Do you need a religion?

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Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation 
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on PluralismIslam,IndiaIsrael-PalestinePolitics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film “Sacred” to be released on 9/11 and a documentary “Americans together” for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com – Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Netanyahu is bad for Israel, Obama is following a sound US-IRAN policy

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Lessons in Foreign policy: Mr. Netanyahu and his ilk can fool us in America once, but not twice, and we are not the guinea pigs of his erratic genocidal behavior.


Netanyahu is bad for Israel’s long term security


He is coming to Washington to convince the nincompoops who had plunged us into destructive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to go at Iran now. We lost over 5000 men and women, millions of Americans lost their jobs, and their homes were foreclosed besides sinking us into budget deficit running in $Trillions of Dollars. He wants us to be completely liquidated, to hell with him. We put America first!


Mike Ghouse committed to build cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. www.MikeGhouse.net 

If you are anti-Semitic, more than likely your Islamophobic, homophobic

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Thank you

mike
Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation 
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on PluralismIslam,IndiaIsrael-PalestinePolitics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film ” Sacred” to be released on 9/11 and a documentary “Americans together” for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com – Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

Happy Purim

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Happy Purim to our Jewish friends across the globe.  Purim is one of the most festive of holidays of the Jewish people, it the story of freedom, a release from anxiety of being annihilated.  This has reference to a point in history where an evil man plots to annihilate the Jews, but the Persian king is persuaded by Esther otherwise.  It was a major victory and thus the celebration.  Happy Purim.

I have written a heartfelt article on Israel and Palestine, published in 3 installments at Huffington post.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/israel-and-palestine-moving-forward_b_1258261.html . You might understand the history of Jewish people to understand Purim.
The book of Esther (Borrowed from a Jewish site)
The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.
The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people’s, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them.” Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.
Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king’s presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman’s plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his ten sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.
The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of G-d. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to G-d. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning G-d. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that G-d often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net 

Happy Holi Celebrations

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Holi is a Hindu festival of radiance and celebration of spring with colors that nourish one’s joyous moods and complements the function of respective elements in the atmosphere. The essence of Holi is liberation and breaking the barriers between adults and children, family members and friends, and the festivity opens up to each other. 

It is celebrated through out India, and in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, British Guyana, Suriname and other places.   

Although Holi is part of the Hindu tradition, most Indians participate in it, it presents unity of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and of course, Jains, Zoroastrians, Baha’i, Jews, Buddhist and native traditions

Legend has it, that Lord Krishna is believed to have complained to his mother about his dark complexion while Radha’s had a lighter skin. Krishna’s mother decided to apply color to Radha’s face (Reverse Make up?) The celebrations officially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love.

Several years ago, my son, daughter and I were drenched in Holi colors at the Hindu Temple festivities and were driving home. At a stop light, people in others cars on either side stared at us and looked scared and drove off screeching on the green light… the three of us laughed and looked at each other…  it dawned on us that we looked bloody, green, yellow and mellow…….colors in our hair, face and clothes…

Prasad’s daughter, Prasad Thotakura | Jasmina, Mike and Jeff Ghouse

My kids thoroughly enjoyed throwing the colors in liquid and dust forms on me, they loved it. I would also call it friendship festival as it removes inhibitions
.
The picture below reflects that sentiments – all colors coming together to create oneness, thus the phrase Vasudaiva Kutumbukum; the whole world is one family. Similar expressions are a staple in every faith.

Radiant Colors of Holi

Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalguna which usually falls in the later part of February or March.
Since 1993, I have been writing about every festival on the earth, have done a weekly Radio program called “Festivals of the world” and shared about each festival.  Make it simple enough that most people can get the essence of it. For Hindus there is lot more depth and meaning to it, but for the non-Hindus, this gives them an idea about the festival. It is a part of the Pluralism education, so we all can know each other and appreciate our own uniqueness. Each one of is a model of our own.
Happy Holi and please enjoy the songs;
From the movie Lagaan, Radha Kaisay na Jalay – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwe7PwZqpLI

Another one that reflects unity –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NocV6jsegVY
Mike Ghouse is committed to building a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, and cohesive societies.www.ProfessionalSpeakerMikeGhouse.com and current articles atwww.TheGhousediary.com

Stuck in life; How to free yourselves from obsession

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It pains me to see
some of my friends obsessed with intense “dislike” or “hate” for
someone. No matter what the topic is, or what happens that is all
they want to talk about.  I feel their
pain, and wish I could help them free themselves and see other things in
life.  
The following story has helped several
friends, and I hope it helps some of your friends.
Two Buddhist monks
were waiting for the flooding to recede on a stream so they can
cross it. A pregnant woman joins them and all the three waited for a few hours
and started talking about crossing it any way. 
The woman asks the monks, if they can help her cross.

The Monks looked at each other, and the junior says “No” to the lady, while the senior
monk asks her to ride on his back and he will carry her over across the flooded
stream. So they crossed and the senior dropped her and the monks
resumed walking.

After about 5 minutes, the junior could not hold it anymore and blurted out, “You
are supposed to be a role model for me and resist touching or feeling a woman,
and instead you carried that woman on your back, her whole body was rubbing
against yours, her breasts were pressed on your back and you were holding her
legs… did you enjoy that?

The senior monk realized
the gravity of the situation and stopped, looked into the eyes of the junior
and said. When I dropped that woman 5 minutes ago, she was out of my mind,  but you are still carrying her.   

I dealt with two individuals this week, one of them dropped and the other one propped
the question again. So, I tried this time with religion, he is a Christian
and I mentioned to him that “forgiveness” is the central theme in every religion
including the teachings of Jesus. Forgiving brings relief and freedom.

The kid
is an Islamophobe, I asked, do you want to know what Islam says about it? He reluctantly
shouted what?  The person who God loves
most is the one who forgives, he said really? Looks like he is going to study
about it and I hope he does and frees himself up.

Do you have people you need to forgive? Do it now, and find the relief from
obsession with dislike or hate for the other. You’ll be happy that you did.

Thank you

Mike Ghouse, President
America Together Foundation
(Foundation for Pluralism)
Dallas | Washington
(214) 325-1916 text/talk
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism, Islam, India, Israel-Palestine, Politics and other
issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up
for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film ” Sacred” to be released on 9/11
and a documentary “Americans together” for a
July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and
syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas
Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in
63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings
are at www.TheGhousediary.com – Mike
is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on
issues of the day.

My faith is not superior, what about yours?

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 My Faith is not superior, what about yours?  
I do not claim my faith to be superior or inferior to any, and if I do that, I have not understood the need for a faith in God, which puts all of us on par to respect each other’s space, sustenance and nurturence.  Religion brings humility and builds bridges between people and the nations, whereas arrogance kills relationship and generates conflicts.  The day is not far, when most of us will be comfortable with that idea. I am looking forward to a day when all of us can comfortably believe that religion is an instrument to forge co-existence and living in harmony. 

If we learn to respect the otherness of others, and accept the God given uniqueness of each one of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge. That is all God wants! For us to preserve the balance with which he has created the universe.

Are you comfortable in saying,” I do not claim my faith to be superior to any, I am a _______ (Atheist to Zoroastrian) and pleased to be one.”

Could you make that declaration below in the comment?  We need to create a momentum. I am blessed to provide you the material to back you up.

More at :http://nabsites.net/demo/my-faith-is-not-superior-what-abou/ 

“I believe each one of us is created by the same creative process, with a singular source [GOD] for such creation, and respecting each one of his creations is the best form of praising, worshiping and honoring the creator.

I believe knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of people with a different point of view.  If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.”
“I have freed my God from religious confinement and believe that the divine’s presence belongs to everyone, and he/she/it is everywhere. I see God’s greatness in every which way and in every place of worship. I don’t like to lock up God in any singular spot or limit him into a form.
No one owns Jesus, Krishna, Muhammad or others: “Ram is not the property of Hindus, he belongs to all, Christians don’t own Jesus, and Mohammed and his message belongs to all”. I feel that none of us should bottle up the great teachers into small cells, their teachings are universal and they belong to all.
“If you don’t understand other’s teaching is one thing, but if you look down upon others wisdom, it amounts to prejudice that puts a noose around your freedom and it also stops you from learning all the good you can learn from all religious teachers”. I believe Learning about other faiths simply enhances one’s search for the truth.” The truth is the same, manifestations are different, knowing that brings spirituality.
“I believe that the connection with the Creator is inversely proportional to the ego. Greater the ego, (arrogance) lesser the connection, on the other hand, greater the humility, greater the spirituality. I am grateful that the creator has helped me learn to respect and honor all faiths, and my faith teaches me never to denigrate other beliefs.  Islam is my path and blessed to travel on it.”
As beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, “religion is in the heart of the believer.” Each faith is beautiful to the believer and we should honor that.
“I honor cherish and respect every which way people have come to praise and worship the almighty, including but not limited to the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Judaism, Sikh, Wicca, Zoroastrian and several indigenous systems of belief. I am committed to defend the divinity of every faith with no exception and it is in no conflict with my faith, which is Islam.”

“I am a Muslim and blessed to be one and I pray every one feels the same about his or her individual faith. My faith connects me with my Creator and answers the purpose of life, death, accountability and results. The Islam I know is what the majority of Muslims practice around the world; it is universal, all embracing and pluralistic. I relate with every faith and see the same essence and beauty in them as I see in Islam. I am comfortable with every beautiful way people have come to worship the divine.  We do not have to undermine other faiths to make our faith better, faith is beyond comparisons. Faith brings humility to oneself and not arrogance.”

To be a Muslim is to be a peacemaker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence. A Muslims is someone who submits to the idea of peace and harmony, and works to sustain it. That is indeed the purpose of religion, any religion. 
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on PluralismIslamIndiaIsrael-PalestinePolitics and other issues of the day. He is a human rights activist, and his book standing up for others will be out soon | He is producing a full feature film ” Sacred” to be released on 9/11 and a documentary “Americans together” for a July 4 release.  He is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. All about him is listed in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com – Mike is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

 

NETANYAHU is a great orator, and that is dangerous

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I urge the Republicans or those who are hell bent on wars to consider questioning his statements… he has mixed facts with fear to get support. If the support is for a better Israel, I would say yes, but Netanyahu assumes he is serving Israel, but he is jeopardizing Israel’s long term security by isolating Israel in the community of nations and increased antisemitism cause by his violations of UN Resolutions.
1. He made some great points and I agree with many
2. Great Orators get people to lose reason and act emotionally
3. Use of emotion with Eli Wiesel 
4. Hitler was a great orator, creating an enemy
5. Facts did not matter to Republicans, they never have – like the WMD’s? 
6. Do the Republicans have the ability to discuss or see another point of view
7. I hope Republicans speak like Americans and not Israelis,
8. Israel is our ally and not our God or our country
9. Don’t forget, if America is strong, Israel is safe. Netanyahu doesn’t get that.

Iran President’s tweet about annihilating Israel is bad, I trust Netanyahu because he is saying it in public, but we have to verify.

Iran President’s tweet about annihilating Israel is bad, I trust Netanyahu because he is saying in public, but we have to verify.

We don’t have to trust Iranians, but we have to avoid wars at every cost. Netanyahu does not want peace. His aptitude is to erect an enemy to gain protection, nothing wrong with that, but that ideology leaves every one insecure in the long haul.
Full article at: 
Other articles worth reading:

Netanyahu Cartoons with US Senate and Congress

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SITE – www.TheGhouseDiary.com
LINK – http://nabsites.net/demo/netanyahu-cartoons-with-us-senate-and/

Tomorrow night Netanyahu
will address the joint session of Senate and the Congress,  and more than likely
we will witness the Republicans lining up to kiss the feet of their lord, and
will be pledging allegiance to him rather than our flag.

Fox News will
put Lord Netanyahu on the highest altar ever built… all of them would rather
believe him than our president who wants to resolve conflict with Iran through a
dialogue, rather than destroying each other. I hope these guys show some dignity
of the office.

Netanyahu is bad news for
Israel and a nightmare for America. He is jeopardizing the long term security of
Israel. The SOB will have us go to war with Iran and fuck  up America that we
will not recognize. One Bush is enough for this century.

I am glad Obama  has the
power to veto and tell the racist republicans off. Most republicans are good
people but they need to decide if they are with the extremist republicans or on
the good side. There are several articles in the link that I just got published.

A few Netanyahu cartoons
will be posted at www.TheGhouseDiary.com tonite.

Mike Ghouse

No one drew the cartoon as I wanted it
however, a friends sent this 1:41 seconds video

that describes precisely what I had on my mind, its produced in Israel.


This is the Video link – give it a few seconds, from Hebrew it goes to English

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/03/john-v-walsh/watch-laugh-then-cry/

————————————————-




Cagle.com

Salt Lake Tribune 
Boston Globe




An amazingly precise statement came from Suman Chepuri, ” Netanyahu is the Israeli Dick Cheney — a pompous, arrogant, war monger that’s going against the findings of his own intelligence agency (Mossad) to satisfy his own ego and political career!”

Netanyahu is coming to Washington to convince the nincompoops in congress and the senate who had plunged us into destructive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to go at Iran now. We lost over 5000 men and women, millions of Americans lost their jobs, and their homes were foreclosed besides sinking us into budget deficit running in $Trillions of Dollars. He wants us to be completely liquidated, to hell with him. We put America first!

Full article at: http://thearabdailynews.com/2015/02/26/back-off-netanyahu-dont-mess-america/

Other articles worth reading:

Enough is Enough by Prof. Alon Ben-Meir- http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-message-to-netanyahu-enough-is-enough.html

Netanyahu responsible for Anti-Semitism
http://nabsites.net/demo/netanyahu-responsible-for-rise-in-anti/

Obama Plays Hardball by Mark Gaffney- http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2015/03/obama-plays-hardball-with-israel.html

Speaker on Israel – http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2014/12/speaker-on-israel-mike-ghouse.html

About Israel  – http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2012/02/about-israel-palestine.html

Standing up for Jews – http://nabsites.net/demo/standing-up-with-jews/ 

Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net 

Obama's words of wisdom about ISIS and Islam

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Let’s put our biases aside, and review if President Obama’s words and actions represent what is a moral and astute policy, and also if it is good for the United States of America. Let us examine his choice of words at the “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism” and his reminder at the National Prayer Breakfast to be humble and cognizant of our own historical record. 
 
Mike Ghouse