Screening of the film "Not in God's Name"
“Unless we know the value of other religious traditions, it is difficult to develop respect for them. Mutual respect is the foundation of genuine harmony. We should strive for a spirit of harmony, not for political or economic reasons, but rather simply because we realize the value of other traditions. I always make an effort to promote religious harmony."
~ His Highness Holy the Dalai Lama (Head of the Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhists, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner)
I have known Dr. Deepak Shimkhada for over a decade when I first went to celebrate Nepalese Dashain Festival which was organized at Claremont University in Claremont, California. I had met Dr. Shimkhada at many occasions, especially when Dr. Chintamani Yogi was here in the USA and we had great meeting, to promote Nepalese culture, heritage and the value system through Shree Pashupatinath Foundation, USA (www.pashpatinathfounation.org).
I would like to mention little more about Dr. Shimkhada since he is one of the well known Nepalese intellectuals and had served the Nepalese community for many decades now. Dr. Deepak Shimkhada received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University, where he is an adjunct professor. He was in the faculty of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California where he taught courses on Asian religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and the Visions of the Divine Feminine. He is currently a visiting professor at California State University in Northridge. His publications include numerous journal papers and three edited books. He is active in academic as well as local communities. He is the founding president of the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture, President of Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast and vice president of South Asian Studies Association.
I was invited by Dr. Deepak Shimkhada in the screening of "Not in God's Name" (produced by Paradise Filmworks: www.paradisefilmworks.com) by an internationally acclaimed filmmaker Paula Fouce and producer Timothy Kettle. Paula Fouce spent several years living and working throughout South Asia. Starting in Nepal as a University student, she exported from many countries including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Fascinated with the cultures and faiths of the region, Paula co-authored SHIVA, a photographic book.
Bhakta Thapa, Rajendra Siwakoti, Balram Thapa and myself went to Garrison Theatre, Scripps College in Claremont to attend this screening event at around 3:30 PM on Saturday, October 2, 2010. When we reached there, Dr. Shimkhada was introducing important personalities who had contributed generously towards Indic Foundation and the filmmaker as well as producer.
It was a beautiful documentary, describing about various religions and how ignorant people are misusing the name of God to get selfish benefits. Paula has interviewe many well known personalities at various places, asking for their opinions about the current situations. At many places,the documentary includes comments by the Dalai Lama who works to promote religious tolerance, calling it his most important commitment; he says that mankind needs different religions. He was recently awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his work promoting non-violence and harmony. In this documentary, religious leaders of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism examine the causes for religious strife. For somebody like myself who has very little knowledge about different religions, it was an eye opener to have a chance to know what is going on out there in real world and how different human beings have been behaving in a certain way.
After the documentary, there was a panel of intellectuals from all different religions and they did their best to answer the questions from public. Each one of them were given couple of minutes to make their comments on the movie. Overall, it was a great experience to get a chance to be at the Screening. I requested Paula Fouce to make corrections to make sure to let the world know that "Buddha was born in Nepal". Yes, he was enlightened under a tree in Bihar, India and spread Buddhism, starting from India but his "real birth place" is Kapilvastu, Lumbini, Nepal. It is a fact and always remains fact as is.
After the program, lunch was served. I met Ved B. Joshi and many other Nepalese family there. It was a very positive, encouraging and friendly gathering. I felt great to be among these religious leaders, representing different religious beliefs and other intellecutuals from Claremont University. Thank you Dr. Deepak Shimkhada for inviting me and being such an enthusiastic leader to be able to lead Indic Foundation. Thank you Gokul Poudyal, Secretary of Indic Foundation for good arrangements and taking care of details during lunch and gathering. It was a great honor for being the guest of such a wonderful program.
-Prem Guragain
Los Angeles, California
Published in American Chronicle:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/195926
~ His Highness Holy the Dalai Lama (Head of the Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhists, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner)
I have known Dr. Deepak Shimkhada for over a decade when I first went to celebrate Nepalese Dashain Festival which was organized at Claremont University in Claremont, California. I had met Dr. Shimkhada at many occasions, especially when Dr. Chintamani Yogi was here in the USA and we had great meeting, to promote Nepalese culture, heritage and the value system through Shree Pashupatinath Foundation, USA (www.pashpatinathfounation.org).
I would like to mention little more about Dr. Shimkhada since he is one of the well known Nepalese intellectuals and had served the Nepalese community for many decades now. Dr. Deepak Shimkhada received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University, where he is an adjunct professor. He was in the faculty of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California where he taught courses on Asian religions including Hinduism, Buddhism and the Visions of the Divine Feminine. He is currently a visiting professor at California State University in Northridge. His publications include numerous journal papers and three edited books. He is active in academic as well as local communities. He is the founding president of the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture, President of Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast and vice president of South Asian Studies Association.
I was invited by Dr. Deepak Shimkhada in the screening of "Not in God's Name" (produced by Paradise Filmworks: www.paradisefilmworks.com) by an internationally acclaimed filmmaker Paula Fouce and producer Timothy Kettle. Paula Fouce spent several years living and working throughout South Asia. Starting in Nepal as a University student, she exported from many countries including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Fascinated with the cultures and faiths of the region, Paula co-authored SHIVA, a photographic book.
Bhakta Thapa, Rajendra Siwakoti, Balram Thapa and myself went to Garrison Theatre, Scripps College in Claremont to attend this screening event at around 3:30 PM on Saturday, October 2, 2010. When we reached there, Dr. Shimkhada was introducing important personalities who had contributed generously towards Indic Foundation and the filmmaker as well as producer.
It was a beautiful documentary, describing about various religions and how ignorant people are misusing the name of God to get selfish benefits. Paula has interviewe many well known personalities at various places, asking for their opinions about the current situations. At many places,the documentary includes comments by the Dalai Lama who works to promote religious tolerance, calling it his most important commitment; he says that mankind needs different religions. He was recently awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his work promoting non-violence and harmony. In this documentary, religious leaders of Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism examine the causes for religious strife. For somebody like myself who has very little knowledge about different religions, it was an eye opener to have a chance to know what is going on out there in real world and how different human beings have been behaving in a certain way.
After the documentary, there was a panel of intellectuals from all different religions and they did their best to answer the questions from public. Each one of them were given couple of minutes to make their comments on the movie. Overall, it was a great experience to get a chance to be at the Screening. I requested Paula Fouce to make corrections to make sure to let the world know that "Buddha was born in Nepal". Yes, he was enlightened under a tree in Bihar, India and spread Buddhism, starting from India but his "real birth place" is Kapilvastu, Lumbini, Nepal. It is a fact and always remains fact as is.
After the program, lunch was served. I met Ved B. Joshi and many other Nepalese family there. It was a very positive, encouraging and friendly gathering. I felt great to be among these religious leaders, representing different religious beliefs and other intellecutuals from Claremont University. Thank you Dr. Deepak Shimkhada for inviting me and being such an enthusiastic leader to be able to lead Indic Foundation. Thank you Gokul Poudyal, Secretary of Indic Foundation for good arrangements and taking care of details during lunch and gathering. It was a great honor for being the guest of such a wonderful program.
-Prem Guragain
Los Angeles, California
Published in American Chronicle:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/195926
posted by Prem Guragain at
10:11 PM
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