Monday, April 13, 2009

The Way to Happiness Foundation International


A non-religious and unbiased moral code for the 21st century.The Way to Happiness Foundation International was established in 1984 with the mission of reversing the moral decay in society by restoring trust and honesty in the world through the publication and widespread distribution of The Way to Happiness.

The Way to Happiness Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation with international headquarters in Glendale, California, and offices, chapters and members in 130 nations. The Foundation also includes a resource center for providing multimedia educational materials to business, community, government and school programs.

http://www.thewaytohappiness.org

The Foundation coordinates public awareness campaigns worldwide. The centerpiece of the campaign is the award-winning series of 21 public service announcements, each depicting one of the principles from The Way to Happiness. These PSAs have been seen on television all over the world. The Foundation also provides recorded selections from the book for radio audiences.




The first moral code based wholly on common sense, first published in 1981, its purpose is to help arrest the current moral decline in society and restore integrity and trust to Man. Written by L. Ron Hubbard, the book fills the moral vacuum in an increasingly materialistic society. This code of conduct contains 21 basic principles that guide one to a better quality of life. Entirely nonreligious, it can be followed by anyone, of any race, color or creed and works to restore the bonds that unite humankind.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Mystified World needs Mystic India

Whether India becomes a superpower in the material sphere or not, in spiritual matters, the country has been and remains one. Indian gurus are the help menu of this dysfunctional world. In today's technology oriented , competitive and highly stressful world, spiritual and materialistic integration is the only key to a peaceful , healthy , abundant and affluent existence .
From Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and world peace to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the peace process in Sri Lanka, there is always an Indian guru to show the way. The Maharishi, whose association with the Beatles made him one of the most famous men on the planet, is now engaged in creating a 'Maharishi Effect' — defined as a "rise in coherence in the collective consciousness of a community" — in the Netherlands where he has been living since the early 1990s. Some of the Maharishi's followers in Iowa, USA, also did a spot of 'yogic flying' recently in an effort to pacify Lebanon.


Their efforts do not seem to have met with particular success. For that matter, neither has the more practical intervention by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Sri Lanka. The 'Art of Living' guru visited LTTE-held Kilinochchi last month and gifted a white 'peace' shawl to V. Prabhakaran as part of an effort to bring all concerned parties to the dialogue table. Shortly after this, the war between the LTTE and the Lankan forces escalated.However, such little upsets do not affect the followings of gurus. The Art of Living is active in more than 140 countries including Lebanon.
They are not the only ones. There are other Indian gurus who probably have as much of a global presence. The late Osho Rajneesh's following has reportedly shrunk from its peak of 200,000 after his death, but Osho World continues to place his millions in the service of enlightenment. The Iskcon or 'Hare Krishna' movement has 2,50,000 devotees and 350 centres around the world. SN Goenka's Vipassana movement is in growth mode. And even Sathya Sai Baba, whose international reputation has been battered by allegations of sexual molestation by former devotees, continues to count an estimated 100 million people as his flock.

Along with the New Age gurus —Deepak Chopra and Robin Sharma—whose books sell more widely, and in more languages, than any other Indian authors - these 'super men' shape the thinking of a very large number of people around the world.