results is really an ecclesiocracy. If only the affluent can seek office, it would be a plutocracy. If only geniuses are allowed to seek office, it would be a geniocracy, and there are numerous other types. Merely calling a nation democratic is so ambiguous it has no real meaning.

When President Wilson went before Congress on April 2, 1917, to seek a Declaration of War against Germany in order that the world "be made safe for democracy," exactly what was he pleading for? Almost a dozen major and numerous minor wars since have apparently not made the world safe for anything, no less, democracy. The world is more dangerous for nations and their peoples than ever.

When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with more than 20 Arab foreign ministers in Marrakesh, Morocco to promote democracy in the region, what exactly what was she promoting? After all, the Iranians hold regular elections.

When President Bush told a gathering of the Asian American Heritage month in Washington that "We're working with India to promote democracy and the peace it yields throughout the continent, " exactly what was he promoting, especially since Arundhati Roy, an Indian woman, writes in Listening to Grasshoppers; Field Notes on Democracy, that democracy has "metastasized into something dangerous." She argues that democracy in India is not for, of and by the people but "designed to uphold the consensus of the elite for market growth," which is, of course, exactly what American democracy has become.

P.R. Sarkar, the founder of Prout, the Progressive Utilization Theory, is cited as saying that democracy can never be successful unless the majority of the population are moralists, that there needs to be a trend that supports humanistic values, and that capitalism breaks down whatever remains of those very values. "In its relentless quest for individual material acquisitions and selfish comfort it makes us all insensitive to the suffering of others and prone to divisive tendencies." Sarkar is right, of course. After all, even the Papacy has been corrupted at various times in history. Any system can be corrupted when it is controlled by the immoral.

Roy claims that this late phase of mature capitalism is headed for hell. But people living in capitalist economies have always lived in hell. Dante's Inferno has seven levels; today's capitalist democracies have many more, and only the level distinguishes one capitalist hell from others.

Roy approves of violence as a means of people's resistance to injustice. She claims that many of the poor are "crossing over... to another side; the side of armed struggle." Certainly that observation is true, but the crossover has not yet occurred within capitalist democracies, and the Western democratic attempt to "promote democracy" is merely an attempt to extend the boundaries of this hell to other regions. Yet, success may be illusory.

Victor Davis Hanson, a patrician, conservative, American historian, who writes on war but has never himself served, claims that "the usual checks on the tradition of Western warfare are magnified in our time." He argues that there are there are five traditional checks on it. One is the Western tendency to limit the ferocity of war through rules and regulations. Second, there is no monolithic West; the U.S. and its allies often can't agree. Third, it is very easy to acquire and use weapons. Four, there are ever-present anti-war movements in the West, extending all the way back to Classical Greece, citing Euripides' Trojan Women and Aristophanes' Lysistrata, and fifth, it's not easy to convince someone who has the good life to fight against someone who doesn't.

Although all of these are true, Hanson, like many historians, fails to probe deeply by asking, Why? The why may lie in the increasing recognition of the insight President Eisenhower described when he said, "I hate war, as only a soldier who has lived it can, as one who has seen its brutality, it futility, its stupidity . . . every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense atheft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed." That recognition may in the end be the ultimate check on the Western way of war, and patricians like Hanson are right to be concerned. The time that the poor are willing to fight to preserve the patrician lifestyles of the wealthy may come to an end as the perpetual war of Western nations against the rest of humanity is exposed by the stream of people in body bags returned to their homelands for burial.

The democracy being promoted and made safe is not the one of rule by the people. It is a kleptocratic necrocracy that kills so that it can scavenge the carcasses of the dead and dying so that America can continue to be the largest consumer of the world's resources. Such is the democracy that the youth of Western nations are being asked to fight and die for, and it is made possible by the ambiguity in the word democracy what has made the term meaningless.

Napoleon is cited as having said that religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. As the poor grow more and more numerous, being stripped of their meager holdings by kleoptocratic capitalist political economies whose greed knows no bounds, this may change, and Arundhati Roy may be right in believing that many of the poor will cross over to the side of armed struggle. If so, the Western patrician class has good reason to be concerned.

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John Kozy is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by John Kozy. John Kozy is a retired professor of philosophy and logic who blogs on social, political, and economic issues. After serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, he spent 20 years as a university professor and another 20 years working as a writer. He has published a textbook in formal logic commercially, in academic journals and a small number of commercial magazines, and has written a number of guest editorials for newspapers.

Comments by Mike Ghouse

"One is the Western tendency to limit the ferocity of war through rules and regulations."
Up till the above statement, the writer was doing well finding holes to each one of the earlier statements, I was looking to read about the ferocity of "shock and awe" of Bush and Ferocity in Iraq.

- "Napoleon is cited as having said that religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." Indeed, that has been my argument, it is because of religion we have less chaos in the world, and lack of it would have been disastrous. Most of the conflicts are directly attributable to greed (which goes against religions) and arrogance (against religion) of the individuals.

"Arundhati Roy may be right in believing that many of the poor will cross over to the side of armed struggle. If so, the Western patrician class has good reason to be concerned."

I have always wondered about this, when the disparities get intensified and goes completely out of balance and out of management, would it lead to a revolt big enough to justify communistic idea of forcing equality onto every one. What will happen in Pakistan? Is communism a product of disparity beyond the threshold of bearing?

AVATAR - A movie about Harmony

Monday, December 28, 2009
Mike Ghouse

When it comes to visual effects, Avatar is the mother of all movies. However, it could have been made in two hours without losing an ounce of amazement. This movie is a good expression of living in harmony with nature exemplified by the indigenous people of Pandora. I would see this movie a few more times to absorb the special effects, nature, harmony, romance, beauty, thoughtfullness and the message of co-existence, aka Pluralism*.
http://mikeghouseforamerica.blogspot.com/2009/12/avatar-movie-about-harmony.html

The native girl tells the hero, “you cannot fill a cup that is full”, and he responds, “it is empty”. It is one of the most powerful dialogues in the movie, in this context, she is telling him, "how can you understand us if your mind is made up of what life ought to be". His response was such a delight, when he says "it is empty", signifying that he is open to new information, that he is not biased, there is room to process the new culture without prejudice or how things ought to be done. My way is not the only way; I am open to your ways.

In another instance, she tells him to ride on the bird which was hostile to him, he asks "how do I know the brid would not kill me", she responds," if it tries to kill you, and if you earn his respect, he will give you the ride." Powerful dialogue. Mother Teresa had said, " if you want to make friends with your enemies, go talk with them". A chinese proverb says, "if you want your enemy gone, befriend him, you threaten him, he will be enemy for life". The hero captures another massive ferocious bird with the tail connection. I wish our politicians have the brains to get this and if they do, terrorism can evaporate into thin air.

One of the Rhino- look-alike animals charges at the hero, he wanted to run, she tells him to stand firmly "show no fear" and as expected the animal stops. The Monkey story has a similar conclusion, when he stares at you threateningly, and if you think of taking a back step, he reads your fear and will be all over you, whereas if you stand firmly, monkey will pause, gets frightened and backs off, that has been my experience with real monkies and monkey-like humans. This is the kind of approach we need to take with bullies in our lives, if you fear getting hurt anyway, frighten the crap out of them by taking a firm stand.

The movie talks about the universe of energy that is made up of everything within us and what surrounds us; the harmony was beautifully expressed in terms of connection the hero makes with a bird, horse like animal and the trees by aligning his tail (Ironic) with theirs. It is an example of how to co-exist with differences. It is a beautiful expression of looking the universe as uno energy, giving each component of it, its full value.

The uno energy is composed of multitudes of diverse elements living in harmony. It is comparable to the idea of “One God”; however it ought to be “oneness” rather than mathematical integer.

The idea can carry a few members of religion into fanatic frenzy of chanting “one God”, as if God is a number. The idea of one God is the multitudes of traditions living in harmony within the “larger one God”, rather than “your one” and “my one.” Event those who do not believe in God as presented by religions, can consider it as an energy that drives every thing, the system that keeps the universe in balance, the planets, and the moon orbiting the earth in precision. It is the consistent energy that pervades in one to have the feelings about others and others rights.

The movie highlights the wickedness of corporations that dehumanize life, where profit drives them to insanity; it is kind of a film on John Perkins, “Confessions of an economic Hitman”.

It shows the helplessness of many who fear the bully corporations and simply yield to the evil dictates of men despite their disdain. If Edmund Burke can be paraphrased, “the evil in the world exists and continues to exist because of good people, and not due evil men, because good men don’t do anything to stop it”.

We should have protested along with Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore, had we done that, we probably would not have let our war machinery destroy others as well as bring misery to us.

There is another critical dialogue in the movie, where the commander in charge of the corporation is bent on destroying the native people by seizing their land and literally bulldozing them and saying, we are going to teach “those terrorists” and order his men to destroy them with shock and awe. As audience, we sense the ridiculousness of it, “the man had gone to their lands, to rob them and when they resist, he calls them terrorists.”

Like all movies, we get the satisfaction that there is hope and at the end of the day justice triumphs.

* Pluralism is developing an attitude of respecting the otherness of other, and figuring out how to co-exist in harmony with the given differences.

Mike Ghouse is a thinker, writer speaker and an activist of pluralism, interfaith, co-existence, peace, Islam and India. He is a frequent guest at the TV, radio and print media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. His websites and Blogs are listed on http://www.mikeghouse.net/

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1/15/2013 - watching Hardball on MSNBC - Nia-Malika Henderson appear on screen, she reminded the foreheads and noses of the characters in Avatar. Take a look

Additional notes:

1. The bird attack on the helicopters reminds me of a story from Quraan where a sea of brats attacking an invading army and chasing them out.

2. The Hindu mythology had a bird called Garuda, on which Lord Krishna (or Hanuman) flew. The inverted V sign on the faces of the natives reminds me of markings in Hindu traditions.

3. I have a severe phobia of heights, my knees freeze on me... I was pleased and surprised with my knees for not freezing on me when they show the hero and heroin stand on the edges of the floating mounations and jump on the birds.

3. Sulekha has copyrights protected on this article for me.
Avatar movie review by Mike Ghouse
Avatar english movie review posted by Mike Ghouse.Write your own movie review on Avatar. ... His websites and Blogs are listed on http://www.mikeghouse.net/ ...

A tribute to Jesus

A tribute to Jesus on this Christmas;

What does it mean to be religious?

Mike Ghouse

This column is dedicated to Rev. Petra Weldes of the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas. Some of my conversation with her inspired me to write this tribute to Jesus and what it means to be religious.

Continued: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/12/tribute-to-jesus.html

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