Happy Valentine day 2007
Reader comment on item: Hating Valentine's Day
in response to reader comment: Valentine's Day - the 'Indian Reaction'

Submitted by Mike Ghosue (United States), Feb 14, 2007 at 11:36

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
Mike Ghouse | Feb 13, 2007

Every time we have a cultural festival which once may have been a religious festival, a few of our brothers and sisters will start giving their opinions in terms of right or wrong.

They are more than welcome to it, as long as they practice it and not bother others with their impositions. Tomorrow on Valentines Day, the news papers in India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Afghanistan and Kuwait will carry articles of how individuals were harassed, and stores were vandalized. Sadly it is in both Hindu and Muslim communities, rather in non-Christian communities. Let me qualify that… it is less than 1/10^th of 1% of the people who do this.

Who authorizes these goons to go and harass the people for expressing their affection for each other? I do hope, the police undertake their responsibility to protect their citizens.

A while ago a survey was done and the question was asked, who is a Muslim?

The answers, among many responses were:

i) someone who wears a beard, ii) their women wear Hijab, iii) men who wear pants short of full length and other responses you can imagine.

If a similar question were to be asked, who is a Hindu?

The possible answers would be: i) some one who puts a dot or chalk lines on the forehead, ii) someone who takes a dip in river Ganges iii) someone who does not eat meat iii) their women wear wrap around clothes and many more response you can imagine.

Would you prefer the above identifications or the following ID?

I) some one who tells the truth, ii) some one who is trust worthy, iii) some one who is modest, iv) someone who cares about other people, v) some one who volunteers his or her time for making the society a better place to live, vi) some one who is reliable …..

I am certain; members of each religion can give innumerable examples for this ID from both religions. I encourage you to write your comments.

Despite its origins, Valentine's Day is a designated day to celebrate love,

where two people chose to express their affection for each other.

Wait a minute! Please do not jump to conclusions that Valentine's Day is about lust or repugnant behavior. Then it becomes your personal problem that I suggest you to keep it to yourselves.

Valentine Day is a universal expression of affection between any two individuals. Between husband and wife, between two people in love, be it mother and son, father daughter, brother sister, friends, uncles, aunties…. Grand Pa and Grand Ma.

This expression of affection can range between any family members and any friends. Love does not have any bounds. The Sadhus and Sufis also can say happy Valentine to God.

Please feel free to say happy valentine 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 send them a flower to let them know that you care.

And I do care about each one of you.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Added today the 14th in response to a few emails

There is Mother's day; our culture and our faith talks about Mothers' place being the highest. The American culture formalizes that into really doing something about it and it is a beautiful day.

There is Father's day, same story.

There is Rakhi, same story. It is not about Hinduism any more, it is about caring for the sister and honorably it originated in the Hindu culture. The affection between brother and sister is one of the most beautiful relationships to be cherished.

From a pagan tradition, the valentine' day moved on to becoming a culture of the people living in the western hemisphere, and now it is embracing love and affection in general. It is caring about the people you love, a special day for it. We do care every day in theory, in practice, like all human beings we forget. This day formally reminds us to honor the loved ones.

It has no more religious connotations, although to become a universal affection day, it will take another decade.

I am talking about the vandalism and compulsions that goes on today - Hindu's need not gloat nor Muslims for the errant behavior of the few today in the Subcontinent. The extreme element is same in all faiths.

Globalizing is happening - from a narrow romantic meaning, the Valentine's day is going global, becoming an all inclusive day.

Mike Ghouse

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