Valentine day's interfaith message

VALENTINE DAY'S UNIVERSAL MESSAGE
FOR MY SINGLE, COUPLED AND MARRIED FRIENDS

Love has no bounds. Indeed, its a relationship of caring between husband and wife, mother and son, father and daughter, mother daughter, brother sister, brothers, sisters, friends, uncles, aunties, Granpa and Gramma, friends, and any one you care about. Valentine's day has moved from an exclusive rendezvous between two lovers to an universal meaningful expression of caring between any two people, and as a futurist, I see this morphing into a universal affection day within a decade.

Throughout the history of language, words have taken on new and expanded meanings; Valentine's Day is no exception, and eventually, it will become an all inclusive romantic day. 

Please feel free to say happy valentine's day to your sister, mother, brother, daughter, dad, uncle or a friend. It is a much bigger word now than it started out to be. Take them out for dinner and send them flowers to let them know that you care if you are the only one for them at this point in life.

While we Americans express it by presenting red roses to our loved ones, the Filipinos will break another record; the number of people kissing at the same time, Brazil will have another major festival on her beaches celebrating love. You are welcome to share other such expressions.

On the other side of the world, a few frustrated ones will go to the other extreme. A handful of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshi Hindus and Muslims will go on bashing and harassing the people who want to spend their time in peace. They ransack shops that sell the cards, and have a record of beating up couples in restaurants. If I were a peacemaker, pundit or an Imam, I would actively seek these men to respect the otherness of others, and ask them to join for tea and laddus (dessert) at the Temples, Mosques or other places of worship and have them fall in love with God,  and sing songs praising the lord, instead of bullying others on the street. We need to pave the way for people to respect the "otherness" of others.

Sadly, some of you are going to feel lonely, if you miss the love in your life; you have an opportunity to fulfill it. There is plenty in you that you can give by feeding the homeless, visiting lonely patients in the hospitals or nursing homes, disadvantaged women and children, our veterans... share whatever little you have with them including the time and just listening to them. When a homeless person asks, give whatever you can, that is the most affectionate thing to do, you will enrich yourselves far greater by sharing.

The best thing you can do for yourselves it to take an hour away from every one, and reflect on your life without blaming any one and figure out how to change it. Your love does not have to be expressed in the romantic sense, channel it out with family members, or a good old friend, or just by yourselves by caring for them, and doing things un-asked, and without any expectations of reciprocation.

There is nothing more peaceful than knowing yourselves, consider appreciating what ever you have, and accepting the way you are without wishing to be something and someone else. You don't need to compare with any one on the earth, there is none like you, you are one in 7 billion; you have your own unique thumb print, eye print, dna, taste bud, colors, foods, smells, sights... by God, you are your own model! When you accept that you are unique with your problems and joy, you will find peace and love.

When you love yourselves, i.e., you do not wish you had things others have but be content with what you have, you do not wish to look like someone else and be happy that you can at least breathe, you do not wish to wear like someone else, you do not want to talk like some one else, and do not want to live like some one else, then you have accepted your uniqueness that God gave you (ok, the genetic, if you don't believe in God), when you do that, you are in love with yourselves.

Don't forget, if your love makes you humble, you become the honey and attract good friendships, on the other hand if you become arrogant that others are inferior to you, you stink, and repel like hell and no one would want to be friends with you.

Make the commitment and just do it, if you like it recommend it to your friends.

If you are not single and have a spouse, listen to these songs and see if they express you.

I dedicate these three songs to Yasmeen, my dear wife.

Kenny Roger's, you decorated my life: I particularly like the line which says, there is no rhyme or reason that is what love is all about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJkPFSt326c

Ronnie Milsap's, what a difference you made in my life,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ni1WPGEZtg&feature=fvst

Muhammad Rafi's ai Husn Zara Jaag in Urdu/ Hindi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_qGtHjM6Oc

and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's, aap say mil kay in Urdu/Hindi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixRn65ImoRQ

My expressions would be incomplete without honoring the poet of love, Mirza Ghalib, one of the greatest romantic poets of all times who composed his poetry in Urdu/Hindi and Farsi.

Ishk per zor nahin, hai a o aatish ghalib
Ke lagaye na lege, bujhaye no bujhe.

Affection is that flame O Ghalib,
you cannot lit or extinguish it deliberately,  it just happens.

There is a beautiful Hindi/ Urdu song for the people who are platonic friends, it is one of my top ten favorites! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9oufp_mc30

I have seen the twinkle in those eyes,
let love remain love, and not give a name to it,
leave it alone and don't label a relationship to it,


Happy Valentine's Day.

HUFFINGTON POST: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/valetines-day-universal_b_1275148.html

....... Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.  

Interfaith Speaker Mike Ghouse

Interfaith Speaker Mike Ghouse

FAITH IS IN THE HEART OF THE BELIEVER AS BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
http://www.foundationforpluralism.com/

An interfaith Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a firm belief that the purpose of religion is to bring harmony to an individual within and create a balance with what surrounds; life and matter. If we can learn to respect and accept everywhich way people have come to worship the creator, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas Morning News and writes on issues facing the nation every week.  He has spoken at international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International Leadership conference, in Hawaii, in Washington, and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

Religion is about humility and not arrogance; some day, I would like to see the interfaith dialogue reach its peak when every one of can declare that my religion is beautiful to me as yours is to you; my religion brings solace to me as yours to you and now I hereby proclaim that my religion is not superior or inferior to any, it is another pathway to find peace and I thank God for giving me the Guidance to proclaim that as far back as 2001. To claim mine is superior is arrogance, and spirituality and arrogance are inversely proportional to each other. Greater the arrogance lower the religiosity and vice-versa.

To be religious is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics on interfaith, pluralism and Islam. Many a videos have been produced on the topic and we are yet to upload them, here is one of the shortest one delivered at the City of Carrollton. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Git_8Grd3A

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of those different from ourselves. The World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam, many are not aware that Islam teaches Pluralism.  Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and has produced outstanding public events to bring Americans together of different religions, ethnicities and races on common grounds of building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam, India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on important and complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place. He welcomes all questions and will address the fears many have about Islam.  He welcomes questions concerning misunderstandings about violence (jihad) and women's rights and other issues. 

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916
Ghousespeaks@gmail.com

Interfaith Radio

WISDOM OF RELIGION - RADIO PROGRAM (2004-06)

Learn the wisdom of all the beautiful religions of the World. It is broadcasted on weekdays at 6:00 AM  on AM Radio 1150 KBIS in Dallas/Fort Worth and world wide you can log onto www.RadioSuno.com.

The Program will celebrate its' first anniversary at the end of July 2004. This program was however commenced in August of 1995 in 15 minutes segments on the Saturdays. Now we will be completing one full year with one hour program each. In this period of time we have done 52 Hours of Each - Christianity, Hinduism and Islam = 156 Hours & 12 Hours each of Baha'i, Buddhist, Jain, Jewish, Sikh, Zoroaster and interfaith = 7 x 12 = 84 Hours + 9 Hours of general conversation. I.e., a total of 259 Hours of wisdom of Religion. I missed 1 hour in the entire year.

Mondays:   Christianity    

Tuesdays:  Jainism, Judaism , Baha'i, Buddhism ,Open

Wednesdays:  Sikhism, Zoroastrianism ,Interfaith , Open , Open

Thursdays:  Hinduism

Fridays:  Islam

The following schedule gives the specific dates.

http://www.mikeghouse.net/Calendar-WisdomofReligion.htm

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialoguehttp://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece 

By Steve Blow sblow@dallasnews.com Published 19 September 2010 02:28 AM

Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."

He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

"It was all for politics," he said.

Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.

Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.

Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."

What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."
 

Interfaith inspirations

The lives of Prophet Mohammad, Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Mother Theresa, Gautama Buddha, Krishna, Guru Nanak, Martin Luther King Jr., father Abdul Rahman, mother Khairun Nisa and maternal grand father Shaikh Hussain have profoundly inspired Mike. 

"My kids Jeff and Jazzie have excited me with their fresh perspectives on life and God. All my inspirers have frequently helped me see the world from another point of view, i.e., respecting all creation and "live and let live" point of view.  My intuitive pluralism and ZERO prejudice has it's origins in Islam, Hinduism, Jainism and Christianity, many consider me to be a Baha'i. I was pleased to hear some one called me a Jew as well and I have been said by people of different faiths that I belong to them. Thanks to my  father for unlocking me from a singular cell and opening multiple windows of knowledge for me."

Mike has always cherished Abe Lincoln's statement "with malice towards none", "practicing this gives me peace." "A good Muslim is a good Hindu, is a good Christian, is a good Jew and is a good human being, the truth of goodness is the same. Reading Lincoln is my next project, as Obama is a follower of him."

"The people who continue to impart wisdom to me are; Dale Carnegie, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Karen Armstrong, Jiddu Krishnamurthy, H.H. Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jr., H.H. Aga Khan, Reverend Moon, Allama Iqbal, Guru Nanak, Rabbi Gordis and a few others.  Let me clarify this, the simple reason for these particular names is my exposure to their work. I am open to learning from every possible source."

Personally I have learned profound things from my bosses and friends over the last forty years and I would always acknowledge them.  Ed Nesbit, Kathy Joplin, Mike Davis and my teacher Abdul Hakim.

The ultimate in learning is when you become Brahma, to borrow from the Hindu philosophy, whence you do not have a barrier between you and what surrounds you. That is precisely what Qur'aan means when it asks you to submit to the will of God, Krishna means, surrender to him or Jesus, when he says follow me, you cannot go wrong with their advice and the wisdom of all other beautiful religions.

"Each one of the holy books nourish me in my quest for the truth.  It is quite inspiring to open each book and draw an enormous amount of wisdom from it."

Discussions with his teachers during college days has formed the foundation for his outlook; the calm Shia-Sunni discussions between his father and Hussain Ali, or his grand father; and the passionate Hindu faith of A. Ramachandra, his English teacher; the irresistible logic of Mohamed Fakhru, his weaver friend. And interacting with wise people in Dallas has enriched him tremendously. The open mindedness of Swami Nityananda Prabhu of Hare Krishna Temple;  the comprehensiveness of  Imam Yusuf Zia Kavacki of Dallas Central Mosque reinforces his belief in how God is assessed and in the last few years, his friendship with Imam Zia Shaikh is nothing but a joy.  Each one of them is all about affection for life, Non-discriminatory caring, non-favoring one over the other for the heck of it other than good deeds, which Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] described as the good you can do to other beings, the goodness you bring to God's creation.

Interfaith Organizer

Mike is an organizer of events, conferences, workshops and lectures to impart the values of pluralism at work, places of worship and the society at large, He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer and believes that by learning to respect the otherness of others and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of the seven billion of us, conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

He has dedicated his time to work with the leadership in offering insights and solutions to effectively managing the multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and multicultural societies.

Pluralistic solutions have the power to sustain and take us into the next century with relative security, peace and prosperity. We cannot have peace and security when we do injustice to others.

Mike Presides the Foundation for Pluralism championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other; he is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress; a board member of the Dallas Peace Center and an Ambassador for peace with the Universal Peace Federation.  Mike was also one of the founding board members of the Memnosyne Foundation, as well as former commissioner at the City of Carrollton.  

Interfaith Initiator

The following events were initiated, organized and established with the theme of bringing diverse people together to learn and to know about each other.

Annual reflections on Holocaust and Genocides since 2007;
The mission is to create awareness of the inhumanity in us and find solutions for peaceful co-existence. Mike believes that, "we cannot be safe, unless others around us are not" ( ADD LINKS - TJP - DMN 2009 - DMN 2006 - Survivors-Jewish Post - Fox TV )

The annual Unity Day USA took root in 2005, on this Unity Day USA, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, Unity, safety, prosperity and well being of our nation with liberty and justice for all. 

The Annual Thanksgiving Celebrations began in 1993 to bring immigrant, indigenous and born Americans together. The purpose of celebrating this event is to give thanks to the creator for the blessings of precious life while enjoying the cultural heritage of each ethnic group.  

Mike Ghouse on Creation and Religion

ON CREATION AND RELIGION

1.      that something caused our existence; those who are religiously oriented, generally call that causer the God, and others simply call it the logic of creation.

2.      that regardless of evolution, creation or the big bang theory, we exist and that is a fact;

3.      that universe is broadly composed of life and matter;

4.      that matter was created with a built-in balance-seeking mechanism, while humans (life) were created (caused) with the capacity to think and bestowed with a free will to find their own balance and harmony;

5.      that there is accountability for everything we do, every transaction of life has a giver and a receiver ultimately ending in a balance. If the balance is not witnessed in one's life time, religiously oriented people believe the creator God will make it happen in the imaginary here after or will happen with the idea of reincarnation. Remember humans seek balance.

6.      that the creator loves his (her or its) creation just like the mother loves her children and has guided the creation through peace makers, prophets and the messengers to guide tem to co-exist in harmony. 

7.      that the causer, creator, sustainer is not definable, not imaginable and not reducible to definitive entity as it is different for each one of us. Diversity in nature and human life was intentional, among humanoids we have accepted 7 billion unique thumb prints, unique DNA and it is time we honor the uniqueness of beliefs as well.

Mike states that the purpose of religion is to bring spiritual balance to one and balance with what surrounds him or her. A good Hindu is a good Muslim and a good Muslim is a good Jew, a good Atheist is a good Christian...  the bottom line of religion is to facilitate co-existence and harmony.

That the purpose of all faiths is to spiritually connect the humans with the divine, simply meaning understanding existence, the beginning and the end and be in tune with the universal energy. This brings peace of mind [release from misery] to the individuals and order in the society.

He strongly support the goodness of each Religion. The political motivations have deliberately ascribed the wrongs of the world to religions, it is his commitment to identify the individuals responsible for it and uphold honor of each faith.

"To be religious is to be a peace maker, one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures goodwill."

Interfaith Speaker Mike Ghouse

An interfaith Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a firm belief that the purpose of religion is to bring harmony to an individual within and create a balance with what surrounds; life and matter. If we can learn to respect and accept everywhich way people have come to worship the creator, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

He is a frequent guest at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Religion is about humility and not arrogance; some day, I would like to see the interfaith dialogue reach its peak when every one of can declare that my religion is beautiful to me as yours is to you; my religion brings solace to me as yours to you and now I hereby proclaim that my religion is not superior or inferior to any, it is another pathway to find peace and I thank God for giving me the Guidance to proclaim that as far back as 2001.

Religion is about humility and not arrogance. To claim my religion to be superior is sheer arrogance; spirituality and arrogance are inversely proportional to each other. Greater the arrogance lower the religiosity and vice-versa.


To be religious is to be a peace maker, one who seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter.


Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics on interfaith, pluralism and Islam. Many a videos have been produced on the topic and we are yet to upload them, here is one of the shortest one delivered at the City of Carrollton. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Git_8Grd3A

Interfaith - It is a relationship between people who believe in God in one form or the other

Pluralism - is about co-existence with or without a belief in the creator.


Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.